Overview of Language Teaching Methodology
In learning languages, a distinction is usually made between mother tongue (also native language or first language), second language, and foreign language. A mother tongue is the first language or languages one learns (or acquires) as a child. When immigrants come to a new country and learn the language of that country, they are learning a second language. On the other hand, when English-speaking students in the United States learn French or Spanish in school, or when Brazilians study English in Brazil, they are learning a foreign language. The acronyms ESL and EFL stand for the learning of English as a Second and as a Foreign Language.
Many theories about the learning and teaching of languages have been proposed. These theories, normally influenced by developments in the fields of linguistics and psychology, have inspired many approaches to the teaching of second and foreign languages. The study of these theories and how they influence language teaching methodology today is called applied linguistics.
The Grammar Translation Method
In applied linguistics, the grammar translation method is a foreign language teaching method derived from the classical (sometimes called traditional) method of teaching Greek and Latin. The method requires students to translate whole texts word for word and memorize numerous grammatical rules and exceptions as well as enormous vocabulary lists. The goal of this method is to be able to read and translate literary masterpieces and classics.
Key Features
(1) Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.
(2) Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.
(3) Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.
(4) Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words.
(5) Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.
(6) Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis.
(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.
Direct Method
Towards the end of the 19th century, 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. The appearance of the “Direct Method” coincided with a new school of thinking 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.
Key Features
(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.
Audiolingual Method
The audiolingual method coincided with World War II, when America became aware that it needed people to learn foreign languages very quickly as part of its overall military operations. The “Army Method” (known as the Audiolingual Method later) was suddenly developed to build communicative competence in translators through very intensive language courses focusing on aural/oral skills. The audiolingual method, which was very popular from the 1940s through the 1960s, is based in structural linguistics (structuralism) and behaviorist psychology (Skinner’s behaviorism), and places heavy emphasis on spoken rather than written language, and on the grammar of particular languages, stressing habit formation as a mode of learning. Rote memorization, role playing and structure drilling are the predominant activities. Audiolingual approaches do not depend so much on the instructor’s creative ability and do not require excellent proficiency in the language. Therefore, they are easy to be implemented, cheap to be maintained and are still in use by many language courses.
Key Features
(1) New material is presented in dialog form.
(2) There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases, and overlearning.
(3) Structures are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a time.
(4) Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.
(5) There is little or no grammatical explanation. Grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation.
(6) Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context.
(7) There is much use of tapes, language labs, and visual aids.
(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 great effort to get students to produce error-free utterances.
(12) There is a tendency to manipulate language and disregard content.
(In addition to Chomsky’s generativism, the advances in cognitive science and educational psychology made by Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky in the first half of the century strongly influenced language teaching theory in the 1960s and 70s. These new trends favoring more humanistic views and putting a greater focus on the learner and on social interaction gave way to the Natural (USA) and Communicative (England) approaches. Psychologist Charles Curran’s Community Language Learning and Krashen’s & Terrell’s Natural Approach (in the 1980s) are good examples of this latest trend in language teaching.)
* Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
Communicative language teaching (CLT) is an approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages that emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. The Communicative Approach in language teaching starts from a theory of language as communication. The goal of language teaching is to develop communicative competence. The Communicative Approach does a lot to expand on the goal of creating communicative competence compared to earlier methods that professed the same objective. Teaching students how to use the language is considered to be at least as important as learning the language itself.
Key Features
(1) 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 the 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.
Although it can be successfully argued that the communicative language teaching (CLT) approach does enable learners to interact, and it has been advocated and still widely-used, it has some disadvantages:
(a) Some people believe that with CLT there is a danger of focusing too much on oral skills at the expense of reading and writing skills, and that there may be too much focus on meaning at the expense of form.
(b) It is also worth considering that CLT may not be appropriate in EFL classrooms where English is rarely heard or used outside of the classroom.
(c) Students with low levels of proficiency in the target language may find it difficult to participate in oral communicative activities.
(d) It may also be a difficult method to use in very large classes.
* Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT)
Task-based language learning (TBLL), also known as task-based language teaching (TBLT) or task-based instruction (TBI) focuses on the use of authentic language and on asking students to do meaningful tasks using the target language. Such tasks can include visiting a doctor, conducting an interview, or calling customer service for help. Assessment is primarily based on task outcome (in other words the appropriate completion of tasks) rather than on accuracy of language forms. This makes TBLL especially popular for developing target language fluency and student confidence.
TBLL was popularized by N. Prabhu while working in Bangalore, India. According to Jane Willis, TBLL consists of the pre-task, the task cycle, and the language focus. The components of a task are: goals and objectives, input, activities, teacher role, learner role and settings.
Frameworks of TBLT
Advantages and disadvantages
Task-based learning is advantageous to the student because it is more student-centered, allows for more meaningful communication, and often provides for practical extra-linguistic skill building. Furthermore, as the tasks are likely to be familiar to the students (e.g. visiting the doctor), students are more likely to be engaged, which may further motivate them in their language learning.
There have been criticisms that task-based learning is not appropriate as the foundation of a class for beginning students. Others claim that students are only exposed to certain forms of language, and are being neglected of others, such as discussion or debate. Teachers may want to keep these in mind when designing a task-based learning lesson plan.
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