Teaching methods

The types of principles and methods used for instruction. There are many types of teaching methods, depending on what information or skill the teacher is trying to convey. Class participation, demonstration, recitation, and memorization are some of the teaching methods being used. When a teacher is deciding on their method, they need to be flexible and willing to adjust their style according to their students. Student success in the classroom is largely based on effective teaching methods.

Browns (1994:51) definitions

Methodology The study of pedagogical practices in general(including theoretical underpinnings and related research). Whatever considerations are involved in how to teach are methodological.

 Approach Theoretical positions and beliefs about the nature of language, the nature of language learning, and the applicability of both to pedagogical settings.

 Method A generalized set of classroom specifications for accomplishing linguistic objectives. Methods tend to be primarily concerned with teacher and student roles and behaviors and secondarily with such features as linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials. They are almost always thought of as being broadly applicable to a variety of audiences in a variety of contexts.

 Technique Any of a wide variety of exercises, activities, or devices used in the language classroom for realizing lesson objectives.

Principles of language learning

Cognitive principles, affective principles and linguistic principles. Principles are seen as theory derived from research, to which teachers need to match classroom practices.

Cognitive Principles
Authomaticity: Subconcious processing of language with peripheral attention to language forms; Meaningful learning: This can be contrasted to Rote Learning, and is thought to lead to better long term retention; Anticipation of Rewards: Learners are driven to act by the anticipation of rewards, tangible of intangible; Intrinsic Motivation: The most potent learning rewards are intrinsically motivated within the learner; Strategic Investment: The time and learning strategies learners invest into the language learning process

Affective Principles
Language Ego: Learning a new language involves developing a new mode of thinking- a new language ego; Self-Confidence: Success in learning something can be equated to the belief in learners that they can learn it; Risk-taking: Taking risks and experimenting beyond what is certain creates better long-term retention; Language-Culture Connection: Learning a language also involves learning about cultural values and thinking.

Linguistic Principles
Native language Effect: A learners native language creates both facilitating and interfering effects on learning; Interlanguage: At least some of the learners development in a new language can be seen as systematic; Communicative Competence: Fluency and use are just as important as accuracy and usageinstruction needs to be aimed at organizational, pragmatic and strategic competence as well as psychomotor skills.

Audio-Lingual Method
Based on behaviourist theory, which professes that certain traits of living things, and in this case humans, could be trained through a system of reinforcement correct use of a trait would receive positive feedback while incorrect use of that trait would receive negative feedback. Adapted many of the principles and procedures of the Direct Method. Drills students in the use of grammatical sentence patterns

Principles
New material is presented in the form of a dialogues. Fosters dependence on mimicry, memorization of set phrases and over-learning Structures are sequenced and taught one at a time Patterns are taught using repetitive drills Little of no grammatical explanations are provided; grammar is taught inductively Skills are sequenced: Listening, speaking, reading and writing are developed in order.

Principles
Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in context Importance is given to precise native-like pronunciation Use of the mother tongue by the teacher is permitted, but discouraged among and by the students Successful responses are reinforced, great care is taken to prevent learner errors

Strategies
The teacher must be careful to insure that all of the utterances which students will make are actually within the practiced pattern. Drills should be conducted as rapidly as possibly so as to insure automaticity and to establish a system Ignore all but gross errors of pronunciation when drilling for grammar practice. Use of shortcuts to keep the pace of drills at a maximum. Use hand motions, signal cards, notes, etc. to cue response. You are a choir director. Use normal English stress, intonation, and juncture patterns conscientiously. Drill material should always be meaningful. If the content words are not known, teach their meanings. Intersperse short periods of drill (about 10minutes) with very brief alternative activities to avoid fatigue and boredom.

Strategies
Introduce the drill in this way: a) Focus (by writing on the board, for example) b) Exemplify (by speaking model sentences) c) Explain (if a simple grammatical explanation is needed) d) Drill Dont stand in one place; move about the room standing next to as many different students as possible to spot check their production. Thus you will know who to give more practice to during individual drilling.

strategies
Use the backward buildup technique for long and/or difficult patterns. --tomorrow --in the cafeteria tomorrow --will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow --Those boys will be eating in the cafeteria tomorrow Arrange to present drills in the order of increasing complexity of students response. The question is: How much internal organization or decision making must the student do in order to make a response in this drill. Thus: imitation first, single-slot substitution next, then free response last.

Example
Teacher: Theres a cup on the tablerepeat Students: Theres a cup on the table Teacher: Spoon Students: Theres a spoon on the table Book On the chair

Suggestopedia
Method derived from Bulgarian psychologist Georgi Lozanovs (1979) Now called desuggestopedia to reflect on importance placed on desuggesting limitations on learning Method of learning that capitalized on relaxed states of mind for maximum retention of material Baroque music created the kind of relaxed concentration that led to superlearning -while listening to soft playing of baroque music, one can take in tremendous quantities of material due to an increase in alpha brain waves and a decrease in blood pressure and pulse rate.

Principles
Learning is facilitated in a cheerful environment Student can learn from what is present in the environment If students trust and respect teachers authority, they will accept and retain information better Students bring certain psychological barriers with them so teacher should attempt to desuggest these.

Principles
Teachers should integrate indirect positive suggestions into the learning situation Teacher should present and explain the grammar and vocabulary One way that meaning is made clear is through native language translation Errors are corrected gently, not in a direct, confrontational manner.

Strategies
The classroom is bright and colourful with posters hanging around the room which may include grammatical information Teacher speaks confidently and gives the students the impression that learning the target language will be easy and enjoyable Teacher briefly mentions a few points

Strategies
Teacher reads dialogue with a musical accompaniment. Teacher matches hi/her voice to the rhythm and intonation of the music. Teacher reads the script a second time as the students listen. This time to different music Teacher leads the class in various activities involving dialogue, question-and-answer, repetition and translation.

Silent Way
Developed by Caleb Gattegno, shares certain principles with Cognitive Approach Characterised by a problem-solving approach to learning More learning by discovering for oneself various facts and principles Teacher as a stimulator but not a hand-holderwas silent much of them time, thus the name of the method.

Principles
Teaching should be subordinated to learning To teach means to serve the learning process rather than to dominate it Learning is a process which we initiate by ourselves by mobilizing our inner resources ( our perception, awareness, cognition, imagination, intuition, creativity, etc) to meet the current challenge)

Principles
Learning is facilitated if learner discovers or creates rather than remembers and repeats what is to be learned Learning is facilitated by accompanying physical objects Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learned

Strategies
This method begins by using a set of coloured rods of varying lengths and verbal commands The rods were used to introduce vocabulary, verbs and syntax. Teacher provides single-word stimuli, or short phrases and sentences, once or twice Then students refined their understanding and pronunciations among themselves with minimal corrective feedback from the teacher The charts introduced pronunciation models, grammatical paradigms