Session 17 / Part 2
Handout 1 out of 1
Methods and Approaches, a Historical View
Method/ Approach Rationale
Rationale: It was hoped that
The Grammar-Translation through the study of the grammar
Method
of the target language, students
would become more familiar with
the grammar of their native
language and that this familiarity
would help them speak and write
their native language better.
Principles
       A fundamental purpose of learning a foreign language is to be
able to read literature written in it. Literary language is superior
to spoken language. Students’ study of the target culture is
limited to its literature and fine arts.
       An important goal is for students to be able to translate each
language into the other. If students can translate from one
language into another, they are considered successful
language learners.
       The ability to communicate in the target language is not a
goal of foreign language instruction.
       The primary skills to be developed are reading and writing.
Little attention is given to speaking and listening, and almost
none to pronunciation.
       The teacher is the authority in the classroom. It is very
important that students get the correct answer.
       It is possible to find native language equivalents for all target
language words.
       Learning is facilitated through attention to similarities
between the target language and the native language.
       It is important for students to learn about the form of the
target language.
       Deductive application of an explicit grammar rule is a useful
pedagogical technique.
       Language learning provides good mental exercise.
       Students should be conscious of the grammatical rules of the
target language.
       Wherever possible, verb conjugations, and other
grammatical paradigms should be committed to memory.
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Rather than using analytical procedures
Direct Method that focus on explanation of grammar
rules in classroom teaching, teachers are
encouraged direct and spontaneous use
of the foreign language in the classroom.
Learners would then be able to induce
rules of grammar. It was an attempt to
build a methodology around observations
of child language learning.
It was thought that the way to acquire
Audio-Lingual Method the sentence patterns of the target
language was through conditioning –
helping learners to respond correctly to
stimuli through shaping and
reinforcement. This method, like the
Direct Method, is also an oral-based
approach. However, it is very different
in that, instead of emphasizing
vocabulary acquisition through
exposure to its use in situations, the
Audio-Lingual Method drills students in
the use of grammatical sentence
patterns.
The silent way The teacher should be silent as much
as possible in the classroom and the
Session 17 / Part 2
Handout 2 out of 1
 Classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the TL.
 Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught
 Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully graded
progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges
between teachers and students in small, intensive classes
 Grammar was taught inductively
 New teaching points were introduced orally.
 Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects,
and pictures; abstract vocabulary was taught by association of
ideas.
 Both speech and listening comprehension were taught.
 Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.
 Authentic language (language as it is used in a real context) should be
introduced.
 Being able to figure out the speaker’s or writer’s intentions is part of
being communicatively competent.
 The target language is a vehicle for classroom communication, not just
the object of study.
 One function can have many different linguistic forms. Since the focus
of the course is on real language use, a variety of linguistic forms are
presented together. The emphasis is on the process of communication
rather than just mastery of language forms.
 Students should work with language at the discourse or
suprasentential (above the sentence) level. They must learn about
cohesion and coherence, those properties of language which bind the
sentences together.
 Games are important because they have certain features in common
with real communicative events: there is a purpose to exchange. The
speaker receives immediate feedback from the listener or whether or not
he or she has successfully communicated. In this way they can negotiate
meaning.
 Students should be given an opportunity to express their ideas and
opinions.
Start with familiar sounds.
Give help only if absolutely necessary. Allow students to use their own
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learner should be encouraged to
produce as much language as
possible.
Georgi Lozanov developed this method
Suggestopedia of teaching which is concerned with the
learning environment. He asserted that
DeSuggestopaedia had been taken
over by language teachers, due to its
efficacy, but had been designed to
teach anything. The method states that
people must be relaxed, and have their
'effective filters' lowered.
Community Language This humanistic approach was
    Learning developed to encourage an emphasis
on practice as a way of developing
communicative skills to be
communicatively competent in a
speech community
Session 17 / Part 2
Handout 3 out of 1
knowledge of language learning.
Do not model the language for the students.
Allow students to tap out sounds to show what they have learned.
Students work on the language, not the teacher.
Teacher takes a back seat. The more you help- the less they
learn. Praise is not helpful.
Transfer what students know already to new ideas
Silence is used as a tool. The teacher becomes less necessary to the
learning process.
Errors are important and necessary for learning.
Progress is more important than perfection.
Student attention to the teacher is important.
No homework, as learning continues while we sleep.
A fun environment promotes learning.
Peripheral learning is beneficial. Having posters round the walls is an
unconscious way to learn.
The teacher needs to be confident. Students have to have trust in the
lesson.
New names and identities allow students the security to be someone
else, making them less inhibited.
Songs can evoke positive memories and work to relax speech
muscles.
Native language translation is acceptable.
Psychological barriers are reduced by music. A teacher can read a
dialogue over the top and learning will take place without pressure.
Doing homework in the morning/evening is deemed a good idea.
Novelty aids language acquisition, so don't make learning tasks
routine.
Games and play are positive ways to reinforce learning.
Errors are corrected gently
 Language is a system for the expression of meaning.
 The primary function of language is for interaction and communication.
 The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative
uses.
 The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and
structural features, but categories of functional and communicative
meaning as exemplified in discourse.

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The general objective of Total Physical
Response is to teach oral proficiency at
Total Physical Response a beginning level. Comprehension is a
means to an end, the ultimate aim is to
teach basic speaking skills. A TPR
course aims to produce learners who
are capable of an uninhibited
community that is intelligible to a native
speaker.
Session 17 / Part 2
Handout 4 out of 1
Total Physical Response requires initial attention to meaning rather
than to the form of items. Grammar is thus taught inductively. Grammatical
features and vocabulary items are selected not according to their
frequency of need or use in target language situations, but according to the
situations in which they can be used in the classroom and the ease with which
they can be learned.
Learners in Total Physical Response have the primary roles of listener
and performer. They listen attentively and respond physically to commands
given by the teacher.
Learners are required to respond both individually and collectively.
Learners have little influence over the content of learning, since content is
determined by the teacher, who must follow the imperative-based format for
lessons. Learners are also expected to recognize and respond to novel
combinations of previously taught items
Learners are also required to produce novel combinations of their own.
learners monitor and evaluate their own progress. They are encouraged to
speak when they feel ready to speak - that is, when a sufficient basis in the
language has been internalized.