Teaching approaches: what is audiolingualism?An article discussing the concept of audiolingualism.

There seems to be a widely held perception amongst language teachers that methods and approaches have finite historical boundaries - that the Grammar-Translation approach is dead, for example. Similarly, audiolingualism was in vogue in the 1960s but died out in the70s after Chomsky’s famous attack on behaviourism in language learning.

In this context, it is worth considering for a moment what goes on in the typical language learning classroom. Do you ever ask your students to repeat phrases or whole sentences, forexample? Do you drill the pronunciation and intonation of utterances? Do you ever use drills? What about choral drilling? Question and answer? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then, consciously or unconsciously, you are using techniques that are features of the audiolingual approach.

This approach has its roots in the USA during World War II, when there was a pressing need to train key personnel quickly and effectively in foreign language skills. The results of the Army Specialized Training Program are generally regarded to have been very successful, with the caveat that the learners were in small groups and were highly motivated, which undoubtedly contributed to the success of the approach.

The approach was theoretically underpinned by structural linguistics, a movement in linguistics that focused on the phonemic, morphological and syntactic systems underlying the grammar of a given language, rather than according to traditional categories of Latin grammar. As such, it was held that learning a language involved mastering the building blocks of the language and learning the rules by which these basic elements are combined from the level of sound to the level of sentence. The audiolingual approach was also based on the behaviourist theory of learning, which held that language, like other aspects of human activity, is a form of behaviour.

In the behaviourist view, language is elicited by a stimulus and that stimulus then triggers a response. The response in turn then produces some kind of reinforcement, which, if positive, encourages the repetition of the response in the future or, if negative, its suppression. When transposed to the classroom, this gives us the classic pattern drill- Model: She went to the cinema yesterday. Stimulus; Theatre. Response: She went to the theatre yesterday. Reinforcement: Good! In its purest form audiolingualism aims to promote mechanical habit-formation through repetition of basic patterns. Accurate manipulation of structure leads to eventual fluency. Spoken language comes before written language. Dialogues and drill are central to the approach. Accurate pronunciation and control of structure are paramount.

While some of this might seem amusingly rigid in these enlightened times, it is worth reflecting on actual classroom practice and noticing when activities occur that can be saidto have their basis in the audiolingual approach. Most teachers will at some point require learners to repeat examples of grammatical structures in context with a number of aims in mind: stress, rhythm, intonation, "consolidating the structure", enabling learners to use the structure accurately through repetition, etc. Question and answer in open class or closed pairs to practise a particular form can also be argued to have its basis in the audiolingual approach, as can, without doubt, any kind of drill.

Although the audiolingual approach in its purest form has many weaknesses (notably the difficulty of transferring learnt patterns to real communication), to dismiss the audiolingual approach as an outmoded method of the 1960s is to ignore the reality of current classroom practice which is based on more than 2000 years of collective wisdom.

Essay on the Structural Approach of Teaching English

GAURI DUSHI

The Structural Approach is based on the assumption that language can best be learnt through a scientific selection and grading of structures or patterns of sentences and vocabulary. The stress is on the learning of essential structures of English.

In the words of Menon and Patel: "The Structural Approach is based on the belief that in the learning of a foreign language, mastery of structures is more important than theacquisition of vocabulary." This approach employs techniques of the Direct Method of teaching but the use of translation is not wholly discarded. Teaching is done in situations. Speech is mainly stressed but reading and writing are not neglected.

Structural Approach is essentially what the term implies-an approach and not a method as such. There is scope for limitless experimentation in imaginative ways of applying the Structural Approach in the class-room. Prof. C.S. Bhandari has rightly remarked: "It is not proper and correct to call the Structural Approach a method of teaching. It is not a method; it is an approach. Any method can be used with it"

The Objectives of the Structural Approach

According to Menon and Patel the following are the objectives of the new Structural Approach:

1. To lay the foundation of English by establishing through drill and repetition about 275 graded structures.

2. To enable the children to attain mastery over an essential vocabulary of about 3,000root words for active use.

3. To correlate the teaching of grammar and composition with the reading lessons.

4. To teach the four fundamental skills, namely understanding, speaking, reading and writing in the order named.

5. To lay proper emphasis on the aural-oral approach, active methods and the condemnation of formal grammar for its own sake.

Characteristics of the Structural Approach

The concept of English structure system depends upon three main characteristics which are briefly discussed below in order of importance.

1. Word Order.

Word Order or the "patterns of form" is of primary importance in learning English language. It is the order of words in a pattern that makes true meaning clear.

2. Presence of Function Words. The structural devices make use of another important principle. This is the essential use of 'function words' or "structural words". Observethe following structures:

(i) I kill the snake.

(ii) I shall kill the snake.

(iii) I shall be killing the snake.(iv) I shall have killed the snake.

(v) I have killed the snake.

(vi) I have to kill the snake.

(vii) I might have killed the snake.

(viii) I can kill the snake.

In the second sentence, the word 'shall' tells the action is going to happen and the third and the fourth sentences convey the meaning of futurity in a different way.

The fifth sentence makes use of 'have' which tells us that the action is now over. Similarly, the meaning is modified by the use of structural words 'have to', 'might' and 'can' in the sixth, seventh and eighth sentence.

The structural words which help the construction of utterances with content words are:

(i) The pronouns such as I, me, he, her, their some, any etc.

(ii) The prepositions such as in, on, of, under, at, from etc.

(iii) The helping verbs as do, have, be, will, can, may etc.(iv) The adjectives and adverbs such as this, that, all, each, every, ago, again, also even, ever etc.

3. Use of a small number of Inflections. Another important characteristic is that English language makes use of a small number of inflections as compared to other languages. Inflectional changes are prominent in the following examples:

(i) In Verbs: I play: he plays; I am playing; I played.

(ii) In Nouns: one boy, two boys, that boy's cap; one man, two men, men's food.

(iii) In Adjectives and Adverbs:

(a) great ... greater ... greatest good ... better ... best(b) Great ... greatly; beautiful ... beautifully.Principles of the structural approach

The principles of the Structural Approach may be as under:

1. Forming language habits. The Structural Approach gives due importance to the formingof language habits. The learners should acquire the habit of arranging words in Englishstandard sentence patterns through language drills.2. Important of speech. The Structural Approach regards speech as more important than reading and writing. Speech is the necessary means of fixing firmly all ground work.

3. Importance of pupil's activity. The Structural Approach puts more emphasis on pupil's activity than on the teacher's. It is the child who is the learner, so he must be actively involved in the teaching-learning process.

From the above three principles, we observe that speech and oral work are the core of the structural way. The pupil himself assumes prominence in every activity connected inthe new way of teaching and learning the language. Oral work, in fact, is the sheet-anchor of the approach.

The whole approach is based on the principle "that language is learnt through use, and that the use of it is almost always accompanied by activity of some kind. Pleasurable activity is the secret of success in language assimilation."

The structural approach to the teaching of English is technique by which students are taught to master the pattern of sentences. In the words of Menon and Patel, the structural approach is based on the belief that in the learning of a foreign language, mastery of structures is more important thanthe acquisition of vocabulary. This approach employs techniques of the direct method of teaching. Speech is mainly stressed bat reading and writingis not neglected. The structural approach is not a method in the strict sense of the term. It is an approach, a technique, a device which can be used to put into practice any method successfully. It is a way to teach English by using only of the traditional method like grammar translation or direct method etc. According to Prof. B. D. Srivastava, “The structural approach is, in fact, the situational approach of language teaching"

Objectives of the structural approach –

According to Menon and Patel the following are the objectives of the new structural approach:1. To lay the foundation of English by establishing through drill and repetition about 275 graded structures.2. To enable the children to attain mastery over an essential vocabulary of about 3000 root words for active use.3. To correlate the teaching of grammar and composition with the reading lesson.4. To teach the four fundamental skills, namely understanding, speaking, reading and writing in the order names.5. To lay proper emphasis on the aural – oral approach, activity methods andthe condemnation of formal grammar for its own sake.

Principles of the structural approach:-

Prof. F. G. French has entitled the following principles underlying the structural Approach:

1. Importance of framing language Habits – The structural approach lays stress on the importance of forming language habit, particularly the habit of forming words in English.2. Importance of speech – The structural approach is based on the principle of effective used of speech. 3. Importance pupil’s activity – The structural approach is based on the principles of the pupils’ activity. The importance of pupil’s activity rather than the activity of the teacher is the sure way to learning English.4. The principle of oral work – Oral work is the sheet anchor of the structural approach. Oral work is the basis and all the rest are built up from it.5. Each language has its own grammar – Instead of teaching grammar of the target language and its structures are to be taught. Each language has its own grammar.

Main   features of structural approach – The structural approach makes use of the following features for teaching thelanguage.

 Word order – Word order or the patterns of form is very important in English language. Each word in ascertain arrangement has a fixed place whichcan not be changed. If we do so, we distort the meaning, considering the following arrangements -

a)      Ram killed a snakeb)      A snake killed Ram.     

 The presence of Function words – Function words are structural words. They function as the structural links. Function words help in modifying meaning consider the following sentences –a) I kill a snake.b) I am killing a snake.c) I shall kill a snake.d) I have killed a snake.e) I have to kill a snake.

The use of a few Inflections: Another important characteristic is that English language makes used of an inflection as compared to other languages.Inflection changes are prominent in the following examples:

a)      In verbs; I play; he plays; I am playing; I played.b)      In Nouns: One boy; two boys; one man.c)      In adjective and adverb.

i)                    great –greater – greatest.ii)                   Great –greatly.

Limitations of the Approach:

1. The structural approach has limited application. It is best suited for the early stage of teaching English.

2. The structural approach ever emphasizes oral work and speech manipulation. There is blind repetition of structural items during oralteaching.

3. The approach ignores reading and writing children fail to expand their language acquisition.

4. This approach fails to exploit children’s mother tongue.5. The proper working out of the structural approach requires efficient

teachers. There is acute dearth of such teachers.6. It is not practicable in Indian schools.

7. It will not help cover the syllabus.

Communicative approachThe communicative approach is based on the idea that learning language successfully comes through having to communicate real meaning. When learners are involved in real communication, their natural strategies for language acquisition will be used, and this will allow them to learn to use the language.

Example Practising question forms by asking learners to find out personal information about their colleagues is an example of the communicative approach, as it involves meaningful communication.

In the classroom Classroom activities guided by the communicative approach are characterised by trying to produce meaningful and real communication, at all levels. As a result there may be more emphasis on skills than systems, lessons are more learner-centred, and there may be use of authentic materials.

Peculiarities of the Communicative Approachin Teaching English

Linas Semistraitis (Vilnius)   

1. Introduction

The communicative method precisely defines objectives headed by free communication through conversation, reading, listening comprehension and writing. For those aims, the

communicative method uses contemporary elements of tele-, radio communication, etc. which are natural in the world of exchanging information. Nevertheless, a book remains the main but not the only tool of language learning at school. A teacher can choose any book whichcorresponds to his/her purposes and defines his/her methodological approach towards language teaching. But a book should be both interesting and accessible for students. A textbook should help learning thelanguage, but not give interesting or boring facts aboutit. On the other hand, even the most attractive textbook will notgive any results, if its contents(drills, exercises, rules, etc.) are separated from the communicative learning with the help of a teacher as a professional counsellor. An English language teacher must know English as well as his mother tongue. The teacher must be aware of the laws according towhich language functions. The teacher must be acquainted with the last methodological points ofview, but he is not to be obligedto acquire those if they do not conform to his purposes and aims.The teacher ought to know the difference between general linguistics and pedagogical linguistics in order not to convert lessons at school to linguistic seminars.

What is communication? It seems to me, communication is first of

all exchanging opinions, information, notions of social, cultural, political and other aspects of everyday life. Communication always has associations with written and oral discourse. But communicationincludes a surprised face, a smile, a nervous movement or a smoke above the fire of Indians, as well. Communication is also advertising the colour of the president's suit, flags, posters or a whistle of a boy under the window of his sweetheart. The world around us is the world of communication in various spheres.And only at language lessons the only means of communication are textbooks and the lecturing teacher. In the classroom, the teacher is the source of information. And this communication is under control rather than free. In this case, the purpose of a teacher is to transform the communication with students to a pleasant, attractive and emotional lesson.

Real communication is always informative, unpredictable and unexpected. If the teacher is always informative, interesting and unexpected, then even before the beginning if the lesson students will be disposed for a good lesson. But if the previous lesson is just the same as the next one, students will be bored with it before the lesson start.

Even the most trivial dialogue can be transformed to a communicative one if no one knows

a word of what will be said about. If the dialogue starts

A: - How are you?B: - And you?then it all can be boring, definite and predictable. This dialogue is not informative, and rather similar to those which thestudents must learn by heart in terms of a prepared situation recipe. Byy contrast, the dialogue below is unpredictable, interesting and informative:A: - How are you?B: - Is it true, that you ... orA: - What is the result of the match?B: - Tell me, where I can get repaired my Japanese TV set? It broke down in the middle of the match.The answer is unexpected and related to the questions only associatively. During a language lesson, such dialogues can reflect spontaneous situations. Those unexpected dialogues are really communicative and built according to the scheme "stimulus- response". This principle stimulates active thinking process, intuitive thought and use of language in the frame of fixed communicative habits.

Working on their own, students fulfil the task of a communicative intercourse, and the best way of it is a free dialogue between students but excluding the teacher who is always correcting and evaluating.There are a lot of students who can and know how to speak English

but they happen to keep silent facing the criticizing teacher. At free work, however, students are more willing and ready for decision-making and to ask the teacher for his advice.

When a teacher is not a dictator,students try to learn language themselves. In small groups, eventhe shyest students engage in communication at the same level as a "non timid" students. It never happens, however, if the teacher stands in front of the all class. Work in groups which transform a student into the mainperson of the language lesson is the kind of work which develops the communicative abilities of students.

A language teacher can not limit himself only to textbooks or teaching aids, even the poshest or the most contemporary, but he must be in constant relation withthe language by the modern means including television, video, etc.It can also be a newspaper, or a recorded telecast or a radio report. The more variety is in aids of learning and the more up-to-date reflection of the mass media influence is shown by them,the more successful will the communicative intercourse be.

Speaking about communication, it is necessary to take into accounta specific national character andspecific type of communication inEnglish. Students ask: "What is the English for it" when they want to know the equivalent of

some Lithuanian gesture. Born in Lithuania, children acquire specific gestures which are common to this country, or a city, or a community. The language is acquired in the same specific logical-emotional communicative system as well.

Can a child or the children acquire not only nominative formsof a second language but the whole complex composing the language of communication, as well? In other words, can a learner communicate with the native speaker at the same level?N. Chomsky defined the ability tospeak with the native speaker in the same terms as competence. He claimed that real competence in studying a language could be developed in intuitive language of native language conditions.

Is there a pedagogical norm in defining competence? N. Chomsky (1965) considers people who do not know grammar or cannot read and write as non-competent. If wetake for an example a man from a countryside who can neither speaknor write, we can say that in these communicative conditions there is no need for writing or reading, and that is why he is completely competent in justifying his everyday communicative needs. Then, we cansay that competence is personal verbal perfection which corresponds to the personal communicative needs.

Teachers always seek to fill the

heads of students with various grammar rules and to transform them to a source of language perfection. This purpose can not be achieved in most cases. At thesame time, it is not useful sinceit is impossible to grasp a lot of. The English teacher should fix flexible aims which could vary in every single case. Communication is a necessity in order to keep contact at a certain level and at a certain communicative frame.

What are the relations between communication and competence and which determines what: whether communication defines competencies or vice versa?

In fact, I used to correct every students mistake. But later on, Iunderstood that not in every casewe need to pay attention to wrongusage of language, and if we do it this must be done in the same way which does not disturb the course of communication,

Which is better:

 

How can I find Studentu street ?Where is Studentu street ?Do you happen to know Studentu street ?

Every from the three examples above will direct to Studentu street. Thus, norms of language are supposed to assist communication but it is not necessary to use . it in the standard perfection. And if we

have to make a choice between perfection and communicative result, we would choose the last one. No doubt, perfect communication preferred but not compulsory. A communicative teacher must pay attention to typical mistakes, those which he often comes across with, to distortion of logical and grammatical forms. Normative language is to remain on example of imitation, but not in all cases it must be the goal of active studies.

Attention must be drawn to one more element of communicative intercourse. It is spontaneity. In many cases normative rules will not allow to evaluate colloquial situation and respond to communicative stimulus. Many times a teacher can spot a student not finding the right word. That happens when the student thinks not about what to say, but how to say.

Structural exercises, which had spread in methodology in the middle of the century, were determined to teach topics which must extract words from students active memory according to the situation. But these exercises did not teach free usage of language in unexpected situations. In fact, knowledge ofthe topics appeared to be non communicative because it was impossible to predict the situation with all its unexpectedmoments. Dialogues and topics must be a part of teaching process, but they are to carry

unexpected elements, spontaneity and situation, which require immediate and logical solution ofcommunicative problems. Dialoguesmust help to understand situation. They are useful in case when they involve ability topractise it in a free manner.

Questions of practical liberty and personal necessity are the key ones not only from linguisticpoint of view, but from social and political one as well. This question must be presented to every student personally. Even inprimary school, students should know why he is learning English. Then they will be highly motivated.

A teacher can learn the student'sattitude towards the English language by means of questionnaires which he can design himself. It can be following:

 

I study English because

a) it is necessary in everyday life,b) it is necessary for my future career,c) it is necessary for my personal contacts,d) it is a nice language,e) we live in Europe,f) all around us study English,g) I need to read special literature in English,h) it easier to live knowing English,i) I am forced to learn.

Analysing every point, a teacher can define motives of language studies in every particular case.Then the teacher can structure his strategies according to the needs of students.

2. Communicativists, audiolinguists and structuralists. Their attitude towards language teaching

The teacher with a respectful pedagogical experience would say:"We did not teach in vain. There are generations which can speak English". Yes, but how many efforts it took.

In the second half of the XXth century behavioural approach emerged. Behavioural linguists covered methodology with their ideas and defined language teaching methodology as a mechanical reflection of languagereality. This automatic and drill-based language learning relied on right understanding of primary language of a growing child who is being brought up in a natural language atmosphere. But it is difficult to compare the perception of English by a child in an English speaking family and the perception of it in a non-English one. Behaviourists claimed that the only way of language learning wasa mechanical repetition of semantic and grammatical forms. And what is true in a natural wayof language perception, here

becomes senseless. A "behavioural" student cannot achieve natural language usage and he isolates himself by situations which cannot be universal in every case.

Structural linguists claimed thatdirect language atmosphere is essential for acquiring the studied language. By this statement, oral discourse was theonly means of communication. Creation of a language atmospherewas considered as compulsory condition for learning a second language.

Mostly oral discourse is to be the only means of communication or at last the dominating means. But very often foreign language is used in a written form.

Differently from behaviourists and structuralists, uses of communicative method suggest every teacher should define the importance of every language discipline and teach language in correspondence with local solutions. Communicative thinkingdoes not provide a strict ideological structure and does not give a chance for a teacher to define what is main and what is subordinate.

Audiolinguists pay distinguished attention to oral discourse. Their theory maintains that understanding what is heard takessignificant place in language acquisition (as in communicative method). But audiolinguists give students some prepared language

structures, while uses of communicative method allow students to use such language structures which seem suitable for students in particular circumstances. The difference between audiolinguists and uses of the communicative methodology is, in fact, that the former gives students books with some prepared logical structures in their memory while the latter direct and react to communicativestimulus spontaneously.

According to audiolinguists, study and learning dialogues serve bases for this system. In this way, like behaviourists and structuralists they create some optimal situations with prepared answers.

Audiolinguists will use criteria of English literature and culturefor studies of English by Lithuanians. On the contrary, a follower of communicative approach does not limit himself by "English" situations. It is not necessary to read only about England. Students acquire a foreign language better when theyare speaking about what is known,intimate and clear for them (eventhough at the first stage).

Audiolinguists require a perfect pronunciation which is not communicative. Oral form precedesreading but reading is to be the supporting element of oral forms of communication, the stimulus ofdiscourse or the enrichment if vocabulary. Audiolinguists focused on functional sage of

language, what sounds logically, but really it appeared to be thematically narrow in memorisingthe communicative form. Audiolinguists really achieved high results in correct usage of language structures, for this they use language laboratories, records of native speakers. But students need to turn to a free and easy communication.

Followers of the communicative method aspire to habit of right usage of language structures, butit is not over-emphasized. They also suggest paying attention to students' abilities to express their own opinions, feelings and not to spread language structuresfor its own sake. Thus, communicativists try to understand students cognitive nature, their personal and lifetime abilities.

N. Chomsky categorically rejectedthe notion that language was acquired through a form of conditioning dependent reinforcement or reward. He stressed that children come to the world with the innate language - learning abilities that takes the form of language acquisition device which proceedsby hypothesis - testing. Consequently, children acquire the language by making hypothesesabout the form of grammar of the language. Then they compare it with their innate knowledge (Willgo Rivers). Thus, N. Chomskyrejects language learning which depends on language conditioning.He defines abilities of language

studying as rudiments placed in achild at birth. Only at the process of growing, the child chooses the optional forms of communication suitable for him and society he lives in. In otherwords, students choose the most sufficient forms of communicationthemselves which corresponds to acommunity needs. They make communicative schemes and try their truth on their own. Everything is true for communicative idea of language teaching at school. But how can we agree with the statement aboutinnate communicative abilities which can be vastly developed in certain conditions? It is true that there are students who have difficulties at mathematics or languages. But if we use right methodology, even the least able students can achieve good communicative results.

N. Chomsky's inner "code" has no relation to the cognitive approach in language learning andstudents without talent thus are doomed to a poor existence in a language class. Of course, if a class is frontal and the teacher's personal attention to every student is paid according to the number of the students in the class, minutes of the lesson and other factors, many students stay without any attention be it talented or less able student.

3. The relation of communicative exercises to communication in a wider sense

The assortment of communicative exercises is unlimited. But they can be classified. That is done by such researchers of communicative method of language teaching as Penny, Rivers, Widowson and others. Classifications are a kind of methodological care of communicative experience in teaching foreign languages. But teachers themselves can classify a system of exercises according to their aims, level of the class, etc. Relative classification of communicative exercises can be presented in following way:

1. The beginning and the development of relations.

This type of exercises can be adopted for beginners. It is known that these exercises tune up students to words communication. Axis of this type includes greetings, requests, simple dialogues for acquaintance, permissions or refusals. Such exercises can be carried out by one person but only in communicative intercourse.

2. Purposive search of information and report.

Such search works do not reacquire oral communication or focus on communication "a book - a person". It means comprehensionof what is read. For many students understanding the plot of the book will be a significantelement in communicating with the

English speaking world in universities, correspondence, reading magazines, newspapers.

A report can be suggested as a topic for a month. During this time, students must prepare not only a report but also a plan according to a topic, which is handed to everyone student. It enables them to follow what is said in a report by a speaker, ask questions or supplement. The same topic can be suggested for two students. That can provoke a discussion in the class where allstudents are judges.

3. Work at practical projects.

That is reading and discussions of instructions. Model of discussion can be "Find the treasure", reading instructions how to make medicine, how to dealwith deodorants, domestic appliance, type-recorders, etc.

4. Theater situations.

These can be scenes from fiction reading.

5. Reactions and intentions.

Free dialogues with unexpected ends, games with an alternative answers "yes" and "no", clearing up the real intentions, solving current problems, participating in the social life, charts on thetelephone.

Definitions, common phrases, bureaucratic aphorisms and other language elements of everyday

life cannot be learnt from the textbooks. In language terms rapprochement with real life is understanding of the communication. Students can fill in the form:

1. Name......................................2. Surname..................................3. Address...................................4. Telephone number.....................5. Date of birth.............................6. Place of birth............................7. School.....................................8. Average mark............................9. Favorite subject at school...........10. Foreign languages....................

Such and similar forms can be required to fill in in real life.Teachers can construct forms themselves for various reasons: Kristian Anderson

1. Name and surname..................2. Date of birth..........................3. Place of birth.........................4. Date of death.........................5. Place of death........................6. Childhood..............................

7. The most famous work.............8. Etc.

These forms can embrace famous persons of English history, literature and arts, and enrich simultaneously knowledge of students. Such forms have perception character. They can beof the following forms:

1. Name and surname......................2. Your favourite art.......................3. Your favourite actor....................4. Your favourite actress..................5. Your favourite writer...................6. Your favourite painter..................7. Your hobby................................

Work according to these forms canbe done in groups. Students can ask each other and help each other with answers.

Forms are to spot various facts of the world. Forms and questionnaires can assist teachernot only to gather information but use it in oral form, as well.In foreign schools, universities,governmental institutions which carry out psychological examination for determinations ofIQ cannot avoid a multiple choicetest. This does not mean checkingthe writing abilities. This meanschecking the ability to find the right answer or logical decision.Answers to such questions take less time than written answers.

Extent of material is deeper and vaster.

In order to develop students' abilities in a multiple choice test we can suggest our students answer some questions in a similar way:

 

1. Do you go in for sports?

a) never,b) once in a week,c) every morning.

 

2. Do you like eatingmeat?

a) do not eat at all,b) every now and then,c) every day. 

 

3. When do you go to bed?

a) when tired,b) at eleven,c) at midnight.

 

4. Do you eat sweets? a) every day,

b) sometimes,c) never.

 

5. Do you do washing up?

a) every day,b) after parties,c) hate it.

 

6. Do you present flowers to your mother?

a) once a year,b) when I upset my mother,c) rarely.

We can compose any form which will be suitable for various ability levels of students.

As much as communication is some kind of performance, playing roles and plots, it is possible to draw the lesson close to the

theatre performance. Students like theatricalizing their answers. Students can use creative drama in filling in forms.

Every student gets a card, where he can read text about "himself. The content of the card is not familiar to other students.

 

The first student reads about "himself:

"Now it is a holiday. I finished fourth form and 1 want to earn some money. My name is Vitas Andraitis. I am11 y. o. I want to work 4 hours a day. I can see flowers, ice cream or books on the street.

 

The second student reads about "himself:

" My name is Giedrius Pauliukonis. I am 20 y.o. I have many flowers in my garden. I need a student who can sell my flowers. I am a director of the "Flower" Garden-Center.

 

Now G. P. is employing V. A. and is asking the questions according to theform:

 

1. Name and surname........................2. Address and telephone number..........3. Age..........................................4. Education...................................

When questions are answered, the form is filled in. How many language skills are involved and practised in this exercise? There

are listening, writing, reading and speaking skills.

Very communicative is game with alternative answers "yes"/ "no". The teacher writes a word, the name of a famous person, an eventand definitions - any he likes, and students ask the questions which can be answered in a way "yes"/ "no". These exercises can be used at various levels and in any form.

In our days, there are popular comic strips. In different ways some textbooks use comic strips. They are perfect visual means of communicative teaching. There areno strict rules of work with comic strips, that is why there are a lot of possibilities for improvisation which are connectedto objective abilities of the class in every particular case and to subjective circumstances such as mood of the class after the lesson of physical education,etc. Such comic strips can be used in a group work. A teacher can choose sequences of strips and prepare titles for them on long streaks of paper. Students are to choose the right version to the comic strip. A teacher cando a lot of work, but we do not ask simply "what is it ?". In this case there is no communication.

The next type of communicative activity is working with a map. The map can represent a familiar city or strange places. Students work in groups, and the teacher can work with the same map on the

blackboard. Students give name ofstreets. Every student can suggest his own name to the street. It can be funny, abstractor anything he chooses. Students can give names according to the topics:

a) 3 streets by the names of great English writers,b) 3 streets by the names of rivers,c) 3 streets by the names of historical places.

            Students can play roles of apoliceman, a tourist, a passer by, a stranger in a city.

4. Some peculiarities of communicative methodology

A. Testing

Testing is an integrative part of the process of learning. But testingmust be done in terms of communication. For example, you givestudents the following text:

A trip round the lighthouse

"Tom and Mary are having a trip in a motor-boat. Every fine day in the summerthe Skylark goes on a trip round the lighthouse. It is a windy morning and the sea is rather rough, but Tom and Mary are enjoying it. It takes half an hour to reach the lighthouse. Tom says he would like to be a light house keeper, but his Daddy just smile when hesays this. Mary likes sitting in front watching the nose of the boat cuts its way through the water".

After reading out such a text, the teacher gives questions in jumbled order, aiming at problems of logic

and grammar.

1. The sea is rough because

it is cloudy, the sun shines, it is summer, the wind is blowing.

2. How do Tom and Mary travel?

by bus, by ferry, by boat, by motor-boat.

Such grammar questions force students to think logically, and the grammar will be perceived as a natural part of the whole language complex.

If the text seems to be rather long, students read the text and answer the questions. Bit he mustbe informed that he scores +10 points for the fulfillment of allthe work. It is good to give reinforcement during the testing.

Before returning the corrected tests, the teacher checks what remained in students' memory. Theteacher can cover the same grammar material by asking questions according the text.

Testing must check all aspects oflanguage: listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and writing abilities. For example, if the teacher wants to check the perception of English sounds, which are not in Lithuanian language, he can apply the following test.

The task is to mark sounds which

the students can hear. Every student given a sheet of paper:

 [ð] 123456789 

[i:] 123456789

Let's say the word which is heardby the students is "sister". Theydoes not near neither [ ð ] nor [i: ]. The second word is "father". And the students mark the place of the sound they hear.

Communicative system tests check what students know but it does not test what students do not know. That is why examination canbe taken according to the students' level. Testing for groups can be adopted, facilitated or complicated.

B. Developing listening skills.

Oral forms of language communication are listening comprehension and conversation, which are opposite to academic reading and writing. Methodologists did not pay much attention to listening and abilities to start conversationalintercourse. On the contrary, others consider oral forms of communication the only one communicative and focus only on the goal of stimulating conversation and listening comprehension. The truth lies somewhere in the middle between "academic" written language and "illiterate" oral language. The teacher must define the importance of every sort of

communication. If spoken languageis very stimulating, it can be base for complex and deep language learning. If students are interested in written language which they can show to parents, the teacher can start from writing which will be the base for the same complex and deep language learning.

How does perceptive language mechanism work? At first, The student perceive sounds in their verbal or idiomatic complexity, connects definite sound with definite meaning. Word used in one meaning and for one time is fixed in the primary memory. Primary perception is fixed logically with the help of associations with language and non language structures, and after such associative fixation it is consolidated in the deep memory. At the last stage, it is to appear free converting of grammatical and logical forms at every .complex situation with endless variety of communicative solutions.

Perception of spontaneous speech and literally text gives different results and has different communicative purposes.Nevertheless, the teacher must teach to react immediately in both the cases. The teacher must take into account that listener cannot control speed of information but he adheres to it and makes efforts in order to understand the main idea.

Exercises for developing

listening comprehension can be the following:

1. Listen and fill in.2. Listen and continue.Listening of some text can be broken offat the most interesting point. Then students must continue in oral or written form.3. Listen and check. These exercises reacquire special attention to the details and logic.4. Listen and find.Students are given maps. In course of listening they must mark the places where the action takes place, or where murder happened, etc.5. A dynasty.Students are given a scheme of a family tree with empty places for grandparents,mother, father, sister, etc. One studentis standing in front of the class and speaking about his family. Other students listen and fill in the family tree.6. Listen and find differences. Studentsmust find differences between the texts they will hear.7. Listen and make a summary.

The text is read twice. At first time, students only listen while the second time, they make a summary or a plan.

C. Developing speaking skills.

Natural conversation forces adjustment of a listener to a produce, but talk and perception are mutually connected. Conversational acoustical contactmust be a stimulus for a student's and a teacher's work. In the communicative class, it isnecessary to support students' motivation showing their failures, success and progress.

For that, the teacher can repeat some exercises, which guarantee success in advance, and then to proceed to more complicated exercises. The teacher must take into account the freedom in the frame of communicative abilities known to the students.

A conversation should teach the students how to use colloquial language at the most normative, optimum level. Students active participating at class conversations is essential if theclass is the only place to communicate. Relevant and actual material is used in real life situations which are not fixed but can vary to different directions. Imitation starts fromlistening. As a rule, students have a lot of listening but they do not speak. The teacher must provoke them with a help of a situation, game or discussion. Primary stages of colloquial language take a course in imitating, retelling the plot.

Very often conversation goes smoothly when students have significant vocabulary, logical and grammar structures, and trustthat they will be understood. Butconversation must start at the very beginning of the learning process and expand according to the lexico-grammatical abilities.

If the student is afraid of talking there will be any communication. He must join students of similar abilities andcreate positive conditions to

developing conversation. Conversational skills must be developed step by step. A teachermust prepare students for conversations. At first, situation can be discussed in Lithuanian. Making contact with problem is stimulus and that willdetermine student's position. Nowdiscussion can take place in groups in English. Structuralistsclaim that constant practice conversational exercises solve all problems. It does a lot but not all. Amount of conversationalhours not always develop communicative abilities. Communicative approach is not interested in producing forms andsentences in their sterile correctness. Communicative methoddoes not reject studies of grammar and sentence structure. Subordinate clauses, pronouns, comparative forms, etc. are studied, but communicative methodsupposes finding situations of a free contact in the course of studying the forms where rules are used practically. Structuralistic dialogues and other exercises are abstract and directed towards strengthening the material. That leads towards students' disability to react to an immediate change of the situation. In other words, the strategic level colloquial language of structuralists is a primitive from the point of view of the communicative direction, but not from the language knowledge. In a structural lesson, students must correctly react to grammatical forms. At

these lessons, as admitted by R. Scott (????), focus is shifted from the correct usage of forms to the active selection of instantly reacquired expressions of a communicative character. Such students will care about correct usage for communicative purposes.

Communicative method determines purposes of oral conversation spontaneously, without preliminary preparation. A student has to define purposes ofconversation at the very beginning or even in the course of it. Defining of conversationalpurposes is dictated by need to transmit some information or emotional state. The grammatical aspect has a secondary role if itdoes not confuse understanding and conveying the purpose of the conversation. Grammatical and phonetic correctness is developednot before the speech but in its course.

Structural principle determines strict grammatical laws by which topics are defined. These schemesare applied only id defined conditions. Structural idea persuades strict rules of communication and look after every mistake. In structural class, student first thinks how to say, and only than what to say.

In a communicative class the mainidea of pedagogical strategy is playing a definite role, and thenproducing a speech is defined by

situation. This means that forms are used in their grammatical correctness but this correctness is not the main task. If grammatical forms prevail in the class the student is willing to say something but he only emphasizes definite grammatical form which is required by the teacher. We defined some moments of studying conversation, they can be the following:

1. Exercises for improving phonologic system, intonation, stress.

2. Answer to questions about what was watched on TV or heard or read.

3. Description pictures.4. Summarizing the paragraph or a

novel.5. Narrating some event.6. Discussion.7. Dialogues.

D. Developing reading skills

Reading perceives written in its logical forms. It means reading reproduces what is written. Written language differs from colloquial one. That is why a teacher has to choose such extracts for reading that the interaction "writing - reading" would not be difficult or disorientating the student. Reading techniques are both "silent reading" and "loud reading". Reading aloud is not the aim itself but a tool. It helps putting the right stress, improving the correct intonation.A weak student cannot as well as

others students but he would not read at all alone. Taking into account arguments against loud reading, the teacher must choose a suitable material for loud reading. That can be newspaper news, short report, etc. Reading aloud, the student prepares himself to speaking because he accustoms to the audience which listens to him. Before students read aloud, the teacher can give some pre-reading exercises.

After students got acquainted to the text, it is time to read aloud. Reading is a cognitive form of perception through printed word. It is an individualform. Taking into account communicative principles, in every case teacher has to explainwhy he reads the text. Students have to be motivated. Stimulationof reading develops a habit of reading in studying language and gives positive emotions. The teacher must to pay attention to a context or a text and choose such a text which corresponds to the age and interest of students.

Reading must be purposeful when the student looks for the answer to the question which can be logical, which requires thinking about what is read. That can be filling up charts, plans or diagrams. That can be continuing the text. If we need to consolidate some grammatical structure, we can give some extract where the student has to insert the required grammatical forms and understand the plot, as

well. Not only understanding is important in reading. Every reading leads to some logical conclusions and emotional impressions. Every reading enriches the vocabulary. The teacher must connect what is readwith the students' personal experience and personal emotionalimpressions. It can be a topic for discussions in the class.

E. Developing writing skills

In developing writing skills, as well as in listening, reading andspeaking skills, first of all it is necessary to pay attention to communicative purpose and then tothe communicative technique. Structuralists and audiolinguistsunder the influence of the American immigration took into account the needs of immigrants and emphasised oral forms of communication and reading, but left writing at the last stage oflearning. Today, writing is necessary no matter whether we use a pen or a computer.

At the beginning, Teachers teach only oral language forms. But elementary students are willing to write and show their works to parents. Writing is such a visualcategory which motivates the learning process, creates the feeling of progress. On the otherhand, there is a category of students who does not like writing because it takes a lot oftime, requires attention.

Teacher must take all into

account and look at writing very carefully and define the place ofwriting in teaching process. The main points in defining place of writing are:

1. Not all the students catch the language in oral forms and they require strengthening of what is heard, seen and read. Writing helps such students.

2. Writing is a kind of proof of the learning process although not always reflects the real progress.

3. Writing develops a special type oflogical thinking which focuses thoughts on the main ideas.

Descriptive exercises can be based on a series of pictures. The teacher can choose any grammatical form for practise. The teacher can give sheets of paper with sentences and give a task to compose a story and writeit. Exercises for developing writing can be varied not only indifficulties of using "clever" words, but in complexity making up of sentences. Every written complex must not be simply gymnastic grammar exercise but informative and emotional structure where grammar is a natural way of expressing ideas.

The teacher can give a task to write a story according pictures which are not connected thematically. That gives liberty of expression, interest and purpose in the course of work. Every story has some structures, so exercises can be built according to a principle of developing:

-at first................. -

then.............

-after.................. -inaddition........

- and finally.................................

Description of objects, portraits, etc. does not require developing events in time. It focuses on visual state. Description gives us state of a static quality. Description is important when the teacher wants to teach adjectives. Description of places is similar to description of things and persons. Sources for description can be maps, cards booklets. Description can be official or personal. Description of places can be conveyed by an invented person, at a various seasons or aday-time.

A significant role in developing writing skills can be taken by questions and answers. Descriptive in details, answers will be very useful for this purpose. It can help to determinestudents' ability to communicate in a written form and also a correctness of such forms. Starting from a simple copying and finishing by compositions, teachers always have to stimulatewriting by interesting tasks, texts, etc.

5. Conclusions

Communicative system must take account of the following features:

1. Social interaction.2. Unexpected moments in forms of

perception and addressing.3. Creativity in forms of perception

and addressing.4. Reasons for perception and

addressing.5. Personal and social elements of

speech production including both emotion and information.

6. Success in communication.

The communicative characteristicsof a language are directly connected with the forms, and such language norms reflect amount of people for whom such norms are standard norms.

Standard norms of English denote such language which we hear on TV, in the street, but not the language which was used by great writes for example in the XlXth century. The first language type can be called strategic language and it is the aim of studies. Languages studies must always be defined by the strategic communicative aims. Thus, communicative methodology is to pay attention to the strategic language, active and affective. This does not mean that communicative methodology restricts language to the minimumof necessary phrases and does notpay attention to the aesthetic beauty of the language, its peculiarities and variety of forms. On the contrary, expendingthe strategic language, a person acquires not only the minimal colloquial categories, but picturesque elements, as well. The sociolinguistic language aspect is more powerful than the

academic aspect because those whouse language for communication improve themselves in language forms.

Mutual relations between the teacher and students have always been in the spotlight. The communicative system revises the role of the teacher in class and the main principles of mutual relations between the teacher andstudents. The teacher is to be a counselor, a professional adviserto whom students can appeal with questions.

Even in the most democratic countries, a school still remains, to put it harshly, the microcosm of a totalitarian system. In a communicative class,discipline and order is not achieved by instructions which are posted in a hall. It is done by understanding that studying isan aim worth of pursuit and perseverance in itself. 

Disturbance of discipline most frequently occurs in classes where teaching is carried out only by the frontal method when the student's personality has no significance in the whole mass, and this mass must comply with the criteria of the given materials. Students cannot identify themselves in this mass and loose any interest in studying. The communicative system gives a chance to a student to express himself in a group which is composed of students with similar background.

In a communicative class there are also examinations and tests, including the explanation of material by a teacher, calling the parents, or bad mark to students. However, everything is based on new pedagogical principles.

The Communicative Approach in English as a ForeignLanguage TeachingEnviado por orellana

1. 2. Summary 3. Where does communicative language teaching come from? 4. What is communicative language teaching? 5. What are some examples of communicative exercises? 6. How do the roles of the teacher and student change in Communicative language teaching? 7. Bibliography

SUMMARY.This article refers to the way teachers can focus the teaching of the foreign language in the classroom in such a way that students can communicate in a conscious way, taking into account their real experiences. Here, the origin of the Communicative Approach as a combination of different methods is clearly explained, as such as the role of the teacher and the students in a communicative English as a Second Language class. The article also gives some examples of communicative activities that can be developed in a class from the communicative point of view.

This digest will take a look at the communicative approach to the teaching of foreign languages. It is intended as an introduction to the communicative approach for teachers and teachers-in-training who want to provide opportunities in the classroom for their students to engage in real-life communication in the target language. Questions to be dealt with include what the communicative approach is, where it came from, and how teachers' and students' roles differ from the roles they play in other teaching approaches. Examples of exercises that can be used with a communicative approach are described, and sources of appropriate materials are provided.WHERE DOES COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING COME FROM?Its origins are many, insofar as one teaching methodology tends to influence the next. The communicative approach could be said to be the product of educators and linguists who had grown dissatisfied with the audiolingual 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.WHAT IS COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING?

Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. Theteacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audiolingual 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.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 relationshipwith 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).WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF COMMUNICATIVE EXERCISES?In a communicative classroom for beginners, the teacher might begin by passing out cards, each with adifferent 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 thetarget 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.Another exercise taken from the same source is for beginning students of Spanish. In "Listening for the Gist," students are placed in an everyday situation where they must listen to an authentic text."Objective." Students listen to a passage to get general understanding of the topic or message."Directions." Have students listen to the following announcement to decide what the speaker is promoting."Passage" "Situacion ideal...Servicio de transporte al Aeropuerto Internacional...Cuarenta y dos habitaciones de lujo, con aire acondicionado...Elegante restaurante...de fama internacional."(The announcement can be read by the teacher or played on tape.) Then ask students to circle the letter of the most appropriate answer on their copy, which consists of the following multiple-choice options:

a taxi service b. a hotel c. an airport d. a restaurant (Source: Adapted from Ontario Assessment Instrument Pool, 1980, Item No. 13019)

Gunter Gerngross, an English teacher in Austria, gives an example of how he makes his lessons more communicative. He cites a widely used textbook that shows English children having a pet show. "Even when learners act out this scene creatively and enthusiastically, they do not reach the depth of involvement that is almost tangible when they act out a short text that presents a family conflict

revolving round the question of whether the children should be allowed to have a pet or not" (Gerngross & Puchta, 1984, p. 92). He continues to say that the communicative approach "puts great emphasis on listening, which implies an active will to try to understand others. [This is] one of thehardest tasks to achieve because the children are used to listening to the teacher but not to their peers. There are no quick, set recipes.That the teacher be a patient listener is the basic requirement" (p. 98).The observation by Gerngross on the role of the teacher as one of listener rather than speaker bringsup several points to be discussed in the next portion of this digest.HOW DO THE ROLES OF THE TEACHER AND STUDENT CHANGE INCOMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING?Teachers in communicative classrooms 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. 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).

Humanistic language teachingSubmitted by admin on 12 October, 2005 - 13:00

'Humanism' is one of those constructs that people argue about passionately. Instead of attempting to define it, perhaps it makes more sense to focus on some commonly agreed characteristics of humanism.

These are: problem-solving, reasoning, free will, self-development, and co-operation.

Humanism and learning theory

The humanistic teacher

Humanism in practiceo Teaching language itemso Teaching skillso The teacher's statuso Flexibility

Conclusion

 

Humanism and learning theoryPerhaps the most well-known applications of humanism in ELT are those of Curran (1976) and Gattegno (1972).

The former advocated the use of 'Counselling-Learning'. In this practice, teachers sit outside a circle of learners and help them to talk about their personal and linguistic problems. The students decide the 'curriculum', while the teacher is more of a facilitator, who fosters an emotionally secure environment.

Meanwhile, Gattegno advocated the Silent Way approach. In this, he presented challenges for learners.These challenges developed the students' awareness and encouraged their independence.

 

It's my view that it's possible to apply the characteristics of humanism to ELT in a less radical waythan described in the practices above. In a way that might be more appealing for students, more

practicable for teachers, and more plausible for education inspectors.

The humanistic teacherThe humanistic teacher should have a good grasp of language learning theories. They will realise the importance of change, which is implicit in all learning.

They will be aware of the individual learners' 'developmental readiness' (Piaget, 1970), which will determine when and how to teach each student something.

They will offer their students problems to solve, as, according to cognitivists, this is precisely how we learn things.

Above all, the successful humanistic teacher will probably be a pragmatist - allowing a combination of language learning theories and their own experience to interact with each other to produce effective language lessons.

 

The humanistic teacher also needs to be aware of what motivates their students. Some will probably want to learn English because they have to (e.g. for their job), while others want to simply for the sake of it. The former is called 'extrinsic motivation', while the latter is called 'intrinsic motivation'.

Those students who are more extrinsically motivated will be more goal-oriented and might want, for example, a lot of tests and exams.

Students who are intrinsically motivated will derive a lot of satisfaction from solving language problems - the solution will be a reward in itself.

 

In reality, of course, students can be both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated. They may be learning English for a specific purpose (e.g. to be accepted into a speech community or to get promotion), but they might also really enjoy the process of learning.

Teachers need to be aware of this mix and need to use this information to determine issues like: o How much testing to doo How much fun can be hado Should the target language be representative of one particular speech community or not?

Humanism in practice 

Teaching 'language items'In an attempt to be a humanistic language teacher myself, I introduce every new language item at the optimum time of readiness for my class.

I firstly elicit the target language. This fosters a sense of co-operation between the students and me.

Then I try to make the meaning of the language items as clear as possible by using a number of techniques (e.g. pictures, mime, or a mini-explanation). Such work on the concept of the target language needs to be repeated later in a way that is appropriate to the abilities and progress of thegroup.

At the appropriate time, students also need to practise speech production by saying or writing the target language.

After enough practice, through both teacher-centred and student-centred phases, the student should gradually learn the target language. The student will have fundamentally changed.

 

Teaching skillsAs I want my classes to be able to understand the 'gist' of a spoken interaction, I make sure that they are mentally prepared for it. This means that:

The 'text' is not dauntingly hard for them

I create the right conditions for understanding the text by, for example, arousing interest and pre-teaching lexis

Then, by setting an appropriate task I am setting a problem for the students to solve. If I can steermy students towards focusing on the main points of the text then I am enabling learners to become more successful listeners.

After this, students can be encouraged to carry out their own, related, role plays, with the result that students' ability to carry out certain situation-specific interactions will be enhanced. It's worth noting that these principles relate to reading texts too!

 

The teacher's statusIt cannot be denied that the teacher plays a different role from that of his/her students. We each have a particular job. This does not mean, though, that we have higher status. We are certainly not in the classroom to order people around. I try to provide students with learning opportunities, whichthe students are free to take or not.

However, if a student chooses not to take up an opportunity, and then goes on to become a malign influence in class, I then ask the rest of the class if their learning is being affected and whether they want the offending student to stay in class or not. I then have the authority to ask the studentto leave.

 

FlexibilityWithout flexibility, a teacher cannot teach humanistically, because students will never learn completely in step with any designated syllabus. This is why I always make a point of observing my students very carefully so that I know when to introduce certain tasks, according to the progress they're making.

The same applies to lesson plans. I know that if I plough on through my plan regardless of how my students are responding, some students will be lost forever and lose confidence both in me and their own ability to learn English.

 

ConclusionThe thrust of humanism seems, to me, to be the ability to advance as a species through understanding and co-operation. This means that humanistic language teachers need to have a thorough grasp of both how people learn and what motivates them to learn. They need to shed the old image of the teacher being the fount of wisdom and replace it with the teacher as facilitator. 

The Humanistic Approaches to Learning

An explosion of new and radical approaches to learning a language came to light in the 1970s. These approaches are often grouped under the title of Humanistic Approaches due to their method of concentration, touching on the innate ability and capacity that all learners are presumed to possess.

SuggestopediaThis method is based on the idea that the mind has great potential and can retain information by the power of suggestion. This teaching method uses relaxation as a meansof retaining new knowledge.

In their initial lessons learners receive large quantities of information in the new language. The text is translated and then read aloud with classical music in the background.

The scope is to supply an atmosphere of total relaxation where understanding is purely accidental and subliminal. Using large quantities of linguistic material introduces theidea that language understanding is easy and natural.

In the following lesson, learners use the material in a variety of communication activities. The original learning techniques and theory developed by Georgi Lozanov have since developed into the Accelerated Learning movement.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

Allow students to produce when they are ‘ready’. Improvement comes from supplying communicative input, not from forcing production.Dr Stephen Krashen

This method draws on the basic principles of how young children learn their first language. Developed by James Asher, this teaching method involves a wide range of physical activities and a lot of listening and comprehension, as well as an emphasis on learning as fun and stimulating.

Total Physical Response has limitations, especially when teaching abstract language andtasks, but is widely considered to be effective for beginners and is still the standardapproach for young learners.

The Silent WayAnother example of a method categorized under the Humanistic Approaches, with this technique the teacher is supposed to be practically silent – hence the name of the method – and avoids explaining everything to the students.

This method is based on a problem-solving approach to learning, whereby the students’ learning becomes autonomous and co-operative.

The scope is to help students select the appropriate phrases and know how to control them, with good intonation and rhythm. The teacher does not repeat the material nor supplies the phrases that the student has to imitate, and there is no use of the learner’s native language.

Patterns contain vocabulary, and coloured guides for pronunciation are used to assist the teacher in guiding the students’ understanding while saying the least amount possible.

Community Language LearningAlso sharing many of the same principles as the Silent Way, this technique was relatively short-lived. Seeing the student as a ‘whole’ person, the method involved students sitting in a circle and encouraging them to use their feelings, intellect, relationships and reactions.

Total Physical ResponseBY MOHAMMED RHALMI · JULY 28, 2009Total Physical Response is a language teaching method which is based on the assumption that the coordination of speech and action will boost language learning. It was developed by James Asher in the 70s. He drew from a variety of areas,  including psychology, learning theory and humanistic pedagogy.

According to the trace theory of memory in psychology, the more often and intensively a memory is traced, the stronger the memory association will be and the more likely it will be recalled. The retracing can be verbal through repetition and/or in association with motor activity. This clearly reminds us of of the behavioristic psychology which holds a Stimulus-Response model of learning. The stimulus in the TPR method is verbal  and the response is physical. In this respect TPR has many similarities to the Direct Method.

From developmental Psychology Asher draws the parallel, he contendsexists,  between first language acquisition and 2nd language learning. Children get language through a series of commands from their parents to which they react physically. It’s only later that

they can produce verbal responses ( cf  Jean Piaget works). Asher contends that humans are endowed with a sort of bio program which follows this process of language learning and that, when teaching a2nd language, we must follow the same process so that learning can be successful. Asher in this respect adheres to a naturalistic method of language learning (cf Krashen’s Natural Approach). Language learning must focus on comprehension and the teaching of speaking must be delayed until comprehension skills are established. Asher also thinks that the skills acquired through listening transfer to other skills and that meaning precedes form.Asher’s method relies on three assumptions about language. First Asher thinks that a lot of the grammatical structures of language and many vocabulary items can be learned from the skillful use of the imperative form. In his view, verbs in the imperative are primordial forms upon which language learning can be organized. Command drills can be a vehicle to the internalization of a lot of language structures and vocabulary. Another TPR assumption about language is the one that distinguishes between abstractions and non-abstractions. According to Asher, abstractions are not necessary to teach language to beginners. On the other hand, non-abstractions can help build a detailed cognitive map and grammatical structure of language. The third assumption about language states that language can be internalized not only as single items but also as wholes or chunks. This is an idea that will be later developed by Michael Lewis (1993) in his Lexical Approach.Relying on humanistic pedagogy, TPR also stresses the importance ofa stress free environment. In fact,  second language learning oftencauses a lot of stress and anxiety. However, if teachers focus on meaning transferred into physical activity rather than on abstract language forms students are freed from stress and anxiety.

Features of TPRIn a nutshell, here are the most salient features of the TPR:

The coordination of speech and action facilitates language learning.

Grammar is taught inductively. Meaning is more important than form.

Speaking is delayed until comprehension skills are established. Effective language learning takes place in low stress

environment. The role of the teacher is central. S/he chooses the appropriate

commands to introduce vocabulary and structure. The learner is a listener and a performer responding to commands

individually or collectively. Learning is maximized in a stress free environment.TPR ActivitiesActivities in the TPR method rely on action based drills in the imperative form. In fact the imperative drills are introduced to elicit physical/motor activity on the part of the learners. The useof dialogs is delayed. Typical classroom activities include:

Command drills Role plays on everyday situations (at the restaurant, at the

movies …) Slide presentations to provide a visual center for teacher’s

narration, which is followed by commands or questions Reading and writing can also be introduced to further consolidate

grammar and vocabulary and as follow upsCriticism Asher doesn’t really give a detailed account of his distinction

between abstractions and non-abstraction. For example, as Richards and Rodgers (1986: 88)  state, are tense, aspect and so forth abstractions, and if so, what sort of detailed cognitive map could be constructed without them?

TPR deals with only the beginning stages of language learning TPR syllabus and the utterance and the sentences within it are

questionable as far as their communicative relevance  is concerned

Advantages When used in association with other methods and techniques, TPR

can yield tremendous results. For many teachers TPR represents a useful set of techniques and

is compatible with other approaches to language teaching. The focus on comprehension is another appealing feature of TPR.

The method is compatible with new approaches to language learningas it stresses the importance to meaning rather than form.

Learning highly benefits from TPR’s emphasis on stress reduction. Silent way The silent way is a methodology of teaching language based on the idea that teachers should be

as silent as possible during a class but learners should be encouraged to speak as much as possible. There are three basic principles:

- The learner needs to discover or create- Learning is made easier by the use of physical objects such as Cuisenaire rods- Learning is made easier by problem-solving using the target language

ExampleThe teacher shows the learners a small red Cuisenaire rod and a bigger blue one and says ‘The blue one is bigger than the red one'. The learners repeat this. The teacher then substitutes the rods to produce other models, and finally encourages the learners to produce their own comparisons.

In the classroomAreas of target language where Cuisenaire rods can be useful include word boundaries, contracted forms, prepositions, word order and word stress. Learners can use the rods to first represent and then to manipulate language.

Silent Way originated in the early 1970s and was the brainchild of the late Caleb Gattegno. The last line of Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote about teaching and learning can be said to lie at the heart of Silent Way. The three basic tenets of theapproach are that learning is facilitated if the learner discovers rather than remembers or repeats, that learning is aided by physical objects, and that problem-solving is central to learning. The use of the word "silent" is also significant, as Silent Way is based on the premise that the teacher should be as silent as possible in the classroom in order to encourage the learner to produce as much language as possible.As far as the presentation of language is concerned, Silent Way adopts a highly structural approach, with language taught through sentences in a sequence based on grammatical complexity, described by some as a "building-block" approach.

The structural patterns of the target language are presented by the teacher and the grammar "rules" of the language are learnt inductively by the learners. Cuisenaire rods (small coloured blocks of varying sizes originally intended for the teaching of mathematics) are often used to illustrate meaning (the physical objects mentioned above). New items are added sparingly by the teacher and learners take these as far as they can in their communication until the need for the next new item becomes apparent. The teacher then provides this new item by modelling it very clearly just once. The learners are then left to use the new item and to incorporate it into theirexisting stock of language, again taking it as far as they can until the next item isneeded and so on.

This is perhaps best illustrated by an example. Let us say that the teacher has introduced the idea of pronouns as in "Give me a green rod". The class will then use this structure until it is clearly assimilated, using, in addition, all the other colours. One member of the class would now like to ask another to pass a rod to a third student but she does not know the word "her", only that it cannot be "me". At this point the teacher would intervene and supply the new item: "Give her the green rod" and the learners will continue until the next new item is needed (probably "him"). This minimalist role of the teacher has led some critics to describe Silent Way teachers as "aloof" and, indeed, this apparently excessive degree of self-restraint can be seen as such.The prominent writer on language teaching, Earl W. Stevick, has described the role of the teacher in Silent Way as "Teach, test, get outof the way". The apparent lack of real communication in the approach has also been criticized, with some arguing that it is difficult to take the approach beyond the very basics of the language, with only highly motivated learners being able to generate real communication from the rigid structures illustrated by the rods. The

fact that, for logistical reasons, it is limited to relatively small groups of learners is also seen as a weakness.

As with other methods and approaches, however, aspects of Silent Way can be observed in many lessons in the modern classroom. In the 1980s and early 90s, for example, it became fashionable in some quarters to argue that excessive "teacher talking time" was something to be discouraged. Cuisenaire rods are also popular with some teachers and can be used extremely creatively for various purposes from teaching pronunciationto story-telling. The idea of modelling a new structure or item of vocabulary just once may also have some justification as it encourages learners both to listen more carefully and then to experiment with their own production of the utterance. Lastly, the problem-solving feature of Silent Way may well prove to be its most enduring legacy as it has led indirectly both to the idea of Task-based Learning and to the widespread use of problem-solving activities in language classrooms.

Theory of learning

Theory of language Teaching method

The SilentWay

Learning is facilitated if the learner discovers or problem solves.Students work co-operatively and independently from teacher.

Very structural- language is taughtin ‘building blocks’..but syllabus is determined by whatlearners need to communicate.

Teacher should be as silent as possible, modelling items just once. Language is learntinductively

Total Physical Response (TPR)

Learners will learn better ifstress to produce language is reduced.Learners, like children, learnfrom respondingto verbal stimulus.

Also structural. Mainly uses imperative ‘’everyday conversations are highly abstract and disconnected; therefore to understand them requires a rather advanced internalisation ofthe target language.’ Asher Not clear how TPR used at advanced levels.

Teachers role not so much to teach as provide opportunities for learning.But very teacher directed- even when learnersinteract with eachother, usually theteacher who directs.

Community language Learning

Not behaviouralbut holistic. Teacher and learners involved in ‘an

Language is communication. Notstructural, but based on learning how to communicate

Learners learn through interaction with each other and theteacher. They

interaction in which both experience a sense of their wholeness.’ Curran

what you want to say.

attempt communication and the teacher helps them to say what they want to say (using translationas necessary)

Suggestopaedia

People rememberbest and are most influencedby material coming from an authoritative source. Anxietyshould be lowered throughcomfortable chairs, baroquemusic etc

Language is gradually acquired. No correction.

The teacher startsby introducing thegrammar and lexis ‘in a playful manner’, then reads the text while the studentsfollow or just relax and listen. Students then use the language in fun and/or undirected ways. 

2. The Humanistic Methods

 By the middle of the 20th century cognitive psychologistslike Vygotsky and Piaget brought up theories that helped toexplain the limited effectiveness of the traditionalperspective to language teaching. Beginning in the 1950s, Noam Chomsky and his followers challenged previous assumptions about language structure and language learning, taking the position that language iscreative (not memorized), and rule governed (not based on habit), and that universal phenomena of the human mind underlie all language. This "Chomskian revolution" initially gave rise to eclecticism in teaching, but it has more recently led to two main branches of teaching approaches:             the humanistic approaches based on the charismatic/charming teaching of one person, and

 content-based communicative approaches, which try toincorporate what has been learned

in                               recent years about the need for active learner participation, about appropriate language input, and about communication as a human activity.

 There have been developments such as a great emphasis onmore humanistic approaches to language learning, a greaterfocus on the learner, and greater emphasis on thedevelopment of communicative, as opposed to merelylinguistic, competence. Four methods, developed in the 1970’s and 1980’s, havehad a considerable impact upon language teaching even ifthey are rarely used exclusively in mainstream teaching. They are described as humanistic approaches because they areprimarily concerned to lower the students’ affectivefilters, and so remove a psychological barrier to learning. Nevertheless, there are elements in the Silent Way orTotal Physical Response which seem entirely teacher-centredand may, indeed, cause exactly the kind of anxiety whichhumanist theories aim to prevent.

Community Language Learning In the classic form of Community Language Learning (CLLhenceforth) students sit in a circle. Students decide what they want to talk about. A counsellor or a knower stands outside the circle (i.e.the teacher). The knower provides or corrects TL statements  if astudent says something in their own language, the knowercan then give them the English equivalent for them to use. A student says what s/he wants to say either in Englishor in his/her L1.  in the latter case the knowertranslates it into English, in effect ‘teaching’ thestudent how to make the utterance. The student, then, can say what s/he wants to the circle. Later, when students are more confident with thelanguage, they can be put in lines facing each other forpair work discussion.             In some CLL lessons the students’ utterances– helped or provided by the knower – are recorded onto tapeto be analysed later.

 There is often a period for reflection in whichstudents comment frankly on how they felt about theactivity.  

 In all of these cases teachers help students achieve whatthey want, offering help and counsel to the COMMUNITY of theclass.

 The teacher’s job is to ‘facilitate’ rather than to‘teach’. The influence of CLL in mainstream teaching has beenfairly pronounced.

 The idea that students should reflect upontheir learning experiences is now widelyaccepted[1]. 

The Silent Way The behaviour of the teacher in the Silent Way is mostnotable, indeed, rather than entering into conversationwith the students, s/he says as little as possible. This is because Caleb Cattegno, the founder of themethod, believed that learning is best facilitated if thelearner discovers and creates language rather than justremembering and repeating what has been taught.  learner-centred. In the Silent Way learners interact with physical objectstoo, especially Cuisenaire rods. There is a problem-solvingelement involved too, since students have to resolvelanguage construction problems for themselves. A Silent Way procedure:             teacher models sounds while pointing to aphonemic chart.             a student imitates the teacher and theteacher indicates (silently) if s/he is correct.             if not, another student is prompted to helpthe first student.

 a third or fourth student is prompted if necessaryuntil a correct version of the phoneme is produced. The class continues with the teacher pointing todifferent phonemes while the students work out whatthey are – and then how to combine them. Later, students can point to elements on the chartin such a way that they have provided a stimulus forthe language in the same way as the teacher did. they and their colleagues have to work out what thecorrect language is.

 Through all this procedure the teacher indicates bygesture or expression what the students should do andwhether or not they are correct. Examples and corrections are only given verbally if nostudent can do it first time round.  it is up to thestudents – under the controlling but indirect influence ofthe teacher – to solve problems and learn the language. 

 To some, the Silent Way has seemed somewhat inhuman, withthe teacher’s silence acting as a barrier rather than anincentive. But to others, the reliance students are forcedto place upon themselves and upon each other is excitingand liberating.  it is students who should takeresponsibility for their learning; it is the teacher’s jobto organize this. The silent way has had a direct influence on mainstreamteaching by promoting the use of phonemic charts andpointing to objects and sounds, and Cuisenaire rods, and anindirect one in the use of discovery techniques[2].

Suggestopaedia Developed by Georgi Lozanov, Suggestopaedia sees thephysical surroundings and atmosphere of the classroom as ofvital importance. By ensuring that the students are comfortable, confidentand relaxed, the affective filter is lowered, thusenhancing learning. A feature of Suggestopaedia is referred to as‘infantilisation’; that is the teacher and students existin a parent-children relationship where, to remove barriersto learning, students are given different names from theiroutside real ones. Traumatic themes are avoided, and the sympathy with whichthe teacher treats the students is vitally important. A suggestopaedic lesson has three main parts:             There is an oral review section in whichpreviously learnt material is used for discussion.

 This is followed by the presentation and discussionof new dialogue material and its native languageequivalent. Finally, in the ‘séance’ or ‘concert’ session,students listen to relaxing music while the teacherreads the new dialogue material in a way whichsynchronises with the taped music. During this phase,there are several minutes of ‘solemn’ silence and thestudents leave the room silently.

 The emphasis on lowering the affective filter is nowaccepted as an important part of all teaching. Music isfrequently used in classes too, though not necessarily inthe ways and the type that Lozanov recommended.

Total Physical Response (TPR) The originator of TPR, James Asher, worked from the

premise that adult SL learning could have similar patternsof development to that of child language acquisition. If children learn much of their language from speechdirected at them in the form of commands to performactions, then adults will learn best in that way too. Accordingly, TPR asks students to respond physically tothe language they hear. Language processing is thus matched with physical action.  Asher alike sees the need to lower the affective filterand finds that organising physical actions in the classroomhelps to do this. A typical TPR class might involve the teacher tellingstudents to ‘pick up the triangle from the table and give it to me’ or‘walk quickly to the door and hit it’. When the students can all respond to commands correctly,one of them can then start giving instructions to otherclassmates.  Critics of TPR point out that this kind of teaching mayonly be appropriate for beginner learners and question howTPR goes with any real-world needs. Asher himself says it should be included together withother methods. Yet, certain features of TPR have had an influence. InTPR students do not have to give instructions themselvesuntil they are ready. In responding to commands students get a lot of comprehensible input, and in performing physical actions they seem to echo the claims (of neuro-linguistic programming[3]) that certain people benefit greatly from kinaesthetic activity.[4]