1 2 According to Cambridge international Dictionary : Method means a particular way of doing something Approach refers to different theories about the nature and acquisitions of language or how languages are learned. 3 Major language trends in twentieth - century language teaching Language teaching came into its own as a profession in the twentieth century. The whole foundation of contemporary language teaching was developed during the early part of the twentieth century, as applied linguists and others sought to develop principles and procedures for the design of teaching methods and materials, drawing on the developing fields of linguistics and psychology to support a succession of proposals for what were thought to be more effective and theoretically sound teaching methods. Langua ge teaching in the twentieth century was characterized by frequent change and innovation and by the development of sometimes competing language teaching ideologies. Much of the impetus for change in approaches to language teaching came about from changes i n teaching methods. The method concept in teaching – the notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning – is a powerful one, and the quest for better methods was a preoccupation of many teach ers and applied linguists throughout the twentieth century. Common to each method is the belief that the teaching practices it supports provide a more effective and theoretically sound basis for teaching than the methods that preceded it. The chapters in P art I examine the developments that led to the first major paradigm in modern language teaching – the adoption of grammar - based teaching methods that came to be known as the structural approach or Situational Language Teaching in the United Kingdom, and Au diolingualism in the United States. A brief history of language teaching R eviewing the history of language teaching methods, provides a background for discussion of contemporary methods and suggests the issues we will refer to in analyzing these methods. From this historical perspective we are also able to see that the concerns that have prompted modern method innovations were similar to those that have always been at the center of discussions on how to teach foreign languages. Changes in language teaching methods throughout history have reflected recognition of changes in the kind of proficiency learners need, such as a move toward oral proficiency rather than reading comprehension as the goal of language study; they have also reflected changes in theories of the nature of language and of language learning. Kelly (1969) and Howatt (1984) have demonstrated that many current issues in language teaching are not particularly new. Today's controversies reflect contemporary responses to questions that have been a sked often throughout the history of language teaching. 4 It has been estimated that some 60 percent of today's world population is multilingual. From both a contemporary and a historical perspective, bilingualism or multilingualism is the norm rather than t he exception. It is fair, then, to say that throughout history foreign language learning has always been an important practical concern. Whereas today English is the world's most widely studied foreign language, 500 years ago it was Latin, for it was the d ominant language of education, commerce, religion, and government in the Western world. In the sixteenth century, however, French, Italian, and English gained in importance as a result of political changes in Europe, and Latin gradually became displaced as a language of spoken and written communication. - The nature of approaches and methods in language teaching T he changing rationale for foreign language study and the classroom techniques and procedures used to teach languages have reflected responses to a variety of historical issues and circumstances. Tradition was for many years the guiding principle. The Grammar - Translation Method reflected a time - honored and scholarly view of language and language study. At times, the practical realities of the classro om determined both goals and procedures, as with the determination of reading as the goal in American schools and colleges in the late 1920s. At other times, theories derived from linguistics, psychology, or a mixture of both were used to develop a both ph ilosophical and practical basis for language teaching, as with the various reformist proposals of the nineteenth century. As the study of teaching methods and procedures in language teaching assumed a more central role within applied linguistics from the 1 940s on, various attempts have been made to conceptualize the nature of methods and to explore more systematically the relationship between theory and practice within a method. In this chapter we will clarify the relationship between approach and method an d present a model for the description, analysis, and comparison of methods. When linguists and language specialists sought to improve the quality of language teaching in the late nineteenth century, they often did so by referring to general principles and theories concerning how languages are learned, how knowledge of language is represented and organized in memory, or how language itself is structured. 5 Chapter one THE GRAMMAR - TRANSLATION METHOD The grammar - translation method is a method of teaching foreign languages derived from the classical (sometimes called traditional) method of teaching Greek and Latin In grammar - translation classes, students learn grammatical rules and then apply those rules by translating sentences between the target language and their native language. Advanced students may be required to transl ate whole texts word - for - word There are two main goals to grammar - translation classes. One is to develop students’ reading ability to a level where they can read literature in th e target language. The other is to develop students’ general mental discipline. The users of foreign language wanted simply to note things of their interest in the literature of foreign languages. Therefore, this method focuses on reading and writing and h as developed techniques which facilitate more or less the learning of reading and writing only. As a result, speaking and listening are overlooked. Grammar - translation classes are usually conducted in the students’ native language . Grammar rules are learned deductively; students learn grammar rules by rote, and then practice the rules by doing grammar drills and translating sentences to and from the target language. More atten tion is paid to the form of the sentences being translated than to their content. When students reach more advanced levels of achievement, they may translate entire texts from the target language. Tests often consist of the translation of classical texts. There is not usually any listening or speaking practice, and very little attention is placed on pronunciation or any communicative aspects of the language. The skill exercised is reading, and then only in the context of translation. The Grammar Translation meth od embraces a wide range of approaches but, broadly speaking, foreign language study is seen as a mental discipline, the goal of which may be to read literature in its original form or simply to be a form of intellectual development. The basic approach is to analyze and study the grammatical rules of the language, usually in an order roughly matching the traditional order of the grammar of Latin, and then to practise manipulating grammatical structures through the means of translation both into and from the mother tongue. 6 The method is very much based on the written word and texts are widely in evidence. A typical approach would be to present the rules of a particular item of grammar, illustrate its use by including the item several times in a text, and prac tice using the item through writing sentences and translating it into the mother tongue. The text is often accompanied by a vocabulary list consisting of new lexical items used in the text together with the mother tongue translation. Accurate use of langua ge items is central to this approach. Generally speaking, the medium of instruction is the mother tongue, which is used to explain conceptual problems and to discuss the use of a particular grammatical structure. It all sounds rather dull but it can be arg ued that the Grammar Translation method has over the years had a remarkable success. Millions of people have successfully learnt foreign languages to a high degree of proficiency and, in numerous cases, without any contact whatsoever with native speakers o f the language (as was the case in the former Soviet Union, for example). Reading and writing are emphasized in a Grammar - Translation classroom, little or no systematic attention is paid to speaking and listening, because literary language is considered superior to spoken language. Therefore, the language learners should study written language. The focus on understanding literary texts provides the situation in which reading and writing abilities are well trained. PROCEDURES OF GRAMMAR TRANSLA TION METHOD Language teachers may develop their own procedures as long as they are in accordance with the characteristics of the GTM. The following procedure of teaching the target language through the GTM is adapted from Larsen - Freeman (2000: 15 - 17). 1. T he class reads a text written in the target language. 2. Students translate the passage from the target language to their mother tongue. 3. The teacher asks students in their native language if they have any questions, students ask questions and the teache r answers the questions in their native language. 4. Students write out the answers to reading comprehension questions. 5. Students translate new words from the target language to their mother tongue. 6. Students are given a grammar rule and based on the example they apply the rule by using the new words. 7. Students memorize vocabulary. 8. The teacher asks students to state the grammar rule. 9. Students memorize the rule. 10. Errors are corrected by providing the right answers. 7 The strength of The Grammar - Translation Method 1. Students learn easily. Because translation is the easiest way of explaining meanings or words and phrases from one language into another. 2. Student will be able to master the appropriate structures of a language and mistakes made by them. 3. An effective way for application of grammar and sentence structure. 4. It is beneficial to use in the class where there are students of various levels. 5. This method is useful in the class in which there are a large no of stude nts. The Weaknesses Of Grammar Translation Method 1. Language is seen as a collection or words which are isolated and independent. So, students themselves are not seemingly able to produce sentences. 2. Bad effect of this method is on pupil's motivation. Because she or he cannot succeed in learning the difficult grammar rules of the target language. That leads to the boredom in the classroom. 3. Students cannot master all of four skills of English (listening , speaking, reading, and writing). 4. The grammar - translation method is the easiest for a teacher to employ. It doesn't require a teacher to speak good English or make good lesson preparations. So, his/her knowledge might be lost into in oblivion. 5. The students don't develop the power of thinking in the target language. 8 CONCLUSION As its name suggests, the major characteristic of the GTM is a focus on learning the rules of grammar and their application in translation passages from one language int o the other. The GTM is simply a combination of the Grammar Method and the Translation Method. The main principles of the method are as follows: The grammar taught is formal grammar. Vocabulary in the target language is learned through direct translation from the native language. The vocabulary depends on the texts selected. The teaching begins with rules, isolated vocabulary items, paradigms and translation. Easy classics are then translated. Vocabulary is divided into lists of words. The words are to be memorized. Pronunciation is not taught. Grammar rules are also memorized as units and illustrative sentences are often provided. The GTM has produced generations of students who can master the grammar of the target language, yet cannot engage in simple c onversations. Even though the method is believed to be ineffective to teach the target language communicatively, the method is still in use in some parts of Indonesia. It is believed that the method can develop students' writing skill. For students who res pond well to rules, structures, and error correction, the GTM can provide a challenging learning process but for those students who do not respond well to such a learning process, the language class taught through this method may be boring. However, comb ining the principles of the GTM with the Communicative Approach may well be the perfect combination for many language learners. They will learn to communicate in the target language and also acquire a sound and accurate basis in the grammar of the target l anguage. A sample lesson 9 Lesson Plan Lesson Let’s Practice Origami Time Stage Objective Procedure Interaction 3m Warm - up ✓ To make Ss more comfortable. - Greeting & introduction. - Telling a story related to the topic/ summarizes the previous class. - Declaration of the lesson. T - Ss 12m Activity 1 Translation of the reading passage Vocabulary ✓ To be able to translate from one language into another. ✓ To develop reading and writing skills. - T will teach Ss new vocabulary items. T - Ss Ss - T - Some randomly chosen Ss will read the passage and translate into Arabic. - T will ask Ss to write out answers to the reading passage questions. - T will decide whether the answers are correct or not. 10m Activity 2 Correct the false information ✓ to develop the mental skill of the Ss. - T will ask Ss to read the false statements. T - Ss - T will ask Ss to correct the information after translating the sentences. T - Ss 12m Activity 4 Grammar ✓ To learn about the grammar rules of the target language. (present progressive) - T will present grammar rules e.g. verbs with examples. P22 T - Ss Ss - T - T will ask the Ss to memorize the grammar rule. - Then T will ask the Ss to apply the rule on the examples given. 10 3m Writing ✓ To enable Ss to use linking words. To engage Ss at home t - T will instruct Ss to fill in the blanks with linking words after reading and translating the linking words and the passage. T will ask Ss to write a similar passage in the target language as homework. T - Ss Greetings : T: good morning dear students Ss: good morning teacher T: how are you? Ss: We’re fine, thank you. How are you? T: I’m fine thank you. Sit down please. New vocabs: Vocabulary Meaning Fold يطوي Ancient قديم Impact تأثير Concept مفهوم Fraction كسر You as a teacher can hide the meaning and ask the Ss to know it. Teacher will choose a student to read the first sentence and translate it into Arabic. (We all used to fold a paper and turn it into a fan, but nobody ever told us that this was an art with a name (origami)! 11 (اعتدنا جميعا ً على طوي ورقة وتحويلها إلى مروحة لكن لم يخبرنا أحد أن هذا يدعى بفن الأوريغامي) Then other students follow. Teacher will move to activity 1 to answer the questions after translating them into Arabic. 1 - What is origami? 1 - ما هو الأوريغامي؟ Origami is an ancient art of folding papers and forming them into three dimensional shapes without cutting or gluing them. الأوريغامي هو فن قديم لطوي الورق وتحويله إلى أشكال ثلاثية الأبعاد من دون قصها أو لصقها. Give students some sentences in Arabic and ask them to give you the translation in English. كان الأوريغامي ممتعا ً ثم تبين أن له فوائد أخرى وتأثير على التعليم. Teacher will give students time to answer the questions then s/he will check. Teacher will move to activity 2. s/he will ask students to read the first sentence, translate it then correct the false statement. Cutting and gluing paper is essential in origami. قص ولصق الورق ضروري في الأوريغامي Cutting and gluing paper is inessential in origami. قص ولص ق الورق غير ضروري في الأوريغامي Teacher will move to activity (grammar) Teacher will explain the grammar rule of present progressive in Arabic, يعبر زمن المضارع المستمر عن الحدث الذي يحصل في الوقت الحاضر أثناء حدوثه والكلمات المفتاحية التي تعبر عنه هي : (n ow, at the moment) I am v+ing 12 He, she, it is v+ ing We, they, you are v+ ing then s/he will ask students to see if there are any examples of the verbs in present progressive form in the text. On page 22 there are some pictures and four verbs. Teacher will ask students to translate the meanings of the verbs then apply the rule to the verbs and put them in correct sentences. Play يلعب He is playing the oud هو يعزف على العود Teacher can distribute cards with the verbs in Arabic and ask them to say it in English. Teacher will move to activity 4: writing Page 25. Teacher asks students to read the linking words and translate them into Arabic. Because لأن But لكن After بعد And و However لكن Then put them in the blanks after translating the passage. اسمي سالي. أحب لعب الرياضة بشكل عام لكن كرة السلة هي المفضلة. عادة ما ألعبها في مركز الرياضة لكننا نلعبها في المنتزه هذه الأيام لأن المركز الرياضي مغلق. أنا أمارسها فقط بعد أن أنهي واجباتي. أشعر ً بأني لائقة جسديا و سعيدة بعد أن أمارس اللعب مع أصدقائي. As an assessment teacher will ask students to write a similar passage in English. 13 Chapter two The Direct Method of Teaching English What Is the Direct Method of Teaching English? DM was developed in the late 19th century by language teachers who saw the language classroom as too often a place where students simply memorized translations of words an d conjugations of verbs. If you a re like me, you a re nodding your head now — we’ve all been in that class DM was develope d by studying how children learn their native tongue. Think about how you learned to speak your first language. You listened to adults and older children, then started trying out language, using trial and error, action and reaction, to develop your speaking ability. This is the core idea behind DM — to replicate this natural language learning process. • Uses Only the Target Language. The first principle of DM is that we onl y ever use the language we’re teaching. The teacher never translates for students or lets them use a language other than English in the classroom. • Students Figure Out Rules Themselves. Because we aren’t translating for our students, we’re introducing language in context through action and interaction. We’re pushing students to think in English and to develop their own understanding of the rules of the language. For example, by hearing the teacher say “he is a student” to Ricardo, and “they are students” to Chris and Natalia, students start learning verb conjugations without creating diagrams or having patterns laid out for them. • Highly Active. Because DM doesn’t allow anyone in the classroom to fall back on their first language, it demands t hat teachers and students alike are active — acting, moving, drawing, pointing and touching — as they explore and learn English. This is also part of what makes it a natural process — think of how much listening and acting small children engage in before they be gin speaking and using language. • Focuses on Speaking. Again, because it’s a natural method, DM typically focuses more on speaking and listening than on reading and writing. Having said this, there’s plenty of room for reading and writing in the DM classroo m, as I’ll discuss later. 14 The following list of strengths should give you a good sense of why Direct Method is worth using, and when it is most appropriate to use it. • Natural Learning. The first strength of DM comes from the fact that it’s a natural method; because it replicates how we learned our native language, it feels more intuitive to our students and allows them to learn English more deeply than other methods. (Note that for students who haven’t been taught in this way, it can be disori enting at first. Trust me, after a few days they’ll get used to it. This doesn’t mean that they won’t complain — DM often demands more of your students than traditional teaching.) • Improved Pronunciation. Because of its focus on speaking and listening, studen ts who learn through DM typically develop improved pronunciation, along with confidence in speaking. • Thinking in English. In classrooms that allow students to switch back and forth between languages, thinking in English is discouraged; in contrast, a class room that immerses students in English pushes them to do more thinking in English. • Real - world Skills. Although reading and writing are important skills, particularly in school, in daily life we simply speak and listen more than we read and write. It’s easy to see why speaking and listening are more important skills when we consider how many people have been able to find success despite being illiterate, versus how difficult life can be for those who cannot speak or hear. DM is not perfect for teaching a ll terms and concepts. Breton says, “only the clever child can be profited by this method”. Typically DM is easier to use with lower - level students, and becomes more challenging when tackling more abstract vocabulary and complex grammar at higher levels. 15 The followings are the Weaknesses of the D irect M ethod • Incomplete method : direct method emphasis only on the oral appeal. It does not suit an average child. This method has one sided approach. Hence, only those students who have sensitive ear and facile tongue will benefit by it. It is not good for those children who learn more with their eyes. Because their visual appeal is stronger than the aural - oral appeal. So this method is incomplete. • Greater weaknesses in practice : This method focus mainly o n the drill work. The weakness of this method becomes clear more in practice than in theory. It gives insufficient attention to reading and written work. • Misuse of mother tongue : in direct method, mother tongue is not use that is why it makes difficult to explain the meaning of each and every word by English. Students may give some other meaning which is different from the desired one. • Lack of environment: Lack of another environment is another limitation of direct method. A foreign language cannot be tau ght unless there is a suitable learning environment. English is taught as a second language and even as a first language in English medium school, but we cannot stop the use of mother tongue. Components of a Direct Method Lesson H ow do we actually plan a successful DM lesson? • Warm Up. Warm - up activities are useful no matter how you’re teaching, but they’re particularly important when using the Direct Method because your students need encouragement to be active, to get up on their feet , to shout out in English and to be willing to make mistakes. The ideal warm up will be physically active and quite vocal to refresh students’ memories about the previous lessons. • Introduction of Material. After warming up, t he teacher introduces new material, one term or phrase at a time. For example, I might introduce the 16 phrases “how are you?” and “I am happy / sad / angry ,” by acting out the different feelings and showing pictures while s/he speak s • Modeling. The teacher then models how to use the phrases. Use students in pairs to help acting things out as necessary while doing this. Begin by having the class ask you “how are you?” and model picking a card. Show the feeling image to the students, and then answer the question while acting out the feeling. Next, in pair s, ask students “how are you?” and let them pick a card that they will then act out while answering. • Ch eck for Understanding. You can see how this is built in throughout the process. As students try out the phrases, and act out the feelings you will be checking for understanding throughout. Move from pairs to different groupings of students — have the first r ow turn to the second and ask them “How are you?” and let the second row answer while acting out the feeling they have chosen. • Guided Practice. In pairs g uide students as they practice asking and answering these questions. You can point to a picture that wi ll determine their answer, or could have them pick a picture out of a stack of pictures. • Independent Practice. Let students wander the room, ask one another “how are you?” and choose their own answers, acting out the feelings while they speak. • Closure. Fin ally, end the lesson by moving to reading and writing, putting the phrases on the board, letting students write them down and drawing pictures to help them remember the meaning. You can incorporate a final check for understanding in many ways - For example , you might ask students individually how they are doing as they leave the classroom, and let them answer while making faces at you. 17 D irect I nstruction L esson T emplate General information Lesson title: Subject : reading: Grade Learning objectives: After reading the text( ) the students will be able to - identify phrases and words that describe --- - Answer the questions related to the text - - Sum up the lesson Materials: - ( ) narrative text - Emotion related to the situations - white board &coloured pens - projected resource sheets - cards with varied tasks Technology - CD recorder - digital copies of the text shown by a projector will allow low level students the access needed to understand and store the details of the text Language demands :specific ways that academic language ( vocabulary, function, discourse, syntax) is used by students to participate in learning tasks through reading ,writing, listening and speaking to demonstrate their understa nding 18 Chapter three The Audio - lingual Teaching Method (ALT) The first step towards Audiolingualism was “Army method”. It was based on Leonard Bloomfield’s technique (informant method) of memorization and repetition in simple foreign language patterns. In brief, the linguist, without knowing the language, was trained to abso rb its basic structure from the informant/native speaker and together with students “gradually learned how to speak this language, as well as to understand much of its basic grammar” (Richards, J.C. et - al. 1987). The second step towards Audiolingualism be came The Aural - Oral approach, which was invented by Charles Fries. According to Fries, language should be taught by using “intensive oral drilling of its basic patterns” (Richards, J.C. et - al. 1987). This method emphasized: • proper pronunciation and inton a tion. Richards (1987), “this method claimed to have transformed language teaching from an art to science, which would enable learners to achieve mastery of a foreign Language effectively and efficiently Mechanism of teaching 1. Foreign language is presented entirely orally. (in early stages of learning language written materials are not presented) 19 2. Reading and Writing activities (are based on what students already know how to say orally) The basis of audio - lingual approach are: • Repetition • oral drills • memorization of simple patterns are the basis of audio - lingual approach. Types of activities • Repetition: where the student repeats an utterance as soon as he hears it, without looking at printing materials. After a s tudent has repeated an utterance, he may repeat it again and add a few words, then repeat that whole utterance and add more words. Example : - I used to know him. - I used to know him years ago... • Inflection: Where one word in a sentence appears in another fo rm when repeated E xample : - I bought the tickets. He bought the candy - She bought the candy. The m ain Characteristics of Audio - lingual approach suggests that students be taught phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language; all these patterns can 20 be learned through contrastive analysis of the differences between the native tongue and the target language, which helps students to acquire new language easier. Audio - lingual approach is based on: listening speaking reading writing Some cha racteristics of Audio - lingual Method are: • Drills are used to teach structural patterns • Set phrases are memorized with a focus on intonation • Grammatical explanations are kept to a minimum • Vocabulary is taught in context • Audio - visual aids are used • Focus is o n pronunciation • Correct responses are positively reinforced immediately Features of ALM Everyday language and oral communication are important parts of ALM. Perfect pronunciation is very essential because classes with ALM are largely based on oral communication activities. One of the most important goals is to form learning habits of target language. The other goals are to make students speak, write and think in target language without stopping and to form new habits for learning target language. Speaking in native language is avoided for students, because this can break the habit formation process. In grammar teaching, students are exposed to mechanical drills which p rovide to acquire grammar rules.