Teaching Methods in an ESL Lesson - Essay Example

? ESL II Table of Contents Introduction: Teaching methods in an EFL lesson 4 Traditional methods 4 Grammar Translation 4 Direct Method 5 Audio lingual 5 Communicative methods 6 Communicative Approach 6 Total Physical Response 7 Natural method 7 Competency-based Approach 8 Innovative methods 8 Silent Approach 9 Community Language Learning 9 Suggestopedia 10 Most beneficial methods in EFL lesson 10 Recommendations with supporting rationale 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction: Teaching methods in an EFL lesson The teaching methods for English as a foreign language vary among the teachers depending on nature of their students and their expectations. There is no single way of teaching English as a foreign language to the students. Understanding the students is essential for adopting the right approach for teaching English as a foreign language. The students who are extrovert would not be able to wait for long and try different ways of active participation for learning the English language. On the other hand, some students would be happy to wait and listen to their teachers of the lesson delivered and then develop strong concepts in learning English. Some students are keen to learn the basics or grammar as the foundation of learning English while others would be try to put the words in place by listening to the language conversation. It is, therefore, important for the teachers to switch to right approaches by understanding the needs of the classroom. Traditional methods The traditional methods of teaching English as a foreign language talk about the approaches of teaching English in a way that has been followed over the years. Various educationalists and eminent personalities could be spotted who have learnt English in the traditional approach. The traditional methods have been described below. Grammar Translation The grammar translation approach is one of the oldest approaches that were carried out in earlier days for teaching Latin in the countries of Europe. This is an intellectual way of learning language which was later applied by the teachers in the lessons of English as a foreign language. The method concentrates more on the reading and writing of English language. The speaking and the listening skills are not really tested in this approach. The teacher provides the students with the grammatical exercises and the students are asked to solve the problems. The students are first questioned orally and followed by answering the exercises in writing which is the major part of grammar translation. The only communication in this method is between the student and the teacher where the teacher plays the authoritarian role. Example of grammar translation method includes explaining the grammatical rules and concepts with the help of presentation, written exercises to the students. Direct Method The direct method of teaching developed languages in the nineteenth century when the educationalists observed the child language learning trends and applied the direct method of learning English as a foreign language for the learners. In this method, the translation of the foreign language is not required. The students are required to read aloud the specialized texts of grammar and vocabulary in English language. The emphasis is put on guided conversation of the students where the teachers play an important role in helping the students to understand the usage of various words in English. Examples of the direct method of learning English as a foreign language includes conduct of exercises using fill-in-the-blanks, dictation and demonstration to the students by the teachers. The students also required to undertake comprehension exercises directly in English in order to understand the foreign language through the direct method. Audio lingual The audio-lingual method of teaching English as a foreign language developed from the time of Second World War when the army personnel were trained to speak in different languages such as German, French, Japanese, etc. This method has been later applied for teaching English as fo0reign language in the classrooms. The learners are primarily required to listen and speak with secondary emphasis on the reading and writing skills. This approach puts emphasis on the harnessing the natural skills of acquisition of the learners in a sequential order such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. The learners are required to listen to the teachings delivered in the classrooms and then repeat the same sentences and the conversations in English. The students are also required to interpret the meaning of the words that sound same but have different meanings. Examples of such words are “bit” and “beat”, “hit” and “”heat”, etc. Examples of audio-lingual trainings involve drills and conversation exercises by the students which involve listening and speaking. Communicative methods The communicative methods of teaching English as a foreign language developed in the 1960s when the Council of Europe identified trends of communication in various languages in the western countries. The language has been used as a way of expression with little adherence to the grammatical rules. The various approaches under the communicative method of teaching have been given below. Communicative Approach The communicative approach developed from the ways used by the native speakers in expressing themselves under different social conditions. The communicative approach does not put primary emphasis on the grammatical rules and the usage of the verbs, tenses, etc. The aim of this approach is to develop the learner’s skills according to the natural priorities of acquisition. The learners are then guided to communicate and express themselves in the foreign language taking into account the social circumstances in which they communicate. For example, the communication approach between the teachers and the student would vary from the communication approach between two students. The various expressions using English as a foreign language are the keys to better understanding in communicative approach. The emphasis is also put on developing the pronunciation skills in order to sharpen the process of communication. Total Physical Response The total physical response is another method which does not put primary emphasis on the learning of the grammatical rules and usage of the verbs and tenses. The total physical response revolves around the abilities of the speech and action of the students. This approach is adopted with a belief that mere learning of the grammar rules would help the students to learn the basics of the language but would not enable them to apply the language in relevant ways. For this reason, the total physical response approach aims to develop the natural powers of expression according to the priorities of the students. One example in this method is that the student first listens to the speech of the teacher, understands the speech and demonstrates their ability of understanding. In the next step, the student is required to deliver the speech to the other students as an evidence of acquiring the required learning. Natural method The natural method of learning is fun-based approach that has relaxation in the norms to be followed in the classrooms. The relaxation in the grammatical rules also applies in the natural method of teaching English as foreign language. This method is applied as educationalists believe that the natural approach of teaching English as a foreign language reduces the mental stress and makes education easier. The natural approach is also adopted during the course of teaching English language as a foreign language when there is lack of adequate number of text books for study. Examples of natural method of teaching English as foreign language involves use of building blocks and then the teachers pass the instruction to undertake certain tasks. The students acquire the language skills through an unconscious approach and work well with the beginners. Competency-based Approach The competency based approach for teaching English language is based on acquiring the language skills that would help the learners to improve their prospects of life. The learning of any language is deemed to take place efficiently when the learner believes that acquires the language skills would lead to betterment of his or her life. The instruction given by the teachers and the students are required to carry out real tasks on the basis of such information (Claxton, 2008, p.48). For example, the students are required to convey the information received by them in English to another teacher. This provides an evaluation of the development of competency of the students in the course of learning the English language. Another example of competency based approach is that the teachers ask the students to find their partners who have identical information available with them. This requires competency on the part of the learners to communicate with their mates in the English language and choose them according to the criteria. Innovative methods The innovative methods of teaching English as a foreign language explore the new ideas and thoughts of delivering the teachings to students through a new method that is different from the traditional approach and the several methods that are practiced. The various innovative approaches have been discussed as follows. Silent Approach The silent approach of learning English as a foreign language puts the maximum responsibility on the learners for learning the language. The students are required to listen actively and interpret the learning delivered by the teachers. A deep understanding of the rule of the English language puts them in a better place to analyze the various usages of the language. Based on the level of interests and the nature of the learners, they learn the rules of the language themselves and then apply those rules in the process of communicating in English with the other members. Rather than remembering and repeating what has been just learnt, the students get the freedom to interpret the meaning of the English language and then use it appropriately in proper context. Mistakes are considered as part of the self-learning mechanism adopted in this approach. Examples of silent ways of learning include the use of presentations, pictures supported by appropriate instructions by the teachers. The students are required to interpret the teachings and spend time for self-study in order to be clear on the ways of applying the language skills acquired. Community Language Learning The community learning method includes total involvement of the personalities of the teachers and the students as an integral part of the community language learning. The teachers play the role of a counsellor and understand the barriers that the students are facing in the process of learning English as a foreign language. The teachers play an active role in the process of community language learning by carrying out effective counselling of the students and helping them to overcome their vulnerabilities and fears in learning the English language. The interaction between the teachers and the students form the core of community language learning. Examples of community language learning include conducting a discussion within a group in the target language in English and at the same time recording the discussion. The recording is then played and the teacher explains the areas of improvement to the students in the group. Suggestopedia This method was suggested by the founder of Suggestopedia, Georgi Lozanov who believed that the barriers in the process of learning foreign language like English are mainly psychological in nature. The learners tend to raise their psychological fears and other inhibitions in the course of learning. The removal of these psychological barriers would help the teachers to impart the learning of English language in an efficient manner. The process of de-suggestion has been proposed in which the lesson on English as a foreign language would be delivered in a casual manner and this would help to keep calm and relaxed mind necessary for the efficient learning of the English language. Example of the techniques of suggestopedia includes the use of graphical figures, colourful presentation, charts and recitation as well as clear and casual instructions by the teachers. This would help the students to keep their eyes closed and visualize the learning delivered in classroom lessons. Most beneficial methods in EFL lesson The most beneficial methods in the teaching of English as a foreign language ranges from the varying needs of the students in the course of learning and the right identification of the nature of the students. The selection of the methods would be beneficial if the method is compatible with the expectation of the students. The beneficial methods in the EFL lesson are the grammar translation method, total physical response approach, natural method, competency based approach, community language learning method and the approach of suggestopedia. These six methods do not fall into one category but represents the categories of traditional, communicative as well as innovative methods. This provides a scope to the teachers in the classroom to switch from one technique to another depending on the priorities of the students and their areas of interest. The selection of the most beneficial method of learning English as a foreign language helps to remove the barriers in the process of learning and leads to smooth flow of instructions from the teachers to the students. This helps the students in efficiently learning the language of English as a foreign language. Recommendations with supporting rationale In the process of teaching English as foreign language, it would be primarily required to identify the nature of the students, their areas of strengths and weaknesses, their psychological barriers in terms of vulnerability and fear of learning English. In case of old aged students, the basic method of grammar translation is recommended as this approach would suit their expectation of undertaking a traditional method. The students would be able to align themselves with the method in which the teachings are delivered. This would lead to efficient learning of English as a foreign language for the students. Moreover, the approach has its own strength of consolidating the base of English language required for application in different spheres of life. In case the learners consists of a mixed group with young aged students, there would be scope of applying the communicative and innovative approaches in additional to the teaching of fundamental grammar lessons. The total physical response is one such approach that is recommended. In this method, less importance would be given to reading and writing and the primary requirement involves listening to the instruction of the teachers and speaking to repeat the learning that is imbibed. The natural ways of learning involving fun-based approach apart from the text book learning is also recommended for improving the scope of learning. The relaxation of mind in the casual approach and the approach given in suggestopedia are recommended to learn English language without enough stress on the mind. The competency based approach is finally recommended as the learners would understand the ways in which the learning of English as a foreign language would develop their future prospects in life. A wholesome involvement of the personality is likely to improve the process of learning EFL lessons. Conclusion The lessons on English as a foreign language could be delivered by the teachers under various methods that include the traditional approach, communicative approach and the innovative approach. The various methods are to be applied in the classrooms depending on the nature of the students, their level of expectation, the available resources and the level of competency of the students. The right identification of the student demographics helps the teachers to switch between the various available approaches. By teaching the students under the right method, the teachers would be able to break down the psychological barriers and the fears of learning English as a foreign language. The wholesome involvement of the teachers and the students would help to improve the process of learning EFL lessons. References Claxton, N. 2008. Using Deliberative Techniques in the English as a Foreign Language Classroom: A Manual for Teachers of Advanced Level Students. New York: IDEA. Read More