Педагогические науки: 5. Современные методы преподавания.Нуртаева Гаухар Сарсенбаевна, Калиева Молдир ДиаскызыЕНУ им.Л.Н. Гумилева, РК, г. АстанаThe Callan method as an effective approach in developing speaking skills The basic purpose of modern methodology of foreign language teaching is to develop communicative competence of students, which includes the exchange of information, the expression of feelings and emotions. Another internal element is enriching students' knowledge about the target foreign country and its culture, applying variety of existing methodologies.
Great
deals of methods for teaching English as a Foreign Language have been developed
throughout the years. Some of them have been dismissed by scholars and
teachers, while others currently have become widely used.
The
Callan method, based largely on the principles of the Direct and Audio-lingual
methods, attracted potential students, promising them a permanent impact on
verbal communication conducted in a non-stress environment.
This
article is aimed to provide basic information on the method of teaching
English, which in recent years has been extremely successful in several
countries around the world. Despite this apparent success, there are very few
publications devoted to its characteristics and principles.
The
Callan's method is one of the "Direct methods" of teaching a language
based on the assumption that learning a language is a reflexive interaction.
This method "fast, practical and speaking based" and divided into 12
levels, so it is suitable" for all students, from beginner to advanced
learners. Callan's method also uses directional conversation, where the teacher
asks questions, and the students respond to them. An important part of the question-and-answer
process is speed:
Classes by the
method of Callan are fast, and the teacher asks questions just above the
natural speed of conversations. This means that Callan Method students quickly
learn to understand English without usual translation. The method helps them,
from the very beginning, to think in English [2, 45- 46 ].
However,
the teacher's questions are carefully structured, and students respond to them
in the form of complete sentences, so students not only learn to speak the
target language, but at the same time revise previous lessons. In Callan lessons, the focus is on revision,
each lesson is divided into 4 parts - revision, reading, dictation and learning
new material. Part of the revision may bring
to 60% of the lesson. The advantage of frequent revision is that it
allows students to memorize language materials during lessons, and they do not
need to spend time preparing for home. Therefore, Callan's method is extremely
necessary for students who are busy.
Teachers
of method believe that English students want to learn English for business or
professional purposes, and they need to get a good knowledge of the language as
quickly as possible. Classes by the Callan method provide intensive training,
as students are constantly involved during the lessons. The method focuses on
efficiency, practical plan and that students can learn language in short period
of time.
The
most frequent slogan of Callan method and its advertising slogan is:
"English in a quarter of time". According to a brochure distributed
by the largest school of Callan method in London, an average novice student who
studies 3 hours a week in private school spends about 350 hours (the equivalent
of 4 academic years) to achieve the Cambridge Preliminary Exam Level. The
authors of the pamphlet notice that the average student by the Callan method is
able to reach this level in 80 hours
(the equivalent of one academic year), and, surprisingly, the method leads him
to the Cambridge First Certificate at
160 hours (two academic years) compared to 700 hours (eight academic years),
taken by other methods.
Since
the numbers mentioned may seem unthinkable, the Callan method schools give each
student a written guarantee that if they do not pass the Cambridge exams or any
other exams at the same level, in the number of hours that the school predicts,
they will give them unpaid hours to study until they will not be successful. In
addition, schools using the Callan method claim that 95 percent of their
students pass the Cambridge First Certificate compared to the 70 percent by
schools using other methods [1, 8-9].
A key factor in the success of this method is a
systematic and calculated approach. Its main objective is the maximum
involvement of students in the learning process. During the lessons, students
improve speaking skill and perception of fluent speech. High paces of learning
have the effect of immersion. By repeating the studied material, information is
fixed in the memory, and the students confidently begin to study the new theme.
In
the Callan's method, the certain material is presented in the form of
question-answer technique, which is very similar to the interactive form in the
Audio-lingual method. In the same way, there is a dependence on the
memorization of key phrases, "excessive training", caused by constant
repetition, so important in the Audio-lingual method. Other important common
aspects include great importance on pronunciation, since the teacher in the
Callan method classes must correct his students and requires correct utterances.
Thus, successful answers are immediately reinforced, and there is a huge work
should be done to get students to create error-free statements. Nevertheless, one
of the features taken from Direct and Audio-lingual methods that seem rather
negative and will be discussed in the next chapter is the tendency to
manipulate the language and ignore the content. The problems are obvious: students
very often find answers to questions in the Callan method artificial, and in
fact they can not use them in everyday situations [4, 174-176].
Robin
Callan has formed his own method, based on his teaching experience in Italy
during 1950s. He taught English at one of the Berlitz schools and passed a
two-day training course, after which he started to teach English to a group of
Italians for more than six months. During this period, he realized that
Berlitz's method does not achieve the goals that he promised his students, and
he also discovered that other methods do not work very well with Italian
students. His discovering led him to the conclusion that a more effective
method of teaching English to foreigners should be found. To start with, he wrote
a textbook for teaching English using a Direct method, but then decided that he
would open his own school, where he would practice and improve his own method.
He opened his school in Salerno, Milan, and finally created an office at 62
Oxford Street to teach teachers and send them to language schools abroad.
Ultimately, the office turned into a school, and in a few years moved to 139
Oxford Street where it currently works, and to this day attracts a significant
number of students each year. Robin Callan took another fifteen years to
complete work on his method. During this time, at the request of the Duke of
Edinburgh, the method was evaluated and verified by David Hicks, a member of
the English Speaking Union, and then by Professor David Morgan, a school
inspector on behalf of the British Council, who gave a very favorable report on
the Callan method. Robin Callan published his method in a book that contains
instructions for both teachers and students, and he stated that the average
student can learn English in a quarter of the usual time (which became Callan's
motto), but this can be achieved only if teacher follows the established rules
[3, 16-19].
Currently,
the organization Callan Method has its main office in Cambridge and its own
school in London. The school with its 70 classes and 2,200 students is
considered to be the largest language school teaching English in Europe. In 1998,
there were 35 schools in the world in this educational process. It gained popularity in Kazakhstan in the
1990s and continues to attract many students at all levels.
As it was mentioned earlier, Callan method is aimed at
teaching English very quickly, incomparable with any other method, using a
simple method of answering the question. Students should answer the teacher's
questions while the teacher must constantly impose a fast pace and not allow
even one break in the lesson. The fact that Callan's method is based on
dynamic, rapid repetition is very valuable, since it is important to revise the
vocabulary regardless of the method. The Latin proverb "Repetitio est
mater studiorum" is still relevant and can be applied not only to the
study of language. This is especially important for young students or students
who simply do not have time to study at home, because one of the rules of the
method says that he should not give homework. Moreover, the high speed of the
lesson is extremely suitable for beginners, who are likely to translate and
think in their native language. There is no time in the Callan method. Another
important positive aspect is the effective organization of the lesson. Both the
teacher and the student know that the lesson started from the first second,
therefore, not a single minute is lost in unnecessary things, distracting
students from training. In addition, the student feels safe when accompanied by
a teacher who gives him an answer, so many shy people find it easier to
overcome the language barrier in a foreign language [5, 52-54].
The
friendly atmosphere between the teacher and the students can not be ignored,
because it always contributes to the learning process. There are, however, some
points that many Callan method students are unhappy with. One of them is that
due to intensive repetition and memorization of language models and forms, both
students and teachers can immediately see the immediate effects, but after a
while the students realize that they can not make any new or spontaneous
utterances. They would like to have more freedom in creating their proposals.
In addition, the explanation of some grammatical points in the books of the
Callan method seems too complicated and not very useful in everyday situations.
For example:
"What
is the difference between" more "and" more "?
The difference
between "still" and "more" is that we use "still"
for what is happening at the moment, while we are using "yet" for
something that has not started or has not happened. "Still" we use in
positive sentences, while "yet" we usually use in interrogative and
negative sentences.
Such
long explanations of grammatical points are very difficult to remember, not to
mention that they will never be used in real life. Even if students can repeat
long and complex answers to grammar questions, they do not have the opportunity
to use them in life situations. The absence of independent and creative
utterances and rules of grammar introduced in a complex way, without practicing
them in everyday situations, are certainly the main shortcomings of Callan's
method.
To conclude, Callan method cannot be considered in practicing
foreign language as new or innovative, but in a rather unique way
combines strategies and methods that have been tested by long-term practice. The
method is not based on any new linguistic, psychological or pedagogical theory
or experimental research. Moreover, even the most attractive method becomes
less and less attractive after two years of studying more and more difficult
material.
References:
1. Brown, H., D. (2002) English Language Teaching in the “post-method”
era: toward better diagnosis,
treatment, and assessment p. 8 -9.
2. Dakowska, M. (2007)
Teaching English as a Foreign Language p.45 -
46.
3.Nuan, D. (1989) Designing tasks for the communicative classroom. p.
16-19.
4.Prabhu, N.,S. (1990) There Is No Best Method-Why? TESOL Quarterly, Vol.24,No.2,
p. 174-176.
5.Richards, J., C., Renandya, W., A. (2002) Methodology in Language
Learning An Anthology
of Current Practice. Cambridge University Press p 52-54