English Language Teaching

Summary
Inthismodule,wewilldiscussthevarietyofwaysinwhichEnglishisusedasagloballanguage
todayandtheeffectsthesepracticeshavehadonstudentmotivationandlearningneeds.English
LanguageTeaching(ELT)theories,approachesandmethodshavealsochangedthroughouttheyears
tomatchemerginglearnerneeds.ConsiderationofabriefhistoryofELTpracticewillbeusefulasyou
contextualisecurrenttrendsinELTpracticesandmakeinformeddecisionsaboutthemosteffective
approaches,methodsandtechniquestousewithlearnersinyourteachingcontext.Wewillthenlook
athowlearnerlevelsareclassifiedandconsiderstudentcompetencieswithreferencetotheCommon
EuropeanFrameworkofReference(CEFR).Itwillbeusefultoreferbacktothismoduleasyou
progressthroughthecourse.

Objectives
Bytheendofthismodule,youwill:
HaveagreaterawarenessofhowEnglishisusedasagloballanguage.
BeawareofdifferentEnglishlanguagelearnermotivationsandneeds.
KnowabouthistoricandcurrentELTtheories,methodsandapproachesandtheinfluencethese
havehadoncurrenttrendsinELTpractices.
Befamiliarwithlearnerlevelsandcompetencies,withreferencetotheCEFR.

Site: PremierTEFL
Course: 120hrHourAdvancedTEFLQualification(TeachingEnglishasaForeignLanguage)
Book: EnglishLanguageTeaching
Printedby: MesutYayla
Date: Wednesday,7September2016,9:05AM

Questions?

Weareonlne
Table of contents
1Introductiontothecourse
2EnglishasaGlobalLanguage
3ABriefHistoryoftheEnglishLanguage
4WhyHasEnglishBecomeaGlobalLanguage?
5StudentMotivationandLearningNeeds
6LearnerMotivation
7ABriefHistoryofEnglishLanguageTeaching
8TheGrammarTranslationMethod
9TheDirectMethod
10TheAudioLingualMethod
11SituationalLanguageTeaching
12TheCommunicativeApproach
13AlternativeApproachesandMethods
14TheSilentWay
15CommunityLanguageLearning
16Suggestopedia
17MultipleIntelligences
18NeuroLinguisticProgramming
19TheLexicalApproach
20CurrentTrendsinELTPractice
21TaskBasedLearning
22PrincipledEclecticism
23ContinuingInnovation
24LearnerLevels
25LevelCompetenciesandCanDoStatements
26ReflectiveTask7
27References
28FurtherReading
29UsefulWebsites

Questions?

Weareonlne
1 Introduction to the course
Introduction to Premier TEFL

Questions?

Weareonlne
2 English as a Global Language
How English is used today
Today,Englishisthesecondorthirdmostpopularmotherlanguageintheworld.Withanestimated
350400millionnativespeakers,Englishisalsousedgloballyasalinguafrancaorcommontongue
byastaggeringnumberofnonnativeEnglishspeakersaroundtheworld.Anestimated1.52billion
peopleaquarteroftheworldspopulationnowhaveatleastsomebasicEnglishcompetencein
speakingand/orwriting(1).AsyouaretakinganonlineELTcourse,youaremostlikelyfluentin
English,althoughitmaynotbetheonlylanguageyouspeak,anditmaynotbeyourfirstlanguage.
YoumayalsobefamiliarwithdifferentvarietiesofEnglishandhavedifferentexperiencesofusing
English.
Reflective Task 1
WhichvarietiesofEnglishareyoufamiliarwith?YoumaywanttothinkabouthowEnglishis
spokenbynativespeakers,aswellasnonnativespeakersthroughouttheworld.
Doyoualwayscommunicatewithnativespeakersordoyoualsocommunicatewithnonnative
speakersusingEnglishasalinguafranca?
AsEnglishisspokenasanativelanguageintheUnitedKingdom,theUSA,Canada,Australia,New
Zealand,Ireland,SouthAfricaandothernations,youmaybefamiliarwiththevariationsinEnglish
spokeninthesedifferentcountries.YoumaybeinapositiontorecognizeEnglishvarietiessuchas
IndianEnglish,avarietyofEnglishusedintheIndiansubcontinentasasecondorofficiallanguage.
PerhapsyouhavecomeacrossvarietiesofEnglishsuchasJamaicanPatoisaswellasregional
dialects.Additionally,youmayhavebeenexposedtoEnglishspokenasaforeignlanguageamong
nonnativespeakers.
Inyourdailylife,thereisahighchanceyoucommunicatewithawiderangeofnativespeakersin
differentways.Forexample,youwillprobablyusemoreinformallanguagewithyourfriendsand
familycomparedtoyourbossorapersonofauthority.Furthermore,youmaycommunicatewithnon
nativespeakersofEnglishthroughworkorwhenusingEnglishtocommunicateonholiday.Whatever
yourpersonalexperienceofcommunicatinginEnglish,youwillfindthatEnglishiswidelyusedasa
linguafranca.

Questions?

Weareonlne
3 A Brief History of the English Language
Itisestimatedthatthereareroughly6,500spokenlanguagesintheworldtoday.However,about2,000
oftheselanguageshavefewerthan1,000speakers(2).Therefore,thereisclearlyaneedformore
popularlanguagestobeusedaslinguafrancastoaidcommunicationwithincountries,continentsand
fieldsofindustry.
Indeed,theconceptofalinguafrancaisnotnewascanbeexemplifiedinthehistoryofBritainand
theEnglishlanguageitself.DuringtheRomanoccupation(AD43410),Britainwasamultilingual
community,speakingarangeofCelticdialects.TheofficiallanguageatthistimewasLatin,the
languageofgovernmentandtrade.Latinremainedaninternationallanguage,closelyassociatedwith
church,lawandeducationwithinBritainandEuropeforcenturiesafterthecollapseoftheRoman
Empire.
AftertheNormanConquestof1066inBritain,Frenchbecamethelinguafranca.From1337,England
wasatwarwithFranceforoveracentury,leadingtoantiFrenchfeelingandthedevelopmentofa
standardizedformofEnglishtoreplaceFrenchasanationallanguage.Theideathatanational
languagewasneededtosecurepoliticalrecognitionbegantodevelopthroughoutEuropeinthe
fifteenthcentury.
Duringthesixteenthandseventeenthcentury,Europemadethetransitionfrommedievaltomodern
society.Modernityasastateofminddescribesanintellectualoutlook,basedontheRenaissance
movementandalsotheeconomicandsocialconditionbasedoncapitalism.TheRenaissanceor
revivaloflearningstartedinItalyandspreadacrossEurope,leadingtotherediscoveryofclassical
worksofGreekandRomanscholars.
TheinventionofprintinginGermanymadeitpossiblefortheseworkstobetranslatedintovernacular
languagesanddistributedtoarangeofpeople,includingthenewmerchantclass,whohadmoneybut
notaLatinbasededucation.Europeanvernacularlanguagesroseinstatus,basedontheRenaissance
viewoflanguageasacommunicativetooltobeusedconsciouslyinsocialadvancements.
SelectingonevarietyasthebasisforastandardformofEnglishwasthefirststepintransforming
EnglishfromavernacularlanguageintoastandardizedvarietythatidentifiedEnglandasanation
state.Astandardizedvarietyprovidesamodelwithminimalvariationinform,maximalvariationin
function,(3)withagreednormsofusage,codifiedindictionariesandgrammars.
Inthesixteenthcentury,Englishbegantobetaughtinschoolsandbecametheobjectofstudyby
peoplewithapracticalinterestinthecorrectuseofEnglish.LilysShortIntroductiontoGrammar,
basingthegrammaticalanalysisofEnglishonLatin,wasprintedin1523andremainedthenational
grammarforcenturies.BullokersBrefGrammarforEnglishwaslaterprintedandsoughttoexplain
EnglishinEnglishtermsandalsorationalizeEnglishspelling,vocabularyandgrammar.Theword
standardmeaninglevelofexcellencewasfirstappliedtolanguageintheeighteenthcenturyanda
definitivedictionarywaswrittenbyJohnsonin1755.
AftertheReformationof1534,KingHenryVIIIbrokewiththeCatholicChurch,traditionallythe
mostpowerfulinstitutioninEurope.AstheProtestantmonarchyroseinpower,theBiblewas
translatedintoEnglishin1526,followedbyTheBookofCommonPrayer.AgroupofEnglishauthors
includingShakespearedecidedtomakeEnglishmoreeloquent,soitcouldbeusedinliteratureand
poetry,andanationalliteraturecouldbecreatedexpressingtheindividualculturalidentityofEngland.
Duringtheyears15001700,over30,000newwordswereaddedtotheEnglishvocabulary(4).During
theseventeenthcentury,therewasalsoarapidgrowthofscientificdiscoveryinEngland,which
causedanassociatedexpansionofEnglishtocaterforthesenewformsofwriting.Overtheyears,
Englishcontinuedtodevelopintothelanguagewespeaktoday.
Questions?

Weareonlne
4 Why Has English Become a Global Language?
Sofar,wehaveconsideredthestatusofEnglishasalinguafrancatoday,theneedforalinguafranca
andthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguageasanationallanguage.However,noneofthisexplainswhy
Englishcametobesoprevalentworldwidetoday.
Reflective Task 2
WhichfactorsdoyouthinkledtoEnglishbecomingagloballanguage?
YoumayhavethoughtaboutthespreadoftheBritishEmpire,thepoliticaldominanceoftheUnited
StatesofAmerica,therapidgrowthofscientificdiscoveriesinEnglishspeakingcountries,English
popularmusicandentertainmentaswellasothers.Indeed,Englishisusedasalinguafrancaina
rangeofdifferentfieldsincludingaviation,business,science,computing,education,politicsand
entertainmentaswellasothers.Considersomeoftheexamplesbelow:(5)
Over90%ofinternationalairlinesuseEnglishasalanguageofcommunicationevenbetween
speakersofthesamefirstlanguage.
TwothirdsofscientificpapersarepublishedinEnglishdespitejusthalfofthesebeingwrittenby
Englishnativespeakers.
HalfofallbusinessdealsareconductedinEnglish.
PopularmusicisdominatedbyEnglish.
AmericantelevisionaswellastheBBCareavailablealmosteverywhere.
HalfoftheworldnewspapersarewritteninEnglish.
75%ofworldmailcorrespondenceisinEnglish.
35%ofInternetusersareEnglishnativespeakers,but7080%ofthecontentiswritteninEnglish.
JointventuressuchastheAsiantradegroupASEANandtheoilexportinggroupOPECuse
Englishastheirworkinglanguage.
TheinitialspreadandadoptionofEnglishasalinguafrancawascausedbythespreadoftheBritish
Empire,whichwasthelargestformalempirethattheworldhadeverknown.Itsinfluenceandpower
stretchedallovertheglobeasBritaincolonizedcountriesonalmosteverycontinent.Englishbecame
fairlylargewiththeeverexpandingAmericancoloniesintheseventeenthandeighteenthcenturies.
WorldWarOneappearedtoaddyetmorecoloniestotheBritishEmpireintheformofmandates,and
itwasestimatedthattheBritishEmpirecoveredbetweenaquarterandathirdoftheglobe(6).
AftertheSecondWorldWar,theBritishEmpiredeclinedandshrankasmoreformercoloniesclaimed
independence.IndiawasthefirstandlargestareatoleavetheEmpire,followedbytheMiddleEast,
Africancolonies,andCaribbeanandPacificpossessionswithHongKongbeingthelastofthemajor
coloniestobelost.
Thoughclaimingindependence,formercoloniessuchasIndiafounditusefultoretainEnglishasa
mediumofcommunicationtounitepopulationswhospokeanumberofdifferentregionallanguages
anddialects.Englishisbelievedtobetheofficialorsemiofficiallanguageinoversixtycountriesin
theworld(7).
AstheBritishEmpiredeclined,thepowerandinfluenceofoneofitsformercolonies,theUnited
StatesofAmericagrew,leadingtotheEnglishlanguagedominatingarangeoffieldsandbecoming
thedominantlanguageofworldcommunication.ThisledtoanexplosionofinterestintheEnglish
languagewhichhasgrownastheworldenteredthemodernageofwebbasedglobalcommunication.
Questions?
Englishhasindeedbecomealanguageonwhichthesundoesnotset(8).

Weareonlne
5 Student Motivation and Learning Needs
Who is learning English today?

Reflective Task 3
FromourconsiderationofhowEnglishisusedasalinguafranca,whattypesofpeopleare
learningEnglishtoday?

Theshortanswertothequestioniseveryone.Anincreasinglydiversenumberofpeopleareactively
learningorimprovingtheirEnglishfromallages,nationalitiesandwalksoflife.Therearecurrently
500BritishCouncilAccreditedEnglishlanguageschoolsintheUnitedKingdomalone(9)aswellasa
growingnumberoflanguageschoolsopeningworldwideinEnglishandnonEnglishspeaking
countries.ThoughsomeEnglishlanguagelearnersdecidetolearnEnglishastheyfeelitisusefulfor
globalcommunication,moreandmorelearnershavespecificlearnerneedsandgoals.
Inrecentyears,therehasalsobeenanincreaseinonlinelanguagecoursesandtuition,mainlycatering
forbusybusinessprofessionals.Somelanguageschoolsalsooffercorporatecoursesorprivatelessons
totailortotheselearnersspecificlanguageneeds.AsEnglishispredominantlyusedasalanguageof
communicationamongbusinessprofessionalsfromdifferentlands,theselearnersneedtobefamiliar
withspecificvocabularyandfunctionallanguagetouseinbusinesssettingssuchasmeetings,
negotiating,bargainingandsoon.
Additionally,manybusinessprofessionalsfromdifferentfieldsalsorequiretuitioninEnglishfor
SpecificPurposes.Coursesandresourcesareavailableforspecificpurposeslikeaviation,medical
Englishandlaw.Theneedforsuchcourseshasincreaseddramaticallyinrecentyears.

Reflective Task 4
HavealookatthehomepageofKeltic,www.keltic.co.uk.KelticisanonlineELTmaterialsprovider.
Underthecategory,EnglishforSpecificPurposes,youwillbeabletoseethevastamountofresources
availableforESP.
WhichESPcourseswouldyoufindinterestingtoteach?

ExamPreparationCoursesarealsopopularwithstudentsfromavarietyofcountriesfordifferent
reasons.
ProficiencyExams,suchasCambridgeEnglishAdvanced(CEA),aretakenbystudentswhowant
toshowfutureemployersthattheyhaveattainedacertainlevelofEnglish.Studentsplacealotof
importanceontheseexamsasEnglishproficiencyiseitherrequiredordesiredforarangeof
professions.Teenversionsofpopularexamsarealsoavailableasmanyparentsandinstitutions
encouragechildrentopassthesequalificationsbeforeenteringhighereducationoremployment.
Studentsalsotakeexamstofulfillvisarequirementsorforemigrationpurposes.TheIELTS
examination(InternationalEnglishLanguageTestingSystem)isoftenusedforthispurpose,
especiallyintheUK,AustraliaandCanada.
ForeignstudentswhowishtoenterhighereducationintheUKandotherEnglishspeaking
countriesalsoneedtotakeanEnglishexaminationtoshowtheyhavetherequiredEnglishlevelto
Questions?
studyonatertiarycourseusingEnglishasthemodeofinstruction.IELTSispredominantlyused
forthispurpose,asthisexamtestsastudentsproficiencyinAcademicEnglish.IntheUSA,
TOEFL(TestofEnglishasaForeignLanguage)isusedforasimilarpurpose. Weareonlne
 BusinessExams,suchasBECandBULATSarealsopopularforstudentswhowishto
demonstratetheirproficiencyinBusinessEnglish.TherearealsosomeESPexamssuchas
CambridgeILEC(InternationalLegalEnglishCertificate).

Reflective Task 5
OneofthemainaccreditationbodiesforEnglishLanguageexamsisCambridgeESOL.Their
site,www.cambridgeenglish.org/examsisausefulresourceforstudents,parents,providersand
teachers.
Havealookat3differentexams(ormore)tofamiliaryourselfwiththedifferentexamsavailable
forlearners.YoumaywanttolookataGeneralEnglishexam,BusinessexamandaYoung
Learnersexam.

ManyprovidersalsoofferEnglishforAcademicPurposes(EAP)coursesforlearnerswhowishto
studyundergraduateandpostgraduatequalificationsinEnglish.Theselearnerscanalsoattend
foundationcoursesatuniversitiesorcollegesbeforetheirundergraduateorpostgraduatecoursesstart,
toensuretheirEnglishisthecorrectlevelforacademicstudy.
Inadditiontoadultlanguagelearners,moreandmoreELTproviderscaterforyounglearners.Parents
worldwideplacealotofimportanceontheirchildrenmasteringEnglish,whichseenasvitalfortheir
futurecareers.JuniorsummerschoolsintheUK,otherEnglishspeakingcountriesandworldwide
caterforyounglearnersfromawiderangeofcountrieseachyear.Someyounglearnersalsoattend
weeklyEnglishlanguagecoursesintheirhomecountriesandlearnersaregettingyoungerand
younger.Forexample,alargelanguageproviderinMoscowhasacampusdedicatedtoteaching
younglearnersasyoungas3yearsold.
Englishisalsoincreasinglybeingusedinschools,notonlyinforeignlanguageclassesbutasamode
ofinstructionforsubjectssuchasscience.ThistypeofteachingisknownasCLILContentand
LanguageIntegratedLearning.CLILresultsinthesimultaneouslearningoflanguageandcontent.
InModule9,wewillconsiderdifferentlearnersandclassesinmoredetail.However,itisusefulto
haveanawarenessoftherangeofdifferentlearnerneedswhileconsideringlearnerneedsand
motivation.

Questions?

Weareonlne
6 Learner Motivation
Motivationisidentifiedasbeingacrucialfactorinthelearningprocess,andresearchshowsthatthere
isacorrelationbetweenmotivationandachievement.Motivationhasbeendefinedas:
Morethansimplyarousinginterest,italsoinvolvesmakingadecisiontoact,sustainingtheinterest,
anddecidinghowmuchefforttoputin(10)
Cognitivepsychologistshavemadeadistinctionbetweenextrinsicandintrinsicmotivation:
Extrinsicmotivationleadsyoutodosomethingbecauseofsomeexternalpressure,forexample,a
possiblepromotionatwork,orpressurefromparents.
Intrinsicmotivationleadsyoutodosomethingbecauseofsomeinternaldesire,suchaspleasure
andinterestinlearning.
Researchseemstoindicatethat,althoughmanystudentshaveextrinsicmotivationtolearnEnglish,
intrinsicmotivationleadstobetterlongtermlearning.Therearesomelearnerswhoenjoylearning
Englishandotherlanguagesforpleasure.TeachersofEnglishalsooftenenjoystudyinglanguagestoo.
However,asthismodulehasshown,thereisanoverwhelmingrangeofextrinsicmotivationalfactors
thatleadtostudentsembarkingonanEnglishlanguagecourse.Itisusefulforteachersandlearnersto
considerextrinsicandintrinsicmotivationandthisisoftenconsideredduringaninitialneedsanalysis
andtutorials.

Reflective Task 6
Thinkaboutalanguageyouhavelearnedorwouldliketolearn.
Whatwere/areyourextrinsicandintrinsicmotivationalfactors?

Youmayhavelearnedaforeignlanguageatschoolaspartofanationalcurriculum.Ifso,theexternal
motivationalfactorwastheeducationalauthorityofyourcountry.However,youmayhaveenjoyed
workingwithyourclassmates,likedtheteacherandenjoyedusingthelanguageonacultural
exchangevisit.Theseareallintrinsicmotivationalfactors.
Youmayhavestudiedaforeignlanguagetocommunicatebetteronholidayorwhilelivingabroad.
Extrinsicmotivationalfactorswouldincludebasicsurvival,whileintrinsicmotivationwouldinclude
beingproudofbeingabletocommunicatewithnativespeakersoftheforeignlanguagewithout
resortingtousingEnglish.
InModule2,wewillconsiderwaysthatateachercanhelptodevelopintrinsicmotivationamong
learnersbut,fornow,itisimportanttohaveanawarenessofmotivationalfactors.

Questions?

Weareonlne
7 A Brief History of English Language Teaching
CurrenttrendsinEnglishlanguageteachinghavebeeninfluencedbyallsortsoftheoryandpractice,
withnewdevelopmentsintheoryandpracticeunderwayinmoderntimes.Inthissection,wewill
considertheoriesoflanguageacquisitiontotheemergenceofdifferentapproachesandmethodswhich
stillinfluenceELTclassroomstoday.

Theories of Language Acquisition

Everythingthathappensinaclassroomenvironmentisinformedbysomekindofmethodologyand
theoryoflanguagelearning.Languageacquisitiontheorywassimpleuntilthe1950s,andfromthen
onitlaybehindalllanguageteachingmethodology.
Thereare3maintheoriesoflanguageacquisitiontabulatedbelow:

ViewofLanguage
Theory Proponent ViewofLanguage
AcquisitionProcess

Imitation
Languageisan Repetition
Behaviorist Skinner
acquiredbehavior Positive/negative
reinforcement

Hypothesizing
Languageisasetof
CognitiveMentalist Chomsky Trialanderror
rulestobelearned
Creativity

LearningTypes
Humanism Maslow Focusonthestudent Personalization
PersonalGoals

TheBehavioristTheoryisbasedonthewaybabiesandchildrennaturallyacquirelanguagethrough
observingandimitatingbehavior.Learningisviewedasoneofhabitationandconditioning.Emphasis
isonrepetitionandimitationratherthanthestudentintellectuallyanalyzinglanguagethemselves.
Activitieswherelearnerslistenandrepeatphrasesfromtheteacherarecommon.Proponentsofthis
theorybelievedthatlearninginthiswaywaslessofamentalburdenandrelativelyeffortless.
TheCognitiveMentalistattachesmoreimportancetothelearnersunderstandingofthestructureof
theforeignlanguage.Advocatesofthistheorybelievedthatifstudentsunderstoodthestructureor
grammarofalanguage,theycouldthenusethesestructurestocreatelanguagethemselvestobeused
inmeaningfulsituations.Thiswasfelttobemoreflexiblethanbehavioristteachingmethodologies.
Emphasisisoninductiveteaching,encouraginglearnerstoexperimentwithlanguageandworkout
grammarrulesthemselves,basedonexamples.Mistakesareseentobepositive,astheyareevidence
thatthelearnerisexperimentingwithlanguage.
TheHumanistTheoryisbasedonMaslowshierarchyofneeds,reproducedbelow.(11)
Maslowstheorywasthat,forsuccessfullearningtotakeplace,studentsinitiallyneedtheirbasic
Questions?
needsmet(forexample,foodandwater)andtheirsensesstimulated.Theyneedtodevelopasenseof
selfworthandselfesteemwithintheclassandbeguidedtowardsmeetingtheirpersonalgoals.This
Weareonlne
theoryhasledtothedevelopmentofapproachesandmethodologieswhichfocusondifferentlearner
typespersonalizationactivitieslearnercenteredlearningfluencyratherthanaccuracyandensuring
activitiesandmaterialsarefunandengaging.

Activity1
Lookattheactivitiesbelowanddecidewhethertheyarebasedon
Behaviorism,CognitiveMentalismorHumanism:
1)Learnersanalyzesentencesusingdifferentpasttensesanddecidewhy
thetensesareused.
2)Studentslistentotheteachermodelasentenceandrepeatit.
3)Ateacherchoosesatextaboutfootballbecausesheknowsthiswill
interestherstudents.
4)Aschooldecoratesclassroomswithcolorfulmuralsandposters.
5)Ateacherpraisesherstudentforgivingthecorrectanswer.
6)Studentsspeakaboutatopic,givingtheiropinions,withoutworrying
aboutmakingmistakes.

AnswerKey
1.CognitiveMentalism
2.Behaviorism
3.Humanism
4.Humanism
5.Behaviorism
6.CognitiveMentalism

Nowwehavelookedatthreemaintheoriesoflanguageacquisition,wewillmoveontoconsider
differentEnglishlanguageteachingmethodsandapproaches,fromtraditionalapproachestomore
alternativeapproachesandcurrenttrends.
Themethodologyofforeignlanguageteachingwasfirstapproachedthoughtfullyinthenineteenth
centurywiththemainsequenceofapproachesintheUKsummarizedasfollows:
GrammarTranslationDirectMethodCommunicativeApproach

Questions?

Weareonlne
8 The GrammarTranslation Method
FromourconsiderationofthehistoryoftheEnglishlanguage,weknowthatearlyEnglishgrammars
werebasedonhowclassicallanguagesLatinandGreekwerestructured.Likewise,thegrammar
translationmethod,usedfromthenineteenthcentury,wasbasedonthewayclassicallanguageswere
taught.Itsnamerevealswhatthemethodwasbasedonnamelygrammarandtranslation.Thismethod
wasgrammarcentered,withgrammarrulespresentedinnumberedsentencesinthestudentsfirst
languagewithnorealcontext.Thestudentwasthengivenexercisestocomplete,translatingthem
fromtheirfirstlanguagetotheforeignlanguageandviceversa.Studentspracticedthelanguageorally
byreadingaloud.Therewaslittlefocusonlearningvocabularyorcommunicativeactivities.Often
studentshadagoodpassiveknowledgeofthegrammaticalrulesofthelanguageandwereableto
writefairlyaccurately.However,theystruggledtoperformabasictaskintheforeignlanguagelike
orderamealinarestaurant.
Evennow,thegrammartranslationmethodisstilloneofthemainwaysinwhichlanguagesare
taught.ManyEnglishlanguagestudentswhoarecurrentlystudyinginclasseswhichusemore
communicativemethodshaveprobablypreviouslybeentaughtEnglishusingthegrammartranslation
method.Theselearnerswillhavealargebodyofpassiveknowledgebuthavelimitedspeakingability.
Thiscanbefrustratingforlearners,butausefulresourceforteachers,asbeingabletoactivatethe
languagetheyhavepreviouslylearnedcanproveextremelymotivationalforlearners.

Questions?

Weareonlne
9 The Direct Method
Anincreaseintravelcreatedtheneedforlearnerstospeakforeignlanguages.Thedirectmethod
emergedinthenineteenthcenturyasanalternativetogrammartranslation.Amethodwaslaunched
thatputoralproficiencyasthemainaimoflanguagelearning.Proponentsarguedthatlanguage:
couldbetaughtwithouttranslationortheuseofthelearnersnativelanguageifmeaningwas
conveyeddirectlythroughdemonstrationandaction.(12)
Thedirectmethodhadtwomainprinciples:
Theteachingisallintheforeignlanguage.
Thereisanemphasisonspeaking.
Thesetwoprincipleswereradicalinnovationsatthetimebutarenowthetwofundamentalpillarson
whichlanguagelearningisbasedtoday.Teachersusingthedirectmethodencourageddirectand
spontaneoususeoftheforeignlanguageintheclassroom.Learnerswouldtheninducerulesof
grammarfromcontext.Alotofattentionwasgiventopronunciation,usingthetechniqueofdrilling,
inwhichtheteachermodelsthetargetlanguageandstudentsrepeat.Vocabularywasalsoviewedas
importantandtaughtusingmime,demonstrationsandpictures.Thedirectmethodwasverysuccessful
inprivatelanguagechainssuchasBerlitz,wherepayingclientshadhighmotivationtoimprovetheir
speakingskills.
Thedirectmethod,thoughinnovativeatthetime,wasnotidealasitstillcontinuedtohavea
grammaticalviewoflanguageandsomeofthedialoguesandlanguagetaughtinclassdidnot
accuratelyreflecthowlanguageisactuallyused.

Questions?

Weareonlne
10 The AudioLingual Method
Inthe1950s,thedirectmethodbecametheoreticallymorethoughtoutandextended.Itwasthebasis
oflanguageteachingprogramsoftheUSArmedForces,whentheUSAneededtoteachoral
proficiencytoalargenumberoftroopsquickly.Thismethodwasknownastheaudiolingualmethod,
orcolloquiallyastheG.I.Method.Thesameprincipleslaybehindthedirectmethodandtheaudio
lingualmethodbuttheaudiolingualmethodwasbasedonthebehavioristtheoryofchildlanguage
acquisition.Itwasnoticedthatchildrenlearntospeaklanguageswithnoreferencetogrammaratall.
Speechbecameahabittobeacquiredwithlearnersrequiredtolisten,repeatandunderstandkey
wordsandphraseswhichtheycouldthenreproducewhenneededtocommunicatewithspeakersof
thetargetlanguage.Theaudiolingualmethodisstillusedtodayinsomelanguagesschoolsandina
varietyofonlineandaudiolanguagelearningpackages.Youhavemostlikelyseensuchlanguage
coursessoldinbookshopsandonline.

Questions?

Weareonlne
11 Situational Language Teaching
Inthe1950s,theoralapproachandsituationallanguageteachingappearedasanalternativetoaudio
lingualism,andwasalsobasedonthebehavioristtheoryoflanguageacquisition.Appliedlinguistics
maturedintoascientificdiscipline.Itworksonwordfrequency,structuralcomplexityandreallife
contextprovidedobjectivesonwhattoteachandwhentoteachit.Theemphasiswasonintroducing
newlanguagetostudentsinsituationsinwhichtheymightneedtouseit.Forexample,asking
studentstousefuturegrammaticalstructurestotalkabouttheirweekendplansorusepasttensesto
describetheirlastholiday.ThisemergedasthestandardEFLapproach.
Situationallanguageteachinghasaninductiveapproachtotheteachingofgrammar,withthemeaning
ofwordsandphrasesinducedfromthewaylanguageisusedincontext.Ithasastructuralsyllabus
andwordlist.Intheinitialstagesoflearning,learnersarerequiredtolistenandrepeatwithaccuracy
viewedasmoreimportantthanfluency.Later,activeparticipationisencouragedincontrolledpractice
activities.Lessonsareteacherdirectedandtextbookdependent.
TheessentialfeaturesofsituationallanguageteachingareseeninthePPPlessonmodel,widely
taughttoEFLteachersinthe1980s/1990s.
ThePPPlessonmodelhadthreephases:
Presentationintroductionofthenewteachingitemincontext
Practicecontrolledpracticeofthisitem
Productionafreerpracticephase
Forexample,ateachercouldteachthePresentPerfecttenseusedinthemodelsentenceIhavebeen
toTurkeyinthefollowingway:
Presentation
Theteacherdrawsapictureofaman,airplane,passportetc.ontheboard,plusapictureofTurkey
orIstanbul.
Theteacherelicitsorteachesthevocabulary.
Theteacheraskssimplequestionstoestablishthecontexte.g.Whereistheman?Wheredidhe
goonholiday?
TheteacherelicitsorteachesthemodelsentenceIhavebeentoTurkey.
Practice
Theteacherasksthestudentstolistentohersaythemodelsentenceclearly.
Thestudentsrepeatasagroup.
Thisprocessisrepeatedwiththeteacherfocusingonpronunciation.
Theteacherasksindividualstudentstorepeatthemodelsentence,correctingpronunciationif
needed.
Theteacherwritesthemodelsentenceontheboard.
Theteacheranalysesthelanguageontheboard,showingstudentshowtomakethegrammatical
structure.
ControlledpracticecontinueswiththeteacheraskingthequestionWherehaveyoubeen?and
thestudentsreplyingIhavebeentoTurkey.
Studentsthenworkinpairsandtaketurnstoaskandanswerthemodelquestionandanswer.
Theteachermonitorsthepairsandhelpsifneeded.
Production
Theteachergraduallyintroducesmorefreepracticeactivities,askinglearnerswheretheyhave
been.Studentsanswergivingpersonalanswers,usingthetargetlanguagee.g.Ihavebeento
Questions?
Spain.
Weareonlne
 Studentspracticeinpairsandgroupswithmorefreeractivitiesintroduceddependingonthe
learnerlevel.
InModule3,wewilllookinmoredetailatdifferentlessonmodels,includingthePPPmodel.In
Module4,wewillanalysegrammaticalstructures.

Questions?

Weareonlne
12 The Communicative Approach
Inthe1960s,linguistsbegantoquestionthetheoreticalassumptionsunderlyingtheaudiolingual
methodandsituationallanguageteaching.Thiswaspartlybasedonthecognitivementalisttheoryof
languageacquisition,oneofthemainproponentsbeingtheAmericanlinguist,NoamChomsky.The
communicativeapproachgrewoutofthebeliefthattherewasmoretocommunicationthanmastering
andreproducingsetgrammaticalstructuresandvocabulary.Communicationinvolvedtheabilityto
makeoneselfunderstoodindifferentsituations.Itwasfeltthataforeignlanguageislearnedbestwhen
alearnercommunicatesrealmeanings.
Thecommunicativeapproachseeslanguageasmorecomplexthanjustasetofstructuralpatterns.It
wasarguedthatthesamegrammaticalstructurecanhavearangeoffunctionsandlanguageshouldbe
taughtbasedonmeanings.Forexample,inthesentence,Icangotobedlatemaymeanabilityor
permission,dependingonthecontext.Anexcitedchildmayusethisphrasewhenallowedtostayup
lateforaspecialevent(permission)orsomeonemaysaythesamephrasetomeanthisissomething
theyareabletodoi.e.theydonottireintheevening(ability).Asstructureshavedifferentfunctions,
itwasseenasmorelogicaltoteachlanguagebasedontopicsandfunctionsratherthanbasedarounda
grammaticalsyllabus.
Thecommunicativeapproachisguidedbyasetofprinciplesthatreflectacommunicativeviewof
languageandlanguagelearningincluding:(13)
Learnerslearnalanguagethroughusingit.
Authenticandmeaningfulcommunicationshouldbethegoalofclassroomactivities.
Fluencyisanimportantdimensionofcommunication.
Communicationinvolvestheintegrationofdifferentlanguageskills,notjustspeaking.
Learningisaprocessofcreativeconstructionandinvolvestrialanderror.
Thecommunicativeapproachhaspassedthroughanumberofphasessinceitsinception:(14)
1Developmentofasyllabusorganizedintermsoftopicsandfunctions
2Proceduresforidentifyinglearnerneedsandneedsanalysis
3Developmentofclassroomactivitiesusedasthebasisofcommunicativemethodology,suchas
groupworkandtaskwork
Today,thecommunicativeapproachcontinuesinitsclassicformandisusedinmanycoursebooks
andteachingmaterials.Ithasalsoinfluencedmanyotherlanguageteachingapproachesandmethods.

Questions?

Weareonlne
Activity2
Lookatthe8factsbelowanddecidewhethertheydescribeaspectsof:
Thegrammartranslationmethod
Thedirectmethod
Theaudiolingualmethod
Situationallanguagelearning
Thecommunicativeapproach

1.ThismethodwasdevelopedtoteachoralproficiencytoAmerican
soldiers.
2.Languageistaughtasfunctionsandtopics.
3.Teachingtakesplaceinthestudentsfirstlanguage.
4.Fluencyisconsideredmoreimportantthataccuracy.
5.ThePPPlessonmodelisused.
6.Thismethodradicallyplacedimportanceonoralproficiency.
7.Studentswererequiredtolistenandrepeat.
8.Identifyinglearnerneedsisimportant.

AnswerKey
1.Theaudiolingualmethod
2.Thecommunicativeapproach
3.Thegrammartranslationmethod
4.Thecommunicativeapproach
5.Situationallanguagelearning
6.Thedirectmethod
7.Theaudiolingualmethod
8.Thecommunicativeapproach

Questions?

Weareonlne
13 Alternative Approaches and Methods
Inadditiontomainstreammethodsandapproaches,anumberofalternativeapproachesemergedfrom
the1960sonward.Manyoftheseapproachesandmethodswereinfluencedbythehumanisttheoryof
languageacquisition.Theseapproachesareinteresting,withaspectsusedincurrentELTpractice.We
willbrieflyconsiderafewoftheseapproachesbelow.

Total Physical Response

Thisapproachwasbasedontheobservationthatchildrenlearninstressfreeenvironmentsby
respondingtocommandsbeforetheystartspeaking.Thisinvolvedusingsimpletaskssuchasasking
learnerstostandup,sitdownteachingcolorsbyaskingthechildorstudenttopointtotheredpen
andsoon.
Thisapproachworkswellwithchildren.Italsoworkswellwithlowlevelstudentsasawayof
checkingstudentshaveunderstoodanewstructureofword.Forexample,whenteachingbasic
vocabulary,youcanaskstudentstoholdupapictureorpointtoitemstheycanseeintheroom.Itmay
beusedtoteachpartsofthebodyorclothes,askingstudentstopointtodifferentpartsofthebodyor
standupiftheyarewearingaparticularitemofclothing.Italsoworkswellasanactivitytodowhile
listeningtoashorttextorsongtoencouragestudentstolistenfordetail.Forexample,useasonglike
YellowSubmarineandassigneachstudentaword.Theythenstanduporholduptheirwordwhen
theyhearit.Studentsfindthisfunanditvariesthelesson.
Thedisadvantageofthisapproach,ofcourse,isthatitislimitedtotheteachingandpracticeof
concretetopicsandbasicstructures.Studentsalsorespondpassivelyonly.

Questions?

Weareonlne
14 The Silent Way
Liketotalphysicalresponse,theSilentWaywasdevelopedinthe1970s.Itwasoneofthemany
methodsthatfocusedonstudentsneedsandabilities.Itsawlanguagelearningasaprocessof
problemsolvinganddiscovery.Theteacherremainssilentandguidesthelearningprocesswhile
responsibilityforworkingouttherulesfallonthelearner.
Thisapproachrequirestheteachertobecomeamastermimeartist,pointingtoimagesorcuesfor
grammarstructures.Itsoundsbizarre,buttheideaofstudentfocusedlearningandareductionin
TeacherTalkingTime(TTT)issoprevalentinmodernELTpractice,thattechniquesfromtheSilent
WayareoftenusedinEFLclassrooms.
Forexample,picturesorvisualscanoftenbeusedtocheckconceptsmoreeasilythanlengthyoral
explanations.Classroomsinstructionsanderrorcorrectioncanbeshortenedandsimplifiedbyusing
gestures.Laterinthecourse,wewilllookatpracticaltechniques,usedinEFLclassrooms,whichare
influencedbytheSilentWay.

Questions?

Weareonlne
15 Community Language Learning
CLLwasalsodevelopedinthe1970sandwasbasedonhumanisticcounsellingtechniques.Learning
isseenasanemotionallyengaginggroupexperience.Thegroupdecideswhathappensinclassand
conversationsarerecordedandplayedback.Languageworkthentakesplacebasedonthestudents
recordings.
Thistechniquealsoinitiallysoundsquitebizarre,buthasledtocurrenttrendsinELTsuchasDogme,
aswellasinfluencingsyllabusdesign.Thoughmostlanguagecourseshaveasetsyllabusofsome
sort,thereisoftensomenegotiatedcontenttooinwhichlearnersareaskedwhattheywouldliketo
focusonduringalessonoraspartofacourse.Forexample,ifagroupofstudentshaveakeeninterest
infootball,theteachermaywanttoincludesomevocabularyorfootballrelatedtextsinthecourse.

Questions?

Weareonlne
16 Suggestopedia
ThismethodwasdevelopedbytheBulgarianpsychiatristeducatorGeorgiLozanovinthe1970s.
InfluencedbyMaslowsHierarchyofNeeds,itusesmusic,decorationandritualizedteacherbehavior
toinducearelaxingatmosphere.Thepowerofmemorywasusedtooptimizelearning.Aclassusing
theSuggestopediamethodhasthreemainstages.
Stage1istheoralreviewsessioninwhichpreviouslylearnedmaterialisusedasthebasisof
discussionbytheteachersandstudents.Participantssitinacircleincomfortablechairsand
discusstheirlearningtogether.
InStage2,newmaterialispresentedanddiscussed.Studentslookatanewdialogueandthe
translationinthestudentsfirstlanguageanddiscussgrammar,vocabularyandcontentthatthe
studentsarecuriousabout.Thesessionisusuallyconductedintheforeignlanguagebutstudents
canusetheirfirstlanguageiftheywantto.Studentsareencouragedtoviewnewmaterialas
interestingandundemanding.Thepatternoflearningisfixedsostudentsknowwhattoexpect.
Stage3isknownasthesanceorconcertsession.Thereissilenceforafewminutesthenthe
teacherplaysmusic.Theteacherthenreadsthetextcontainingthenewlanguageinharmonywith
themusicwhilethestudentsfollowintheirtextbooks.Therearelongpausestoenablestudentsto
takeinthenewmaterial.
Thoughthismethodwasnotwidelyused,ideasfromthismethodenteredmainstreamELTpractice.
Somelearners,especiallychildren,likehavingsomeroutinetoclasses.Itisalsousefultodoaquick
reviewoflanguagelearnedinpreviouslessonsatthestartofthenextlesson.Music,decorationand
comfortableseatingcanalsobeusedtoinducearelaxingatmosphere.AlargeEFLproviderIworked
foractuallydecidedtochangeoneofitsclassroomsintoaCommunicationRoomwithcomfortable
seatingandclassesinthisroomwereverypopularwiththestudents.

Questions?

Weareonlne
17 Multiple Intelligences
Multipleintelligencesreferstoalearnerbasedphilosophythatcharacteriseshumanintelligenceas
havingmultipledimensions.In1993,Gardnerproposedaviewofnaturalhumantalentsthatislabeled
the'multipleintelligencesmodel'.Theeightintelligencesaredescribedasfollows:
theabilitytouselanguage
logical/mathematicalability(theabilitytothinkrationally)
theabilitytoformmentalmodelsoftheworld
havingagoodearformusic
bodily/kinaestheticabilities(havingawellconditionedbody)
interpersonal(theabilitytoworkwellwithpeople)
theabilitytounderstandoneselfandbeintrospective
theabilitytounderstandnature
Thereisnosetapproachformultipleintelligences.Rather,itwasunderstoodthatteachingshould
caterforlearnerswithdifferentintelligencesorstrengths.Forexample,problemsolvingtasksor
activitiesappealtolearnerswhoarelogical/mathematical.Intrapersonallearnersmayenjoymore
individualactivitieswhilemusicallearnersmayrespondtotheuseofsongsormusicinteaching.The
useofmultipleintelligencescanbeveryeffective.

Questions?

Weareonlne
18 NeuroLinguistic Programming
Neurolinguisticprogrammingwasoriginallydevelopedinthe1970sasasetoftherapeutic
techniquestobeusedincounseling.Inthe1970s,mainstreamteachingmovedawayfromtraditional
deductive,grammarbased,teachercenteredapproachesandmethods.Communicativeapproaches,
whichencouragedfluencyfocusedspokenlanguageproductionandinductive,learnercenteredstyles
ofteaching,werefavored.Changingviewsoftherelationshipbetweenteachersandlearnersledtothe
popularizationofinnovative,humanisticapproaches,focusingonthedevelopmentofapersonsself
awarenessandactualization.
Neurolinguisticprogramming(NLP)isnotalanguageteachingmethod,butahumanisticphilosophy,
basedonpopularpsychology,designedtoconvincepeopletheycanimprovetheirlivesandachieve
goals.Itsuggeststhatiftheteacherestablishesarapportwiththeirstudentsandadaptstheirapproach
tostimulatethem,learnerswilllearnandretainmore.
Intheirbook,Inyourhands,RevellandNormandescribeNLPashavingfourpillarsorconcepts,
summarizedasfollows:(15)
Outcomes:inordertoachievesuccess,itisnecessaryforstudentstohavecleargoalstowork
towards.
Rapport:itisimportantforteacherstodevelopagoodrapportwiththeirstudentsandstudentsto
developgoodrapportwitheachother.Thiscanbeachievedbyincludingactivitiessuchas
mingling,teamgamesandotheractivitiesthatrequirewholeclassinteraction.Thisencourages
learnerstocommunicatesuccessfully.
Sensoryacuity:itisimportanttoteachnonverbalcommunication,suchasgesturesandtonein
additiontoverbalcommunication.
Whenteaching,itisgoodtohavearangeofskillsandtechniquesavailableandbewillingtouse
differenttechniqueswithdifferentlearners.Mistakesarealsoviewedpositivelyasevidencethe
learnerisexperimentingwithlanguage.
Inadditiontothefourpillarsabove,learnersareunderstoodtohavedifferentlearningstylesorways
ofprocessinginformationbasedonthesensetheypredominantlyusetotakeininformation,namely:
visuallearnerswhorespondbettertovisualstimuli
auditorylearnerswhorelyontheirsenseofhearingand
kinaestheticlearnerswholearnthroughdoingorfeeling
CurrentELTpracticeembracestheaboveconcepts.Settinglearninggoalsandestablishingrapportare
viewedasveryimportantinEFLclassrooms.Teachersareencouragedtoincludearangeofactivities
intheirlessontocaterfordifferentlearningstyles.InModule2,wewilllookathowtosetlearning
goalsandcaterfordifferentlearningstyles.Infuturemodules,wewillalsolookatactivitiesand
techniquestoestablishrapport.

Questions?

Weareonlne
19 The Lexical Approach
Thisapproachwasdevelopedinthe1990sbyMichaelLewisandwasbasedonthebeliefthat
languagestructuresweremorecomplexthanmeregrammaticalrules.Lexicalunitsoccurinlanguage,
suchasidioms,similes,connectives(e.g.finally)andconversationalgambits(e.g.Guesswhat!').
Vocabularyitemsshouldnotbetaughtasisolatedwordsbuttaughtwithcollocationsorasfixed
expressions.Forexample,insteadofsimplyteachingthewordlight,itisusefultoteachconnected
language,differentmeaningsandwordsthatgowithorcollocatewiththebaseword(e.g.lightwind,
lightblue)andsoon.
Thisapproachhashadahugeimpactontheteachingofvocabularyandwewillfocusonthisin
greaterdetailinModule5.

Questions?

Weareonlne
20 Current Trends in ELT Practice
The Natural Approach
Thisapproachissimilartoothercommunicativeapproachesasitfocusesonteachingcommunicative
abilities.Languageisviewedasavehicleforcommunicatingmessagesandmeanings.Thelearneris
exposedtoasmuchcomprehensibleinputaspossible.Visualaidsareusefulaswellasexposuretoa
widerangeofvocabulary.Theuseofauthentictextsiscommon.Thefocusintheclassroomison
listeningandreadingwithspeakingallowedtoemergelater.Studentsarerequiredtofocuson
meaningfulcommunicationratherthanform.Inputshouldbeinteresting,contributingtoarelaxed
classroomatmosphere.

Questions?

Weareonlne
21 TaskBased Learning
Thisapproachholdsthebeliefthatcommunicativecompetenceonlydevelopsifstudentsarethrownin
atthedeepend.Theyarerequiredtocarryouttasksthatrequirereallifecommunication,focusingon
languageusedinthetask.Repetitionofthetaskallowsstudentstopractiseusingthenewlanguage.
Givingstudentsatasktocompleteatthestartofalessoncanbeagoodwayofestablishingwhat
languagestudentsalreadyknowbeforeteachingnewstructuresorvocabulary.Moderncourse
materialsoftenincludeelementsoftaskbasedlearning.

Questions?

Weareonlne
22 Principled Eclecticism
Inmoderntimes,itisclearthatthecommunicativeapproachisnotusedexclusivelyinEFLteaching.
ThoughEFLteachingislargelycommunicativeinnature,techniquesfromalternativeapproaches,
currentthinkingandmucholdermethodsandapproachesarealsoembraced.Teachersmixandmatch
differenttechniquestocaterfullyfortheirlearnerneeds.Forexample,westilluselistenandrepeat
styledrillstofocusonpronunciationandgrammaticalaccuracy.Teachingisalsolearnercentered,
influencedbyhumanisticapproaches.Grammartranslationcanalsobeusedjudiciouslyin
monolingualclasses.Somelearnersalsoenjoylearningthegrammarrulessoacertainamountof
languageanalysisiscommoninEFLclasses.Thetechniqueofpickingandchoosingdifferent
techniquestousewithdifferentlearnersisgiventhegrandtitleofprincipledeclecticismandis
generallyconsideredthewayEnglishistaughttoday.

Questions?

Weareonlne
23 Continuing Innovation
Currenttrendsareemergingallthetime.Onesuchtrendisdogmeorteachingunplugged.Dogme
advocatesteachingunpluggedorteachinginawaythatis:
Materialslight
Conversationdriven
Focusingonthelearnerandonemergentlanguage
Likecommunicativelanguagelearning,materialsforthelessonareprovidedbythelearnerandwhat
thelearnerwantstoknowandtalkabout.Thisisbelievedtoengagethelearner.Learningismediated
throughtalkwhichisshapedbytheteacher.Languageemergesthroughdiscussionwhichtheteachers
functiontodirectlearnerstoemerginglanguage.Itisimportantforthelearnerstohaveavoiceand
notusingacoursebookorsyllabusisviewedaspositive.Texts,ifused,shouldhaverelevanceforthe
learners.
Anothertrendisdemandhighlearning.AccordingtoScrivenerandUnderhill,demandhighasks:(16)
Areourlearnerscapableofmore,muchmore?
Havethetasksandtechniquesweuseinclassbecomeritualsandendsinthemselves?
Howcanwestopcoveringmaterialandstartfocusingonthepotentialfordeeplearning?
Whatsmalltweaksandadjustmentscanwemaketoshiftthewholefocusofourteachingtowards
gettingthatengineoflearninggoing?
Demandhighisnotamethodbutsuggestsadjustmentstoteachingmethodologyinordertogetmuch
greaterdepthoftangibleengagementandlearning.Itencouragesteacherstoexploitclassroom
activitiesmoresolearnerscangetthemostoutoftheirlessons.

Reflective Task 8
ThinkofthreetechniquesormethodsyouwouldliketotryinanEFLclassroom.Whydothey
interestyou?
Researchoneoftheapproachesandmethodsthatinterestsyouusingwebbasedresourcesor
referringtothebookApproachesandMethodsinLanguageTeaching.

Questions?

Weareonlne
24 Learner Levels
CommonEuropeanFramework
Inordertoeffectivelyteachgroupsoflearners,theyaregenerallycategorizedintodifferentlearner
levels.ThecategorizationoflearnerlevelsisbasedontheCommonEuropeanFrameworkof
Reference(CEFR).

Activity3
ClickonthelinkbelowtolistentoashortexplanationoftheCommon
EuropeanFrameworkofReference
http://www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/what_is_this

TheCEFRwasdevelopedbytheCouncilofEuropewithsupportbyCambridgeESOL.Itisused
worldwidetodescribelanguagecompetenciesofdifferentlanguagesincludingEnglish.Itisaclear,
objectivewayofdescribinglanguageskillsandcompetenciesinreading,writing,listeningand
speaking.
TheCEFRisusedasareliablebenchmarkworldwideandisbrokendowninto6levelsasfollows:
A1Beginner
A2Elementary
B1Intermediate
B2UpperIntermediate
C1Advanced
C2Proficiency
Learnersprogressfromoneleveltothenextandinitialplacementtestsareusedtodeterminea
learnersprecourselearnerlevel.TheIntermediatelevelisgenerallydividedinto2sublevelsin
coursematerialsPreIntermediateandIntermediate.CambridgeESOLadvisesthateachlearner
leveltakestheaveragelearner3monthstocomplete,withtheexceptionofC1whichtakes36
months.

Questions?

Weareonlne
25 Level Competencies and CanDo Statements
Eachlearnerlevelisdefinedbyalistofdescriptorsorcandostatements.Thecandostatementsfor
listening,readingandwritingaretabulatedbelow:(17)

Listening Reading Writing

Canunderstandbasicinstructions Cancompletebasicforms,
Canunderstandbasicnotices,
A1 ortakepartinabasicfactual andwritenotesincluding
instructionsorinformation.
conversationonapredictabletopic. times,datesandplaces.
Canunderstand
straightforwardinformation Cancompleteformsandwrite
Canexpresssimpleopinionsor withinaknownarea,suchas shortsimplelettersor
A2
requirementsinafamiliarcontext. onproductsandsignsand postcardsrelatedtopersonal
simpletextbooksorreportson information.
familiarmatters.
Canexpressopinionson Canunderstandroutine
abstract/culturalmattersinalimited informationandarticles,and Canwritelettersormake
B1 wayorofferadvicewithinaknown thegeneralmeaningofnon notesonfamiliaror
area,andunderstandinstructionsor routineinformationwithina predictablematters.
publicannouncements. familiararea.
Canfolloworgiveatalkona Canscantextsforrelevant Canmakenoteswhile
familiartopicorkeepupa information,andunderstand someoneistalkingorwritea
B2
conversationonafairlywiderange detailedinstructionsor letterincludingnonstandard
oftopics. advice. requests.
Cancontributeeffectivelyto Canprepare/draftprofessional
Canreadquicklyenoughto
meetingsandseminarswithinown correspondence,take
copewithanacademiccourse,
areaofworkorkeepupacasual reasonablyaccuratenotesin
C1 toreadthemediafor
conversationwithagooddegreeof meetingsorwriteanessay
informationortounderstand
fluency,copingwithabstract whichshowsanabilityto
nonstandardcorrespondence.
expressions. communicate.
Canadviseonortalkabout
Canunderstanddocuments, Canwritelettersonany
complexorsensitiveissues,
correspondenceandreports, subjectandfullnotesof
C2 understandingcolloquialreferences
includingthefinerpointsof meetingsorseminarswith
anddealingconfidentlywithhostile
complextexts. goodexpressionandaccuracy.
questions.

Candostatementsforspeakingaretabulatedbelow:(18)

Speaking
Canunderstandandusefamiliareverydayexpressionsandverybasic
phrasesaimedatthesatisfactionofneedsofaconcretetype.
Canintroducehim/herselfandothersandcanaskandanswerquestions
A1 aboutpersonaldetailssuchaswherehe/shelives,peoplehe/sheknows
andthingshe/shehas.
Caninteractinasimplewayprovidedtheotherpersontalksslowlyand
clearlyandispreparedtohelp.

Questions?

Weareonlne
 Cancommunicateinsimpleandroutinetasksrequiringasimpleand
directexchangeofinformationonfamiliarandroutinematters.
A2
Candescribeinsimpletermsaspectsofhis/herbackground,immediate
environmentandmattersinareasofimmediateneed.

Candealwithmostsituationslikelytoarisewhiletravelinginanarea
wherethelanguageisspoken.
B1
Candescribeexperiencesandevents,dreams,hopesandambitionsand
brieflygivereasonsandexplanationsforopinionsandplans.

Caninteractwithadegreeoffluencyandspontaneitythatmakes
B2 regularinteractionwithnativespeakersquitepossiblewithoutstrain
foreitherparty.
Canexpressideasfluentlyandspontaneouslywithoutmuchobvious
searchingforexpressions.
C1
Canuselanguageflexiblyandeffectivelyforsocial,academicand
professionalpurposes.

Canexpresshim/herselfspontaneously,veryfluentlyandprecisely,
C2 differentiatingfinershadesofmeaningeveninthemostcomplex
situations.

Questions?

Weareonlne
26 Reflective Task 7
Whatdoyouthinkcouldbetheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofthefollowingmethods
andapproachesforstudents?
Thegrammartranslationmethod
Thedirectmethod
Theaudiolingualmethod
Situationallanguagelearning
Thecommunicativeapproach
PossibleAnswers

MethodsandApproaches Advantages Disadvantages

Lackofvocabulary
Accuracy
Thegrammartranslation Unabletouse
Useoffirstlanguage
method communicativly
Writingskillsdeveloped
Poorspeakingskills

Oralproficiency
Learningkeyphrases Lackofgrammaticalrules
Thedirectmethod quickly Noreadingandwriting
Pronunciationfocus skills
Vocabulary

Oralproficiency
Lackofgrammaticalrules
Theaudiolingualmethod Learningkeyphrases
Lackoffluency
quickly

Reallifecontexts
Lackoffluency
Situationallanguagelearning Structuredsyllabus
Overlyfocusedongrammar
Focusonaccuracy

Topicsandfunctions
Learnerneeds Studentsmaywantclear
Thecommunicativeapproach
Communicativeactivities grammaticalrulestofollow
Questions?
Focusonfluency

Weareonlne
 Questions?

Weareonlne
27 References
1.Martin,L(2011)www.thehistoryofenglish.com
2.TheEditors(2014)www.infoplease.com(Pearson)
3.Haugen,E(1966)quotedinGraddol,D,Leith,DandSwann,J(1996)Englishhistory,diversity
andchange,London,Routledge/TheOpenUniversity.
4.Graddol,D,Leith,DandSwann,J(1996)Englishhistory,diversityandchange,London,
Routledge/TheOpenUniversity.
5.Martin,L(2011)www.thehistoryofenglish.com
6.Luscombe,Stepehn(2014)www.britishempire.co.uk
7.Crystal,D(1988)TheEnglishLanguage,Harmondsworth,PenguinBooks
8.Quirk,R(1985)quotedinGraddol,D,Leith,DandSwann,J(1996)Englishhistory,diversity
andchange,London,Routledge/TheOpenUniversity.
9.TheEditors(2014)www.thebritishcouncil.org
10.Williams,M(1999)MotivationinLanguageLearning,ETPIssue13
11.www.21stcentech.com
12.Richards,J.C.&Rodgers,T.S(2001)ApproachesandMethodsinLanguageTeaching,Second
Edition,NewYork,CambridgeUniversityPress
13.Ibid
14.Ibid
15.Revell,J&Norman,S(1997)Inyourhands,SapphirePress
16.Scrivener,J&Underhill,A(2013)www.demandhighelt.wordpress.com/
17.www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/what_is_this
18.www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

Questions?

Weareonlne
28 Further Reading
Crystal,D(1988)TheEnglishLanguage,Harmondsworth,PenguinBooks
Meddings,L&Thornbusy,S(2009)TeachingUnpluggedDogmeinEnglishLanguageTeaching,
England,DeltaPublishing
Revell,J&Norman,S(1997)Inyourhands,SapphirePress
Richards,J.C.&Rodgers,T.S(2001)ApproachesandMethodsinLanguageTeaching,Second
Edition,NewYork,CambridgeUniversityPress

Questions?

Weareonlne
29 Useful Websites
www.thehistoryofenglish.com
www.keltic.co.uk
www.cambridgeenglishteacher.org/what_is_this
www.demandhighelt.wordpress.com/
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages

Questions?

Weareonlne