Techinques & Principles in language

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9 TH CUATRIMESTRE

UNIVES VIRTUALESTADÍA INSTITUCIONAL

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UNIVES VIRTUAL ESTADÍA INSTITUCIONAL STUDENT´S NAME: JULIA CATALINA ARGÜELLO PADILLA TUTOR: MISS GRIZEL RIVERA 1.2 "TECHNIQUES & PRICIPLES IN LANGUAGE

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PRESENTATION

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: METHODS

Map Drawing The class included one example of a technique used to give students listening com rehension practice. The students were given a map with the geographical features unnamed. Then the teacher gave the students directions such as the following, ‘Find the mountain range in the West. Write the words “Rocky Mountains” across the mountain range.’

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The Audio-Lingual Method Introduction The Audio-Lingual Method, like the Direct Method we have just examined, is also an oral-based approach. However, it is very different, in that rather than emphasizing vocabulary acquisition through exposure to its use in situations, the Audio-Lingual Method drills students in the use of grammatical sentence patterns. Also, unlike the Direct Method, it has a strong theoretical base in linguistics and psychology.

Thinking about the Experience Although it is true that this was a very brief experience with the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), let us see if we can make some observations about the behavior of the teacher and the techniques she used. From these we should be able to figure out the principles underlying the method. We will make our observations in order, following the lesson plan of the class we observed. Observations Principles 1 The teacher introduces a new dialogue. Language forms do not occur by themselves; they occur most naturally within a context. 2 The language teacher uses only the target language in the classroom. Actions, pictures, or realia are used to give meaning otherwise. The native language and the target language have separate linguistic systems. They should be kept apart so that the students’ native language interferes as little as possible with the students’ attempts to acquire the target language.

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As you can see, the Silent Way has a great many principles. Perhaps we can come to a fuller understanding of them if we consider the answers to our 10 questions. 1 What are the goals of teachers who use the Silent Way? Students should be able to use the language for self-expression—to express their thoughts, perceptions, and feelings. In order to do this, they need to develop independence from the teacher, to develop their own inner criteria for correctness. Students become independent by relying on themselves. The teacher, therefore, should give them only what they absolutely need to promote their learning.

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What is the role of the teacher? What is the role of the students? The teacher is a technician or engineer. ‘Only the learner can do the learning,’ but the teacher, relying on what his students already know, can give what help is necessary, focus the students’ perceptions, ‘force their awareness,’ and ‘provide exercises to insure their facility’ with the language. The teacher should respect the autonomy of the learners in their attempts at relating and interacting with the new challenges. The role of the students is to make use of what they know, to free themselves of any obstacles that would interfere with giving their utmost attention to the learning task, and to actively engage in exploring the language. No one can learn for us, Gattegno would say; to learn is our personal responsibility. As Gattegno says, ‘The teacher works with the student; the student works on the language.

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What are some characteristics of the teaching/learning process? Students begin their study of the language through its basic building blocks, its sounds. These are introduced through a language-specific sound–color chart. Relying on what sounds students already know from their knowledge of their native language, teachers lead their students to associate the sounds of the target language with particular colors. Later, these same colors are used to help students learn the spellings that correspond to the sounds (through the color-coded Fidel Charts) and how to read and pronounce words properly (through the color-coded word charts).

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Sound–Color Chart The chart contains blocks of color, each one representing a sound in the target language. The teacher, and later the students, points to blocks of color on the chart to form syllables, words, and even sentences. Although we did not see it in this lesson, sometimes the teacher will tap a particular block of color very hard when forming a word. In this way the teacher can introduce the stress pattern for the word. The chart allows students to produce sound combinations in the target language without doing so through repetition.

: COLOR CHART

The chart draws the students’ attention and allows them to concentrate on the language, not on the teacher. When a particular sound contrast is new for students, and they are unable to perceive which sound of the two they are producing, the sound–color chart can be used to give them feedback on which sound they are making. Finally, since the sound–color chart presents all of the sounds of the target language at once, students know what they have learned and what they yet need to learn. This relates to the issue of learner autonomy

Teacher’s Silence The teacher gives just as much help as is necessary and then is silent. Or the teacher sets up an unambiguous situation, puts a language structure into circulation (for example, ‘Take a ____ rod’), and then is silent. Even in error correction, the teacher will only supply a verbal answer as a last resort. • Peer Correction Students are encouraged to help another student when he or she is experiencing difficulty. It is important that any help be offered in a cooperative manner, not a competitive one. The teacher monitors the aid so that it is helpful, not interfering.

Structured Feedback Students are invited to make observations about the day’s lesson and what they have learned. The teacher accepts the students’ comments in a nondefensive manner, hearing things that will help give him direction for where he should work when the class meets again. The students learn to take responsibility for their own learning by becoming aware of and controlling how they use certain learning strategies in class. The length and frequency of feedback sessions vary depending on the teacher and the class. REFERENCES:

Gattegno, C. 1972. Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools: The Silent Way (2nd edn.). New York: Educational Solutions, Inc. ____. 1976. The Common Sense of Teaching Foreign Languages. New York: Educational Solutions, Inc. Richards, J. and T. Rodgers. 1986. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stevick, E. 1990. Humanism in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.