METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH
A.N.Kuspanova
Kazakh State Women’s Teacher Training University
The article
discusses various methods of teaching foreign languages in universities.
Particular attention was paid to the following methods: the direct method,
grammar-translation and communicative.
Key words:
foreign language; English; methods.
In the contemporary
world, the English language enjoys great popularity, moreover, this is the
language of international communication, and it is spoken around the world.
Today, there are plenty of methods for teaching English. Furthermore, new
methods are regularly being formulated, therefore, now teachers can choose the
most suitable method for themselves.
Currently,
classical methods are mostly used when teaching a foreign language at
universities. Namely:
1. Direct
method.
2.
Grammatical-translation method of teaching.
3. Communicative
method.
The direct
method of teaching foreign language
The
essence of this method is that an instructor pays more attention to teaching
directly the spoken language which is used in everyday life. The developers of
this method concluded that the intermediary language, i.e. the language of
teaching hinders learning the foreign language. Thus, students are purposefully
introduced into the world of the foreign language.
All the lessons are conducted exclusively in English,
and the new topics must also be introduced in English. In teaching English by
this method, the role of the instructor is a key to the successful learning of
the language. It means that the instructor’s speech must be absolutely clear
and correct, his/her pronunciation must be perfect, as students will constantly
repeat after the instructor.
Grammar-conversion
method
Grammar-translation method is a primary method
in modern education system. This is a classic method that has been used for
decades. Its prevalence is explained by the fact that the most of the
instructor themselves were trained using this method. The purpose of
grammar-translation method is to learn to read and translate with the help of
grammar rules.
The
disadvantages of this method include the fact that the lexical part is often
overlooked. Developing vocabulary is reduced to the mechanical learning of
words. Reading and translation is performed in a strict manner. Moreover, the
texts offered for reading are usually from a complex fiction literature,
consequently, the student studies only the literary language. Once in the
language environment, it will be very difficult for him/her to understand
others even with good knowledge of the literary language.
Communicative
method
Currently, an
increasing number of professors are turning to the communicative method of
learning English. The object of this method is the speech itself, which means
that this primarily teaches to communicate.
The
communicative approach implies more active students. The goal of the instructor
in this case is to engage in conversation all of those who are present in the
audience. For better memorization and use of the language it is necessary to
use all the channels of perception.
The essence of
this approach is to create real situations of communication. When recreating a
dialogue, a student has an opportunity to put into practice all the accumulated
knowledge. A very important advantage of this approach is that it has a plenty
variety of exercises: use of role plays, dialogues, simulations of real
communication [2, p.85]
It is often said that when using the
communicative method of teaching, grammar is ignored or paid not enough
attention. In fact, it is not true. Grammar is learned intensively, but the
provision of information is somewhat different. After the instructor explains
the new topic, the students are divided into several groups (number of groups
is determined by the instructor). After that, the instructor gives a task to
each group (same for all group members) on the passed subject. The students in
groups do this task by themselves, then within the group discuss the subject of
the performed exercise and explain their choice. Importantly, all of the
above-mentioned happens in the foreign language. Thus, students not only
demonstrate their knowledge of the grammar, but also learn to express their
opinions in the foreign language. Each group presents to the instructor their
answers at the end. The instructor checks and explains the mistakes in a
foreign language.
The communicative
method is an applied method. It is aimed at the successful development of the
ability to oral communication, and creates extra motivation to the study of a
language, which keeps the interest of the students in the classroom, and,
hence, leads to their efficiency and effectiveness.
Literature:
1. Passov E.I. The concept program of
communicative foreign language education - Ìoskow 2000.
2. Arnold J. Affect in Language Teaching-Cambridge Cambridge University Press,2003.
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