| Friday, July 23, 2010

If you’ve taught a language, or learnt a language, for any length of time, you will have come across innumerable methods which claim to be the most effective at teaching a student a new language.

In all my travels, language learning and language teaching experience, I’ve never been convinced by any one method completely. Most of them have something going for them but they all seem to miss out important points too.

Alex’s comments on last week’s post inspired me to trawl through Google for a couple of hours and create a small list of language learning methods (I started with this list here).

I would love to hear you own experiences with each one, both as a learner and/or as a teacher. Please mention any other interesting methods you’ve come across and particularly liked or disliked.

I shall reflect on them this week and perhaps write another post with some relevant thoughts for next week’s teaching and learning post.

1. Grammar translation : supposedly the oldest language teaching method of the list, this would be your typical rules-based, grammar focused, vocabulary list language learning method. Wikipedia assures us that: “the goal of this method is to be able to read and translate literary masterpieces and classics…very little attention was placed on pronunciation or any communicative aspects of the language.”
2. Direct method : a response to dissatisfaction with the grammar translation method, this is the ‘vocabulary through pantomiming’ language teaching approach where everything is done in the target language and students are supposed to infuse grammar by osmosis;
3. Audio-lingual method : similar to the direct method but with the emphasis on drilling students in grammar rather than having them acquire more vocabulary. Oral recitation of target drills, which are supposed to contain the sentence patterns and grammatical structures to be learnt;
4. Oral approach: a more formalised version of the direct method which tries to take into account the idea that the majority of language production uses a core vocabulary—a couple of thousand words—and a core set of grammar structures. Teachers using this method first present the new material in context, then lead a practice period before having the students try and produce their own phrases using the structures and vocabulary learnt;
5. Cognitive approach : emphasises awareness of the underlying rules of a language and uses intentional patterning (drills) to improve language acquisition;
6. Total physical response : uses the imperative mood to combine commands and bodily movements. This theory, which would seem a little limited once you move past basic commands, was created by James Asher;
7. Silent way: wow, a classroom method in which the teacher doesn’t speak! He uses a series of aides to prompt correct pronunciation and language production. Known as the production before meaning school of thought. Based on the work of Caleb Cattegno;
8. Suggestopedia: “This innovative approach to language pedagogy maximizes the learners’ natural holistic talents. Background classical or baroque chamber music, oftentimes accompanied with soft lights, pillows or cushions on the floor for relaxation, accentuate active and passive meditations, séances, yoga, breathing exercises leading into the “alpha state”, songs for memorization purposes, therapy sessions and stream-of-consciousness catharsis in the target language.” Based on the work of Georgi Lozanov;
9. Community language learning: also known as ‘counseling-learning’ and articulated by Charles Curran. Focused on an acronym: SARD. Security, Attention/Agression, Retention/Reflection, Discrimination. Emphasises personal growth, self-development and the collective experience;
10. Total immersion technique: more than the ‘English village’ idea we see here in Spain, this classroom-based approach seems to be split into two variants. Firstly, those teachers who speak only in the target language but slowly at first, with basic words which are recognisable to the students. Secondly, those teachers who just start spouting off in the target language at full speed, as if they had just landed in a new country, confusing and demotivating their students from the outset;
11. Communicative approach : this sounds like the way we were taught French in high school. A focus on language production, aural comprehension, early speech production and speech activities encouraging ‘natural’ language acquisition, “much as a child would learn his/her native tongue”. Only use the target language in class, don’t correct errors in speech. No deliberate study of grammar;
12. Comprehension approach : directed towards the understanding of target language material more than students’ production or speech or writing. Based on second language acquisition theories, especially the work of Stephen Grashen;
13. TPRS (Teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling): Personalised, ‘funny’ stories + reading from a variety of sources: 1) Establish meaning, introduce structures; 2) Get the students to talk about the story before they read it; 3) Read and discuss the story.