LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODOLOGIES

Grammar-Tran Direct Method Audio-lingual Total physical The communicative Task-based language
slation method response language teaching teaching
Method

1Teaching goals
- Enables - communicate in -use the target - have students - enable students to - facilitate students’
students to the target language enjoy learning to communicate in the language learning by
read and language. communicatively communicate in target language engaging them in a
appreciate -Overlearn the another language. variety of tasks that
literature - Think in the target language - reduce the stress - be able to choose have a clear outcome.
written in the target language. -Use it students feel when from among these the
target language automatically they are studying most appropriate
without stopping other language form, given the social
- Helps to think context and the roles
understand -Form new habits - encourages of the interlocutors.
grammar rules in the target students to
and new language. continue learning - be able to manage
vocabulary beyond basic the process of
proficiency. negotiating meaning
with their
- to base foreign interlocutors.
language learning
upon the way
children learn their
native language

1
2Roles of the - the teacher Teacher’s role: an - Initially, the - The teacher’s role is
teachers/students - Teacher’s directs the class orchestra leader, teacher is the -The teacher: to choose tasks, based
role: authority, activities directing and director of all facilitates on an analysis of
provide - the student role controlling the student behavior. communication in the students’ needs, that
knowledge, is less passive language The students are classroom, establishes are appropriate to the
and guidance. than in the behavior of her imitators of her situations. level of the students
Grammar-Translat students, nonverbal model. - and to create pre-task
- Student’s ion Method. providing her At some point - He acts as an advisor, and task follow-up
role: listen to - The teacher and students with a (usually after 10–20 answering students’ phases that are in line
the teacher the students are good model for hours of questions and with the abilities and
and do as she more like partners imitation. instruction), some monitoring their needs of the students.
says in the students will be performance. - The teacher also
teaching–learning -Student’s role: ‘ready to speak.’ At monitors the students’
process. imitators, follow that point, there - He might make a performance, and
the teacher’s will be a role note of their errors to intervenes as
directions and reversal with be worked on at a necessary.
respond as individual students later time during more - The role of the
accurately and as directing the accuracy-based students is to
rapidly as possible teacher and the activities. communicate with
other students. their peers to
- At other times he
complete a task.
might be a
‘co-communicator’
engaging in the
communicative
activity along with
students.

-Students:
communicators. They
are actively engaged in
negotiating
meaning—in trying to

2
 make themselves
understood—even
when their knowledge
of the target language
is incomplete.

- students are seen as

more responsible for
their own learning.

3
3Characteristics of - Translate - students need to - New vocabulary - The teacher issues - A pre-task phase
the from one associate and structural commands to a few -Everything is done typically begins a task
teaching/learning language into meaning with the patterns are students, then with a communicative sequence.
process another. target language presented performs the intent. - The tasks are
- Students directly through actions with them. meaningful and
study grammar - when the dialogues. The - These same -Students use the relevant so that the
deductively. teacher dialogues are students language a great deal students see the
- They introduces a new learned through demonstrate that through reason for doing the
memorize target language imitation and they can communicative task and can see how
grammar rules, word or phrase, repetition. understand the activities such as the task relates to
native he demonstrates - Drills (such as commands by games, role-plays, and possible situations in
language its meaning repetition, performing them problem-solving tasks their lives outside the
equivalents for through the use backward alone. classroom.
target language of realia, pictures, build-up) are - The teacher next -True communication - Students are actively
vocabulary or pantomime; he conducted based recombines is purposeful engaged with the task,
words. never translates it upon the patterns elements of the with the teacher
-The use of authentic
into the students’ present in the commands to have monitoring their
materials. It is
native language. dialogue. students develop performance and
considered desirable
- Students speak Students - flexibility in intervening when
to give students an
in the target Successful understanding necessary. The task
opportunity to
language a great responses are unfamiliar has clear outcomes so
develop strategies for
deal and positively utterances. that both students and
understanding
communicate as if reinforced. - The students learn teachers can tell if the
language as it is
they were in real Grammar is to read and task has been
actually used.
situations. induced from the write some oral successfully
- Grammar is examples given commands, they completed.
- Activities in CLT are
taught Students’ reading become the ones - A post-task phase
often carried out by
inductively; that and written work who issue the takes place to
students in small
is, the students is based upon the commands. reinforce students’
groups. Small numbers
are presented oral work they did - Activities expand learning or to address
of students interacting
with examples earlier. to include skits and any problems that may
are favored in order to
and they figure games. have arisen.
maximize the time

4
 out the rule or allotted to each
generalization student for
from the communicating.
examples. -
Students practice
vocabulary by
using new words
in complete
sentences

4Interaction Most of the -The initiation of - There is - The teacher Teacher: input
interaction in the interaction student-to-studen interacts with the -The teacher may provider during the
the classroom goes both ways, t interaction in whole group of present some part of initial phase of the
is from the from teacher to chain drills or students and with the lesson. lesson, sets the task,
teacher to the students and when students individual students. making note of
students. There from students to take different - Initially, the - At other times, he is language, provides
is little student teacher, although roles in dialogues, interaction is the facilitator of the feedback
initiation and the latter is often but this characterized by activities, but he does
little teacher-directed. interaction is the teacher not always himself Students: work closely
student–stude teacher-directed. speaking and the interact with the together, help each
nt interaction. - Most of the students students. other accomplish the
interaction is responding task and to
between teacher nonverbally. - Sometimes he is a problem-solve.
and students and - Later on, the co-communicator, but
is initiated by the students become more often he
teacher. more verbal and establishes situations
the teacher that prompt
responds communication
nonverbally. - between and among
Students perform the students. -
the actions Students interact a
great deal with one

5
 together. Students another. They do this
can learn by in various
watching each configurations: pairs,
other. At some triads, small groups,
point, however, and whole groups.
they must
demonstrate their
understanding of
the commands in
order to retain
them.
- As students begin
to speak, they issue
commands to one
another as well as
to the teacher.

5Feelings of the There are no There are no There are no - reduce the stress - are motivated by
students principles of principles of the principles of the people feel when -will be more doing tasks that
the method method which method which studying other motivated prepare them for the
which relate to relate to this area. relate to this area. languages. real world
this area. - allow learners to -express their
speak when they individuality
are ready.
- to make language -student security is
learning as enhanced
enjoyable as
possible.
- Feelings of
success and low
anxiety facilitate
learning.

6
6How the - Literary - Language is - Every language - the oral modality - Language is for
language/culture language is primarily spoken, is seen as having is primary -Language is for communicating and for
is viewed considered not written. its own unique - Culture is the communication. ‘doing.’
superior to - Students study system. The lifestyle of people - Culture is not
spoken common, system comprises who speak the - Linguistic explicitly dealt with
language everyday speech several different language natively. competence, the although certain tasks
- Culture is in the target levels: knowledge of forms might have a cultural
viewed as language, culture phonological, and their meanings, is focus, such as when
consisting of consisting of the morphological, only one part of students prepare
literature and history of the and syntactic. communicative different ethnic foods
the fine arts. people who speak Each level has its competence. Another to share.
the target own distinctive aspect of
language, the patterns. communicative
geography of the - Everyday speech competence is
country is emphasized. knowledge of the
or countries - The level of functions that
where the complexity of the language is used for.
language is speech is graded,
spoken, and however, so that -Culture is the
information about beginning everyday lifestyle of
the daily lives of students are people who use the
the speakers of presented with language
the language. only simple
patterns.
- Culture consists
of the everyday
behavior and
lifestyle of the
target language
speakers.

7
7What language - Vocabulary - Vocabulary is - Vocabulary is - Vocabulary and - The meaning
areas/skills are and grammar emphasized over kept to a grammatical -Areas of language: dimension of language
emphasized are grammar. minimum while structures are Language functions is emphasized.
emphasized. - - oral the students are emphasized over might be emphasized - Depending on the
Reading and communication is mastering the other language over forms. nature of the task, any
writing are the seen as basic. sound system and areas. These are of the four skills can be
primary skills Thus the reading grammatical embedded within - Students work with utilized.
that the and writing patterns. imperatives. language at the
students work exercises are - A grammatical - Understanding the discourse or
on. There is based upon what pattern is not the spoken word suprasentential level.
much less the students same as a should precede its
attention given practice orally sentence. production. -Students work on all
to speaking first. - The oral/aural - The spoken four skills from the
and listening. - Pronunciation skills receive most language is beginning.
- Pronunciation also receives of the attention. - emphasized over
receives little, attention right Pronunciation is written language. -
if any, from the taught from the Students often do
attention. beginning of a beginning. not learn to read
course. the commands they
have already
learned to perform
until after 10 hours
of instruction.

8
8The role of the - The meaning - The students’ - The target TPR is usually
students’ native of the target native language language is used introduced in the -The students’ native - There is no explicit
language language is should not be in the classroom, students’ native language is permitted role for the students’
made clear by used in the not the students’ language. in CLT native language.
translating it classroom native language.
into the After the -Whenever possible,
students’ introduction, rarely the target language
native would the native should be used not
language. The language be used. only during
language that communicative
is used in class Meaning is made activities, but also for
is mostly the clear through body explaining the
students’ movements. activities to the
native students or in
language. assigning homework.

9
9Evaluation - Written tests ( - students are - Students might - Formal The teacher constantly
translate from asked to use the be asked to evaluations can be -A teacher evaluates evaluates students in
their native language, not to distinguish conducted simply not only his students’ light of task outcomes
language into demonstrate their between words in by commanding accuracy, but also their and the language they
the target knowledge about a minimal pair, for individual students fluency. use.
language or the language. example, or to to perform a series
vice versa) - - They are asked supply an of actions. -A teacher can
Questions to do so, using appropriate verb - As students evaluate his students’
about the both oral and form in a become more performance
target culture written skills. sentence. advanced, their informally in his role
or questions performance of as advisor or
that ask skits they have co-communicator.
students to created can
apply grammar become the basis - For more formal
rules for evaluation. evaluation, a teacher
is likely to use an
integrative test which
has a real
communicative
function.

- In order to assess
students’ writing skill,
for instance, a teacher
might ask them to
write a letter to a
friend.

10
10Student errors - If students The teacher, Student errors are - Teachers should - Errors of form are Focus on form is
make errors or employing various to be avoided if at be tolerant of them tolerated during essential to students’
do not know an techniques, tries all possible. and only correct fluency-based learning. Error
answer, the to get students to major errors. activities and are seen correction is done
teacher self-correct -As students get as a natural outcome through recasts or
supplies them whenever more advanced, of the development of modeling or by giving
with the possible teachers can communication skills. brief grammar
correct answer ‘fine tune’ - The teacher may explanations.
—correct more note the errors during
minor errors fluency activities and
return to them later
with an accuracy
based activity.

Teaching Techniques

Grammar-Translation Method - Translation of a literary passage:

- students translate a reading passage from the target language into their native language.
- The translations maybe written or spoken or both
- shouldn't translate Idioms and the like literally but rather in a way that shows that they
understand their meaning

- Reading Comprehension questions:

- Questions based on their understanding of reading passages. It is divided into 3 groups:
- Group 1: question information contained within the reading passage
- Group 2: students will have to make inferences based on their understanding of the
passage.
- Group 3: questions require students to relate the passage to their own experience.

11
 - Antonyms/Synonyms:
- Students are given one set of words and are asked to find antonyms or synonyms in the
reading passage.
- Or students might be asked to define a set of words based on their understanding of them

- Cognates:
- students are taught to identify cognates by learning spelling or sound patterns shared
between languages. They also memorize words that resemble cognates but have different
meanings in the target language. This method is useful only for languages that share
cognates.

- Deductive Application of Rules:

- Grammar rules are presented with examples. Exceptions to each rule are also noted. When
students understand a rule, they apply it to some examples.

- Fill-in-the-blanks Exercise
Students are given a series of sentences with words missing. They fill in the blanks with new
vocabulary items or with items of a particular grammar type

- memorization: Students are given lists of target language vocabulary words and their
native language equivalents and are asked to memorize them.

- use words in the sentences: In order to show that students understand the meaning
and use of a new vocabulary item, they make up sentences with a new vocabulary

- Composition: Students will write a topic related reading passage in the target
language or summarize the reading passage

12
Direct Method - Reading aloud: Students take turns reading sections of passage.
- Question and answer exercise: Students are asked questions and answers in
full sentences .
- Getting students to self - correct: Teacher helping students to correct their
errors by themselves.
- Conversation practice: Teachers should regularly ask individual students some
questions about themselves.
- Fill - in - blank exercise: Students would have induced the grammar rule they
need to fill in the blanks.
- Dictation: Students listen to the teacher and write down what they have
heard.
- Map drawing: Students labeled the map follow the teacher’s instruction.
- Paragraph writing: Students write paragraphs based on their memories or the
model paragraph.

Audio-lingual method
- Dialogue Memorization: mimicry practicing sentence patterns and grammar points.
- Backward Build-up (Expansion): Dril Long sentences are broken down last phrase
and gradually build up to the entire line natural intonation
- Repetition Drill: repeat model quickly and accurately
- Chain Drill: ask and answer questions control communication and speech checks
- Single-slot Substitution Drill: a substituted word or phrase, practicing sentence
structure
- Multiple-slot Substitution Drill: Similar, recognize parts of speech
- Transformation Drill: transform sentences, practice different sentence structures.
- Question-and-answer Drill: practice quickly, reinforcing the question pattern
- Use of Minimal Pairs: differ by one sound, improve pronunciation and perception.
- Complete the Dialogue: fill in blanks, reinforcing memory and understanding

13
 - Grammar Game: practice grammar points, expression with repetition

Total physical response - Using Commands to Direct Behavior

The use of commands is the major teaching technique of TPR. The commands are given to
get students to perform an action; the action makes the meaning of the command clear.
Since Asher suggests keeping the pace lively, it is necessary for a teacher to plan in advance
just which commands she will introduce in a lesson. If the teacher tries to think them up as
the lesson progresses, the pace will be too slow.
- Role Reversal
Students command their teacher and classmates to perform some actions. Asher says that
students will want to speak after 10–20 hours of instruction, although some students may
take longer. Students should not be encouraged to speak until they are ready.
- Action Sequence
The teacher give three connected commands. For example, the teacher told the students to
point to the door, walk to the door, and touch the door. As the students learn more and more
of the target language, a longer series of connected commands can be given, which together
comprise a whole procedure. While we did not see a long action sequence in this very first
class, a little later on students might receive the following instructions, which they act out.

The communicative language teaching - Authentic materials: advocate the use of authentic language materials for students'
high-intermediate level of proficiency. For students with lower proficiency use
simpler authentic materials or to use items of realia that do not contain a lot of
language.
- Scrambled Sentences: Teacher will give them scrambled sentences of paragraph or
passage. They are told to unscramble the sentences so that the sentences are
restored to their original order. In addition, students might also be asked to
unscramble the lines of a mixed-up dialogue
- Language Games: Games that are truly communicative, have the three features of
communication: information gap, choice, and feedback.
- Picture Strip Story: one student in a small group was given a strip story. She showed

14
 the first picture of the story to the other members of her group and asked them to
predict what the second picture would look like. They had a choice as to what their
prediction would be and how they would word it.
- Role-play: the teacher establishes the situation and the student will role-play. Can
help students choose among these appropriate forms, given the social context.

Task-based language teaching

Prabhu identified three types of tasks, all of which were represented in the lesson we have just
observed:

● Information-gap tasks: Involves exchanging information to complete a task, such

as filling a schedule or describing a picture. This requires participants to share
knowledge they have
● Opinion-gap tasks: Requires students to express personal preferences or feelings to
solve a problem, like giving advice or finding solutions to social issues. In the
observed lesson, students surveyed classmates about favorite subjects
● Reasoning-gap tasks: Involves inferring new information from what is already
given, such as finding the best route on a train schedule or solving riddles. Prabhu
favors reasoning-gap tasks because they encourage sustained engagement with
meaning, unlike simpler information-gap and open-ended opinion-gap tasks.

According to Ellis (2009), TBLT tasks can be unfocused or focused:

● Unfocused tasks: Designed to provide learners with opportunities for general

communication.
● Focused tasks: Designed to create opportunities for communicating using specific
linguistic items, typically grammar structures.

Ellis also distinguishes between input-providing and output-prompting tasks

● Input-providing tasks: Engage learners with receptive skills like listening and
reading, allowing teachers to introduce new language

15
● Output-prompting tasks: Encourage students to speak or write meaningfully. In the
observed lesson, students shared information on their cards to help their group
complete a schedule.

16