SLT and oral approach

The oral approach and SLT
There are many ways to learn and teach English, from so many methods , I choose SLT , which means situational language teaching, it was mainly consist of approach, design, syllabus, procedure and conclusion five parts.
The characteristics of the SLT, it means in the special situation, use special sentences .Its approach are as followed: the target language is the class language, new language point are introduced and practiced situationally, V ocabulary selection procedure are essential general service.In approach, which refers to theories abut the nature of language and language learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in language teaching. The theory of language can characterized as structuralism,structure view means Language is a system of structurally related elements for coding of meaning. The target of language learning is seen to be mastery of element of this system, which are generally defined in terms of phonological units, grammatical units, grammatical operations and lexical items, it emphasize the close relationship between structure of language and the language used in the situation content, which id also behaviorist habit learning theory by imitative drill.
Design is the level of method analysis in which we consider, Including objectives and contents syllabus, teaching activities, learner role, teacher role, the role of instructional materials.As for activities in the class, there are dialogue ,responding to commands, group problem solving Information exchanges, Improvisation ,question and answer.
Most important one is that all the methods of language teaching involve the use of the target language. All methods thus involve overt or covert decisions concerning the selection of language items that are to be used within a course or method.
Procedure encompasses the actual moment-to-moment techniques, practice, and behaviors that operate in teaching a language according to a particular method, it focuses on the way a method handles the presentation, practice, and feedback phases of teaching.
As for conclusion, this approach has its advantages, but is does not fit for the
later development of language study, and was called into question in mid 1960s.
I search the video on the internet about SLT teaching in teaching, in the video of crazy English of LiYang, mainly about ten minutes, hefirst taught the students to follow his sentences, and speak more and more exciting and powerful, the students speak again and again, sometimes in different speaking speed, but he just like a skillful conduct er, and from beginning to the end of the class, he just taught students different kinds of sentences used in different situation, often asked students to read after him for ten times,and just like the teacher shown in the class, of which the conversation was talking for two times and then ask the students to performed the talk, the next part of the class id the teacher taught the sentences pattern again and again, and still the students practice, invite the students to practice again and again.the class is very clear the situation approach and structure view.
Analysis the class from the point of SLT, in my opinion. Firstly, from the perspective of approach, it mainly used structure view, oral practice of structure control sentence of should be given in a situation designed to give the greater amount of practice.it addresses the processes rather than the conditions of learning, receive knowledge and materials, fixing the memory repetition, its fundamental correct speech habits, cultivated by blind imitative drill. Teacher just ask the learners to dead again and again the notional syllabus, the usage of the sentences are for special purpose,it focus on linguistic content in terms of language elements—structure, topics, notions, functions or learning tasks.The class aim at helping the learners to learn very quickly and without thinking.
As for design of the class,is to teach a practical command of the four basic skill of language goals at accuracy and structure ,avoid errors at any cost, The teacher have reaction with students by asking them to read just as he did, and don not guide the students to think, it pay attention to words and the sentences of this unit, so he let his students to learn and practice many times, and in the finally part of activities , also drill, in fact his class is very boring.
As for syllabus, it is a list of basic structure and sentences structure, of English. By situation means the use of concrete, and realia, which together with action, gesture
can be used to demonstrate the meaning of new language items. It was consist of guided repetition and substitution activities, including chorus repetition, dictation, drill and controlled oral based reading.the teacher ask the students to substitute the words and to practice many times to remember the sentence structure, his class has pair practice, but it is also repetition of the teacher. As for learner role and teacher role in the class, the teacher is the threefold of the class, he conduct the class, he serve as a model setting up situation in which the need for the target structure is created, and modeling the new structure of repetition, he is the skillful conduct of the class using command and other cue to elicit correct sentence from the learners, lessons are teacher directed and the teacher set the pace.so teacher is so essential in this class.
In the procedure of the class, he pay attention to the pronunciation of the learners and he presented them new structure and practice oral speaking, including choral imitation, individual imitation, and correct them.
This kind of teaching in English can help learners quickly learn English, even a new language learning in accelerated course, it is useful, but it has its obvious shortcomings, not good for the long term learning. So, any language teaching method can be described in terms of the issues identified here at the levels of approach, design, and nguage learning and language teaching is underlying SLT is called into question, for its teaching of it is not good for long term development, language approach is not scientific at all, it has not many psycholinguistic and cognitive processes involved in the language. And as for the design, even it is well organized, learners don’t have their own thinking and ideas about the class, the teacher do not guide , lead the students to create and critical thinking, just do repetition work, and recite the sentences,their type of activities is also repetition, the video’s Procedure is repetition, practice pair repetition, practice speed of speaking,and their behavior is reading again and again. the learner do understand the culture of the country and do not have the free thinkingin the class, So，as the development of society, teachers should be the friend of tutor of learners, and they learn together, and motivate the students interests of learning, give them chance and time to think to create, to criticize. Therefore, SLT became out of date later.But different decade of the society should
have different teaching method and approach, SLT may not suitable for today, but it did made contribution to language development at certain time.So, we should have dialectical view on it, treat it comprehensively and work out suitable method and approach to modern society.
References:
French F.C.1948-1950.(the teaching of English abroad,3 vol),
Commonwealth Office of Education.1965.situational English,
Davies PJ Robert, and R. Rossner.1975, situational lesson plans.Mexico。