Communicative Approach

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

Communicative Approach

Masayu Salamah 06081001015

Rinda Purnamasary 06081001016

Introduction

The communicative approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the audio-lingual and grammar-translation methods of foreign language instruction. They felt that students were not learning enough realistic, whole language. They did not know how to communicate using appropriate social language, gestures, or expressions. In brief, they were at a loss to communicate in the culture of the language studied. Interest in and development of communicative-style teaching mushroomed in the 1970s; authentic language use and classroom exchanges where students engaged in real communication with one another became quite popular.

In the intervening years, the communicative approach has been adapted to the elementary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary levels, and the underlying philosophy has spawned different teaching methods known under a variety of names, including notional-functional, teaching for proficiency, proficiency-based instruction, and communicative language teaching. Therefore people create some varieties approach that used to teach English as a second or foreign language. There are many approaches to language learning. Language Link, like many other schools, has adopted ‘The Communicative Approach’. This is the approach that will be expected to use when teaching your students. That being the case, as a new Language Link teacher, a teacher must have a good understanding of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

The Brief History

The Communicative Approach grew out of sociolinguistics in the 1970s and the view that there is more to communication than just grammar and vocabulary. Communication involves ‘communicative competence’ – the ability to make ourselves understood in socially appropriate ways. The claim is that L2 is learned best when the students try to communicate, i.e., to say something that they really want or need to say. Nowadays most teachers and students take the need for real communication in class for granted, but English as a Foreign Language (EFL) history clearly shows that this has not always been the case! Within the Communicative Approach itself the precise role of communication is debated. The so-called ‘weak’ form of the approach sees communicative activities as opportunities for students to practice new language and develop fluency. A weak version of language teaching using this approach might simply mean adding more opportunities to communicate to a traditional grammar based curriculum.

The ‘strong’ Communicative Approach on the other hand states that language is acquired through communication. It is not just a question of using communicative activities to activate passive knowledge of the language that has been pre-taught at an earlier stage. The belief is that communicative confidence only develops if students are thrown in at the deep end and required to carry out tasks that demand real-life communication. Rather than a communicative activity being a chance for students to show what they can do or to use what they have learned, it is through working on a task that the students learn what they need. It is impossible to make sense of current EFL teaching, especially in the west, without reference to the Communicative Approach. The weak Communicative Approach has had the most far-reaching impact on the EFL world, probably because its acceptance meant adapting rather than rejecting existing materials and methodology. The strong Communicative Approach has been very influential in the development of Task Based Learning.

The Concept

The communicative approach is the theory that language is communication. Therefore the final aim of CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) is communicative competence. Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audio-lingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students’ motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics.

There are several principles of the communicative approach. The first, authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities. Second, learners learn through using it to communicate. Third, fluency is an important dimension of communication. Then, communication involves the integration of different language skills. The last, learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial and error.

Margie S. Berns, an expert in the field of communicative language teaching, writes in explaining Firth’s view that “language is interaction; it is interpersonal activity and has a clear relationship with society. In this light, language study has to look at the use (function) of language in context, both its linguistic context (what is uttered before and after a given piece of discourse) and its social, or situational, context (who is speaking, what their social roles are, why they have come together to speak)” (Berns, 1984, p. 5).

In a communicative classroom for beginners, the teacher might begin by passing out cards, each with a different name printed on it. The teacher then proceeds to model an exchange of introductions in the target language: “Guten Tag. Wieheissen Sie?” Reply: “Icheisse Wolfie,” for example. Using a combination of the target language and gestures, the teacher conveys the task at hand, and gets the students to introduce themselves and ask their classmates for information. They are responding in German to a question in German. They do not know the answers beforehand, as they are each holding cards with their new identities written on them; hence, there is an authentic exchange of information.

Later during the class, as a reinforcement listening exercise, the students might hear a recorded exchange between two German freshmen meeting each other for the first time at the gymnasium doors. Then the teacher might explain, in English, the differences among German greetings in various social situations. Finally, the teacher will explain some of the grammar points and structures used.

The following exercise is taken from a 1987 workshop on communicative foreign language teaching, given for Delaware language teachers by Karen Willetts and Lynn Thompson of the Center for Applied Linguistics. The exercise, called “Eavesdropping,” is aimed at advanced students.

“Instructions to students” Listen to a conversation somewhere in a public place and be prepared to answer, in the target language, some general questions about what was said.

1. Who was talking?

2. About how old were they?

3. Where were they when you eavesdropped?

4. What were they talking about?

5. What did they say?

6. Did they become aware that you were listening to them?

The exercise puts students in a real-world listening situation where they must report information overheard. Most likely they have an opinion of the topic, and a class discussion could follow, in the target language, about their experiences and viewpoints.

Communicative exercises such as this motivate the students by treating topics of their choice, at an appropriately challenging level.

Materials in this approach fall into three broad categories:

– Text-based material , for example practice exercises, reading passages, gap fills, recordings, etc. can be found in almost any course book as well as in books containing supplementary materials. They form an essential part of most lessons.

– Task-based material includes game boards, role play cards, materials for drilling, pair-work tasks, etc. They might be used to support ‘real life’ tasks such as role-playing booking into a hotel, or a job interview.

– Realia includes such things as magazines, newspapers, fruit and vegetables, axes, maps – things from the real world outside the classroom. They can be used in many activities. For example, fruit and vegetables could be used in a shopping activity, an axe could be used to show the effect of using the present perfect continuous on a short action verb.

They can be used as the basis for classroom activities. Once again not only must the activity be appropriate to the level of the students but the materials used must be appropriate too.

The Language Skill Focused

Communicative approach stimulate ‘real life’ communicative experiences. Froese V in his book named as ‘Introduction to whole language teaching and learning’ (1991) mentioned that learners should conduct an interview because they actually need information. In role playing process, the purpose is to learn how to formulate appropriate questions. But here, as Froese V noted these activities should not only stimulate real life experiences but, whenever possible, should actually be real life experiences. Instruction in listening and speaking, as well as reading and writing, is given within the context of handling various learning tasks, which involve learners with language. Language drills, recitation and isolation grammar exercises are not the ways to acquire any language. Analysis of language is done in specific contexts. Decontextualized language is not used as a basis for skill instruction. The focus is not upon listening and speaking but upon using language to communicate and to learn. As students use language to learn in various subject areas, it becomes necessary for them to communicate with peers in large and small groups as well as with the teacher. Collaborative talk can occur between peers in quite an informal way or in more formal cooperative learning groups. Listening and speaking skills as vehicles for learning across all subjects areas. Barnes D in his book named as ‘Oral language and learning’ (1990) described that listening and speaking become valuable not only as isolated skills or groups of skills, but as vehicles for learning across all subject areas. Oral communication should be integrated with other areas of instruction.

Merits

Drawbacks

The main drawback of the communicative language teaching approach is that it is commonly short- usually months only. It does not dwell on drilling; instead it covers the various ways of communication with contextualization, translation and speaking skills. During the study period, various role play and group projects may be used but if the student does not and cannot speak up then the approach may be considered to be unfruitful.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2178587

CLT does not focus on error correction. This is a disadvantage as learners are forced to practice with classmates who are not fluent in English. They do not like talking with students who make mistakes. They want to learn to say things correctly and be corrected by the teacher whenever they make an error. They find it frustrating to ‘chat’ with learners from different countries because they find their accent, pronunciation and speech unintelligible.

Another disadvantage is that the CLT approach focuses on fluency but not accuracy. The approach does not focus on error reduction but instead creates a situation where learners are left using their own devices to solve their communication problems. Thus they may produce incoherent, grammatically incorrect sentences.

The Teacher’s Roles

In Communicative Approach, the teacher has some important roles. The teacher can be the facilitator of the communication process in the classroom. The teacher also can act as an independent participant within the learning-teaching group. The teacher is expected to act as a resource, an organizer of resources, a motivator, a counsellor, a guide, an analyst and a researcher. The teacher also can include being an actor and an entertainer. After all, a good lesson must be interesting or the students will ‘switch off’ and learn nothing. Besides, teacher’s job in communicative classroom is to get their students to communicate using real language by providing them with instruction, practice, and above all opportunities to produce English in activities which encourage acquisition and fluency. In this approach, the teacher will find themselves talking less and listening more–becoming active facilitators of their students’ learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986). The teacher sets up the exercise, but because the students’ performance is the goal, the teacher must step back and observe, sometimes acting as referee or monitor.

Students’ Roles

A classroom during a communicative activity is far from quiet, however the students do most of the speaking, and frequently the scene of a classroom during a communicative exercise is active, with students leaving their seats to complete a task.

Because of the increased responsibility to participate, students may find they gain confidence in using the target language in general. Students are more responsible managers of their own learning (Larsen-Freeman, 1986).

Whichever of the four skills is being taught, the main focus must be on the student and not on the teacher. The interaction should usually be the student to student and should include the teacher only where necessary. During most classroom activities the teacher will monitor and intervene only where necessary.

Conclusion

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Community Language Learning (CLL)

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

Community Language Learning (CLL)

Putri Wulan Dela (06081001026)

Megawati (06081001028)

INTRODUCTION

Community Language Learning (CLL) was primarily designed for monolingual conversation classes where the teacher-counselor would be able to speak the learners’ L1. This methodology is not based on the usual methods by which languages are taught. Rather the approach is patterned upon counseling techniques and adapted to the peculiar anxiety and threat as well as the personal and language problems a person encounters in the learning of foreign languages. Consequently, the learner is not thought of as a student but as a client. The native instructors of the language are not considered teachers but, rather are trained in counseling skills adapted to their roles as language counselors.

The language-counseling relationship begins with the client’s linguistic confusion and conflict. The aim of the language counselor’s skill is first to communicate an empathy for the client’s threatened inadequate state and to aid him linguistically. Then slowly the teacher-counselor strives to enable him to arrive at his own increasingly independent language adequacy. This process is furthered by the language counselor’s ability to establish a warm, understanding, and accepting relationship, thus becoming an “other-language self” for client.

Community Language Learning is an innovative approach that Brown (1994:58) lists as one of the “Designer Methods of the Spirited Seventies”. It is certainly unique in that it is one of the first methods to be developed that really focused on the feelings of the students and tried to address “affective” factors in learning (particularly for adult learners). It was also the first method to combine the field of language learning with dynamics and principles of “counseling”.

Important and beneficial as that may be, it could be said that the method goes too far in the direction of affective factors at the expense of other considerations. It has been criticized for being too non-directive, and it certainly is not method which could be recommended for students who are learning English as part of a standard, compulsory education curriculum. The method assumes that students intrinsically want to learn the new language and that is not always the case. In the class where only half (or less) of the students actually want to be there, the principles of the group support/dynamic are very likely to fall down.

The method has other limitations. The teacher must be fluent in both the target language and the students’ mother language. It cannot be used for large or very large classrooms, and would be quite limited in terms of how it could be applied to classes of young learners, who tend to instinctively expect a certain amount of active direction from the teacher.

Still, the basic affective principle is a good one and various Community Language Learning techniques can be very effectively in combination with other methods. The tape recording and transcription elements are very useful, and any method which stresses the feelings and independent development of the learners themselves is one worth looking at and trying out in variety of ways.

A Brief History

The age of audiolingualism, with its emphasis on surface forms and on the rote practice of patterns, began to wane when the Chomskyan revolution in linguistics turned linguists and language teachers towards the “deep structure” of language. Psychologists began to recognize the fundamentally affective and interpersonal nature of language learning. The decade of the 1970s was a chaotic but exceedingly fruitful era during which L2 learning and teaching increasingly recognized the importance of the affective domain, hence the birth of an affectively based teaching method—the community language learning method (CLL).

Community Language Learning (CLL) is the name of a method developed by Charles Curran and his associates. Curran was a specialist in counseling and a professor of psychology at Loyola University, Chicago. His application of psychological counseling techniques to learning is known as Counseling-Learning. Community Language Learning represents the use of Counseling-Learning theory to teach languages. As the name indicates, CLL derives its primary insights and organizing rationale from Rogerian counseling. Counseling is one person giving advice, assistance and support to another person who has a problem or is in some way in need. Community Language Learning draws on the counseling metaphor to redefine the roles of the teacher as counselor and the learners as clients in the language classroom. CLL is cited as an example of a “humanistic approach”. Another language teaching tradition with which CLL is linked is a set of practices used in certain kinds of bilingual education programs and referred to by Mackey as language alteration. In language alteration, a message/lesson/class is presented first in the native tongue and then again in the second language. Students know the meaning and flow of a L2 message from their recall of the parallel meaning and flow of a L1 message. They begin to holistically piece together a view of the language out of these message sets. In CLL, a learner presents a message in L1 to the knower. The message is translated into L2 by the knower. The learner then repeats the message in L2, addressing it to another learner with whom he or she wishes to communicate. CLL learners are encouraged to attend to the “overhears” they experience between other learners and their knowers.

Comparing Client-Counselor Relationships in Psychological Counseling and CLL

Psychological counseling Community language learning

(client-counselor) (learner-teacher)

1. Client and counselor agree to counseling 1. Learner and knower agree to L2 learning

2. Client articulates problem in language of 2. Learner presents to the knower in L1 a

affect message he wishes to deliver to another

3. Counselor listens carefully 3. Knower listens and other learners hear

4. Counselor restates client message 4. Knower restates learner’s message in L2

in language of recognition

5. Client evaluates the accuracy of 5. Learner repeats the L2 message form

counselor’s message restatement to its addressee

6. Client reflects on the interaction 6. Learner replays and reflects on the

of the counseling session messages exchanged during the class

The concept

The Main Principles

The Community Language Learning Method takes its principles from the more general Counseling-Learning approach. There are some main principles of Community Language Learning Method:

1) Building a relationship with and among students is very important.

2) Any new learning experience can be threatening. Students feel more secure when they have an idea of what will happen in each activity. People learn non-defensively when they feel secure.

3) The superior knowledge and power of the teacher can be threatening. If the teacher does not remain in the front of the classroom, the threat is reduced and the students’ learning is facilitated.

4) The teacher should be sensitive to students’ level of confidence and give them just what they need to be successful.

5) Teacher and students are whole persons. Sharing about their learning experience allows learners to get to know one another and to build community.

6) The teacher ‘counsels’ the students. He does not offer advice, but rather shows them that he is really listening to them and understands what they are saying.

7) Learning at the beginning stages is facilitated if students attend to one task at a time.

8) The teacher encourages student initiative and independence, but does not let students flounder in uncomfortable silences.

9) Students need quiet reflection time in order to learn.

10) Students learn best when they have a choice in what they practice. If students feel in control, they can take more responsibility for their own learning.

11) Students need to learn to discriminate in perceiving the similarities and differences among the target language forms.

12) In groups, students can begin to feel a sense of community and can learn from each other as well as the teacher. Cooperation, not competition, is encouraged.

13) Learning tends not to take place when the material is too new or, conversely, too familiar.

14) Students reflect on what they have experienced.

15) In the beginning stages, the ‘syllabus’ is generated primarily by the students.

Approach, Procedure and Objectives

Richards and Rogers (1986) explain five stages involved in using this method. They are as follows:

STAGE 1

The client is completely dependent on the language counselor.

First, he expresses only to the counselor and in L1 what he wishes to say to the group. Each group member overhears this English exchange but no other members of the group are involved in the interaction.
The counselor then reflects these ideas back to the client in the foreign language in a warm, accepting tone, in simple language in phrases of five or six words.
The client turns to the group and presents his idea in foreign language. He has the counselor’s aid if he mispronounces or hesitates on a word or phrase. This is the client’s maximum security stage.

STAGE 2

Same as above.
The client turns and begins to speak the foreign language directly to the group.
The counselor aids only as the client hesitates or turns for help. These small independent steps are signs of positive confidence and hope.

STAGE 3

The client speaks directly to the group in the foreign language. This presumes that the group has now acquired the ability to understand his simple phrases.
Same as 3 above. This presumes the client’s greater confidence, independence, and proportionate insight into the relationship of phrases, grammar, and ideas. Translation is given only when a group member desires it.

STAGE 4

The client is now speaking freely and complexly in the foreign language. He/she presumes group’s understanding.
The counselor directly intervenes in grammatical error, mispronunciation, or where aid in complex expression is needed. The client is sufficiently secure to take correction.

STAGE 5

Same as stage 4.
The counselor intervenes not only to offer correction but to add idioms and more elegant constructions.
At this stage the client can become counselor to the group in stages 1, 2, and 3.

Language Skills Focused

In the early stages, typically the students generate the material since they decide what they want to be able to say in the target language.
Later on, after students feel more secure, the teacher might prepare specific materials or work with published textbooks.
Particular grammar points, pronunciation patterns, and vocabulary are worked with, based on the language the students have generated.
The most important skills are understanding and speaking the language at the beginning, with reinforcement through reading and writing.

Advantages and Drawbacks

Advantages:

Creating a supportive community to lower student anxiety
Help them overcome threathening affective factors, such as making errors or competing with peers.

In the beggining of the course, the learners ate totally dependent on the teacher’s translation, but over time they are able to engage in more direct communication as they move toward independence. In addition, learners are not limited in their topics of conversation, regardless of their language proficiency. Learners are free to talk about the affairs of daily life. This approach to language learning encourages the meaningfull use of language which the learners can store, synthesize and use in new situations. CLL allows learners to practice the structure or characteristics patterning of sentences and conversations. Morever, it is believed from the teachers’ translation, learners will be able to induce a grammar far more complex than they are able to use their own. One key reason this method seemed to work, was that it allowed the learners to continue using their L1, while promoting the L2. It is important to be aware of its existence, so that when the need arises, the strengths of CLL can be utilized.

Drawbacks

The procedure does not ensure that a variety of contexts necessary for copying in the target culture is included since the content is determined by the participants.
Students may feel uncomportable with the apparent lack of structure or sequence in the introductuon of grammatical and lexical items; that is too much reliance on an inductive strategy of learning. Besides, there is no syllabus for CLL, a posteriori approach to syllabus specification. The teacher is too nondirective. Finally, the success of CLL depended largely on the translation expertise of the counselor.

The Role of the Teacher and the Student

The teacher: The teacher’s initial role is primarily that of a counselor. This means that the teacher recognizes how threatening a new learning situation, can be for adult learners, so he skillfully understands and supports his students in their struggle to master the target language.

The goals of teachers who use the Community Language Learning Method

Teachers want their students to learn how to use the target language communicatively.
They want their students to learn about their own learning.
They want their students to take increasing responsibility for their own learning.
They want their students to learn how to learn from one another.

The students: Initially the learners are very dependent upon the teacher. As the learners continue to study, they become increasingly independent.

Conclusion

Community Language learning is a good method for practicing communication. It is also good method for begginers who just first study their second language. Using this method caan help begginers to reduce their anxiety in the classroom. Most of the time the students were anxious and never enjoyed learning English. The teacher believes that punishment and pressure could help students learn more. There are a lot of reasons related to language achievement such as students’ personality characters, learning styles, education system, textbook appropriateness, or educators’ method. Eventhough anxiety is not the most important reason for failure or success in learning language, we cannot ignore its affection. This method consides the student to be “whole person”. It is not only to think about students’ intellect but also their feeling in learning language.

References:

http://www.articlesbase.com/languages-articles/community-language-learning-4282256.html

http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/alhumaidi/Publications/Community%20Language%20Learning.pdf

http://www.nadasisland.com/communitylearn.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_language_learning

http://members.fortunecity.com/nadabs/communitylearn.html

http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/ask-the-experts/methodology-questions/methodology-community-language-learning/146410.article

http://www.ihes.com/bcn/tt/articles/cll.html

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/community-language-learning

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Grammar Translation Method

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

Grammar Translation Method

Member’s Name: 1. Reni Fitriyanti (06081001021)

2. Apik Soraya (06081001032)

Introduction

There are many methods that is usually used by teachers to teach foreign language. One of them is Grammar Translation Method. The characteristics of GTM are used to teach grammar in the class, focused on translation and memorizing verb conjugations and forms, and given in native language. The primary skills are reading and writing. Although it is an old method, it is still used by the teachers nowadays.

History of GTM

A traditional technique of foreign-language teaching based on explicit instruction in the grammatical analysis of the target language and translation of sentences from the native language into the target language and vice versa. It was originally used to teach ‘dead’ languages (and literatures) such as Latin and Greek, involving little or no spoken communication or listening comprehension. In the 18th century foreign languages started to appear on the school curricula, requiring a systematic approach to teach them. Grammar Translation was in fact first known in the United States as the Prussian Method. (A book by B. Sears, an American classics teacher, published in 1845 was entitled The Ciceronian or the Prussian Method of Teaching the Elements of the Latin Language [Kelly 1969].)

The Grammar-Translation Method is not new. It has had different names, but it has been used by language teachers for many years. At one time it was called Classical Method since it was first used in the teaching of the classical languages, Latin and Greek. Earlier in 20th century, this method was used for the purpose of helping students read and appreciate foreign language literature. It was also hoped that, through the study of the grammar of the target language, students would become more familiar with the grammar of their native language and that this familiarity would help them speak and write their native language better.

Finally, it was thought that foreign language learning would help students grow intellectually; it was recognized that students would probably never use the target language, but the mental exercise of learning it would be beneficial anyway.

Grammar Translation dominated European and foreign language teaching from the 1840s to the 1940s, and in modified form it continues to be widely used in some parts of the world today. At its best, as Howatt (1984) points out, it was not necessarily the horror that its critics depicted it as. Its worst excesses were introduced by those who wanted to demonstrate that the study of French or German was no less rigorous than the study of classical languages. This resulted in the type of Grammar-Translation courses remembered with distaste by thousands of school learners, for whom foreign language learning meant a tedious experience of memorizing endless lists of unusable grammar rules and vocabulary and attempting to produce perfect translations of stilted or literary prose. Although the Grammar-Translation Method often creates frustration for students, it makes few demands on teachers. It is still used in situations where understanding literary texts is the primary focus of foreign language study and there is little need for a speaking knowledge of the language. Contemporary texts for the teaching of foreign languages at college level often reflect Grammar-Translation principles. These texts are frequently the products of people trained in literature rather than in language teaching or applied linguistics. Consequently, though it may be true to say that the Grammar-Translation Method is still widely practiced, it has no advocates. It is a method for which there is no theory. There is no literature that offers a rationale or justification for it or that attempts to relate it to issues in linguistics, psychology, or educational theory.

In the mid and late of 19^th century opposition to the Grammar-Translation Method gradually developed in several European countries. This reform movement laid the foundations for the development of new ways of teaching languages and raised controversies that have continued to the present day.

Objectives of GTM

¡ To be able to read literature written in the target language

¡ To be able to translate from one language to another

¡ To develop reading and writing skill

According to Prator and Celce-Murcia in Teaching English as a Second Foreign Language (1979:3), the key features of the Grammar Translation Method are as follows:

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.

Choosing a method of teaching or learning English as a Second Language (ESL) mainly depends on the goals of the student. We know that Grammar Translation Method is a traditional method. It is used for several years ago until now. These are descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Grammar Translation Method.

1) Translation of a literary passage

Students translate a reading passage from the target language into their native language. The reading passage focuses on several classes: vocabulary and grammatical structures in the passage. The passage may be excerpted from some work from the target language literature, or a teacher may write a passage carefully designed to include particular grammar rules and vocabulary. The translation may be written or spoken or both. Students should not translate idioms and the like literally, but rather in a way that shows that they understand their meaning.

2) Reading comprehension questions

Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of the reading passage. The questions are sequenced so that the first group of questions asks for information contained within the reading passage.

3) Antonyms/synonyms

Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms in the reading passage. Students could also be asked to find synonyms for a particular set of words. Students might be asked to define a set of words based on their understanding of them as they occur in the reading passage.

4) Cognates

Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound patterns that correspond between the languages. Students are also asked to memorize words that look like cognates but have meanings in the target language that are different from those in the native language.

5) Deductive application of rule

Grammar rules are presented with examples. Exceptions to each rule are also noted. Once students understand a rule, they are asked to apply it to some different examples.

6) Fill-in-the-blanks

Students are given a series of sentences with words missing. They fill in the blanks with new vocabulary items or with items of a particular grammar type, such as prepositions or verbs with different tenses.

7) Memorization

Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native language equivalents and are asked to memorize them. Students are also required to memorize grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms such as verb conjugations.

8) Use words in sentences

In order to show that students understand the meaning and use of a new vocabulary item, they make up sentences in which they use the new words.

9) Composition

The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language. The topic is based upon some aspect of the reading passage of the lesson. Sometimes, instead of creating a composition, students are asked to prepare a précis of the reading passage.

From these list descriptions of common/typical technique, now we know what are several advantages will be mentioned in GTM.

The Advantages (Merits)

1) The target language is quickly explained in GTM.

Translation is the easiest way of explaining meanings or words and phrases from one language into another. Any other method of explaining vocabulary items in the second language is found time consuming. A lot of time is wasted if the meanings of lexical items are explained through definitions and illustrations in the second language. Further, learners acquire some short of accuracy in understanding synonyms in the source language and the target language.

2) Teacher and students are easy to communicate/It does not need native language

Teacher’s labour is saved. Since the textbooks are taught through the medium of the mother tongue, the teacher may ask comprehension questions on the text taught in the mother tongue. Pupils will not have much difficulty in responding to questions on the mother tongue. So, the teacher can easily assess whether the students have learnt what he has taught them. Communication between the teacher and the learners does not cause linguistic problems. Even teachers who are not fluent in English can teach English through this method. That is perhaps the reason why this method has been practiced so widely and has survived so long.

3) The students easy to understand because of grammatical lessons.

ESL students taught successfully under the grammar translation method will have the ability to translate even difficult texts from their native language into English. They possess a thorough knowledge of English grammar, including verb tenses. These students will be familiar with several classical pieces of English literature, which are used for grammatical analysis and exercises.

This method requires few specialized skills on the part of teachers. Grammar rules and Translation Tests are easy to construct and can be objectively scored. Many standardized tests of foreign languages still do not attempt to test communicative abilities, so students have little motivation to go beyond grammar analogies, translations and other written exercises.

Disadvantages (Demerits)

Every Method must have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of Grammar Translation Method have been explained on the passage above. Here are the disadvantages:

1) No Scope for Effective Communication and Very Tedious for Learners

Direct translation is widely regarded as an inefficient way of becoming fluent in any language. For example, translating a sentence word-for-word from Spanish to English might not result in a sentence with the same meaning because so little attention is paid in class to listening and speaking. Students with years of English lessons through this method are often unable to hold even a basic conversation in English because classes with this method are usually taught in a lecture style, with the teacher mostly speaking the students’ native language rather than English, class can be dull and cause students to lose interest.

2) Ineffective Method

It is a teaching method which studies a foreign language in order to read its literature focusing on the analysis of its grammar rules, and to translate sentences and texts into and out the target language. In the Grammar Translation Method the teaching of the second language starts with the teaching of reading. Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis. Thus, the learning process is reversed.

3) More Importance on Grammar Rules than on Meaning

Exact translation is not possible. Translation is, indeed, a difficult task and exact translation from one language to another is not always possible. A language is the result of various customs, traditions, and modes of behavior of a speech community and these traditions differ from community to community. There are several lexical items in one language, which have no synonyms/equivalents in another language. For instance, the meaning of the English word ‘table’ does not fit in such expression as the ‘table of contents’, ‘table of figures’, ‘multiplication table’, ‘time table’ and ‘table the resolution’, etc. English prepositions are also difficult to translate. Consider sentences such as ‘We see with our eyes’, ‘Bombay is far from Delhi’, ‘He died of cholera’, He succeeded through hard work’. In these sentences ‘with’, ‘from’, ‘of’, ‘through’ can be translated into the Hindi preposition ‘se’ and vice versa. Each language has its own structure, idiom and usage, which do not have their exact counterparts in another language. Thus, translation should be considered an index of one’s proficiency in a language.

4) Slow Learning Rate and Making Learners Think in L1

It does not give pattern practice. A person can learn a language only when he internalizes its patterns to the extent that they form his habit. But the Grammar Translation Method does not provide any such practice to the learner of a language. It rather attempts to teach language through rules and not by use. Researchers in linguistics have proved that to speak any language, whether native or foreign entirely by rule is quite impossible. Language learning means acquiring certain skills, which can be learnt through practice and not by just memorizing rules. The persons who have learnt a foreign or second language through this method find it difficult to give up the habit of first thinking in their mother tongue and then translating their ideas into the second language. They, therefore, fail to get proficiency in the second language approximating that in the first language. The method, therefore, suffers from certain weaknesses for which there is no remedy.

Teacher’s role

Teachers are just guides because grammar Translation deals with the memorization of rules, manipulation of the morphology and syntax of the foreign language. It requires few specialized skills on the part of teachers because test of grammar rules and translation are easy to construct and be objectively scored. The facilitator main function is that of observation rather than corrective intervention in regards to the learners.

Students’ role

Students are expected to memorize endless lists of grammar rules and vocabulary, and produce almost perfect translations. This method means a tedious experience and often creates frustration for students. Main activities and controls are stated by the students, he or she is the one who provides the course of the learning process and the status of knowledge as well. Collaborative work is of s great importance, a real cooperative behavior from the learner, is required for the lessons.

Conclusion

The Grammar Translation Method was developed for the study of “dead” languages and to facilitate access to those languages’ classical literature. That’s the way it should stay. English is certainly not a dead or dying language, so any teacher that takes “an approach for dead language study” into an English language classroom should perhaps think about taking up Math or Science instead. Rules, universals and memorized principles apply to those disciplines – pedagogy and communicative principles do not.

Sources

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grammar-translation+method

http://purwarno-linguistics.blogspot.com/2006/01/grammar-translation-method_13.html

http://www.slideshare.net/vacoka/grammar-translation-method-presentation.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/albertrayan/grammar-translation-method.

http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/fallay/Extra%20materials%20Eng%20406/Chapter%20Two%20%20The%20Grammar-Translation%20Method.pdf.

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Grammar Translation Method

Member’s Name: 1. Reni Fitriyanti (06081001021)

2. Apik Soraya (06081001032)

Introduction

History of GTM

Objectives of GTM

¡ To be able to read literature written in the target language

¡ To be able to translate from one language to another

¡ To develop reading and writing skill

According to Prator and Celce-Murcia in Teaching English as a Second Foreign Language (1979:3), the key features of the Grammar Translation Method are as follows:

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.

1) Translation of a literary passage

2) Reading comprehension questions

3) Antonyms/synonyms

4) Cognates

5) Deductive application of rule

Grammar rules are presented with examples. Exceptions to each rule are also noted. Once students understand a rule, they are asked to apply it to some different examples.

6) Fill-in-the-blanks

7) Memorization

8) Use words in sentences

In order to show that students understand the meaning and use of a new vocabulary item, they make up sentences in which they use the new words.

9) Composition

From these list descriptions of common/typical technique, now we know what are several advantages will be mentioned in GTM.

The Advantages (Merits)

1) The target language is quickly explained in GTM.

2) Teacher and students are easy to communicate/It does not need native language

3) The students easy to understand because of grammatical lessons.

Disadvantages (Demerits)

Every Method must have advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of Grammar Translation Method have been explained on the passage above. Here are the disadvantages:

1) No Scope for Effective Communication and Very Tedious for Learners

2) Ineffective Method

3) More Importance on Grammar Rules than on Meaning

4) Slow Learning Rate and Making Learners Think in L1

Teacher’s role

Students’ role

Conclusion

Sources

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grammar-translation+method

http://purwarno-linguistics.blogspot.com/2006/01/grammar-translation-method_13.html

http://www.slideshare.net/vacoka/grammar-translation-method-presentation.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/albertrayan/grammar-translation-method.

http://faculty.ksu.edu.sa/fallay/Extra%20materials%20Eng%20406/Chapter%20Two%20%20The%20Grammar-Translation%20Method.pdf.

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Direct Method as One of Language Teaching Approaches

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

Direct Method as One of Language Teaching Approaches

Compiled by:

1. Pratiwi Lestari (06081001010)
2. Rahmedia Alfi Rahmi (06081001017)

1. Introduction

English Language Teaching has been subjected to a tremendous change, especially throughout twentieth century. Perhaps more than any other discipline, this tradition has been practiced, in various adaptations, in language classroom all around the world for centuries. While the teaching of Maths or Physics, that is, the methodology of teaching Maths or Physics, has, to a greater or lesser extent, remained the same, this is hardly the case with English or language teaching in general.

2. The History of Direct Method

In the western world back in the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries, foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek, both supposed to promote their speakers’ intellectuality. At the time, it was of vital importance to focus on grammatical rules, syntactic structures, along with rote memorization of vocabulary and translation of literary text. There was no provision for the oral use of the languages under study; after all, both Latin and Greek were not being taught for oral communication but for the sake of their speakers’ becoming “scholarly?” or creating an illusion of “erudition.” Late in the nineteenth century, the classical Method came to be known as Grammar Translation Method, which offered very little beyond an insight into the grammatical rules attending the process of translating from the second to the native language.

It is widely recognized that the Grammar Translation Method is still one of the most popular and favorite models of language teaching, which has been rather stalwart and impervious to educational reforms, remaining standard and sine qua non methodology. With hindsight, we could say that its contribution to language learning has been lamentably limited, since it has shifted the focus from the real language to a “dissected body” of nouns, adjectives and prepositions, doing nothing to enhance a student’s communicative ability in the foreign language.

The last two decades of the nineteenth century ushered in a new age. In his the Art of Learning and Studying Foreign Languages (1880), Francouis Gouin described his “harrowing” experiences of learning German, which helped him gain insights into the intricacies of language teaching and learning. Living in Hamburg for one year, he attempted to master the German language by dint of memorizing a German grammar book and a list of the 248 irregular German verbs, instead of conversing with the natives. Exulting in the security that the grounding in German grammar offered him, he hastened to go to the university to test his knowledge but he could not understand a word. After his failure, he decided to memorize the German roots, but with no success. He went so far as to memorize books, translate Goethe and Schiller, and learn by heart 30.000 words in a dictionary, only to meet with failure. Upon returning to France, gouin discovered that his three-year-old nephew had managed to become chatterbox of French-a fact that made him think that the child held the secret to learning a language. Thus, he began observing his nephew and came to the conclusion that language learning is a matter of transforming perceptions into conceptions and then using language to represent these conceptions. Equipped with this knowledge, he devised a teaching method premised upon these insights. It was against this background that the series method was created, which taught learners directly a “series” of connected sentences that are easy to understand. For instance, I stretch out my arm. I take hold of the handle. I turn the handle. I open the door. I pull the door. Nevertheless, this approach to language learning was short-lived and, only a generation later, gave place to the Direct Method, posited by Charles Berlitz. The basic tenet of Berlitz’s method was that second language learning is similar to first language learning. In this light, there should be lots of oral interaction, spontaneous use of the language, no translation, and little if any analysis of grammatical and syntactic structures.

3. The Concepts

In short, the principles of the Direct Method are as follows:

Classroom instruction is conducted in the target language.
There is an inductive approach to grammar
Only everyday vocabulary is taught
Concrete vocabulary is taught through pictures and objects, while abstract is taught by association of ideas
The learner is actively involved in using the language in realistic everyday situations
Students are encouraged to think in the target language
Speaking is taught first before reading or writing
This method states that the printed word should be kept away from the second language learner for as long as possible
Translation is completely banished from any classroom activity. Classroom activities are carried out only in the target language
Use of chain activities accompanied by verbal comments like: I go to the door. I open the door. I close the door. I return to my place. I sit down. (called the Gouin series)
Grammar is taught inductively (i.e. having learners find out rules through the presentation of adequate linguistic forms in the target language)
Emphasis is put on correct pronunciation and grammar

The teaching techniques rely mostly on:

Reading aloud
Question answer exercise
Self correction
Conversation practice
Fill-in-the-blank exercise
Dictation
And paragraph writing

The key Aspects of this method are:

I. Introduction of new word, number, alphabet character, sentence or concept (referred to as an element):

• Show: point to visual aid or gestures (for verbs), to ensure student clearly understands what is being taught.

• Say: teacher verbally introduces element, with care and enunciation.

• Try: student makes various attempts to pronounce new element.

• Mold: teacher corrects student if necessary, pointing to mouth to show proper shaping of lips, tongue and relationship to teeth.

• Repeat: student repeats each element 5-20 times.

II. Syntax, the correct location of new element in sentence:

• Say and repeat: teacher states a phrase or sentence to student; student repeats such 5-20 times.

• Ask and reply in negative: teacher uses element in negative situations (e.g. “Are you the President of the United States?” or “Are you the teacher?”); students says “No”. If more advanced, may use the negative with “Not”.

• Interrogative: teacher provides intuitive examples using 5 Ws (Who, What, Where, Why, When) or How”. Use random variations to practice.

• Pronouns with verb using visuals (such as photos or illustrations) or gestures: teacher covers all pronouns. Use many random variations such as “Is Ana a woman?” or “Are they from France?” to practice.

• Use and questions: student must choose and utilize the correct element, as well as posing appropriate questions as Teacher did.

III. Progress, from new Element to new Element (within same lesson):

A. Random Sequencing:

1. After new Element (X) is taught and learned, go to next (Y).

2. After next Element is taught and learned, return to practice with first.

3. After these two are alternated (X-Y; Y-X; Y-Y, etc), go to 3rd Element.

4. Go back to 1 and 2, mix in 3, practice (X-Y-Z; Z-Y-X; Y-Y-Z, etc.) and continue building up to appropriate number of Elements (may be as many as 20 per lesson, depending on student, see B.1), practicing all possible combinations and repeating 5-20 times each combination.

B. Student-Led Limits:

1. Observe student carefully, to know when mental “saturation” point is reached, indicating student should not be taught more elements until another time.

2. At this point, stop imparting new information, and simply do Review as follows:

C. Review: Keep random, arbitrary sequencing. If appropriate, use visuals, pointing quickly to each. Employ different examples of Element that are easy to understand, changing country/city names, people names, and words student already knows. Keep a list of everything taught, so proper testing may be done.

D. Observation and Notation: Teacher should maintain a student list of words/phrases that are most difficult for that student. List is called “Special Attention List”

IV. Progress, from Lesson to Lesson:

• Lesson review: the first few minutes of each lesson are to review prior lesson(s).

• Global review: transition from Lesson Review to a comprehensive review, which should always include items from the Special Attention List.

V. Advanced Concepts:

• Intermediate and Advanced Students may skip some Element introduction as appropriate; become aware of student’s language abilities, so they are not frustrated by too much review. If Student immediately shows recognition and knowledge, move to next Element.

• Non-Standard Alphabets: Teaching Student to recognize letters/characters and reading words should employ same steps as in above Aspect I. and alphabet variations may be taught using Aspect III. Writing characters and words should initially be done manually, either on paper or whiteboard.

• Country Accents: Any student at intermediate stages or higher should be made aware of subtle variations in pronunciation, which depend on geography within a country or from country to country.

4. The Advantages

Clearly the Direct Method is a shift away from the Grammar Translation Method. One of its positive points is that it promises to teach the language and Not about the language. More advantages can be listed as follows:

1. It is a natural method. It teaches the second/foreign language in the same way as one learns one’s mother tongue. The language is taught through demonstration and conversation in context. Pupils, therefore, acquire fluency in speech. They are quick at understanding spoken English. They can converse in English with felicity and ease.

2. There is no gap between active and passive vocabulary. This method does not differentiate between active and passive vocabularies. According to this method whatever is required for understanding through English is also required for expressing through it. If English is taught through the mother tongue, the gulf between the active and passive vocabularies is widened. The learner acquires more of passive vocabulary because he concentrates on understanding English rather than expressing through it.
3. This method is based on sound principles of education. It believes in introducing the particular before general, concrete before abstract and practice before theory.

Its emphasis on speech made it more attractive for those who have needs of real communication in the target language.

It was one of the first methods to introduce the teaching of vocabulary through realia.

5. The Disadvantages

Major fallacy of Direct Method was belief that second language should be learned in way in which first language was acquired – by total immersion technique. But obviously far less time and opportunity in schools, compared with small child learning his mother tongue.
Is first language learning process really applicable to second foreign language learning at later stage
First language learning is essential part of child’s total growth of awareness of world around him. He starts off with blank sheet, then starts collecting/selecting organizing the experience of a totally new world, perceived through his senses, by formulating a variety of pre-verbal concepts.
Subsequently part of the process of learning how to live is the acquisition of skills to verbalize his desires and aversions and to label his concepts, so as to make living more sufficient and secure.
Effectiveness of these verbalizing skills depends on maturation level of the child / on type of environment on intelligence.
Language is part of an intrinsic process through which child learns to recognize/ deal with new situations.
Compare learning of second language

At 11 years of age, child is not interested in recognition of new living situations; child has normally learned the basic concepts and can handle situations for ordinary living purposes. So as far as ‘learning to live’ is concerned, no similarities between two processes of learning (not the case for immigrant children – they need to learn English for survival purposes – therefore motivating force is totally different).
Older child has already at his disposal a first language, which is securely fixed to the universe of things; (s) he is equipped with this advantage; first language learner does not have this.
Older child is more mature and it would seem nonsensical to imitate first language learning processes totally for learning additional language (think of contact hours needed) this is argument for using MT (anti Direct Method).
What does foreign language learner wish to know first?
To know the FL equivalent of MT sentences/ words used in hitherto familiar situations.
To learn how to handle certain known/ recurring situations through the medium of the FL. He doesn’t wish to handle completely new situations in FL terms.

The Direct Method rejects use of the printed word – but this objection is illogical since second language learner has already mastered his reading skills.

Does printed word interfere with FL pronunciation? -In fact experiments show that the printed word is of real help to consolidate the FL and actually reinforces retention- leaves mental imprint, image of shape of word.

Later disciples of Direct Method took it to extremes and refused to speak a single word of English in lessons. To avoid translating new words, they searched for an association between new words and the idea it stood for. Extreme Direct Methodists had cupboards full of realia. Explanations became cumbersome and time-consuming.
Successful teacher of the Direct Method needed competence in his language / stamina/ energy/ imagination/ ability and time to create own materials and courses – beyond capacity of all but gifted few.

“The method by its very nature presupposes a teacher of immense vitality, of robust health, one endowed with real fluency in the modern language he teaches. He must be resourceful in the way of gesture and tricks of facial expression, able to sketch rapidly on the board and in the language teaching day, he must be proof against linguistic fatigue”.

Also Direct Methodists failed to grade and structure their materials adequately – no selection, grading or controlled presentation of vocabulary and structures. Plunged pupils into flood of living language – quite bewildering for pupils.

However, many teachers did modify the Direct Method to meet practical requirements of own schools, implemented main principles, i.e. teaching through oral practice and banning all translation into target language. Obviously compromise was needed.

Direct method did pave the way for more communicative, oral based approach, and as such represented an important step forward in the history of language teaching.

Comparison of first and second-language learning processes (Language Teaching and the Bilingual Method, CJ Dodson, Pitman Publishing 1967, ISBN 0 273 31665 6)

If first and second-language learning processes are compared, the following pattern emerges:

First-language learner

1. He has no command of another language before learning the target language

2. He is neurologically immature, thus his mother tongue is not fixed

3. He learns to recognize and cope with reality through the target language

4. He requires a high contact-frequency with the target language to learn that all things have names

5. He requires a high contact-frequency with the target language to recognise the meaning of sounds representing the names of things, because he is neurologically immature because his range of experience with the outside world is limited and as he has no knowledge of the equivalent meaning of sounds from another language for the same things

6. He requires a high contact-frequency to establish integration of mother-tongue sounds with things

Second-language learner

1. He has command of another language before learning the target language

2. He is neurologically mature, thus his mother tongue is fixed

3. He learns to recognize and cope with reality through the mother tongue, not the target language

4. He already knows that all things have names

5. He has already experienced the process, involving high contact-frequency and maturation, of recognizing the meaning of sounds representing the names of things in his mother tongue. As he is now neurologically mature, he need not be subjected a second time to the same process in the new target language merely to recognize the equivalent meaning of target-language sounds for the same things. (Recognition of the sound representing the thing should not be confused With the integration of the sound with the thing, set

6. He has already established integration of mother-tongue sounds with things, but requires high contact-frequency to establish new integration of target-language sounds with the same things.

6. The Teachers’ Role

In direct method, teachers introduce a new target language word or phrase to the students and there is no mother tounge. Therefore, the role of the teacher is as demonstrator because the teacher demonstrates the meaning of words through the use of realia, pictures, or pantomime; they never translate it into the students’ native language. The teacher is also a facilitator because he facilitates the students with the target language. The teacher is the source for the students to know the words in target language. The teachers provide information of the target language including the culture consisting of the history of the people who speak the target language. The teacher is the partner of the students. Teachers interact with the students a lot, asking them questions about relevant topics and trying to use the grammatical structure of the day in the conversation.

The teacher can be the monitor of the students. He watches the students’ progress in using the target language. The teacher has the students self-correct by asking them to make a choice between what they said and an alternative answer supplied. Another possibility is for the teacher to repeat what the student said, stopping just before the error. The student knows that the next word was wrong. The teacher is also the initiator. He finds various techniques to get the students to self-correct whenever possible. The teacher uses map drawing as a technique to give listening comprehension. The teacher can use paragraph writing as a technique for writing activity. He asks the teacher to write paragraph with their own words about the lesson studied. The students can use their memory or use the passage in the lesson as the model.

7. The Students’ Role

The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching/learning process. Teacher/student interaction became fuller, guessing of context or content, completing fill-ins, and doing “cloze” exercises were the order of the day. The students’ role in direct method is the active learner. They are active in exploring new words, expression, etc. in target language. The students are also the observer and practitioner. In direct method, the students observe the target language used by the teacher in teaching and they try to get the meaning based on the demonstration given and then they will practice the target language they observed and they use it to communicate with their friends and teacher in classroom.

8. Conclusion

The direct method of teaching was developed as a response to the Grammar-Translation method. It sought to immerse the learner in the same way as when a first language is learnt. All teaching is done in the target language, grammar is taught inductively, there is a focus on speaking and listening, and only useful ‘everyday’ language is taught. The weakness in the Direct Method is its assumption that a second language can be learnt in exactly the same way as a first, when in fact the conditions under which a second language is learnt are very different. The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching/learning process. Teacher/student interaction became fuller, guessing of context or content, completing fill-ins, and doing “cloze” exercises were the order of the day. The teacher is as the facilitator of the language and the students is the active learners who are active in learning and exploring the target language.

References

Lena, Marta. 2010. The Direct Method. http://martalenabanurea.blogspot.com/2010/03/direct- method.html. Accessed on April 23, 20011.

Thanasoulas, Dimitrios. 2002. The changing winds and shifting sands of the history of English Language Teaching. http://www.englishclub.com/tefl-articles/history-english-language-teaching.htm. Accessed on April 23, 2011.

-. 2000. Direct Method. http://www.aber.ac.uk/~mflwww/seclangacq/langteach5.html. Accessed on April 21, 2011

-. 1999. Methodologies in Foreign Language Teaching. http://www.linguatics.com/methods.html. Accessed on april 21, 2011.

Hadinata, Purwanto. 2006. The Direct Method. http://purwarno-linguistics.blogspot.com/2006/01/direct-method.html. Accessed on April 23, 2011.

Wilson, Reid. 2000. A Summary of Stephen Krashen’s “Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. http://www.languageimpact.com/articles/rw/krashenbk.htm. Accessed on April 24, 2011.

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A Teaching Method: Suggestopedia

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

A Teaching Method: Suggestopedia

Written by:

Anggun Apriana (06081001022)

Mutiara Islamiyah (06081001038)

English Education Study Program

Sriwijaya University

INTRODUCTION

Teacher should be creative in using different kinds of teaching method. They have to choose an appropriate method to transfer the knowledge because they will find different situation and different students in the class.

Generally, students would not be able to believe that they could be successful in learning language. This lack of motivation has made students do not have confidence to speak in the target language because they do not want to make mistakes. Moreover, they find difficulties to recall the previous lesson, such us memorizing the new vocabularies. This situation encourages teacher to be creative and to use an effective method on teaching.

In addition, students have different type of learning style. They learn through their own learning style which are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic style. Those who are visual learn trough seeing and they need to see the teacher’s body language and learn best from visual displays. Then, those who are auditory learn through listening and they learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through, and listening to what others have to say. Besides, those who are kinesthetic learn through moving, doing, and touching, and learn best through a hands-on approach and actively exploring the physical world around them. In the class room, teacher will meet these three types of students. In order to make students could learn well through their own learning style, teacher is supposed to use an effective method of teaching different types of students.

Teacher should choose appropriate method of teaching different types of students, to cultivate students’ motivation, and to increase students’ memorizing ability. Suggestopedia is one of methods that can be used by teacher. It is a method that desuggests the limitations that students have to help them to believe that they could be successful in learning, so it can cultivate students’ motivation in learning. Then, it is one of methods which concerns to students’ learning style because there are visual display, audio, and physical involvements during learning process. Moreover, it involves emotional meaning in given the lesson which help students’ better in memorizing.

SUGGESTOPEDIA

A Brief History

Suggestopedia is a teaching method, which focuses on how to deal with the relationship between mental potential and learning ability and it is very appropriate to use in teaching speaking for young language learners (Xue, 2005). This method was introduced by a Bulgarian psychologist and educator, George Lazanov in 1975. Maleki (2005) believed that we are able of learning much more than we think, provided we use our brain power and inner capacities. In addition, DePorter (2008) assumed that human brain could process great quantities of material if given the right condition for learning in a state of relaxation and claimed that most students use only 5 to 10 percent of their mental capacity. Lazanov created suggestopedia for learning that capitalized on relaxed states of mind for maximum retention material.

Suggestopedia is an effective comprehensible input based method with a combination of desuggestion and suggestion to achieve super learning. The most important objective of suggestopedia is to motivate more of students’ mental potential to learn and which obtained by suggestion. Desuggestion means unloading the memory banks, or reserves, of unwanted or blocking memories. Suggestion then means loading the memory banks with desired and facilitating memories.

Lazanov (1978) cited in Lica (2008) argued that learners have difficulties in acquiring English as the second language because of the fear of the students to make mistakes. When the learners are in this situation, their heart and blood pressure raise. He believes that there is a mental block in the learners’ brain (affective filter). This filter blocks the input, so the learners have difficulties to acquire language caused by their fear. The combination of desuggestion and suggestion is to lower the affective filter and motivate students’ mental potential to learn, aim to accelerate the process by which they learn to understand and use the target language for communication to achieve super learning. It is the final goal of suggestopedia.

Theory of Language

Lozanov does not articulate a theory of language, nor does it seem he is much concerned with any particular assumptions regarding language elements and their organization. Lozanov emphasizes the importance of experiencing language material in “whole meaningful texts” (Lozanov 1978:268) and notes that the suggestopedia course directs “the student not to vocabulary memorization and acquiring habits of speech, but to acts of communication” (Lozanov 1978:109). Lozanov refers most often to the language to be learned as “the material.”

Theory of Learning

Suggestion is at the heart of Suggestopedia. Lozanov claims that his method is different from hypnosis and other forms of mind control because they lack a “desuggestive-suggestive sense” and “fail to create a constant set up to reserves through concentrative psycho-relaxation” (1978:267). (Reserves are like human memory banks) There are some principal theoretical components through which desuggestion and suggestion operate and that set up access to reserves.

Key Features of Suggestopedia

Comfortable environment

In suggestopedia method, the classroom is not the same as common classrooms. In the classroom, the chairs are arranged semicircle and faced the black or white board in order to make the students pay more attention and get more relaxed. In addition, the light in the classroom is dim in order to make the students’ mind more relaxed (Xue, 2005).

The use of music

One of the most uniqueness of this method is the use of Baroque music during the learning process. Baroque music, with its 60 beats per minute and its specific rhythm, created the kind of relaxed states of mind for maximum retention of material. It is believed that Baroque music creates a level of relaxed concentration that facilitates the intput and retention of huge quantities of materials. Baroque music helps the students to reach a certain state of relaxation, in which the receptivity is increased (Radle, 2008). The increasing of learning potential is put down to the increase of alpha brain and decreasing of blood preasure and heart rate. The use of music also depends on the expected skill of the students: listening, grammar, pronunciation, discussion, etc.

Peripheral Learning

The students learn English not only from direct instruction but also from indirect instruction. It is encouraged through the presence in the learning environment of posters and decoration featuring the target language and various grammatical information. They are changed everyday. By doing this, the students can learn many things undirectly in the classroom or outside classroom. For example, students can produce simple sentence by using the posters or grammatical information on the wall.

Free Errors

In the teaching learning process, students who make mistakes are tolerated, for example in pronouncing the word. The emphasis is on the content not the structure. Grammar and vocabularies are presented and given treatment from the teachers, but not dwelt on.

Homework is limited

Students reread materials given in the classroom once before they go to sleep at night and once in the morning before they get up.

Music, drama and art are integrated in the learning process

They are integrated as often as possible.

Design

Objective

Suggestopedia aims to deliver advance conversational proficiency quickly. It apparently bases its leaning claims on student mastery of prodigious lists of vocabulary pairs and indeed, suggests to the students that it is appropriate that they set such goals for themselves. Lozanov states categorically, “the main aims of teaching is not memorization, but the understanding and creative solution of problem”. As learners goals he cited increased access an understanding and creative solution of problem. However, because students and teachers place a high value on vocabulary recall, memorization of vocabulary pairs continues to be seen as an important goal to the suggestopedia method.

The syllabus

A suggestopedia course last thirty days and consist of ten units of study. Classes are held four hours a day, six days a week. The central focus of each unit is a dialogue consisting of 1,200 words or so, with an accompanying vocabulary list and grammatical commentary. The dialogues are graded by lexicon and grammar.

There is a pattern of work within each unit and a pattern of work for the whole course. Unit study is organized around three days: day 1 – half a day, day 2 – full day, day 3 – half a day. One of the first day of work on a new unit the teacher discusses the general content (not structure) of the unit dialogue. The learners then receive the printed dialogue with the native language translation in parallel column. The teacher answers any questions of interest or concern about the dialogue. The dialogue then is read the second and third time in ways to be discussed sub sequently.

The whole course also has a pattern of presentation and performance. On the first day a test is given to check the level the students’ knowledge and to provide a basis for dividing students into two groups, one of new beginners and one of modified (false) beginners. The teacher then briefs the students on the course and explains the attitude they should toward it.

During the course there are two opportunities for generalization of material. In the middle of the course students are encouraged to practice the target language in a setting where it might be used, such as hotels and restaurants. The last day of the course is devoted to a performance in which every student participates. The students construct a play built on the material of the course.

Types of Learning and Teaching Activities

The types of activities that are more original to suggestopedia are the listening activities, which concern the text and text vocabulary of each unit. These activities are typically part of the “pre-session phase”, which takes place on the first day of a new unit.

The students first look at and discuss a new text with the teacher. In the second reading, students relax comfortably in reclining chairs and listen to the teacher read the text in a certain way. During the third reading the material is acted out by the instructor in a dramatic manner over a background of the special musical form described previously.

Teacher’s Roles

Teacher should create situations in which learners are most suggestible and then to present linguistic material in a way most likely to encourage positive reception and retention by learners. Lozanov lists several expected teacher behaviors as follows:

Show absolute confidence in the method.
Display fastidious conduct in manners and dress.
Organize properly, and strictly observe the initial stages of the teaching process—this includes choice and play of music, as well as punctuality.
Maintain a solemn attitude towards the session.
Give tests and respond tactfully to poor papers (if any).
Stress global rather than analytical attitudes towards material.
Maintain a modest enthusiasm.

Learners’ Roles

The learners as well are should have “faith in the system and accept that they are in a childlike situation where they follow the teacher / parent” (Knight, 2001, p. 154). The students should not be critical, but simply absorb what is presented to them.

Stages of Suggestopedia

There are three stages in using suggestopedia method. They are:

1. Presentation
Presentation is the basis of conducting Suggestopedia in class successfully. The main aim in this stage is to help students relaxed and move into a positive frame of mind, with the feeling that the learning is going to be easy and funny. Desuggestion and suggestion happen at this stage at the same time.
2. Concert

First Concert

This involves the active presentation of the material to be learnt. The original form of Suggestopedia presented by Lozanov consisted of the use of extended dialogues, often several pages in length, accompanied by vocabulary lists and observations on grammatical points. Typically these dialogues will be read aloud to students to the accompaniment of music.

Second Concert

The students are now guided to relax and listen to some Baroque music. The best choice of music according to Lozanov, with the text being studied very quietly in the background. During both types of reading, the learners will sit in comfortable seats, armchairs rather than classroom chairs, in a comfortable environment. After the readings of these long dialogues to the accompaniment of music, the teacher will then make use of the dialogues for more conventional language work. The music brings the students into the optimum mental state for the effortless acquisition of the material. The students, then, make and practice dialogue after they memorize the content of the materials.

3. Practice

The use of a range of role-plays, games, puzzles, etc. to review and consolidate the learning.

Advantages of Suggestopedia

There are some benefits in utilizing suggestopedia:

A comprehesible input based on dessugestion and suggestion principle

By using this suggestopedia method, students can lower their affective filter. Suggestopedia classes, in addition, are held in ordinary rooms with comfortable chairs, a practice that may also help them relaxed. Teacher can do numerous other things to lower the affective filter.

Authority concept

Students remember best and are most influenced by information coming from an authoritative source, teachers.

Double-planedness theory

It refers to the learning from two aspects. They are the conscious aspect and the subconscious one. Students can acquire the aim of teaching instruction from both direct instruction and environment in which the teaching takes place.

Peripheral learning

Suggestopedia encourages the students to apply language more independently, takes more personal responsibility for their own learning and get more confidence. Peripheral information can also help encourage students to be more experimental, and look to sources other than the teacher for language input. For example, the students can make some sentences using the grammatical structure placed on the classroom’s wall, describe a particular place in an English speaking country by looking at the poster on the wall, etc. When the students are successful in doing such self-activities, they will be more confident.

Disadvantages of Suggestopedia

Suggestopedia also has limitation since there is no single teaching method that is chategorized as the best based on some consideration such as: the curriculum, students motivation, financial limitation, number of students, etc.

The main disadvantages of suggestopedia are as follow:

Environment limitation

Most schools in developing countries have large classes. Each class consists of 30 to 40 students. One of the problems faced in utilizing this method is the number of students in the class. There should be 12 students in the class (Adamson, 1997).

The use of hypnosis

Some people say that suggestopedia uses a hypnosis, so it has bad deep effects for human beings. Lazanov strongly denied about it.

Infantilization learning

Suggestopedia class is conditioned be child-like situation. There are some students who do not like to be treated like this as they think that thay are mature.

CONCLUSION

Teacher will find different situation and different types of students in learning. Therefore, teacher should be creative and smart in choosing and using different types of methods in teaching different skill of language. Teacher can use suggestopedia as teaching method in their teaching. Using suggestopedia is very interesting but challenging to do. It can be seen from some considerations. In one side it has some benefits, but on the other side it also has some weaknesses. In addition, the key factors of effective teaching are not the approaches and methods in language teaching themselves but the teacher’s deliberate selection of different approaches and methods and the devoted practice of putting theories into real teaching activities in a corresponding social-cultural context. It is a fact that no approach or method is perfect. However, there is no end for teacher to seek the perfection of the approaches and methods in language teaching. The language teaching method known as Suggestopedia provides some valuable insights into the power of cognition and creates techniques that make students feel comfortable, relaxed and suggestible to the material being learned.

REFECENCES

Unknown. (2011). Suggestopedia. Retrived from http://teflpedia.com/Suggestopedia#Roles_of_Teacher_and_Students on April 14, 2011.

Xue, Jinxiang. 2005. Critical Review on Suggestopedia. Division of Language and Communication. 20 Jan.2009, pr 1 <http://www.eslkidstuff.com/Articles.htm>.

Maleki, Ataillah. 2005. A New Approach to Teaching English as a Foreign Language:
the Bottom-Up Approach. Assian EFL Journal: English Language Teaching and Research Article. 27 Jan.2009 <http:// http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/97/feb/suggest.html>.

DePorter, Boby. 2008. Suggestopedia. Mediawiki. 20 Jan.2009 <http://www.englishraven.com/method_suggest.html>

Lica, Gabriela Mihaila. 2008. Suggestopedia: A Wonder Approach to Learning Foreign Languages. Assian EFL Journal: English Language Teaching and Research Article. 27 Jan.2009 <http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/97/feb/suggest.html>.

Radle, Paul. 2008. Suggestopedia. 27 Jan.2009 <http://www.vtrain.net/lang-sugg.htm>.

Adamson, Charles. 1997. Suggestopedia as NLP. Assian EFL Journal: English Language Teaching and Research Article. 27 Jan.2009 <http://www.jalt-publications.org/tlt/files/97/feb/suggest.html>.

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A Teaching Method: Reading Approach

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

A Teaching Method: Reading Approach

Written by:

Thety Anggraini (06081001003)

Lianasari (06081001004)

English Education Study Program

Sriwijaya University

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, English becomes an international language. It demands all the society in every background especially for students to master it well. Mastering English becomes a need for students who want to be success later. In Indonesia, The government has already said that English must be a prior language that should be taught as a second language. It shows that, teaching English as L2 is a very important thing. Many experts give their opinion about the condition of teaching English as a second language. They agreed that teaching English especially in Indonesia is still not good. It is also have an impact to the English achievement of students that still low.

The successful of teaching English as a second language comes from many factors, such as from the teacher, students, or outside both of them like facilities, approaches which is used by teacher etc. Here, we will talk about one of factor that gives a big influence to the successful of teaching English that is Approaches. Approaches or method is the teacher’s way to transfer knowledge to the students; the way to transfer is depend on the student’s need and teacher creativity. Teacher should use an appropriate approach in order to achieve learning goal.

Reading approach is one of methods that can be used by teacher. It is one of way that will help students to solve their problem in reading. In reading approach, students will improve their knowledge and get something new because they are demanded to read more. Reading becomes important because it is an active skill which involves inferencing, guessing, predicting etc. It also has, more often than not, a communicative function. By reading students will know about the tenses, kinds of tenses and how to use it. They also will know about the different of culture by reading cross cultural understanding, and they will learn how to pronounce the words correctly. In reading approach, many things that will be achieved by students and they can master English well. So, Because of the important of reading that have already mentioned before, teacher should teach and emphasized the students to read effectively by using reading approach.

READING APPROACH

A Brief History

Reading approach or reading method was first devised for English learners in India and French or German learners in the United States of America who have not the time to master the “active” or oral use of the language. It has also been advocated in England for pupils of inferior language-learning ability. Reading approach is like GTM (Grammar Translation Method) since it also stressed on written skills. Only the grammar necessary for reading comprehension and fluency is taught. But, it was flexible approach as far as the teaching is concerned.

Theory of Language

q Reading approach is a way to start teaching beginning readers.

q It is based on cognitive theory originally conceptualized by Albert Bandura

Theory of Learning

Reading Comprehension level of understanding
- Round Robin reading following a set order

Design

Objective

– The students are able to identify meaning rather than letters or words

– The students are able to understand and read the text quickly

– The students are able to read actively

Syllabus

The syllabus based on the development of reading skill. How to make students have the ability to comprehend what they read.

Types of Teaching and Learning Activities

Skimming

It is an activity to read shorter texts to extract accurate detailed information. Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. Skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time. There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some students read the first and last paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or screen. The students might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when the students are seeking specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

Scanning

It is a quickly reading a text to get the gist of it. Scanning is a technique that often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. The students search for key words or ideas. Scanning involves moving eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when the reader first find a resource to determine whether it will answer the questions. Once you’ve scanned the document, you might go back and skim it.

When scanning, the students look for the author’s use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words, first, second, or next. They look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style, or color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin.

Extensive reading

Extensive reading is a reading longer text, usually for pleasure. Extensive reading is an approach to language learning, including foreign language learning, by the means of a large amount of reading. The students view and review of unknown words in specific context will allow the student to infer the word’s meaning, and thus to learn unknown words. While the mechanism is commonly accepted as true, its importance in language learning is disputed. We can consider extensive reading as private reading in width at a pace suited to the individual’s ability, taste, and mood. Extensive Reading is the free reading of books and other written material that is not too difficult nor too easy! Extensive Reading is sometimes called Free Voluntary Reading.

Why use it? ESL students always want to learn more words, acquire more grammatical structures and be better readers and writers. Doing extensive reading will help students with all of the above, along with motivating them to enjoy reading and learning independently.

The role of extensive reading in language learning:

It can provide ‘comprehensible input.
It can enhance learners’ general language competence.
It increases the students’ exposure to the language.
It can increase knowledge of vocabulary.
It can lead to improvement in writing.
It can motivate learners to read.
It can consolidate previously learned language.
It helps to build confidence with extended texts.
It encourages the exploitation of textual redundancy.
It facilitates the development of prediction skills

Intensive reading

It is a quickly going through a text to find a particular piece of information. It is essentially reading in depth and is usually done in the class with each pupil having the same text. Intensive reading involves students reading in detail with specific learning aims and tasks. It can be compared with extensive reading, which involves students reading texts for enjoyment and to develop general reading skills. The Intensive Reading Technique is reading for a high degree of comprehension and retention over a long period of time. For example, the students read a short text and put events from it into chronological order.

Kinds of instructional experiences and materials

Reading aloud by the teacher is an important component of the struggling reader’s literacy program. Teacher is as model in reading process and students listen and respond to the teacher. Teachers should select stories, poems, and informational texts to read aloud that help expand and strengthen the background knowledge of their students.

Materials: storybooks, content materials, poetry, charts.

Choice: usually teacher’s choice.

Grouping format: usually whole group.

Purposes:

– To stretch students beyond their reading levels, particularly in content areas under study; expand vocabulary; develop concepts.

– To expose students to varied forms of text (fiction, nonfiction, poetry)

– To enlist varied forms of response (discussion, writing, drama, art, movement, etc.)

– To study various genres, literary devices, writer’s craft.

Struggling readers benefit from listening, responding, and expanding their knowledge, vocabulary, and concepts.

Shared reading. Teacher leads and students participate. This is extremely valuable for the child who is having trouble figuring out what reading is all about. The teacher reads a text while the student observes and follows along silently. This method helps build reading fluency and comprehension.

Materials: primarily enlarged texts visible to students; may include content materials, storybooks, charts, poems, songs.

Choice: usually teacher’s choice.

Grouping format: whole group or small group.

Purposes:

– To teach concepts about print and print conventions.

– To teach comprehension and interpretation.

– To analyze textual features: word study (e.g. phonics, word analogies, structural analysis)

Struggling readers benefit from highly visible demonstration of the reading process. Concepts and conventions of print are made very accessible for them. Examination of textual features (letters, words, and part of words) helps develop an understanding of the alphabetic principle and the nature of written language.

Word study. Teacher leads and students participate. Word study fosters recognition of the individual sounds of words and an understanding of the alphabetic principle and its application to reading and spelling. Activities involve phonemic awareness, phonics, structural analysis, and the development of sight vocabulary.

At prekindergarten level: largely oral activities fostering phonemic awareness.

At kindergarten level and above: phonics, structural analysis, and sight vocabulary.

Materials: core program, trade books, charts, environmental print.

Choice: usually teacher’s choice.

Grouping format: whole group or small group.

Purposes:

– To provide systematic, focused instruction at the word level.

– To provide additional support for students who need it.

Struggling readers benefit from focused instruction and direct experiences applying the alphabetic code and sight vocabulary. The examination of textual features and linguistic patterns helps to support reading and spelling.

Guided reading involves teachers’ structuring learning situation in which children work in small group on material that is modestly challenging to them. Teacher monitors for application of strategies. A student reads with the assistance of an instructor as it is needed. When an unfamiliar word appears, the instructor either tells the student the word or assists the student in decoding the word. During the story, the teacher stops at certain points and questions the student in order to determine/guide comprehension. This helps build practice in comprehension, decoding, sight word vocabulary, and oral reading.

Materials: books or materials that modestly challenge the reader.

Choice: usually teacher’s choice.

Grouping format: small group.

Purposes:

– To practice application of specific strategies/skills in highly focused manner.

– To provide opportunity to teacher-monitoring of application of skills and strategies.

– To provide instruction as close as possible to students’ instructional levels while gradually increasing the difficulty of the material.

Struggling readers benefit when they read materials with which they can practice what they have learned.

Independent reading is as important for low-achieving children as for any others. Independent reading is what struggling readers most need to practice. Struggling readers should be encouraged to select books that match their interest and reading abilities. Teacher can assist them in finding appropriate books by giving them tips on how to select books on their own. Teacher monitors for time on task.

Materials: books or materials with minimal challenge; varied types.

Choice: usually student’s choice; maybe negotiated choice (teacher and student agree).

Grouping format: individual, pairs, small group (response circles).

Struggling readers develop fluency, automatically, and confidence from frequent, intensive

practice in reading familiar or new texts of minimal challenge.

Learner Roles

– Recognizing the script of a language.

– Translating the text.

– Deducing the meaning of unfamiliar lexical items.

– Understanding explicitly stated information.

Teacher Roles

Teacher should create situations in which learners are most suggestible and then to present linguistic material in a way most likely to encourage positive reception and retention by learners.

– Motivating learners

– Encouraging to set reading strategies

– Supporting the students to develop reading comprehension

The Role of Instructional Materials

– to get meaning from whole chunks of text

– To have good vocabulary and integrate naturally with other class work.

Procedure

The students/ readers decode (figure out how to pronounce) each word in a text and automatically comprehend the meaning of the words, as they do with their everyday spoken language. There are specific comprehension strategies that some teachers are now using in the classroom.

The teacher teaches students about prior knowledge. Prior knowledge is using what you already know to help understand something new. To help students comprehend and learn from a specific reading material, they can access their prior knowledge on a subject to help them relate to the subject that they are learning at the moment.
Making a connection is when a student can relate a passage to an experience, another book, or other facts about the world. Making connections will help students understand what the author’s purpose is and what the story is about. The teacher can use connections with any fiction or non-fiction text that the students read.
Questioning is another strategy that will greatly benefit a student. Dr. Neil Postman has said, “All our knowledge results from questions, which is another way of saying that question-asking is our most important intellectual tool” (Response to Intervention). There are several types of questions that a teacher should focus on: remembering; testing understanding; application or solving; invite synthesis or creating; and evaluation and judging. Teachers should model these types of questions through “think-alouds” before, during, and after reading a text.
Visualization is when a student can create a picture or movie in their mind while reading text. Use terms like “mental image” and asking sensory questions will help students become better visualizers. Another way of looking at visualization, is to think about bringing words to life.
Summarizing is a comprehension strategy that also needs to be taught. Summarizing is telling what is important about the text. A summary might include the answers to who, what, where, when, why, and how. You can have students summarize any text that you are using the classroom.
Evaluation is about making judgments on what you read and then explaining why you made those judgments (Into the Book). Some activities to help with evaluating can be as easy as having a small group book talk or having students rate a book. Evaluating non-fiction texts can be done by using a criteria checklist (i.e. table of contents, index, titles, headings, etc.) to help students rate a text.
Synthesizing is putting the pieces together to see them in a new way (Into the Book). Students will take what they already know about a subject along with their reflections from the book to create their own interpretation and ideas about a certain text.

Advantages of Reading Approach

There are some benefits in utilizing reading approach:

Reading approach can be used in a big class.
In reading approach, students can know much vocabulary because they have to read the passage.
Students focus what they are studying because they only learn grammar.
The reading method requires little teaching skill since the lesson-form is a standardized and fixed procedure.
The reading method is economical of time since the pupils all read simultaneously.
The reading method does not demand deep knowledge of the language on the part of the teacher, since the teacher does not have to compose the sentences and questions: everything is supplied in the book.

Disadvantages of Reading Approach

Reading approach also has limitation since there is no single teaching method that is chategorized as the best based on some consideration such as: the curriculum, students’ motivation, financial limitation, number of students, etc.

The main disadvantages of reading approach are as follow:

Since reading approach is only focused on written skill, this approach is lack in speaking skill.
Reading approach is oppressive approach because the vocabularies and grammar are controlled.

CONCLUSION

There are many factors that influence the successful of teaching English. One of them is approach. Approach is the way of teacher to transfer the knowledge to the students besides encourages their motivation to learn. Teacher should be creative and smart in choosing and using an appropriate approach. Teacher can use Reading approach as the way they teach.

In this approach, students focus on identifying meaning, understanding the text quickly, and reading actively. Reading approach also has some weakness and some benefits. It is a fact that no approach or method is perfect, But the important thing that can not be ignored is reading is a very important thing. By doing reading students will get many things, and can understand everything related to the language learning especially English. So, it is important to know how to read effectively by using reading approach.

REFERENCES

Bell, Timothy. 1998. Extensive Reading: Why? and How?. Available: http://iteslj.org/

Articles/Bell-Reading.html, accessed April 26, 2011.

Lamb, Annette and Johnson, Larry. 2001. Skimming and Scanning. Available:

http://42explore.com/skim.htm, accessed April 14, 2011.

Mark, Robert. M. (1994). A Brief History of Teaching ESL Reading Approaches and

Implications For The Future. Available: https://soar-ir.shinshu-u.ac.jp/dspace/

bitstream/10091/11266/1/Humanities_28-08.pdf,accessed April 14, 2011.

Ojeda. (2010). Classroom Reading Methods. Available: http://www.annikeris.com/

reading_methods.html, accessed April 24, 2011.

SIL International. (1999). What is a reading approach?. Available: http://www.sil.org/

lingualinks/literacy/referencematerials/glossaryofliteracyterms/whatisareading

approach.htm, accessed April 15, 2011.

Strickland, Dorothy S. and Morrow, Lesley M. (2000). Beginning Reading and Writing.

Teachers College Columbia University. NY: New York.

West, Michael. (1937). “The Reading Approach and the New Method System.”The Modern

Language Journal. Available: http://www.jstor.org/stable/317672, accessed April 15,

2011.

Wikipedia. 2010. Reading Comprehension. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Reading_comprehension, accessed April 15, 2011.

Wikipedia. 2010. Extensive Reading. Available: http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Extensive_Reading, accessed April 26, 2011.

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Total Physical Response

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

Total Physical Response

Group Name : Aszri Musdhafid (06081001007)

Herawati Tarigan (06081001043)

Introduction

Total Physical Response is a language learning method based on the coordination of speech and action. It was developed by James Asher, a professor of psychology at San Jose State University, California. It is linked to the trace theory of memory, which holds that the more often or intensively a memory connection is traced, the stronger the memory will be.

Approach

Theory of language
	Asher does not directly adress his view of language, but Richards and Rodgers state that the labeling and ordering of classroom activities seem to be build on the structural view of language.

Theory of learning
	Asher’s language learning theories seem similar to those of other behavioral psychologists. There are three principles he elaborates;
	Second language learning is parallel to first language learning and should reflect the same naturalistic processes Listening should develop before speaking Children respond physically to spoken language, and adult learners learn better if they do that too Once listening comprehension has been developed, speech devlops naturally and effortlessly out of it. Adults should use right-brain motor activities, while the left hemisphere watches and learns Delaying speech reduces stress.

Design

Objectives
	Here are some of the objectives of Total Physical Response
	Teaching oral proficiency at a beginning level Using comprehension as a means to speaking Using action-based drills in the imperative form

The sSyllabus
	TPR uses a sentence-based grammatical syllabus.

Types of learning techniques and activities
	Activities where a command is given in the imperative and the students obey the command is the main activity in TPR.

Procedure

Asher gives step-by step accounts of how to use TPR for English or other languages.

History

Concept

TPR can be used to practice and teach various things. It is well suited to teaching classroom language and other vocabulary connected with actions. It can be used to teach imperatives and various tenses and aspects. It is also useful for story-telling.

Because of its participatory approach, TPR may also be a useful alternative teaching strategy for students with dyslexia or related learning disabilities, who typically experience difficulty learning foreign languages with traditional classroom instruction.

However, it is recognized that TPR is most useful for beginners, though it can be used at higher levels where preparation becomes an issue for the teacher. It does not give students the opportunity to express their own thoughts in a creative way. Further, it is easy to overuse TPR– “Any novelty, if carried on too long, will trigger adaptation.” It can be a challenge for shy students. Additionally, the nature of TPR places an unnaturally heavy emphasis on the use of the imperative mood, that is to say commands such as “sit down” and “stand up”. These features are of limited utility to the learner, and can lead to a learner appearing rude when attempting to use his new language. Of course, as a TPR class progresses, group activities and descriptions can be used which continue the basic concepts of TPR into full communication situations.

Language Skill Focus

The secret is a unique “conversation” between the parent and infant. Total Physical Response focus on listening skill which the students are required to listen what teachers comment and response immediately.

Advantage and Disadvantage

Students will enjoy getting up out of their chairs and moving around. Simple TPR activities do not require a great deal of preparation on the part of the teacher. TPR is aptitude-free, working well with a mixed ability class, and with students having various disabilities.^[8] It is good for kinaesthetic learners who need to be active in the class. Class size need not be a problem, and it works effectively for children and adults.^[9]

In total physical response, the lack of reading and writing, become the main disadvantage in this approach. This method limits the student’s creativity as it only required the students to response.

Teacher’s Role

Teacher’s role is to command the students through various imperative sentences. The teachers can use storytelling to make students interest during studying in the class by using Total Physical Response. Have you ever seen students who can’t respond to English when it is spoken at normal speed? TPR trains students to respond quickly and naturally while also teaching vocabulary in a fun, lively lesson. Most often, TPR is used with basic commands. The teacher tells the students to stand up, put their hands in the air, pick up something and give it to another student, sit down, etc. The teacher should say these naturally to see how students respond. By modeling the action and repeating as many times as necessary, the students learn the meaning of the commands.

To make this basic TPR more interesting, Teacher uses some rather funny commands. For example, after telling students to put their left hand in the air, he has them put both hands in the air, and then follows up by asking students to put both FEET in the air. The whole sequence is below:

– put your left hand in the air
– put it down
– put your right hand in the air
– put it down
– put both hands in the air
– put them down
– put your left foot in the air
– put it down
– put your right foot in the air
– put it down
– put both feet in the air!

Students try jumping in the air or attempt a handstand on their desks! Another funny sequence of basic TPR is this:

– clap your hands
– clap your hands three times
– clap them five times
– clap your hands 800 times!
– turn around
– turn around twice then clap once
– jump once
– jump seven times
– turn around, jump once and clap twice
– turn three times, jump five times and clap twice!

Students Role

In the classroom the teacher and students take on roles similar to that of the parent and child respectively. Students must respond physically to the words of the teacher. The activity may be a simple game such as Simon Says or may involve more complex grammar and more detailed scenarios.

Conclusion

TPR is based on the premise that the human brain has a biological program for acquiring any natural language on earth – including the sign language of the deaf. The process is visible when we observe how infants internalize their first language. This approach is focus based on the coordination of speech and action. . It is well suited to teaching classroom language and other vocabulary connected with actions. TPR relies on the assumption that when learning a second or additional language, language is internalized through a process of code-breaking similar to first language development and that the process allows for a long period of listening and developing comprehension prior to production.

References

——. 2009. “It’s All in the Way We Learn”. http://www.tpr-world.com/what.html. Accessed on April 21th, 2011.

Richards. 2009. “Total Physical Response”. http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/languagelearning/waystoapproachlanguagelearning/totalphysicalresponse.htm. Accessed on April 20th, 2011.

Joe. 2008. “TPR: Total Physical Response”. http://www.teacherjoe.us/TeachersTPR.html. Accessed on April 20th, 2011.

——. 2008. “Total Physical Response”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Physical_Response. Accessed on April 20th, 2011.

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Functional-notional Approach

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

Functional-notional Approach

Submitted for Fulfillment of MID Test

By:

INDRI ANISA

(06081001001)

INDAH RAMADHANI DWI NINGSIH

(06081001014)

ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SRIWIJAYA UNIVERSITY

April 2011

Introduction

The term “functional-notional approach” embraces any strategy of language teaching that derives the content of learning from an initial analysis of the learner’s need to express three different kinds of meaning: Functional (i.e. the social purpose of the utterance); Modal (the degree of likelihood); Conceptual – the meaning relations expressed by forms within the sentence (categories of communicative function) .These method of language teaching is categorize along with others under the rubric of a communicative approach. The method stresses a means of organizing a language syllabus. The emphasis is on breaking down the global concept of language into units of analysis in terms of communicative situations in which they are used.

History of Functional-notional Approach

In 1972, the British linguist D.A. Wilkins published a document that proposed a radical shift away from using the traditional concepts of grammar and vocabulary to describe language to an analysis of the communicative meanings that learners would need in order to express themselves and to understand effectively. This initial document was followed by his 1976 work Notional Syllabuses, which showed how language could be categorised on the basis of notions such as quantity, location and time, and functions such as making requests, making offers and apologising. Wilkins’ work was used by the Council of Europe in drawing up a communicative language syllabus, which specified the communicative functions a learner would need in order to communicate effectively at a given level of competence. At the end of the 1970s, the first course-books to be based on functional syllabuses began to appear. Typically, they would be organised on the basis of individual functions and the exponents needed to express these functions. For example, many course-books would begin with the function of ‘introducing oneself’, perhaps followed by the function of ‘making requests’, with typical exponents being ‘Can I ….?’, “Could you ….?’, “Is it alright if I ….?’ and so on. These would often be practised in the form of communicative exercises involving pair work, group work and role plays. It is interesting to compare this approach with a grammatical syllabus. In a typical grammatical syllabus, structures using the word ‘would’ tend to appear in later stages of the syllabus, as they are held to be relatively complex (eg “If I knew the answer, I would tell you”), whereas in a functional syllabus ‘would’ often appears at a very early stage due to its communicative significance in exponents such as ‘Would you like ….?’, which is extremely common and of great communicative value even to beginners. The need to apply a grammatical name or category to the structure is not considered important within the framework of a purely functional syllabus.

The Concept of Functional-notional Approach

A functional-notional syllabus is primarily based not on a linguistic analysis but on an analysis of learners’ social and/or vocational communicative needs. This approach holds that the classification of skill levels should be based on what people want to do with the language (functions) or in terms of what meanings people want to convey (notions). As such, this approach is based on the following concepts:

(1) Communication is meaningful behavior in a social and cultural context that requires creative language use rather than synthetic sentence building

(2) language is constructed around language functions and notions; functions such as evaluating, persuading, arguing, informing, agreeing, questioning, requesting, expressing emotions and semantic-grammatical notions such as time, quantity, space, location, and motion. The aim of this approach was to transfer these functions to acts of communication.

Explanation of specific terms:

Notions are meaning elements that may be expressed through nouns, pronouns, verbs, prepositions, conjunctions, adjectives or adverbs. A notion is a concept, or idea: it may be quite specific, in which case it is virtually the same as vocabulary (dog, house, for example); or it may be very general – time, size, emotion, movement – in which case it often overlaps with the concept of “topics”. A notion may be “time past”; this may include past tenses, phrases like a month ago, in 1990, last week, and utterances using temporal clauses beginning with when….., before…., after…. and so on;

A function is some kind of communicative act: it is the use of language to achieve a purpose, usually involving interaction at least between two people. Examples would be suggesting, promising, apologizing, greeting, inviting.

“Inviting” may include phrases like “Would you like to….? I suggest…., How about…? Please…

A situation may affect variations of language such as the use of dialects, the formality or informality of the language and the mode of expression. Situation includes the following elements:

A. The persons taking part in the speech act

B. The place where the conversation occurs

C. The time the speech act is taking place

D. The topic or activity that is being discussed

Exponents are the language utterances or statements that stem from the function, the situation and the topic.

Code is the shared language of a community of speakers.

Code-switching is a change or switch in code during the speech act, which many theorists believe is purposeful behaviour to convey bonding, language prestige or other elements of interpersonal relations between the speakers.

The essential components found in functional-notional syllabi are as follows:

1. The situations in which the foreign language will be used. A situation will always include the following: the participants, the place, & the time.

2. Topics, and what the learner will be able to do with these, for example, everyday interactions, such as buying food, giving directions, are offering advice, etc.

3. The language activities in which the learner will engage.

4. The language functions which the learner will perform. For example:

a. Personal = expressing one’s thoughts or feelings (e.g., love, joy, pleasure, happiness) and the everyday feelings (e.g., hunger, thirst, fatigue, sleepiness, etc.)

b. Interpersonal = Enabling us to establish and maintain desirable social and working relationships (e.g., greetings and leave takings, introducing people to others, expressing joy at another’s success, extending – accepting – declining invitations, apologizing, interrupting another speaker politely, etc.)

c. Directive = Attempting to influence the actions of others (e.g., discouraging someone from

pursuing a course of action, persuading someone to change his point of view, warning someone, etc.)

d. Referential = talking or reporting about things, actions, events, or people in the environment in the past or in the future; talking about language (what is termed the metalinguistic function (e.g.,

identifying items or people in the classroom, the school the home, or paraphrasing, summarizing, or translating (L1 to L2 or vice versa), etc.)

e. Imaginative = Discussions involving elements of creativity and artistic expression (e.g.,

discussing a poem, a story, a piece of music, a play, a painting, a film, a TV program or creating rhymes, poetry, stories or plays, etc.)

5. The general notions which the learner will be able to handle. Notions are the interaction of categories of meaning and grammatical form. Examples of notions are time (time relation: past tense, present tense; duration: until, since), quantity (countable, uncountable), space (dimensions locations, motion) and so on.

6. The specific (topic related) notions which the learner will be able to handle.

7. The language forms the learner will be able to use. These forms are usually referred to as exponents which are the language utterances or statements that stem from the function, the situation and the topic.

8. The degree of skill the learner will be required to display.

Characteristics

The following are the main characteristics of the functional-notional approach:

1. a functional view of language focusing on doing something through language

2. a semantic base, as opposed to a grammatical or a situational base

3. a learner-centered view of language learning

4. a basis in the analysis of learner needs for using language that is reflected in goals, content

selection and sequencing, methodology, and evaluation

5. learner-centered goals, objectives, and content organization reflecting authentic language

behavior and offering a spiraling development of content

6. learning activities involving authentic language use

7. testing focused on ability to use language to react to and operate on the environment

The Language Skill Focused

A Functional Notional Approach to language learning places major emphases on the communicative purposes of speech or in speaking skill. That is what people want to do or accomplish through speech .Do they want to invite someone to a birthday party or do they want to write an apology letter .Thus the above gives the function of language .Thus sensitivity to the individual needs of the learners gives rise to the Functional Notional Approach. .
Apologizing, we will use words like “ I am sorry for all what I have done.”

The functional Notional Approach to language learning places more emphases on the communicative purpose of speech. It focuses on what people want to do or accomplish through language. This approach has a goal to help learner use the real language or appropriate language when communicating. Thus the primary preoccupation of the Functional Notional Approach is sensitivity to the individual needs of the students.

In teaching language, the Functional Notional Approach to language helps the teacher to first of all identify the needs of the learner and analyze the needs in order to draw the syllabus.
In teaching, the Functional Notional Approach to language helps the teacher to be able to teach the purposes of speech. Do we need language for letter writing or greetings? If so which language do we use?
The Functional Notional Approach helps learners to use real and appropriate language for communication. Thus in conclusion the functional Notional Approach to language is classified in terms of the purpose of language that is, what people want to communicate.

Merits

Functional-notional syllabuses are of a number of merits which are mainly the major characteristics of this type of syllabuses suggested by Finocchiaro and Brumfit (1983). These merits can briefly be viewed from four perspectives.

From a sociolinguistic perspective, the functional-notional syllabuses emphasize the communicative purpose of the speech act. As a result,

(a) this kind of syllabuses often tries to set fairly realistic language for learners to learn;

(b) this approach intends to offer everyday, real-world language use in a variety of socio-cultural situations, thus, learners will be introduced not only to grammatical knowledge of the language, but also to the cultural knowledge necessary for them to fully understand the target language and its culture;

From a psycholinguistic perspective, the functional-notional syllabuses have placed the needs of learners at the very core of the teaching program. Consequently,

(a) functional-notional syllabus is often arranged according to different levels and needs of the target learners;

(b) it is intrinsically motivating because it provides actual communicative functions to serve the learners’ needs;

(d) thanks to its unit or modular organization of the curriculum materials, the courses can be designed in a flexible and modular way which will enable learners to learn with different rhythm or pace of learning.

From a linguistic perspective,

(a) the functional-notional syllabuses will help learners at each level acquire a reasonable, basic knowledge of the phonological, grammatical, and the lexical subsystems of the language, as well as the ability to use these in actual communication.

From an educational perspective, the functional-notional syllabuses have several other merits:

(a) the approach has enabled teachers to exploit sound psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, linguistic and educational principles;

(b) it can develop naturally from existing teaching methodology;

(d) it provides for the widespread promotion of foreign language courses.

Drawbacks

The above merits are drawn from the ideal level of functional-notional syllabuses. However, the practical application of this kind of syllabuses shows a number of problems, which has aroused criticisms against functional-notional syllabuses among researchers in this field (e.g. Dubin & Olshtain, 1986; Richards, 2001; Widdowson, 1979; etc.). The major drawbacks can also be seen from different perspectives.

From the perspective of course design, i.e. the application of a functional-notional syllabus, the designers always encounter difficulties during the selection of the content. This is because:

(a) the idea of “functions” and “notions” of language is not as clearly definable as it is thought to be;

(b) although there are criteria listed above for the selection and grading of the components of a functional-notional syllabus, it is hard to decide such as which functions or notions is of more coverage or frequency then others;

(c) a need analysis is an important and necessary step before the design of the contents as whatever included in any particular functional-notional syllabus are highly related to the need of the learners; however, it is always difficult to carry out a profound need analysis in a real life situation.

From the perspective of the nature of language, the basic assumption of functional-notional syllabuses can sometimes be misleading, for

(a) the idea that language is determined by the uses or functions it performs is an over simplistic view;

(b) communication does not just refers to language functions and notions; and the process of communication somehow remains unstated in this kind of syllabuses;

(c) the functional-notional syllabuses, in fact, also assume that language can be broken down into discrete components (various functions and notions) that can be taught separately; this assumption makes them not much different from grammatical syllabuses in misleading the real nature of language.

From the perspective of language teaching and learning, functional-notional syllabuses bring along dissatisfactions and problems unanswered to language teachers and learners, such as,

(a) grammatical structures elicited by the functions and notions taught appear in an unsystematically order which may make teachers and learners, especially those familiar with grammatical approach, uncomfortable;

(b) important grammatical structures may not be touched by the functions and notions included in the syllabuses, which may lead to low grammatical competence of the learners;

(c) language functions and notions do not have particular linear sequence, which may make it ineffective for teaching and learning as the latter is a process inherently sequential in nature;

(d) Functional-notional syllabuses are product-oriented which state clearly the expected outcomes of language learning; however, it fails to address the process of how to realize the outcomes.

Students’ Roles: Student-Centered

After the Second World War, the countries all over the world developed FN education in order to meet the needs of politics, economy, military, science, tour, and culture. But the FN education was not satisfactory at that time, especially, students could not communicate with others in foreign language after learning several years. In the middle of the 1960s, the crisis of the western education made people realize the importance of FN education and had a slogan “Student-centered”, at the same time, people should value the factors of the learners, intelligence, feeling, age, sex, and interests. This is a necessary feature of any classroom where the classroom is learner rather than teacher-centered. Among other things, it means to encourage students to state their opinions, to talk about their own experience, and for whatever they say, even accurately, to be treated with respect by the teacher. For example, when students finish answering the questions, the teacher had better say, “Thank you!” (Not “Yes” or “No”). If the teacher said “Yes”, other students will give the similar answer to it. If the teacher said “No”, the students will lack of courage to answer questions in the next class. There is today an increasing emphasis on involving students in decisions affecting their own learning-getting them to take responsibility for their own learning decisions, and to consciously develop learning skills.

Teachers’ Roles

According to Halliday’s functional approach, it views language as a form of “doing” rather than “knowing”. Therefore the teacher’s task is to develop the competence to use language, not to let the students know the language knowledge.

The teacher’s role in the genuine student-centered orientation is not a single-minded act of lesson-based teaching, but multiple, as shown in figure I: (Gu Yueguo. 1999)

What the learner is going to be able to do

Figure I: Process of learning

That is, a competent and responsible teacher should be assess or assess what manager (manage all the resources and classroom activities) information provide and friend to the students (Gu Yuegou).

Therefore, in the classroom, the students will be engaged in diverse activities. They will have free conversations and debates about weather, current affairs, TV shows and public media. The teacher, just as the film producer, will remain the dominant role of the stage. Without the teacher, the students’ activity will be confused. And “absolute freedom in learning may be good for the strongest, but I can never be good for the middling and weak” (Wang Zongyan, 1998). Beside that the teacher should also be an educator of moral principles, and developing minds.

Conclusion

Functional-national is a method of language teaching that categorize along with others under the rubric of a communicative approach. The method stresses a means of organizing a language syllabus. This approach holds that the classification of skill levels should be based on what people want to do with the language (functions) or in terms of what meanings people want to convey (notions). A Functional Notional Approach to language learning places major emphases on the communicative purposes of speech or in speaking skill. That is what people want to do or accomplish through speech. In teaching language, the Functional Notional Approach to language helps the teacher to identify the needs of the learner and analyze the needs in order to draw the syllabus, beside that also to teach the purposes of speech.

References:

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/esl0316.html

http://www.vobs.at/ludescher/Grammar/functional.htm

http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/esl0316.html

http://paraelink.org

http://servinghistory.com/topics/National-functional_syllabus

http://eric.ed.gov/../recordDetail

Finocchiaro, M. & Brumfit, C. (1983). The functional-National Approach. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

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Direct Method

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

Direct Method

By:

Nyimas Nurkomariya

Maretha Pinky

English Education Study Program

Sriwijaya University

Introduction

The Direct Method developed towards the end of the 19^th century. It represents are critical reaction to the teaching methods of the ancient Grammar Translation Method which produced knowledge about language rather than knowledge of language. The general goal of the Direct Method is to provide learners with a practically useful knowledge of language. They should learn to speak and understand the target language in everyday situations.

The basic premise of the Direct Method is that students will learn to communicate in the target language, partly by learning how to think in that language and by not involving L1 in the language learning process whatsoever. Objectives include teaching the students how to use the language spontaneously and orally, linking meaning with the target language through the use of realia, pictures or pantomime (Larsen-Freeman 1986:24). There is to be a direct connection between concepts and the language to be learned.

This paper highlights a brief history of direct method, the concept, language focus, merits and drawbacks, teacher roles and student role.

1. A Brief History

Towards 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.

Direct Method (DM), appearing in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, developed from Natural Method (NM). Like the NM, it emphasized the learning of speech, acquiring meaning in environmental context, and learning grammar through induction. DM theorists believe that by applying scientific knowledge from psychology and linguistics, language learning can be made more efficient, with the result that students will learn faster than they would under the spontaneous and unplanned lessons of NM. Harold Palmer (1922) is perhaps its most articulate and eminent advocate.

The appearance of the “Direct Method” thus coincided with a new school of thinking that dictates that all foreign language teaching will occur in the target language only, with no translation and an emphasis on linking meaning to the language being learned. The method becomes very popular during the first quarter of the 20th century, especially in private language schools in Europe where highly motivates students can 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 is the German Charles Berlitz, whose schools and Berlitz Method are now world-renowned.

2. The Concept

These followings are the concepts of Direct Method:

1. Teachers who use the Direct Method intend that students learn how to communicate in the target language.

2. Students need to associate meaning and the target language directly.

3. The initiation of the interaction goes both ways, from teacher to students and from student to teacher, although the latter is often teacher-directed. Students converse with one another as well.

4. Language is primarily spoken, not written.

5. Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar.

6. The students’ native language should not be used in the classroom.

7. In the Direct Method, students are asked to the language, not to demonstrate their knowledge about the language.

8. The teacher, employing various techniques, tries to get student self-correct.

Richards and Rodgers (1986:9-10) summarize the key features of the Direct Method thus:

1. Classroom instructions are conducted exclusively in the target language.

2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught during the initial phase; grammar, reading and writing are introduced in intermediate phase.

3. Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully graded 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 introduced orally.

6. Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary is taught by association of ideas.

7. Both speech and listening comprehensions are taught.

8. Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.

9. Student should be speaking at least 80% of the time during the lesson.

10. Students are taught from inception to ask questions as well as answer them.

The key Aspects of this method are:

I. Introduction of new word, number, alphabet character, sentence or concept (referred to as an Element) :

• SHOW…Point to Visual Aid or Gestures (for verbs), to ensure student clearly understands what is being taught.

• SAY…Teacher verbally introduces Element, with care and enunciation.

• TRY…Student makes various attempts to pronounce new Element.

• MOLD…Teacher corrects student if necessary, pointing to mouth to show proper shaping of lips, tongue and relationship to teeth.

• REPEAT…Student repeats each Element 5-20 times.

II. Syntax, the correct location of new Element in sentence:

• SAY & REPEAT…Teacher states a phrase or sentence to student; Student repeats such 5-20 times.

• ASK & REPLY IN NEGATIVE…Teacher uses Element in negative situations (e.g. “Are you the President of the United States?” or “Are you the teacher?”); Students says “No”. If more advanced, may use the negative with “Not”.

• INTERROGATIVES Teacher provides intuitive examples using 5 “w”s (Who, What, Where, Why, When) or How”. Use random variations to practice.

• PRONOUNS WITH VERBS Using visuals (such as photos or illustrations) or gestures, Teacher covers all pronouns. Use many random variations such as “Is Ana a woman?” or “Are they from France?” to practice.

• USE AND QUESTIONS…Student must choose and utilize the correct Element, as well as posing appropriate questions as Teacher did.

III. Progress, from new Element to new Element (within same lesson):

A. Random Sequencing:

1. After new Element (X) is taught and learned, go to next (Y).

2. After next Element is taught and learned, return to practice with first.

3. After these two are alternated (X-Y; Y-X; Y-Y, etc), go to 3rd Element.

B. Student-Led Limits:

1. Observe student carefully, to know when mental “saturation” point is reached, indicating student should not be taught more Elements until another time.

2. At this point, stop imparting new information, and simply do Review as follows:

C. Review: Keep random, arbitrary sequencing. If appropriate, use visuals, pointing quickly to each. Employ different examples of Element that are easy to understand, changing country/city names, people names, and words student already knows. Keep a list of everything taught, so proper testing may be done.

D. Observation and Notation: Teacher should maintain a student list of words/phrases that are most difficult for that student. List is called “Special Attention List”

IV. Progress, from Lesson to Lesson:

• LESSON REVIEW The first few minutes of each lesson are to review prior lesson(s).

• GLOBAL REVIEW Transition from Lesson Review to a comprehensive review, which should always include items from the Special Attention List.

V. Advanced Concepts:

• Intermediate and Advanced Students may skip some Element introduction as appropriate; become aware of student’s language abilities, so they are not frustrated by too much review. If Student immediately shows recognition and knowledge, move to next Element.

• Non-Standard Alphabets: Teaching Student to recognize letters/characters and reading words should employ same steps as in above Aspect I. and alphabet variations may be taught using Aspect III. Writing characters and words should initially be done manually, either on paper or whiteboard.

• Country Accents: Any student at intermediate stages or higher should be made aware of subtle variations in pronunciation, which depend on geography within a country or from country to country.

It should be noted that an integral aspect of the Direct Method is varying the setting of teaching; try different scenarios using the same Element. This makes the lessons more “real world,” as it will bring some confusing distractions to the student and employ organic variables common in the culture and locale of language use.

Diane Larsen-Freeman, in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (1986:26-27) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Direct Method. The listing here is in summary form only.

a. Reading Aloud (Reading sections of passages, plays or dialogs out loud). Students take turns reading section of passage, play, or dialog out loud. At the end of each student’s turn, the teacher uses gestures, pictures, regalia, examples, or other means to make the meaning of the section clear.

b. Question and Answer Exercise (Asking questions in the target language and having students answer in full sentences). This exercise is conducted only in the target language. Students are asked questions and answer in full sentence so that they practice new words and grammatical structures.

c. Student Self-Correction (Teacher facilitates opportunities for students to self correct using follow-up questions, tone, etc). The teacher of this class has the students self-correct by asking them to make a choice between what they said an alternative answer he supplied. There are, however, other ways of getting students to self-correct. Another possibility is for the teacher to repeat what the student said, stopping just before the errors.

d. Conversation Practice (Teacher asks students and students ask students questions using the target language). The teacher asks students a number of questions in the target language, which the students have to understand to be able to answer correctly. The questions contained a particular grammar structure.

e. Fill-in-the-blank Exercise (Items use target language only and inductive rather than explicit grammar rules). All the items are in the target language; furthermore, no explicit grammar rule would be applied.

f. Dictation (Teacher reads passage aloud various amount of times at various tempos, students writing down what they hear). The teacher reads the passage three times. The first time the teacher reads it at normal speed, the second time reads the passage phrase by phrase, the last time the teacher again reads at a normal speed.

g. Paragraph Writing (Students write paragraphs in their own words using the target language and various models). The teacher in this class asked the students to write a paragraph in their own words on the major geographical features of the United States.

h. Map drawing. The class included one example of a technique used to give students listening comprehensive practice.

3. Language Focus

Oral teaching comes before any other kind of reading and writing activities. Both speech & listening comprehension are taught. Correct pronunciation & grammar are emphasized

It emphasizes on listening and speaking, the use of the target language for all class instructions, and the use of visuals and realia to illustrate meaning.

The Direct Method emphasizes the use of the target language, avoiding use of the mother tongue and therefore ‘translation’. In context, a child would not rely on a first language to learn it’s mother tongue. Adopting the direct method, students learn to correctly pronounce the language, in a natural and responsive way. They also absorb the whole, entire ‘meaning’ of their target language. Fundamental to each ‘contemporary’ method today, is the psychological aspect of learning a second language. That is, cultural absorption, which in turn, leads to the true ‘understanding’ of any foreign language.

4. Merits and Drawbacks

4.1. Merits

Students are motivated to be able to say and understand English especially teacher use realia and demonstration they are interested to learn.
Students can easily understand things, for example pen, pencil, table etc
Students get experiences directly and practically
Students are accustomed to pronounce English word correctly.
It is a natural method which teaches language the same way the mother tongue is acquired. Only the target language is used and the learning is contextualized.
Its emphasis on speech made it more attractive for those who have needs of real communication in the target language.
It was one of the first methods to introduce the teaching of vocabulary through realia
Students acquire fluency in speech. They are quick at understanding spoken English. They can converse in English with felicity and ease.

4.2. Drawbacks

1. Students can feel bored if teacher can not motivate students.

2. In some level this method is difficult to apply because students do not understand L2 at all.

3. Teacher sometimes translate words because it is difficult to explain students if they still do not understand.

4. The Direct Method concentrates on listening and speaking but not reading and writing. That is why many of those who have learned English through the Direct Method feel that they do not get adequate command over written language.

5. it is still confused how to apply this method beyond elementary stage and safe guard misunderstanding without translation.

6. Successful teacher of the Direct Method needed competence in his language / stamina/ energy/ imagination/ ability and time to create own materials and course. Yet it is difficult to find a sufficient number of such teachers.

7. Also Direct Methodists failed to grade and structure their materials adequately – no selection, grading or controlled presentation of vocabulary and structures.

9. 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.”

5. Teacher roles

The teacher directs the class activities. The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching/learning process. The teacher explains new vocabulary using realia, visual aids or demonstrations.

1. Q & A: The teacher asks questions of any nature and the students answer. In preparation for this activity the teacher models, extensively, the use of complete answers to questions. Once doing this activity the teacher expects full sentences as answers to each question. Students can also be given the opportunity to ask the questions. Objective: Experiment with words and sentence patterns to create interest and variety.

2. Dictation: The teacher chooses a grade appropriate passage from a book and reads the text aloud three times. The first time the passage is read the students only listen. The second time the passage is read it is read phrase by phrase, with the teacher pausing long enough for students to write down what they have heard. The third time the text is read, it is read at normal speed and the students check their work. Objective: Listen attentively, courteously, and purposefully to a range of texts from a variety of cultural traditions for pleasure and information.

3. Reading Aloud: Students take turns reading sections of a passage, play, or dialog out loud. At the end of each student’s turn the teacher uses gestures, pictures, examples, or role play to help the students make meaning of the text. Objective: Orally and silently read a range of contemporary and classical grade appropriate texts for enjoyment and information.

4. Getting Students to Self-Correct. For example if the student says, “I have cree apples,” the teacher should say, “Do you have cree apples or three apples?” Objective: Reflect on speaking behaviors and strategies.

5. Map Drawing: Students are provided with a blank map of Canada. The teacher gives specific instructions to the students. Once they are finished, their map will be completely labeled. The teacher takes the same map on an overhead and the students give the teacher instructions on how to label the map. Objectives: Listen purposefully to determine the main ideas and important details; use language appropriate to audience, purpose, and situation.

6. Student Roles

The student role is less passive than in The Grammar-Translation Method. The teacher and the students are more like partners in the teaching/learning process.

Conclusion

Direct Method is a radical change from Grammar Translation Method by the use of the target language as a means of instruction and communication in the language classroom, and by the avoidance of the use of first language and translation. It is a shift from literary language to the spoken every language as the object of early instruction. It emphasizes on speaking and listening. It uses realia, picture, demonstration of pictures and objects. Direct Method has merits and drawbacks. It requires native teachers or fluent teacher in foreign language they teach, but it is difficult to meet these requirements.

References

http://www.aber.ac.uk/~mflwww/seclangacq/langteach5.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_method_(education)

http://www.englishraven.com/method_direct.html

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/direct_method.asp

http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/hutt/esl/dmethod.htm

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/knowledge-wiki/direct-method

http://www2.uniwuppertal.de/FB4/anglistik/multhaup/methods_elt/4_direct_method.htm

Ihsan, Diemroh. 2011. Reading for applied linguistics course. English Education Study Program.

Naning, Zainal. 2010. Psycho-sociolinguistics. English Education Department, Teachers College. Sriwijaya University.

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AUDIO LINGUAL METHOD (ALM)

Posted on June 12, 2011 by novaekasari

AUDIO LINGUAL METHOD (ALM)

Introduction

The Audiolingual 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 Programme (ASTP) was established in 1942.The objectives of the army programme 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 Frieswho 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 Audiolingual 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 programmes and the Aural-Oral or structural Approach developed by Fries and his colleagues, adding insights taken from behaviorist psychology. This combination of structural linguistic theory, aural-oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology led to the Audiolingual Method, which was widely adopted for teaching foreign languages in North American colleges and universities.

Body

Brief History of ALM

The Audio-lingual method is the product of three historical circumstances. For its views on language, audiolingualism drew on the work of American linguists such as Leonard Bloomfield. The prime concern of American Linguistics at the early decades of the 20th century had been to document all the indigenous languages spoken in the USA. However, because of the dearth of trained native teachers who would provide a theoretical description of the native languages, linguists had to rely on observation. For the same reason, a strong focus on oral language was developed. At the same time, behaviorist psychologists such as B.F. Skinner were forming the belief that all behavior (including language) was learnt through repetition and positive or negative reinforcement. The third factor that enabled the birth of the Audio-lingual method was the outbreak of World War II, which created the need to post large number of American servicemen all over the world. It was therefore necessary to provide these soldiers with at least basic verbal communication skills. Unsurprisingly, the new method relied on the prevailing scientific methods of the time, observation and repetition, which were also admirably suited to teaching en masse. Because of the influence of the military, early versions of the audio-lingualism came to be known as the “army method.”

The Principle of ALM

This method of Language Learning is also called the Aural-Oral Method. This method is said to result in rapid acquisition of speaking and listening skills. The audiolingual method drills students in the use of grammatical sentence patterns. When this method was developed it was thought that the way to acquire the sentence patterns of the second language was through conditioning or helping learners to respond correctly to stimuli through shaping and reinforcement.

The Audiolingual Method is based on the following principles:

Speaking and listening competence preceded reading and writing competence.
Use of German is highly discouraged in the classroom.
The development of language skills is a matter of habit formulation.
Students practice particular patterns of language through structured dialogue and drill until response is automatic.
Structured patterns in language are taught using repetitive drills.
The emphasis is on having students produce error free utterances.
This method of language learning supports kinesthetic learning styles.
Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught. Concrete vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures. Abstract vocabulary is taught through association of ideas.
The printed word must be kept away from the second language learner as long as possible.

The Techniques of ALM

Dialogues and pattern practice form the basis of audiolingual classroom practice. The use of them is a distinctive feature of the Audiolingual Method. The techniques used by the Audiolingual Method are:

1. Repetition drill: This drill is often used to teach the lines of the dialogue. Students are asked to repeat the teacher’s model as accurately and as quickly as possible.e.g.:

T S

This is a book → This is a book.

Students do this without looking at their book. They have to produce the appropriate sounds first.

2. Substitution drill：The students repeat the line from the dialogue which the teacher has given them, substituting the cue into the line in its proper place. e.g.:

T S

They drink wine. → beer → They drink beer.

→ coffee → They drink coffee.

→ tea → They drink tea.

The major purpose of this drill is to give the students practice in finding and filling in the slots of a sentence.

3. Question-and-answer drill：The drill gives students practice with answering questions. The students should answer the teacher’s question very quickly. It is also possible for the teacher to cue the students to ask questions as well. This gives students practice with the question pattern. e.g.

1. T: Are there any questions? Ss: No, there aren’t any.

T: Is there any milk? Ss: No, there isn’t any.

T: Are there any sandwiches? Ss: No, there aren’t any.

T: Is there any wine? Ss: No, there isn’t any.

2. T: he read The Times Ss: What did he read?

T: He said “Good morning.” Ss: What did he say?

T: He saw “The Sound of Music. ” Ss: What did he see?

4. Expansion drill：This drill helps students to produce longer sentence bit by bit, gradually achieving fluency. The main structure is repeated first, then students have to put cue phrase in its proper place. e.g.

T: They go to the cinema.

Ss: They go to the cinema.

T: On Sundays

Ss: They go to the cinema on Sundays.

T: Always.

Ss: They always go to the cinema on Sundays.

T: Nearly.

Ss: They nearly always go to the cinema on Sundays.

5. Clause combination drill：Students learn to combine two simple sentences into a complex one. e.g.

T: It may rain. He’ll stay at home.

Ss: If it may rain, he’ll stay at home.

T: It may be sunny. We’ll go to the beach.

Ss: If it may be sunny, we’ll go to the beach.

T: It may snow. They’ll go skating.

Ss: If it may snow, they’ll go skating.

6. Background build-up drill): This drill is used when a long line of dialogue is giving students trouble. The teacher breaks down the line into several parts. The students repeat a part of the sentence, usually the last phrase of the line. Then, following the teacher’s cue, the students expand what they are repeating part by part until they are able to repeat the entire line. The teacher begins with the part at the end of the sentence (and works backward from there) to keep the intonation of the line as natural as possible. This also directs more student attention to the end of the sentence, where new information typically occurs. e.g.

T: the flowers

Ss: the flowers

T: watering the flowers

Ss: watering the flowers

T: is watering the flowers

Ss: is watering the flowers

T: Ian is watering the flowers.

Ss: Ian is watering the flowers.

7. Chain drill：A chain drill gets its name from the chain of conversation that forms around the classroom as students, one-by-one, ask and answer questions of each other. The teacher begins the chain by greeting a particular student, or asking him a question. That student responds, and then turns to the student sitting next to him. e.g.

T: Hello, what’s your name?

S1: My name is John Smith. (He turns to the student next to her.) Hello, what’s your name?

S2: My name is Mary Clinton. (She turns to the student next to her.) Hello, what’s your name?

S3: My name is Peter.

……

8. Completion：Students hear an utterance that is complete except for one word, and then repeat the utterance in completed form. e.g.

T: I’ll go my way and you go_____

Ss: I’ll go my way and you go yours.

T: We all have____own troubles.

Ss: We all have our own troubles.

9. Use of minimal pairs：The teacher works with pair of words which differ in only one sound; students are first asked to find the difference between the two word and later to say the two words. e.g.

ship—sheep live—leave leap—lip bit—beat

In a typical audiolingual lesson the following procedures will be observed:

1. Recognition: Students first hear a model dialogue (either read by the teacher or 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 used as 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.

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novaekasari09

Communicative Approach

Community Language Learning (CLL)

Comparing Client-Counselor Relationships in Psychological Counseling and CLL

Grammar Translation Method

Direct Method as One of Language Teaching Approaches

Thanasoulas, Dimitrios. 2002. The changing winds and shifting sands of the history of English Language Teaching. http://www.englishclub.com/tefl-articles/history-english-language-teaching.htm. Accessed on April 23, 2011.

-. 2000. Direct Method. http://www.aber.ac.uk/~mflwww/seclangacq/langteach5.html. Accessed on April 21, 2011

-. 1999. Methodologies in Foreign Language Teaching. http://www.linguatics.com/methods.html. Accessed on april 21, 2011.

Hadinata, Purwanto. 2006. The Direct Method. http://purwarno-linguistics.blogspot.com/2006/01/direct-method.html. Accessed on April 23, 2011.

A Teaching Method: Suggestopedia

A Teaching Method: Reading Approach

Bell, Timothy. 1998. Extensive Reading: Why? and How?. Available: http://iteslj.org/

Articles/Bell-Reading.html, accessed April 26, 2011.

Total Physical Response

Functional-notional Approach

Direct Method

Conclusion

AUDIO LINGUAL METHOD (ALM)

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