English teaching method

The Grammar-Translation Method1.DefinitionThe Grammar-translation Method is a foreign or second language teaching, which uses translation and grammars study as the main teaching and learning activities. At one time it was called Classical Method since it was first used in the teaching of the classical languages of Latin and Greek.2.BackgroundThe history of the Grammar-translation Method is not fully and carefully documented.(1) There is evidence that grammar analysis and translation began to be the basic procedures in foreign language teaching from the 16th century when modern languages such as French, Italian and English gained in importance as a result of political changes in Europe. The modern languages provided one of the conditions for grammar analysis and the application of grammatical rules in translation exercises in teaching Latin.(2) The second impetus for the procedures of grammar analysis and translation in teaching Latin came from the social needs of European countries. The main purpose of learning Latin was it studies the classical culture, which was worshipped in the Renaissance. Grammar analysis and translation proved to be effective means in studying foreign culture through literary works.(3) Some people believed that the mind of human beings could be trained by logical analysis of the classic language, extensive memorization of complicated rules and paradigms, and translation between languages.Only in the late 18th century did the regular combination of grammar rules with translation into the target language become the principal practice technique. Therefore, it is accepted by most experts of foreign language teaching that the Grammar-Translation Method originated from the 18th century. In the 19th century, more experts of foreign language teaching adopted the strategy of combining grammar rules with translation and the Grammar-TranslationMethod became the principal method of teaching modern languages in schools.3. Theory1). Theory of language(1). All languages originate from one language and are ruled by a common grammar.(2). The written form of the language is superior to the spoken form.The Grammar-Translation Method belongs to the school of traditional linguisticswhich believed that the written form and took words as their starting point. When discussing the rules of language, they emphasized such matters as correctness, thepurity of a language and literary excellence.(3) The students’ first language is the reference system in the learning of the target l anguage.In foreign language teaching, the target language is primarily interpreted as a system of rules to be observed in texts and sentences and to be related to the first language rules and meaning. The students’ first language is the reference syst em in the leaning of the target language.2) Faculty Psychology(1). The mind of human being has various faculties that can be trained separately.(2). Understanding and memorization of complicated grammatical rules of language help to develop mentality.(3). Latin grammar is the most logical and well-organized grammar.(4).The language was a boy of knowledge to be learned, with an emphasis on intellectual rigor.4. Teaching ProceduresThe main procedures for a typical lesson with the Grammar-Translation Method can be divided into three phases. The activities in each phase are described below:1). Phase oneA. The teacher reads and explains the new words and expressions in the first language.B. The teacher teaches the new grammar with deductive method.2). Phase twoA. Students are asked to read a few sentences out aloud and translate them intothe first language.B. The teacher analyses some difficult sentence and translates them into their native language first literally and then freely.C. Students read the studied part of the passage silently and ask the teacher questions they cannot answer by themselves.3). Phase threeA. Students are asked to write the answers to the questions about the reading passage.B. Students are asked to do other written work that is meant to reinforce the new grammar items and vocabulary.5. Teacher Roles in the FrameworkThe Grammar-Translation Method makes few demands on teachers although itoften creates frustration for students.1).Controller The teacher control the pace so that activities run smoothly and efficiently.2).Organizer The teacher is to design and organize tasks that students can perform in the class.3). Assessor The teacher is to assess the students work and correct their grammar mistakes .4).Resource-provider The teacher is to provide the grammar rules for the students.6. The Principle Characteristics(1). Grammar is the core of language, and language materials are arranged according to the grammar system.(2). The main teaching activities are analysis, explanation and translation.(3). The major practice is translation from and into the target language.(4) The teaching focus is reading and writing.(5)First language is the main medium of instruction.(6)The sentence is the basic unit of language teaching and learning.(7)Language accuracy is emphasized.The Direct Method1.DefinitionThe direct method is a method of foreign or second language teaching , which emphasizes that “ a foreign language can be taught without translation or the use of the learners” native language if the meaning is to be conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstrations and visual aids , with no use of resource to the students’ native language .2.BackgroundTowards the end of the late 1800s, a revolution in language teaching philosophy took place that is seen by many as the dawn of modern foreign language teaching. Teachers, frustrated by the limits of the Grammar Translation Method in terms of its inability to create communicative competence in students, began to experiment with new ways of teaching language. Basically, teachers began attempting to teach foreign languages in a way that was more similar to first language acquisition. It incorporated techniques designed to address all the areas that the Grammar Translation did not - namely oral communication, more spontaneous use of the language, and developing the ability to think in the target language. Perhaps in an almost reflexive action, the method also moved as far away as possible from various techniques typical of the Grammar Translation Method - for instance using L1 as the language of instruction, memorizing grammatical rules and lots of translation between L1 and the target language.The appearance of the "Direct Method" thus coincided with a new school of thinking that dictated that all foreign language teaching should occur in the target language only, with no translation and an emphasis on linking meaning to the language being learned. The method became very popular during the first quarter of the 20th century, especially in private language schools in Europe where highly motivated students could study new languages and not need to travel far in order to try them out and apply them communicatively. One of the most famous advocates of the Direct Method was the German Charles Berlitz, whose schools and Berlitz Method are now world-renowned.Still, the Direct Method was not without its problems. As Brown (1994:56) points out, "(it) did not take well in public education where the constraints of budget, classroom size , time , and teacher background made such a method difficult to use." By the late 1920s, the method wasstarting to go into decline and there was even a return to the Grammar Translation Method, which guaranteed more in the way of scholastic language learning orientated around reading and grammar skills. But the Direct Method continues to enjoy a popular following in private language school circles, and it was one of the foundations upon which the well-known "Audio-lingual Method" expanded from starting half way through the 20th century.3.Teacher Roles in the Framework1).Controller The teacher control the pace so that activities run smoothly and efficiently.2).Organizer The teacher is to design and organize tasks that students can perform in the class.3). Assessor The teacher is to assess the students work and correct their grammar mistakes .4).Resource-provider The teacher is to provide the grammar rules for the students.5). Facilitator4.The Principle CharacteristicsRichards and Rodgers (1986:9-10) summarize the key features of the Direct Method thus:(1) Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language.(2) Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.(3) Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully traded progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.(4) Grammar is taught inductively.(5) New teaching points are taught through modeling and practice.(6) Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary is taught by association of ideas.(7) Both speech and listening comprehension are taught.(8) Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.The Audio-lingual Method1.DefinitionThe Audio-lingual Method is a method of foreign language teaching which emphasizes the teaching of listening and speaking before reading and writing. It uses dialogues as the main form of language presentation and drills as the main training techniques. Mother tongue is discouraged in the classroom.2.BackgroundThe Audio-lingual Method was developed in the U.S. during the Second World War. At that time, the U.S. government found it a great necessity to set up a special language-training program to supply the war with language personnel. Therefore, the government commissioned American universities to develop foreign language program for military personnel. Thus the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) was established in 1942.The objectives of the army program were for students to attain conversational proficiency in a variety of foreign languages. The method used was known as the “informant method”, since it used a native speakers of the language, the informant , and a linguist. The informant served as a source of language for imitation, and the linguist supervised the learning experience. The intensive system adopted by the army achieved excellent results.Linguists and applied linguists during this period were becoming increasingly involved in the teaching of English as a foreign language. In 1941 the first English Language institute in the U.S. was established to in the University of Michigan. The director of the institute was Charles Fries, who applied the principles of structural linguists to language teaching. The result is an approach which advocated aural training first, then pronunciation training, followed by speaking, reading and writing.The emergence of the Audio-lingual Method resulted from the increased attention to foreign language teaching in the U.S. towards the end of the 1950s.The need for a radical change and rethinking of foreign language teaching methodology made language teaching specialists set about developing a method that was applicable to conditions in U.S. college and university classrooms. They drew on the earlier experience of the army programs and the Aural-Oral or structural Approach developed by Fries and his colleagues, adding insights takenfrom behaviorist psychology. This combination of structural linguistic theory, aural-oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology led to the Audio-lingual Method, which was widely adopted for teaching foreign languages in North American colleges and universities.3.TheoryAccording to the audiolingualism, language is basically a process of mechanicalhabit –formation . It’s through a lot of pattern drills that such mechanical habits can beformed .1)Theory of language(1). Elements in a language are produced in a rule-governed (structural) way.(2).Language samples could be exhaustively described at any structural level of description.(3). Language is structural like a pyramid, that is, linguistic level is system within system.(4). Language is speech, not writing.(5).Languages are different.2) Theory of learning(1). Behaviorist psychology(2). The three crucial elements in learning: a stimulus, a response and reinforcement.(3) The application of this theory to language learning(4) Language learning: a mechanical process of habit formation4.Teaching ProceduresIn a typical audio-lingual lesson the following procedures will be observed:(1). Recognition : Students first hear a model dialogue (either read by the teacheror on the tape) containing the key structures that are the focus of the lesson and try to understand the meaning of the dialogue with the help of the teacher’s gestures, mime,and context or situation established in advance.(2). Imitation and repetition：The students repeat each line of the dialogue, individually and in chorus. The students must imitate the right pronunciation, intonation and fluency.(3) . Pattern drills：Certain key structures from the dialogue are selected and usedas the basis for pattern drills of different kinds.(4). Follow-up activities：The students now are allowed to look at their textbooks. They are usually asked to do some follow-up reading, writing or vocabulary activities. This will guide their use of the language.5.Teacher Roles in the FrameworkIn audiolingualism, the teacher’s role is central and active ; it is a teacher –dominated method . The teacher models the target language ,controls the direction and pace of learning ,and monitors and corrects the learners’ performance . The teacher must keep the learners attentive by varying drills and tasks and choosing relevant situations to practice structures . Language learning is seen to result from active verbal interaction between the teacher and the learners . Failure to learn results only from the improper application of the method .6.The Principle CharacteristicsThe Audio-lingual Method formed its own distinctive characteristics. There aremainly five of them:(1). Separation of language skills into listening, speaking, reading and writing, with emphasis on the teaching of listening and speaking before reading and writing;(2). Use of dialogues as the chief means of presenting the language;(3). Emphasis on certain practice techniques: mimicry, memorization and patterndrills;(4). Discouraging the use of the mother tongue in the classroom;(5). Use of language lab.The Communicative Approach1.DefinitionThe Communicative Approach is an approach to foreign or second LT which emphasizes that the goal of language teaching is communication competence. The Communication Approach is also called Communication Language Teaching.2.Background1). Towards the end of the 1960s there went on a growing dissatisfaction among FL teachers and applied linguists with the dominating LT method of the time. First, the criticism was that this kind of teaching produced structurally competent students who were often communicatively incompetent. Another reason for this dissatisfaction was undoubtedly for international communication, professional cooperation and travel. Meanwhile, some theoretical linguists had become conscious of the fact that in linguistic research meaning and context were neglected. By the late 1960s, people began to consider semantics to be basic to any theoretical model of language. Meaning was seen to depend to a large degree on the socio cultural contexts in which speech acts occurred. Socio cultural aspects of language in use had been particularly stressed by the functionalists, who considered the purposes language serves in normal interaction to be basic to the determination of syntactic functions.2). All this was reflected in some proposals to reconstruct the language syllabus so that learning communicative conventions would become as important as learning grammatical conventions. 3). D.A. Wilkins was the main figure in setting out the fundamental considerations for a “ functional-notional “ approach to syllabus design based on communicative criteria.4). The distinguishing characteristics of the Notional-Functional Syllabus (NFS) were its attention to function as the organizing elements of English language curriculum, and its contrast with a structural syllabus in which sequenced grammatical structures served as the organizers. Reacting to methods that attended too strongly to grammatical forms, the NFS sought to focus on the pragmatic purposes to which we put language.5). Wilkin’s book Notional Syllabuses had a significant impact on the development of Communicative Language Teaching. Courses for different languages were then developedbased on his semantic / communicative analysis. The NFS did not necessarily develop communicative competence in learners. First of all, it is not a method. It was a syllabus. However, by attending to the functional purposes of language, and by providing contextual (notional) settings for the realization of those purposes, it provides a link between a dynasty of methods that was now perishing and a new era of language teaching------Communicative Language Teaching.6). The Communicative Approach is essentially a manifestation of the 1970sm, in the sense that this was the decade when the most explicit debate took place, especially in the U.K. The subsequent period has been characterized by explorations of other, related possibilities for the design of materials and methods. More importantly, teachers in many parts of the world are finding that they need to come to terms with changes in their role, as communicative principles in language teaching become central goals of their educational systems. These educational perspectives evolved alongside, and to some extent were derived from, significant developments in linguistics, sociolinguistics and psychology.3.TheoryThe Communicative Approach has a theory of language rooted in the functional school. Functional linguistics is concerned with language as an instrument of social interaction rather than a system that is viewed in isolation. In addition to talking about language function and language form, there are other dimensions of communication to be considered if we are to be offered a more complete picture.According to Krashen, language learning comes about through using target language communicatively. Some contemporary researchers and language educators believe that fully successful language acquisition is a by-product of communication, of negotiating meaning, so that the traditional attitude to language learning and teaching has to be completely reversed.4.Teaching ProceduresThe Communicative Approach usually uses the following procedures in teaching:1).Presentation and comprehension (Students listen, then answer questions.);2).Demonstration of functional patterns (The teacher exemplifies each functional patterns.);3).Practicing functional patterns (Students practice the dialogue in pairs.);4). Free production (Students make mini-dialogues of their own.);5).Creative production (Students work in groups.);6).Checking students’ work;7).Reading new materials (integrating reading and writing);8).Writing based on reading.5.Teacher Roles in the Framework1). a facilitator of students’learning;2). a manager of classroom activities;3). an advisor of students’ questions;4). a co-communicator in the communicative activity.In a communicative classroom, the teacher is a facilitator of her students’ learning. As such, she/he has many roles to fulfill. She/he is a manager of classroom activities. During the activities she acts as an advisor, answering students’ questions and monitoring their performance. At other times she might be a “co-communicator” --engaging in the communicative activity along with the students.6.The Principle Characteristics1). Communication principle: Activities that involve real communication promote learning ;2). Task principle : Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning ;3). Meaningful principle : language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process.David Nunan (1991) offers five points to characterize the Communicative Approach:1). According to the Communicative Approach, an emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language.2). The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation.3). The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself.4). An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning.5). An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom.Task –based Language Teaching1.DefinitionTask –based language teaching is , in fact, a further development of Communicative Language Teaching . It shares the same beliefs , as language should be learned as close as possible to how it is used in real life . However it has stressed the importance to combine form-focused teaching with communication-focused teaching.2.Teaching Procedures1). Think about students’ needs , interests and abilities2). Brainstorm possible tasks Brainstorm a list of communicative tasks for the topics listed in your textbooks that students may be interested in doing . Bear in mind that a task should have a communicative purpose and should be goal-oriented .3). Evaluate the list------educational value------appropriateness to the students’ needs , interests and abilities-------availability of suitable resources-------time available4). Choose the language items5). Preparing materials3.Teacher Roles in the Framework1). a facilitator of students’learning;2). a manager of classroom activities;3). an advisor of students’ questions;4.The Principle Characteristics1). The authenticity principle The linguistic data that learners work with are authentic ;The relationship between linguistic form and communicative function are clear to the learner2). The form-function principle Teaching language in ways that make form and functionrelationships transparent .The Humanistic ApproachIntroduction to the Humanistic ApproachThe Humanistic Approach began in response to concerns by therapists against perceived limitations of Psychodynamic theories, especially psychoanalysis. Individuals like Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow felt existing (psychodynamic) theories failed to adequately address issues like the meaning of behavior, and the nature of healthy growth. However, the result was not simply new variations on psychodynamic theory, but rather a fundamentally new approach. There are several factors which distinguish the Humanistic Approach from other approaches within psychology, including the emphasis on subjective meaning, a rejection of determinism, and a concern for positive growth rather than pathology. While one might argue that some psychodynamic theories provide a vision of healthy growth (including Jung's concept of individuation), the other characteristics distinguish the Humanistic Approach from every other approach within psychology (and sometimes lead theorists from other approaches to say the Humanistic Approach is not a science at all). Most psychologists believe that behavior can only be understood objectively (by an impartial observer), but the humanists argue that this results in concluding that an individual is incapable of understanding their own behavior--a view which they see as both paradoxical and dangerous to well-being. Instead, humanists like Rogers argue that the meaning of behavior is essentially personal and subjective; they further argue that accepting this idea is not unscientific, because ultimately all individuals are subjective: what makes science reliable is not that scientists are purely objective, but that the nature of observed events can be agreed upon by different observers (a process Rogers calls inter-subjective verification).The issues underlying the Humanistic Approach, and its differences from other approaches, are discussed more fully in the text, but the sources below provide useful supplementary information. One point worth noting: if you want to fully grasp the nature of the Humanistic Approach, you cannot consider it in abstract terms. Instead, you must consider if and how the ideas connect to your own experience--for that is how the meaning of behavior is derived.SummaryFrom the study , choice of teaching method is but one phase within a system of interrelated curriculum of development activities . Choice of teaching method or approach ,materials and learning activities is usually made within the context of the language program design and developments. Questions of immediate concern will focus on who the learners are , what their current level of language proficiency is ,what sort of communicative needs they have , the circumstances in which they will be using English in the future ,and so on .Evaluating methods1.What aspects of language proficiency does the method address ?2.What kind of learners is the method most effective ?3.Is the method most effective with elementary ,intermediate ,or advanced learners ?4.What kind of training is required of teachers ?5.Under what kind of circumstances does the method work best ?6.How have teachers and students respond to the method ?7.How does the method compare with other methods ?8.Do teachers using the method use it in a uniform manner ?In China , there are also many different methods which are used in different areas and classes . We can hardly say which method is the fittest method , but we’d better bear in mind that every method has its own advantages and disadvantages . When we choose a method , we should take all factors into consideration and make a wise decision .。