Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching

Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marti Anderson

Sr Questions GTM DM ALM CLL TPR the Silent Way

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1 What are the goals of To enable student to read How to communicate in the To enable students to use the To learn how to use the To base foreign language Students should be able to
teachers who use the literature written in the target language. target language target language learning upon the way use the language for self-
Grammar-Translation target language. communicatively communicatively. children learn their native expression
Method? Students should learn to language.
To learn about the think in the target language. To learn to use language To learn how to learn from Students become
grammar rules and automatically without stopping one another independent by relying on
vocabulary of the target to think themselves.
language the teacher and learner(s)
treat each other as whole
persons
2 What is the role of the The teacher is the The student role is less The teacher is like an orchestra The teacher’s initial role is the teacher is the director of Only the learner can do the
teacher? What is the authority in the classroom passive than in the leader primarily that of a counselor. all student behavior. learning.
role of the students? Grammar-Translation
Method. provides her students with a CLL methodologists have The students are imitators of Gattegno says, ‘The teacher
good model for imitation. identified five stages in this her nonverbal model. works with the student; the
Both are more like partners movement from dependency student works on the
in the teaching–learning to mutual inter-dependency The teacher issues commands language.’
process. with the teacher. to a few students, then
performs the actions with
them. In the second phase,
these same students
demonstrate that they can
understand the commands by
performing them alone.
3 What are some How to translate from one Students need to associate Grammar is induced from the students typically have a The teacher interacts with Study of language starts with
characteristics of the language into another. meaning with the target examples given; explicit conversation using their the whole group of students its basic building blocks, its
teaching/learning language directly. grammar rules are not native language. The teacher and with individual students. sounds.
process? Study grammar provided. helps them express what Initially, the interaction is
deductively. He never translates it into they want to say by giving characterized by the teacher These are introduced through
the students’ native Cultural information is them the target language speaking and the students a language-specific sound–
language. contextualized in the translation in chunks. These responding nonverbally. color chart.
Memorize native language chunks are recorded, and
equivalents for target dialogues or presented by the
teacher. when they are replayed, it the students become more
language vocabulary Grammar is taught sounds like a fairly fluid teachers lead their students
words. inductively. verbal and the teacher to associate the sounds of
conversation. responds nonverbally. the target language with
particular colors.
Later, a transcript is made of
the conversation
The transcription of the
conversation becomes ‘text’
with which students work.

4 What is the nature of little student initiation and
student–teacher little student–student
interaction? What is interaction
the
nature of student–
student interaction?
5 How are the feelings of No principle related to this
the students dealt area
with?
6 How is the language Culture is viewed as
viewed? How is culture consisting of literature and
viewed? the fine arts.
Literary language is
considered superior to
spoken language
7 What areas of Reading and writing are
language are the primary skills that the
emphasized? What students work on.
language skills are
emphasized? much less attention given
to speaking and listening
Vocabulary and grammar
are emphasized
8 What is the role of the meaning of the target
students’ native language is made clear by
language? translating it into the
Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching
Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marti Anderson
Interaction goes from
teacher to students and
from students to teacher.
No principles which relate
to this area.
No principle related to this
area
Students study common,
everyday speech in the
target language. Study
history geography and daily
lives of the people of target
language to study culture.
Focus is on all four skills
(reading, writing, speaking,
and listening).
Oral communication is seen
as basic.
No use of student’s native
language.
Most of the interaction is
between teacher and students
and is initiated by the teacher.
No principle related to this
area
It has been influenced by
descriptive linguists. Language
has a unique system
comprising phonological,
morphological, and Syntactic
levels.
The natural order of skills
presentation is adhered to:
listening, speaking, reading,
and writing.
The oral/aural skills receive
most of the attention
Pronunciation is taught from
the beginning
the target language is used in
the classroom, not the
students’ native language.
there are six elements
necessary for nondefensive
learning.
Sometime the students are
assertive and the on some
occasions teacher is in
charge.
Students can learn from their
interaction with each other
as well as their interaction
with the teacher.
Responding to the students’
feelings is considered very
important in CLL
One regular activity is inviting
students to comment on how
they feel. The teacher listens
and responds to each
comment carefully.
Culture is an integral part of
language learning.
‘learning is persons,’ meaning
that both teacher and
students work at building
trust in one another and the
learning process.
The most important skills are
understanding and speaking
the language at the
beginning, with
reinforcement through
reading and writing.
At initial stages the students
express their feelings and are
understood in the native
The teacher interacts with
the whole group of students
and with individual students.
TPR was developed was to
reduce the stress people feel
when studying other
languages.
to relieve anxiety is to make
language learning as
enjoyable as possible.
Just as with the acquisition of
the native language, the oral
modality is primary.
Culture is the lifestyle of
people who speak the
language natively.
Vocabulary and grammatical
structures are emphasized
over other language areas.
TPR is usually introduced in
the students’ native
language.
the teacher is silent.
Student–student verbal
interaction is encouraged.
students have an opportunity
to express how they feel.
Teacher helps them
overcome negative feelings.
culture, as reflected in their
own unique world view, is
inseparable from their
language.
each language also has its
own unique reality,
pronunciation is worked on
from the beginning.
There is no fixed, linear,
structural syllabus.
students learn to read and
write what they have already
produced
orally.
Meaning is made clear by
focusing the students’
perceptions, not by
 Techniques & Principles in Language Teaching
Diane Larsen-Freeman and Marti Anderson
students’ native language. translation.
language.
By the time students are in the sounds in the students’
Stages III and IV, their native language can be
conversations have few
native language words and helpful to introduce the new
phrases. sounds in the target language
9 How is evaluation students are asked to Students are asked to use each question on the test no particular mode of Teachers will know the teacher may never give
accomplished? translate from their the language, not to would focus on only one point evaluation is prescribed in immediately whether or not a formal test, he assesses
native language into the demonstrate their of the language at a time the Community Language students understand by student learning all the time.
target language or vice knowledge about the Learning Method observing
versa language. their students’ actions.
Students would be asked to
write a paragraph or be given
an oral interview, rather than
being asked to answer a
question which deals with
only one point of language at
a time.
10 How does the teacher If students make errors tries to get students to self- Student errors are to be to recast the student’s error, Teachers should be tolerant The teacher works with the
respond to student the teacher supplies them correct avoided if at all possible i.e. to repeat correctly what of them and only correct students in getting them to
errors? with correct responses. the student has said major errors. self-correct.
incorrectly, without calling
further attention to the error. the teacher would supply
the correct language, but
only as a last resort.