METHODS AND APPROACHES

IN
TEACHING ENGLISH
AS A
SECOND LANGUAGE
BEFORE CLT
Approaches, methods, procedures, and
techniques

Approach : this refers to theories about

the nature of language and language learning
that serve as the source of practices and
principles in language teaching.
It offers a model of language competence.
An approach describes how people acquire their
knowledge of the language and makes statements
about conditions which will promote successful
language learning.
Approaches, methods, procedures, and
techniques

Method : a method is the practical

realization of an approach. Methods include
various procedures and techniques as part of
their standard fare.

Procedure : a procedure is an ordered

sequence of techniques. A procedure is a
sequence which can be described in terms
such as first you do this, then you do that
Smaller than a method and bigger than
technique.
 Technique :
Is a classroom device or activity and thus
represents the narrowest of the four concepts
Some examples: dictation, imitation , and
repetition
a common technique when using video
material is called silent viewing. This is where
the teacher plays the video with no sound.
Silent viewing is a single activity rather than a
sequence, and as such is a technique rather than a
whole procedure.
 A term that is also used in discussions
about teaching is model used to
describe typical procedures, usually for
teachers in training. Such models offer
abstractions of these procedures,
designed to guide teaching practice.
The Grammar Translation
Approach/Method
This is a method that has been used by
language teachers for many years.

At one time it was called Classical

Method,since it was first used in the teaching
of the classical languages,Latin and Greek.

Earlier in this century,it was used for the

purpose of helping students read and
appreciate foreign language literature.
The Grammar Translation Method

Classes are taught in the students mother

tongue,with little active use of the target language;
Vocabulary is taught in the form of isolated word
lists;
Elaborate explanations of grammar are always
provided;
Reading of difficult text is begun early in the course
of study;
Little attention is paid to the content of text,which
are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis.
Direct Approach

A reaction to the Grammar Translation Approach

and its failure to produce learners who could
communicate in the foreign language they had
been studying;
No use of the mother tongue is permitted;
Lessons begin with dialogues and anecdotes in
modern conversational style;
Actions and pictures are used to make meanings
clear;
Grammar is learned inductively.
Direct Approach

Literary texts are read for pleasure and are not

analyzed grammatically;

The target culture is also taught inductively;

The teacher must be a native speaker or have

nativelike proficiency in the target language;
Reading Approach

A reaction to the problems experienced in

implementing the Direct Approach;

Reading was viewed as the most usable skill to

have in foreign language since not many people
traveled abroad at that time;

Also few teachers could use their foreign language

well enough to use direct approach effectively in
class.
Reading Approach

Only the grammar useful for reading

comprehension is taught;
Vocabulary is controlled at first and then
expanded;
Translation is once more a respectable classroom
procedure.
Reading comprehension is the only language skill
emphasized;
The teacher does not need to have good oral
proficiency in the target language.
 Audiolingualism or the Audio-lingual
Approach
Audio-lingual methodology owes its existence to the
Behaviourist models of learning using the
Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement model, it
attempted, through a continuous process of such
positive reinforcement, to engender good habits in
language learners.

Audio-lingualism relied heavily on drills like substitution

to form these habits.

Habit-forming drills have remained popular among

teachers and students, and teachers who feel confident
with the linguistic restriction of such procedures
Presentation, Practice, and
Production

A variation on Audio-lingualism in British-based

teaching and elsewhere is the procedure most
often referred to as PPP, which stands for
Presentation, Practice, and
Production.

In this procedure the teacher introduces a situation

which contextualizes the language to be taught.
The students now practice the language using
accurate reproduction techniques such as choral
repetition, individual repetition, and cue-response
drills.
 PPP and alternatives to PPP

The PPP procedure came under a sustained attack in the

1990s.

Michael Lewis suggested that PPP was inadequate because it

reflected neither the nature of language nor the nature of
learning.

Jim Scrivener advanced what is perhaps the most worrying

aspect of PPP,the fact that it only describes one kind of
lesson;it is inadequate as a general proposal concerning
approaches to language in the classroom.

In response to these criticism many people have offered

variations on PPP and alternative to it: ARC, OHE/III, ESA.
ARC
put forward by Jim Scrivener

stands for Authentic use, Restricted use and

Clarification and focus

Communicative activity will demonstrate authentic

use; elicted dialogue or guided writing will provoke
restricted use of language by students; finally
clarification language is that which the teacher and
students use to explain grammar,give
examples,analyse errors,elict or repeat things.
OHE/III

Michael Lewis claims that students should

be allowed to Observe (read or listen to
language) which will then provoke them to
Hypothesize about how the language works
before going on to the Experiment on the
basis of that hypothesis.
ESA

In the ESA model three components will usually be present

in any teaching sequence,whether of five,fifty or a hundred
minutes

E stands for Engage - students have to be engaged

emotionally

S stands for Study

A stands for Activate - any stage at which students are

encouraged to use all and/or any of the language they
know
Oral situational Approach

A reaction to the Reading Approach and its

lack of emphasis on oral-aural skills;
Was dominant in Britain during the 1940s,
1950s and 1960s;
It draws from the Reform Movement and the
Direct Approach but adds features from
Firthian linguistics and the emerging
professional field of language pedagogy.
Oral situational Approach

The spoken language is primary;

All language material is practiced orally
before being presented in written form;
Only the target language should be used in
the classroom.
Efforts are made to ensure that the most
general and useful lexical items are
presented;
Oral situational Approach

Grammatical structures are graded from

simple to complex;
New items are introduced and practiced
situationally (e.g., at the post office, at the
bank, at the dinner table)
Cognitive Approach

A reaction to the behaviorist features of the

Audiolingual Approach;
Influenced by cognitive psychology (Neisser
1967) and Chomskyan linguistics (Chomsky
1959, 1965);
Language learning is viewed as rule
acquisition, not habit formation;
Instruction is often individualized; learners
are responsible for their own learning;
Cognitive Approach

Grammar must be taught but it can be taught

deductively (rules first; practice later) and/or
inductively (rules can either be stated after
practice or left as implicit information for the
learners to process on their own);
Pronunciation is de-emphasized; perfection is
viewed as unrealistic and unattainable;
Reading and writing are once again important
as listening and speaking;
Cognitive Approach

Vocabulary instruction is once again

important, especially at intermediate and
advanced levels;
Errors are viewed as inevitable, to be used
constructively in the learning process;
The teacher is expected to have good general
proficiency in the target language as well as
an ability to analyze the target language;
Affective-Humanistic Approach

A reaction to the general lack of affective

considerations in both Audiolingualism and
the Cognitive Approach; e.g., Moskowitz 1978
and Curran 1976;
Respect is emphasized for the individual (
each student, the teacher) and for his or her
feelings;
Communication that is meaningful to the
learner is emphasized
Affective-Humanistic Approach

Instruction involves much work in pairs and

small groups;
Class atmosphere is viewed as more
important than materials or methods;
Peer support and interaction are viewed as a
self-realization experience;
The teacher is a counselor or facilitator;
Affective-Humanistic Approach

The teacher should be proficient in the target

language and the students native language
since translation may be used heavily in the
initial stages to help students feel at ease;
later it is gradually phased out.
Comprehension-Based Approach

An outgrowth of research in first language

acquisition that led some language
methodologists to assume that second or
foreign language learning is very similar to
first language acquisition; e.g., Potovsky
1974; Winitz 1981; Krashen and Terrell 1983)
Comprehension-Based Approach
Listening comprehension is very important
and is viewed as the basic skill that will allow
speaking, reading, and writing to develop
spontaneously over time, given the right
conditions.
Learners should begin by listening to
meaningful speech and by responding
nonverbally in meaningful ways before they
produce any language themselves.
Comprehension-Based Approach
Learners should not speak until they feel
ready to do so; this results in better
pronunciation than if the learner is forced to
speak immediately.
Learners progress by being exposed to
meaningful input that is just one step beyond
their level of competence.
Rule learning may help learners monitor what
they do, but it will not aid their acquisition or
spontaneous use of the target language.
Comprehension-Based Approach
Error correction is seen as unnecessary and
perhaps even counterproductive; the
important thing is that the learners can
understand and can make themselves
understood.
If the teacher is not a native (or near-native)
speaker, appropriate materials such as audio-
tapes and videotapes must be available to
provide the appropriate input for the
learners.
THEN
The Communicative Approach

The communicative approach or

Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) is the name which was given to a set
of beliefs which included not only a re-
examination of what aspects of language to
teach but also a shift in emphasis on how to
teach!
The Communicative Approach

The communicative approach or

Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) was developed in the 1970s, and in
critical reaction to the formal and boring
types of exercises used under the
audiolingual approach (drill-and-kill
exercises).
The Communicative Approach

The communicative approach or

Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) puts the focus on communicative
interaction in class, not on a correct but
mind- and meaningless reproduction of the
linguistic forms prescribed for a specific
lesson.
The Communicative Approach

The communicative approach or

Communicative Language Teaching
(CLT) is an outgrowth of the work of
anthropological linguists (e.g. Hymes 1972)
and Firthian linguists (e.g. Halliday 1973) who
view language first and foremost as a system
for communication.
Non-communicative activities Communicative
activities

No communicative desire A desire to communicate

No communicative purpose A communicative purpose
Form not content Content not form
One language item only Variety of language
Teacher intervention No teacher intervention
Materials control No materials control

The communication continuum