English Teaching Methods in Australia and Saudi Arabia - Report Example

Linguistics Name Date Introduction English language is very important as a means of communication. English has been widely used and considered to be a universal language. This more so as a second language where it has become important for people all over the world to learn and use it. English language is a widely spoken language all over the world. This is evident in many countries which use the English language as a second or foreign language. In Saudi Arabia, English is very important and although Arabic is the official language in the country (Pennycook, 1994, p. 3). However, I have started learning English language from intermediate school and throughout high school. The English language was as compulsory subject in these levels. After that I have studied intensive program that was required for me to be accepted for a job at private company. When I finished this program, I felt I have more motivation to learn the English language in order to teach it in my future. Definitely that led me to study a bachelor of English language at King Abdulaziz University as an external student. Comparison and contrast between English teaching methods in Australia and Saudi Arabia Approaches Used in Australia Communicative Language Teaching There are two approaches of teaching English that I have met in Australia, first one is Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Communicative Language Learning (CLT) is an approach of teaching second or foreign languages that stresses on communication as both the way and the crucial objective of learning a language (Brown, 2007, p.63). CLT gives students a more realistic view of language and communicative language teaching has given the student a chance to practice the language and authentic language experiences. In CLT, from the beginning levels, students are involved in the four skills of speaking, reading, listening and writing, which give them the opportunity to develop their skills equally. CLT gives opportunities to learners to use the main target of language. In addition, using real life situations in the classroom has been adapted between teacher and his or her student` on levels from elementary to post-secondary and that allows learners to get interactions that correspond to their standard of professionalism. CLT includes four communicative competences mentioned by Savignon (1983): “it shows how, through practice and experience in an increasingly wide range of communicative contexts and events, learner gradually expand their communicative competence, consisting of grammatical competence, discourse competence, sociocultural competence, and strategic competence. Although the relative importance of the various components depends on the overall level of communicative competence, each one is essential" (Celce, 2001, p, 288). Direct method The second method is direct method which involves using primarily the English language in class and CLT for focusing on communicative teaching by providing real examples of language learning. Direct method involves teaching concepts and vocabulary through pantomiming, real-life things and other visual materials. Teachers use inductive approach to teach grammar where students are let to find out rules through the presentation of enough linguistic types in the target language. These examples reflect teaching methods with an authentic view. At University of New England, English Language Centre, most of the teachers are native speakers and use the English language to teach the students. The communication between the teacher and their students is real interaction. Hence, the results of the teaching strategies are effective and students learn fast (Harmer, 2007). Approach Used in Saudi Arabia Grammar Translation Method The system of education in Saudi Arabia applies the Grammar Translation Method to teach English language. The Saudi teachers use the Arabic language to explain the English vocabulary by translating the meaning in Arabic. This is not an effective way because they translate the words separately. For example, word sentence has two meaning. If we translate this word separately, then we will create confusion. During my experience of teaching English as foreign language, I applied Grammar translation method (GTM) in my classroom. However, I found out that this method had more disadvantages than advantages. It was not effective and it did not give me a sense of satisfaction, especially the sub skills of speaking and listening. These skills reflect what Ellis suggests that it is important to focus on both grammatical form and meaning together, not only on grammar. When the grammar translation method focuses on reading and writing, it limits the development of other skills (Ellis, 2002, p, 100). One of the reasons I disagree with the grammar translation method is that the teacher uses the mother tongue or native language inside the classroom to translate words or sentences from the learning language (or vice versa). I think that using real materials or demonstrations such as pictures, perceptible things, or audio things (film, tape, etc.) is more realistic. However, GTM is concerned with the rules of grammar and the content of syllabuses. Indeed this is not enough to complete the cycle of learning (Celce, 2001, p, 295). The English language teaching methods in Australia and Saudi Arabia can be compared and contrasted in terms the learner’s characteristics, teacher’s personality and preferred teaching method, other factors such as time constraints, locale, size of class and the curriculum. Learner’s characteristics: Students in Australia are motivated to learn English Language and have good attitudes towards learning English as compared to their counterparts in Saudi Arabia. This is partly because the teaching method used by Saudi Arabia teachers, that is, the Grammar Translation method, lacks the interaction process between a teacher and his or her students. Yet, this process is one of the most important factors, which give the students more confidence to do more activities related to the target language. The interaction process appears more clearly in CLT (Brown, 2007, p. 71). Students who learn second or foreign languages need motivation to improve their language. I have noticed that there is little motivation in the grammar translation method because repetition of the content of syllabus leads to student frustration (Nunan, 1995, p, 174). As a result, students get bored in the classes to the extent of skipping classes. They also tend t be lazy and shy. Teacher’s personality and preferred teaching mode: English Language Teachers in Australia are more competent and experienced as compared to those in Saudi Arabia. English Language teachers in Saudi Arabia have limited abilities as they are inexperienced when it comes to teaching English as a foreign language. Moreover, most of English language teachers in Australia are native English speakers while Saudi Arabia English teachers are non-native speakers. This is an added advantage for Australian English teachers who find it easier to teach English language as compared to Saudi Arabia English teachers who experiences difficulties when teaching English. Learning a foreign language is not an exact process. Native speakers are able to use English language very well as compared to non-native speakers (Ellis, 2002, p, 77). As a result, Australian teachers get satisfactorily outcomes when it comes to teaching English as compared to their counterparts in Saudi Arabia. Also teachers in Australia prefer to teaching using the new approaches of teaching English Language, that is, Communicative Language teaching and Direct Method while Saudi Arabia teachers prefer to use the old approaches, that is, the Grammar Translation Method. Size of the class: In Australia, the size of the class is small as the number of students in an English language class does not exceed 15. On the Other hand, in Saudi Arabia, the size of the class is normally big as the number of students in a class can go up to 25. Having a small number of students in a class is advantageous as the teacher will not experience the difficulties of having to deal with many students. Moreover, the teacher is able to deal with each student individually making it possible for the student to understand the language faster (Harmer, 2007). As a result, teachers in Australia have been effective in teaching English Language as compared to their counterparts in Saudi Arabia. The curriculum: In Australia, the schools administrators have come up an intensive curriculum for teaching English language while in Saudi Arabia, their curriculum is poorly developed. In Australia, there is more time allocated for teaching English language compared to Saudi Arabia. In Australia, at least 6 hours per day are spent teaching English Language while in Saudi Arabia only 45 minutes per day for four days in a week are spent teaching the language. Allocating more time for teaching English language gives the students the opportunity to learn and practice the language more often (Harmer, 2007). As a result, students in Australia are in a better position to effectively learn the language and become perfect as the saying goes practice makes perfect as opposed to students in Saudi Arabia. Moreover, in Saudi Arabia, the curriculum does not include phonetic and phonology as subject themselves. Also, the content of syllabus in Saudi Arabia encourages repetition. Locale: In Australia, the locale is conducive while in Saudi Arabia locale is not conducive for learning the English language. In Australia, classes are spacious and they even have listening labs. These give students the space to practice what they learn, hold discussions and presentations in classes. On the other hand, the biggest problem that Saudi Arabia students experience is limited space of practicing the English language. When the Saudi Arabia students progress from the elementary school to intermediate school they lack enough space for learning the language and hence, they experience difficulties in their English learning process. The teacher`s overall philosophy of learning/ teaching: Teachers in Saudi Arabia uses the Grammar Translation method to teach English. According to Brown, some of the Grammar Translator Method characteristics are; classes are taught using the mother tongue of the teacher, vocabulary is taught using a list of separately words, there is little concentration on pronunciation and many exercises are disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother language (2007. P, 19). In Saudi Arabia, teachers used their own language to translate words, simple sentences and even some time the whole passage. This was because majority of student lacked the motivation to learn the English words from the whole structure. Teachers used the list of separately words to teach the vocabulary. These teachers picked up this way of teaching from their teachers when they were students. A perfect example of this is I as I have applied this method when I became a teacher. Unfortunately, this method is still used by teachers in Saudi Arabia to teach English. Since one aspect of this method is little attention to pronunciation, the students get confused when it comes to pronouncing some sounds. To make matter worse, teachers don`t have experience to teach pronunciation. An evaluation of how effective the teaching and learning are/were in this situation During my teaching period in high school, I discovered that the students’ English background was poor and this made it difficult to incorporate them to the beginning of the intermediate stage. This is mainly due to lack of students’ motivation to learn English. One of the reasons for lack of motivation is the students’ perceptions that English language learning is difficult. The other reason is limited time teaching English language as a subject. During my teaching, I have discovered that the time allocated for teaching English language is not enough to cover all the skills necessary to understand the English language. On the other hand, most of the schools in Saudi Arabia lack the important means of teaching (in particular), English language subject. For example, they lack listening labs while listening is a very important skill. I have faced problem with my student when teaching English. One of the problems was in teaching pronunciation since there are some sounds in English that do not exist in Arabic and vice versa. On the other Hand, Australian Teachers use the new methods of teaching English language which encourages interaction between the teachers and learners, use of real-materials and inductive approach to teaching grammar. As a result, they have been effective in their teaching compared to their counterparts in Saudi Arabia. The implications of these experience to my future language teaching and language-teacher-education role The experiences I had when learning English language in Saudi Arabia and when teaching English language in high school level have significant implications in my future language teaching and language-teacher education role. When learning English, I was taught using the old approaches to language learning, the Grammar Translation Method, which does not concentrate on pronunciations and teachers use their mother tongue to translate words. This method also emphasized on repetition and imitation as opposed to understanding the concepts and vocabulary by use of inductive approach as stressed by the direct method of teaching English Language. As a result, I experienced pronunciations, intonation and pitch problems. In my future language teaching, I will endeavor to pay more attention to accurate pronunciation of words and my interaction with students as emphasized by the Communicative Language Teaching Method and make sure that phonetics or phonology subjects are included in the curriculum. When teaching English language in the high school level, I encountered poorly constructed curriculum and uncondusive locale for learning English. For example, limited time was allocated for teaching English Language and classrooms were small and they did not have listening labs. In my future language-education role, I will tend to advise schools administrators on the importance of allocating more time for teaching English Language and increasing classroom size and constructing listening labs. When teaching English Language, I also discovered that the students lack the motivation to learn the language and even worse, they had negative attitudes towards English language. In my future language teaching, I will tend to encourage student as well as creates positive attitudes in them as regard English language by stressing on the importance of the language itself. Five of the new ideas I have met in Australia There are five new ideas I have learned in Australian which I find useful in my future career of teaching. They include: Reliable intensive study programs: The duration of time spent learning a language is critical for effective learning. Language learning is a cumulative process. The more time spent studying a language, the greater the chances of acquiring the prerequisite skills (Celce, 2001, p, 292). The curriculum in Australian schools have allocated more time to English language as a subject. Schools administrators have also come up with reliable intensive study programs that involve both short-term and long-term study programs depending on the objective of the student to study English language. In my future teaching Career, I will endeavour to convince schools administrators to come up with intensive study programs as well as allocate more time for teaching English language. Real-life objects/materials: use of real objects in classroom is critical in making the class lively (Brown, 2007, p, 73). Teachers in Australia use real objects when teaching English language in classroom. The major benefit of using real objects in classroom is making the learning experience more memorable for the students. In my future teaching, I will endeavour to use real life objects when teaching English language to make the class more interesting for students and for them to understand faster. Knowledgeable instructors: Competent and experienced teachers are core to effective English language learning process (Ellis, 2002, p. 74). Australian teachers are knowledgeable and have the abilities to teach English language. They are well conversant with all the wide range of teaching approaches as well as the curricula. In my future teaching, I will endeavour to keep learning more methods of teaching English language as well as keep up-dated as relates to new method of teaching English language. Motivation and attitude: Motivation and attitudes play an important role in effective language learning (Nunan, 1995, p, 181) Students in Australia are motivated to learning English language and have good attitudes towards English language as a subject. They are curious as regard the language and culture, daily study and are devoted to use English in every possible situation while in an English-speaking environment. These are very crucial factors for effective English learning. In my future teaching career, I will endeavour to motivate students to learn English language and to create in them good attitudes towards English language as a subject. Small size of English Language classes an adequate learning space: The size of English language classes is small no exceeding 15 students. This gives the teacher the opportunity to deal with each student individually leading to effective learning. There is also adequate learning space as the classrooms are big enough and even they have listening labs. As a result, students are able to practice what they learn and t freely discuss and hold presentations in classes and this contribute to successful learning of the language. In my future teaching, I would advice the school administrator to promote small size of English classes and allocate more space to English language classes. References Brown, H. D. (2007). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, 3rd edn, New York: Pearson Longman, pp. 62-83. Celce-Murcia, M. (2001). Teaching English as a second or foreign language. (3rd ed.), Boston: Heinle and Heinle, pp. 285-299. Ellis, L. (2002). Teaching from experience: A new perspective on the non-native teacher in adult5 ESL. Australian review of applied linguistics, vol.25 no.1, pp. 71-107. Harmer, J (2007). The practice of English language teaching. (4th ed.). Harlow: Longman. Pennycook, A., (1994). The world in English in: The cultural politics of English as an international language, London: New York: Longman, pp. 1-37. Nunan, D., (1995). Focus on the learner: learning styles and strategies in: language methodology: a textbook for teachers, Edinburgh: Pearson Education, pp. 167- 188. Read More