Name: Hariyani Vaidehi C.
Roll no- 18
Year - 2015-17
M.A Semester - 3
Paper no.(12) English Language Teaching - 1
Email Id: - vaidehi09hariyani@gmail.com
Assignment topic:
Methods of ELT (English Language Teaching)
Submitted to:
Smt.S.B.Gardi
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH,
MAHARAJA KRISHNAKUMARSINHJI BHAVNAGAR UNIVERSITY,
English has
a status of associate language, but in fact it is the most important language
of India. After Hindi it is the most commonly spoken language in India and
probably the most read and written language in India. English in India is used
not only for communicating with the outside world, but also for inter-state and
intrastate communication. Because of the great ethnic and linguistic diversity
found within our nation, English acts as an indispensable ‘link’ language. Indians
who know English often mingle it with Indian languages in their conversation.
It is also usual among Indians to abruptly move to speak fluent English in the
middle of their conversations. English also serves as the communicator among
Indians who speak different languages. English is very important in some
systems – legal, financial, educational and business in India. (Narayana, Nair and Mishra)
Teaching
English has become equally important as the learning language. In English language teaching pedagogy the three key terms - Method,
Approach and technique are used frequently and interchangeably. The term
‘Method’ is very ambiguous, and refers to the overall plan for the orderly
presentations of language material.
Let us first
see the basic meaning of Method:-
It is a generalized set of classroom
specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to
be primarily concerned with teacher and student roles and behaviours and
secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives,
sequencing, and materials. They are almost always thought of as being
broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety of contexts.
Basically
methods refer to the technique used by the teachers to teach any particular
language to students.
There are
four methods of teaching English language which are discussed in this
assignment. They are as follow:-
1.)
The Grammar - Translation Method
2.)
The Direct Method
3.)
The Audio-Lingual Method
Let us see the methods one
by one:-
The Grammar –
Translation Method:-
This is the oldest and traditional method of teaching
English. Especially in India, this method is used as English is taught as
Second language. In Europe, this method was used to teach Greek and Latin for
several years. With the arrival of the Britishers this method was introduced in
India. The emphasis in this method is mainly on translation of English
words, phrases, and passages into and from the mother tongue of a learner.
Thompson and
Wyatt
gave three principles on which this method is based:-
(1)Translation interprets foreign phraseology best.
(2) The foreign phraseology is best assimilated by the
learners
in the
process of interpretation.
(3) The structure of a foreign language is best learnt
when compared and contrasted with the mother tongue.
L1 helps a learner
to learn L2.
Principles of this method:-
1.) Classes
are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target
language.
2.) Much
vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.
3.) Grammar
provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on
the form and inflection of words.
4.) Reading
of difficult classical texts is begun early. Little attention is paid to the
content of texts, which are treated as exercises in in grammatical analysis.
5.) Often
the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the
target language into the mother tongue.
Before moving further with the typical techniques, let us see the advantages and disadvantages of this method.
All the words and phrases cannot be translated and if it is done it
might create a blunder. For example: there are some words like “Sindoor”, which
cannot be translated due to cultural context. If it is translated it will lose
the essence. When we translate sentences from our mother tongue into
the target language, we unintentionally translate those structures which are
untranslatable because they do not exist in the system of the target language.
There are different typical techniques of this
method which enables learners to learn English language.
·
Translation of a passage
·
Antonyms/ Synonyms
·
Cognates
·
Fill in the blanks
·
Memorization
·
Make sentence
·
Composition
·
Reading comprehension questions
THE DIRECT METHOD: -
Direct method is the method through
which students learn to communicate in the target language and not involving L1
in the language learning process.
Learning L2 without taking help of L1.
This method is also known as
Natural Method; because the characteristics we observe in language teaching is
similar to acquisition of L1, but it was very difficult to bring exact
environment in which L1 is acquired. So later, the same method became popular
as the direct method.
This method was a reaction
against the Grammar Translation Method. In Grammar Translation Method, the
focus was mainly on grammar. The learners were acquiring the knowledge
of the grammar instead of the language.
The method originated in
France in 1901. The principles of this method came from
Germany and were popularized by the international phonetic association of
France.
According to H.Champion,
“The direct method is a method of teaching English directly; is to
establish a direct or immediate association between experience and expression,
between English words, phrases or idioms and its meaning.”
Principles
of this method: -
1.) Classroom
instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language.
2.) Only
everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.
3.) Oral
communication is built up in a carefully traded progression organized around
question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small intensive
classes.
4.) Grammar
is taught inductively.
5.) Vocabulary
is taught through demonstration, objects and pictures.
6.) Both
speech and listening comprehension are taught.
7.) Correct
pronunciation and grammar are emphasised.
Let us see what are the merits
and demerits of this method…
Typical techniques of
the Direct method:-
·
Reading aloud
·
Question and answer exercise
·
Student self-correction
·
Conversation practice
·
Fill in the blanks
·
Dictation
THE AUDIO- LINGUAL METHOD: -
The Audio-lingual method is used to improve communicative competence in
learners. It is the most effective way for to learn language in an interesting
way through different skills. This Method was initially called the Army Method,
and was the first to be based on linguistic theory and behavioural psychology.
Based on Skinner’s Behaviourism theory, it assumed that a human being
can be trained using a system of reinforcement. Correct behaviour receives
positive feedback; while errors receive negative feedback. This approach to
learning is similar to the Direct Method, in that the lesson takes place
entirely in the target language.
Emphasis is on the acquisition of
patterns in common everyday dialogue.
The Audio-lingual Method was widely used in the 1950s and 1960s, and the
emphasis was not on the understanding of words, but rather on the acquisition
of structures and patterns in common everyday dialogue.
These patterns are elicited, repeated and tested until the responses
given by the student in the foreign language are automatic.
The Audio-lingual Method is still in use today in different ways through
blogs, flipped learning, YouTube and much more. Nowadays many courses are available
online also.
Principles of this
method:-
1.) New
material is presented in dialogue form.
2.) There
is dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases and over learning.
3.) Structures
are sequenced by means of contrastive analysis and taught one at a time.
4.) Structural
patterns are taught using repetitive drills.
5.) There
is little or no grammatical explanation. Grammar is taught by inductive analogy
rather than deductive explanation.
6.) Vocabulary
is strictly limited and learned in context.
7.) There
is much use of tapes, language labs and visual aids.
8.) Great
importance is attached to pronunciation.
9.) Very
little use of the mother tongue by teachers is permitted
10.) Successful responses are immediately
reinforced.
11.) There is great effort to get students to
produce error-free utterances.
12.) There is a tendency to manipulate language
and disregard the content.
There
are many merits and demerits of this method.
Typical
techniques of the audio-lingual method: -
·
Dialogue memorization
·
Backward build-up
·
Repetition drill
·
Chain drill
·
Single slot substitution drill
·
Multiple slot substitution drill
·
Transformation drill
·
Q/A drill
·
Use of minimal pairs
·
Complete the dialogues
·
Grammar games
Thus, these are the three methods which are
used for ELT (English Language Teaching)
Works Cited
- Narayana, Dr.R, Dr.N.Rajeshkharan Nair and Dr.Krushna Chandra Mishra. "ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN INDIA: A THEORETICAL STUDY." The modern journal of applied linguistics (2009): 1.
- · Richards, Jack c. and Theodore s Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language teaching. Cambridge university press, 2001.
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