Approaches and Methods in English Language Teaching

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in

creative expression and knowledge.” - Albert Einstein

The field of English Language Teaching (ELT) is dynamic and changing. Identifying successful ways to teach English is a problem-solving mission. Throughout the past century, many people have sought to identify an ideal approach to language learning. From these efforts, new ideas emerge and influence how people teach English. In the process, less effective approaches and methods are modified and replaced by those that seem to work better.

The Direct Method

In the second half of the nineteenth century, as international trade and travel increased, so did the need for effective English language instruction. Language teachers sought to replace Grammar Translation in response to developments in the field of linguistics and students’ need to learn to speak, rather than simply know, English. Phonetics and pronunciation became prominent, as did strategies modeled on L1 acquisition (Zainuddin, 2011). The Direct Method was also known as the Reform Method. It was first publicly recognized in 1884 by F. Frankle, a German psychologist (Zainuddin, 2011). Vastly different from Grammar Translation, the Direct Method has the following characteristics:

■ The use of students’ native language is not allowed; students are required to speak only the target language. Translation is prohibited (Larsen-Freeman, 2011).

■ Vocabulary is associated with objects and concepts rather than translations; teachers use pictures and realia to teach new words.

■ It is more important for language to be grammatically correct than for it to be natural.

■ Teachers don’t explicitly teach grammar rules.

■ Lessons are built around topics, like sports, and involve question-answer interaction patterns (Schackne, n.d.). In a typical Direct Method lesson, the teacher might read a text aloud, for example, a girl’s description of her family. I’m Lucy. I’m nine years old. I live with my dad, my sister, and my grandmother. Dad is a taxi driver. Dad gets up early. Grandmother makes our breakfast. Dad drives me to school. Grandmother makes our lunch and helps me with my homework. My dad gets home very late. In the evening we sometimes watch TV. On Sundays, we do different things. Sometimes on the weekend we go to the movies. My dad loves music. Sometimes we listen to music. I love my family! As the teacher reads, he or she demonstrates the meaning of that section of text by placing photos of the family members on a family tree on the board. Then the teacher has different students read the text aloud. As a student reads a sentence, the teacher places a flashcard of the activity next to the corresponding photo on the board. After this, the teacher asks comprehension questions about the text, in a conversational style.

The Silent Way

In the late 1950s and 60s, linguists like Noam Chomsky began to demonstrate that language was more complex than just a set of grammar rules and vocabulary. In addition, developments in psychology and learning theory—specifically, cognitivism—indicated that students could not acquire communicative proficiency through mere habit formation (Larsen-Freeman, 2011). Instead, students needed to use their thought processes and formulate hypotheses about language in order to learn. In 1972, Caleb Gattegno proposed The Silent Way. For Gattegno, language learning was seen as a “problem-solving, creative, discovering activity” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Students could learn a new language the same way children learned, through perception, awareness, creativity, and other mental processes (Larsen-Freeman, 2011). The Silent Way has the following characteristics (Zainuddin, 2011; Larsen-Freeman, 2011):

■ Students should speak as much as possible; the teacher should be silent.

■ Learner autonomy is a priority; students learn through active thinking rather than the reception of knowledge.

■ Students are encouraged to learn through cooperation with fellow classmates.

■ Errors are an important part of the learning process; students are encouraged to correct themselves.

■ The teacher presents language through the use of a collapsible metal pointer, color-coded charts, and rods. Colors represent English sounds, words, and phrases. The Silent Way as an exclusive classroom method did not become widely popular. The complexity of the system was an obstacle for teachers and students alike, and the amount of silence required was often perceived as uncomfortable (Zainuddin, 2011). At the same time, the Silent Way did bring many beneficial concepts to English language learning. One key contribution to language learning was the reduction of teacher talk time.

Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia, or Desuggestopedia, was proposed in 1982 by Georgi Lozanov, a Bulgarian psychologist and teacher (Zainuddin, 2011). Lozanov believed that the process of language learning could be accelerated through the removal of psychological barriers, specifically performance anxiety and the fear of failure (Larsen-Freeman, 2011). Lozano asserted that people need to be in a state of “relaxed concentration” in order to learn effectively. He saw feelings and attitudes as the major factor in the success of language learning. In Suggestopedia, the teacher’s job is to create a pleasant and comfortable environment for learning. Teaching incorporates the skill areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking, as well as songs, drama, exercise, art, games, and psychotherapy (Zainuddin, 2011). Other characteristics include (Zainuddin, 2011; Larsen-Freeman, 2011):

■ Classrooms are arranged with comfortable furniture and soft lighting. The teacher plays relaxing music in the background.

■ Use of the L1 is permitted, especially with instructions. Translation is seen as useful.

■ Charts and posters in the classroom offer indirect, peripheral learning opportunities.

■ Learning objectives center on practical language that students can use right away.

■ Speaking and vocabulary are prioritized over reading and writing.

■ Grammar is presented explicitly but not heavily emphasized.

■ Lessons are divided into phases: the receptive phase and the active phase. Model dialogues, called concerts, occur in the receptive phase.

■ Students listen to and recite dialogues at different times of day and to different types of music. They also recite dialogues using different emotions and voices.

■ Error correction is done as gently as possible.

■ Learning has to be fun.

Task-Based Language

Teaching Later discussion on the Communicative Approach led, in the 1980s, to two different views on the role of communication in language learning: “strong” vs. “weak.” Both strong and weak versions held communication, and not linguistic competence, as the ultimate goal, and both acknowledged the need for communicative activities as a crucial part of the process of language learning—not just the result of it (LarsenFreeman, 2011). The weak version saw in-class communication as practice for real life communication. The strong version claimed that language is not as much taught as it is acquired through communication. This was described by Howatt (1984) as “using English to learn [English],” and in Nunan (2004) as “learners learn to communicate by communicating.” The strong version of the Communicative Approach led to the idea that language should be taught through the use of content from other subject areas, and through tasks, rather than direct language instruction. This gave rise to Task-Based Language Teaching, and more recently Content and Language Integrated Learning, most commonly referred to as CLIL (Larsen-Freeman, 2011). (See pages 32-33 for further discussion of CLIL.) Task-Based Language Teaching emerged with the Communicative Approach and was established on the principle that students should learn language by using it. This was a strong response to former approaches like Grammar Translation and the Situational-Structural Approach. In Task-Based Language Teaching, there is no grammar or vocabulary syllabus; rather, students learn whatever language is relevant to a specific task or project.

Dogme

Dogme 95 was a movement established in 1995, not as a new approach to language teaching, but rather, as a new approach to filmmaking (Thornbury, 2000). A group of Danish directors—Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Kristian Levring, and Soren Kragh-Jacobsen—committed to a new form of filmmaking that would focus on storytelling and acting, rather than on cinematographic 29 Chapter 1 technique. The directors agreed to shoot on location and never on sets, to use natural lighting and sound at all times, and to use no props. They also vowed not to work with genres or different time periods; they would not include superficial or unreal actions, or apply post-production effects (“Filmbug,” n.d.). Dogme ELT, or Teaching Unplugged, refers to an approach to teaching that strives to renounce materials-driven instruction and get back to the basics. Scott Thornbury and Neil Forrest proposed a set of rules—analogous to the filmmaking rules—for this teaching movement (Thornbury, 2000; 2012):

■ Lessons are “conversation-driven.” Dialogue is the basis for all other classroom experiences. Classes are not limited to conversation, but conversation is a way for teachers to engage their students and assess their needs in order to provide additional guidance.

■ Lessons are “materials-light,” as opposed to following a course book. The students are the focus rather than the teacher, the pedagogy, or the activities themselves.

■ Lessons develop through “emergent language.” There is no predetermined syllabus. Grammar-syllabi are rejected by this approach; content is everything. The teacher should respond to learners’ interests and needs directly as communication happens in real time.

Dogme lessons also have the following characteristics:

■ Classroom activities are similar to those in a task-based approach.

■ Lessons aim for real communication, authentic tasks, and learner autonomy.

■ Teachers use different techniques to engage the class, such as presenting a conversation piece (a picture or object that will get students thinking and talking). Dogme is a controversial approach to teaching. It could be argued that students cannot communicate if they do not have any real thoughts or opinions on a topic, and textbooks, as useful as they can be, can fall short in offering relevant content and tasks. In the very least, Dogme is right in asserting that the teacher should always keep his or her head and use textbooks (and other teaching materials) as tools, not the guaranteed and exclusive path to language acquisition.

Content and Language Integrated Learning

The term Content and Language Integrated Learning, or CLIL, was first coined by David Marsh in 1994 (Pinkley, 2012). It refers to an approach that combines language teaching with academic content teaching. CLIL falls under the broader category of task-based learning, where students learn the language by doing things with it. In order to create a CLIL environment, it is necessary to incorporate what is known as the “Four Cs” (International House Journal of Education and Development, 2009; Fitzgerald, 2012; Pinkley, 2012):

■ Content – Students learn academic subject matter (math, science, history, etc.) through an “additional” language.

■ Communication – Students receive language instruction to facilitate communication about and uptake of course content. There is no language syllabus.

■ Cognition – Instruction develops critical thinking skills.

■ Culture – Instruction exposes students to see themselves as members of their community as well as a global society. The CLIL Compendium, a body of research centering on the nature and application of CLIL teaching practices, has outlined five dimensions and focuses.