TESOL Methodology

Prof. Peter Thwaites

Day 4
Approaches,
designs,
procedures
 Method

Approach Design Procedure

 Method

Approach Design Procedure

Approach to Objectives Classroom techniques,

learning practices, behaviors etc.
Approach to
Language Syllabus

Activities

Learner roles

Teacher roles

Role of materials
Design
Objectives
• What is the goal of learning?
• Improving reading & translation skills
• GTM
• Accurate grammar and pronunciation
• Audiolingualism
• Improving ability to communicate in general
situations
• CLT, TBLT & others
• Ability to participate in a given community
• Genre-based learning, EAP, Business English
Objectives

• “Process” and “product” based approaches

• A “product-based” approach highlights the quality of the
linguistic product – i.e. accuracy of grammar,
pronunciation, fluency etc.
• Linguistically-oriented
• A “process-based” approach highlights the learning
process – e.g. taking part in communicative activities –
with less focus on accuracy.
• Communicatively-oriented
Syllabus
• What will be taught?
• Subject matter
• General interests (e.g. food, hobbies, family)?
• Business etiquette?
• Chemistry, Physics, History etc?
• Linguistic content
• Words, grammar etc.
• How would you select language for a syllabus?
Syllabus
• In what order will linguistic content be taught?
• Frequency
• Difficulty
• Classroom usefulness
• Learners’ communicative needs
Syllabus
• How is content conceptualized?
• Lexico-grammatical items
• Functions
• Text types
• Skills
• Subject areas
Syllabus
• Many approaches to syllabus design!
• Does the syllabus have to be pre-planned?
Activities
• There are soooooo many activities!
• Repetition/substitution drills
• Information gaps
• Role-plays
• “Tasks”
• Games
• Designs match activities to approaches.
Activities
• What should activities focus on?
• Accuracy vs. fluency
• Accuracy vs. communicative achievement
• Receptive vs productive skills
 Learner roles
• What do learners do?
• How do they participate?
• How active should they be?
• How much control do they have?
 Learner roles
• Learner-centredness
• Humanism
 Teacher roles
• What roles can a teacher play?
• Source of knowledge
• Model for language
• Counsellor
• Practice partner
• Facilitator
• Evaluator
“Teacher talking
time”.
 Role of materials
• What materials should be used?
• Are materials really necessary?
• The dogme movement.
Procedure
 Procedure
• What do we actually do in the classroom?
• Activities and sequences
Quiz Time!
 Teaching methods
• Today, I will start demonstrating TESOL methods.
• Which methods do you want to see and discuss?
 Assessing teaching methods
• Your two essay assignments will both require you to critically
evaluate one teaching method.
• There are two parts:
1. Briefly summarise the method in your own words.
• No more than 1 side of double-spaced A4.
• Summarise the objectives, approach, design, and procedures.
2. Evaluate the method.
 Assessing teaching methods: My criteria
• In your assignments, you should use ALL of my criteria, and 2-3 of
your own.
• My criteria are:
• What are the advantages of this method, compared to the
dominant method in your context?
• In what ways is this method (in)compatible with educational
culture (e.g. classroom design, teacher beliefs, examination
system) in your country?
• How practical is this method? Is it easy to understand, to learn,
and to conduct?
 Assessing teaching methods: My criteria
• Other possible criteria:
• Is this method motivating for learners?
• Does it create room for students’ individual learning styles and
personalities? Does it respect their humanity?
• Does this method encourage creativity?
• Does it reduce fear of failure and language anxiety?
• Does the method offer opportunities for learning culture?
• Can it be flexibly combined with other methods?
• Does this method match my country’s educational policy?
• Could this method be used at a national level?
• More?
Method 1: GTM
 My family

我的家

Wǒ de jiā
Vocabulary 词汇
Pinyin Simplified Chinese English
Cíhuì wǒ 我 me
nǐ 你 you
tā 他/她 he/she/it
de 的 [possessive particle]
wǒ de 我的 my
jiā 家 family
yǒu 有 have/has
yī 一 one
èr 二 two
sān 三 three
gè 个 [general noun classifier]
rén 人 person/people
míngzì 名字 name
shì 是 am/is/are
qīzi 妻子 wife
nǚ'ér 女儿 daughter
gǒu 狗 dog
Comprehension Questions 理解题 Lǐjiě tí
 
1. How many people are in Peter’s family?
2. Is Peter married?
3. Does Peter have a son?
4. What is Peter’s wife’s name?
5. What is Peter’s daughter’s name?
6. What kind of pet does Peter have?
7. What is the pet’s name?
Grammar
语法
Yǔfǎ
What do the following words mean in English?

1. wǒ de 我的 =
2. nǐ de 你的 =
3. tā de 他 / 她的 =
4. Peter/ bǐdé de 彼得的 =
5. Chāo Yù de 超玉的 =
Grammar
语法
Yǔfǎ
1. míngzì bǐdé/Peter wǒ shì de

2. shì tā míngzì duǒlā/Dora de

3. ChāoYù qīzi míngzì shì de míngzì wǒ

4. De shì wǒ nǚ'ér àibǐ míngzì

Composition
Evaluating GTM
 Approach
• What do you think is the approach to language?
• What is the approach to learning?
 Design
• What are the objectives of a GTM course?
• How would syllabus content be chosen?
• How would it be organised?
• What activities are used?
• What is the teacher’s role?
• What is the students’ role?
• What is the role of materials?
 Procedure
• How is language presented?
• How is it practiced?
• How is feedback handled?
 Evaluating using my 3 criteria
• What are the advantages of this method, compared to the
dominant method in your context?
• In what ways is this method (in)compatible with
educational culture (e.g. classroom design, teacher
beliefs, examination system) in your country?
• How practical is this method? Is it easy to understand, to
learn, and to conduct?
 Evaluating using other criteria
• Is this method motivating for learners?
• Does it create room for students’ individual learning styles and
personalities? Does it respect their humanity?
• Does this method encourage creativity?
• Does it reduce fear of failure and language anxiety?
• Does the method offer opportunities for learning culture?
• Can it be flexibly combined with other methods?
• Does this method match my country’s educational policy?
• Could this method be used at a national level?