Theory into Practice

1
Theory into Practice

• Methodologies

2
Introduction

• Frequent swings of the pendulum
• Language teachers need to aware of the historical
  bases of methodological options

3
Pre-twentieth-Century Trends

• Getting learners to use a language vs. getting
  learners to analyze a language
• Greek and Latin as lingua francas
• Renaissance formal study of the grammars of
  Greek and Latin
• European vernaculars grew in prestige and utility
• J. A. Comenius

4
Pre-twentieth-Century Trends

• Beginning of 19th century Grammar-Translation
  (modern language as well)
• End of 19th century the Directive Method
• 1886 the International Phonetic Alphabet
• Reading Approach in the US

5
Pre-twentieth-Century Trends

• World War II Audiolingual Language Method (US)
  Situational Approach (Europe)

6
Twentieth-Century Approaches

• Grammar-Translation
• Direct
• Reading
• Audiolingual Method (United States)
• Oral-Situational (Britain)
• Cognitive
• Affective-Humanistic
• Comprehension-based
• Communicative

7
Twentieth-Century Approaches

• Approach a certain model or research paradigm
• Method a set of procedures
• Technique a classroom device or activity
• Richards Rodgers Model Approach, Design
  Procedures

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Reaction to perceived inadequacies

• Cognitive Approach Language is rule-governed
  cognitive behavior (not habit formation)
• Affective-Humanistic Approach Learning a foreign
  language is a process of self-realization and of
  relating to other people
• Comprehension Approach Language acquisition
  occurs if and only if the learner comprehends
  meaningful input
• Communicative approach The purpose of language
  is communication

9
Designer Methods

• Silent Way (Gattegno 1976)
• Community Language Learning (Curran 1976)
• Total Physical Response (Asher 1977)
• Desuggestopedia (Lozanov 1978)

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Grammar-Translation Method (1)

• Classical Method
• The learning of Latin or Greek
• Focus on grammatical rules Memorization of
  vocabulary
• Translation of texts
• Doing written exercise

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Grammar-Translation Method (2)

• Characteristics
• (1) Classes are taught in the mother tongue.
• (2) Much vocabulary is taught in the form of
  lists of isolated words.
• (3) Long explanation of the intricacies of
  grammar are given.
• (4) Instruction often focuses on the rules for
  putting words together.

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Grammar-Translation Method (3)

• (5) Reading of difficult classical texts is begun
  early.
• (6) Little attention is paid to the content of
  texts.
• (7) Often the only drills are exercises in
  translating disconnected sentences from the
  target language into the mother tongue.
• (8) Little or no attention is given to
  pronunciation.

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Grammar-Translation Method (4)

• Procedure
• Step 1 The teacher translates red, yellow,
  green, blue into Chinese. Students read
  after the teacher.
• Step 2 Students open the book, and the teacher
  read, The book is red, The pencil is yellow,
  It is green, The bag is blue. The students
  translate the sentences into Chinese.

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Grammar-Translation Method (5)

• Step 3 The teacher explains the sentence
  structure of S is Color and It is Color.
• Step 4 The teacher says, The box is green. The
  door is blue. It is red. Students need to
  translate the sentences.

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Grammar-Translation Method (6)

• Influences
• (1) Accuracy
• (2) Translations
• (3) Few specialized skills are required on the
  part of teachers.

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The Direct Method (1)

• The second language learning should be more like
  first language learning lots of oral
  interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no
  translation between first and second languages,
  and little or no analysis of grammatical rules.
• The Berlitz Method

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The Direct Method (2)

• Characteristics
• (1) Classroom instruction was conducted
  exclusively in the target language.
• (2) Only everyday vocabulary and sentence were
  taught.
• (3) Oral communication skills were built up in a
  carefully traded progression organized around
  question-and-answer exchanges between teachers
  and students in small, intensive classes.

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The Direct Method (3)

• (4) Grammar was taught inductively.
• (5) New teaching points were taught through
  modeling and practice.
• (6) Concrete vocabulary was taught through
  demonstration, objects, and pictures abstract
  vocabulary was taught by association of ideas.
• (7) Both speech and listening comprehension were
  taught.
• (8) Correct pronunciation and grammar were
  emphasized.

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The Direct Method (4)

• Procedure
• (1) The teacher holds up cards with different
  colors. He points to each card and says, It is
  white. It is black. It is brown.
• (2) The teacher points to the wall, the hair and
  the door and keeps saying the sentences.

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The Direct Method (5)

• Influences
• (1) Use target language only
• (2) Use various teaching materials.
• (3) Emphasize on teaching techniques.
• (4) The importance on oral communication.

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The Audio-Lingual Method (1)

• An oral-based approach
• Emphasizing vocabulary acquisition through
  exposure to its use in situations
• Army Method / Michigan Method

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The Audio-Lingual Method (2)

• Characteristics
• (1) New materials is presented in dialogue form.
• (2) There is dependence on mimicry, memorization
  of set phrases and over-learning.
• (3) Structures are sequenced by means of
  contrastive analysis and taught one at a time.

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The Audio-Lingual Method (3)

• (4) Structural patterns are taught using
  repetitive drills.
• (5) There is little or no grammatical
  explanation.
• (6) Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in
  context.
• (8) There is much use of tapes, language labs,
  and visual aids.

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The Audio-Lingual Method (4)

• (8) Great importance is attached to
  pronunciation.
• (9) Very little use of the mother tongue by
  teachers is permitted.
• (10) Successful responses are immediately
  reinforced.
• (11) There is a great effort to get students to
  produce error-free utterances.

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The Audio-Lingual Method (5)

• Procedure
• (1) A dialogue
• (2) Drills
• (3) Role play

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The Audio-Lingual Method (6)

• Influences
• (1) Habit formation
• (2) Drills

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Total Physical Response (1)

• Trace theory of learning memory is increased if
  it is stimulated, or traced, through
  association with motor activity.
• Associating language with physical activity
• Principles of child language acquisition Right
  brain learning Stress-free learning

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Total Physical Response (2)

• Characteristics
• (1) Comprehension comes before production.
• (2) Students do a great deal of listening and
  acting.
• (3) The teacher is very directive in
  orchestrating a performance.

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Total Physical Response (3)

• (4) Imperative drills are used to elicit physical
  actions.
• (5) The objective is to teach oral proficiency to
  produce learners who can communicate
  uninhibitedly and intelligibly with native
  speakers.

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Total Physical Response (4)

• Procedure
• (1) The teacher says, and the teacher does.
• Point to the green (blue, red) card.
• (2) The teacher says, and the students do.
• (3) The students say, and the students do.
• (4) The teacher says a series of commands.
• Hold up the black card. Kiss the
  white
• card.

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Total Physical Response (5)

• (5) Sing and act
• Red, red, red, touch your head.
• Blue, blue, blue, tie your shoe.
• Brown, brown, brown, touch the
• ground.
• White, white, white, take a bite.
• (from
  ???,??????????)

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Total Physical Response (6)

• Influences
• (1) Successful second language learning should be
  a parallel process to child first language
  acquisition.
• (2) Appropriate activities can produce
  stress-free learning.
• (3) Learners are encourage to speak when they
  feel ready to speak.

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Syllabus

• Structural syllabus a list of grammatical
  inflections and constructions (Grammar-Translation
  / Direct / Audiolingual / Cognitive)
• Text-based syllabus texts and vocabulary items
  with only minor consideration given to grammar

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Syllabus

• Notional-Functional syllabus meanings such as
  spacial location, time, degree social
  transactions and interaction such as asking for
  information
• Communicative syllabus real-world tasks and
  authentic materials
• Learner-generated syllabus (CLL)

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Successful Practice

• Assess student needs
• Examine instructional constraints
• Determine the attitudes and learner styles
• Identify the discourse genres, speech activities,
  and text types
• Specify how the students language learning will
  be assessed