Language Teaching Approaches: An Overview by Marianne Celce-Murcia is a great piece to introduce the principles behind Language as a whole. This article addresses not only the dominant language, English, but how language is best learned either as a first or a second language and the role of the teacher in instruction.
Alright, maybe there are not bears in this particular article, but there is a lot of information being presented, for example, Methods and Techniques which I believe are the foundation to the "Nine Approaches to Language Teaching". For clarification, a Method is, "a set of procedures, i.e., a system that spells out rather precisely how to teach a second or foreign language. It is more specific than an approach but less specific than a technique" (p. 5). This is to say that a method is similar to a syllabus for students to follow or a lesson plan for teachers to base instruction off of. So, a technique must be a specific activity based off of the lesson plan or for a more precise definition, "a classroom device or activity and thus represents the narrowest of three concepts, e.g., dictation, imitation and repetition” (p. 6).
So here is where I want to get to meat of the article, Approach(es), which are/is the umbrella to methods and techniques. Altogether there are nine approaches, which I will briefly address. One, Grammar-Translation, which one can deduce that it has a central, grammatical structure for instruction based on the name; Second, the Direct Approach, which has a hidden approach to teaching basic grammar therefore being opposite from Grammar-Translation Approach; Third, Reading Approach, based on the idea that one can transfer what they understood from reading into oral usage; Fourth, Audio-lingualism, which has a rather controlled teaching environment leaving not much room for errors; Fifth, Oral Situational, is perhaps the most real-world based stretching from simple to complex encounters; Sixth, Cognitive Approach, that is entirely based on the assumption that all children learn either the same way, or through self-instruction; Seventh, Affective-Humanistic, which requires an in depth amount of group work; Eighth, Comprehension-Based Approach, based on the notion that students have the choice when they feel comfortable to speak the target language; Lastly, ninth, Communicative Approach, simply stated as communication.
Okay, what does all of this mean for those who are pursuing a degree in teaching as a second language? For me, it is important to recognize what type of learner I am, both in my native language and target language, and to note that not all students are going to acquire language in the same manner. Personally, in learning Spanish I know that I learn the best through the idea behind Oral-Situational Approach because it is hands on information that is applicable to everyday life.
Task: I want to know how everyone in LLT 307 learns a foreign language using one of the Nine Approaches as a reference. Secondly, the youtube video below is using an example of teaching a second language learners, I want to know if she is using a method, technique or approach. (If approach, which do you think it is?) Lastly, feel free to comment on anything else, I’m always open for new ideas!
I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this!
Elizabeth
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Personally for me I learn a foreign language best by the Oral-Situational approach. I need to use the native and target language. I remember learning Spanish in High school and one of my teachers used the direct approach. If you wanted to ask a question, you asked it in Spanish. Since this way did not work for me I decided to switch teachers. My new teacher used Oral-Situational approach. This helped me a lot more. We had daily conversations in class to practice our accents and make sure we were using the correct forms.
ReplyDeleteIn the video I think the woman is using the communicative approach. The way she has the students go home and place the sticky notes around the house to coincide with the word on them demonstrates how the students engage in activities to improve the target language.
I really enjoyed reading what you wrote and reflecting back on my own learning skills.
I personally prefer the Audiolingual approach.I grew up in a household that spoke mainly Japanese, so I learned Japanese by mimicking how my mother spoke, and learn from her inductive corrections on the language rules. I also knew very few Japanese words at first, but gradually increased as my habit formed.Having learned Japanese this way, I found it easy to learn Spanish in the same way in high school. There was a high emphasis on mimicking the teacher and pronunciation was stressed. My teacher made sure we did not carry our early errors into higher levels of learning Spanish. I felt her method was the most practical and beneficial to me.
ReplyDeleteThe woman is using the communicative approach. She encourages using sticky notes to bring learning the language into the lives of her students. She also is a fluent speaker in English.
I enjoyed your piece, and it was interesting analyzing the teaching methods of my favorite teacher. Keep up the good work!
Thank you both for the feedback! I'm impressed that you know three languages! Also, I thought the woman was using Communicative approach as well. :-)
ReplyDeleteI want to know how everyone in LLT 307 learns a foreign language using one of the Nine Approaches as a reference. Secondly, the youtube video below is using an example of teaching a second language learners, I want to know if she is using a method, technique or approach. (If approach, which do you think it is?
ReplyDeleteMy beginning L2 learning experience was a mixture of all approaches. I never had one class that was full-heartedly grammar-translation nor one that was formulated around the communicative approach because all of the approaches are valuable and are applicable to L2 learning. The importance of classifying foreign language instruction comes into play when teachers are designing their classroom because they need to take into account a number of different factors (i.e. learning styles of their students, topics that will to be covered in the classroom, the desires/goals of the students, what style they personally feel comfortable teaching with, and the overall goal/s of the foreign language program). Teaching methods and approaches are not static. Instead they are constantly evolving with the times and the needs/goals of foreign language programs and students. Personally, as my L2 learning experience has expanded into college from high school, my preferences to learning styles and approaches have evolved as well-
As a dedicated student of L2 learning for eight years, my preferences of learning styles, priorities and strengths in my L2 classes have evolved over the years. In the beginning stages of my L2 learning, I was not as dedicated to speaking in the language. Instead, I wanted to learn how to read, listen and write it, but speaking was always a distant goal I had for myself. As my L2 instruction has progressed, and after living abroad, my priorities have changed to be more speaking/communicating oriented and less reading and writing oriented. Not to say all 4 competencies are not equally important, but as I said before, students' needs and desires change as they evolve in their L2 learning experience. Similarly to my personal needs and experiences changing, my preferences of learning styles and approaches changed as well. After having ample experiences with my L2, I now prefer to learn in a more interactive/communicative classroom to learn the L2. I enjoy speaking with native speakers, as with my peers and teachers, as a way to gain stronger communication skills that for me, are applicable in the world outside of the classroom.
Referring the the youtube video posted, she's using more a technique than an approach to help students learn new vocabulary. By having her students label the items with sticky notes, it help them to identify the items, associate the words with a real object in their house and then commit the words and translations to memory.
In high school, I took a alanguage but only took it for a year. I started learning Japanese because my brother was also using that language and thought it would be something that would bring us closer. I remember the teacher wasn't very organized and although she spoke the language fluently, she didn't manage the class very well and kind of just let us go off and do whatever. But if I had to choose, I would say that I would learn best through the Oral-situational or direct approach, probably a combination of the two. using a language and hearing it all the time would probably be helpful.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the video, I think she is using the Communicative approach. I think that the activity she uses by having the children go home and place the sticky notes on the actual things that they are would be very beneficial. Last semester I babysat and although the kids were not ESL students, their mom made sticky notes like that so it would improve their reading and spelling skills.
I have not taken a foreign language class here at MSU, so as you can image its been awhile since I have learned a foreign language. In high school I took Italian for four years and from what I can remember the class was very based around the Grammar-Translation Approach and the Reading Approach. We did a lot of translating and conjugating verbs. We had a textbook where we would again translate what was written and had vocabulary tests. At times the target language was spoken but it was not enforced.
ReplyDeleteI wish my Italian classes were based around the Oral-Situational Approach or the Communicative Approach because I find these approaches to really use the target language in a way that is beneficial to the learner. In the Communicative Approach “classroom materials and activities are often authentic to reflect real-life situations and demands”, this element for me would make learning the target language more engaging because I would feel like what I am learning would be useful.
I think the Youtube video demonstrates a technique rather than a method or approach to help students learn a foreign language. The reason why I think it is a technique is because the woman in the video is giving a suggestion on how to learn different words in a foreign language.
Again, it is really interesting to read about all your different language learning experiences. My assumption is always that all language teachers want their students to learn a language, but that some of the techniques they are using may not be as successful as they intended for a particular audience. They may not have learned enough about second language acquisition and teaching methods to adapt the method used or adopt a new method. Furthermore, as was pointed out by someone on this blog, sometimes the school or the textbook selected dictate the method to be used, so the individual teacher may not have as much control as one thinks.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the woman in the video explains a technique which could be used in a variety of teaching approaches.
Most of the nine approaches seem to overlap one another, so it is difficult to pick a single approach. I believe that they can be used in combination to effectively learn a new language. For me, the best approaches to learning Hebrew were Oral-Situational, Cognitive, Affective Humanistic, Comprehension based, but most importantly, Communicative. The atmosphere of learning is crucial, as affective-humanistic approach promotes a setting where learners feel at ease and enjoy the process. Based on my own experience, I feel language is best learned when the teacher speaks to the students only in the new language and vice versa (communication and comprehension approaches). For once a basic vocabulary is achieved, the students should be able to make sense of what is being said based on context. I also agree with the cognitive approach in that errors should be treated as learning opportunities. As a future teacher, I know that errors are a great source of learning, so the teacher can see where and why students are making these mistakes. The question about the youtube video is a good one. Sandy uses the technique of labeling, however it follows an approach, which values repetition and visual connection. I would describe this as direct approach because it is very specific, and as the theory states, language is learned by absorption. Good post Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I am not bilingual, I did take the required two years of a foreign language in high school. My first year I had a teacher who used a mix between affective-humanistic and communicative approaches. She had do a lot of group projects and communication. I enjoyed this because I have always been a fan of group work and like getting other students input on subject matter. Having to communicate about real life situations also made it a lot more engaging.
ReplyDeleteMy second year in Spanish I had a teacher who didn't make her activities very engaging, which is quite possibly the reason why I did not continue out of high school (which I thought I may have prior to this class). She used a grammar-translation approach, which speaks for itself. Although you get a good feel for how the language works, in my opinion, is extremely boring. It would be fine for teachers to use this approach but I think that it would be more beneficial for students who already have a pretty good grasp on the language.