APPROACHES TO TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Popular Teaching Methodology

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Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP) The most familiar TM with teachers at the beginner level ~ the most simplified approach to language learning Starts with a set induction and moves on to the PPP stages. The presentation stage is done to present an item of language in a clear context to get the meaning across. It can be done in a variety of ways such as through texts, pictures, situations or dialogues. Students repeat target items through choral and individual drilling, fill gaps or match halves of sentences. All of this practice demands the students to use the language correctly and helps them to be more comfortable with it. However, the PPP approach has come under increasing criticism in recent years as being inappropriate for higher level classes. Potential problems: i. Students might seem comfortable producing the language in classroom but they could have forgotten it a few lessons later. ii.Students will often produce the language but overuse the structure ~ restricting the students to a single piece of target language is unnatural. Task-based Learning (TBL) An alternative to PPP for language teachers Teachers dont pre-determine what language will be studied; the lesson is based around the completion of central task and the language studied is determined by what happens as the students complete it. Three basic stages as suggested by Jane Willis in A Framework for TaskBased Learning (1994, Longman) i. Pre-task - Teacher introduces the topic and gives the students clear instructions to trigger the language items. ii. Task Cycle - Task: students complete the task in pairs or groups using whatever resources that they have. - Planning: students prepare short oral or written report to tell the class what happened when they were doing the task. - Report: Students then report back to the class orally or read the written report. Language Focus - Analysis: teacher highlights relevant parts from the text or recording for analysis, so that the students notice the features that they had used during their task.
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- Practice: Finally, the teacher selects language areas based upon students needs and what emerged from the task and report phases. The advantages of TBL: i.Students are free to control their language use and not just restricted to one pre-determined language item. ii. A natural context is developed from students experiences with the language. iii. The students will have more varied exposure to language with TBL iv. It is a strong communicative approach where students spend a lot of time communicating.
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The Communicative Approach Highlights the importance of functional language as opposed to focusing specifically on grammar and vocabulary. Students are given clear reason for communicating in the form of role plays and simulations. Communication is more important than fluency. Teacher provides students with communicative activities and initiates interactions between students. Errors of form are considered natural; students with incomplete knowledge of English can still succeed as communicators. Audio-lingualism based on Behaviourist belief that language learning is the acquisition of a set of correct language habits The learner repeats pattern until able to produce them spontaneously ~ once learned, the speaker can substitute words to make novel sentences. The teacher directs and controls students behaviours, providing a model and reinforcing correct responses. Emphasize on language structures, vocabulary contextualized in dialogues Natural priority of skills listening, speaking, reading, writing, with emphasis on the first two. Teachers strive to prevent student errors by predicting trouble spots and controlling what they teach students to say.

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Other Methods
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The Silent Way The theoretical basis of Gattegnos Silent Way is the idea that teaching must be subordinated to learning and thus students must develop their own inner criteria for correctness. All four skills are taught from the beginning.

Students errors are expected as a normal part of teaching The teacher is active in setting up situations, while the students do most of the talking and interacting. Language is used for self-expression.
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Suggestopedia Lozanovs method seeks to help learners eliminate psychological barriers to learning. The learning environment is relaxed and subdued, with low lighting and soft background music. Students adopt a new persona and imagine being that person. Dialogues are presented while the music is played. Students relax and listen to the dialogues being read and later playfully practice the language during an activation period. Great importance is placed on students feelings, in making them feel confident and relaxed, in order to desuggest their psychological barriers. Students focus on communicative use rather than form. Errors are not immediately corrected; teacher models the correct forms later during class. Community Language Learning In Currens method, teachers consider students as whole persons, with intellect, feelings, instincts, physical response and desire to learn. Teachers also recognize that learning can be threatening, so the teachers help students feel secure and overcome their fears. The syllabus used is learner-generated.

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Total Physical Response Ashers approach begins by placing primary importance on listening comprehension, emulating the early stages of mother tongue acquisition and then moving to speaking, reading and writing. Students demonstrate their comprehension by acting out commands issued by the teacher. Activities are designed to be fun and to allow students to assume active learning roles. Teacher interacts with individual students and with the group, starting with the teacher speaking and the students responding nonverbally. Later on, this is reversed. Errors are expected once the students begin speaking. Teachers only correct major errors and do this unobtrusively. Fine-tuning occurs later.