SESSION 1 – QUESTIONS
APPROACHES AND METHODS
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
HARRY TAPIA SEPT, 2016
SESSION 1. MAJOR TRENDS IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY LANGUAGE TEACHING
1. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LANGUAGE TEACHING
1. What was the predominant language 500 years ago? Why?
2. What procedures were used as modern languages began to enter the curriculum of European schools? What was the main goal of
teaching languages?
The Grammar-Translation Method
3. What were the seven principal characteristics of the Grammar Translation Method? Briefly develop them.
4. How long did Grammar Translation dominate European and foreign language teaching?
Language teaching innovations in the nineteenth Century
5. What created a market for conversation books and phrase books in Europe?
6. What was the contribution of the Frenchman C. Marcel (1793-1896)?
7. What did the Englishman T. Prendergast (1806-1886) observe and analyze?
8. Why did the ideas and methods of Marcel, Prendergast and Gouin fail to have wider dissemination, acceptance and
implementation?
The Reform Movement
9. When was the International Phonetic Association founded? And what did they design first?
10. What did the International Phonetic Association advocate so as to improve the teaching of modern languages?
11. What four principles did Henry Sweet set forth for the development of a teaching method in his book “The Practical Study of
Languages (1899)?
12. What six principles did Vietor Sweet and other reformers believe a new approach to teaching foreign languages should be based
on?
The Direct Method
13. Who and what brought about the birth of the “Natural Method”, Boston, late 1860s?
14. What principles provided foundation for what came to be known as the Direct Method?
15. What are the principles followed in contemporary Berlitz Schools?
The methods era
16. Complete the chart with methods and approaches
1950s and 1960s
1970s and 1980s
1990s
2. THE NATURE OF APPROACHES AND METHODS IN LANGUAGE TEACHING
Approach and method
17. Fill out the chart with the concept of each term according to linguist Edward Anthony (1963). The arrangement is hierarchical:
Approach
Method
Technique
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Approach
Theory of language
18. What are the three different theoretical views of language and the nature of language?
19. How is language seen according to the Structural View?
20. What schools (Approach or method) is the Structural View related to?
21. How is language seen according to the Functional View?
22. What movement is an example of the Functional View?
23. How is language seen according to the Interactional View?
24. What schools (Approach or method) is the Interactional View related to?
Theory of language learning
25. What are the two questions underlying an approach or method?
26. What learning processes are process-oriented theories built on?
27. What do Condition-oriented theories emphasize?
28. Fill out the chart with the school, theory, approach or method that corresponds.
Process-oriented theories Condition-oriented theories
29. What did the linking of structuralism to behaviorism produce?
Design
30. What are the six components of Design?
Objectives
31. What is the objective a product of?
Content choice and organization: The syllabus
32. What are the two matters that influence the choice of language content?
33. Brown(1995) proposed seven taxonomies of syllabus types. Fill out the chart with the syllabus types and their matching
approaches or methods.
Syllabus Type School/Approach/Method
Structural
Situational
Topical
Functional
Notional
Skills-based
Task-based
Types of learning and teaching activities
34. Fill out the chart with the learning activities corresponding to the following approaches and methods
Approach or Method Activity
Learner roles
35. Fill out the chart with learners roles in the given schools.
Approach or Method Learners roles
Audiolingualism
Individualized approach to language learning
Counseling learning
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Teacher roles
36. What are the four teacher role issues in language teaching?
The role of instructional materials
37. The role of instructional materials within a method or instructional system will reflect decisions concerning:
The primary goal of materials
The form of materials
The relation of materials to other sources of input
The abilities of the teacher
Procedure
38. What are the three dimensions of a method at the level of procedure?
3. THE ORAL APPROACH AND SITUATIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHING
Background
39. Who developed the Oral Approach or Situational Approach? When was it developed?
Vocabulary control
40. What two quarters brought about the impetus for vocabulary research?
41. What vocabulary list was published was West in 1953? And what was the importance of said list?
Grammar control
42. What became the standard reference source of basic English sentence patterns for textbook writers?
The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching
43. What were the systematic principles developed by Palmer and Hornby?
44. What are the main six characteristics of Situational Language Teaching?
Approach
Theory of language
45. Quote Pittman 1963:179.
Theory of learning
46. What is the theory underlying Situational Language Teaching?
Design
Objectives
47. How does Situational Language Teaching regard pronunciation, grammar and errors?
The syllabus
48. What is basic to the teaching of English in Situational Language Teaching?
Types of learning and teaching activities
49. What does the practice techniques employed generally consist of?
Learner roles
50. What is the learner required in the initial stages of learning?
Teacher roles
51. What are the teacher’s responsibilities according to Pittman (1963)?
The role of instructional materials
52. How are the textbook and visual aids used in Situational Language Teaching?
Procedure
53. What would a lesson plan consist of?
54. What sequence is proposed by Davies et.al.?
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4. THE AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD
Background
55. What was the methodology underlying the Army Method?
The methodology of the Army Method, like Direct –method, derived from the intensity of contact with the target language rather
than from any well-developed methodological basis. It was a program innovative mainly in terms of the procedures used and the
intensity of teaching rather than in terms of its underlying theory.
56. What was the American Council of Learned Societies commissioned with?
The American Council of Learned Societies, under contract to the U.S. State Department, was commissioned to develop textbooks
for teaching English to speakers of a wide number of foreign languages.
57. What role did Contrastive Analysis play in theorizing this new method?
Contrastive Analysis of the two languages would allow potential problems of interference to be predicted and addressed through
carefully prepared teaching materials.
58. What combination of theories led to the Audiolingualism Method?
The combination of structural linguistic theory, contrastive analysis, aural-oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology led to the
Audiolingual Method.
59. Who coined the term – Audiolingualism?
The term was coined by Professor Nelson Brooks in 1964
Approach
Theory of language
60. What characteristics did the term Structural refer to?
The term structural referred to these characteristics: a) Elements in a language were thought of as being linearly produced in a
rule-governed way; b) Language samples could be exhaustively described at any structural level of description (phonetic,
phonemic, morphological, etc); C) Linguistic levels were thought of as systems within systems – that is, as being pyramidally
structured.
61. What did William Moulton proclaim in his report for the 9th International Congress of Linguists in 1961?
William Moulton, in a report prepared for the 9th International Congress of Linguistics, proclaimed the linguistic principles on
which language teaching methodology should be based: “Language is speech, not writing.. A language is a set of habits... Teach
the language, not about the language... A language is what its native speakers say, not what someone thinks they ought to say...
Languages are different”
Theory of learning
62. According to behaviorism, what are the three occurrences learning is dependent on?
The occurrence of these behaviors is dependent on three crucial elements in learning: a stimulus, which serves to elicit behavior; a
response triggered by a stimulus; and reinforcement, which serves to mark the response as being appropriate (or inappropriate)
and encourages to repetition (or suppression) of the response in the future.
63. What are the psychological foundations of Audiolingualism that shape its methodological practices?
The psychological foundations of Audiolingualism are the following:
-Foreign language learning is basically a process of mechanical habit formation
-Language skills are learned more effectively if the items to be learned in the target language are presented in spoken form before
they are seen in written form.
-Analogy provides a better foundation for language learning than analysis.
-The meanings that the words of a language have for the native speaker can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context and
not on isolation.
Design
Objectives
64. What are the short-range and long-range objectives that Brooks distinguishes?
Short-range objectives include training in listening comprehension, accurate pronunciation, recognitions of speech symbols as
graphic signs on the printed page, and ability to reproduce these symbols in writing.
Long-range objectives “must be language as the native speaker uses it… There must be some knowledge of a second language as it
is possessed by a true bilingualist”
The syllabus
65. What are the three main components of a linguistic syllabus?
The key items of a linguistic syllabus are phonology, morphology, and syntax of the language
66. What is the order of skills used in Audiolingualism?
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The language skills are taught in the order of listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Types of learning and teaching activities
67. What are examples of drills suggested by Brooks (1964)?
1. Repetition. The student repeats an utterance aloud as soon as he has heard it.
Example: This is the seven month – This is the seven month. After a student has repeated an utterance, he may repeat it
again and add a few words, then repeat that whole utterance and add more words.
Example: I used to know him - I used to know him years ago - I used to know him years ago when we were in school
2. Inflection. One word in an utterance appears in another form when repeated.
Examples: I bought the ticket –I bought the tickets
He bought the candy – She bought the candy
I called the young man – I call the young men
3. Replacement. One word in an utterance is replaced by another
Examples: He bought this house cheap – He bought it cheap
Helen left early – She left early
They gave their boss a watch – They gave him a watch
4. Restatement. The student rephrases an utterance and addresses it to someone else, according to instructions
Examples: Tell him to wait for you – Wait for me
Ask her how old she is – How old are you?
Ask Jhon when he began – Jhon, when did you begin?
5. Completion. The student hears an utterance that is complete except for one word, then repeats the utterance in completed
form
Examples: I’ll go my way and you go - I’ll go my way and you go yours
We all have… own troubles – We all have our own troubles
6. Transposition. A change in word order is necessary when a word is added
Examples: I’m hungry (so) – So I’m
I’ll never do it again (neither) – Neither will I
7. Expansion. When a word is added it takes a certain place in the sequence
Examples: I know him (hardly) – I hardly know him
I know him (well) – I know him well
8. Contraction. A single word stands for a phrase or clause
Examples: Put your hand on the table – Put your hand there
They believe that the earth is flat – They believe it
9. Transformation. A sentence is transformed by being made negative or interrogative or though changes in tense, mood, voice,
aspect, or modality
Examples: He knows my address
He doesn´t knows my address
Does he know my address?
He used to know my address
If he had known my address
10. Integration. Two separate utterances are integrated into one.
Examples: They must be honest. This is important – It is important that they be honest
I know that man. He is looking for you. – I know the man who is looking for you.
11. Rejoinder. The student makes an appropriate rejoinder to a given utterance. He is told in advance to respond in one of the
following ways: Be polite; Answer the question; Agree; Agree emphatically; Express surprise; Express regret; Disagree;
Disagree Emphatically; Question what is said; Fail to understand.
Examples:
(Be Polite)
Thank you – You’re welcome
May I take one? – Certainly
(Answer the questions)
What is your name? – My name is Smith
Where did it happen? – In the middle of the street
(Agree)
He’s following us – I think you’re right
This is good coffee – It’s very good
12. Restoration. The student is given a sequence of words that have been culled from a sentence but still bear its basic meaning.
He uses these words with a minimum of changes and additions to restore the sentence to its original form. He may be told
whether the time is present, past, or future.
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Examples: students/waiting/bus – The students are waiting for the bus
Boys/build/house/tree – The boys built a house in a tree.
Learner roles
68. What are the roles of the learners?
The role of a learner is responding to stimuli, and thus has little control over the content, pace, or style of learning.
Teacher roles
69. What are the roles of the teacher?
The teacher’s role is to model the target language, controls the directions and pace of the learning and monitors and corrects the
learners’ performance. The teacher must keep the learners attentive by varying drills and tasks and choosing relevant situations to
practice structures. Language learning is seen to result from active verbal interaction between the teacher and the learners.
The role of instructional materials
70. Why is printed material not desirable in early stages?
Printed material is not desirable according to the book, word is not considered desirable, because it distracts attention from the
aural input.
Procedure
71. What are the procedures listed by Brooks?
Procedures:
1. Students first hear a model dialogue
2. The dialogue is adapted to the students’ interest or situation, through changing certain key words or phrases.
3. Certain key structures from the dialogue are selected and used as the basis for pattern drills of different kinds.
4. The students may refer to their textbook, and follow-up reading, writing, or vocabulary activities based on the dialogue may
be introduced.
5. Follow-up activities may take place in the language laboratory, where further dialogue and drill work is carried out.
The decline of Audiolingualism
72. What was the theoretical attack on Audiolingualism led by Noam Chomsky?
The theoretical attack on audiolingual beliefs resulted from changes in American linguistic theory in the 1960s. Noam Chomsky
rejected the structuralism approach to language description as well as the behaviorist theory of language learning. “Language is
not a habit structure. Ordinary linguistic behavior characteristically involves innovation, formation of new sentences and patterns
in accordance with rules of great abstractness and intricacy.
