Compilation of Learning Strategies free essay sample

To all of you gratefulness is what I want to offer for being a part in the completion of this academic endeavor. Thank you so much. Rowela I. Salvante March 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS TOPICSPAGE History of Language Teaching1-4 Grammar Translation Method4-10 The Direct Method10-17 Reading Method17 The Audiolingual Method18-26 The Cognitive Code Approach26 Natural Approach26-27 Community Language Learning27-36 The Silent Way36-42 Suggestopedia43-49 Total Physical Response49-55 Lexical Approach55-58 Competency-Based Language Teaching58-62 Content-Based Method62 Task-Based Instruction62-63 Neuro Linguistic Programming63-66 Multiple Intelligence67-69 Whole Language Approach69-71 The Natural Approach71-72 Communicative Approach73-74 The Communicative Language Teaching Approach74-83 Importance of Instructional Materials in Education83-87 Instructional Aid Theory87-88 Reasons for Use of Instructional Aids89-91 The Various Roles of Instructional Materials in in Different Modes of Teaching/Learning95-99 Types of Instructional Materials99-125 1| History of Language Teaching Along the years, many different teaching methods have been developed whether to face students’ needs or to match the requirements of a new administration, all of them claiming to be the best option to teach English. Many theories about the learning and teaching of languages have been proponed. These theories, normally influenced by developments in the fields of linguistics and psychology, have inspired many approaches to the teaching of second and foreign languages. Ancient time In the Western world back in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek, both supposed to promote the speakers’ intellectual. At the time was very important to focus on grammatical rules, syntactic structures, along with rote memorization of vocabulary and translation of literary texts. Latin and Geek were not being taught for oral communication but for the sake of speakers becoming scholarly or creating an illusion of sophistication. Knowledge of Latin was needed for the study of the bible and for academic purposes like the study of medical books and legal documents. After all speaking Latin played a subordinate role because it was a â€Å"dead Language† and because there were no authentic living people who could serve as a model for its phonetically correct pronunciation. It was not before the year 1886 that linguists like Wilhelm Vietor, Henry Sweet, and Daniel Jones 2 created the International Phonetic Alphabet for the phonetic description of sounds in different languages. 16TH CENTURY Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors, Medieval Latin should not be confused with Ecclesiastical Latin. There is no real consensus on the exact boundary where Late Latin ends and Medieval Latin begins. Starting in late medieval times, Italian language variants replaced Latin to become the primary commercial language for much of Europe (especially the Tuscan and Venetian variants). This became solidified during the Renaissance with the strength of Italian banking and the rise of humanism in the arts. French as a lingua franca French was the language of diplomacy in Europe from the 17th century until its recent replacement by English, and as a result is still a working language of international institutions and is seen on documents ranging from passports to airmail letters. For many years, until the accession of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark in 1973, French and German were the 3 only official working languages of the European Economic Community. French was also the language used among the educated in many cosmopolitan cities across the Middle East and North JAN AMOS COMENIUS Most famous language methodologist of 17th century was J A Comenius (1592-1670). Languages at this time were being taught by oral methods for communicative purposes. The works of Comenius stress the importance of the senses rather than the mind, the importance of physical activity in the classroom. He is best known for his use of pictures in language teaching. Much in Comenius is surprisingly modern. The exemplar should always come first, the precept should always follow. Karl Julius Ploetz (1819-1881) was a German author of scholarly works, most notably his Epitome of History published in the English language in 1883. He is credited with the idea of arranging historic data by dates, geographic location, and other factors. As later used in the English language, Encyclopedia of World History credited with being one of the most complete and comprehensive academic tools available before the electronic revolution His work was a compilation of factual world events designed to help the students and the general reader. The first English translation was in the U. S. in 1883 by William H. Tillinghast and published by Houghton Mifflin Company. The name of the 4 original work (in a form of a handbook) was Auszug aus der alten, mittleren und neueren Geschichte. Before listing the features of each approach, I would like to clarify some terminology. Namely, what do we mean by the terms approach, method, and technique? Edward Anthony (1963) has provided a useful set of definitions for approach, method, technique Approach: A set of assumptions about language teaching which involve the nature of language, learning, teaching. Method: The plan selected to present language in a systematic way. Technique: Specific activities consistent with the method and approach. Grammar Translation Method (1840 TO 1940s) Latin and Ancient Greek are known as dead languages, based on the fact that people no longer speak them for the purpose of interactive communication. Yet they are still acknowledged as important languages to learn (especially Latin) for the purpose of gaining access to classical literature, and up until fairly recently, for the kinds of grammar training that led to the mental dexterity considered so important in any higher education study stream. Latin has been studied for centuries, with the prime objectives of learning how to read classical Latin texts, understanding the fundamentals of grammar and translation, and gaining insights into some important foreign influences Latin 5 has had on the development of other European languages. The method used to teach it overwhelmingly bore those objectives in mind, and came to be known (appropriately! ) as the  Classical Method. It is now more commonly known in Foreign Language Teaching circles as the  Grammar Translation Method. It is hard to decide which is more surprising the fact that this method has survived right up until today (alongside a host of more modern and more enlightened methods), or the fact that what was essentially a method developed for the study of dead languages involving little or no spoken communication or listening comprehension is still used for the study of languages that are very much alive and require competence not only in terms of reading, writing and structure, but also speaking, listening and interactive communication. How has such an archaic method, remembered with distaste by thousands of school learners (Richards and Rodgers, 1986:4) persevered? It is worth looking at the objectives, features and typical techniques commonly associated with the Grammar Translation Method, in order to both understand how it works and why it has shown such tenacity as an acceptable (even recommended or respected) language teaching philosophy in many countries and institutions around the world. Objectives Most teachers who employ the Grammar Translation Method to teach English would probably tell you that (for their students at least) the most fundamental reason for learning the language is give learners access to English literature, develop their minds mentally through foreign language learning, and to build in them the kinds of grammar, reading, vocabulary and translation skills necessary to pass any one of a variety of mandatory written tests required at High School or Tertiary level. Some teachers who use the me thod might also tell you that it is the most effective way to prepare students for global communication by beginning with the key skills of reading and grammar. Others may even say it is the least stressful for students because almost all the teaching occurs in L1 and students are rarely called upon to speak the language in any communicative fashion. More conservative teachers from more conservative countries are even likely to be put out by anyone merely questioning the method, and a typical response could be because thats the way its always been done its the way I learned and look; now Im a professor. The point being, the method is institutionalized and considered fundamental. Such teachers are probably even unaware that the method has a name and can be compared alongside other methods. Key Features According to Prator and Celce-Murcia (1979:3), the key features of the Grammar Translation Method are as follows: 7 (1)   Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language. (2)   Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words. (3)   Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given. (4)   Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words. 5)   Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early. (6)   Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical  analysis. (7)   Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue. (8)   Little or no attention is given to pronunciation. Typical Techni ques Diane Larsen-Freeman, in her book  Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching  (1986:13) provides expanded descriptions of some common/typical techniques closely associated with the Grammar Translation Method. The listing here is in summary form only. 8 (1)   Translation of a Literary Passage (Translating target language to native language) (2)   Reading Comprehension Questions (Finding information in a passage, making inferences and relating to personal experience) (3)   Antonyms/Synonyms (Finding antonyms and synonyms for words or sets of words). (4)  Cognates (Learning spelling/sound patterns that correspond between L1 and the target language) (5)   Deductive Application of Rule (Understanding grammar rules and their exceptions, then applying them to new examples) (6)   Fill-in-the-blanks Filling in gaps in sentences with new words or items of a particular grammar type). (7)   Memorization (Memorizing vocabulary lists, grammatical rules and grammatical paradigms) (8)   Use Words in Sentences (Students create sentences to illustrate they know the meaning and use of new words) 9 (9)   Composition (Students write about a topic using the target language) Comments Many peop le who have undertaken foreign language learning at high schools or universities even in the past 10 years or so may remember many of the teaching techniques listed above for the Grammar Translation Method. They may also recall that the language learning experience was uninspiring, rather boring, or even left them with a sense of frustration when they traveled to countries where the language was used only to find they couldnt understand what people were saying and struggled mightily to express themselves at the most basic level. Very few modern language teaching experts would be quick to say that this is an effective language teaching method, and fewer would dare to try and assert that it results in any kind of communicative competence. As Richards and Rodgers (1986:5) state, It is a method for which there is no theory. There is no literature that offers a rationale or justification for it that attempts to relate it to issues in linguistics, psychology, or educational theory. And yet the Grammar Translation Method is still common in many countries even popular. Brown attempts to explain why the method is still employed by pointing out 10 It requires few specialized skills on the part of teachers. Tests of grammar rules and of translations are easy to construct and can be objectively scored. Many standardized tests of foreign languages still do not attempt to tap into communicative abilities, so students have little motivation to go beyond grammar analogies, translations, and rote exercises.    (1994:53) The Direct Method Towards the end of the late 1800s, a revolution in language teaching philosophy took place that is seen by many as the dawn of modern foreign language teaching. Teachers, frustrated by the limits of the Grammar Translation Method in terms of its inability to create communicative competence in students, began to experiment with new ways of teaching language. Basically, teachers began attempting to teach foreign languages in a way that was more similar to first language acquisition. It incorporated techniques designed to address all the areas that the Grammar Translation did not namely oral communication, more spontaneous use of the language, and developing the ability to think in the target language. Perhaps in an almost reflexive action, the method also moved as far away as possible from various techniques typical of the Grammar Translation Method for instance using L1 as the language of instruction, memorizing grammatical rules and lots of translation between L1 and the target language. 1 The appearance of the Direct Method thus coincided with a new school of thinking that dictated that all foreign language teaching should occur in the target language only, with no translation and an emphasis on linking  meaning  to the language being learned. The method became very popular during the first quarter of the 20th century, especially in private language schools in Europe where highly motivated students could study new languages and not need to travel far in order to try them out and apply them communicatively. One of the most famous advocates of the Direct Method was the German Charles Berlitz, whose schools and Berlitz Method are now world-renowned. Still, the Direct Method was not without its problems. As Brown (1994:56) points out, (it) did not take well in public education where the constraints of budget, classroom size, time, and teacher background made such a method difficult to use.    By the late 1920s, the method was starting to go into decline and there was even a return to the Grammar Translation Method, which guaranteed more in the way of scholastic language learning orientated around reading and grammar skills. But the Direct Method continues to enjoy a popular following in private language school circles, and it was one of the foundations upon which the well-known Audiolingual Method expanded from starting half way through the 20th century. Objectives The basic premise of the Direct Method is that students will learn to  communicate  in the target language, partly by 12 learning how to  think  in that language and by not involving L1 in the language learning process whatsoever.