Present-day issues of TEFL

1.1.1. Present-day issues of TEFL

A critical review of methods currently employed in TEFL/TESL has shown no consensus on the effective way to facilitate and accelerate English learning. A shift has been made from teacher-centered activity to student-centered, some methodologists even claim that learning is more important than teaching (Michael West, Humanistic Approach, Silent Way).

Though many young teachers still teach the way they had been taught, it can’t be denied that current thinking in methodology constitutes a challenge to convention thinking about language teaching.

One of the conventional methods of TEFL is the Grammar-Translation method
(G-TM):

The goal of foreign language (FL) study, using this method, is to learn a language in order to read its literature or to benefit from the mental discipline and intellectual development that result from FL study. G-TM is a way of studying language that approaches the language first through detailed analysis of its grammar rules, followed by application of the knowledge to the task of translating sentences and texts into and out of the target language. The first language is maintained as the reference system in the acquisition of the second language.

Reading and writing are the major focus: little or no systematic attention is paid to speaking or listening.

In a typical G-T text, the grammar rules are presented and illustrated, a list of vocabulary items is presented with their translation equivalents, and translation exercise a prescribed.

the sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice. Much of the lesson is devoted to translating sentences into and out of the target language, and it is this focus on the sentence that is a distinctive feature of the method.

of grammar rules, which are then practised through translation Accuracy is emphasized. Students are expected to attain high standarts in translation, because of “the high priority attached to meticulous standards of accuracy which was a prerequisite for passing the increasing number of formal written examinations that grew up during the century"

Grammar is taught deductively, that is, by presentation and study exercises.

The student's native language is the medium of instruction. It is used to explain new items and to enable comparisons to be made between the FL and the student's mother tongue. (G-TM dominated in FLT from the 1840s to the 1940s, and in modified form it continues to be widely used in some parts of the world today).

 In the mid- and late nineteenth centuries opposition to G- TM gradually developed in several European countries. This Reform Movement, as it was referred to, laid the foundations for the development of a new way of language teaching and raised controversies that have continued to the present day.

From the 1880s, however, practically minded linguists like Henry Sweet in England, Wilhelm Victor in Germany and Paul Passy in France began to promote their intellectual leadership needed to give reformist ideas greater credibility and acceptance.

The main principles of their theory were:

the study of the spoken language;

phonetic training;

an inductive approach to the teaching of grammar;

teaching new meanings through establishing associations within the target language rather than by establishing associations with the mother tongue;

translation should be avoided, although the mother tongue could be used in order to explain new words or to check comprehension.

The idea put forward by members of the Reform Movement had a role to play in developing principles of FLT out of naturalistic approach to language learning. This led to what has been termed 'natural method' and ultimately led to the development of what came to be known as the Direct Method.

In the 1920s and 1930s H.E.Palmer, A.S.Hornby and other British linguists developed an approach to methodology that involved systematic principles of selection (the procedures by which lexical and grammatical content was chosen), gradation (principles by which the organization and sequencing of content were determined), and presentation (techniques used for presentation and practice of items in a course). Their general principles were referred to as the oral approach to language teaching. The characteristic feature of the approach was that new language points were introduced and practised situationally.

Later the terms Structural Situational Approach and Situational Language Teaching came into common usage.

Like the Direct Method, Situational Language Teaching (SLT) adopts an inductive approach to the teaching of grammar. The meaning of words or structures is not to be given through translation in either the native tongue or the target language but is to be induced from the way the form is used in the situation. H.Palmer believed that "if we give the meaning of a new word, either by translation into the home language or by an equivalent in the same language, as soon as we introduced it, we weaken the impression which the word makes on the mind".

Explanation is therefore discouraged, and the learner is expected to deduce the meaning of a particular structure or vocabulary item from the situation in which it is presented.

In 1939 the university of Michigan developed the first English Language Institute in the United States. It specialized in the training of teachers of English as a foreign language and in teaching English as a second or foreign language.

The approach to FLT became known as the Audio-Lingual Method. According to this method FL was taught by systematic attention to pronunciation and by intensive oral drilling of its basic sentence patterns.

The language teaching theoreticians and methodologists who developed Audio-lingualism (Charles Fries, William Moulton) believed that the use of the student's native language should be forbidden at early levels .

Translation as a teaching device may be used where students need or benefit from it. It was one of the principles of Communicative Language Teaching the origins of which are to be found in the changes in the British language teaching tradition dating from the late 1960’s.

Looking back from the vantage point of 1990’s we can see that the Direct Method, Audio-Lingual and Communicative Methods have their rationale and supporters, yet they are not equally efficient for all learners, and for all teachers, and for all situations.

The methodology must be flexible and electric, based on a careful selection of facets of various methods and their integration into a cohesive, coherent procedure. Of central importance are positive attitudes of learners and teachers; they should permeate all stages of teaching/learning process, make every learning hour a stimulating, motivating experience leading to pleasure and success in language acquisition.

The teacher’s pivotal responsibility is to imbue students with confidence and self-esteem, emotional security and a well-integrated personality that will make them life-long learners.

The emerging “paradigm shift” in teaching strategies needs new generalizations which will lead to improved attitudes, and better results in teaching/learning process, which will be beneficial both for learners and teachers alike.

It is difficult to predict whether the Communicative Method will last any longer than its predecessors but it can’t be denied that the work of the innovators constitutes a challenge to convention thinking about language teaching, which is unfortunately “stubbornly” adhered by many classroom teachers and teacher-practitioners.

Current Trends

What is current methodology? Do we have to abandon all we have learned of the Audio-Lingual method, the Direct Method (DM), and start anew? Thus far, the suggestions for change have been gentle, but we have not been left with a vacuum to be filed. Judging from techniques and trends of the past few years, we can see that current thinking methodology seems to be in the direction of: – relaxation of some extreme restrictions of A-LM and DM; – development of techniques requiring a more active use of the students mental detail.

Let us examine these two trends in some detail.

Teachers have found that a close adherence to the listening-speaking-reading-writing order has not always been effective and brought the desired results.

On the other hand a lack of such adherence has not proved harmful. They has also called into question the theory that speech is primary and reading and writing are secondary manifestations. Such theoretical and experimental rethinking has resulted in the current trend toward teaching and testing the various language skills in more integrated way. The close procedure provides an interesting and thought-provoking exercise, which trains the students to look carefully at all structural clues and to range around within a semantic field for related concerts. It is a good preparation for careful reading and a useful overall written test.

The teachers no longer feel the need to defer or widely separate reading and writing lessons from listening and speaking activities.

Similarly the prohibition against using the student’s native language has been considerably relaxed. It is just more efficient to give explanations and instructions in the native language because it affords more time for really meaningful practice in English.

Notable among current trends is the more practical recognition of the varying needs of learners. If, for instance, a learner needs a reading knowledge of English above all else, then reading must have priority, and the learner must learn this skill through specific guided practice in reading.

Another question is whether the teacher should polish learner’s structure so as to exclude a change of making a mistake. That “prohibition” of errors way largely due to the fear that mistakes would contribute to the creation of a bad habit. Now that the “habit theory” of language acquisition has been challenged and creative aspects of language learning emphasised, the teacher is freed from this fear. Student’s creative involvement is more important to the learning process than the mere avoiding of errors (this doesn’t mean that the teacher should not correct the student and provide necessary drill when appropriate).

Teachers for some time have felt a need of moving from A-LM (with its rigid structure pattern) to a less controlled situation in which the student can communicate his own ideas. Classroom activities may be grouped into four categories:

completely manipulative;

predominantly manipulative;

predominantly communicative;

 completely communicative.

Examples of completely manipulative activity would be:

a) a drill in which the students merely repeat sentences after the teacher;

b) a simple substitution drill ( by showing a picture or explaining a scene from the students experience). The latter exercise could be made into a predominantly manipulative drill, that is it would include a small element of communication).

In a more advanced class the students retell a story the teacher has given them. Finally, an example of pure communication would be a free conversation among the members of the class, such as a role-playing, conference, etc.)

Cognitive Code-Learning Theory (CC-LT) or the Trend toward Cognitive Activity

The trend toward a more active use of the students' mental powers probably represents the most important effort of the cognitive theory of language acquisition. Advocates of the A-LM often advised the teacher to keep students "active" - since, they said, when a student is active he is learning. They advised him to have all his students saying things aloud in English during as much of the class period as possible. This was the chief reason for doing so much choral work. In this way the greatest number of

students could be actively participating - "using the language" as it was called .

Language learning is viewed as rule acquisition, not habit formation. Instruction is often individualized: learners are responsible for their own learning. Reading and writing are once again as important as listening and speaking; errors are viewed as inevitable.

But the utility of such "active" use of the language has been challenged by proponents of CC-LT. They point out that the mere mechanical repetition of language forms is in reality passive rather than active learning, for it is primarily - sometimes almost entirely - a physical, mechanical sort of activity. It does not begin to engage the student's full mental powers. CC-LT, as a FLT method, is based on the following principal assumptions:

1. language is a system of signs, governed by its own rules;

2. CC-LT implies recognition of form, perception of meaning, relations of universals and particulars, generalisation and analogy;

3. the assimilation of material is directly proportional to the degree of its comprehension;

4. language is more than a system of habits which can be formed through

Systematic drills;

5. language learning is a creative process, therefore the student should

be as mentally active as possible in all assigned work:

6. a) drills and exercises should be meaningful;

b) deductive use of exercises designed to teach grammar structures (deductive explanations, i.e. rule prior to practice, starting with the rule and then offering examples to show how this rule applies);

c) rote learning is to be avoided;

d) reading and writing should be taught at early stages along with

listening and speaking;

e) occasional use of student's native language for explanation of new grammar and vocabulary is beneficial.

 The cognitive principles of learning can conveniently be

summarised under three headings:

1. the need for experience;

2. the process of assimilation;

3. developmental stages.

 These three principles are not only suited to adult learners but they have been readily adopted in the primary school, and the following are suggestions for practicing cognitive principles in the classroom with younger children:

a) Give experience of the language they are learning - teach them poems, rhymes, songs, tell them stories, talk to them.

b) Give them activities - painting, modeling, playing game, etc.

c) Don't stick rigidly to a predetermined language syllabus - allow the activities that take place in the class to range freely and develop naturally and let the occurrence of stimulating events that happen in the environment influence the vocabulary and structures that are introduced and practiced in each lesson.

Viewing language learning as a natural creative process rather than as habit formation, suggests that the teacher should provide guided practice in thinking in the language rather than a mere repetition drill. Such mental involvement tends to make language learning more enjoyable tor the student, - hence improved attitudes and better results.

It seems also appropriate to remind ourselves that teaching involves much more than a knowledge of methods. However well-versed a teacher may be in psychological and linguistic theories, in techniques and methodologies, his knowledge alone will not assure success. An even more basic ingredient of all good teaching is the teacher's attitude toward his students and his work.

We must recognise the teacher's compassionate, intelligent, individual approach to his work as the essential factor in successful language teaching,  

To sum it up, language in CC-LT is viewed as an abstract model, governed by its own rules; language material is assimilated in blocks, not discretely i.e. in their constitutive elements; assimilation is directly proportional to comprehension; frequency of contrast is more important than frequency of repetition. According to this theory assimilation of language is achieved by conscious control over phonological, grammatical, and lexical models of a foreign language by way of conscious learning and analysis.

And, finally, practice and pedagogical experimenting shows that the priority of a certain methods is not justified. Some specialists believe that a creative synthesis of provisions of every method (eclecticism) may yield good results.

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