Advanced teaching methodology

Topic 1: Methods of language

teaching

Instructor: Nguyen Thi Hong Tham (PhD)

Email: ntham2015@gmail.com
 Recommended reading list
Main course texts:
• Nunan, D. (2015) Teaching English to speakers of other languages:
An introduction, New York: Routledge.
• Richards, J. and Rogers, T. (2001) Approaches and methods in
language teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Other useful texts:

• Alsagoff, L., Mckay, S., Hu, G., and Renandya, W. (2012) Principles
and practices for teaching English as an international language,
London: Routledge.
• Larsen-Freeman, D. (2008). Techniques and Principles in Language
Teaching. Oxford University Press.
• Harmer, J. (2007) The Practice of English language teaching (4th ed.), Essex:
Pearson Longman.
• Teacher roles and classroom
management
 Teacher roles
1. Controller:
– standing at the front of the class, dictating everything
that happens and being the focus of attention.
– little chance for students to take much responsibility
for their own learning.
– may work for grammar explanations and other
information presentation.

2. Facilitator: fostering learner autonomy

– through the use of groupwork and pairwork
– by acting as more of a resource than a transmitter of
knowledge.
3. prompter: encouraging students, pushing
them to achieve more, feeding in a bit of
information or language to help them proceed.

4. resource (for language information, etc) when

students need to consult us.

5. tutor: an advisor who responds to what the

student is doing and advises them on what to do
next.
6. Participant: taking part in an activity with
students

7. Assessor: giving students feedback and

grades.

8. Investigator: teachers’ developing their own

skills.
3. Classroom management

Scrivener, J. (2005) Chapter 5: Classroom

management, pp. 79-108.

(Harmer 2007) Chapter 3, pp. 34-45.

 3.1 What is classroom management?

• Refers to creating the conditions to maximise

learning.

• Including not only the teacher’s attitude,

intentions, personality, relationships with the
learners but also organisational skills and
techniques.
 3.2 Common areas of classroom management

• Grouping and seating

• Activities
• Authority
• Critical moments
• Tools and techniques
• Working with people
 Things that the teacher should avoid:
• Talking too much
• Giving complicated and unclear instructions
• Not checking understanding of instruction
• Asking ‘do you understand?’ (should get students to
demonstrate their understanding instead)
• Fear of genuine feedback
• Insufficient authority/over-politeness.
• The running commentary (should tell students what they
need to know – and stop)
• Lack of confidence in self, learners, material, activity making it
too easy.
• Over-helping/over-organising.
• Flying with the fastest.
• Not really listening (hearing language problems but not the
message).
• Weak rapport: creation of a poor working environment.
 Basic concepts (Brown 2001:15-16)
• Methodology: The study of pedagogical practices in general.
Whatever considerations are involved in ‘how to teach’ are
methodological.
• Approach: theoretically well-informed positions or beliefs
about the nature of language, the nature of language learning,
and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings.
• Method: A generalized set of classroom specifications for
accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to be
concerned primarily with teacher and student roles and
behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguistic and
subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials.
• Technique: Any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or
devices used in the language classroom for realizing lesson
objectives.
Methods of language teaching
• The Grammar-Translation Method.

• The Direct Method.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqd7OdJoLn0

• The Audio-lingual Method

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqd7OdJoLn0
‘Designer’ methods of the spirited seventies:
• The Silent Way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqLzbLCpack
• Total Physical Response (TPR)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqd7OdJoLn0
• (De)Suggestopedia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rkrvRlty5M
• Community Language Learning (CLL)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx_we_P3Pic
The Grammar-Translation
Method
Larsen-Freeman (2008) and Harmer
(2007)
 History
• is one of the most traditional methods.
• originally used to teach Latin and Greek in the
late 19th century and early 20th century.
• Used in the early 20th century to teach
students to read literature.
 Principles and Techniques
• Most of the teaching and learning are done in the
native language with very little use of the target
language.
• Deductive application of grammar rules.
• Focusing on
learning the rules of grammar and their application in
translation passages from the target language into the
native language.
accuracy rather than fluency.
reading and writing rather than spoken
communication or listening comprehension.
• Vocabulary is taught in the form of isolated
word lists.
• Grammar is taught with extensive
explanations in the native language, and
applied in producing sentences through
translation.
• Grammar provides the rule for putting words
together, and instruction often focuses on the
form and inflection of words.
• Reading of difficult classical texts is begun
early.

• Little attention is paid to the content of texts,

which are treated as exercises in grammatical
analysis.
 Advantages
• An effective way for application of grammar
and sentence structure
• is the easiest for a teacher to employ as it
does not require teachers to speak good
English or make good lesson preparations.
• Least stressful for students as they use their
native language.
 Disadvantages
• Giving students the wrong idea of what language is
and of the relationship between languages.
• Language is seen as an isolated and independent
collection or words.
• Unnatural method as it starts with the teaching of
reading not listening.
• Speech is neglected as it lays emphasis on reading and
writing.
• Extensive memorization.
• Very little student-teacher and student-student
interaction
• It may demotivate students.
 The Audio-lingual Method

Harmer (2007); Larsen-Freeman (2008)

Lake, W. (http://blog.about-esl.com)
• Originated from the Behaviorist theory of
learning languages.
• Also known as the “Army Method”
• Popularised by the need to learn basic skills in
foreign languages during World War 2.
http://www.slideshare.net/augustttin/language-acquisition-theories-34101018
 Characteristics

• Focusing more on speaking and listening

than reading and writing.
• Only everyday vocabulary and sentences
are taught.
• Students practice particular patterns of
language through structured dialogue and
drill until response is automatic.
• Structured patterns in language are taught
using repetitive drills.
• Focusing on the correct imitation of the
teacher by the students, both output and
pronunciation.
• Emphasizing having students produce error
free utterances.
• Mother tongue is discouraged in the
classroom.
• The three crucial elements in learning:
stimulus, response and reinforcement.
http://www.slideshare.net/augustttin/language-acquisition-theories-34101018
 Teaching techniques
1. Repetition: The students repeat what the
teacher says word for word.
2. Inflection: The teacher says a word or
sentences, the students change the form.
3. Replacement:The teacher says a sentence
and the students replace a word in the
sentence.
4. Restatement: The teacher says a sentence
and the students rephrase the sentence.
 Teaching procedure
PPP
• Presentation
• Practice
• Production
 Roles
The teacher’s roles:
• Central and active
• Model of the target language.
• Monitor the performance.
The students’ roles:
• Reactive
• Do not initiate interaction
• Directed by the teacher
 Advantages

• can be used in large classes.

• Focusing on drilling
• Encouraging intensive practice
 Disadvantages

• can make students bored.

• Students play a passive role, imitating and
being controlled by the teacher.
Total Physical Response (TPR)

Adapted from http://www.slideshare.net/ignorantdavinci/total-

physical-response
 Definition
• refers to a language teaching method using
physical movement to react to verbal input.
• Purpose: helping students enjoy their learning
and reduce stress.
 Characteristics
• Focusing primarily on

 teaching basic speaking skills

developing learners’ ability of free communication
understandable to a native speaker.

– Language of instruction: the target language

Syllabus:
• A sentence-based syllabus.
• Primarily focusing meaning rather than to the
form of items.
• Grammar is taught inductively.
 Learning Activities

• Main classroom activity: Imperative drills

• Others: role plays and slide presentations.
• Conversational dialogues are delayed until
after almost 120 hours of instruction.
 Roles
• Learners: listener & performer.
• The teacher: direct and active role,
responsible for providing the exposure to
language.
 An example of a TPR lesson
• The teacher: giving the commands (three at a
time).
Ex: Stand up, sit down, go to the board…

• Role Reversal: Students commanding their

teacher and classmates.
• Reading and Writing: Writing the new items
on the board.
 Advantages
• Learners enjoying moving around the
classroom.
• Not taking time to prepare the lesson.
• Effective for both adults and young learners.
 Disadvantages

• Best suitable for beginners.

• Challenging for shy students.
• Rude and inappropriate language of the
learner