teaching methodology

Title

Compare, contrast and critically evaluate the main methods and approaches that have been used in English language teaching, comment on the extant to which each of these can be used in your future teaching practice.

Introduction

Teaching methodology in EFL(English as a foreign language), which has developed for hundred years, is handed down and affects us in today’s teaching practice. In the main body, four particular teaching methods are analyzed and evaluated, especially their strengths and weakness in the real teaching practice. Also, their respective significance to EFL development can not be overlooked. Moreover, many other methods and approaches except the foregoing are briefly listed. Above all, the ultimate goal of this writing is to enrich my knowledge about language teaching and absorb what is refined in each method, which will possibly be applied to my future teaching practice.

1. Generally, teaching method is a way of teaching a language which is based on systematic principles and procedures. Or we can simply regard it as an application of views on how a language is best taught and learned.

Following methods were adopted in different times in order to achieve the teaching goals.

2. Grammar-translation Method

2.1 Background

This method sprung up in the mid 18th century and reached its height around the 19th century, which was the time when classical Latin and Greek were widely taught for there’s a great need to read the literature. Not until the late 19th century, the time when travel became popular and conversation in English became necessary, did the GTM come under criticism.

2.2 Objectives

 Because of its great emphasis on understanding and appreciating foreign language literature, reading and writing are the major focuses.

 Through the study of grammar, students tend to become more aware of correctness and accuracy of the sentence.

2.3 Techniques

 Students have to intentionally memorize rules, vocabulary and meaning. Examples will be applied frequently to illustrate and explain the rules.

 Plenty of translation exercises are involved in class. Mother language is applied in class instead of the target language

 Vocabulary is obtained from the text reading. Moreover, lists of vocabulary items are presented with their equivalent translation.

2.4 Characteristics

 Class is organized mainly in students’ mother tongue.

 Grammar rules memorizing is the basic and the most important means in language learning. Also, those rules will be elaborately illustrated and explained through the text reading and sentence translation.

 Almost no attention is paid to the oral and listening skills. Pronunciation is overlooked in this method

2.5 Assessment (strengths)

 Systematic learning in reading and writing is achieved through GMT

for its great focus on rules learning.

 Correctness and high-standard accuracy are presented in students’ reading and writing.

 Problem-solving situation and translation-based tasks are built to

activate students’ initiatives

2.6 Assessment (drawbacks)

 Students can never get rid of the influence of their mother tongue.

 Tremendous memorization is prescribed while language creativity is

smothered.

 In most situations, learners can only memorize one or two meanings of each word. The result is that they feel confused if the word shows up in a third meaning, which will hinders them from fully understanding the text.

3. Direct Method

3.1 Background

Direct Method can be regarded as the outcome of the language teaching reforms taken from 1850-1900. For the GTM was attacked as outdated and failing to meet the needs at that time, reformers intended to build up a new method, and the DM was the invention. Linguists like M. Berlitz and F. Gonin were the main contributors.

 Moreover, the revitalization of the phonetics and the founding of IPA also gave impetus to the emergence of the DM.

3.2 Objectives

 Unlike GMT, Direct Method puts the speaking part precedes other language skills. Oral communication is emphasized.

 Target language is adopted during the whole teaching. First language translation is avoided in order to set the students free from mother tongue and develop students’ ability to think in the target language.

3.3 Techniques

 “Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully graded progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.”(By Richards and Rodgers, 1986). Besides, Class exercises like dictation, Q&A, narrative, imitation and free composition are involved.

 Words are explained in target language and demonstrations. Grammar rules are not listed by teachers but found by students through their speaking, listening and reading.

 Utterances and pronunciation are stressed, and students’ wrong pronunciation will be immediately pointed out and corrected.

3.4 Characteristics

 Only target language is involved in class, and learners are supposed to fully immerse themselves into the environment and think in the target way.

 Conversations in realistic everyday situation are prescribed for the learners instead of the book reading and literature appreciating.

3.5 Assessment (strengths)

 Through total immersion in the target language, learners’ ability to think in the target language will be developed.

 Pronunciation and utterance are learned.

 Learners’ initiatives are encouraged, and effective teaching is achieved through the plenty of demonstrations and involved imitations.

3.6 Assessment (drawbacks)

 Absolute avoidance of the first language sometimes troubles the teaching, for it’s difficult for teachers to explain everything mainly by paraphrasing and demonstrating, especially some abstract concepts.

 Lack of translation and grammar explanation also lead to the mistakes in students’ speaking.

 Overemphasized on the similarities between the natural first language

acquisition and the second language learning.

4. Audio-Lingual Method

4.1 Background

ALM, known as the Army Method, had its origins during the World War II which created the need to oral communication in English. Besides, the ALM arose out of the theory proposed by behaviorist psychologists like B.F Skinner, saying that all behavior (including language) was learnt through repetition and positive or negative reinforcement. In a simple word, language learning is through habit formation. Later in the late 1950s, the method fell from popularity because its theoretical basis was questioned by some linguists. Among which, Chomsky was the most famous one for his review of B.F Skinner's Verbal Behavior in 1959. Despite of all the criticisms it gained in the past several decades, ALM continues to be used today.

4.2 Objectives

 Four language skills are emphasized, especially listening and speaking. Students are expected to gain their communicative skills through imitation and repetition of the presented dialogues.

 Without much explanation in mother tongue, grammar rules are not obtained through memorization, but by examples.

4.3 Techniques

 Dialogues and pattern drills are involved in class. Learners are told to imitate the dialogues and memorize the drills presented in the dialogues.

 Repetition is the most important strategy. Students are asked to repeat the teacher’s sentence in order to reinforce their memorization.

 False utterance will be corrected right in the spot. Repetition also applied to pronounce some unaccustomed phonemes for some particular learners.

 Modern means like the tapes and video are used as aids. Correct pronunciation, rules and culture are presented through them.

4.4 Characteristics

 Learners are asked to mimicry, repetition and memorization all the time. Sentence structure patterns are learned through repetitive drills.

 Grammar and vocabulary are obtained through the regular dialogues and context the learners memorized.

 Reference to mother tongue is not permitted and native-speaker-like model is set up.

 Tapes and visual aids provide an easy way for learners to access to the correct utterance.

4.5 Assessment (strengths)

 Compare to other methods, this method realizes both input and output. Students listen and learn, and then they memorize it and speak it out.

 Through the long-term memorization, students are able to use the simple and basic sentence structures correctly. Simple grammar knowledge can be taught through the habit formation.

4.6 Assessment (drawbacks)

 Because of the long-term imitation and repetition, students are not able to create their own sentence or anything spontaneous. Also, they can not adapt themselves to natural speech situations.

 Teachers tend to overuse the tapes and visual materials. Boredom and mindlessness are engendered among learners soon.

5. Communicative Approach

5.1 Background

 This approach has its origins in 1960s, and became extremely popular in

the 1970s when many experts, represented by Munby(1978) and Wilkins(1979), felt dissatisfied with the traditional language teaching methods like the Grammar-translation method and the audio-lingual method. Teaching communication ability at that time has become an irreversible trend in language teaching.

5.2 Objectives

 Students are expected to able to communicate with other people in appropriate language.

 “Communicative competence” refers to the ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to know when and where to use these sentences and to whom. (Hymes) In this method, grammar is not stressed, instead, the students are carefully taught to choose the appropriate words and sentences according to the different situations.

 After the course, students are able to maintain the conversation despite the fact that their language knowledge is limited.

5.3 Techniques

 Communicative activities are set for learners such as role plays, problem-solving situations and designed games.

 Teachers are expected to not just organize and manage the activities but sometimes take part in it in order to activate the class.

 Group discussing is manipulated to ensure that every individual has a chance to speak and interact with other group members.

5.4 Characteristics

 We can simply regard it as a learner-centered form of teaching.

Unlike other traditional methods, in this approach, teachers function as facilitators while students are the main contributor to the class.

 Authentic materials and real communication situations are used.

 Emphasis is put on learning to communicate in target language.

 Students’ personal emotions and experiences are concerned. They

are encouraged to express their feelings in class.

5.5 Assessment (strengths)

 More appropriateness and accurate communications are presented in this method.

 Learners are greatly activated by the classroom activities, which eventually results in effectiveness in the teaching process.

5.6 Assessment (drawbacks)

 Because of its randomness and great focus on fluency, learners tend to use the target language informally and sometimes incorrectly.

 Without the basic knowledge of rules and vocabulary, it’s hard for students to achieve progress and become higher-level learners.

6. In the long history of EFL development, there’re still many other methods and approaches, besides the foregoing ones, have contributed a lot to the language teaching development. After a shallow study of these methodologies, some simple conclusions are formed.

6.1 Total Physical Response, a method claims that teachers teach words and expressions through body motions. TPR is supposed to be effective in simple teaching, but difficult to be used in complex language.

6.2 Suggestopidia, which aims to speed up the teaching process by encouraging students and cultivating their confidence.

6.3 Reading Method. In this method, learners are taught through foreign materials reading, with direct comprehension of meaning.

6.4 Task-based Method. Just as its name implies, tasks are contributed to every students. Students learn the language through the tasks accomplishing.

7. Personal opinions on application of these methods.

After analyzing all the mentioned methods above, I really appreciate some of them, especially the GMT and the Communicative Method, and I intend to apply them into my future teaching. I try to analyze the application of these methods in two ways.

7.1 Choose the right methods according to different target learners.

Different people from different ages have different intellectual features. Children can recite poems fluently despite that they can not understand them. They are willing to open their mouths to imitate and speak. For them, Communicative Method should be greatly applied in class in order to interest them. Adults and high-level learners are more enthusiastic in learning sentence structures and grammar knowledge. So, explanations for grammar rules and advanced vocabulary should be included in teaching them.

7.2 Choose the right methods according to the different phases of student’s learning.

In the beginning phase of learning, students lack of vocabulary and basic knowledge, so it is not reasonable to explain knowledge in target language. Grammar-translation is necessary in this phase because it can be clearer to the beginners. Also, Total Physical Response can be very effective because of its vivid body motions for the children. In the middle rank of learning, students

already gain the basic knowledge of four language skills. In this phase, Communicative Method can be effective to consolidate their knowledge. Task-based method can sometimes be a facilitator for students in this phase to activate their initiatives.

All and all, effective teaching is not achieving through one or two methods. In future teaching, knowing how to combine different methods to realize different goals is the biggest theme of my future learning in teaching.

References

David Nunan, 1992, Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge University Press

Paul Davies, 2000, Success in English Teaching, Oxford University Press

王渭刚，《浅析外语教学中几种主要的教学法》，渭南师范学院外语系

章兼中，《国外外语教学主要流派》，华东师范大学出版社