Педагогические науки/5. Современные методы преподавания

Barskaya A.A.

National University «Odessa Law Academy», Ukraine

Foreign Language Teaching Methods (from historical to contemporary innovations)

It has been estimated that some sixty percent of today’s world population is multilingual. Both from a contemporary and a historical perspective, bilingualism or multilingualism is the norm rather than the exception. It is fair, then, to say that throughout history foreign language learning has always been an important practical concern. Whereas today English is the world’s most widely studied foreign language, five hundred years ago it was Latin, for it was the dominant language of education, commerce, religion and government in the Western world. In the sixteenth century, however, French, Italian and English gained in importance as a result of political changes in Europe, and Latin gradually became displaced as a language of spoken and written communication.

As “modern” languages began to enter the curriculum of European schools in the eighteenth century, they were taught using the same basic procedures that were used for teaching Latin. Textbooks consisted of statements of abstract grammar rules, lists of vocabulary and sentences for translation. Speaking the foreign language was not the goal, and oral practice was limited to students reading aloud the sentences they had translated. These sentences were constructed to illustrate the grammatical system of the language and consequently bore no relation to the language of real communication. Oral work was reduced to an absolute minimum, while a handful of written exercises, constructed at random, came as a sort of appendix to the rules. This approach to foreign languages teaching became known as the Grammar-Translation Method [5].

The principal characteristics of the Grammar-Translation Method were these: 1) the goal of foreign language study is to learn a language in order to read its literature or in order to benefit from the mental discipline and intellectual development that result from foreign-language study; it is a way of studying a language that approaches the language first through detailed analysis of its grammar rules, followed by application of this knowledge to the task of translating sentences and texts into and out of the target language [6]; 2) reading and writing are the major focus; little or no systematic attention is paid to speaking or listening; 3) the sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice; much of the lesson is devoted to translate sentences into and out of the target language.

So, this method had an emphasis on ability to analyze and not an ability to use language in real life situations. Thus, Grammar-Translation Method produced students that knew the grammatical rules but lacked communicative competence. That contributed to a rejection of the Grammar-Translation Method, though in some modified form it continues to be widely used in some parts of the world today.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century increased opportunities for international communication created a demand for oral proficiency in foreign languages. A lot of researchers began to write about the need for new approaches to language teaching, and through their books, speeches and articles, the foundation for more widespread pedagogical reforms was laid. The reformers shared many beliefs about the principles on which a new approach to teaching foreign languages should be based, such as: a) learners should hear the language first, before seeing it in the written form; b) words should be presented in sentences and sentences should be practiced in meaningful contexts and not be taught as isolated, disconnected elements; c) the rules of grammar should be taught only after the students have practiced the grammar-points in context – that is, grammar should be taught inductively; d) translation should be avoided, although the mother tongue could be used in order to explain new words or to check comprehension [5].

This led to what have been termed natural methods and ultimately led to the development of what came to be known as, the Direct Methods. The main principle of this method is that a foreign language could be taught without translation or the use of the learner’s native tongue if meaning was conveyed directly through demonstration and action. A language could best be taught by using it actively in the classroom instead of using analytical procedures that focus on the explanation of grammar rules.

In practice it stood for the following procedures: 1) oral communication skills were built up in a carefully graded progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes; 2) grammar was taught inductively; 3) concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects and pictures; abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas; 4) only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught; 5) both speech and listening comprehension were taught; 6) correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized; 7) classroom instruction was conducted exclusively in the target language [5].

However, by the 1920s, use of the Direct Method in Europe had consequently declined. It was perceived to have several drawbacks. First, it required teachers who were native speakers or who have nativelike fluency in the foreign language, and not all teachers were proficient enough in the foreign language to adhere to the principles of the method. Secondly, the strict adherence to Direct Method principles was often counterproductive, since teachers were required to go to great lengths to avoid using the native tongue, when sometimes a simple brief explanation in the student’s native tongue would have been a more efficient route to comprehension.

The method that came as a result of the attempt to improve on the Direct Method by coming up with more structural materials in teaching the students moving from the simple to the complex was the Audio-Lingual Method. According to this method students are expected to repeat after the teacher. It views language as behavior. It is influenced by the belief that since language is a habit, it could be developed by practice. However, Ellis R. comments, that “audiolingualism was very much an American method. In its purist form it was never very popular in Europe”, and then continues, that, nevertheless, “many of the audiolingual assumptions regarding the way language is learnt can be found in pedagogical prescriptions of British and European methodologists writing at this time” [3; p.21].

Probably the most recent method in language teaching, the Communicative Language Teaching Method came as a result of dissatisfaction with pattern practice most popular with the Audio-Lingual Method. This method takes pedagogical ideas from a wide range of methodological approaches and it is therefore adaptable to a range of different learner needs and styles. It emphasizes functions rather than forms of language with lessons and organized concepts such as “asking for things”, “how to converse with others”, “how to deliver a speech in a meeting”, “how to address elders”, etc. That is focusing on the skills needed to express and understand different kinds of functions such as request, describing, expressing likes and dislikes, etc. It is essentially learner centered focusing on the learner and his communicative needs, helping him to achieve the main language competences: communicative competence, grammatical competence and sociolinguistic competence [4].

Another contemporary technology in teaching foreign languages is the Project method. It combines the elements of problem-based learning and collaborative learning that allows achieving the highest level of mastery of any subject, and foreign language in particular. Project method forms students’ communication skills, the ability concisely and audibly formulate thoughts, be tolerant to the opinion of partners in communication and develops the ability to extract information from a variety of sources. It does not contradict the traditional ways of learning. It helps to activate students since most of them have an interest for new knowledge.

The main purpose of the use of this innovative approach is the ability to effectively master students’ foreign communicative competence [2]: 1) verbal competence creates an opportunity of manifestation of communicative skills in all forms: listening, speaking, writing, reading; 2) socio-cultural competence forms the ideas about the social and cultural specificity of the target language; 3) linguistic competence is students’ acquisition of lexical units relating to the topic as a necessary basis for registration of speaking abilities; 4) educational and cognitive competence improves the educational activity on mastering of foreign languages; 5) compensatory competence forms skills of overcoming difficult situations in a shortage of linguistic resources.

This approach forms also informational competence which manifests the ability to work independently with reference books, find necessary information in various sources and see links with other branches of knowledge. Moreover, project-based learning contributes to enhancing students’ personal confidence, developing a “team spirit” and communication skills; providing a mechanism for critical thinking, the ability to find ways to solve problems and developing students’ research skills[1].

Thus, we can conclude that the implementation of innovative methods in foreign language teaching is an essential background in solving educational problems. It is clear, of course, that no single method could guarantee successful results in foreign language teaching. Nevertheless, the focus of any language teaching method should be to ensure that the learner grasp both the linguistic competence and the communicative competence. Language should be taught so that: students can communicate and be communicated with; they may convey meanings and understand meaning; they may enter into mutual relations with native speakers or writers of the language.

Literature:

1. Полат Е. С. Новые педагогические и информационные технологии в системе образования: Учеб. пособ. для студентов пед. вузов / Е. С. Полат, М. Ю. Бухаркина, М. В. Моисеева, А. Е. Петров. – М.: «Академия», 2002. — 272 с.

2. Селевко Г. К. Современные образовательные технологии: Учеб. пос. / Г. К. Селевко. – М.: Народное образование, 1998. – 256с.

3. Ellis, R. Instructed second language acquisition / R. Ellis. – Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990. – 230 p.

4. Markey, T. Contemporary Linguistic Theory and Foreign Language Teaching / T. Markey, P. Roberge // Monatshefte. – Wisconsin: University of Winsconsin Press, 1979. – Vol. 71, No. 4. – p. 417-431.

5. Richards, C. Jack. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching: A description and analysis / Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. – Cambridge, 2001. – 278 p.

6. Stern, H. Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching / H. Stern. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983. – 455 p.