Method for teaching English

Method for teaching English

Total Physical Response (TPR)

                Developed by James Asher, TPR is a language learning method based on the coordination of speech and action. It is linked to the trace theory of memory, which holds that the more often or intensively a memory connection is traced, the stronger the memory will be. There are six principles Asher elaborates:

1.      Second language learning is parallel to first language learning and should reflect the same naturalistic processes

2.      Listening should develop before speaking

3.      Children respond physically to spoken language, and adult learners learn better if they do that too

4.      Once listening comprehension has been developed, speech develops naturally and effortlessly out of it.

5.      Adults should use right-brain motor activities, while the left hemisphere watches and learns

6.      Delaying speech reduces stress.

·         Some of the objectives of Total Physical Response are:

Teaching oral proficiency at a beginning level

Using comprehension as a means to speaking

Using action-based drills in the imperative form

·         TPR uses a sentence-based grammatical syllabus.

·         TPR main learning techniques and activities are based on situations where a command is given in the imperative and the students obey the command.

The Silent Way

Caleb Gattegno founded "The Silent Way" as a method for language learning in the early 70s, sharing many of the same essential principles as the cognitive code and making good use of the theories underlying Discovery Learning.

·         Some of his basic theories were:

"teaching should be subordinated to learning" and

"the teacher works with the student; the student works on the language".

·         The most prominent characteristic of the method was that the teacher typically stayed "silent" most of the time, as part of his/her role as facilitator and stimulator, and thus the method's popular name.

·         Language learning is usually seen as a problem solving activity to be engaged in by the students both independently and as a group, and the teacher needs to stay "out of the way" in the process as much as possible.

·         The Silent Way is also well-known for its common use of small colored rods of varying length (Cuisinere rods) and color-coded word charts depicting pronunciation values, vocabulary and grammatical paradigms.

Typical Techniques

1.      Sound-Color Chart - ( Trefers students to a color-coded wall chart depicting individual sounds in the target language - students use this to point out and build words with correct pronunciation)

2.      Teacher's Silence (T is generally silent, only giving help when it is absolutely necessary)

3.      Peer Correction (Ss are encouraged to help each other in a cooperative and not competitive spirit)

4.      Rods (are used to trigger meaning, and to introduce or actively practice language.  They can even be manipulated directly or abstractly to create sentences)

5.      Self-correction Gestures (T uses hands to indicate that something is incorrect or needs changing)

6.      Word Chart (the sounds in each word corresponding in color to the Sound-Color Chart described above - students use this to build sentences)

7.      Fidel Chart (A chart that is color-coded according to the sound-color chart but includes the various English spellings so that they can be directly related to actual sounds)

8.      Structured Feedback  (Students are invited to make observations about the day's lesson and what they
 have learned)

It is a unique method and the first of its kind to really concentrate on cognitive principles in language learning.   

Community Language Learning

In the early seventies, Charles Curran developed a new education model he called "Counseling-Learning".  This was essentially an example of an innovative model that primarily considered "affective" factors as paramount in the learning process.  Learners were to be considered not as a "class", but as a "group", Curran's philosophy dictated that students were to be thought of as "clients" - their needs being addressed by a "counselor" in the form of the teacher.

·         The CLL method Principles:

1.      To encourage the students to take increasingly more responsibility for their own learning, and to "learn about their learning", so to speak.

2.      Learning in a nondefensive manner is considered to be very important, with teacher and student regarding each other as a "whole person" where intellect and ability are not  separated from feelings. 

3.      The initial struggles with learning the new language are addressed by creating an environment of mutual support, trust and understanding between both "learner-clients" and the "teacher-counselor.”

·         The Community Language Learning method involves some of the following features:

1.      Students are to be considered as "learner-clients" and the teacher as a "teacher-counselor".

2.      A relationship of mutual trust and support is considered essential to the learning process.

3.      Students are permitted to use their native language, and are provided with translations from the teacher which they then attempt to apply.

4.      Grammar and vocabulary are taught inductively.

5.      "Chunks" of target language produced by the students are recorded and later listened to – they are also transcribed with native language equivalents to become texts the students work with.

6.      Students apply the target language independently and without translation when they feel inclined/confident enough to do so.

7.      Students are encouraged to express not only how they feel about the language, but how they feel about the learning process, to which the teacher expresses empathy and understanding.

8.      A variety of activities can be included (for example, focusing on a particular grammar or pronunciation point, or creating new sentences based on the recordings/transcripts).

·         Typical Techniques

1.      Tape Recording Student Conversation (Ss choose what they want to say, and their target language production is recorded for later listening/dissemination)

2.      Transcription (T produces a transcription of the tape-recorded conversation with translations in the mother language - this is then used for follow up activities or analysis)

3.      Reflection on Experience (T takes time during or after various activities to allow students to expresshow they feel about the language and the learning experience, and T indicates empathy/understanding)

4.      Reflective Listening (Students listen to their own voices on the tape in a relaxed and reflective environment )

5.      Human Computer (T is a "human computer" for the students to control - T stating anything in the target language the student wants to practice, giving them the opportunity to self correct)

6.      Small Group Tasks (Ss work in small groups to create new sentences using the transcript, afterwards sharing them with the rest of the class)