TEACHING AND LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Whole range of teaching methods exist - whole myriad of titles:
 

 

Grammar (Indirect) Method	Language Control Method
Direct Method	Phonetic Method
Oral Method	Audio-Lingual method
Natural Method	Audio-Visual method
Bilingual Method	Eclectic (Modified) Method
Communicative Method

 

Normally, teacher does not use one single method, although he may have a leaning towards certain aspects of one particular method. He may use a combination of methods.

The criteria which decide what method(s) he/she chooses are many:

1 Attitude of teacher towards the language

Is he/she fluent? / how rusty is he? how familiar is he with the country/people/culture? Is he confident orally, or will he depend on the written form? / Is his confidence maimed by personality factors in front of the class? / Is he an extrovert/introvert? (the need to be good actors!)

2 Attitude of teacher towards the AIMS of learning a foreign language

- merely to pass exams,/ to get good exam results/ promotion? / to transmit to the pupils a new culture /set of values  way of thinking / a new language so that they can communicate and learn to respect and tolerate peoples different to themselves?

3 Attitude of teacher to how he thinks a child should learn a foreign language
    in  class

book-bound? / passively or actively? / slave to the method? / keep them writing so as to maintain control and discipline? / allow some 'working' noise (language isn't silent l ) and get pupils to communicate, work in pairs, groups, to act out situations in which language is the practical vehicle for communicating and conveying messages (obvious aim of communicative teaching!)

There is danger that in moments of panic/crisis, teachers tend to return to the method with which they are most acquainted!

4 Attitude of the pupils to the language

Some languages more favoured than others ... / the relative prestige of French / the relative apathy towards the learning of Welsh in the border counties / the way they react to the teacher and to the method ...

Language learning is very much an interplay of personalities - one tends to forget that pupils too are human, with likes/dislikes/moods/moments of tiredness. Is the teaching child-centred/orientated? / or method-orientated? / teacher-orientated?

5 Local conditions in the school

language room (with attractive posters  atmosphere projecting the feeling of that country?) audio-visual aids? blackout? overhead projector? language laboratory? reading corner? project work area? foreign language assistant? facilities for duplicating worksheets?

nature of classes - mixed ability? streamed? banded? set? existing exchange / twinning? / letter-writing?

healthy attitude of Head / fellow staff/ parents towards foreign language teaching (support)

timetabling ? financial constraints on department and equipment? external exam constraints (pressure from parents/ Head?)

sympathetic Head of Department and co-operative colleagues within the Department?

There tends to be two extremes of methods:
 

INDIRECT GRAMMAR METHOD	DIRECT ORAL METHOD
ECLECTIC METHODS

 

Young teachers tend to oscillate, favouring the Direct Method first ... but veering towards the Indirect Method when trying to deal with unruly classes! (better controlled with Indirect Method)

Surprisingly, a very large proportion of pupils are still taught foreign languages in the Comprehensive schools in a formal manner, veering very much towards the Indirect approach (even Mixed Ability classes!)