Approaches to

language teaching
(Present-day teaching methods)
By :
Nida Milatu Hayati
Elis Prehatini
Rendyza Nancy Indriazwari
 Grammar Translation
 What is focus?  What do students learn?
 Grammar rule explanation with
example sentence. Rules of grammar and their
 Vocabulary-bilingual list. application in translation passages
from on a language in to other
 Reading section with emphasis on
grammar rules. To emphasis on language structure
 Exercises for reinforcement to practice in gramatical rules.
the grammar and vocabulary lesson,
from L2 to L1 or vice versa.
a. REQUIREMENTS FOR OPTIMAL
INPUT
• Comprehensible : It provides the form but not the meaning.
• Interesting/Relevant : It provide topics of interest in the reading but it do not seize the
students’ attention to such an extent that they forget that it is
written in another language.
• Not grammatically : It is focused in complex grammar rules for dominate the lesson.
• Quantity : All the classes are translated and the students not interact with the
new language.
• Affective: Filter level : If not exist the sufficient input. Grammar-translation makes no
attempt, explicitly or implicitly, to help students manage
conversations with native speakers.
 b. learning
Grmmar-translation implicity assumes that conscious control of grammar is
necessary for mastery. In order words, learning needs to precede acquisition.
This assumption necesstates that all target structures be introduced and
explained. There is, therefore, no limitation of the set of rules to be learned
to those that are learnable, portable, and not yet acquired. There is no
attempt to account for individual variation in Monitor use, nor is there any
attempt to specify when rules are to be used, the implicit assumption being
that all students will be able to use all the rules all the time.
 c. summary
Grammar-translation, if the above analysis is correct, should result in very
low amounts of acquired competence; what comprehensible input is
available faces aa high affective filter, and learning is vastly overemphasized.
 Audio-lingualism
 What is focus?  What do students learn?
 The student is expected to mimic the Control of the skills of sound, form
dialogue eventually memorize it (termed
“mim-mem”). and order of the new language.
 The dialogue is followed by pattern drill Familiarity with vocabulary elements
on the structures introduced in the to content to the structures.
dialogue. The aim of the drill is to
“strengthen habits”, to make the pattern The symbols have meaning for the
“automatic”. natives of the Tongue.
 a. Requirements for optimal
input
• Comprehensible : audio-lingual methodology does provide comprehensible input. The dialogues and pattern
practice are certaainly understandable, comprehension is not necessary, that purely mechanical drill is useful.
• Interesting/Relevant: “useful” language, that it be age-appropriate and natural. Most pattern practice, of course,
makes no attempt to meet this requirement.
• Not grammatically sequenced: There is a clear sequence in audio-lingual teaching, based usually on linguistic
simplicity, but also influenced by frequency and predictions of difficulty by contrastive analysis.
• Quantity: The students spend more time in learn dialogues and in their memorization that understand the message.
• Tools for conversational management: Audio-lingualism does a slightly better job in this category that does
grammar-translation, as the dialogues do contain material that can be used to invite input and to control its quality.
 b. learning
Theoretically, conscious learning is not an explicit goal of audio-lingualism. The
goal, rather is to have the students over-learn a variety of patterns to be used
directly in performance. In practice, however, audio-lingualism teaching often result
in inductive learning, the student attempting to work out a concious rule on the
basis of the dialogue and pattern practice, with the explanation section serving to
confirm or disconfirm his guess. There is thus no explicit attempt to restrict
learning to rules that are learnable, portable and not yet acquired, nor is there aany
attempt to encourage rule use only in certain situations. Despite the fact that pattern
practice attempt to focus students off rules, the requirement of complete
correctness probably encourages Monitor use at all times.
 c. summary
Some acquisition should result from the use of the audio-lingual method, but
nowhere near what is obtainable with other methods that provide a larger amount
of comprehensible and interesting/relevant input with a low filter. The diet of
dialoges and pattern will occasionallybe understood and be at i +1, and may thus
cause some acquisition. If learned according to plan, students will end up with a
stock of sentences and patterns that will be of occasional use in conversaation, and
also serve the conversational management goal, to some extent. Inductive learning
is implicitly encouraged (which may raise the filter for some deductive learners), but
no attempt is made to limit which rules are to be learned or when they are to be
applied.
 Cognitive code
 What is focus?  What do students learn?
It is focused in learning grammatical  Greater quantities of comprehensible
iput than grammar-translation does, and
structures, helping the students the hence more acquisition, but does not
importance of practice in their four come near to fulfilling the potential of
skills as: reading, listening, speaking the classroom.
and writing.  Encouragesover-use of the Monitor,
unless all rules “fade away” as soon as
the structures become automatic.
 a. Requirements for optimal
input
• Comprehensible : provide very little comprehensible input, as the focus, at all times, is on form not
meaning. The “Comunicative competence” section of cognitive-code promises to provide greater amounts
of comprehensible input.
• Interesting/relevant: This depends on the activities chosen for the communicative competence section.
• Not grammatically sequenced: Cognitive-code, like grammar-translation, is sequenced, and the structure
of the day dominates all parts of the lesson.
• Quantity: there is greater quantity for comprehensible input in cognitive-code, as compared to grammar-
translation. It does not, however, live up to the ideal of a class full of comprehensible input with total focus
on the message.
• Affective filter level: The correction of error is part the method and is a factor negative to that the students
have the sufficient confidence to speech.
• Tools for conversational management: there is no announced attempt to provide this, but it is quite
possible that some activities in the communicative competence section will provide some of these tools.
 b. learning
As is the case with grammar-translation, the assumption of cognitive-code is
that concious learning can be accomplished by everyone, that all rules are
learnable, and that concious knowledge should be available at all times. We
can only conclude that cognitive-code encourages over-use of the Monitor,
unless all rules “fade away” as soon as the structures become automatic.
 c. summary
Cognitive-code should provide greater quantities of comprehensible input
than grmmar-translation oes, and hencee more acquisition, but does not
come near to fulfilling the potential of the classroom. As in grammar-
translation, learning is overemphasized.
 The direct method
 What is focus?  What do students learn?
 The method focusses on inductive teaching  Conscious control for acquisition,
of grammar. The goal of the instruction is
for the students to guess, or work out, the
consious knowledge of grammar at all
rules of the language. times, and by all students.
 To aid in induction, the teacher asks  It demands full control of late-acquired
qquesstions that are hopefully interesting structures in oral production from the
and meaningful, and the students’ response very beginning (e,g. Gerder), and may
is then used to provide an example of the thus encourage over-use of the
target structure. grammar.
 a. Requirements for optimal
input
• Comprehensible : use of target language at all times, provides a great deal of comprehensible
input.
• Interesting/relevant: an attempt to make the language use in the classroom of some interest to
the students. Discussion is always meaningful.
• Not grammatically sequenced: The direct method is strictly sequenced, which distorts efforts
at real communication.
• Quantity: Meets this requirement as well as any classroom method can, filling the entire hour
with comprehensible input.
• Affective filter level: Is focused in the teaching of grammar in way sequenced and on correction
of error is very likely that it cause the students anxiety.
• Tools for conversational management: Students are given the tools for interaction in the
classroom in the target language – they are soon able to initiate discussion with the teacher and
ask questions about grammar.
 b. learning
The direct method presumes that concious control is necessary for
acquisition, that conscious knowledge of grammar can be accessed at all
times, and by all students. It demands full ccontrol of late-acquired structures
in oral production from the very beginning (e.g gender), and maay thus
encourage over-use of the grammar.
 c. summary
The direct method provides greater amounts of comprehensible input than
many of its competitors. It remains, however, grammar-based, and this
constrains its ability to provide truly interesting messages, and leads to over-
use of the Monitor.
 The natural approach
 What is focus?  What is focus?
 Class time is devoted primarily to  Students effort to fit it all requirements
providing input for acquisition.
for both Learning adn Acquisition.
 The teacher speaks only the target
language in the classroom. Students  The goals of the course are “semntic”;
maay use either the first or second activities may involve the use of a
language. certain structure, but the goals are to
 Homeworkmay include formal enable students to talk about ideas,
grammar work. Error correction is perform tasks, and solve problems.
employed in correcting homework.
 a. Requirements for optimal
input
• Comprehensible : Teacher utilize realia, pictures, and students’ previous knowledge to make their speech
comprehensible from the first day.
• Interesting/relevant: Attempts to capture students’ interest by using “Affective Acquisition Activities”, that
encourage discussion of topics of personal interest to the students..
• Not grammatically : The focus of the class is not on the presentation of grammar. There is a tendency for
certain structures to be used more often in certain stages, but there is no deliberate sequencing.
• Quantity : By using the comprehensible input, meets this requirement as well as any foreign language
teaching method can.
• Affective filter level: Input Hypothesis, many sources of anxiety are reduced or eliminated. Students do not
have to produce in the second language until they feel they are ready. Error correction for form is not done
in the classroom.
• Tools for conversational management: are provided in the form of very short dialogues, designed to help
students converse with native speakers on predictable and frequent topics.
 b. learning
The Natural Approach is designed to be consistent with what is known of
Monitor functioning. The absence of error correction in the classroom is a
recognition that there are constraints on when the concious grammar is used:
students are expected to utilize the Monitor only at home, when they have
time, when they are focussed on form, and when they know, or are learning,
a rule.
 c. summary
The natural approach makes a deliberate effort to fit all requirements for
both Learning and Acquisition. Its only weakness, according to SLA theory,
is that it remains a classroom method, and for some students this prohibits
the communication of interesting aand relevant topics.
 Total physical response
 What is focus?  What do students learn?
 Teach in a very creative and The use of TPR insures the active
interesting way; the teacher gives participation f sstudents, helps the
orders and the students obeying an teacher know when utterances are
overt physical, it allows internalize understood, and also provides
the language, put less emphasis on contexts to help students understand
grammar the language they hear.
 a. Requirements for optimal
input
• Comprehensible : The total physical response required of the student is, in effect, a
manifestation of his comprehension of the teacher’s utterance. TPR is not necessary for
comprehension or for progress in second language acquisition, but merely shows that the input
has been understood.
• Interesting/relevant : The novelty and freshness of the TPR technique probably does a great
deal to make the class experience interesting. It may be difficult to remain interesting if one holds
to the requirement of producing imperatives 100% of the time.
• Not grammatically sequenced: each lesson does have a grammatical focus in TPR. In order
words, commands contextualize various points of grammar.
• Quantity : TPR can fill an entire class period with comprehensible input in the form of
commands. It thus has the potential of meeting this requirement fully.
• Affecting filter level: TPR makesone very important contribution to lowering student anxiety.
They are allowed a silent period to control the anxiety of physical responses.
 b. learning
In the classroom the teacher plays the role of parent. She starts by saying a
word and demonstrating the action. The teacher then says the command and
the students all do the action. After repeating a few times it is possible to
extend this by asking the students to repeat the word as they do the action.
When they feel confident with the word or phrase you can then ask the
students to direct each other or the whole class.
 c. summary
SLA theory predict that TPR should result in substantial language
acquisition, and should not encourage overuse of the concious Monitor. The
use of TPR insures the active participation of students, helps the teacher
know when utterances are understood, and also provides contexts to help
students understand the language they hear. It may fail to completely satisfy
the interesting/relevant requirement, first, since it s a imperatives and the
grammatical focus of lessons. It should, however, do far better than methods
such as audio-lingual and grammar-translation.
 Suggestopedia method
 What is focus?
 focus on the idea how the human
brain works and how we learn most
effectively. It includes a rich sensory
learning, a positive expectation of
success and the use of varied range
of methods like dramatized texts,
music, active participation in songs
and games, etc.
 What do student learn?
 Concentration is greatly promoted.
Learning Goals Teachers hope to
overcome learning barriers and
facilitate communication.
 Provided by successful
communication, not on specific and
necessarily sequential points.
 a. Requirements for optimal
input
• Comprehensible : procedures that use it method help the students to obtain a comprehensible. Initial
dialogues are based on situations familiar to the student, and the use of the students’.
• Interesting/relevant : The topics of the dialogues are designed not only to be of inherent interest, but also
to be of some practical value and relevant to students’ needs.
• Filter level : While Suggestopedia attempts to meet the other goals discussed both above and below, its
primary focus and greatest apparent success is here. Pratically every feature of Suggestopedia is aimed at
relaxing the student, reducing anxieties, removing mental blocks, and building confidence.
• Not grammatically sequenced : There is deliberate attempt to include a certain amount of grammar
during the first one month intensive course list, it will be more vocabulary according to the improvement of
the students.
• Quintity : Suggestopedia seems to meet this requirement as well. The topics are varied and enriching for a
better communicative competence for communictive use of the L2.
• Tools for conversational management : This is not mentioned explicitly, but may be covered, since the
dialogues attempt to be realistic, however, of giving students the tools they need to converse with more
competent speakers.
 b. learning
According to Bushman and Madsen (1976), “Content precedes form.
Accurate pronunciation and grammar are to come in due course”. While
there is error correction and grammar explanation in part one of each lesson,
grammar use in Suggestopedia apparently does not interfere with
communication.
 b. learning
• Learning is facilitated in an environment that is as • Baroque music is played softly in the background to
comfortable as possible, featuring soft cushioned increase mental relaxation and potential to take in
seating and dim lightning. and retain new material during the lesson.
• “Peripheral” learning is encouraged through the • Students work from lengthy diaalogs in the target
presence in the learning environment of posters and language, with an accompanying translation into the
decorations featuring the target language and students’ native language.
various grammatical information. • Errors are tolerated, the emphasis being on content
• The teacher assumes a role of complete authority and not structure. Grammar and vocabulary are
and ontrol in the classroom. presented and given treatment from the teacher, but
not dwelt on.
• Self-perceived and psychological barriers to learners’
potential to learn are “dessuggested”. • Homework is limited to students re-reading the
dialog they are studying-once before they go to
• Students are encouraged to be child-like, take sleep at night and once in the morning before they
“mental trips with the teacher” and assume new get up.
roles and names in the target language in order to
become more “suggestible”. • Music, drama and “the Arts” are integrated into the
learning process as often as possible.
 c. summary
The language teaching method known as Suggestopedia provides some
valuable insights into the power of cognition and creating/employing
techniques that make students feel comfortable and relaxed, and
“suggestible” to the material being learned.
Thank you