Methods of teaching English

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Part 2. Section 2

Why do we need to learn about the methods of teaching English which were popular in the past?

The concerns that have prompted modern method innovations were similar to those that have always been at the centre of discussions on how to teach foreign languages.
In the past some of the questions were raised that prompted innovations and new directions in ELT

Many current issues of language teaching are not particularly new !!!
Today’s controversies reflect contemporary responses to questions that have been asked often throughout the history of ELT.

Particular methods differ in the way they address key issues.
These issues are as follows:

What should the goals of the language teaching be? Should a language course try to teach conversational proficiency, reading, translation, or some other skill?
What is the basic nature of language? How will it effect a teaching method?
What are the principles for the selection of language content in language teaching?
What principles of organisation, sequencing, and presentation best facilitate learning?

5. What should the role of the native language be?
6. What processes do learners use in mastering a language, and can these be incorporated into a method?
7. What teaching techniques and activities work best and under what circumstances?

We integrate or take into account past approaches rather than sweep them away.

The early applied linguists such as Henry Sweet (1845-1912), Otto Jespersen (1860-1943), and Harold Palmer (1877-1949) elaborated principles and theoretically accountable approaches to the design of language teaching programmes, courses and materials
Harold Palmer

1850s – 1950s: Grammar Translation method

Learning Theory: Deductive learning is essential:
First, the teacher gives rules explicitly then the rules are reinforced with examples and exercises.
Language Theory:
Translation is the way to learn the language.
Oral communication is not primarily important. Written language is superior to spoken language.
Students also learn the structure of their own native language.
Those who study a foreign language become more cultured and intellectual.

Teachers' Role: Teacher is the strict authority. Classes are teacher-centred.
Students' Role: Students are the passive receivers of the new information. The teacher starts the activities and directs them. Students are supposed to memorise the rules and the new vocabulary with their meanings in their native language.
Interactions: Very often “Teacher –Student” interactions occur. Rarely “Student – Student” interactions occur.

Vocabulary Teaching: The most common vocabulary teaching technique is “the memorisation of long lists of vocabulary with their equivalents in the students’ native language.

Grammar Teaching: The teaching of grammar is deductive. The teacher introduces the rules explicitly and wants the students to apply these rules to new examples in exercises.
Students are supposed to memorise the rules. In order to explain the rules, the teacher uses comparison and contrast between the students’ native language grammar and target language grammar.
Translation is a common way to clarify the meanings of the new grammar patterns in the target language.

Materials: Texts from the target language literature are used. The teacher may either write the text or use an authentic literary text.
Role of L1: L1 (i.e., students’ native language) has an important function in teaching vocabulary and grammar. Since oral communication in the target language is not important, classroom instructions are given in L1.

Goals and Objectives: Among the goals are to teach translation, to read and understand literary texts in the target language, to make students aware of their native language structure and vocabulary, and to improve students’ mental capacities with grammar exercises.
Error Correction: The teacher corrects the errors strictly. Errors are not tolerated. Accuracy is emphasised strictly. Accuracy means grammatical correctness.
Student's Feelings: There is no information about how GTM deals with students’ feelings.

Techniques
1. Translation of a Literary Passage: Students translate a passage from the target language into their native language. The passage provides the focus for several classes: vocabulary and grammatical structures in the passage are studied in the following lessons.
2. Reading Comprehension Questions: Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of the reading passage.

First, they answer information questions whose answers they can find in the passage.
Second, they answer inference questions based on their comprehension of the passage although the answer cannot be found in the passage directly in the passage.
Third !!!, they answer questions that require students to relate the passage to their own experience.

3. Antonyms / Synonyms: Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms in the reading passage. A similar exercise could be done by asking students to find synonyms for a particular set of words.
4. Deductive Application of Rule: Grammar rules are presented with examples. Exceptions to each rule are also noted. Once students understand a rule, they are asked to apply it to some different examples.
5. Fill-in-the blanks: Students are given a series of sentences with words missing. They fill in the blanks with new vocabulary items or necessary items of grammatical features

6. Memorisation: Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native language equivalents and are asked to memorise them. Students are also required to memorise grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms such as verb conjugations.
7. Use words in Sentences: In order to show that students understand the meaning and use of a new vocabulary item, they make up sentences in which they use the new words.
8. Composition: The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language. The topic is based upon some aspect of the reading passage of the lesson.

General overview:
- grammar was taught as a set of rules (e.g. verb conjugations) after the classical languages, Latin and Greek;
- practice was done through written exercises;
- the medium of instruction was the mother tongue;
- vocabulary was learnt via translated lists, often related to the comprehension of written texts;

- written text was seen as the ‘real’ language, superior to the spoken version;
- written texts were translated and composition in L2 was regarded as the apex of language ability;
- speaking and listening were seen as less important, and mediated via ‘conversation classes’ which were tagged on as extras to the main course.

Which of the techniques and principles of GTM do we still use in the modern language teaching?

1890s – now: Direct Method

Behaviourism: learning as habit formation
The first coherent theory of learning was the behaviourist theory based mainly on the work of Pavlov in the Soviet Union and of Skinner in the United States. This simple but powerful theory said that learning is a mechanical process of habit formation and proceeds by means of the frequent reinforcement of a stimulus-response sequence. The theory provided the theoretical underpinning of the widely used Direct Method.

Learning Theory: Inductive learning is essential. There is a direct relation between form and meaning. L2 learning is similar to L1 acquisition. There is a direct exposure to the target language. Exposure of long chunks in the target language. Learning occurs naturally.
Language Theory: Language is for oral use. Each language is unique. There is a direct relation between form and meaning. No other language should interfere when learning a language.
Culture: Not only art or literature, but also other aspects of culture (namely, life style, customs, traditions, institutions, food, daily habits, history, geography, etc.) should be taken into consideration. Daily speech is important.

Teacher's Role: The teacher usually directs the interactions but he/she is not as dominant as in GTM. Sometimes acts like a partner of the students.
Students' Role: Students are active participants. Sometimes pair works take place. Even the teacher takes roles in activities.
Interactions: T- st and St - st interactions often occur.

Vocabulary Teaching: Pictures, realia, examples, sample sentences are used to teach vocabulary. The use of L1 is not allowed. There is a direct relation between form and meaning.
Grammar Teaching: Grammar is taught inductively. Examples and drills are given and students are expected to discover and acquire the rules. Drills like chain drill, yes question, no question, or question are used to help students induce the rule.
Materials: Reading passages (for topics), Dialogues (for situation), plays (for situations) are used.

Role of L1: L1 is not permitted.
Evaluation: Sts' ability to use the language is tested. Not about language, the language itself
Goals and Objectives: Teaching Sts how to communicate in the target language. Teaching of thinking in the target language.
Error Correction: Sts' self correction.
Students’ Feelings: There is no information dealing with this issue.

Skills: Speaking, listening, reading and writing are important skills. Especially speaking and listening are emphasised. Vocabulary is over grammar.
Techniques: Reading aloud, Question and answer exercise, self-correction, conversation practice, fill-in-the-blank exercise, dictation, drawing (for listening comprehension), and paragraph writing.

General overview:
- speaking and listening were the most important skills;
- the medium of instruction was English;
- students learnt sequences of strictly-chosen (i.e centrally-scripted) grammatical phrases by listening and repetition;
- grammar ‘rules’ were avoided, and replaced by phrases (which of course had grammar disguised in them);

- vocabulary was learnt either incidentally, as part of the phrases being taught, or via lists grouped under types of situation;
its modern incarnation survives in the omnipresent language phrasebooks, and the method is still the basis of lower-level teaching in Berlitz’s successful language schools.

Francois Gouin. Learning a language the wrong way
http://hubpages.com/hub/Language-Learning-Methods-Scams-lies-and

The Direct method was quite successful in private language schools, such as those of the Berlitz chain, where paying clients had high motivation and the use of native speakers was the norm.

1. It was difficult to implement in public secondary school education.
!!!

2. It overemphasized and distorted the similarities between naturalistic first language learning and classroom foreign language learning
It failed to consider the practical realities of the classroom.

3. It lacked a basis in applied linguistic theory, and for this reason it was often criticised by the more academically based proponents of the Reform Movement.

Which of the techniques and activities suggested by the Direct Method do we use in the modern teaching practice?

Audio-lingual method +
Structuralist view of language
A ‘scientificised’ version of the direct method; the new science of linguistics suggested that language was a set of ‘structures’
‘this shirt needs + washing, mending, ironing’;
‘he has + washed, ironed, folded, etc the clothes’);
grammar rules were an illusion, so it was more important to focus on these ‘structures’;

Learning Theory: Learning is based on the principles of Behaviourism. Habit Formation is essential. Rules are induced from examples. Explicit grammar rules are not given. Learning is inductive. Habit formation is actualised by means of repetitions and other mechanical drills.
Language Theory: Language is based on descriptive linguistics. Every language is seen as its own unique system. The system is comprised of several different levels. (i.e. phonological, morphological, and syntactic).

There is a natural order of skills.
1. Listening,
2. Speaking,
3. Reading,
4. Writing.
Language is primarily for Oral Communication !!!

Teacher’s Role: T is like an orchestra leader. S/he directs and controls the language behaviour of the students. T is a good model of the target language, especially for pronunciation and other oral skills. The differences between Sts’ L1 and L2 should be known by the teacher.
Students’ Role: Sts are imitators of the teacher as perfect model of the target language or the native speakers in the audio recordings.

Interactions: T-St, ST- ST. Interactions are mostly initiated by the teacher.
Vocabulary Teaching: Meaning is taught directly. L1 is prohibited because it may cause bad habit formations. Vocabulary is introduced through dialogues.
Grammar Teaching: Explicit rules are not provided. Students induce the rules through examples and drills. Students acquire grammar by being exposed to patterns through mechanical drills.
Materials: Dialogues

Role of L1: L1 is not allowed in the classroom. It may cause interference and bad habit formation in L2.
Goals and Objectives: to enable students to speak and write in the target language. To make students able to use the target language automatically without stopping to think. To form new habits in the target language.

Skills: Listening and speaking are emphasised. There is a natural order of skills.
Listening 2. Speaking 3. Reading 4. Writing
Error Correction: Errors are corrected by the teacher since errors may cause bad habit formation !!!.
Sts’ Feelings: There are no principles related to Sts’ feelings

- vocabulary was seen as an adjunct to the structures;
- speaking and listening were the most important skills;
- the learning method was based on behaviourist psychology – stimulus-response learning; language exercises for speaking were mostly listen and repeat (i.e. drilling), and repeat and extend;
- language exercises for writing were multiple choice and gapfill;
- thinking was discouraged !!!,
.

- automaticity of response was favoured;
- the language laboratory epitomised the audio-lingual approach and was meant to revolutionise language teaching – the reason that it did not do so was simply, as with computers nowadays, that most learners need people as teachers, not machines;
- a lasting legacy of this approach is the much-loved substitution table

Various kinds of drills
Repetition. The student repeats an utterance aloud as soon as he has heard it. He does this without looking at a printed text. After a student has repeated an utterance, he may repeat it again and add a few words, then repeat the whole utterance and add more words.
I used to know him. – I used to know him.
I used to know him years ago. I used to know him years ago when we were at school.

2. Infections. One word in an utterance appears in another form when repeated.
I brought the ticket. – I brought the tickets.
I called the young man. – I called the young men.
3. Replacement. One word in an utterance is replaced by another.
He bought this house cheap. – He bought it cheap.
Helen left early. - She left early.

3. Restatement. The students rephrases an utterance and addresses it to someone else, according to instructions.
Tell him to wait for you. – Wait for me.
Ask her how old she is. - How old are you?
4. Completion. The students hears an utterance that is complete except for one word, then repeats an utterance in completed form.
I’ll go my way and you go … I’ll go my way and you go yours.

5. Integration. Two separate utterances are integrated into one.
They must be honest. This is important. - It is important that they (should) be honest.
6. Transformation. A sentence is transformed by being made negative or interrogative or thorough changes in tense, mood, voice, aspect etc.
He knows my address. – He doesn’t know my address.

7. Restoration. The students is given the sequence of words that have been picked out from a sentence but still bear its basic meaning. He uses these words to restore the sentences. He may be told whether the tense is past, present or future.
Students/waiting/bus – The students are waiting for the bus.
8. Rejoinder. The student makes an appropriate rejoinder to a given utterance.
Be polite: - Thank you. – You are welcome.
- Make I take one? – Certainly.

1960s –1980s (UK): Structural-situational method (PPP)
This was a pragmatic (i.e. UK) version of audio-lingualism; the key difference from the audio-lingual approach was that the language presentation and practice was situationalised and so was always given social meaning;
speaking and listening were the most important skills;

this approach gave rise to the idea of PPP (presentation, practice, production),
e.g. the Present Simple Tense for routines (called the target item)
was presented (P)
and given controlled practice (P)
and then given further semi-controlled practice (P) (often called ‘free practice’) in, say, a role-play; it all took place in one lesson;

it was assumed that what we taught during these three stages was what the students should learn,
this equation of teaching and learning is now seen as a false goal

1970s – 1980s: Humanistic approaches
Silent Way, Total Physical Response, Suggestopedia etc.

Why humanistic?

Behaviourism: learning as habit formation
Mentalism: thinking as rule-governed activity
Cognitive code: learners as thinking beings
The affective factor: learners as emotional beings

THE SILENT WAY (SW) (Caleb Gattegno)
Learning Theory: Cognitive Psychology is the basis. Language learning is not habit formation. It is rule formation. Language learning has a sequence from the known to the unknown. Students induce the rules from examples and the languages they are exposed to, therefore learning is inductive.

Teachers' Role: The teacher is a technician or an engineer who facilitates learning. Only the learner can do learning. The teacher is aware of what the students already know and he/she can decide the next step. The teacher is silent. Silence is a tool because teacher's silence gives the responsibility to the student. Besides teacher's silence helps students monitor themselves and improve their own inner criteria.

Students' Role: Students should make use of what they already know. They are responsible for their own learning. They actively take part in exploring the language. The teacher works with the students and the students work on the language. St-st interaction is important. Sts can learn from each other.

Vocabulary Teaching: Vocabulary is taught by means of visual aids and word-charts. Vocabulary is always recycled by means of word-charts.
Grammar Teaching: There is a focus on the structures of the language although explicit grammar rules are never given.
Materials: Sound Colour Charts (For teaching pronunciation; one colour represents one sound), Colour Rods (for cognitive coding of grammatical patterns), Fidel Charts (used for sound spelling association.

Role of L1: L1 can be used to give instructions when necessary. Meaning is made clear by focusing the student's perceptions, not by translation. During feedback sessions L1 be used at beginning levels.
Evaluation: The teacher may never give a formal test. He/she assesses students' learning all the time. Continuous monitoring by the teacher is essential.

Goals and Objectives: Students should be able to use the target language for self expression (to express their thoughts, feelings, ideas).
Error Correction: Errors are natural and inevitable. The teacher uses students' errors to decide where further work is necessary. Self-correction is necessary for the students to compare their own production with their developing inner criteria.

Techniques:
1.Teaching pronunciation with "sound colour charts"
2. Cognitive coding with colour rods.
3. Peer correction to improve co-operative manner.
4. Self correction gestures
5. Teacher's Silence

6. Structured feedback: Students are invited to talk about the day's instruction (what they have
learnt that day during classes). Students learn to take responsibility for their own learning by becoming aware of themselves, and by controlling and applying their own learning strategies.
7. Fidel Charts: Used to teach sound spelling association.
8. Word Charts: Used to teach and recycle vocabulary. The words are written in different
colours so that students can learn basic pronunciation patterns.

Learning Theory: People use 5-10% of their mental capacity. In order to make better use of our mental reserves, limitations need to be desuggested.
Suggestopedia. Lozanov method
Students should eliminate the feelings that they cannot be successful and thus, to help them overcome the barriers to learning. Psychological barriers should be removed

Six principle theoretical components through which desuggestion and suggestion operate.
1). People remember best when the new information comes from a reliable authoritative source.
2). Authority is also used to suggest a teacher-student relation like that of "parent-child" relationship. In the child's role the learner takes part in role-playing, games, songs and gymnastic exercises that help the older student regain the self-confidence, spontaneity and receptivity of the child.
3). The learner learns not only from the instructions but also from the environment. Physical features of the classroom are important.

4). Varying intonation of the presented material helps to avoid boredom. T should present the material with different intonation patterns. Correct intonation patterns should be emphasised.
5). Materials presented with varying rhythm and tones are more interesting.
6). Materials presented with varying rhythm, intonation, and tone should be accompanied by music. Music should have sixty beats in a minute. Baroque concertos work very well for this purpose.

2. Teachers' Role: Teacher is the authority. Learners learn better if they get the information from a reliable authority. Students must trust and respect that authority.
3. Students' Role: Students play a child's role (infantilization). They adopt a new identity (new name, job, family...etc.) As they feel more secure, they can be less inhibited.
4. Interactions: “St-st” and “T-st” interactions occur. Students often do "pair work" and "group work".

6. Grammar Teaching: Grammar is taught explicitly but minimally. Explicit grammar rules are provided in L1.
7. Materials: Dialogues are used with their translations in L1 on the opposite side. Texts with literary value are used. The textbook posters are used for peripheral learning
5. Vocabulary Teaching: Vocabulary is emphasised. Claims about the success of the method often focus on the large number of words that can be acquired. Comments and explanations about the meanings can be provided in student's L1.

8. Goals and Objectives: Teachers hope to accelerate the process by which students learn to use a foreign language for everyday communication. For this, more of the students' mental power must be employed. This can be achieved by removing psychological barriers.
9. Error Correction: At the beginning levels, errors are not corrected immediately because the emphasis is on communication. When errors of form occur, teachers uses the correct form later on during class, because immediate interference by the teacher may destroy the relaxed atmosphere in classes.

10. Student's Feelings: A great deal of attention is given to students' feelings. Students should feel relaxed and secure. Teacher's existence and classmates' existence should not threaten the individual. Individual's self-confidence is important.
Choice of new identity makes students feel more comfortable and secure. The classroom conditions (temperature, lighting, armchairs) should supply students with the feeling of relaxation and comfort.

Techniques:
Classroom set up: dim lights, soft music, cushioned armchairs, and posters on the walls.
Direct Suggestion: The teacher tells students they are going to be successful to create self-confidence.
Indirect Suggestion: This is provided by music and comfortable physical conditions of the classroom.

Peripheral Learning: Posters, lists, charts, texts, paintings, and graphs are hung on the walls of the classroom. Students learn from these although their attentions are not directly on these materials.
Visualisation: Students are asked to close their eyes and concentrate on their breathing. Then the teacher describes a scene or an event in detail so that students think they are really there. When the scene is complete, the teacher asks students to slowly open their eyes and return to the present. This can be done just before students write a composition in order to activate their creativity.

Choose a New Identity: Students can be asked to write about their fictional new identity, new home town, family, etc.

.
Primary Activation: Primary activation and secondary activation are the components of the active phase of the lesson. Students read the dialogue in the target language aloud as individuals or groups. They read it sadly, angrily, and amorously.
Secondary Activation: Students engage in various activities such as singing, dancing, dramatising, and playing games. Linguistic forms are not important. Communication is important. In order to make students focus on communication, activities are varied

TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE METHOD (TPR)
Learning Theory: There are three hypotheses:
A) Innate Bio-program: There exists a specific, innate bio-program for language learning, which defines an optimal path for first and second language development.
Children develop listening competence before they develop the ability to speak. They make “a blue-print”of the language first. They develop "a cognitive map" of the language during listening process.
J. Asher

B) Brain Lateralisation: The brain has two main parts: left hemisphere, and right hemisphere, which have different learning functions. If both hemispheres are activated, learning is more effective.
C) Stress (an affective filter): Stress intervenes between the act of learning and what is to be
learned. The lower the stress is, the greater the learning becomes.

Teachers' Role: Initially the teacher is the director of all student behaviour. In the later stages, the teacher is being directed.
Students' Role: Initially students are the followers of the teacher. Usually after ten to twenty hours, of instruction some students will be ready to speak the language. At this point they start to direct the teacher.
Interactions: T with whole group, T- respond by students non-verbally; Sts - Sts; St - st

Vocabulary Teaching: Vocabulary is introduced through imperatives. Verb is the kernel. Other categories like adjective, adverb, and noun can be introduced around verb. Objects, especially the objects in the immediate environment are introduced.
Grammar Teaching: Imperatives play an important role. Multi-word chunks, single-word chunks are used with imperatives. The teacher uses his/her creativity to introduce various grammatical patterns with the accompaniment of imperatives.
E.g. For the introduction of “If " clause type 1
"Stand up if you are from Ukraine" "Smile if you are wearing a blue T-shirt"

Role of L1: The method is introduced in the students' L1. After the introduction, rarely would the mother tongue be used. Meaning is made through body movements.
Evaluation: Teachers will know immediately whether or not students understand by observing heir students' actions. Formal evaluations can be conducted simply by commanding individual students to perform a series of actions.
Goals and Objectives: To make students enjoy learning the target language and communicate with it. Stress should be reduced.

Student's Feelings: The teacher should not force the students to speak. Silent period must be taken into consideration. When they begin to speak, perfection is not necessary. Stress should be reduced. The teacher should use humorous skits of actions to make classes more enjoyable.

Techniques:
A) Commands: Use of commands is the major technique. Commands are given to students to perform an action; actions make meaning clear.
B) Role reversal: Students command their teacher and classmates to perform actions. Students speak after the silent period. Students should not be forced before they feel ready.
C) Action sequence: The teacher may give three connected commands (e.g. "Point to the door, walk to the door, and touch the door")

Skills: Natural order of skills:
1. Listening (Very important during the silent period)
2. Speaking (teacher should not force sts to produce the language especially during the silent period sts are expected to produce the target language voluntarily)
3. Reading
4. Writing

Communicative language teaching

The first tranche of the communicative 'revolution' was based on the idea of grouping bits of language according to communicative functions (in the USA called ‘speech acts’) like apologising, requesting, and advising
The second tranche of the communicative ‘revolution’ really took off by the early 80s, mostly radiating out from the UK; the key principle was the separation of classroom work into ‘accuracy’ work and ‘fluency’ work;

The basic principle of all communicative activities in the classroom, whether accuracy-based or fluency-based, was the ‘information gap’, which has remained with us ever since;

As an example of the accuracy-oriented information gap, we can have ‘communicative drills’ (e.g. students interview each other about their daily routines to get controlled practice of Present Simple for routines);
As an example of a fluency-oriented information gap, we can have free discussion, where the students discuss a real thing without interruption and the teacher takes notes of the mistakes and feeds these back afterwards.
H. Widdowson

TASK-BASED APPROACHES
It is a methodological idea which attempts to get away from PPP altogether;
students are not taught language points in advance, but rather are given communicative ‘tasks’ to prepare for; these tasks require them to ask the teacher to ‘give’ them whatever language bits they might need in order to fulfil the task;

An example would be ‘have the students in groups plan a recreational weekend in London for a visiting friend coming to London’;
here, the language they need will be: discussion exponents, telephoning language, arrangement language, lexis of sightseeing, etc; each group would be given what language they need by the teacher as they ask for it;

The best General English textbook series using this approach is the 'Cutting Edge Series' by Peter Moor and Sarah Cunningham

Lexical views of language
As early as the 1970s, academic linguists noticed that the language was full of set phrases;
it was shown that these set phrases are actually part of a memorised store of pre-fabricated ‘chunks’ which, once learnt, each native speaker has automatically at their disposal;
when speaking, they said, we appear to use these chunks like single vocabulary units;

Since then, notably through the writings of Michael Lewis in the early 1990s, the Lexical View of Language has become a central plank of both Business and General English teaching; it particularly affects what we teach – lexical chunks rather than single items of vocabulary, (e.g. to make an appointment, to do business with, to penetrate the market, market forces, healthy competition, an absolute disaster, etc

The Modern Integrated Language Teacher
We use translation when it is quick and efficient to get across meaning; we still teach grammar, even though we no longer assume it to be a starting point, but more a reference point;
we use drilling (e.g. listen-repeat) when it is an efficient way for students to get their mouths round the sounds and rhythm of a useful expression;
we use practice exercises (e.g. gap-fills) to raise students’ awareness of common lexical expressions;
we use focus on functional expressions when students listen to a tape model of a telephone call;

we use information gaps almost all the time, in accuracy as well as fluency work;
we use personalisaton all the time, whether the students are practising language, preparing for a role-play, or reading the newspaper;
we use a task-based approach when students are set a discussion role-play and are required to prepare their positions in groups, asking for language help from the teacher as they go along;
we use output-feedback when the teacher uses a conversation activity to produce student ‘output’, and then feeds back on language errors;