Oral approach or SLT"situational language teaching

They view grammar as the underlying patterns of the spoken language.

 

The principles of SLT are:

1. Selection

2. Gradation

3. Presentation

 

Situation in SLT refers to the manner of presenting and practicing sentence patterns. SLT is dependent on both textbook and visual aids.

It is developed since 1930's to 1960's. Here grammatical items are graded from simple to complex. Its syllabus is structural.

Learners' roles: First passive then more active

Teacher's roles: Modeling, setting up situations, then less control and giving more freedom to students.

Here teacher is responsible for: 1. Timing 2. Oral practice  3. Revision   4.Testing

 5. Developing language activities  6. Adjustment special needs of individuals.

The stages of the method in teaching are: 1. pronunciation 2. Revision

3. Presentation 4. Oral drills 5. Reading

 

 Sources: Chastain and Brown's books

Kinds of drills

In the Name of God

 

Kinds of drills

1. Mechanical drill: there is complete control over the student's response, and where comprehension is not required in order to produce a correct response. Complete control of answer and just one answer. (ALM)

2. Meaningful drill: there is still control over the response but understanding is required in order for the students to produce a correct response. Control still exists but not just one answer is expected.

3. Communicative drill: the type of response is controlled but the student provides his or her own content or information. No control of patterns.

 

A review of language teaching methods

In the Name of God

A review of language teaching methods

 

ALM(Audio lingual method):

 

Its principles are like DM but it has a base on psychology and linguistic. In linguistic field, it is based on structural linguistic and in psychology it is based on behavioral psychology. In other words, its theory of learning is behavioral psychology and its theory of teaching is structural linguistics. It is called Michigan Method too because for the first time Fries performed it in Michigan university.

The principles of ALM:

1. Language forms do not occur by themselves, they occur within a context.

2. The native language and the target language have separate linguistic system.

3. Teachers should be a good model.

4. They believe on habit formation and conditioning and reinforcement.

5. Errors should be avoided at all cost.

6. Students should respond to both verbal and nonverbal stimuli.

7. Learn to answer without thinking. (Over learning)

8. The teacher is like an orchestra leader.

9. First learning structural patterns then learning vocabularies.

10. Using contrastive analysis to avoid errors.

11. The order of skills is: listening-speaking-reading and writing.

12. Culture and language are interrelated.

13. The vocabularies and structural patterns should be learned through dialogue.

14. They believe on descriptive linguistic.

15. The goal is learning to communicate.

16. The oral (speaking)\aural (listening) skills received more attention.

17. Some of the techniques are use of minimal pairs, grammar game, drills…

18. Learning is not a mental process but a mechanical one.

19. They believe on mimicry memorization.

20. Accuracy is more important than fluency.

21. Very little use of mother tongue by teacher is permitted.

22. Teach the language not about the language.

23. A language is what native speakers say not what sb thinks they ought to say.

 

The creation of ALM

Structural linguistic theory + Contrastive analysis + Oral approach +behavioral psychology equal ALM

 

ALM claimed to have transformed language teaching from an art to a science.

 

These are the drills that are used in this method:

1. Repetition drill

2. Inflection drill

3. Restatement drill

4. Replacement drill

5. Completion drill

6. Transposition drill

7. Expansion drill

8. Contraction drill

9. Transformation drill

10. Integration drill

11. Rejoinder drill

12. Restoration drill

It is a teacher dominated method. They believe that if we can't get the aims, it's our mistakes not the deficiencies of the method. Gradually the method went to decline, because its techniques were boring and it was not useful in immediate environment. After it, Chomsky rejected behaviorism and structuralism and said: sentences are not learned by imitation and repetition but by competence. So after Chomsky's speech the principles' of ALM went under the question. And he could create his method (CCLM or cognitive code learning method). He focused on abstract mental process instead of habit formation. After ALM some other methods such as SLT and Dartmouth Intensive Language Program came to exist.

 

A review of language teaching methods

In the Name of God

A review of language teaching methods:

DM (direct method):

It was dominated during the first quarter of the 20^th century and was starting to go into decline by the late 1920 and there was a return to the grammar translation method.

Speaking began with systematic attention to pronunciation. They started from known and then went to unknown in teaching vocabularies. Concrete words are taught through demonstration-objects-pictures…and abstract words through association of ideas. It focused on both speaking and listening and also on grammar and pronunciation. The ADHERENTS of this method believed that errors should not occur because they will interfere in learning. They thought that errors should be corrected immediately. This method lacked a basic in applied linguistic theory. So a lot of criticizes raised against it. Then it went into decline and there was a return to RM and GTM and after them ALM (in America) and SLT (in British) came that were the perfection of DM. Really the first method that got popularity was DM. It  led to creation of method and approach. Method and approach created first during 1950- 1980. In this method teaching points are taught through modeling and practice. Only every day vocabulary and sentences are taught. Teacher facilitates opportunities for students to self correct using follow-up questions- tone—etc. They teach grammar inductively. Some people combined DM and GTM and  called it modified DM and believed where it is difficult to make the meaning of words and phrases clear by sketch or gesture, they can give a brief explanation in the native language.

Deficiencies of DM:

1. Not mentioning the realities of classes

2. Lacking a basis on applied linguistics

3. Largely dependent on teachers rather than textbooks

4. Not all teachers are proficient enough (native or near native proficiency)

 

A review of language teaching methods

In the Name of God

A review of language teaching methods:

GTM:

It was dominated in 1840 till 1940. It focused on Reading literature. Pronunciation was not important there. They believed faculty learning. In other words they believed "More practice equals to more learning. It's another names are classical method and Prussian method. Reading and writing were the major focus. Most of the teachers prefer this method because it needs not a lot of training and correcting students' testing is very easy.

Goals:

1. To read and translate literature

2. To dominate on native language

3. To involve in hard conditions and learn more

In this class much time was spent "talking about" the language. Learning grammar and vocabulary was achieved by reading and writing exercises.

Little attention was paid to the content of texts.

As Richard and Rodgers said:

It is a method for which there is no theory.

GTM first appeared in Germany by Seidenstucker and Plotz. Grammar is taught deductively and accuracy is emphasized. And the medium of instruction was native language.