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TEACHI NG METHODS
ANDI DEAS
I n this chaptei we explote some of the mai n teaching methods
and ideas that have influenced the way we ceach English. T hese
tnclude;
- the Gianimar-Tianslation Method
- the Direct Method
- Audloli nguali sni i .
- Coramunicativc Language Teaching ..!
- Task-Based Learning.
ACTIVITY1
Was thew a y you learnt English or another language influenced by a particular
method? As a teacher do you use a particular method.'
"We ate now going to l ook at the details of the methods i n terms of their
histoty, their mai n featuies, and the curient influence they have on teaching
and leatning..
The Grammar-TranslationMethod
Background
The Grammar-Tianslarion Method was deveioped i n the i 8th century and
was introduced as a way of teaching modern languages to school cl i i l di en
The method itseif carne from the way i ndi vi dual learners studied classical
languages such as Greek and Lan. Tliis was done mai nl y by studying the
grammar i n detall and translating texts frorn the original iirto the leatnei's
language.
Featuies
Sentences and ionget texts are cianslated boch to and fioin che I carnet's first
language.. Li ttl e or no attention is paid to the ability to speak or com-
municate Long lists of woids ate commonl y memorized wi tl i out being used
i n a sentence Grammar rules are given a l ot of attention, especially woi d
endings and sentence formation.. The teachet does not have to be able to
speak the target language i n oider to teach.
Curtent status
Giammai-rtanslation is stili used to some extent i n more ti adi ti onal schools
Hete ate some pioblems thar can occui:
- Leaineis learn about the language, lather than how to use the language.
- Leamcrs do not gec much, i f any, oppoi tuni ty to develop listening and
spealdng skills.
- Vocabulaiy is made more difScuI t to use because i t is usually taughr in
isolated lists
- Usi ng coirect grammar is given more eraphasis than being able lo
communicatewi th someone..
- T he attention given to grammatical accuracy and tianslation may be
demotivating foi' some learners.
One advantage the method does have is that teachers develop an awareness
of giammar rules, whi ch is not necessarily the casewi th Communicativc
Language Teaching (CLT). One featuie of the Grammar-Translation
Method whi ch is sti li i n general use is the tianslation of words and phrascs
fi om the target language i nto the learners' fiist language This can be an
efficient way of learning some types of vocabulary and a hclp i n learning
some grammatical stiuctutes. On the other hand, i t is not always possible to
transate a word o structure accmately and the act of translaring l i mi ts the
extent to whi ch leatneis thi nk i n English.
PORTFOLIOWORK
Select a grammatical structure which your learners need and choose five
sentences in English which show this structure Ask your learners to transate
them into their first language (Li) Compare the pattern in the two languages
To what extent does this type of activity lead to lear ning? How does it compare
with more conteinporary methods of teaching?
The Direct Method
Baclcgiomid
The Direct Method was deveioped i n the early 20th century i n order to
overeme the pioblems connected wi th grammar-ttanslation..
Features
The Di rect Method moved away from ttanslation and introduced the idea of
lessons being conducted oni y i n the target language The meaning of woids
and sctuctutes was communicated 'directy' thtough mi me and gestutes, and
practised i n question-and-answei exchanges between the teacher and
learners. Learners were not taught grammar rules but worked rhem out fot
themselves.
Cuirent status
The Di rect Method was an i mportant step forwaid ~ the use of the taiget
language as the language of i nsttucti on underpins a l ot of teaching today I t
was deveioped from the 192.OSonwatds i nto a more sophiscated method
called Situational Language Teaching This centred on the oral practice of
carefuUy giaded stiuctures. One key featute was that the language was
explained using a situadon. (See Figure 2. i foi an example) The language
was practised using guided l epeti ti on, di ctati on, dri l l s, and oral-based
leading and wri ti ng tasks.
READI NG- T EXI THI RTEEN
Tl i e time is half past two. Mrs
West is i n
licr aproii on.
There is a gas-cooker i n the
kitclicn. Mrs West is staadng near it
Slie is going to turn tire gas oii i i i Llic
oven and light tlic gas. Tl i cn sllc ia
going to malte a calic
2 30 p m
Wl i at has Mrs West done? Shc lias
put her apron on She is weari ng the
apron now, over her dress.. Site lias
l i t the gas i u the oven. SIic has put a
lot of tliings on the table: a jng of
mi l k, some buttcr, some eggs, a b.-ig
ofHout, a bag ofsugat, some raisins
and some currants
She is going to mi x al l thesc things
togethcr in a bowl. Then site is going
to put tlic nxture into a baking-tin.
2.35 p-m-
I l i e time is nowa quavtcr to thrce.
What has Mrs West just done? S!K
has mi xed al l the tliings togcther now
She has put tlie mi xture into the
baking-tin. Shc is not standi ng iiear
the ubl e now. Shehasjustopencdthe
oven door She is going to put the till
into tlie oven and cise the oven door
s 45 p m.
I
^!
Figure 2.1 A page from an English counebook publuhed in 194 ("Oxford
Progressive English^
Audiolingualism
Backgromid
Audi ol i ngual i sm was deveioped i n rhe 195OSand 1960Swhen i t was bclievul
that learning a language was similar to learning new habits. Language wu
described i n terms of the wayi t was sttuctured - i ndi vi dual sounds and
lettcrs, words, sttuctures, aird sentence types. Learners were expcctcd ici
leaxn the grammar of the newlanguage not bylearni ng rules but byproduc-
i ng the language accurately byresponding to smul i These sti mul i wpre
prompts whi ch woul d lead the learner to produce particular sentcnc:es,
Speaking and listening were seen as the basis of language learning wi l h
reading and wri ti ng comi ng later.
Features
A common feature of the audiolingual classroom was the dri l l A dri l l was an
activitywhcie the teacher pi ovi ded prompts and the leaineis woul d piodtice
a sentence using the appropriate grammatical structure, for example:
lEACHER [hol di ng up a pi ctui e of a pose office] Wlieie's Mai ygoing?
LEARNER She's goi ng to the post office.
Here are some features of a typical lesson:
- Lessons often began wi di dialogues
- The emphasis was on the foim (or structure) of language rather than 011
;:; content and meaning,
-Grammati cal sttuctures were taught i n a particular order - sttuctuu's
; \h were thought to be simpler were i ntroduced before more compl i
catedones..
- Correct pi onunci adon was stronglyencouraged from the beginning..
- Vocabularywas severelyl i mi ted i n the earlystages..
- The teacher made a great efFort to pievent errois.
- Dri l l s were the mai n waynew language was practised (see Figure 2,2),
Current status
Some language teachers find drills useful for practising sentence patterns..
They can be especially valuable i n getti ng elementarylearners to bui l d their
confidence i n speaking.. Howevei , nowadays the usefulncss of dti lls is
legaided as l i mi ted i n that theydo not give the leatneis an oppoi tuni ty to
inteiact naturallywi th other speakers.
ACTIVITY2
Have you ever learnt or taught English using the audiolingual method? Was it
effective? What, if any, problems did you have?
4 D r i l l :
T: Il S H i y have walcr with ny meis
T: sometimes
T; I sometimes have water with my meis.
T: wine
1:1 sometimes hiive winetoii my mcals
T: Ittsually have water with my mcals
Repeati
C:l usually have water with my meis
Continu:
sometimes
wine
He
uiwniis
Jtiefl
beer
She
iiever
5 Drill:
T: He usually lias water . tonightkhampagne
T: He usually has water, bul lonighl he's having champagne
Continu:
He usually has xrnter loniglitlwine
He usually has eggs-. tonighilsteiik
He usually has beer, . . . loinghtiwhisly
He usually smokes cigaretles. . tonighticigars
He usually eats at home. toniglhestaurant
6 D r i l l :
T: Pleasedont cali me MrIMrsIMiss (Smith). My friciils always cali,
me (JolmlMart/).
Get the students to do the same usingtheir own ames.
Prompt by addressingstudents by their title and surname
T: Now,. Mr Sdtmidt .
S: Picase don't cali me Mr Schmiii My frieiids always cali me
Franz.
7 D r i l l :
T: Sheoesttlikerestaurants
T: They
T: They den tlike restaurants
T; Do they . . ?
T: Do he\i lile restauranis?
T.She doesn't Ul:e restaurants
Repeat!
O.ShedoesntUlcerestaumnts
Continu:
They
Do they
he
you
pubs
Why . ?
he
they ;
Figure2.2 A pagefiom an English counebookpubluhedini^yS fStreamlinc
Depaitures^.
PORTFOLIOWORK
Choose a structure to practise with your class using a drill - there are more details
about using drills in chapter 5on p 61. Decide on the type of drill to use and tryi t
out with your class.
Make notes on how effective the drill was, whether there were anylimitations to
using the drill, and how it affected the learners' motivation Would you use drills in
thefuture? , .; ,
Conmiunicative Language Teaching
Backgrotuid
Communicative Language Teaching ( CI T) started i n the late 1960Sand
contines to evolve. I t is not actually a method but an appioach to teachiii|;,
bascd on the view that ieaining a language means learning how to
communicate effectively i n die woi l d outside the classroom. I t deveioped
mai nl y as a reaction to the mitatons of previous methods whi ch put l i ttk ;,
i f any, emphasis on the abi l i ty to communicate or interact I t was also
influenced by developments i n the way the language was described - taking
i nto account the comrnimicative unction of language, i.e. thar we use
language to do things iike suggest, i nvi te, agiee, lequest, ctitcize, predicr,
and so on.,
Features
Here are some of the mai n featrues of CLT;
The goal is to leafn to communicate i n the tatget language..
There is an emphasis orr meaning and Mtngxhe language rather than on
the structure and form of the language,
Oral and wri tten activities may be used from the stait, for example, i ni c
plays, dialogues, games, and problem-solving..
One role for the teacher is that of a 'facilitator' who helps learners to
communicate i n English and motivares them to work wi rh the language
Learners often interact wi th each other through pair or group work..
The four skills are deveioped simultaneously.
Many CLT classtooms use a PresentationPracticePtoduction or PPl '
model of teaching. The teachei first 'presents' the rrew language, possibly by
playing a recorded dialogue ot getting the learners to tead a wri tten text.
Then the learners practise' the new language i n a controUed way, possibly by
cornplcting wri tten exercises using the new language or iir controlled pai/
work practising similar dialogues.. Finally, the learners 'produce' the language
i n a fteei activity that ailows them to communicate, hopefuUy using tire
language they have just studied-.
A n example of a PPP lesson at an elementary level woul d be i ntroduci ng the
language of giving ditections fi rst, the teaclier mi ght present the target
language by asking the learners to listen to a recording of someone asking for
ditectioirs and to complete some sentences on a worksheet The sentences
woul d include the language of ditections The learners then practise this
language using simple maps provided by the teachei (see Figure 2 3),
EVERYDAY ENGLISH
Directioos 1
1 Look ai t i l e Street inap. \V]iert; can you buy thesc thmgs
otni; apifift a CD a plane ticket a ncwspaper a book so
2 Li si e n t o t he com-cr sal ioiu and compl e t e t hcj n
i A Kxcusc nt c! Is a c h e m i s t h e i c f
B Yes ] t *sove r
A r han ks.
2 A . _ me ! I s t l i c r e a ^ near hore
Chur ch 51rect Take t he first
_ rghl ! t s the mosic shop.
A Oh yes. Thanks
) A Ecuse ipe ! Is t he re a _ l ie ar here?
B Thcr c's a Chne se One i n Par k Lae 1
tUere's an It aHau oue i n Chot c h Sl r ce l ne j t t t o t he
A I s t hat o i i c !
B l -Ja JuBl l wo minuleS; hat s al l
4 A Is t he r e a post office ncar here?
B Go sr r aight ahead. and i t s
A Thanks a l ot
Pract ise i he conve r sat ions wi t h a par t ne r .
_ t h e p u h
3 Make mor e comr . sauons wi l b vour
p ar t ne r Ask and answe r abou these
pl ace s:
abool chop
1. acnenia
.. ibiil :
,. a phone boz
', apubl ict oil e t
.. amj sicsiiop
a supeidiaiket
a bu, stop
1park
<. as'^ilimingpool
apest bx
apub
4 l ai k about whe r e yoj r are Is t he r e
3 che mist ne ar hete? Is i t far?
What about a bank/ a post office /
a st ipe r it iar ke t ?
Figure 2 j A page fiom an Englkb counebook publuhed in 2000 ('tieadway
Eleraentaiyyl
Finally, they can produce dre language more fteely by giving directons to
places they actually know, possibly using real maps bioughc i nto the
classroom for this ptpose by the teacher or di awn by the learners
themselves
Role playing is a common featute of the CLT classroom and involvcs the
learners acting as someone else, for example, a customer, a ticket sales
person, etc. i n a situation whcre they need to use English, for example, to
order a rneal or buy tickets ata railway station. I n this case, one learner woul d
be the customer asking questions about the ttai n times and ticket prices, etc,
whi i e another woul d be the ticket seller giving rhe I nformation..
ACTIVITY3
Imagine you are preparing your learners for the following role plays. Note down
for' each of the situations below some of the language you would teach before the
role play Take into account the learners'age and level
1 MeeiJng someone for the first time Young beginners
2 Planninganightoutwlthfriends Teenage intermedate learners
The original PPP model has been deveioped and modified since i t was firsi
introduced and no longer lepiesents CLT as the onl y teaching modcT
Language can be introduced and practised i n a vatiety of ways. Learners can
be encotnaged to discovr the patterns of the language foi themselves
through reading ot listening l o texts and answeiing questions about the:
patterns of the language contairred i n the texts.. For example:
Who's going to the cinema? Weare.
Wl i o'l l go to the cinema? We wi l l
Wlro's been to the cinema? We have..
Who goes to the cinema? We do.
Who went to the cinema? We di d.
How do we give a short response to a 'wh' question? (use tire ful l form of t h e
original auxiliaty or 'do' i f diere is no auxiliary; the mai n verb and indircct
object are omi tted)
A n altetnative to this woul d be to give che learners a rule and then give them
an exercise to practise che applicatioii of the rule. For example:
To make a compaiison we add '-er' to words of one syllable, foi example,
' t ai r >'taller', and 'more' before words of three syllables, fot example,
'beautifuF >'more beautiful'.. Fot words of one syllable ending i n 'y' we
change the 'yto ' i ' and add '-ei ', fbi example, 'happy 'happi et'
1 John is (short) than Paul.
2 Your boots are (di rty) than mi ne.
3 This garden is (attiactive) than the other one.
The Test-Teach-Test ( I I T ) appioach is usefirl when rhe teacher is not surc
whethei the learners are familiar wi th a partcula! tem of language.. For
example, the class are asked to work i n pairs and airange a time to meet using
a pie-preparcd schedule The learners do the activity and the teacher
monitors and notes down the use of tenses referring to the futute, for
example, ' I wi l l meet John tomorrow', '1 wi l l go shopping on Saturday', etc..
Bascd on diese results the teacher decides whi ch reas tire learners need to do
more work on and devises an activity that introduces the present conrinuous
to talk about arrangemen si Tm meeting John tomorrow') and 'going to' to
talk about intentions (Tm gong to go shopping on Saturday), The learners
then do a practice activity similar to the original one.
Cuirent status
CLT is veiy widely used i n language teaching all over theworid.. I t has shifted
the focus i n language teaching from learning about the language to learning
to communicate 7i the language. Howevei, there are pioblems associated
wi th CLT:
The emphasis on pair and group work can crate problems i n some classes.
Some learners, particulatly adults, thi nk i t is a waste of time calking to
other Lz speakers rathei than a native-speaker teacher.
Native-speaker teachers do not need to know much about die language i n
order to become teachers
The approach can lead to too much emphasis on spealdng and listening.'
Di vi di ng the language up i nto disctete units under the headings of
'vocabulary', 'grammar', and 'funcrions' and the foi n skills is misleading.
Communi cati on involves usmg all these elements simultaneously.
Learners do not necessarily leain what they are taught, i.e. the disciete
language items, i n the order that they are taught..
The most serious criticism of CLT is that i t is not as effective as i t claims to
be A l ot of learners complete their studies but are stili unable to communi -
cate i n English. One reaction to this has been to cliange the leatning focus
from the content, i,.e the structures, functons, and vocabulaiy, to the
ptocess, chat is 'to use English to learn i t' rather than 'to learn to use English'
This brings us to the next model of learning, Task-Based Learning.
ACTIVITY4
Look at these typical CLT-related problems and think of possible solutions that
you could use with your learners
1 Learnersareshy about workingin pairs orgroups.
2 The class is very large and the seats and desks cannot be moved.
3 The class has to prepare for written. notspoken, exams.
4 Learners often askfor new vocabulary in English which you are unprepared for
Task-Based Learning
Task-Based Learning (TBL) focases on the 'ptocess' of communicating by
setting leainets tasks to complete using the target language. Dui i ng this
piocess, i t is claimed, tlie leainets acquire language asi ey ti y to cxpicss
themselves and undeistand others,. The tasks can lange f i om informaiioii
gap to pioblem-solving tasks One advantage of TBL is that leaiiieis ,nc
given die oppoi tunity to use the ful l tange of skills and language they ha v<; : i i
die same time, l athei than i n discicte units, as they soiiictrnes do wi th dic
CLT model..
A typical task sequence may include:
- pte-tasks: these are activides which piepare learners to complete a task, foi
example, by guiding lear neis thi ough an example ofthe task they wi l l h.i vi -
to do. There can be a numbei of pie-tasks i n one lesson.
- tasks: these f oi m the main body of the lesson and can involve a numbci ( i (
steps.. Fot example, learners working i n pairs or gioups may first complcie
the task, then piepaie a leport on the task, and finally present the repoi no
the class
- post-tasks: these move away from activities designed to promote fiuency lo
those designed to piomote accuracy
A n example of a task might be to plan a journey by train.. The class is divided
into groups of five Each learner i n the group has I nformation which thei est
of the learners need, for example, ti ai i i times, the l oute, the piice of uckcis,
etc By shaiing this infoimarin the group can successfullyplan die ti i p ;iiul
i n doing so consolidare and extend their language abil ity
There are sevetal uncertainties regarding TEL.. What language the learners
acquire depends on how the task is performed, so i t is difficult to state what
language wi l l be leaint, i f any - the leaineis may avoid leatning or using new
language and make do wi th the language they have.. Leaineis may also fecl
that they are not Teaming' or 'being taught' as diete is no fbtrhal iiijput W
practice stage. As wi th CLT, some leaineis feel that interacting wi th Lx
speakers tather than the teacher is a waste of time.
PORTFOLIOACTIVITY
Plan a task you could use with your learners What language do you think they will
need to complete the task? Ti-y out the activity with your class. Make a note of tlie
language they use and any language that they acquire
What was the outcome ofthe lesson? Did your learners learn anythingor develop
any of their language skills? If so, what? Will you use tasks in tlie future?
Summary
Teaching has been influenced by a wide yzncty of methods and tiends. New
methods have been introduced as pan of the ongoing seaich foi the 'bcst'
way to teach.. I n some ways this has been beneficial - we now know a lot
mote about teaching and learning than we di d 50 years ago, and the leainer's
role has been integtated into the learning and teaching piocess However,
some ways of teaching that mi ght stili be uscful - tianslation, using a situa-
ti on to demnstrate meaning, and drilUng, to take thiee examples - have
been sidelined. At the same time, teacheis have constandy had to keep up
wi th the latest tiends which may 01may not be appiopriate foi them 01their
leaineis.
We ate rrow at the poiirt where diere is more emphasis on teacheis and
learners niaking theii own cholees about how to teach and leain Teacheis
can use the back-catalogue of methods as a starting poinc to make decisions
about this process
Case study
Go to the 'Case study secton at the back of the book and listen to a teacher
talk about their experiences of teaching methods..
Mdulo 8: Evaluacin, adaptacin y diseo de material didctico
Descriptor
Este curso es de naturaleza terico-prctica donde se fundirn los principios
de enseanza y aprendizaje del ingls como lengua extranjera en nios con
la evaluacin, adaptacin y diseo de material didctico. Un componente
importante del curso sern los textos escolares entregados por el MINEDUC
para su anlisis y uso eficiente en la sala de clases. Debido al objetivo del
curso, su metodologa ser principalmente de taller, el cual incluir
actividades prcticas, presentaciones y trabajos grupales.
Objetivo General
Al final de este mdulo el participante aplicar los principios que
fundamentan el aprendizaje del ingls como lengua extranjera en nios para
evaluar, adaptar y disear material didctico que asista en forma efectiva tal
aprendizaje.
Objetivos Especficos
-Adaptar y evaluar material de enseanza basado en fundamentos terico-
prcticos enfocados a la realidad educacional chilena.
-Aplicar los principios que fundamentan el aprendizaje del ingls como
lengua extranjera.
-Disear material didctico que asista en forma efectiva al aprendizaje de los
alumnos en la sala de clases.
-Reflexionar en base al material adaptado y/o diseado, entregar sugerencias
para el mejoramiento de los mismos.
Contenidos
-Reflexin sobre creencias y puntos de vista que los profesores tienen sobre
la creacin de sus propios materiales y sobre la utilizacin del material
otorgado por el Mineduc (cotvrse boo/fs)
-Elementos y mbitos a analizar para evaluar actividades a partir del
concepto de task o language-learning activity
-Presentacin, explotacin y reciclaje de elementos lxicos {family words,
lexical chunks, collocations)

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