Post on 17-Dec-2014
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Historical Overview of Methodologies in ESL
Key Terms
Approach
a well informed set of assumptions and beliefs about the nature of teaching and learning
Method
a generalized set of rules that should be followed when teaching language
primarily concerned with the teacher and the students’ roles as opposed to subject-matter objectives
Technique
specific activities manifested in the classroom
consistent with a method and therefore in harmony with an approach as well
Curriculum/syllabus
a design for carrying out a particular language program
consists of specification of linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials to meet the needs of a designated group of learners in a defined context
Methodology
a theoretical framework
pedagogical practices in general and considerations involved in “how to teach”
based on an epistemological stance (how do we learn)
Overview of Methods
The Grammar Translation Method
Vocabulary is taught in the form of lists or isolation
Long explanations of grammar rules
Readings of classical difficult texts
Grammatical analysis
Little or no attention to pronunciation
The Direct Method
Classroom instruction exclusively in the target language
Grammar was taught inductively (teacher is a facilitator)
New teaching points were taught through modeling and practice
Both speech and listening comprehension were taught
Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized
The Audiolingual Method
New material is presented in dialogue form
Memorization
Set phrases
Drills
Tapes, language lab, visual aids
Successful responses immediately reinforced
Cognitive code learning
Deep structure of language
Chomsky LAD (language acquisition device)
Deductive
Conscious awareness of rules
Generative transformational grammar
“Designer” Methods of the Spirited 1970s
Separation of ESL and linguistics as a field of study
Language acquisition studies based on language learning inside and outside of the classroom
Innovative methods were conceived
Community Language Learning
Language learning was visualized as a counseling session
Rogers’s views on language learning
Avoids threatening environment
Deductive learning (when A then B, knowledge is “transferred” from the teacher to the learner, information according to established knowledge)
Suggestopedia
Language learning occurs under the right conditions
Students are asked to be “child like”
Business enterprise
The Silent Way
Learning is facilitated by physical objects
Problem solving involving the material to be learned
Rods to introduce vocabulary
Charts to introduce pronunciation models, grammatical paradigms
Total Physical Response
Commands are given
Listening and acting
No verbal response is necessary
Krashen
Acquisition Learning Hypothesis (learning vs. acquisition)
The Natural Order (grammatical rules are learned in a predictable way)
The Monitor Hypothesis (checks and monitor output of what has been learned)
The Input Hypothesis (I + 1) a little beyond the comprehension level
The Affective Filter Hypothesis (motivation)
The Post-method Era
The Pull of Methods
Teachers want to believe that if they just do X their students will learn language.
Students also want to believe that there is some magic pill that if the teacher would just give it to them, they would learn.
Positivist vs. critical perspective
Postivist (or scientist) orientation: empirical-analytic approach, claims of objectivity, how we teach is based on knowledge derived through experimental research
Critical theory: all knowledge is social, cultural, and political; produced in a particular economic, historical context; claims to knowledge represent the interests of certain individuals or groups
But…
Researchers still do not know exactly how we learn a second language
Human learning can’t be reliably studied with experimental research designs
So…we cannot produce the “magic bullet”!
Discussion
What is Prabhu’s problem with people saying “There is no best method”?
What does Pennycook mean when her says that “all education is political” and that “all knowledge is ‘interested’” (p. 590)? Use the example of English education in Puerto Rico (or language education in another context that you know well) to illustrate his two claims.
What is Pennycook’s problem with the concept of Methos as published by different scholars? (see pp. 599-606)
Pennycook argues that the concept of Method is patriarchal (it imposes ideas developed by mostly male linguists on the mostly female workforce of ESL teachers) and imperialistic (it assumes that Methods, developed in the West, are the best way to teach ESL across the world). Do you agree with Pennycook? Why or why not?
What do you think is the relationship between method and what teachers actually are doing (and have been doing) in the classroom?
Prabhu
Best method varies from context to context Still left with search to find the best method for a
particular context.
There is truth in every method But which parts are true?
Objective method evaluation is impossible