The Direct and the Audiolingual Methods - Lab Report Example

Written responses to tutorial discussion Name Institution Date Chapter 2 Question one The lesson described in Chapter 1 has borrowed several elements of the methods discussed in chapter 2. The lesson has used several elements of the direct and the audiolingual methods which include presenting information in a dialogue, mimicking, use of learning aids, emphasis on correct grammar and pronunciation, and inductive teaching of grammar. The teacher applied these elements in her class. For instance, she applied mimicking in activity 26 so as to help the students shape their pronunciation skills (Brown, 2000, p. 8). Question two The designer methods were developed in order to minimise self-conscious and defensive nature of students while learning a second language. They emphasise on the freedom of the students to think and act, and the teacher majorly play a guidance role. In these methods, learning activities are majorly guided by what the students know but not what the tutor wants to teach. As a language student I experienced the application of community language learning where we were divided into groups and encouraged developed an interpersonal relationship with my colleagues. Learning involved translating phrases from our native language to the second language. Question three I agree with Richards and Rodgers' view that Grammar Translation is "a method for which there is no theory." This is because the method did not focus on improving the learner’s communicative skill, and learning was not based on any linguistic, educational or psychological principle. It was only based on grammar rules and correct translations of words and phrases. Richards and Rodgers' view is not too harsh a judgement. This view was very important because it highlighted the ineffectiveness of the Grammar Translation method in learning a new language. Chapter 3 Question one The Communicative Language Teaching focuses on learning to effectively communicate in a second language. Some practical classroom activities carried out when using the CLT method include; focusing on the meaning of words or texts, conceptualizing learning activities, encouraging comprehensible pronunciation, use of learning aids, and encouraging the learning to try communicate in the new language being studied. Question two Brown distinguishes between the terms method and methodology so as to bring out the modern use of term method in language teaching as explained by Richards and Rodgers and differentiate it from the earlier use as explained by Edward Anthony. In modern teaching, the term methodology is used in place of method in order to avoid confusing the earlier meaning and the modern use of the term method. According to Anthony, method is used to refer to specific systematic presentation of learning a new language. These methods may include, direct methods and audiolingual method among others. However, in the modern teaching, these specific methods are no longer used and therefore the term method is not appropriate for modern teaching. The term methodology is used in the modern teaching since it houses all the aspects of language teaching which include approach, design and procedure. Chapter 4 Question one My top three principles are; intrinsic motivation, self confidence, communicative competence. The principle of communicative competence brings out the core goal of studying a second language. This is because the main achievement of an adult person who is learning a second language is to be an effective communicator in the language of study. The principles of intrinsic motivation and self confidence are very crucial if a person is to become a competent communicator. This is because these principles encourage person to personally desire to gain knowledge about the language of study. This self zeal motivates the learner to put more efforts in the study and not to quit in case of hard times. Question two One of the principles that I feel has been left out in Brown's list is the principle of Cooperation. The students need to cooperate and have a good relationship with the teachers and their fellow students. Cooperation helps the students to have a conducive learning environment and also encourages them to desire gaining more knowledge about the new language. This principle can be enhanced through promoting cooperative learning activities, organizing peer study partners, fostering friendship among students and their teachers and peers, and providing a learning environment where students feel at ease. Question three From the lesson analysed in chapter 1, the teacher applied several principles in making her points. The teacher introduces the lesson with some small talks where the students commented about some personal events that took place during their weekend. Here the teacher applied the principle of meaningful learning where new information is introduced on through what the students already know. This will aid in creating stronger retention of information by students. In activity 6, the teacher groups the students in pairs. Here the teacher applied the principle of cooperation which aid in enhancing self-confidence in students. The teacher frequently corrected the students whenever they made mistakes. In doing this, she applied the principle of communicative competence since she was helping students to effectively communicate in the language of study. Question four When I was studying Spanish as my second language, my success was motivated by the principle of intrinsic motivation and the language culture connection. I was very much interested in learning the Spanish culture and language and this motivated me to put more efforts in learning the new language. Chapter 10-11 Question one Goal 1: Writing a business letter Audience This goal will involve students studying the how business letters are written and practically write one. Terminal objective Students will study how to write a business letter in the new language they are studying. Enabling objectives 1. The teacher will show the students some examples of written business letter 2. The teacher will teach the basic requirements of writing a business letter 3. The students will be required to write one business letter on their own Goal 2: Requesting information in a restaurant Audience: This goal involves student going to a restaurant and requesting information about the restaurant from the relevant offices. Terminal objective Students will seek to obtain information about a restaurant. Enabling objectives 1. Identifying the right people who will help them obtain the information they want 2. Interviewing these people 3. Recording the information obtained Question two The sample lesson plan was written on the basis of the guideline provided. It began by providing the goal and objectives of the lesson. The activities carried in the lesson were sufficient in ensuring that the students achieve the target objectives. The lesson does not need to be changed. Question three Mechanical drills T: The tea is on the table. Ss: The tea is on the table. T: We will go to the market tomorrow. Ss: We will go to the market tomorrow. Meaningful drills T: The chalk-box is on the table (pointing the teacher’s table). John, where is the chalk-box? S1: The chalk-box is on the table. T: Correct. Jane where is it? S2: It is on the table. Quasi-communicative drills T: Today, we will discuss what we did over the weekend. Sam, what did you do over the weekend? Sam: I visited my friends. T: Good. What about you Jane? Jane: I went swimming. T: Great, and where did you go, Brian? Mechanical drills are not effective for use in an interactive CLT curriculum because the main aim is the CLT method is to help the students know how to communicate but the mechanical drills do not enhance communication. Question four Figure 1: health food Figure 2: Junk food Figure 3: Medicine These pictures can be used during a lesson to explain the importance of eating healthy food. People who consume unhealthy junk food are at higher risks of suffering from chronic illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and obesity and will have to life on medication. Chapter 11-12 Question one Interaction is the collaboration between people or groups in which each party share their view, ideas and opinions, and mutually benefit from one another. Interactive classroom differ from a "traditional" classroom in that the program is flexible and the students are free to air out their views, unlike for the "traditional" classroom where the teacher dictates what is to be done and the students have to follow. Question two Questions that discourage interaction 1. Questions that insult the students intelligent and those that use ambiguous language. For example, why are you always failing my tests? 2. Rhetorical questions. For example, who knows? Did you hear me? Are you stupid? 3. Many analogical questions that confuse the students. For example; where did you go for the weekend? Which is the tallest building in the city? Where do you stay? What is the color of the car that is parked outside? These questions are not asked in a planned sequence and do not promote interaction because of the many areas to think about. Question three The problems in the lesson described at the beginning of chapter 12 include; lack of interaction between students, lack of instruction on how to conduct the group work, and poor monitoring and evaluation of the group work. The main reason for these problems is that the teacher was less concerned about what the groups were doing. To ensure a successful group work, the teacher should encourage cooperation between the group members and ensure that everyone is participating in the discussion. Question four Examples of each of the 10 categories of small-group 1. Role play and simulation In a of small-group work whose objective is to discuss the importance of mediation in solving conflicts, the group is divided into three smaller groups where two groups play as the complainant and defendant, while another third one play as the mediator. 2. Drama Example of drama: preparing and acting a skit that will demonstrate conflicts within groups and how a third group come in the middle to try resolve the conflicts between the two groups. 3. Project Example of project: In a group project that aims at collecting information about the operations of a company, the member of the groups can be divided into smaller groups with each having its own task. Group A does a SWOT analysis of the company, Group B analyses the financial position of the company, and Group C analyses the internal and external environment of the company. 4. Interview Interviews involve two people or groups where one seeks to obtain information from the other. For example, in a classroom, a pair of students can be involved in an interview where one plays to be a company manager and the other to be a news reporter. The news reporter interviews the manager regarding the cause of fire that destroyed the company’s properties. 5. Brainstorming Support the next topic of study is on climate change. The teacher can ask the students to air out their views about; their understanding of climate change, causes of climate change, and effects of climate change. 6. Information Gap In a small group discussion, the students can be asked to listen to a conversation between two people and then analyse the objectives of the conversation. 7. Jigsaw In a small group discussion, the members are given words and their task is to arrange all the words to make several meaningful sentences, with each sentence containing all the given words. 8. Problem solving and decision making Students are presented with a situation where the choices involved have their own pros and cons. For instance, using polythene bags affects the environment because they are not biodegradable. However, they are far much cheaper and easier to use than the biodegradable bags. With reasons explain why people should or should not stop using polythene bags. 9. Opinion exchange Students in small groups can be asked to discuss social, political, cultural, environmental and economic issues such as legality of abortion, cause of wangles in a political party, causes of climate change, the existence of supernatural beings etc. Chapter 13-15 Question one Addressing the issues of large class In a large class, the main challenge is that some students may get lost within the crowd and it is difficult for the teacher to personally attend to the needs of each student. The suggested solution are practical in a class setting and can help in ensuring that all the students are fully involved in the class. These solutions offer the teacher with an opportunity to fairly interact with all the students within the limited class time. Question two Another reason of NOT integrating skills in ESL courses is the need to intently study the principles and rules of each of the four skills, i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing. There is not concrete justification and to why some ESL courses should not be integrated. This is because any section of language learning cannot entirely use only one of the four skills. Question three In the integrated lesson outlined at the end of chapter 15, the skills of listening and reading have been integrated. Integration can be enhanced by structuring the lesson in a way that it allows the students speak or writes some responses. For instance, the writer of the conversation could have omitted some responses made Darlene, Meg or Gary in order to allow the students to think and give or write down the responses they think were given in response to the previous statement. Chapter 16 Question one Example which illustrates the eight processes of listening A person hear the following statement: “The UN Secretary General is visiting the country for the first time since his re-election.” The first process of listening is processing raw speech where the hearer forms an image on the information contained in the statement, such as image of the UN Secretary General. The hearer realizes that it was news time since the information was being broadcasted on the television (type of speech event). The massage was meant to inform the people about the whereabouts of the UN Secretary General (inferring objectives). The hearer remembers that, two weeks earlier, there was UN Council election where the current Secretary General was re-elected for a second term (recalling background information). The hearer thinks that the Secretary General is visiting the country where the hearer is (assigning literal meaning). On listening further, the hearer realises that the Secretary General was not visiting his country, but since the reporter had already mentioned the name of the country (which the hearer did not year since his TV was off then), thats why the statement above did not contain the name of the country (assigning intended meaning). Since this information does not involve the hearer, it can just be stored in the short memory (determining whether information should be stored). Finally, the hearer keeps the major points in the information, such as the name of the country where the Secretary General is visiting, and deletes original wording of the massage (deleting original form but keeping the content). Question two Redundant words/phrases in the conversation between Amos and Andy These redundant words/phrases include; You know Rachael? Anyway, You know what they’re like Students can be taught on how to use redundancies for comprehension by giving them more examples on how they have been used in conversations. Question three For any effective listening, students should be taught on the importance of concentration during the lesson. Concentrating in class can be achieved through making an effort to listen, paying attention to the speaker, sitting properly and minimising distractions. Chapter 17 Question one Fluency is the ability to speak easily and articulately in a second language while accuracy is the ability to clearly speak in a grammatically and phonologically correct language. Accuracy should be taught first since it helps the student learn how to form grammatically and phonologically correct sentences. For example, fluency and accuracy might get attention when the students are being taught on how to write official documents such as application letters, official letters, memos etc. Question two Listening is more difficult as compared to speaking. This is because, for effective listening, the listener must make a lot of effort to concentrate. This concentration is easily interrupted by external and internal disturbances. For instance, a person may lose listening concentration by seeking something, thinking about something else, looking at your book etc. This concentration is easily lost because only the sense of hearing should be engaged in listening and the other senses are distracters. On the other hand, speaking can be enhanced by the senses of sight, hearing and touch. As a person speaks, it is much difficult to forget that he or she was speaking as it is for the case of listening. Question three Identifying the seven factors of interpersonal exchange in the conversation between Bob and Amy Casual register - the whole conversation uses an informal language register (casual register) since it is a conversation between people who know each other and have interacted well. Colloquial language - This is an informal language and therefore whole conversation between Amy and Bob uses a colloquial language. Emotionally charged language – The conversation between Bob and Amy shows some emotional issues between the two. From the conversation, it is evident that Bob had been offended by Amy and Bob was not willing to chat with Amy. Slang – A slang language is usually an informal language that is usually non-standard and sometime abusive or verbally attacks someone. For instance, Bob’s statement, “Well, far be it from me to criticize, but I’m pretty miffed about last week.” Sarcasm - Is a sharp or bitter remark or expression that indicates contempt. For instance, Bob’s remark, “Well, whose fault was it, huh?” Covert “agenda” – it is a conversation that is not very clear about what is exactly happening. For instance, the conversation between Bob and Amy is not clear what they are exactly talking about and the exact issue of concern is only known by the two. These factors could be taught by first explaining their meaning and giving many examples of how they have been used in different conversations. Chapter 20 Question one Sometimes grammatical knowledge isn't sufficient to understand "hidden" or implied meanings of what people say or write. Identify "deep" structure meanings that differ from "surface" grammatical meaning in these statements below. a. "Oh! That's just great!" [falling intonation] – The "surface" grammatical meaning of the statement indicates someone who is exited but the falling intonation shows dismay. b. "Good to see you again, Helen. You've lost some weight, haven't you?" – The question tag at the end show that the speaker is surprised about the Helen’s current body weight rather than being happy to see her again. c. "Brrrrr! It's sure cold in this house!" – The surface meaning of the statement is that the speaker is reporting that the house is cold. However, the "deep" structure meaning of the statement is that the speaker is shivering because of the cold. These pragmatic aspects of English could be taught through teaching the different figures of speech and giving different examples on how they are applied in English. Question two I do agree with the justifications offered for separate grammar classes. In my study of a second language we pursued a course on grammar which set the basis of ensuring that our communication in that language was accurate and fluent. Reference list Brown, H. D. 2000. Teaching by Principles. 2nd Ed. San Francisco, California: Longman press. Read More