Teaching Methods

Explaining first language acquisition

There are three perspectives to explain first language acquisition:

A. The behaviorist perspective
Behaviorism is a theory of learning, and the father of this psychological theory was Skinner. The
behaviorists viewed imitation and practice as the primary source in language development. According
to them, children imitate the language of adults, and their attempts receive positive reinforcement
which could take the form of praise or successful communication. Children would imitate and practice
the sounds and patterns they hear until they form habits of correct language use. The quality and
quantity of the language the child hears would shape his/her language behavior. Behaviorism gives
great importance to the environment as the source of language acquisition.

The samples of speech from children seem to support the behaviorist explanation of language
acquisition. However, children appear to imitate selectively; the choice of what to imitate and practice
is determined by something inside the child rather than by the environment. For example, mother says,
“Shall we play with the doll?” and Lucy repeats, “Play with the doll.” Lucy seems to be purely
imitating her mother. However, Randall is not just imitating his mother when he says, “he can doc my
little bump?” He is in the process of learning the rules of words formation; he forms the word “doc”
from the noun “doctor.” These examples prove that imitation and practice alone cannot explain some
of the forms created by children; therefore, behaviorism is not a satisfactory explanation for the
acquisition of the complex grammar that children acquire.

B. The innatist perspective

Chomsky challenged the behaviorist explanation for language acquisition. He argued that human
languages are innate, and children are biologically programmed for language acquisition. He argued
that the behaviorist theory failed to account for the logical problem of language acquisition: the
language children are exposed to includes incomplete sentences and slips of the tongue, yet they learn
to distinguish between grammatical and ungrammatical sentences. He concluded that children are born
with an innate ability to discover the underlying rules on the basis of the input they are exposed to.
This innate endowment contains the principles that are universal to all human languages.

C. Interactionist perspectives
In the view of cognitive psychologists such as Piaget, language acquisition is one example of the
child's ability to learn from experience. They argued that children learn the language they are exposed
to through interaction with the people around them. They focused on the interplay between the innate
learning ability of children and the environment in which they develop. They believed that children's
language is built on their cognitive development. For example, the use of a certain term such as
“bigger” depends on understanding the concept of size.

Theories of second language learning

Behaviorist and innatist explanations have been extended to account for second language acquisition.
A. Second language applications
Behaviorists explained learning in terms of imitation, practice, reinforcement, and habit formation.
Behaviorism had a powerful influence on second language teaching. Brooks and Lado were
proponents of behaviorism who influenced the development of Audiolingualism. It was assumed that
a person learning a second language would begin with the habits formed in the first language and that
these habits would interfere with the new ones. Behaviorism was often linked to the contrastive
analysis hypothesis (CAH). According to the CAH, where the first language and the target language

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are similar, learners should acquire target language structures with ease; where there are differences,
learners should have difficulty. However, learners do not make all the errors predicted by the CAH.
Instead, many of their actual errors are not predictable on the basis of their first language.

B. The innatist perspective: Universal Grammar

Chomsky argued that innate knowledge of the principles of Universal Grammar permits all children to
acquire the language of their environment during a critical period of their development. Lydia White
has argued that Universal Grammar (UG) offers the best perspective to understand second language
acquisition. Interaction with speakers of the second language is sufficient to trigger the acquisition of
the underlying structure of the language.

C. Krashen’s Monitor Model

This model was influenced by Chomsky. Krashen described his model in terms of five hypotheses:

1. The acquisition/learning hypothesis

Krashen suggests that adults acquire language in the same way that children pick up their first
language with no conscious attention to language form. However, they learn language through
conscious attention to form and rules. In his view, far more language is acquired than learned.

2. The monitor hypothesis

According to the monitor hypothesis, second language users draw on what they have acquired. They
may use rules and patterns that have been learned as an editor or monitor, allowing them to make
minor changes and edit what the acquired system has produced. Three conditions limit the successful
use of the monitor: time, focus on form, and knowledge of rules.

3. The natural order hypothesis

The acquisition of grammatical structures proceeds in a predictable order in first language acquisition,
and a similar natural order is found in second language acquisition. During acquisition, similar
developmental errors occur in learners no matter what their mother tongue is.
4. The input hypothesis
In order for acquirers to progress to the next stage in the acquisition of the target language, they need
to understand input that contains structures slightly above their present level. Krashen refers to this
with the formula “I + 1”.

5. The affective filter hypothesis

The affective filter is a barrier that prevents learners from acquiring language even when appropriate
input is available. Negative attitudes may be associated with poor learning outcomes. A learner who is
tense, anxious, or bored may filter out input, making it unavailable for acquisition. Learners with high
motivation and self-confidence generally do better.

The Grammar-Translation Method (GTM)

The Grammar-Translation Method was called the Classical Method since it was first used in the
teaching of Latin and Greek.

Characteristics of GTM
1. The goal of foreign language study is to learn a language in order to read and appreciate its
literature.
2. Reading and writing are the primary skills; little attention is paid to speaking or listening.
3. Vocabulary selection is based on the reading texts used, and words are taught through memorization
and bilingual word lists.
4. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice.

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5. Accuracy is emphasized. Students are expected to attain high standards in translation.
6. Grammar is taught deductively by presentation of grammar rules, which are then practiced through
translation exercises.
7. The student’s native language is the medium of instruction. It is used to explain new items and to
enable comparisons between the foreign language and the native language.

Positive and negative sides of GTM

GTM is used in situations where understanding literary texts is the primary focus of foreign language
study and there is little need for a speaking knowledge of the language. It makes few demands on
teachers. However, for the learners, it meant memorizing lists of unusable grammar rules and
vocabulary. It often creates frustration for students. It is a method for which there is no theory. The
GTM teaches students about the target language, but not how to use it.

Classroom activities
Reading and translating the passage
The teacher starts by reading a passage from the target language literature. Each student reads a few
lines from the passage, and is asked to translate the lines he has just read into his native language.
When the students have finished reading and translating the passage, the teacher asks them in the
native language if they have any questions. One student asks about the meaning of a word, and the
teacher translates the word into the native language.

Checking comprehension
The teacher asks the students to write the answers to some comprehension questions in English. For
example, he asks, “When did Mark Twain live?” Comprehension questions ask for information
contained within the reading passage. Another type is inference questions in which students have to
make inferences based on their understanding of the passage. For example, “Do you think the boy in
the story was ambitious?” The final type of questions requires the students to relate the passage to their
own experience. For example, “Have you ever thought about running away from home?” Each student
reads a question and reads his response. If the student is incorrect, the teacher selects a different
student to supply the correct answer, or the teacher himself gives the right answer.

Teaching vocabulary
The next activity is teaching vocabulary taken from the passage the students have just read.
Words are taught through memorization and bilingual word lists. For example, the students see the
words “ambition,” and “envy,” and they are asked to give translation for each of them in their native
language. If no one knows the native equivalent, the teacher gives it. Then the students are given
English words like “love” and “proudly,” and are asked to find synonyms or antonyms of these words
in the passage. In addition, the teacher asks the students to find some examples of cognates in the
excerpt. Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound patterns that
correspond between the languages.

Teaching grammar
The next activity deals with grammar which is taught deductively. For example, the teacher reads a
description of phrasal verbs. There are some phrasal verbs listed following the description, and the
students are asked to translate them into their native language. Then they are given the rule for use of a
direct object with phrasal verbs. Finally, they are asked to put one of these phrasal verbs in the blank of
each of the sentences they are given.

Homework
The teacher asks the students to memorize the the new words and to write a sentence in English using
each word. The students will be asked to write a composition in the target language about an ambition
they have, and to translate a paragraph into English.

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 Principles of GTM

1. What are the goals of teachers who use the Grammar-Translation Method?
A fundamental purpose of learning a language is to be able to read literature written in the target
language. Students need to learn about the grammar rules and vocabulary of the target language.
Literary language is superior to spoken language. For instance, the students read excerpts from the
target language literature. An important goal is for students to be able to translate each language into
the other. If students can translate, they are considered successful language learners. In addition, it is
believed that studying another language provides students with good mental exercise.

2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
The teacher is the authority in the classroom. The students do as he says to learn what he knows. It is
very important that students get the correct answer. The teacher decides whether an answer is correct
or not. If the answer is incorrect, the teacher selects a different student to supply the correct answer or
the teacher himself gives the right answer.

3. What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

Students are taught to translate passages in the target language about the culture of the target language
community. Students study grammar deductively; they are given the grammar rules and examples, they
are told to memorize them, and then they are asked to apply the rules to other examples. Students
should be conscious of the grammatical rules of the target language. It is important for students to
learn about the grammar or form of the target language. For instance, students are given a grammar
rule for the use of a direct object with phrasal verbs. Words are taught through memorization and
bilingual word lists. Students memorize native language equivalents for target language vocabulary
words. Wherever possible, verb conjugations and other grammatical paradigms should be committed
to memory. For instance, students memorize present tense, past tense, and past participle forms of
irregular verbs.

4. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction?

Most of the interaction in the classroom is from the teacher to the students. There is little student
initiation and little student-student interaction.

5. How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

There are no principles of the method which relate to this area.

6. How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Literary language is considered superior to spoken language and is therefore the language the students
study. Culture is viewed as consisting of literature and the fine arts.

7. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
The primary skills to be developed are reading and writing. Little attention is given to speaking and
listening, and almost none to pronunciation. For instance, students write out the answers to reading
comprehension questions. Vocabulary and grammar are emphasized. The ability to communicate in the
target language is not a goal of language instruction.

8. What is the role of the students’ native language?

The meaning of the target language is made clear by translating it into the students’ native language.
The language that is used in class is mostly the students’ native language. Learning is facilitated
through attention to similarities between the target language and the native language. For instance,
students are taught to recognize cognates between the languages.

9. How is evaluation accomplished?

Written tests in which students are asked to translate from their native language into the target

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language or vice versa are often used. Questions that ask students to apply grammar rules are also
common.

10. How does the teacher respond to student errors?

It is very important that students get the correct answer. If students make errors or do not know an
answer, the teacher supplies them with the correct answer.

Techniques of the Grammar-Translation Method

Translation of a Literary Passage

Students translate a reading passage from the target language into their native language. The
translation may be written or spoken or both. Students should not translate idioms and the like literally,
but rather in a way that shows that they understand their meaning.

Reading Comprehension Questions

Students answer questions in the target language based on their understanding of the reading passage.
The first group of questions asks for information contained within the reading passage. In the second
group of questions, students will have to make inferences based on their understanding of the passage.
The third group of questions requires students to relate the passage to their own experience.

Vocabulary
Students are given a set of words and are asked to find antonyms and synonyms, or students might be
asked to define a set of words based on their understanding of them as they occur in the reading
passage. Students are taught to recognize cognates by learning the spelling or sound patterns that
correspond between the languages.

Deductive Application of Rules

Grammar rules are presented with examples. Exceptions to each rule are also noted. Once students
understand a rule, they are asked to 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, such as prepositions or verbs.

Memorization
Students are given lists of target language words and their native language equivalents and are asked to
memorize them. Students are also required to memorize grammatical rules.

Use Words in Sentences

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

Composition
The teacher gives the students a topic to write about in the target language.

The Direct Method (DM)

The Direct Method is considered a Natural Method because its approach is similar to the acquisition of
the first language. Believers in the Natural Method argued that a foreign language could be taught
without translation if meaning was conveyed directly in the target language through demonstration,
visual aids, and action. The goal of the DM is learning how to use another language to communicate. It
is an oral-based approach which emphasizes vocabulary acquisition.

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Characteristics of the Direct Method
1. Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the target language.
2. Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.
3. Oral skills are based on question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students.
4. Grammar is taught inductively.
5. New teaching points are introduced orally.
6. Vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures.
7. Both speech and listening comprehension are taught.
8. Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.

Positive and negative sides of the Direct Method

The DM encouraged students' interaction and spontaneous use of the foreign language in the
classroom. The DM was successful in private language schools where students had high motivation
and the teachers were native-speakers of the target language. However, it was difficult to implement in
public schools. It required teachers who had native-like fluency in the foreign language. It was
dependent on the teacher’s skill, rather than on a textbook. It was time-consuming because teachers try
to avoid using the native language. In addition, it lacked a basis in applied linguistic theory.

Classroom activities
Reading a passage
The teacher places a big map of the USA in the front of the classroom. He asks the students one by one
to read a sentence from the reading passage. The teacher points to the part of the map each sentence
describes while the students are reading. After the students finish reading the passage, they are asked if
they have any questions. A student asks what a mountain range is. The teacher draws a series of
mountains on the board to illustrate its meaning. Another student asks what the word “between”
means. The teacher replies, ‘You are sitting between Maria and Paolo.

Questions and answers

Students are asked questions and they answer in full sentences so that they practice new words and
grammatical structures. The teacher asks some of his own questions, such as “Is Canada the country to
the south of the United States?” and he reminds the class to answer in a full sentence. The students
respond, “No. Canada isn’t the country south of the United States.” Finally, the teacher invites the
students to ask questions to which the class replies, so they have the opportunity to ask questions as
well as answer them.

Correcting students' errors

One student asks, “Where are the Appalachian Mountains?” Before the class responds, the teacher
works with the student on the pronunciation of the long word “Appalachian.” After insuring that the
student's pronunciation is correct, the teacher allows the class to answer the question. Later another
student asks, “What is the ocean in the West Coast?” The teacher again interrupts before the class
replies, saying, “What is the ocean in the West Coast? … or on the West Coast?” The student hesitates,
then says, “On the West Coast.”

Teaching grammar
Grammar is taught inductively from examples. The teacher instructs the students to turn to an exercise
which asks them to fill in the blanks. They read a sentence out loud and supply the missing word as
they are reading, for example, “The Atlantic Ocean is ___ the East Coast.”

Dictation
Finally, the teacher asks the students to take out their notebooks, and he gives them a dictation.

Homework
The students are asked to write a paragraph or to discuss a proverb, such as “Time is money.”

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 Principles of the Direct Method

1. What are the goals of teachers who use the Direct Method?
Teachers intend that students learn how to communicate in the target language. In order to do this
successfully, students should learn to think in the target language. The purpose of language learning is
communication. Therefore students need to learn how to ask questions and answer them.

2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
The teacher replaces the textbook in the early stages of learning. Although the teacher directs the class
activities, the student role is less passive than in the Grammar-Translation Method. The teacher and the
students are more like partners in the teaching-learning process. The teacher should demonstrate, not
explain or translate. The students should make a direct association between the target language form
and meaning. For instance, the teacher answers the students’ questions by drawing on the board or
giving examples. Students should be encouraged to speak as much as possible.

3. What are some characteristics of the teaching-learning process?

The students need to associate meaning with the target language directly. When the teacher introduces
a new target language word, he demonstrates its meaning through the use of realia, pictures, or
pantomime. Students speak in the target language and communicate as if they were in real situations.
The syllabus is based on situations or topics, not usually on linguistic structures. For instance, a unit
would consist of language that people would use at a bank. Grammar is taught inductively; the
students are presented with examples and they figure out the rule. Students practice vocabulary by
using new words in complete sentences. For instance, the students fill in blanks with prepositions
practiced in the lesson.

4. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What is the nature of student-student interaction?
The interaction goes both ways, from teacher to students and from students to teacher, but interaction
is often teacher-directed. Students converse with one another as well.

5. How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

There are no principles of the method which relate to this area.

6. How is language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Language is primarily spoken, not written. Therefore, students study everyday speech in the target
language. Students study culture consisting of the history or geography of the people who speak the
target language. Learning another language also involves learning how speakers of that language live.
For instance, a proverb, such as “Time is money” is used to discuss how Americans view punctuality.

7. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar. Vocabulary is acquired more naturally if students use it in
full sentences. All four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) occur from the start, but oral
communication is basic. Thus the reading and writing exercises are based upon what the students
practice orally first. Pronunciation also receives attention right from the beginning. Reading in the
target language should be taught from the beginning; however, the reading skill will be developed
through practice with speaking. Writing is an important skill, to be developed from the beginning of
language instruction.

8. What is the role of the students’ native language?

The students’ native language should not be used in the classroom. For instance, the teacher uses the
target language to ask the students if they have a question. The students use the target language to ask
their questions.

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9. How is evaluation accomplished?
In the Direct Method, students are asked to use the language using both oral and written skills. For
example, the students might be interviewed orally by the teacher or might be asked to write a
paragraph.

10. How does the teacher respond to student errors?

The teacher tries to get students to self-correct whenever possible. Self-correction facilitates language
learning.

Techniques of the Direct Method

Reading Aloud
Students take turns reading a passage or dialogue out loud. At the end of each student’s turn, the
teacher uses gestures, pictures, realia, or examples to make the meaning clear.

Question and Answer Exercise

This exercise is conducted only in the target language. Students are asked questions and answer in full
sentences so that they practice new words and grammatical structures.

Getting Students to Self-correct

The teacher has the students self-correct by asking them to make a choice between what they said and
an alternative answer he supplies. There are other ways of getting students to self-correct. For
example, a teacher might repeat what a student has just said, using a questioning voice to signal to the
student that something was wrong with it. Another possibility is for the teacher to repeat what the
student said, stopping just before the error. The student then knows that the next word was wrong.

Conversation Practice
The teacher asks students a number of questions in the target language, which they have to understand
to be able to answer correctly. The teacher asks individual students questions about themselves. The
questions contain a particular grammar structure. Later, the students are able to ask each other their
own questions using the same grammatical structure.

Fill-in-the-blanks Exercise
All the items are in the target language, and no explicit grammar rule would be applied. The students
induce the grammar rule they need to fill in the blanks from examples and practice with earlier parts of
the lesson.

Dictation
The teacher reads the passage three times. The first time the teacher reads it at a normal speed, while
the students just listen. The second time he reads the passage phrase by phrase, pausing long enough to
allow students to write down what they have heard. The last time the teacher again reads at a normal
speed, and students check their work.

Map Drawing
The students are given a map. Then the teacher gives the students directions such as the following,
“Find the mountain range in the West.” The students then instruct the teacher to do the same thing with
a map he has drawn on the board. Each student has a turn giving the teacher instructions for finding
and labeling a geographical feature.

Paragraph Writing
The teacher asks the students to write a paragraph in their own words on the major geographical
features of the United States. They could do this from memory, or they could use the reading passage
in the lesson as a model.

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 Approaches and methods in language teaching

American applied linguist Edward Anthony identified three levels of organization: An approach is a
set of assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning. A method is a plan for
the presentation of language material, and this plan is based upon the selected approach. A technique
is the implementation that takes place in a classroom. Richards and Rodgers extended the original
model. For them, any language teaching method can be described in terms of the levels of approach,
design, and procedure.
Approach
Approach refers to theories about the nature of language and language learning that serve as the source
of practices and principles in language teaching.

Theory of language
Three different views of language provide theoretical frameworks for approaches and methods in
language teaching:
• The structural view sees language as a system of structurally related elements for the encoding of
meaning. The target of language learning is seen to be the mastery of elements of this system:
phonological units, grammatical units, and lexical items. The Audiolingual Method and the Total
Physical Response embody this view of language.
• The functional view sees language as a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning, such as
greeting or apologizing. This theory emphasizes the semantic and communicative dimension rather
than merely the grammatical characteristics of language. The communicative movement in
language teaching embodies this view.
• The interactional view sees language as a vehicle for the realization of interpersonal relations and for
the performance of social transactions between individuals.

Theory of language learning

A learning theory is concerned with the psycholinguistic processes of learning and the conditions
required for successful language learning. Process-oriented theories build on learning processes, such
as habit formation and generalization. Condition-oriented theories emphasize the nature of the context
in which language learning takes place. Krashen’s Monitor Model is an example of a learning theory
on which a method has been built. Asher’s Total Physical Response is a method that derives from
learning theory rather than from a theory of the nature of language.

Design
Design links theory with practice (or approach with procedure). Design is the level of method analysis
which includes:

Objectives
Objectives are revealed in how much emphasis is placed on vocabulary acquisition and grammatical
proficiency. Some methods focus primarily on oral skills and consider that reading and writing skills
are secondary. Some methods give priority to communication skills rather than to grammatical
accuracy or perfect pronunciation. Others place a greater emphasis on accurate grammar and
pronunciation from the very beginning.

Syllabus
The syllabus defines linguistic content in terms of language elements: structures, topics, notions,
functions. In structurally based methods, such as the Audiolingual Method, the syllabus is
linguistically focused; it consists of grammatical constructions and vocabulary items. In functionally
oriented methods, the syllabus specifies the communicative content in terms of functions, notions,
topics, grammar, and vocabulary.

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Types of learning and teaching activities
Differences among methods appear in the choice of different kinds of learning and teaching activities
in the classroom. For example, Audiolingualism uses dialogue and pattern practice extensively. The
Communicative language teaching uses tasks that involve an “information gap” and “information
transfer.”

Learner roles
Learner roles are seen in the types of activities learners carry out. For example, in the Audiolingual
Method, learners are seen as stimulus-response mechanisms. Other methods exhibit more concern for
learner roles and variation among learners.

Teacher roles
Some methods are totally dependent on the teacher as a source of knowledge and direction; others see
the teacher’s role as guide and model for learning. For example, in the Audiolingual Method, the
teacher is regarded as the primary source of language and language learning.

Role of instructional materials

The instructional materials specify the subject matter content and the amount of time, attention, and
detail of syllabus items.
Procedure
Procedure is the actual techniques and practices of teaching a language. It is concerned with how the
tasks and activities are integrated into lessons and used as the basis for teaching and learning.

The Audiolingual Method (ALM)

The Audio-Lingual Method, like the Direct Method, is also an oral-based approach. However, it is very
different in that it drills students in the use of grammatical sentence patterns. Also, unlike the Direct
Method, it has a strong theoretical base in linguistics and psychology.

Approach
Theory of language
The theory of language underlying Audiolingualism is structural linguistics. The study of language
consists of collecting examples of what speakers said and analyzing them. Language is viewed as a
system of structurally related elements for the encoding of meaning: phonemes, morphemes, words,
and sentences. An important belief of structural linguistics is that the primary medium of language is
oral.

Theory of learning
The learning theory that Audiolingualism is based on is behavioral psychology. The human being is an
organism whose behaviors depend on three elements: a stimulus, a response, and reinforcement.
Reinforcement increases the possibility that the behavior will occur again and become a habit. To
apply this theory to language learning is to identify the organism as the learner, the behavior as verbal
behavior, the stimulus as what is taught, the response as the learner’s reaction to the stimulus, and the
reinforcement as the extrinsic praise of the teacher or fellow students or the intrinsic self-satisfaction.

The psychological foundations of Audiolingualism:

• Foreign language learning is a process of habit formation. By memorizing dialogues and performing
pattern drills, the chances of producing mistakes are minimized. Language is a verbal behavior.
• Language skills are learned more effectively if the items to be learned are presented in spoken form
before written form.
• Analogy provides a better foundation for language learning than analysis. It involves generalization
and discrimination. Drills enable learners to form correct analogies. Hence the approach to the

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 teaching of grammar is inductive.
• The meanings of words can be learned in a linguistic and cultural context.

Design
Objectives
The main objectives include training in listening comprehension and accurate pronunciation. The focus
in the early stages is on oral skills. Reading and writing skills are dependent on prior oral skills.
Speaking skills are dependent on the ability to perceive and produce the phonological features of the
target language, fluency in the use of the grammatical patterns, and knowledge of vocabulary.

Syllabus
ALM is a structure-based approach to language teaching. The linguistic syllabus contains the key items
of phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language in addition to a lexical syllabus of basic
vocabulary items. Language skills are taught in the order of listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Types of learning and teaching activities

Dialogues and drills form the basis of classroom practices. Dialogues provide the structures and are
used for repetition and memorization. Correct pronunciation is emphasized. Specific grammatical
patterns in the dialogue are selected for drill and pattern-practice exercises.

Learner roles
Learners are viewed as organisms that can be directed by training techniques to produce correct
responses. They play a reactive role by responding to stimuli. They are not encouraged to initiate
interaction because this leads to mistakes.

Teacher roles
ALM is a teacher-dominated method. The teacher models the target language and corrects the learners’
performance. The teacher keeps the learners attentive by drills to practice structures.

Role of instructional materials

Instructional materials are primarily teacher-oriented. A student textbook is often not used in the
elementary phases. Audiovisual equipment provide accurate models for dialogues and drills if the
teacher is not a native speaker of the target language.

Procedure
The process of teaching involves extensive oral instruction which focuses on accurate speech; there is
little grammatical explanation. The target language is used as the medium of instruction, and use of the
native language is discouraged.
Negative sides of ALM
Students are often unable to transfer their skills to real communication outside the classroom, and they
find studying to be boring. Chomsky rejected the structuralist approach to language description as well
as the behaviorist theory of language learning. He argued that sentences are not learned by imitation
and repetition but generated from the learner’s underlying competence.

Classroom activities
Listening to a dialogue
SALLY: Good morning, Bill.
BILL: Good morning, Sally.
SALLY: How are you?
BILL: Fine, thanks. And you?
SALLY: Fine. Where are you going?
BILL: I’m going to the post office.

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The students listen as the teacher is presenting a new dialogue. The teacher’s instructions are in
English. The students will be expected to memorize the dialogue. The class repeat the dialogue after
the teacher's model. When the class stumble in repetition, the teacher uses a backward build-up drill to
break down the troublesome sentence into smaller parts. He starts with the end of the sentence and has
the class repeat just the last two words. Then he adds a few more words, and the class repeat until the
entire sentence is being repeated. The teacher says and the class repeat, “Post office. To the post office.
Going to the post office. I’m going to the post office.”
The teacher gives the the students a chance to adopt the role of Bill while he says Sally’s lines. Next,
the class and the teacher switch roles in order to practice a little more. Then the teacher divides the
class in half so that each half tries to say either Bill’s or Sally’s lines.
The teacher initiates a chain drill with lines from the dialogue. A chain drill gives students an
opportunity to say the lines individually. The teacher addresses the student nearest him with, “Good
morning, Adam” who responds, “Good morning, teacher.” Then the student greets the one sitting next
to him. This chain continues until all of the students ask and answer the questions.

Drilling the students with language from the dialogue

The teacher leads a single-slot substitution drill in which the students repeat a sentence from the
dialogue and replace a word in the sentence with another word called the cue. The teacher says, “I am
going to the post office,” and he shows the students a picture of a bank and says the phrase, “the bank.”
The students respond “I am going to the bank.”
The teacher increases the complexity of the task by leading the students in a multiple-slot substitution
drill. The teacher says, “I am going to the post office” and he gives the cue “she.” The students
produce, “She is going to the post office.” The next cue the teacher offers is “to the park.” The students
respond, “She is going to the park.”
The substitution drills are followed by a transformation drill. The teacher asks students to change an
affirmative sentence into an interrogative or an active sentence into a passive. He says, “They are
going to the bank” and the class reply, “Are they going to the bank?”
Later, the teacher introduces new vocabulary items through new lines. For example, “I am going to the
supermarket. I need a little butter” and “I am going to the library. I need a few books.” The teacher
contrasts “a little/a few” with mass and count nouns. No grammar rule will be given.

Principles of the Audiolingual Method

1. What are the goals of teachers who use the Audio-Lingual Method?
The purpose of language learning is to learn how to use the language to communicate. Students need to
overlearn the target language and to use it automatically. The major objective should be for students to
acquire the structural patterns; students learn vocabulary afterward.

2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
The teacher directs and controls the language behavior of the students. His major role is a model of the
target language. Students are imitators of the teacher’s model. They follow the teacher’s directions and
respond as accurately and rapidly as possible. They should learn to respond to both verbal and
nonverbal stimuli.

3. What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

Learning a second language should be the same as the acquisition of the native language. Language
learning is a process of habit formation. Language forms occur within a context. New vocabulary and
structural patterns are presented through dialogues which are learned through imitation and repetition.
Drills are based upon the patterns present in the dialogue. Students’ successful responses are positively
reinforced, and this helps the students to develop correct habits. Explicit grammar rules are not
provided.

4. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What is the nature of student-student interaction?

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There is student-to-student interaction in chain drills or when students take different roles in dialogues,
but this interaction is teacher-directed. Most of the interaction is between teacher and students and it is
initiated by the teacher.

5. How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

There are no principles of the method that relate to this area.

6. How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Everyday speech is emphasized. Language cannot be separated from culture. Culture is not only
literature and the arts, but also the everyday lifestyle of the target language speakers. Cultural
information is contextualized in the dialogues.

7. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
The natural order of skills presentation is listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Oral and aural
skills receive most of the attention. Pronunciation is taught from the beginning. Students’ reading and
written work is based upon the oral work they did earlier.

8. What is the role of the students’ native language?

The habits of the students’ native language are thought to interfere with the students’ attempts to
master the target language. Therefore, the target language is used in the classroom, and actions,
pictures, or realia are used to give meaning. A contrastive analysis of the target language and the
students' native language tells the teacher in which areas the students will probably experience
difficulty.

9. How is evaluation accomplished?

Students might be asked to distinguish between words in a minimal pair, for example, or to supply an
appropriate verb form in a sentence.

10. How does the teacher respond to student errors?

Errors must be prevented because they lead to the formation of bad habits. Student errors are to be
avoided. When errors do occur, they should immediately be corrected by the teacher.

Techniques of the Audiolinugal Method

Dialogue Memorization
Dialogues are often used to begin a new lesson. Students memorize the dialogue through mimicry;
students take the role of one person, and the teacher the other. Then they switch roles and memorize
the other person’s part. Another way of practicing the two roles is for half of the class to take one role
and the other half to take the other. Certain sentence patterns and grammar points are included within
the dialogue. These patterns are later practiced in drills based on the lines of the dialogue.

Backward Build-up (Expansion) Drill

This drill is used when a long line of a dialogue is giving students trouble. The teacher breaks down
the line into several parts. The students repeat the last phrase of the line. Then, following the teacher’s
cue, they expand what they are repeating part by part until they are able to repeat the entire line. The
teacher begins with the part at the end of the sentence and works backward from there.

Repetition Drill
Students are asked to repeat the teacher’s model as accurately and as quickly as possible. This drill is
often used to teach the lines of the dialogue.

Chain Drill
A chain drill is a chain of conversation in which students, one by one, ask and answer questions of
each other. The teacher begins the chain by greeting a student. That student responds, then turns to the

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student sitting next to him. The first student greets the second student and the chain continues. A chain
drill allows some limited communication and gives the teacher an opportunity to check each student’s
speech.

Single-slot Substitution Drill

The teacher says a line from the dialogue. Next, the teacher says a word or a phrase called the cue. The
students repeat the line the teacher has given them, substituting the cue in its proper place. The major
purpose of this drill is to give the students practice in filling in the slots of a sentence.

Multiple-slot Substitution Drill

The teacher gives cue phrases that fit into different slots in the dialogue line. The students must
recognize what part of speech each cue is, where it fits into the sentence, and make any other changes,
such as subject-verb agreement.

Transformation Drill
The teacher gives students a certain kind of sentence pattern, and the students are asked to transform a
positive sentence into a negative sentence, a statement into a question, an active sentence into a passive
one, or direct speech into reported speech.

Question-and-answer Drill
This drill gives students practice with answering questions. The students should answer the teacher’s
questions quickly. This gives students practice with the question pattern.

Use of Minimal Pairs

The teacher works with pairs of words which differ in only one sound as in “ship/sheep.” Students are
first asked to perceive the difference between the two words and later to be able to say the two words.
The teacher selects the sounds to work on after he has done a contrastive analysis, a comparison
between the students’ native language and the target language.

Complete the Dialogue

Selected words are erased from a dialogue students have learned. Students complete the dialogue by
filling the blanks with the missing words.

Grammar Game
Games are designed to get students to practice a grammar point within a context. The Supermarket
Alphabet Game starts with a student who needs a food item beginning with the letter “A.” The student
says, “I am going to the supermarket. I need a few apples.” The next student says, “I am going to the
supermarket. He needs a few apples. I need a little bread,” and so on.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

The Total Physical Response has been named the Comprehension Approach because it gives
importance to listening comprehension. TPR is a language teaching method built around the
coordination of speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical activity.

TPR draws on developmental psychology, learning theory, and humanistic pedagogy:

• It is linked to the "trace theory" in psychology, which holds that the more often a memory
connection is traced, the stronger the memory association will be and the more likely it will be
recalled.
• Asher sees adult second language learning as a parallel process to child first language acquisition.
He claims that speech directed to children consists of commands, which children respond to
physically before they speak. He believes that adults should recapitulate the processes by which

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 children acquire their native language.
• Asher shares with the school of humanistic psychology a concern for the role of affective
(emotional) factors in language learning. He believes that a method that involves gamelike
movements reduces learner stress and facilitates learning.

Approach
Theory of language
TPR reflects a structural view of language. Asher views the verb in the imperative as the central
linguistic item. He sees language as being composed of abstractions and non-abstractions. Learning
should begin with non-abstractions which are represented by concrete nouns and imperative verbs.
Abstractions should be delayed until students have internalized a detailed cognitive map of the target
language.

Theory of learning
Asher believes that a stimulus-response view provides the learning theory underlying language
teaching. For his learning theory, Asher draws on three influential learning hypotheses:

The bio-program
Asher believes in the existence of a specific innate bio-program for language learning. The brain is
biologically programmed to acquire language in a particular sequence, which is listening before
speaking. TPR is a 'Natural Method' since Asher sees first and second language learning as parallel
processes. Children develop listening competence before the ability to speak. Children’s ability in
listening comprehension is acquired as they respond physically to spoken language in the form of
commands, and then speech evolves naturally and effortlessly. Similarly, the foreign language learner
should first internalize a “cognitive map” of the target language through listening exercises
accompanied by physical movement, and speech and other productive skills should come later.

Brain lateralization
Brain lateralization defines different learning functions in the left-hemisphere and right-hemisphere of
the brain. Drawing on work by Piaget, Asher holds that the child acquires language through a right-
hemisphere motor activity before the left hemisphere can process language for production. Similarly,
the adult should proceed learning through right-hemisphere motor activities, while the left hemisphere
watches and learns. When a sufficient amount of learning has taken place, the left hemisphere will be
triggered to produce language.

Reduction of stress
An important condition for successful language learning is the absence of stress. First language
acquisition takes place in a stress-free environment whereas the adult language learning environment
often causes stress and anxiety.
Design
Objectives
The general objectives of TPR are to teach oral proficiency at a beginning level. Comprehension is a
means to an end, and the ultimate aim is to teach basic speaking skills. A TPR course aims to produce
learners who are capable of communication that is intelligible to a native speaker. The goals must be
attainable through the use of action-based drills in the imperative form.

Syllabus
TPR uses a sentence-based syllabus. Although TPR has a grammar-based or structural view of
language, it requires attention to meaning rather than to form. Grammar is thus taught inductively.

Learning activities
Imperative drills are the major classroom activity in TPR. They are used to elicit physical actions of

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the learners. Conversational dialogues are delayed. Other class activities include role plays and slide
presentations. Role plays center on everyday situations, such as at the restaurant or supermarket.

Roles of learners
Learners in TPR have the primary roles of listener and performer. They listen and respond physically
to commands given by the teacher. Learners are also expected to recognize and respond to
combinations of previously taught items. They are encouraged to speak when they feel ready to speak.

Role of teachers
The teacher plays an active and direct role in TPR. The teacher’s role is to provide opportunities for
learning. The teacher controls the language input the learners receive to internalize the basic rules of
the target language. The teacher allows speaking abilities to develop in learners at their own natural
pace. In giving feedback to learners, teachers should refrain from correction in the early stages and
should not interrupt to correct errors, since this will inhibit learners.

Role of instructional materials

There is generally no basic text in a TPR course. For beginners, lessons may not require the use of
materials, since the teacher’s voice, actions, and gestures may be a sufficient basis for classroom
activities. In later stages, the teacher may use a textbook and other supporting materials including
pictures, realia, slides, and word charts.

Classroom activities

The teacher explains in the native language that the students will not speak at first, but they will just
listen to do as he does. He says that he will give them a command and they will do the actions.

In English the teacher says, “Stand up” and he stands signaling for the class to stand up. He says “Sit
down,” and they sit. The teacher gives additional commands and the class perform the actions. Once
again the teacher gives the commands but he remains seated and the students respond to the
commands. The teacher introduces some new commands: “Walk to the desk. Touch the desk.” He
continues to perform the actions with the students, but changes the order of the commands. When the
students seem confused, the teacher repeats the command which has caused difficulty. Next the teacher
issues two commands in the form of a compound sentence, “Point to the door, and walk to the door,”
and the group performs the command. Finally, the teacher writes the new commands on the board.
Each time he writes a command, he acts it out. The students copy the sentences into their notebooks.

Principles of Total Physical Response

1. What are the goals of teachers who use TPR?

Teachers who use TPR believe that students should enjoy their experience of learning to communicate
in another language. Language learning is more effective when it is fun. For instance, the teacher says,
‘Jump to the desk’ and everyone laughs. TPR was developed in order to reduce the stress learners feel
when they study other languages. The way to do this is to base foreign language learning upon the way
children learn their native language.

2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
Initially, the teacher is the director of all student behavior. The students are imitators of his nonverbal
model. When some students will be ready to speak, there will be a role reversal and the students will
be directing the teacher and the other students. Students can learn through observing actions as well as
by performing the actions themselves. They should not be made to memorize fixed routines. For
instance, the teacher gives the students commands they have not heard before.

3. What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

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The imperative is a powerful linguistic device through which the teacher can direct student behavior.
First, the teacher issues commands to a few students, then performs the actions with them. Then these
students demonstrate that they can understand the commands by performing them alone. After learning
to respond to some oral commands, the students learn to read and write them. When students are ready
to speak, they become the ones who issue the commands.

4. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What is the nature of student-student interaction?
Initially, the interaction is characterized by the teacher speaking and the students responding
physically. Later on, the students become more verbal and the teacher responds nonverbally. Students
can learn by watching each other. As students begin to speak, they issue commands to one another as
well as to the teacher.

5. How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

It is very important that students feel successful. Feelings of success facilitate learning. One way of
reducing stress is to allow learners to speak when they are ready. Another way to relieve anxiety is to
make language learning as enjoyable as possible.

6. How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Just as with the acquisition of the native language, the oral proficiency is primary. Culture is the
lifestyle of people who speak the language.

7. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
Vocabulary and grammatical structures are emphasized over other language areas. The spoken
language is emphasized over written language. The students’ understanding of the target language
should be developed before speaking. Students do not read the commands they have already learned to
perform until later. Meaning in the target language can often be conveyed through actions. The target
language should be presented in chunks, not just word by word.

8. What is the role of the students’ native language?

TPR is usually introduced in the students’ native language. After the introduction, rarely would the
native language be used. Meaning is made clear through body movements.

9. How is evaluation accomplished?

Teachers know immediately whether or not students understand by observing their actions. Formal
evaluations can be conducted by commanding individual students to perform actions.

10. How does the teacher respond to student errors?

Students are expected to make errors when they first begin speaking. Teachers should be tolerant of
them. As students get more advanced, teachers can correct their errors. Correction should be carried
out in an unobtrusive manner. For instance, when the students make an error, the teacher repeats the
command while acting it out.
Techniques of 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 which makes the meaning of the command clear. At first, the teacher performs the
actions with the students. Later the teacher directs the students alone. The students’ actions tell the
teacher whether or not the students understand.

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.

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Action Sequence
A long series of connected commands can be given, which together comprise a whole procedure.
Students might receive the following instructions, which they act out: Take out a pen. Take out a piece
of paper. Write a letter. Fold the letter. Put it in an envelope. Seal the envelope. Write the address on
the envelope. Put a stamp on the envelope. Mail the letter. This series of commands is called an action
sequence.

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

The Communicative Language Teaching was originally called the Communicative Approach. CLT
aims to make communicative competence the goal of language teaching. CLT is considered an
approach rather then a method.

British applied linguists saw the need to focus on communicative proficiency rather than on mastery of
structures. They were influenced by Chomsky who demonstrated that the structural theories of
language were incapable of accounting for the creativity of language. They were also influenced by
Hymes and Halliday who addressed the functional and communicative aspects of language. Wilkins
proposed a functional or communicative definition of language that could serve as a basis for
developing communicative syllabuses. He described two types of meanings: notional categories, those
concepts such as time, sequence, quantity, location, frequency and categories of communicative
function, such as request, denial, offer, complaint, promise, and invitation.

Communicative continuum
Harmer posits that all teaching-learning procedures can be placed along a continuum:
• At the communicative end of the continuum, the objective is fluency and the emphasis is on the
content rather than the form of the language. Also, the teacher does not intervene during the
activities and the learners are given a variety of language with no material control.
• At the non-communicative end of the continuum, the objective is accuracy and the emphasis is on the
form of the language rather than on the content. Also, the teacher may intervene during the
activities and the learners are given materials designed to focus on a restricted amount and type of
language.
In order for the activities to be truly communicative, students should have a purpose for
communicating. They should be focused on the content of what they are saying or writing. The teacher
will not intervene to stop the activity; and the materials he relies on will not dictate what specific
language forms the students use.

Approach
Theory of language
The Communicative Approach starts from a theory of language as communication. The goal of
language teaching is to develop what Hymes referred to as “communicative competence.” He coined
this term to contrast a communicative view of language and Chomsky’s theory of competence.
Chomsky’s view of competence deals with abstract grammatical knowledge. However, for Hymes,
being able to communicate requires more than linguistic competence; it requires communicative
competence. The speaker needs to know: form, function, and meaning.

A more influential analysis was offered by Canale and Swain who identified four dimensions of
communicative competence:
• Grammatical competence refers to linguistic competence.
• Sociolinguistic competence refers to an understanding of the social context in which communication
takes place.
• Discourse competence refers to the interpretation of linguistic devices which make a text cohesive,
and semantic propositions, which unify a text and make it coherent.

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• Strategic competence refers to the strategies that communicators employ to initiate, terminate,
maintain, repair, and redirect communication.

Characteristics of the communicative view of language:

• Language is a system for the expression of meaning.
• The primary function of language is to allow interaction and communication.
• The structure of language reflects its functional and communicative uses.
• The primary units of language are not merely its grammatical and structural features, but categories
of functional and communicative meaning as exemplified in discourse.

Theory of learning
There is no explicit theory of learning connected with CLT. However, it was influenced by Krashen
who distinguishes between acquisition and learning. Acquisition refers to the unconscious
development of the target language system as a result of using the language for real communication.
Learning is the conscious representation of grammatical knowledge that has resulted from instruction
and it does not lead to acquisition.

Design
Objectives
The main objective of the CLT is to enable students to communicate effectively. Fluency is also a
primary goal. Objectives for a particular course would reflect specific aspects of communicative
competence according to the learner’s proficiency level and communicative needs.

The syllabus
The first syllabus model to be proposed by Wilkins was described as a notional syllabus, which
specified the semantic-grammatical categories and the categories of communicative function that
learners need to express.

Types of learning and teaching activities

Classroom activities are designed to focus on completing tasks that involve negotiation of information
and information sharing. Functional communication activities include such tasks as learners comparing
sets of pictures and noting similarities and differences. Social interaction activities include
conversation sessions, dialogues, and role plays.

Learner roles
The learner is a negotiator within the group and within the classroom activities. Students are expected
to interact with each other rather than with the teacher, and correction of errors is absent or infrequent.
The cooperative approach to learning is stressed in CLT.

Teacher roles
The teacher acts as a guide within the classroom activities. He facilitates the communication process
between all participants. The teacher determines and responds to the learners’ needs. He is also a
counselor. CLT procedures often require teachers to acquire less teacher-centered classroom
management skills. It is the teacher’s responsibility to organize the classroom as a setting for
communicative activities.

The role of instructional materials

Materials have the primary role of promoting communicative language use. Materials used in CLT are
text-based, task-based, and language-based realia, such as signs, magazines, and newspapers.

Procedure
Techniques and classroom procedures are group activities, language games, and role plays.

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 Classroom activities
Reading a column from a newspaper
Giving directions in the target language, the teacher asks the students to read a sports column from a
recent newspaper and to underline the predictions the reporter makes about the next World Cup. Then
the teacher asks the students to tell another way to express the same predictions. One student says,
“France probably will win the next World Cup.” Another says, “It is possible that Spain will win the
World Cup.” The teacher asks the students to get into pairs and to write their own predictions.

Playing games
The teacher announces that the students will be playing a game. The teacher divides the class into
small groups. He hands each group some cards which have pictures of sports equipment. A student in
each group should try to predict what one of the students will be doing this weekend. He is to make
statements like, “John may go skiing this weekend.” He can check his prediction by turning over a
card that is placed face down.
Next, the teacher gives one student of each group a picture strip story with no words. This student
shows the first picture to the other members of his group, while covering the remaining pictures. The
other students try to predict what will happen in the second picture. The student tells them whether
they are correct or not, and he shows them the second picture and asks them to predict what the third
picture will look like, and they continue until the entire series of pictures has been shown.
For the final activity, the students are told that they will do a role-play. They are to imagine that they
are all employees of the same company having a meeting. Then they discuss what language forms are
appropriate in dealing with one’s boss. The teacher explains that they will state their prediction as “I
think the vacation policy might change,” rather than “The vacation policy will change.”

Homework assignment
The students are to listen to a debate between two political candidates on the radio or watch it on
television. They are to write in English their prediction of who they think will win the election and
why they think so. They will read their predictions to their classmates at the start of the next class.

Principles of Communicative Language Teaching

1. What are the goals of teachers who use Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)?
The goal is to enable students to communicate in the target language. The students need knowledge of
the linguistic forms, meanings, and functions. They need to know that different forms can be used to
perform a function and that a single form serves a variety of functions. The target language is a vehicle
for classroom communication.

2. What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students?
The teacher facilitates communication in the classroom. He acts as an advisor during the activities,
answering students’ questions and monitoring their performance. He might be a co-communicator
engaging in the communicative activity along with students. Students are communicators, and they are
actively engaged in negotiating meaning. They should be given an opportunity to express their ideas
and opinions. Communicative interaction encourages cooperative relationships among students.

3. What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process?

The most obvious characteristic of CLT is the use of the communicative activities, such as games, role-
plays, and problem-solving tasks. Games are important because they are similar to real communicative
events. The speaker receives immediate feedback from the listener on whether he has been successful.
According to Morrow, communicative activities have three features: information gap, choice, and
feedback. An information gap exists when one person knows something the other person does not.
Another characteristic of CLT is the use of authentic language. For instance, the students read a sports
column from a newspaper. Finally, activities are carried out by students in small groups to maximize
the time allotted to each student for communicating. The grammar and vocabulary that the students

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learn follow from the function and situational context.

4. What is the nature of student-teacher interaction? What is the nature of student-student interaction?
The teacher is the facilitator of the activities, but he does not always interact with the students. He is a
co-communicator, but more often he establishes situations that prompt communication between the
students. Students interact a great deal with one another in pairs, small groups, and whole group.

5. How are the feelings of the students dealt with?

By learning to communicate, students will be more motivated to study another language. Teachers give
students an opportunity to express their individuality by having them share their opinions.

6. How is the language viewed? How is culture viewed?

Language is for communication. The knowledge of forms and functions are parts of communicative
competence. A variety of forms can be used to accomplish a single function. A speaker can make a
prediction by saying, “It may rain,” or “Perhaps it will rain.” Conversely, the same form can be used
for a variety of functions. For example, “may” can be used to make a prediction or to give permission,
“You may leave now.” The learner needs knowledge of forms, meanings and functions, but he must
take into consideration the social situation to convey the intended meaning appropriately. Culture is the
everyday lifestyle of people who use the language.

7. What areas of language are emphasized? What language skills are emphasized?
Language functions might be emphasized over forms. A variety of forms are introduced for each
function. Only the simpler forms would be presented at first, but as students get more proficient in the
target language, more complex forms are learned. For example, in learning to make requests,
beginning students might practice “Would you ...?” Highly proficient students might learn “I wonder if
you would mind ….” Students work with language at the discourse level, and they learn about
cohesion and coherence, those properties of language which bind the sentences together. Students
work on all four skills from the beginning. Communication is seen to take place through negotiation
between speaker and listener. Meaning is also be derived from the written word through an interaction
between the reader and the writer.

8. What is the role of the students’ native language?

Limited use of the students’ native language is permitted in CLT. The target language should be used
not only during communicative activities, but also for explaining the activities to the students.

9. How is evaluation accomplished?

A teacher evaluates not only his students’ accuracy, but also their fluency. A teacher can evaluate his
students’ performance informally in his role as advisor or co-communicator. For more formal
evaluation, a teacher is likely to use a test which has a real communicative function. In order to assess
students’ writing skill, a teacher might ask them to write a letter to a friend.

10. How does the teacher respond to student errors?

Errors of form are tolerated during fluency-based activities and are seen as a natural outcome of the
development of communication skills. The teacher may note the errors during fluency activities and
return to them later with an accuracy-based activity.

Techniques of Communicative Language Teaching

Authentic Materials
CLT advocates the use of authentic language materials. For example, the teacher can use a newspaper
article, and he can assign the students homework, requiring that they learn about two political
candidates who are running for election. For students with lower proficiency in the target language,
simpler authentic materials are used, such as the use of a weather forecast when working on
predictions. Materials that are realistic can be used authentically, with a communicative intent.

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Scrambled Sentences
The students are given a a text or dialogue in which the sentences are in a scrambled order. They are
told to unscramble the sentences to their original order. This type of exercise teaches students about the
cohesion and coherence properties of language. They learn how sentences are bound together through
formal linguistic devices such as pronouns. In addition, they might be asked to put the pictures of a
picture strip story in order and write lines to accompany the pictures.

Language Games
Games are used frequently in CLT, and the students find them enjoyable. Games that are truly
communicative, according to Morrow, have the three features of communication: information gap,
choice, and feedback. These three features were manifest in the card game. An information gap existed
because the speaker did not know what his classmate was going to do the following weekend. The
speaker had a choice as to what he would predict and how he would predict it. The speaker receives
feedback from the members of his group. An information-gap activity involves the exchange of
information among participants in order to complete a task. An example might be where one student is
given a picture and describes the picture for another student to draw.

Picture Strip Story

One student in a small group is given a strip story. He shows the first picture of the story to the
members of his group and asks them to predict what the second picture would look like. An
information gap exists; the students in the groups do not know what the picture contains. They have a
choice as to what their prediction would be and how they would word it. They receive feedback on the
content of the prediction, by being able to view the picture and compare it with their prediction. This
activity is an example of using a problem-solving task as a communicative technique. Problem-solving
tasks include the three features of communication, and they can be structured so that students share
information or work together to arrive at a solution.

Role-play
Role-plays give students an opportunity to practice communicating in different social contexts. For
example, the teacher tells the students who they are, what the situation is, and what they are talking
about, but the students determine what they will say. Role-plays also provide information gaps since
students cannot be sure what the other person or people will say. Students also receive feedback on
whether or not they have communicated effectively.



prepared by Muhammad Saedy

0946 762 744 – 0982 555 965
facebook.com/e.tutor.101

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