FINAL TEST TEFL METODHOLOGY

SITA LARASATI – F022221006

In TEFL Methodology there are many methods that can be used as I have
presented about The Grammar Translation Method and also what my classmates
have explained about Collaborative Language Learning. There are also other methods
such as the Silent Way which I will also discuss in this paper.
A. Basic Principles
In The Grammar Translation Method (GTM) the teachers usually have students
to translate the entire text word for word and memorize grammar rules and exceptions
and a collection of words. There are several principles to require the techniques in
grammar translation methods according to Larsen-Freeman (1986) are follows
Translation: Translate a text on target language to their native language by students.
Reading Comprehension: Students need to answer some question and find information.
Antonyms and Synonym: Find the antonyms or synonyms of a set of words. Fill in the
gaps: Students ordered to fill the words or the term that they just learned on the
incomplete sentences. Memorization: Memorize a set of new vocabularies or
grammatical rules. Use words in sentence: Create sentences to define or describe the
words or terms they have just learnt.
In Collaborative Language learning students are working in groups of two or
more, mutually searching for understanding, solutions, or meanings, or creating a
product by involving intellectual effort by students, or students and teachers together.
According to Johnson, there are some basic principles in collaborative language
learning such as Positive interdependence: Each member of the groups has their own
responsibility to achieve the main goal. Individual accountability: All member of the
group must be responsible in doing the activities and also in mastering all the materials.
Face-to-face promotive interaction: Not all activities can be done individually,
sometimes students can be individually and also can activities in interactive way.
Appropriate use of collaborative skills: Encouraged and help students to develop and
practice trust-building, conflicts management skills, decision-making, communication
and also leadership. Group processing: Students must be set group goals for
successfulness of their work.
 In the silent way method students can ask questions in class if they are uncertain
about a topic, and teachers can use pointers and visual aids like images and classroom
features to help students understand (Shulfiany, 2018). Here teacher allowed speak less
and less as the lessons went on while the students spoke more and more and use their
standards. The principles of Silent Way (Setiyadi 2020):
1. Language learners have to complete the task with their sense to connect the
linguistic signs to the reality.
2. Language learners must set their internal standards of correctness.
3. If a language learner has a misunderstanding the teacher tries to demonstrate
something to clarify the meaning rather than correcting it through translation.
4. A language learner created sounds in the language and relate those sounds to
reality and the teacher need to wait until after the first class to start this process.
These three methods have similarities in the technique used where the students
become the center and the teacher becomes the supervisor who supervises the student’s
process of developing their English language skills. These three methods require
students to be active in class.
There also the differences between the three methods, as in The Grammar
Translation Method principles focuses on how to improve students’ ability to use
grammar, where students read written texts and formulate them themselves, memorize
vocabulary, and teachers use foreign languages continuously and there is no formal
practice questions that come from the given discourse or come from the text, while the
Collaborative Language Learning principles focuses on how students can work in
groups to achieve common goals, students have more active interactions with each
other, are responsible for their respective parts that have been given, and are able to
control groups to achieve common goals, and in the Silent Way principle it aims to
increase student independence in completing assignment to improve their language
skills, students are able to understand the meaning of what the teacher gives without the
help of the teacher, concentrate on what is asked by the teacher, this method uses
picture media and without explanation from the teacher and there are no formal
exercises or tests.
B. The Strength
Every method in teaching foreign language has the strength that should be taken
into account by teacher. Grammar Translation Method also has some strength. Gorsky
mentioned that the strength of Grammar Translation Method are reduces the teacher
stress, so the teacher involvement is rarely necessary, and teacher who is not fluent in
target language, especially English is able to teach by using this method, and the second
is it focuses on grammar, sentence structure and word meaning, it can help students to
learn how to read and write in the target language. Reading and writing are the primary
skills of this method which need accuracy in applying. The translation text is useful to
enhance reading skills and the grammar rules are useful for the student to develop the
writing skill in foreign language.
C. Drew mentioned there are some strengths of collaborative language learning
are enhances communication skill where students can improve their communication
skill because this method emphasize interaction with one another. And the second are
builds cross-cultural awareness where students are accused to have cross-cultural
awareness because each students have their own culture. They can observe and
understand how the other students way in learning from their own cultures and also
collect important insight from unfamiliar perspectives. Learning from peers when
students collaborate, they can learn with one another. A student will hear another
perspective which can explore their own insight. This will sharpen their understanding.
According to Montasir (2011), there are three strength of silent way method such
as:
1. The interaction of students not only with teachers but also with each other. The
class becomes active because of all the tasks and activities in this method serves
to encourage and shape learning responses
2. The errors are corrected by students themselves, and this errors is become the
feedback for teacher to help the students. In the absence of corrections and
information when there are errors, students are encouraged to make their own
analogies in a way draw conclusions and formulate their own rules. It trains
them in making quick conclusions and decisions.
 3. Silent way teachers are less spoken, therefore they are available to their students
and free to observe them. Student responses are provoked without verbal
instructions and giving examples repeated by educators.
From the strengths of each method that has been mentioned, there are
similarities between the three where each method provides opportunities for students to
develop their own abilities where the teacher's role is not too large in their learning
process. Besides the similarities there are also differences between the strengths of each
method. The difference is in the abilities that can be achieved as in Grammar
Translation Method students are able to master vocabulary and skills in reading and
writing, reduces the teacher stress, so the teacher involvement is rarely necessary, and
teacher who is not fluent in target language. Where in the Collaborative Language
Learning method students can improve their speaking skills and interaction skills with
each other, students also can builds cross-cultural awareness where students are accused
to have cross-cultural awareness because each student have their own culture. The last is
the difference with the Silent Way method with the lack of speaking activity from the
teacher. Students are required to be able to correct the mistakes they make and practice
their ability to make conclusions, and they are available to their students and free to
observe them. Student responses are provoked without verbal instructions and giving
examples repeated by educators.
C. The Weaknesses
In other side, each method also has weaknesses in Grammar Translation Method
Gorsky mentioned the weakness of this method are less learner or students motivation
and participation, because Grammar Translation Method is not interactive method, the
students will not be motivated, the students has less of listening and speaking skill, it is
impossible to translate spoken language such as pronunciation, and also there is less
students participation and teacher-learner relationship because they just learn from a
textbook, and the second is unnatural and inaccurate pronunciation, the students only
learn about the grammar and word meaning from a textbook, it makes them do not
know how to pronounce the words naturally and accurately.
Apart from strengths, C. Drew also mentioned some of the weaknesses of
Collaborative Language Learning are Introverts struggle it’s the new atmosphere for
introvert students because in collaborative language learning they must be communicate
with one another to process or gained the information. Group work skills training
required where students are emphasizes to work collaboratively with one another.
Teachers have to educate positive interdependence to student, teachers who use
collaborative learning approaches tend to think of themselves less as expert transmitters
of knowledge to students, and more as expert designers of intellectual experiences for
students-as coaches or mid-wives of a more emergent learning process. And the last is
Assessment inequities where teacher sometimes difficult to assess students’ ability
when they are working in group and it makes students feel unfair when teacher give the
assessment.
The weaknesses of Silent Way method based on Monstasir (2011) are the
teaching objectives must be known by teachers clearly and they should utilize the
teaching aids effectively, although the basic concept of the silent way gives freedom to
students to make choices in various situations presented when making sentence
construction, but in reality It is the educator who controls the material and the course of
learning in the classroom. The symbols of the colored wooden rods may be make
students confuse, In the basic concept it is explained that the silent way aims to guide
students to achieve language fluency is almost the same as native speakers, then they
are required to master the correct pronunciation, intonation, rhythm and pauses in
spoken. The silence of teacher can make students rarely hear many active models of the
true usage of language that might be useful for them.
From each of the methods that have been mentioned it can be concluded that the
similarity between the shortcomings of each method is the lack of interaction between
students and teachers in the teaching and learning process. And the differences of these
three weaknesses methods are the lack of students' speaking and listening skills that
occur in the Grammar Translation method is because students only focus on improving
reading and writing skills, less learner or students motivation and participation, because
Grammar Translation Method is not interactive method, the students will not be
motivated, the students has less of listening and speaking skill. In the Collaborative
Language Learning method there will be a feeling of unfairness for students when the
teacher gives assignments because the teacher has difficulty determining student
abilities because assignments are done in groups, Introverts struggle it’s the new
atmosphere for introvert students because in collaborative language learning they must
be communicate with one another to process or gained the information. Whereas in the
Silent Way method students feel confused if there are symbols that are not understood,
then they are required to master the correct pronunciation, intonation, rhythm and
pauses in spoken. The silence of teacher can make students rarely hear many active
models of the true usage of language that might be useful for them.
D. The Principles Modification
One of the principles Grammar Translation Method is Fill in the gaps. Based on
Larsen-Freeman’s theory, I would like to change the Fill in the gaps into Phrasal Verb.
Fill in the gaps is where the teacher provides incomplete sentences and the students are
instructed to fill in the gaps with the words or terms they have just learnt. According to
the Cambridge Dictionary, phrasal verbs are phrases formed from verbs and
prepositions or adverbs. It means that in Grammar Translation Phrasal Verb students
order to combination of two or three words from different grammatical categories – a
verb and particle, such as an adverb or a preposition – to form a single semantic unit on
a lexical or syntactic level.
From the Collaborative Language Learning one of the principles is Group
processing where Students must be set group goals for successfulness of their work.
Based on Johnson’s theory, I would like to change this principle from group processing
into Listening Relation. Listening and speaking are complementary skills, they are
interdependent. There is nothing to say if no one is listening, and while it is possible to
hear a song or a prayer, spoken communication is the main thing to listen to. Listening
and speaking are oral language skills. Both require encoding and decoding spoken
symbols.
From the Silent Way Method one of the principles is Language learners have to
complete the task with their sense to connect the linguistic signs to the reality. I would
like to change this principle into Self-Correction Gestures technique. Self-correction is
when learners correct themselves instead of a teacher doing it. Teachers can involve
learners in self-correction to different degrees, by giving learners more or less guidance
as to the location and nature of their errors, and examples of good use of language to
compare their own to.
These modification must be in the context of my teaching because in language
learning the first thing to master is vocabulary and being able to use it in everyday life,
in its use I phrasal verbs because it is not uncommon when translating sentences word
for word it will lead to different meanings so I hope the use of phrasal verbs can help
students in translating words that look strange and with self-correction gesture students
can improve students’ ability to determine the truth. Collaborative learning has a higher
contribution in improving learning outcomes.
E. The Potential Problems
The difficulty that might occur when using these three methods is when students
are less motivated to learn because they feel that the material provided is not clear
because the teacher reduces their speaking activity and the lack of feedback between
students and teachers that might occur. Then this method may not be applicable to lower
grade students because it requires students' understanding abilities and the ability to
seek broader information.

References:
Lestary, Agustina. (2019). The Use Of Grammar Translation Method (GTM) in
Teaching Bahasa Indonesia To Foreign Learner. Tefla Journal

Kumala, Marta. Pandonge, Thomas. (2017). Collaborative Learning Method in

Teaching English. SintuwumarsoJET. https://ojs.unsimar.ac.id/index.php/
sintuwumarosoJET/article/download/140/125

Lestari, Lesi Meji, dkk. (2022). The Effectiveness Of Using Silent Way Method On
Students’ VocabuLary Achievement (Quasi-Experimental Research At The
Second Grade Of Smpn 29 Bengkulu Tengah). Jurnal Pendidikan Tematik.
https://siducat.org/index.php/jpt/article/download/513/379

Indah Maharani. F022221016. Collaborative Language Learning.