Approaches and Methods of language Teaching - Special Notes
Honours 4th Year
Department of English
Subject: Approach and Method of Language Teaching
Part C: Broad Questions with Answer.
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Discuss the structural, functional and interactional views of language. 2019, 2015
Answer: Language is seen from structural, functional, and interactional point of views. Educators need to see language from these points of view. If Language is thought to be only a system of structures, it would be a partly observation of a language. Language makes sense when it is seen from its structural, functional and interaction perspectives.
Structural aspects of a language discuss how the structural system of that language works. By general terms, structures means a framework or skeleton of something. Structures of a language are the phonemes, morphemes, words, and sentences. When people use a language, they use all these sub- system to form a structure.
However, we cannot learn a language only by learning its structures; we need to learn how those structures make meaning. Semantics studies the functional aspect of language. It studies the meaning making process of the structures. For example, “Mustafizur second six wickets while playing 2nd ODI against India in the Bay of Bengal.” This sentence is perfect in terms of structure; However, people will laugh when someone utters this sentence. Using language to serve its functional purpose is very different than its structural aspect. Moreover, people also need to understand the contextual meaning of a language and its relation to the place, time and persons involved in the process.
The interactional point of view of language suggests that people use different languages based on the context and people. For example, a college student does not use the same vocabulary and structure when she interacts with her friends in a playground and her professors in schools. She uses different vocabulary and structure to interact with different types of people and in different contexts. This is the interactional part of a language. These views of language significantly influence language teaching methodology in many ways.
Firstly, they help learners realize that only learning the structures of a language would not help them. Learners need to learn the functional and interactional use of that language. It is also noteworthy that all these views are closely linked to each other; each of them is important to learn a language. For example, without structure, We cannot think about specific functional or interactional use of a particular language. Like the foundation of a building, we need structures of a language; then, we can work on the functional and interactional uses of that language.
Secondly, these views give learners opportunities to see the language from different perspectives. They would get the opportunity to understand different functions of the same language at different times and places.
Thirdly, they help learners explore a wide variation of using a language. For example, some Bangladeshi English language learners may think that there is only one form or way of greeting. However, they will understand how the meanings of the same expression vary when they are used at various contexts and times. Language teachers should design their materials, tasks, and activities keeping these issues in their minds.
Evaluate the main principles of the behaviorist theory of language acquisition or earning ( 2017,2015)
Answer: Behaviorist theory of Language acquisition says that humans learn language from the environment and by following instructions. It might be evident that people learn through the stimulus response process. For example, if students practice some simulated (role-playing on real life situations) tasks and activities, they might develop certain skills to perform the tasks in a real life situation.
According to the behaviorist theory, effective learning depends on reinforcement. Through positive reinforcement, learners feel encouraged and develop skills. On the contrary, if learners are negatively reinforced, they will not feel interested in the learning process, and will not reach the desired goals.
Some of the principles of the behaviorist theory are important in terms of language teaching and learning. Teachers can design tasks and activities to try stimulus-response-reinforcement processes to help language learners achieve adequate proficiency. For example, some dialogue-based scenarios can be designed and students can play roles. Teachers can also positively reinforce students' response (i.e., 'good job”, “thank you ", “nice try”) to appreciate their participation. However, the behaviorist theory has some limitations:
1. It does not address the thinking process of actions or productions. Human beings are not machines or robots; they have feelings of anger, sadness, happiness, and so forth. There are studies that demonstrate children learn through mistakes, and can produce sentences they have never heard before.
2. People have independent thinking and planning ability. They do not only learn by following others; they develop proficiency by incorporating their own ways of learning.
3. Stimulus -response may not always work. Some people may not learn through this process. Though there are some similarities between animals and human behavior's, humans appear to have higher order thinking. It might be true that they would not respond to the repeated stimuli the same way every time.
4. Though positive reinforcement works for some children, negative reinforcement may also work at different contests. There are numerous examples in Asian countries where students have performed well after negative reinforcement from parents and teachers.
It seems to be problematic that students would always perform well if they are positively reinforced. There seem to be many other reasons that contribute to acquiring knowledge.
Discuss and evaluate the five hypotheses of Krashan's Monitor Model. Do you agree with Mclaughlin that Krashen's Theory is seriously flawed in many respects? ( 2014, 2015)
Answer: Krashen's five hypotheses are:-
- The Acquisition/Learning hypothesis
- The Natural Order Hypothesis
- The Monitor Hypothesis
- The input Hypothesis
- The Affective Filter Hypothesis
The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis
Krashen argues that acquisition and learning are two distinct ways of developing skills in a language. He says acquisition happens when learners pick up language instruments from their surrounding environment. An example of this type of learning is that children learn their first languages. They are not given formal instructions, but they acquire the competence by the age they reach five. Learning happens when learners learn through formal instructions and error corrections. It is a conscious process of developing skills in a language. Krashen believes that learning never turns into acquisition.
The Natural Order Hypothesis
Krashen believes that languages are learned through a systematic order. The process follows predictable order. English language learners, irrespective of their first language, usually follow the same pattern in learning the grammatical rules of the second language. For example, they learn the yes/no questions before learning the WH- questions. This order remains almost the same even though learners get different instructional experiences. This hypothesis also says that second language learning order is not the same as the first language.
The Monitor Model Hypothesis
Krashen argues that learning needs Monitor. Monitors work as an editor to check mistakes made by users. It checks time, grammatical forms, and rules. When monitors are used, people slow down and less error happens. However,when monitors are not used, natural errors happen with more fluent performance. Overuse of monitors may decrease the learning process.
The input Hypothesis
We learn a language when comprehensible input is used. By comprehensible input, Krashen means”i+1” input which refers to instructional materials that are one level higher than the present level of learners' language competence. This hypothesis is related to acquisition. If i+1 input is provided, learners acquire the skills with interest and enthusiasm. It helps learners acquire the language; it does not focus on learning.
The Affective Filter Hypothesis
This hypothesis talks about individual factors that influence learning. Learners' motivation, anxiety, and self-confidence play important roles in developing skills in the target language. If learners do not know why they are learning a language, they cannot learn it well. If they are worried that others will make fun of them if they speak the target language with mistakes, their learning will decline.
Moreover, if learners lack self-confidence,they cannot perform well. These are three affective filters that Krashen mentions in his theory. He says learners need to have positive motivation with self-esteem to learn a language in an anxiety-free environment.
Briefly discuss innatism (2014)
Ans: Noam Chomsky, the father of modern linguistics, developed the nativist theory of language learning. It is also known as innate theory, rationalist theory, innatist theory or mentalist theory. Nativist theory argues that humans are biologically programmed to achieve knowledge. It contradicts behaviorist theory which vents language as a set of habits.
Chomsky revealed that the mind is genetically constructed with a device which is know as LAD or Language Acquisition Device. The LAD preserves knowledge of grammatical rules which is common to every language. It further allows children to understand the rules of their language. Chomsky also disclosed the concept of TG grammar, Universal Grammar. TG grammar or Transformational Generative Grammar transforms a sentence from surface structure to deep structure. Surface structure is the actual meaning of the sentence and deep structure is the underlying meaning.
Human's ability to acquire a language is innate. This innate tendency to learn a language is LAD. LAD consists of UG or universal grammar. UG has a set of basic grammatical rules or fixed elements that are common in all languages. Chomsky defined these elements as Language Universals.
To find out the nature of LAD is not easy. It is the weakness of nativist theory. 'Or' Make a comparative study of the Behaviorist Theory and the Mentalist Theory of L1 Acquisition. 2019, 2013
Answer: Behaviorism states that children learn from environments, and develop skills through stimulus-response-reinforcement process. Behaviorist theorists believe children are born with "tabula rasa” or a blank slate. They learn from parents, neighbors, and the environment. The theory also suggests that people can be conditioned to behave in a certain way.
The behaviorist theorists do not consider biological backgrounds, individual personality characteristics, and personal thinking process or ideas. They only believe in "right conditioning” (Cherry, 2015). In terms of language acquisition, the behaviorist theorists argue that learners can develop proficiency if they are put in a situation when they repeatedly respond to positive stimuli. Through repetition, they will be conditioned to perform well. On the other hand, innatist view of league acquisitions suggests that children are born with the language learning ability. Chomsky says that children come to this world with some sorts of mental ability to learn a language.
The evidence of his claims is that children acquire the grammar of their first language in the first three/ four years. Innatist views also state that children learn through mistakes, not by following fixed/ rigiud rules.
Give a historical overview of language Teaching Methodology. (2020, 2014)
Answer: From the beginning of the 20th century, researchers started to explore newer methods and approaches to language teaching. Previously, the Grammar-Translation Method, also known as the Classical Method, was used to teach ancient languages, such as Latin and Greek. Later, people wanted to read literature of other languages, and they needed to know the grammatical rules and vocabulary of the target language.
With that in mind, teachers followed the GTM to teach students. Learners learned grammatical rules extensively so that they could understand the literary pieces of the language. Knowing a foreign language was considered prestigious. Later on, in the 1920s and 193Os, emphasis was given on teaching the target language by using direct Method.
This method suggested teaching a language by using that language all through. It never followed translation to teach a language. DM suggests use of realia and visuals to teach the target language. The medium of classroom communication should also be the target language.
The other name of DM is the Natural Method. After the end of the Second World war, another method emerged, learners were exposed to listening activities so that they could understand how language should be used in different contexts. Audios and videos in the target language were used extensively as teaching materials.
In the 1960s, the Silent Way emerged that was proposed by Noam Chomsky (1965). He argued that people could learn a language by using their LADs (Language Acquisition device.). According to him, mistakes in using a language are a sign of active engagement in the process.
This method is inspired by the theory of cognitive approach (Chomsky, 1965) where teaching was meant “to serve” (Freeman, 2000; p.54) learning. In line with the Silent Way, Georgi Lozanove (1979) proposed that learners usually fear the use of the target language, which is why they cannot perform well. The method is called Desuggestopidea.
He suggests that teachers need to help learners get rid of the mental pressure that they may suffer from in using the target language. In the late 1970s and through 1980s,the Communicative Language Teaching Method and Total Physical Response method emerged. CLT suggests designing a syllabus, materials, tasks and activities in order to develop real life communicative skills of learners.
Similarly, TPR suggests learning language by doing it. It means students would be physically responding to the instructions teachers would give. Then, in the 1990 and 20002, researches focused on content-based an task-based language teaching methods. Through these methods, learners do not learn a language to use it; rather, they use the target language to learn something (a content), or to complete a task (collecting school garbage).
In both the situations, learners are provided with a situation where the target language is in use. After Gardner introduced the concept of Multiple Intelligence,the perspective to all the methods shifted. In this post-method era, it is believed that teachers need to consider all the methods and make their own to fulfil the needs of their local students.
Evaluate the grammar Translation Method focusing on its main characteristics, strengths and weaknesses. (2019) (2016) (2014)
Ans: GTM is a language teaching method that was used in teaching ancient Greek and Latin. The main goal of teaching a foreing language at that time was to help students develop reading and writing skills. Learners wanted to read literature in the target language, and people wanted to translate literary pieces from one to another language.
The process of teaching a language through GTM involves teaching grammar rules deductively. It means teachers will teach the grammatical rules and make sure that students use them correctly at different contexts. The main strength of following GTM is that it helps learners use their mother tongue in learning the target language.
Though many educators did not like the idea of using mother tongue in teaching a foreign language in the 20th century, some researchers nowadays suggest using mother tongue to a limited degree. Learners may feel comfortable in the classroom if their first languages are used to help them understand a concept. Moreover, GTM can be very helpful in developing vocabulary skills.
As learners learn to translate, they learn many words and phrases in the target language. This helps learners comprehend reading texts easily. It is also noteworthy that GTM emphasiszes mastering the target language by learning grammar rules. Though grammar teaching has been given less priority in recent years, grammar is an inseparable part of a language.
Grammar is still taught with great importance, but the approach and techniques are different. The main weakness of GTM is that it puts almost zero importance to communication skills. What is the point of learning a language if learners do not know how to use it in real life situations? Listening and speaking skills are two important skills that GTM undervalues.
If learners do not understand what a person is saying, and if he/she cannot communicate with somebody from the target language, learning a language appears to be ineffective. Another weakness is that GTM does not teach learners cultural and social aspects of the target language population. Learning a language means learning a culture, which seemed to be devalued in GTM.
Finally, GTM teaches grammar rules deductively. It means teachers explain rules and students learn the rules discreetly. They do not learn grammar rules in context. I is also thought that GTM classrooms are dominated by teacher-talk,, which hinders students' participation. If teachers can be facilitators, students' participation and interaction will increase, and they will learn in a cooperative learning environment.
GTM can be used partially in a mono-lingual context like Bangladesh' but, teachers need to make sure that they are focusing on communication skills of learners. However, everything depends on the needs of learners. If learners want to develop reading skills, GTM can be used to some extent. If they want to develop listening and speaking skills, very little rooms are there to use GTM. All coins have two sides and GTM has both strengths and weaknesses. Current teachers need to think “ how” and “why” they would use a specific method.
What are the main principles of the direct method? Discuss the main characteristics of the direct method.
Answer: The main principles of the Direct Method are:- Speaking is emphasized over writing.
The Main Characteristics of the Direct Method are:
Communication and interaction in the language should be facilitated in the target language. At no circumstances, learners' first language can be used. It is an approach, which is similar to the way of learning a first language. Pioneers of the Direct Method suggested that learning a foreign/second language would be effective if learners were given an environment to learn the target language in a way they acquired their mother tongue.
Another major characteristic is its focus on speaking Previously, in GTM, developing translation, writing and reading skills were the main objectives; however, in Direct Method, conversation or interactional skills are emphasized over others. Teachers explain concepts and rules by demonstrating and using realia. Without translating meaning from L2 to L1 or vice versa, teachers describe meaning in context by demonstrating scenarios or giving examples. They also bring real life materials in class to make meaning.
What is the Direct Method? Compare and contrast the GTM and the Direct Method.
Answer: The main goal of the DM is to develop oral fluency in the target language, not the functions and rules of the language. Therefore, the sub-goals are:
To communicate in the target language, and To think in the target Language.
The GTM and the DM are two commonly used approaches in teaching a foreign or second language. GTM focuses on teaching grammar rules and literary pieces by translating from L2 into L1 and vice versa. On the other hand, the DM emphasizes oral interaction, and does not allow L1 in learning L2.
The main goals of GTM are to help learners develop reading and writing skills in the target language. The main technique is to use translation as a means of learning the L2. The major strength of this approach is to help learners enhance their reading and writing skills. For GTM, learners want to read literature in the target language, and they want to write essays in the target language.
One of the weaknesses of this approach is to not emphasizing communication in the target language. Another weakness is too much emphasis on translation. On the contrary, the DM does not rely on translation. The theorists of the DM emphasize intensive oral interaction.
The emergence of the DM comes from the dissatisfaction of the GTM that could not produce competent language users. As GTM focused on translation, learners used to develop reading and writing skills: however, their communicative competence was very low.Learners could not communicate in real life citations. Addressing this problem, the DM aims at developing communicative competence of the learners. The main technique of the DM is to facilitate a lot of group and pair work that generate discussion.
Another technique of the DM is a “No-L1” policy' students are not allowed to use their first languages.One of the weaknesses of this approach is that learners may become less competent in reading and writing. We see that some English medium students in Bangladesh are very good in speaking; however, they can't do well in reading and academic writing.
Though both GTM and the DM are different in approach to teaching a foreign or second language, they can be integrated, and both should be used to help learners develop skills in all the areas.
What are the goals and principles of the Audio-Lingual Method? Discuss its advantages and disadvantages (2020, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2007)
Answer: Audio-lingual method is a way of teaching where students do what teachers ask them to do. Students repeat some selected dialogues after the teachers and memorize rules of grammar and phrases through repeated drills. Through practicing drills, learners form a habit of using the learned language in context.
The main goals of the Audio-lingual Method are:-
- To help learners form a habit of using some structures and patterns of a language in context.
- To develop speaking and listening skills
- To communicate in the target language properly
- To make learners competent to be successful in communication.
The main principles of this method are:-
- Learning is habit formation
- Drilling and repetition of some selected patterns and structures of the target language.
- Focusing on forms and pronunciation, not on meaning
- Giving positive and negative feedback based on correct and incorrect responses
- Emphasizing memorization of selected phrases and patterns
- Using audio-visual materials
There are many advantages of this method. First, learners get to practice the target language through speaking and listening. Teachers use a lot of visual aids that is also helpful for the learners to internalize the linguistic structures. Some of the techniques of Audio-lingualism are still used at some places. Memorization of some idioms/phrases is still common in many situations. This helps learners memorize and remember chunks of the target language and use them whenever necessary.
However, language learning cannot be habit formation. Learners can memorize some parts of language, but to become competent users of the target language, learners need to use their freedom of using phrases and structures. This is the major disadvantage of Audio-lingualism. Learning a foreign or second language is a process where mistakes are a part.
Nobody can learn a foreign language entirely by memorizing some sentences and patterns. Language learning is a fluid pattern where success comes through a course of time. Teachers can use drilling of dialogues for the students' however, students should have independence in making sentences and using words on their own while communicating or practicing a new language.
What is situational Language Teaching (SLT)? Discuss the approach, design and procedures of situational Language teaching [2020, 2018, 2015, 2013, 2007]
Answer: An oral approach or situational Language Teaching (SLT) is teaching a language based on speech, structure and a set of basic vocabulary, Situational Language Teaching is a way of teaching where students are engaged in drills of the target language structures that are presented in situations. Students repeat some selected dialogues or sentence structures while describing pictures through repeated drills.
Through practicing drills, learners form a habit of using the learned language in a context. The approach in SLT follows the theory of structuralism emerged in the UK. In this approach, first, speech is the basic component of language. Structure plays the central role in speaking. However, the structure should be related to the context of learning. Also, language is considered as a purposeful activity, which is related to the goals and situations of learning. Second, it follows a behaviourist approach to language teaching, which considers learning as habit formation. Similar to the Direct Method, this adopts an inductive approach to language teaching.
In terms of design, SLT focuses on the four language skills. There fore, it emphasizes both pronunciation and grammar. It adopts a structural syllabus of language teaching. For example, the syllabus will have a list of basic sentence structures in English.
To implement or teach the structures, SLT follows drills in the classroom as well as visuals and realia to make learning easier. The learners are required to listen and repeat what the teacher says, and respond to the teacher's questions. On the other hand, the teacher's job is to present the model of the target language and set up situations to contextualize the structures. The procedure in SLT varies across the level of students.
The major techniques or procedures in SLT are:-
- Describing picture
- Repeating sentences after the teacher
- Memorizing some selected words or phrases, and drilling them in dialogues.
These activities are important to achieve the goal of SLT. Because the principle of SLT is to improve oral proficiency through habit formation or practicing, repeating sentence structures and vocabulary will help students drill the patterns. It is also important in SLT that students will produce error-free language.
Therefore, learners are given repeated activities so that they can memorize and produce the patterns. Yet, unlike Audio-lingualism, the drills are done in contexts or situations, such as providing pictures to the learners so that they can describe those using the expected structures and vocabulary.
Discuss the main principles of Communicative Language Teaching. Why is CLT considered an approach rather than a method? [2018, 2016, 2012]
Answer: Communicative language teaching is a language teaching approach that focuses on the communicative competence in a language. By communicative competence, Hymes refers to the ability to interact in culturally appropriate way using appropriate linguistic system in daily conversation.
The goals of CLT have been described in specific categories by Canale and Swain later. They included four components of language competence as the goal of learning a language. These are:-
- Grammatical competence: to be able to use the language in grammatically appropriate way
- Sociolinguistic competence: to be able to use the language in socially and culturally appropriate ways
- Discourse competence: to be able to use the language structures coherently; and,Strategic competence to be able to handle and respond to specific situations, such as apologize for making request
The basic principles of CLT are:-
- Teaching communicative competence focusing on meaning
- Developing and using authentic materials that offer interaction in real-life situations to the learners.
- Practicing functions and forms of the target language in context rich environment
- There has to be a balance between fluency and accuracy depending on the learners needs
- Adopting a learner-centered classroom and materials
Why is CLT considered an approach rather than a method:-
A method is away of teaching based on specific instructional theories that teachers follow in class rooms. It is thought that teachers have very little opportunities to change the ways suggested by the theory . For example, the silent way and Total Physical Response are methods.
ON the other hand, an approach is a way of teaching languages when teachers make changes of the suggested instruction to adapt to their classes. For example,communicative language teaching is an approach. Teachers can use this approach to teach any language skills in many ways.
CLT is an approach because teachers can modify the principles and techniques of CLT in relation to the needs of learners and contexts of teaching-learning. The main objective of communicative language teaching is to help learners develop skills in communicating in the target language in real life situations.
The main techniques proposed by the proponents of CLT are:-
- To design interactional and participatory tasks and activities
- To emphasize the use of the target language at all times
- To less focus on correcting mistakes of grammar
- To give an anxiety-free environment to students.
Based on the above principles, teachers can design their instructional materials, tasks and activities to serve the purpose of their classes. Teachers have many flexibility to try CLT based on the needs and expectations of learners. For example, a teacher wants to help students do groceries in the target language, and wants house CLT theories in her class.
Her classroom technique could be taking students to a nearby market place and make students buy some daily necessaries. Before doing this task, students can role-play as salesperson and buyer in the class with student- produced dialogues. Another teacher can do something else to help students attain the target skills. For example, she can bring some authentic daily necessaries to try them in class. The teacher can ask students to learn the vocabulary and then role-play. Another teacher can show video clips for shopping and ask students to take notes. Next students can make conversation dialogues and role play.
CLT is an approach that offers many flexibilities to the teachers. Teachers can use this approach keeping the main objective of making students competent in target language in real life contexts.
What are the roles played by the learners and the teachers in CLT. [2019, 2012, 2006]
Answer: Communicative language teaching is an approach that focuses on developing communicative competence in real life situations. It is a way of teaching that promotes interaction between teacher and students and among students. The main purpose of this teaching approach is a to help learners gain confidence in using the target language when they are required to use it.
The main roles that teachers play in CLT are:-
Facilitator: Teachers act as facilitators. They do not teach anything; rather, they design tasks and activities that students do. Teaching communicative competence means focusing on meaning making conversation. Students engage in debate, discussion, and problem-solving tasks which are facilitated by teachers.
Developing and using authentic materials: Teachers develop authentic and interesting materials: Teachers develop authentic and interesting materials that offer interaction in real-life situations to the learners. For example, teachers can design a role-play between a salesperson and a buyer in the classroom. For this task, teachers can bring some potatoes, tomatoes, green chillies, lentils and so forth in the class. Then, a student plays the role of a salesperson and another can take the role of a buyer. The role play of selling and buying groceries. They can also bargain on the price which is very common in Bangladesh market places.
Practicing functions and forms of the target language in a concrete rich environment. Teachers need to plan activities that are bound to specific functions and forms of the target language. For example, "seeing a doctor” could be the function of a classroom task. Teachers can design the class keeping the forms of language use in a doctor's office. Students make dialogue and role-play the written dialogue.
Adopting a learner-centred classroom environment: Teachers should create an environment which is learner-centred and anxiety-free. Having a favorable environment would encourage students to speak out and engage in effective communication. If the class is controlled by teachers, students would be passive. Passive students are not a part of a CLT-based class.
On the other hand, students are communicators in CLT. They take responsibility for their own learning by actively participating in learning activities. In the classroom, for example, they take part in group works and role play. They also share their opinions independently. They ask questions if they do not understand anything. The teacher only guides them through the process. Learners in CLT always use the language as much as possible. They look for learning opportunities outside the classroom. For example, they will watch English movies to develop their listening skills. They will also do voluntary work to get the opportunity to speak.
Elucidate the Limitations/ challenges of implementing CLT for language teaching in Bangladesh [2017, 2015, 2013]
Answer: Implementing CLT in Bangladesh faces some major challenges.
The major challenges in implementing CLT In Bangladesh are:-
1. The grammar -based examination system: Students are tested mostly on grammar and reading comprehension. There are learners. There was no assessment for listening and speaking skills. Recently, some marks have been allowed for speaking. However, many educators are concerned about the reliability and validity of the evaluation procedures. Teachers might be biased in grading students, and creating evaluation criteria and following them would be very challenging.
2. Absence of real context for language use: Students in Bangladesh do not get any real contexts for using English outside the classroom. Because they study English only to pass the examination, they resist CLT in the classroom. Bangladesh is mostly a mono-lingual country where almost95% of the population speak Bangla. There is very limited use of English in everyday life. In some consideration, speaking English in public is considered as an attitude of “showing off'. As a result, students do not feel the need of practicing it in and outside of the classroom. As some multinational companies evaluate candidates with higher level of proficiency in English, English-medium students and students from private universities are getting preferences in jobs, However, vast majority do not still find it relevant to use English in their daily life or even in the classroom
3. Teacher training: This is the most important reason of failures of implementing CLT in Bangladesh. Most teachers do not have adequate training on CLT. They fail to plan appropriate techniques and activities following CLT. Thousands of English teachers in semi-urban and rural areas in Bangladesh do not have competence in English. Many of them might not able to communicate effectively unreal life contexts. Another reason i s the lack of training. Teachers do not know how to design and conduct classes following CLT. They get 45 to 50 minutes when designing and conducting effective tasks and activities for interaction and participation are very difficult.
4. Class size: Most English classes in Bangladesh are very large. It seems to be very difficult to implement tasks that help students learn English in interaction. Designing group or pair work, and guiding them through the class appear to be verychallenging. A language class should not have more than 25 students.
5. Materials: There is also a shortage of instructional materials for teaching English in Bangladesh. Except for some well-established schools and universities, most classrooms do not have audio-visual facilities. Teachers cannot design any tasks that are focused on developing audio-lingual competence. It is also seen that teachers only use the textbook which does not offer a variety of interesting authentic materials.
To Improve the state of affairs in CLT in Bangladesh, following strategies can be followed:-
1. There needs to be a consistent relationship between teaching classroom activities and testing. If learners are taught communicative competence, that has to be tested afterwards. This could be easily implemented by incorporating small interview sessions in english into the national examination system. Specific guidelines for evaluation can be made. Text-book writers can design specific rubric to evaluate speaking and listening skills.
2. Learners should be provided with a real purpose of developing their communicative competence in English. Learners could be introduced to real situations such as job interviews at international companies or studying in higher education in the future. These would offer them opportunities to develop their future identities and motivation. Teachers and learners should have discussion on the goals and objectives of learning English. If students are given opportunities to reflect on their learning, they will realize why they need to develop communicative competence.
3. The classroom activities could be task-based following the CLT approach. For example, teacher could select social and cultural themes and prepare students for communicating in real-life contexts. This will be consistent with the purpose and testing procedure.
4. All teachers need to be trained properly and follow-up reflection should be done yearly. If teachers know what, why and how they should teach something, they would better conduct a class. Head teachers of schools should also be trained so that they know the importance of using CLT. Encouraging students to use English at all times in the class could be useful. if there are marks for participation, students would be motivated to participate in discussion.
5. Managing large classrooms: if the classroom is very large, teachers need to plan ahead of the class how they would design some tasks and activities to encourage participation. Teacher talking time should be less than students talking time. Pair work and bench-to-bench group discussion can be done. Though conducting pair and group work in a large classroom seems challenging, thoughtful design of classroom activities can make a difference in teaching. Asking students questions, and letting students ask questions could be the beginning of interaction.
6. Materials: instructional materials are one of important aspects in teaching English. Most teachers in Bangladesh use only the required textbook. Teachers should not only use the materials from the textbook but also select materials from everyday situations. Newspaper articles, songs, national cultural and religious texts can be interesting to students.
These supplementary materials would motivate students to participate in discussions. Adopting the above techniques, the difficulties can be minimized.
Discuss the main concerns and the procedures of the natural approach in Teaching four skills. Or What are the four basic stages of SLA mentioned in the Natural Approach? [2017, 2015, 2012, 207]
Answer: "The Natural Approach” is a language teaching method based on Krashen's language teaching hypotheses. The natural Approach emphasizes the development of skills depending on the learner's choice. The comprehensive skills, such as listening and reading are highlighted more than the productive skills or speaking and writing at the beginning when learners try to process the comprehensible input. Learners, for example, are not pushed to speak or use the target language until they are ready.
Learners will decide when they want to speak or write. The underlying assumption is that learners need time to process the comprehensible input they are given. When they are ready to speak, they will speak. This happens in a sequence of four stages.Learners reach their intermediate level at stage four. At this stage, they are able to speak and write comfortably using the vocabulary and structures they have learned throughout the process.
There are our basic stages of SLA mentioned in the natural approach. These are:-
1. Comprehension-at this stage, learners listen and comprehend as much as possible. This is seen as the silent period all first language learners go through. Therefore, teachers are expected to provide the students with learning support as much as possible. For example, the use of visual aids, realia, and printed words on charts are very important. Teachers also speak slowly, and learners' production of the language is not mandatory.
2. Early production- at this stage, learners speak the basic language,such as answering questions in yes or no. They also start using one-word responses. Teachers use more visuals to help learners produce language. There are also open dialogues so that the learners can voluntarily take part in natural conversation.
3. Speak emergence- at this stage, learners start using short phrases in the target language, and respond to others in three/ four words using dialogues.
4. Intermediate fluency-at this stage, learners start using complete sentences, and the speech becomes more complex. Learners find it comfortable to narrate events and activities. According to Krashen,these are the four stages of SLA, and teachers should plan lessons based on these basic stages.
State the theoretical foundation of total Physical Response? What are its advantages and disadvantages? [2019, 2016, 2006]
Answer: The major goal of "Total Physical Response” is to provide learners with an enjoyable classroom environment with minimum stress. Learners are supposed to learn the target language through actions. The objective is to provide them with opportunities to use the language by doing activities. This is very good for the learners who fall under the body-kinesthetic learning style category. TPR follows some specific principles of language learning.
The Principles of TPR:-
1. Students should develop an understanding of the language before speaking it.
2. Actions are important to express meanings.
3. Students learn the target language in stress-free situations.
4. Teachers should ignore students errors, and
5. Spoken language is more important than written language.
The principles are very useful in terms of teaching learners who learn by doing things.These could also be used to teach action verbs and similar communication practices that focus on actions. However,the principles may not be very useful in other situations when learners are learning more abstract concepts in the target language.
What are its advantages and disadvantages:-
Total Physical Response is a way of teaching language which focuses on active learning. Learners are required to do activities by being involved in the actions. There are some strengths and weaknesses of using Total Physical Response.
Some Strengths of Total Physical Response are:-
1. Students participate in actions; they become active learners since students are required to do what the teachers say,students are supposed to do the tasks by doing it. For example, Teacher says” Can you please give me your pen?”The student gives the teacher the pen.
2. Errors are not corrected; students feel free to use the target language as there is no fear of being intimidated. For example, a student may say, “I shuted the door”/ The teacher does not explain that 'shut' is a irregular verb, and the past form of the verb is also "shut”
Some main disadvantages of the TPR are:-
1. TPR may not be very helpful for higher level learners. For example, students will not be motivated to do some action based on some very trivial questions
2. It may only be applicable to beginners' level of learners. Higher level students may not be inspired to do some puzzle or logo during their class. They might think that those tasks are for children. For developing skills in academic reading handwriting, TPR might not be a suitable choice.
3. It may not be helpful for developing reading and writing skills.This seems to be the most important weakness that the TPR has. As focus was given on physical actions, learners may not develop reading and writing skills. Learners may develop some speaking and listening skills; however, reading and writing skills might be overshadowed.
4. Learners might be fossilized with errors' they may make the same mistakes in future.As teachers do not correct the mistakes of the students, learners might think they did not need accuracy. However, accuracy is a very important academic skill. If they are not corrected, they might be thinking that errors are not harshly seen in many contexts.
Like all other methods and approaches, TPR has some strengths and weaknesses. Though this approach may not be effective for helping higher level students enhance academic reading and writing skills, it could be very interesting for toddlers and beginners.
TPR provides an environment for learners who could feel at ease while learning a language. As there are many physical activities involved in TPR children would enjoy the tasks and activities. TPR can also be used with adult learners who are at lower level.if adults are older, some tasks might be challenging. Teachers should use their creativity and imagination while using TPR
What is "post-method pedagogy”? Discuss the strategic framework proposed by B. Kumaravadivelu? [2017, 2013]
Answer: Kumaravadivelu proposed the concept of post-method pedagogy. This pedagogy refers to the teaching practices that are relevant to the teaching context. The objective of post-method pedagogy is to achieve optimal learning by following practical teaching strategies. Kumaravadivelu does not believe in a single teaching method. He believes that no single method can bring optimal success in learning a language. From this perspective, post-method pedagogy.
This may create some problems as well. Following is a critical analysis of the method based on its strengths and limitations. Post-method pedagogy has some major advantages that other teaching approaches may fail to show.
First, it gives teachers much freedom in designing classroom practices. Teachers do not struggle to relate their practices to the methods or theories. They do not have to depend on any methods to design classroom procedure. They Create their own theories based on their practices in the classroom. Therefore, they are independent in choosing any teaching approaches and materials depending on the students' needs.
Second, learners are also expected to be autonomous. They are always active in learning. They have their opinions about their own learning and they are able to share those with the teachers. This makes them confident and comfortable in the classroom. They also become responsible for their own learning. They become more independent. Next, the teaching materials are context specific, which makes the pedagogy effective in diverse contexts. Teachers choose socially relevant topics. These are easy to understand. Therefore, students become very comfortable and motivated in the classroom.
Teacher educators also have a major role in the pedagogy. They are supposed to make teachers confident in expressing their voices. They show the teachers possible ways of teaching. This makes teachers confident. In spite of having many advantages, post-method pedagogy has some limitations. This may not work sometimes, if the limitations are not carefully considered. For example, extreme teacher autonomy may become a problem. Teachers are not able to use their autonomy in all contexts. They have many restrictions because they are given tasks and materials by the institution, which is why it is difficult for them to create their own activities. Therefore, they may not be independent in real classrooms.
Furthermore, it is hard to design materials if there are limited resources available. In some contexts, teachers may not find any reading or audio texts. So, teachers have to depend on their textbooks. Next, teachers also have to consider the examination system. Students need to be assessed at the end of the course.
Therefore, classroom activities become examination oriented. In this case, teachers do not have any choice other than following the traditional teaching methods. Because of the above constraints, the pedagogy may not be very effective. Therefore, teachers, educators and policy makers have to work together to make it effective.
Discuss the major strategies and techniques of developing Vocabulary [2017, 2015, 2013]
Answer: There are two major techniques of vocabulary teaching: explicit and implicit vocabulary instruction. Following these techniques, the teacher can develop their own strategies of teaching vocabulary. However, some major strategies should be considered in every classroom depending on students' level and interest.
Following are the major strategies according to each technique of vocabulary teaching. Explicit vocabulary instruction can be done following some strategies.
First, pre-teaching vocabulary is useful to teach students major words before reading a text. Teachers can pre-select some difficult words from the text. Then they explain the words to the students or cluster the synonyms and antonyms into categories. Discussion on the words also helps students understand the words before starting reading.
Second, teachers can use word maps, such as semantic mapping and definition maps to teach vocabulary explicitly. Morphological clustering helps students group words that are similar in meaning. They understand the relationship among the words through the visual representation of the words in a cluster. This helps them guess the meaning of a new word even before knowing the exact meaning of the word.
In contrast, semantic maps are very useful in teaching vocabulary. It helps students categorize meanings of a word into groups and subgroups. Therefore, students are able to understand the words in relation to other concepts. Moreover, students can visualize the relationships between the words. This activates their cognition and helps them learn and remember the word better.
Analyzing parts of a word is another strategy that helps understand the possible meaning of the word. Students can identify different parts of the word by dividing it into its root and affixes. For example, “uncomfortable” is a word. The root word is comfort. "-able' is a suffix, and 'un-' is a prefix. Usually, when the suffix 'able' is added to a root it becomes an adjective, while “un” is added as a prefix to a root to make a negative meaning. Therefore, the meaning of the word uncomfortable is 'not having comfort” Implicit vocabulary instruction, on the other hand, involves two major strategies.
Incidental learning is one of the implicit techniques that can help students learn vocabulary while reading a text. They encounter the word in the context and try to relate it to other familiar words in the context. This is how they learn the word incidentally. Another implicit strategy is to learn the word from the context. For this, students have to read the whole paragraph, and try to get as much clues as possible about the word's meaning. Then they try to match all the possible meanings to the context, and find out the closer meaning.
Apart from the above, using dictionaries and thesaurus effectively is very important to learn vocabulary. Teachers have to make students aware of this strategy, all the strategies and techniques are equally important. However, they should be applied depending on the context-the students' levels and needs.
What are the roles of teachers in a Language classroom?
Answer: In general, teachers play the role of a guide and observer. By guide, it is meant that teachers lead in the discussion of the topic design and facilitate tasks and activities. If students require help from the teachers, teachers would guide students to the right track.
If students cannot find answers to the questions by doing pair and group work, teachers can help them by being participants. Teachers also observe students' performance and evaluate them. Other general roles that a teacher plays in the classroom are the manager, authority, resource, and participant. When a teacher comes to a class, she has to manage the classroom environment as that all the students get the opportunity to learn the desired skills.
If there are some students who wants to create troubles or not interested in learning, the teacher requires to offer them various responsibilities so that other students are not disturbed by them . she also would work as the authority in the classroom. If students want to complain against any wrong doing in the classroom , they will talk to the teacher and the teacher needs to solve in-class problems. She also plays the roles of resource and participant. If students have any questions related to the lessons, the teacher works as the last resource.
Teachers also participate with students when students do group work. Teachers can encourage students with some related questions so that students can solve the given task.
