THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BASICS OF ENGLISH TEACHING

Theme:
Main theories of English teaching and effective methods of practicing them
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the session participants will have:
• reflected on teaching and learning English
• practiced and discussed different techniques for teaching English

Teaching came into its own as a profession in the last century. Central to this
process was the emergence of the concept of methods of language teaching. The
method concept in language teaching-the notion of a systematic set of teaching
practices based on a particular theory of language and language learning-is a
powerful one, and the quest for better methods preoccupied teachers and applied
linguists throughout the 20th century. The history of changes in language teaching
throughout history, up through the Direct Method in the 20th century. One of the
most lasting legacies of the Direct Method has been the notion of method itself. in
language teaching has been characterized in a variety of ways. A more or less
classical formulation suggests that methodology links theory and practice. Within
methodology a distinction is often made between methods and approaches, in which
methods are held to be fixed teaching systems with prescribed techniques and
practices, and approaches are language teaching philosophies that can be interpreted
and applied in a variety of different ways in the classroom.
This distinction is probably best seen as a continuum ranging from highly
prescribed methods to loosely described approaches. years the imperative need of
using a foreign language appears in all areas of a science, manufacture and culture
present practice of teaching foreign languages there are some typical problems
forcing the teacher to address to experience of the colleagues, to innovative ideas, to
a science these problems, difficulties and lacks of a traditional technique of teaching
there are the following basic problems:
➢ low authority of a subject because of shortages of a present technique of
teaching.
 ➢ low intensity of pupils speech activity.
➢ superficiality in forming of base skills and haste of transition from reproductive
to productive kinds of work.
➢ absence of good practical recommendations on elimination and the prevention
of gaps in pupils knowledge and skills.
➢ weakness of existing system of appreciation of pupils work.
Spontaneity of a choice and application of evident support, their low didactic
efficiency of methods of teaching have shown, that all named problems will
effectively solved, if we apply elaborations of various innovators for amplification
of a traditional technique of teaching that can increase essentially quality of
teaching foreign (in particular English) language.

1. Comparative Teaching Methodologies

The very first definition of methodology was given by E.M. Ryt in 1930, who
wrote that the methodology of teaching foreign languages is a practical application of
comparative linguistics. A similar position had A.V. Scherba. Emergence of views on
the methodology as applied linguistics, was due to the fact that the method 30-s not
enough to identify the specificity of a foreign language as a subject, and there was no
developed system of research methods, without which there can be no true science.
Direction in determining the methodology as a science, connected with the name
B.V. Belyaev, who believed that the technique is nothing like applied psychology.
However, a number of problems methods, in particular, the selection of material,
especially the use of techniques and ways of working, depending on the audience,
cannot be resolved based only on psychology. Therefore, this definition of techniques
did not spread. The late 30-s - early 40-ies starts take shape, one more line -
definition of methodology as pedagogical science. Do pedagogy and methodology,
there is one object of study - the processes of learning, education, goals and
objectives of training, education and maintenance items. Uniform and research
methods are, therefore, the determination method as a science teacher was a step
forward to its registration as an independent science. Direction in determining the
methodology as a science began in the late 40-s. The method is recognized by
science, which has its own laws and its methods. The most complete definition of the
method reads: Methods of teaching is the science, exploring the aims and content,
pattern, means, methods, techniques and training systems, as well as studying the
processes of teaching and training material on a foreign language.
The beginning of XX century there was also another problem. That was the
problem of method. It was quite natural, since after 1917 new school demanded the
application of new techniques. At that time, advocated direct (natural) method. It was
believed that this method was based on a correct principle - associating foreign words
with the objects themselves. This was the method of natural (associative) learning a
foreign language, which was the most economical, fastest-reaching goal is this being
promoted direct method, when the West is having the idea of mixed method? This
was due to several reasons. First, in the royal schools dominated the grammar-
translation and textual-translation methods based on cramming, from which it was
necessary to be free. Direct same method against them was more progressive, as
proceeded from the living language of speech training, as the primary means of
language functioning., only direct method of instruction intended to communicate.,
education was not familiar with the proposals of other methods that have arisen in the
West after the World War I, because this war, and then the civil, broke all contact.
Time, not only the goal of learning a foreign language changed, and claims to
ownership of them. Methods of teaching foreign languages were in crisis. Always
requires radical change. Thus, in low productive ideas were made the transition to
communicative teaching. The crisis revived the active and methodical search, which
contributed to the development of modern teaching concepts of foreign language
teaching: Communicative (I.L. Beem, E. I. Passov), intensive (G.A.
Kitaygorodskaya), activity (Ilyasov) and others.
Though there is no one correct approach, most teachers usually find themselves
more comfortable using one or the other of the approaches listed and described.
Though there is nothing overtly wrong with this, it must be remembered that students
differ greatly, not just in age but also in mentality, thus they may respond differently
to any given approach to language teaching. Because of different learning styles, the
effective teacher must be prepared to adapt his or her teaching to the needs and
preferences of each class. Our advice is to 'find yourself' with respect to the
approaches listed below. That said, don't be afraid to experiment with and/or adapt
your style of teaching. In the end, you may discover that the best approach is eclectic
in nature and includes bits of this and bits of that.as to give some depth of
understanding as to the evolution of ideas that has marked the emergence of newer
and different approaches to language teaching, we have tried to place the following
list of methodological approaches in chronological order.

Grammar Translation Method

Ancient Greek are known as "dead languages", based on the fact that people no
longer speak them for the purpose of interactive communication. Yet they are still
acknowledged as important languages to learn (especially Latin) for the purpose of
gaining access to classical literature, and up until fairly recently, for the kinds of
grammar training that led to the "mental dexterity" considered so important in any
higher education study stream has been studied for centuries, with the prime
objectives of learning how to read classical Latin texts, understanding the
fundamentals of grammar and translation, and gaining insights into some important
foreign influences Latin has had on the development of other European languages.
The method used to teach it overwhelmingly bore those objectives in mind, and came
to be known as the Classical Method. It is now more commonly known in Foreign
Language Teaching circles as the Grammar Translation Method.is hard to decide
which is more surprising - the fact that this method has survived right up until today,
or the fact that what was essentially a method developed for the study of "dead"
languages involving little or no spoken communication or listening comprehension is
still used for the study of languages that are very much "alive" and require
competence not only in terms of reading, writing and structure, but also speaking,
listening and interactive communication.

Direct Method
The end of the late 1800s, a revolution in language teaching philosophy took place
that is seen by many as the "dawn" of modern foreign language teaching. Teachers,
frustrated by the limits of the Grammar Translation Method in terms of its inability to
create "communicative" competence in students, began to experiment with new ways
of teaching language. Basically, teachers began attempting to teach foreign languages
in a way that was more similar to first language acquisition. It incorporated
techniques designed to address all the areas that the Grammar Translation did not -
namely oral communication, more spontaneous use of the language, and developing
the ability to "think" in the target language. Perhaps in an almost reflexive action, the
method also moved as far away as possible from various techniques typical of the
Grammar Translation Method - for instance using L1 as the language of instruction,
memorizing grammatical rules and lots of translation between L1 and the target
language. Appearance of the "Direct Method" thus coincided with a new school of
thinking that dictated that all foreign language teaching should occur in the target
language only, with no translation and an emphasis on linking meaning to the
language being learned.
 The method became very popular during the first quarter of the 20th century,
especially in private language schools in Europe where highly motivated students
could study new languages and not need to travel far in order to try them out and
apply them communicatively. One of the most famous advocates of the Direct
Method was the American Charles Berlitz, whose schools and "Berlitz Method" are
now world-renowned., the Direct Method was not without its problems. As Brown
points out, "(it) did not take well in public education where the constraints of budget,
classroom size, time, and teacher background made such a method difficult to use."
By the late 1920s, the method was starting to go into decline and there was even a
return to the Grammar Translation Method, which guaranteed more in the way of
"scholastic" language learning orientated around reading and grammar skills. But the
Direct Method continues to enjoy a popular following in private language school
circles, and it was one of the foundations upon which the well-known "Audio-lingual
Method" expanded from starting half way through the 20th century.

Audio-Lingual Method
Next "revolution" in terms of language teaching methodology coincided with
World War II, when America became aware that it needed people to learn foreign
languages very quickly as part of its overall military operations. The "Army Method"
was suddenly developed to build communicative competence in translators through
very intensive language courses focusing on aural/oral skills. This in combination
with some new ideas about language learning coming from the disciplines of
descriptive linguistics and behavioral psychology went on to become what is known
as the Audio-lingual Method (ALM).new method incorporated many of the features
typical of the earlier Direct Method, but the disciplines mentioned above added the
concepts of teaching "linguistic patterns" in combination with "habit-forming". This
method was one of the first to have its roots "firmly grounded in linguistic and
psychological theory", which apparently added to its credibility and probably had
some influence in the popularity it enjoyed over a long period of time. It also had a
major influence on the language teaching methods that were to follow, and can still
be seen in major or minor manifestations of language teaching methodology even to
this day. Factor that accounted for the method's popularity was the "quick success" it
achieved in leading learners towards communicative competence. Through extensive
mimicry, memorization and "over-learning" of language patterns and forms, students
and teachers were often able to see immediate results. This was both its strength and
its failure in the long run, as critics began to point out that the method did not deliver
in terms of producing long-term communicative ability. Study of linguistics itself was
to change, and the area of second language learning became a discipline in its own
right.
Silent Way
Addition to "affective" theories relative to language learning, another challenge to
the Audio-lingual Method was under way already in the sixties in the form of the
"Cognitive Code" and an educational trend known as "Discovery Learning." These
concepts most directly challenged the idea that language learning was all about
mimicry and good "habit-formation." An emphasis on human cognition in language
learning addressed issues such as learners being more responsible for their own
learning - formulating independent hypotheses about the "rules" of the target
language and testing those hypotheses by applying them and realizing errors. When
students create their own sets of meaningful language rules and concepts and then test
them out, they are clearly learning through a discovery/exploratory method that is
very different from rote-learning. This appears to have much more in common with
the way people learn their native language from a very early age, and can account for
the way children come out with new language forms and combinations that they have
never heard before. The underlying principles here are that learners become
increasingly autonomous in, active with and responsible for the learning process in
which they are engaged. Gattegno founded "The Silent Way" as a method for
language learning in the early 70s, sharing many of the same essential principles as
the cognitive code and making good use of the theories underlying Discovery
Learning. Some of his basic theories were that "teaching should be subordinated to
learning" and "the teacher works with the student; the student works on the
language". The most prominent characteristic of the method was that the teacher
typically stayed "silent" most of the time, as part of his/her role as facilitator and
stimulator, and thus the method's popular name. Language learning is usually seen as
a problem solving activity to be engaged in by the students both independently and as
a group, and the teacher needs to stay "out of the way" in the process as much as
possible. Silent Way is also well-known for its common use of small colored rods of
varying length and color-coded word charts depicting pronunciation values,
vocabulary and grammatical paradigms. It is a unique method and the first of its kind
to really concentrate on cognitive principles in language learning.
COMMONLY USED LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODS
Activity-based learning: A way of learning by doing activities. The rules of
language used in the activity are looked at either after the activity or not at all.
Communicative Approach: A way of teaching based on the principle that learning a
language successfully involves communication rather than just memorizing a series
of rules. Teachers try to focus on meaningful communication, rather than focusing on
accuracy and correcting mistakes all the time.
Content-based learning: When a subject, e.g. mathematics or chemistry is taught in
the second language.

Functional Approach: A way of teaching which uses a syllabus based on functions

rather than on grammatical structures.

Grammar translation method: A way of teaching in which students study grammar

and translate words into their own language. They do not practice communication and
there is little focus on speaking. A teacher presents a grammar rule and vocabulary
lists and then students translate a written text from their own language into the second
language.

Guided discovery: A way of teaching in which teachers provide examples of the

target language and then guide the students to work out the language rules for
themselves.

Lexical Approach: A way of analyzing language that is based on lexical items such
as words, multi-word units, collocations and fixed expressions rather than
grammatical structures.
Presentation, Practice and Production (PPP): A way of teaching new language in
which the teacher presents the language, gets students to practice it in exercises or
other controlled practice activities and then asks students to use the same language
in a communicative way in their practice.

Situational presentation: A way of presenting new language through a simple story

or situation. The teacher may use pictures or other aids to help them create the
situation.

Structural Approach: A way of teaching which uses a syllabus based on

grammatical structures. Language is presented starting with simple structures and
increasing to more complex ones.

Task-based Learning (TBL): A way of teaching in which the teacher gives students
meaningful tasks to do. The teacher may ask students to think about the language
they have used to do the tasks, but the main focus for students is on the task itself.
(Project work is an example of TBL)

Test-Teach-Test (TTT): A way of teaching new language in which the teacher asks
students to do a task without giving them any help, to see how well they know a
certain piece of language (this is the first test). The teacher then presents the new
language to the students (teach), and finally asks the students to do another task
using the new language correctly (this is the second test).

Total Physical Response: A way of teaching in which the teacher presents language
items as instructions and the students have to do exactly what the teacher tells them,
e.g. Open the window! Stand up! This method is very meaningful and good for
beginners in the silent period when they start to learn a new language.
 TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Task-1. For questions 1-7, match the statements with the teaching approaches they
describe listed A-H. There is one extra option which you don’t need to use.

A. Functional Approach
B. Grammar Translation
C. Lexical Approach
D. Oral Method
E. Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP)
F. Task-based Learning (TBL)
G. Test-Teach-Test (TTT)
H. Total Physical Response (TPR)

1. Learners practice new language only after it has been explained by the teacher.
2. The teacher gives comments and the students perform the actions.
3. The teacher assesses the learners’ knowledge of the new language before teaching
it.
4. The teacher focuses on words and word groups as they are used in real life.
5. Learners write with the use of dictionary.
6. The learners are given an activity to complete, then the teacher talks about the
language.
7. The learners study a scripted dialogue then act it out in role plays.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Task-2. For questions 8-14, match the statements with the teaching approaches they
describe listed A, B or C.

Teaching Approaches:
A. Presentation-Practice-Production (PPP)
B. Task-based Learning (TBL)
C. Grammar Translation
Statements:
8. Language focus comes after communication activity, so learners know what
language they need to practice.
9. Language focus comes first, followed by drills and fluency exercises.
10. Learners improve by trying to communicate authentically.
11. The L1 is mostly used in the classroom.
12. The learners complete a communicative assignment using any English they
know.
13. The teacher gives a model for language use before monitoring learners’ use.
14. Writing is more important than speaking.

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Task-3. For questions 15-20, match the statements with the teaching approaches they
describe listed A, B or C.
Teaching Approaches:
A. Total Physical Response (TPR)
B. Lexical Approach
C. Test-Teach-Test (TTT)

Statements:
15. The teacher asks students to do a task without giving them any help.
16. The teacher focuses on fixed expressions that occur frequently in spoken
language.
17. The learners have to do exactly what the teacher tells them.
18. The teacher asks the learners to do a second task using the new language
correctly.
19. The teacher asks the learners to guess the meaning of vocabulary items from
context.
20. Learners respond to commands that require physical movement.

15 16 17 18 19 20
 List of the used literatures

(1) Hymes, D. (1972): ‘On Communicative Competence’, in J.B. Pride and J. Holmes
(eds.), Sociolinguistics, Harmondsworth: Penguin, pp. 269-293.

(2) Savignon, S. (1983): Communicative Competence: Theory and Classroom

Practice, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., p.22.

(3) Canale, M. and Merrill S. (1980): ‘Theoretical Bases of Communicative

Approaches to Second Language Teaching and Testing’, Applied Linguistics Vol. 1.
No. 1, pp. 1-47

(4) Selinker, L. ‘Interlanguage’, (1972): International Review of Applied Linguistics

X: pp. 209-230

(5) Corder, S. (1967): ’The Significance of Learners’ Errors,’ International Review

of Applied Linguistics V.: pp. 161-169.

(6) Richards, J. and Theodore R. (1986): Approaches and Methods in Language

Teaching: A Description and Analysis, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
p.17.

(7) Howartt, A. P. R. (1984): A History of English Language Teaching. Oxford:

Oxford University Press. p. 279.

(8) Krashen, S. D., and Terrell, T. D. (1983): The Natural Approach: Language
Acquisition in the Classroom, Oxford: Pergamon. pp. 213-224.

(9) Morrow, K., (1981): ‘Principles in Communicative Methodology’, in K. Johnson

and K. Morrow (eds.), Communication in the Classroom, London: Longman. p.62.
(10) Widdowson, H. G.,(1990): Aspects of Language Teaching, Oxford: Oxford
University Press. 1990. p.5.