The Development of TEFL Methodology

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Chapter 4 The Development of TEFL Methodology

1. The Grammar Translation Methods

The Grammar translation method is also called a classical method. This method came out when the western people world wanted to learn foreign languages such as Latin and Greek. The focus of GTM was on grammatical rules, the memorization of vocabulary and of various declensions and conjugations, translations of texts, and doing written exercises. According to Brown 2001, class which applies the Grammar translation Method would possibly be like this: 1. Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language. 2. Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words. 3. Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given. 4. Grammar provides the rule for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words. 5. Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early. 6. Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis. Objectives: At the end of this chapter you should be able to: 1. Understand various different methods of teaching English by identifying the characteristics of each method 2. Analyze the application of those methods as outlined in the provided analytical questions 27

2. The Direct Method

The basic principle of the Direct Method was that second language learning should be more like first language learning. The method would comprise a great deal of oral interaction, spontaneous use of language, no translation between first and second languages, and little or no analysis of grammar rules. Here are the principles of the direct method based on Brown‘s arguments: 1. Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language. 2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught. 3. Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully traded progression organized around questions-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small intensive classes. 4. Grammar was taught inductively. 5. New teaching points were taught through modeling and practice. 6. Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, pictures; abstract vocabulary was taught through association of ideas. 7. Both speech and listening comprehension were taught. 8. Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.

3. Audio Lingual Methods

The audio-lingual method ALM was widely used in the United States and other countries in the 1950s and 1960s. Some programs still use it nowadays. The structural view of language is the view behind this method. The emphasis was on mastering the building blocks of language and learning the rules for combining them. 28 ALM is greatly influenced by Behaviorism. The basic principles of this are: 1. language learning is habit-formation, 2. mistakes are bad and should be avoided, as they make bad habits. 3. language skills are learned more effectively if they are presented orally first, then in written form 4. analogy is a better foundation for language learning than analysis 5. the meanings of words can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context Accurate pronunciation and grammar, ability to respond quickly and accurately in speech situations, knowledge of sufficient vocabulary to use with grammar patterns are some prominent objectives of ALM. Typically, the procedure in an audio-lingual course would be: a. Students hear a model dialogue b. Students repeat each line of the dialogue c. Certain key words or phrases may be changed in the dialogue d. Key structures from the dialogue serve as the basis for pattern drills of different kinds. e. The students practice substitutions in the pattern drills

4. Communicative Language Teaching

There are many ways to teach language. One is called Communicative Language Teaching CLT. This method is learner-centered and emphasizes communication and real-life situations. Read the following article to get information about CLT. The article was taken from http:www.cal.orgresourcesdigestgallow01.html 29 Online Resources: Digests June 1993 Communicative Language Teaching: An Introduction And Sample Activities Ann Galloway, Center for Applied Linguistics This digest will take a look at the communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages. It is intended as an introduction to the communicative approach for teachers and teachers-in-training who want to provide opportunities in the classroom for their students to engage in real-life communication in the target language. Questions to be dealt with include what the communicative approach is, where it came from, and how teachers and students roles differ from the roles they play in other teaching approaches. Examples of exercises that can be used with a communicative approach are described, and sources of appropriate materials are provided. Where does communicative language teaching come from? Its origins are many, insofar as one teaching methodology tends to influence the next. The communicative approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign language instruction. They felt that students were not learning enough realistic, whole language. They did not know how to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures, or expressions; in brief, they were at a loss to communicate in the culture of the language studied. Interest in and development of communicative-style teaching mushroomed in the 1970s; authentic language use and classroom exchanges where students engaged in real communication with one another became quite popular. In the intervening years, the communicative approach has been adapted to the elementary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary levels, and the underlying philosophy has spawned different teaching methods known under a variety of names, including notional-functional, teaching for proficiency, proficiency-based instruction, and communicative language teaching. What is communicative language teaching? Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audio-lingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics. Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in 30 explaining Firths view that language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use function of language in context, both its linguistic context what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse and its social, or situational, context who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak Berns, 1984, p. 5. What are some examples of communicative exercises? In a communicative classroom for beginners, the teacher might begin by passing out cards, each with a different name printed on it. The teacher then proceeds to model an exchange of introductions in the target language: Guten Tag. Wie heissen Sie? Reply: Ich heisse Wolfie, for example. Using a combination of the target language and gestures, the teacher conveys the task at hand, and gets the students to introduce themselves and ask their classmates for information. They are responding in German to a question in German. They do not know the answers beforehand, as they are each holding cards with their new identities written on them; hence, there is an authentic exchange of information. Later during the class, as a reinforcement listening exercise, the students might hear a recorded exchange between two German freshmen meeting each other for the first time at the Gymnasium doors. Then the teacher might explain, in English, the differences among German greetings in various social situations. Finally, the teacher will explain some of the grammar points and structures used. The following exercise is taken from a 1987 workshop on communicative foreign language teaching, given for Delaware language teachers by Karen Willetts and Lynn Thompson of the Center for Applied Linguistics. The exercise, called Eavesdropping, is aimed at advanced students. Instructions to students: Listen to a conversation somewhere in a public place and be prepared to answer, in the target language, some general questions about what was said. 1. Who was talking? 2. About how old were they? 3. Where were they when you eavesdropped? 4. What were they talking about? 5. What did they say? 6. Did they become aware that you were listening to them? The exercise puts students in a real-world listening situation where they must report information overheard. Most likely they have an opinion of the topic, and a class discussion could follow, in the target language, about their experiences and viewpoints. Communicative exercises such as this motivate the students by treating topics of their 31 choice, at an appropriately challenging level. Another exercise taken from the same source is for beginning students of Spanish. In Listening for the Gist, students are placed in an everyday situation where they must listen to an authentic text. Objective: Students listen to a passage to get general understanding of the topic or message. Directions: Have students listen to the following announcement to decide what the speaker is promoting. Passage: Situacion ideal . . . Servicio de transporte al Aeropuerto Internacional . . . Cuarenta y dos habitaciones de lujo, con aire acondicionado . . . Elegante restaurante . . . de fama internacional. The announcement can be read by the teacher or played on tape. Then ask students to circle the letter of the most appropriate answer on their copy, which consists of the following multiple-choice options: a. a taxi service b. a hotel c. an airport d. a restaurant Source: Adapted from Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool, 1980, Item No. 13019 Gunter Gerngross, an English teacher in Austria, gives an example of how he makes his lessons more communicative. He cites a widely used textbook that shows English children having a pet show. Even when learners act out this scene creatively and enthusiastically, they do not reach the depth of involvement that is almost tangible when they act out a short text that presents a family conflict revolving round the question of whether the children should be allowed to have a pet or not Gerngross Puchta, 1984, p. 92. He continues to say that the communicative approach puts great emphasis on listening, which implies an active will to try to understand others. [This is] one of the hardest tasks to achieve because the children are used to listening to the teacher but not to their peers. There are no quick, set recipes. That the teacher be a patient listener is the basic requirement p.98. The observation by Gerngross on the role of the teacher as one of listener rather than speaker brings up several points to be discussed in the next portion of this digest. How do the roles of the teacher and student change in communicative language teaching? Teachers in communicative classrooms will find themselves talking less and listening moreËbecoming active facilitators of their students learning Larsen-Freeman, 1986. The teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students performance is the goal, the teacher must step back and observe, sometimes acting as referee or monitor. A 32 classroom during a communicative activity is far from quiet, however. The students do most of the speaking, and frequently the scene of a classroom during a communicative exercise is active, with students leaving their seats to complete a task. Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain confidence in using the target language in general. Students are more responsible managers of their own learning Larsen-Freeman, 1986. Where can I learn more about communicative teaching? All of the following documents on communicative language teaching are in the ERIC database. They can be read on microfiche at any library housing an ERIC collection or purchased in microfiche or paper copy from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service EDRS, 7420 Fullerton Road, Suite 110, Springfield, VA 22153-2852 1-800-443-3742. Ben-Barka, A. C. [1982]. In search of a language teaching framework: An adaptation of a communicative approach to functional practice. EDRS No. ED239507, 26 pages Das, B. K. Ed. 1984. Communicative language teaching. Selected papers from the RELC seminar Singapore. Anthology Series 14. EDRS No. ED266661, 234 pages Littlewood, W. T. 1983. Communicative approach to language teaching methodology CLCS Occasional Paper No. 7. Dublin: Dublin University Trinity College, Centre for Language and Communication Studies. EDRS No. ED235690, 23 pages Pattison, P. 1987. The communicative approach and classroom realities. EDRS No. ED288407, 17 pages Riley, P. 1982. Topics in communicative methodology: Including a preliminary and selective bibliography on the communicative approach. EDRS No. ED231213, 31 pages Savignon, S. J., Berns, M. S. Eds.. 1983. Communicative language teaching: Where are we going? Studies in Language Learning, 42. EDRS No. ED278226, 210 pages Sheils, J. 1986. Implications of the communicative approach for the role of the teacher. EDRS No. ED268831, 7 pages Swain, M., Canale, M. 1982. The role of grammar in a communicative approach to second language teaching and testing. EDRS No. ED221026, 8 pages not available separately; available from EDRS as part of ED221023, 138 pages Willems, G., Riley, P. Eds.. 1984. Communicative foreign language teaching and the training of foreign language teachers. EDRS No. ED273102, 219 pages 33 Readers may also wish to consult the following journal articles for additional information on communicative language teaching. Clark, J. L. 1987. Classroom assessment in a communicative approach. British Journal of Language Teaching, 251, 9-19. Dolle, D., Willems, G. M. 1984. The communicative approach to foreign language teaching: The teachers case. European Journal of Teacher Education, 72, 145-54. Morrow, K., Schocker, M. 1987. Using texts in a communicative approach. ELT Journal, 414, 248-56. Oxford, R. L., et al. 1989. Language learning strategies, the communicative approach, and their classroom implications. Foreign Language Annals, 221, 29-39. Pica, T. P. 1988. Communicative language teaching: An aid to second language acquisition? Some insights from classroom research. English Quarterly, 212, 70-80. Rosenthal, A. S., Sloane, R. A. 1987. A communicative approach to foreign language instruction: The UMBC project. Foreign Language Annals, 203, 245-53. Swan, M. 1985. A critical look at the communicative approach 1. ELT Journal, 391, 2-12. Swan, M. 1985. A critical look at the communicative approach 2. ELT Journal, 392, 76-87. Terrell, T. D. 1991. The role of grammar instruction in a communicative approach. Modern Language Journal, 751, 52-63. References And Resources Berns, M. S. 1984. Functional approaches to language and language teaching: Another look. In S. Savignon M. S. Berns Eds., Initiatives in communicative language teaching. A book of readings pp. 3-21. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. Gerngross, G., Puchta, H. 1984. Beyond notions and functions: Language teaching or the art of letting go. In S. Savignon M. S. Berns Eds., Initiatives in communicative language teaching. A book of readings pp. 89-107. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. Larsen-Freeman, D. 1986. Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Littlewood, W. 1981. Language teaching. An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 34 Savignon, S., Berns, M. S. Eds.. 1984. Initiatives in communicative language teaching. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley. Reflection Task: 1. It has been said that the Grammar-Translation Method teaches students about the target language, but not how to use it. Explain the difference in your own words. 2. In the Grammar-Translation Method, grammar is treated deductively, while in the Direct Method it is taught inductively. Can you explain the difference between deductive and inductive treatments of grammar? 3. Some people believe that knowledge of a first and second language can be helpful to learners who are trying to learn a third language. What would an Audio-Lingual teacher say about this? Why? 4. Why do we say that communication is a process? What does it mean to negotiate meaning? Apply what you have understood about the teaching methods explained above. 1. Pick a grammatical point or two contained in the same passage. Provide the explicit grammar rule that relates to each one and give some examples. Design exercises that require your students to apply the rule to some different examples. 2. Choose a particular situation such as at the bank, at the railroad station, or at the doctor‘s office or a particular topic such as articles of clothing, holidays, or the weather and write a short passage or a dialog on the theme you have chosen. Now think 35 about how you will convey its meaning to students using their native language. 3. Prepare your own dialog to introduce your students to a sentence or sub-sentence pattern in the target language you teach. 4. Imagine that you are working with your students on the function of requesting information. The authentic material you have selected is a railroad timetable. Design a communicative game or problem- solving task in which the timetable is used to give your students practice in requesting information. 36

Chapter 5 Communicative Language Ability