2. Chapter II Approaches to Foreign Language Teaching

3. Objectives of Methodology of Second/ Foreign Language Instruction 1.To familiarize students with the common traditional language teaching approaches. 2.To familiarize students with the major innovative language teaching approaches. 3.To enable students to outline language teaching approaches in terms of their emphasis and deemphasis on language skills, language patterns and classroom activities.

4. 4.To acquaint students with the practical procedures applied in traditional language teaching approaches. 5.To help students learn the practical procedures of communication oriented approaches.

5. 1- Grammar-Translation Approach (an extension of the approach used to teach classical languages to the teaching of modern languages) 1)Instruction is given in the native language of the students. 2)There is little use of the target language for communication. 3)Focus is on grammatical parsing i.e., the form and inflection of words.

6. 4)There is early reading of difficult texts. 5)A typical exercise is to translate sentences from the target language into the mother tongue (or vice versa). 6)The result of this approach is usually an inability on the part of the student to use the language for communication. 7)The teacher does not have to be able to speak the target language.

7. 8.It neglects the natural order of learning (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) 9.It neglects speech. 10.The only exercised skill was reading but only in the context of translation. 11.Grammar is taught deductively. 12.Focus is on reading and writing. 13.Accuracy is emphasized. 14.Grammar points are presented contextually in the textbook.

8. 2- Direct Approach ( a reaction to the Grammar-Translation Approach and its failure to produce learners who could communicate in the foreign language they had been studying) 1)No use of the mother longue is permitted (i.e., the teacher does not need to know the students’ native language). 2)Lessons begin with dialogues and anecdotes in modern conversational style. 3)Actions and pictures are used to make meanings clear.

9. 4)Grammar is learned inductively. 5)Literary texts are read for pleasure and are not analyzed grammatically. 6)The target culture is also taught inductively. 7)The teacher must be a native speaker or have nativelike proficiency in the target language. 8)Only everyday vocabulary is used. 9)Greater focus is on oral communication. 10)Classroom instruction was conducted in the target language.

10. 3- Reading Approach ( a reaction to the problems experienced in implementing the Direct Approach; reading was viewed as the most usable skill to have in a foreign language since not many people traveled abroad at that time; also, few teachers could use their foreign language well enough to use a direct approach effectively in class) 1.Only the grammar useful for reading comprehension is taught.

11. 2)Vocabulary is controlled at first (based on frequency and usefulness) and then expanded. 3)Translation is once more a respectable classroom procedure. 4)Reading comprehension is the only language skill emphasized. 5)The teacher does not need to have good oral proficiency in the target language.

12. 4- Audiolingual Approach (a reaction to the Reading Approach and its lack of emphasis on oral-aural skills; this approach became dominant in the United States during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s; it draws from the Reform Movement and the Direct Approach but adds features from structural linguistics [Bloomfield, 1933] and behavioral psychology[Skinner, 1957]. 1.Lessons begin with dialogues.

13. 2.Mimicry and memorization are used, based on the assumption that language is habit formation. 3.Grammatical structures are sequenced and rules are taught inductively. 4.Skills are sequenced : listening, speaking- reading, writing postponed. 5.Pronunciation is stressed from the beginning. 6.Vocabulary is severely limited in initial stages. 7.A great effort is made to prevent learner errors.

14. 8.Language is often manipulated without regard to meaning or context. 9.The teacher must be proficient only in the structures, vocabulary, etc. that he or she is teaching since learning activities and materials are carefully controlled. 10.Foreign language learning is a process of habit formation. 11.Errors are the result of L1 interference. 12.No grammatical explanation.

15. ( a reaction to the Reading Approach and its lack of emphasis on oral-aural skills; this approach was dominant in Britain during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s; it draws from the Reform Movement and the Direct Approach but adds features from Firthian linguistics and the emerging professional field of language pedagogy). 5- oral-Situational Approach 13.Learning vocabulary is in context. 14.It is teacher-centered. 15.Use of tapes and visual aids.

16. 1.The spoken language is primary. 2.All language material is practised orally before being presented in written form (reading and writing are taught only after an oral base in lexical and grammatical forms has been established). 3.Only the target language should be used in the classroom. 4.Efforts are made to ensure that the most general and useful lexical items are presented.

17. 5.Grammatical structures are graded from simple to complex. 6.New items (lexical and grammatical) are introduced and practised situationally (e.g., at the post office, at the bank, at the dinner table). 7.Vocabulary is considered a very important aspect. 8.Grammar is learned inductively. 9.Students are expected to deduce word meaning from context.

18. 10.Oral language comes first, then written language. 11.Language learning is a habit formation. 12.Language skills are presented orally.

19. 6-Cognitive Approach (a reaction to the behaviorist features of the Audiolingual Approach; influenced by cognitive psychology [Neisser, 1967] and Chomskyan linguistics [Chomsky, 1959,1965]). 1.Language learning is viewed as rule acquisition, not habit formation. 2.Instruction is often individualized; learners are responsible for their own learning.

20. 3.Grammar must be taught but it can be taught deductively (rules first, practice later) and or inductively (rules can either be stated after practice or left as implicit information for the learners to process on their own). 4.Pronunciation is de-emphasized; perfection is viewed as unrealistic and unattainable. 5.Reading and writing are once again as important as listening and speaking.

21. 6.Vocabulary instruction is once again important, especially at intermediate and advanced levels. 7.Errors are viewed as inevitable, to be used constructively in the learning process. 8.The teacher is expected to have good general proficiency in the target language as well as an ability to analyze the target language.

22. 7- Affective-Humanistic Approach (a reaction to the general lack of affective considerations in both Audiolingualism and the Cognitive Approach; e.g., Moskowitz, 1978 and Curran, 1976). 1.Respect is emphasized for the individual (each student, the teacher) and for his or her feelings. 2.Communication that is meaningful to the learner is emphasized. 3.Instruction involves much work in pairs and small groups.

23. 4.Class atmosphere is viewed as more important than materials or methods. 5.Peer support and interaction are viewed as necessary for learning. 6.Learning a foreign language is viewed as a self-realization experience. 7.The teacher is counselor or facilitator. 8.The teacher should be proficient in the target language and the student’s native language since translation may be used heavily in the initial stages to help students feel at ease; later it is gradually phased out.

24. 8-Comprehension-Based Approach ( an out-growth of research in first language acquisition that led some language methodologists to assume that second or foreign language learning is very similar to first language acquisition; e.g., Postovsky, 1974; Winitz, 1981; Krashen and Terrell, 1983). 1.Listening comprehension is very important and is viewed as the basic skill that will allow speaking, reading, and writing to develop spontaneously over time, given the right conditions.

25. 2.Learners should begin by listening to meaningful speech and by responding nonverbally in meaningful ways before they produce any language themselves. 3.Learners should not speak until they feel ready to do so, this results in better pronunciation than if the learner is forced to speak immediately. 4.Learners progress by being exposed to meaningful input that is just one step beyond their level of competence.

26. 5.Rule learning may help learners monitor (or become aware of ) what they do, but it will not aid their acquisition or spontaneous use of the target language. 6.Error correction is seen as unnecessary and perhaps even counterproductive; the important thing is that the learners can understand and can make themselves understood. 7.If the teacher is not a native (or near-native) speaker, appropriate materials such as audiotapes and videotapes must be available to provide the appropriate input for the learners.

27. 9- communicative Approach (an outgrowth of the work of anthropological linguists [e.g., Hymes 1972] and Firthian linguists [e.g., Halliday, 1973], who view language first and formost as a system for communication). 1.It is assumed that the goal of language teaching is learner ability to communicate in the target language. 2.It is assumed that the content of a language course will include semantic notions and social functions, not just linguistic structures.

28. 3.Students regularly work in groups or pairs to transfer ( and, if necessary, negotiate) meaning in situations in which one person has information that the other(s) lack. 4.Students often engage in role play or dramatization to adjust their use of the target language to different social contexts. 5.Classroom materials and activities are often authentic to reflect real- life situations and demands.

29. 6.Skills are integrated from the beginning; a given activity might involve reading, speaking, Listening, and also writing ( this assumes the learners are ( this assumes the learners are educated and literate). 7.The teacher’s role is primarily to facilitate communication and only secondarily to correct errors. 8.The teacher should be able to use the target language fluently and appropriately.

30. 10-The Total Physical Response (TPR) 1)This approach emphasizes that the door of understanding is first opened as children respond meaningfully to a particular type of input-namely, directives in context-clear situations that invite an action response rather than a verbal response. 2)Their early social interaction is through a physical response to invitations for movement such as “Hey, come on!” “let’s run” “throw the ball”.

31. 3)The request is galvanized immediately into action, i.e., the asked for physical response take place and be visible, so that both parties in the communication can see at once how the message was understood. 4)The mechanism is short and simple: (1) the directive, (2) the hearing and interpretation of the directive, (3) the visible confirmation or disconfirmation of comprehension.

32. 5)At the start of TPR training a teacher plays “follow the leader” or “ do what I do”, modeling a couple of actions (e.g., stand up!, sit down!) the first time or two in calling For those actions. This enables the learner to infer (and “perform”) the tie between the command the desired action. 6)Commands for single actions quickly give way to two or three actions in sequence (stand up, walk to the sofa, and sit down),

33. and then to more complicated actions, sometimes involving imaginary scenarios (John sit in the car, tarn the key, look around, and honk the horn twice). For certain effect, some teachers occasionally turn TPR into the game “Somebody says….”. 7)Instruction in how to do or make things through a succession of connected activities- for example how to create a doll out of a sock- lends itself easily to TPR.

34. 8)The simplicity, logic, and power of TPR has stimulated the development of syllabuses for teaching various languages. 9)The criticism against this approach is that it deals with language in too general a way and fails to train students to perform “ survival” functions, such as exchanging greetings, asking directions, and ordering a meal.

35. 10)TPR attaches great importance and emphasis to listening and comprehension skills. 11)A language teacher utters an order in the foreign language and then models it with physical action. 12)Learners are encouraged to execute the order with the appropriate body movement.

36. 13)Learners normally utter the same commands unintentionally and make a correlation between sound and movement when they respond to the commands physically. 14)Advocates claim that the method enhances memory. 15)Gradually they begin to speak L2 freely and move to other language skills i.e., reading and writing.

37. 16)Abstract vocabulary and tenses are taught through the use of pictures and a combination of familiar orders. 17)Novelty and creativity in the creation of commands are extremely stressed.

38. Best of luck Dr. Nissrein Abdel Bassett El-Enany