THE APPROACHES, METHODS, TECHNIQUES IN LANGUAGE

LEARNING

A.DEFINITION OF APPROACHES, METHODS AND TECHNIQUES

1.APPROACHES

An approach describes how language is used and how its constituent parts
interlock. In other words it offers a model of language competence. An approach
describes how people acquire their knowledge of the language and makes
statements about the condition which will promote successful language learning.

2.METHODS

A method is the practical realization of an approach. The originators of a method

have arrived at decisions about types of activities, roles of teachers and learners,
the kind of material which will be helpful, and some model of syllabus
organization. Methods include various procedure and techniques as a part of their
standard fare. When methods have fixed procedure, informed by a clearly
articulated approach, they are easy to describe. The more all embracing they
become, however, the more difficult it is to categories them as real methods in
their own right.

3.TECHNIQUES

A way of carrying out a particular task, especially the execution or performance of

an artistic work or a scientific procedure.

B.KIND OF APPROACHES

1.CONTENT BASED INSTRUCTION

The focus of a CBI lesson is on the topic or subject matter. During the lesson
students are focused on learning about something. This could be anything that
interests them from a serious science subject to their favorite pop star or even a
topical news story or film. They learn about this subject using the language they
are trying to learn, rather than their native language, as a tool for developing
knowledge and so they develop their linguistic ability in the target language. This
is thought to be a more natural way of developing language ability and one that
corresponds more to the way we originally learn our first language.

There are many ways to approach creating a CBI lesson. This is one possible way.

·Preparation

oChoose a subject of interest to students.

oFind three or four suitable sources that deal with different aspects of the subject.
These could be websites, reference books, audio or video of lectures or even real
people.

·During the lesson

oDivide the class into small groups and assign each group a small research task
and a source of information to use to help them fulfill the task.

oThen once they have done their research they form new groups with students that
used other information sources and share and compare their information.

oThere should then be some product as the end result of this sharing of
information which could take the form of a group report or presentation of some
kind.

2.TASK BASED APPROACH

Task -based learning offers an alternative for language teachers. In a task-based

lesson the teacher doesn't pre-determine what language will be studied, the lesson
is based around the completion of a central task and the language studied is
determined by what happens as the students complete it. The lesson follows
certain stages.

Pre-task

The teacher introduces the topic and gives the students clear instructions on what
they will have to do at the task stage and might help the students to recall some
language that may be useful for the task. The pre-task stage can also often include
playing a recording of people doing the task. This gives the students a clear model
of what will be expected of them. The students can take notes and spend time
preparing for the task.

Task

The students complete a task in pairs or groups using the language resources that
they have as the teacher monitors and offers encouragement.

Planning

Students prepare a short oral or written report to tell the class what happened
during their task. They then practice what they are going to say in their groups.
Meanwhile the teacher is available for the students to ask for advice to clear up
any language questions they may have.

Report
Students then report back to the class orally or read the written report. The teacher
chooses the order of when students will present their reports and may give the
students some quick feedback on the content. At this stage the teacher may also
play a recording of others doing the same task for the students to compare.

Analysis

The teacher then highlights relevant parts from the text of the recording for the
students to analysis. They may ask students to notice interesting features within
this text. The teacher can also highlight the language that the students used during
the report phase for analysis.

Practice

Finally, the teacher selects language areas to practice based upon the needs of the
students and what emerged from the task and report phases. The students then do
practice activities to increase their confidence and make a note of useful language.

The advantages of Task Based Approach


 the students are free of language control. In all three stages they must use
all their language resources rather than just practising one pre-selected
item.
 The students will have a much more varied exposure to language with
TBL. They will be exposed to a whole range of lexical phrases,
collocations and patterns as well as language forms.
 The language explored arises from the students' needs. This need dictates
what will be covered in the lesson rather than a decision made by the
teacher or the coursebook.
 It is a strong communicative approach where students spend a lot of time
communicating.
 It is enjoyable and motivating.

3.PARTICIPATORY APPROACH

Participatory approach started being widely discussed in the language teaching

literature. In some ways the participatory approach is similar to the content based
approach in that it begins with content that is meaningful to the students and any
forms that are worked upon emerge from that content. It is not the content of
subject matter texts, but rather content that is based on issues of concern to
students.
The Principles of Participatory Approach :


 What happens in the classroom should be connected with what happens
outside that has relevance to the students.
 The curriculum is not a predetermined product, but the result of an
ongoing context specific problem posing process.
 Education is most effective when it is experience centered, when it relates
to students’ real needs.
 Student learn to see themselves as social and political beings.
 Language skills are taught in service of action for change, rather than
isolation.
 A goal of the participatory approach is for students to be evaluating their
own learning and to increasingly direct it themselves.

A.KIND OF METHODS

1.THE GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHOD

The grammar-translation method also called The classical method. This method
was used for the purpose of helping students read and appreciate foreign
languages literature. Students would become more familiar with the grammar of
their native language better. 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.

a.The Principles of Grammar-Translation Method

The principles of the Grammar Translation Method are organized bellow by

answering the ten question. The question are addressed by The Grammar
Translation Method.

·What are the goals of teachers who use The Grammar Translation Methods?

A fundamental purpose of learning foreign language is to be able to read literature

written in the target language. Students need to learn about the grammar rules and
vocabulary of the target language. It is believed that studying a foreign language
provides students with good mental exercise witch help develop their minds.

·What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?

The roles are very traditional the teachers is the authority in the classroom. The
students do as she says so they can learn was she knows.

·What are some characteristic of the teaching / learning process.

Students study grammar deductively ; that is, they are given the grammar rules
and examples, are told to memorize them, and than are asked to apply the rules to
other examples. They also learn grammatical paradigms. They memorize native
language equivalents for target language vocabulary words.

·What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What is the nature of student-

student interaction?

Most of the interaction in the classroom is from the teacher to the students. There
is little students initiation and little student-student interaction.

·How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

There are no principles of the method which relate to this area.

·How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Literary language is considered superior to spoken language and is therefore the

language that students study. Culture is viewed consisting of literature and the fine
arts.

·What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?

Vocabulary and grammar are emphasized. Reading and writing are the primary
skills that the students work on. There is so much less attention given to speaking
and listening. Pronunciation receives little, if any attention.

·What is the role of students’ native language?

The meaning of target language is made clear by translating it into the students’
native language. The language that is used in class is mostly the students’ native
language.

·How is evaluation accomplished?

Student are asked to translate from their native language to the target language or
vice versa are often used.

·How does the teacher respond to student errors?

Having the students get the correct answer is considered very important. If
students make errors or do not know an answer, the teacher supplies them with the
correct answer.

b.The Techniques of Grammar-Translation Method

·Translation of a literary passage

Students translate a reading passage from the target language into their native
language. Students should not translate idioms and the like literally, but rather in a
way that shows that they understand their meaning.

·Reading comprehension questions

Students answer question in the target language based on their understanding their
meaning.

·Antonyms/ Synonyms

Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms in the reading
passage.

·Cognates

Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound

patterns that correspond between the language.

·Deductive Application of Rule

Grammar rules are presented with examples. Students understand a rule, they are
asked to apply it to some different examples.

·Fill in The Blanks

Students are given a series of sentences with word missing.

·Memorization

Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their native
language equivalents and are asked to memorize them.

·Using 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.

·Composition

The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language.

2.THE DIRECT METHODS

Since the Grammatical Translation Method was not very effective in preparing
students to use the target language communicatively, the Direct Method become
popular. The Direct Method has one basic rule : No translation is allowed.
a.The Principles of Direct Method

·What are the goals of teacher who use the Direct method?

Teacher who use the Direct Method intend that students learn how to
communicate in the target language. In order to do this successfully, students
should learn to think in the target language.

·What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?

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

·What are some characteristic of the teaching /learning process?

Students need to associate meaning and the target language directly. When the
teacher introduces a new target language word or phrase, he demonstrates the
meaning. He never translate into the students’ native language.

·What is the nature of students-teacher interaction? What is the nature of student-

student interaction?

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

·How is language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Language is primarily spoken, not written. Therefore, students study common,

everyday speech in the target language. They also study culture consisting of the
history of the people who speak the target language, the geography of the country
where the language is spoken, and information about the daily lives of the
speakers of the language.

·What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?

Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar. Although work on all skills occurs from
the start, oral communication is seen as basic.

·What is the role of the students’ native language?

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

·How is evaluating accomplished?

In the Direct Method students are asked to use the language, not to demonstrate
their knowledge about the language. They are asked to do so using both oral and
written skills.
·How does the teacher respond to students errors?

The teacher, employing various techniques, tries to get students to self correct
whenever possible.

b.The Techniques of Direct Method

·Reading aloud

Students take turns reading sections of a passage, play, or dialog, out loud.

·Question and answer exercise

This exercise is conducted only in the target language. The students are asked
questions and answer in full sentences so that they practice new words and
grammatical structures.

·Getting students to self-correct

The teacher has the students self correct by asking them to make a choice between
what they said and an alternative answer he supplied.

·Conversation practice

The teacher ask students a number of questions in the target language, which the
students have to understand to be able to answer correctly.

·Fill in the blank exercise

This technique has already discussed in the Grammar Translation Method, but
differs in its application in the Direct Method. All the items are in the target
language ; furthermore, no explicit grammar rule would be applied.

·Dictation

The teacher reads the passage three times. The firs time the teacher reads it at
normal speed, the second time the teacher reads the passage phrase by phrase, the
last time the teacher again reads at a normal speed.

·Map drawing

The class included one example of a technique used to give students listening
comprehension practice. The students were given a map with the geographical
features unnamed and the teacher gave the students directions.

·Paragraph writing
The teacher in this class asked the students to write a paragraph in their own
words. The could have done this from memory, or they could have used the
reading passage in the lesson as a model.

3.The Audio Lingual Method

The Audio Lingual method drills students in the use of grammatical sentence
pattern. It was thought that the way to acquire the sentence patterns of the target
language was through shaping and reinforcement. Learners could overcome the
habits of their native language and form the new habits required to be target
language speakers.

a.The Principles of Audio Lingual Method

·What are the goals of teachers who use the Audio Lingual Method?

Teachers want their students to be able to use target language communicatively.

Their students achieve this by forming new habits in the target language and
overcoming the old habits of their native language.

·What is the role of the teacher ? what is the role of the students?

The teacher is like an orchestra leader, directing and controlling the language
behavior of her student. Students are imitators of the teacher’s model or the tapes
she supplies of model speakers. They follow the teacher’s directions and respond
as accurately and as rapidly as possible.

·What are some characteristic of the teaching / learning process?

New vocabulary and structural patterns are presented through dialogs. The dialogs
are learned through imitation and repetition.

·What is the nature of student-teacher interaction ? what is the nature of student-

student interaction?

There is student-to-student interaction in chain drills or when students take

different roles I dialogs, but this interaction teacher is directed. Most of the
interaction is between teacher and students and is initiated by the teacher.

·How is the language viewed? How is the culture viewed?

The view of language has been influenced by descriptive linguists. Every

language is seen as having its own unique system. The system is comprised of
several different levels. The culture consists of the everyday behavior and lifestyle
of the target language speakers.

·What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
Vocabulary is kept to a minimum while the students are mastering the sound
system and grammatical patterns. The natural order of skills presentation is
adhered to : listening, speaking, reading, writing.

·What is the role of the students’ native language?

The habits of the students’ native language are thought to interfere with the
students’ attempts to master the target language.

·how does the teacher respond to the student error?

Student errors are to be avoid ed if at all possible through the teacher’s awareness
of where the students will have difficulty and restriction of what they are taught to
say.

b.The Techniques of Audio Lingual Method

·Dialog memorization

Dialogs or short conversation between two people are often used to begin a new
lesson. Students memorize the dialog through mimicry ; students usually take the
role of one person in the dialogue, and the teacher the other.

·Backward build-up (expansion ) drill

The drill is used when a long line of dialog 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 back
ward from there) to keep the intonation of the line as natural as possible.

·Repetition drill

Students are asked to repeat the teacher’s model as accurately and as quickly as
possible.

·Chain drill

Chain drill get its name from the chain of conversation that forms around the
room as students, one-by-one, ask and answer questions of each other. A chain
drill also gives the teacher an opportunity to check each student’s speech.

·Single-slot substitution drill

The major purpose of the drill is to give the students practice in finding filling in
the slots of a sentence.
·Multiple-slot substitution drill

The teacher gives cue phrases, one at a time, that fit into different slots in the
dialog line. The students must recognized what part of speech each cue is, or at
least, where it fits into the sentence and make any other changes, such as subject-
verb agreement. Then they say the line, fitting, the cue phrase into the line where
it belongs.

·Transformation drill

The teacher gives students a certain kind of sentence patter, an affirmative

sentence for example. Students are asked to transform this sentence into a
negative sentence..

·Question and answer drill

The drill gives students practice with answering questions. The students should
answer the teacher’s questions very quickly. This gives students practice pattern.

·Use of minimal pairs

The teacher works with pairs of words which differ in only one sound : for
example, ‘ship/sheep’. Students are first asked to perceive the difference between
the two words and later to be able to say the two words. The teacher selects the
sound to work on after she has done a contrastive analysis, a comparison between
the students’ native language and the language they are studying.

·Complete the dialog

Selected words are erased from dialog students have learned. Students complete
the dialog by filling the blanks with the missing words.

·Grammar game

The games are designed to get students to practice a grammar point within a
context. Students are able to express themselves, although it is rather limited in
this game. Notice there is also a lot of repetition in this game.