Theories of Teaching

Presenter: Sara

Tehrani

TEFL, M.A, Tehran,

Iran

“Methodology in Language Teaching” by Richards & Renandya

Section 1 ; Approaches to Teaching

Ch.1: English Lg. Teaching in the “Post-Method” Era

Ch.2: Theories of Teaching in Lg. Teaching

20th Centaury 21st

Centaury( primary concern was (more

complex view

to find more effective

of lg. teaching )

Methods of lg. teaching)

Brown traces this movement from a preoccupation with

“methods” to a focus on “pedagogy”.

The 1970s & 1980s were the years of greatest enthusiasm

for methods. In “post-method era”, the attention has shifted

to teaching & learning & the contributions of teachers to

-methods: top-down impositions of experts’

views.

-minimized role of the teachers.

- methods are hence perspective.

The problems of

“designer methods”

as cited by Brown

- methods focus on only small part of a

more complex set of elements.

- “ Curriculum Development” (begins with

diagnosis, moves to treatment &

involves assessment.

For Brown, the term method is best replaced by the

term pedagogy :

Method

implies a static set

of procedures.

Pedagogy

suggests the

dynamic interplay

between teachers

& learners.

Approach

Method

Technique

Edward Anthony (1963)

Set of assumptions dealing with the nature of

lg., learning & teaching.

An overall plan for systematic presentation of

lg. based on a selected approach.

Specific classroom activities consistent with a

method, and therefore in harmony with an

approach as well.

Method

Approach Design Procedure

Richards & Rodgers (1986)

Prabhu (1990) thought of method as both:

classroom activities & the theory that informs

them.

For most researchers, a method is a set of

theoretically unified classroom techniques thought to

be generalizable across a wide variety of contexts

& audiences.

Gouin’sSeries

Method (1880)

DM (Berlitz)

ALM (Late

1940s)

Cognitive -Code learning

method (early 1960s)

Designer Methods (1989)

Why are methods no longer the milestones of our

lg. teaching journey through time?

1- Methods are too perspective/ Assuming too much

about

a context./ They are overgeneralized.

2- At the early stages of a lg. course, methods are

distinctive

but later, they become indistinguishable from each

other.

3- It was though that methods could be tested to

determine

which one is the “best”.

4- Methods become vehicles of a “ linguistic imperialism

Therefore we did not need a method. We needed to unifying our

approach to lg. teaching & of designing effective tasks &

techniques informed by the approach.

1) An approach is dynamic & therefore subject to

“tinkering” as a result of experience & observation.

2) Research in SLA almost always yields findings that are

subject to interpretation rather than giving evidence.

There are two

reasons for

variation at the

approach level

Twelve widely accepted theoretical principles about SLA

Communicative

Competence

Automaticity

The anticipation of

Reward

StrategicInvestment Self- confidence

The lg-culture Connection

MeaningfulLearning

IntrinsicMotivation

Language Ego

Risk Taking

The Native Lg.Effect Interlanguage

A principled approach to lg. teaching encourages the lg. teacher to engage in a carefully created process of :

treatment

diagnosis

First phase “ situational needs” or the context of

teaching.

- country of the institution.

- educational background of the students.

- students’ purpose for learning the lg.

Second phase “ communicative needs”

- The specific lg. forms & functions that

should be programmed into a course of

study.

treatment

The appropriate stage for the application of methods.

Language “treatment” may be thought of as coursed of study,

or sets of learning experiences, design to target learners’

needs exposed by diagnostic assessments.

controlled

semicontrolled

free

1- Lower inhibitions.

2- Encourage risk taking.

3- Build students’ self- confidence.

4- Help students develop intrinsic motivation.

5- Promote cooperative learning.

6- Encourage students to use right-brain processing.

7- Promote ambiguity tolerance.

8- Help students use their intuition.

9- Get students to make their mistakes work for them.

10- Get students to set their own goals.

assessment

Finally it is the time for assessing accomplishment of

curricular objectives, which can be done through:

Formative evaluation (ongoing assessment of students’

performance as a course

progresses.)

Summative evaluation ( end-of-term or end-of-unit tests)

Conceptions of teaching (Zahorik, 1986)

1) Science-Research Conceptions

2) Theory-Philosophy Conceptions

3) Art-Craft Conceptions

1) Science-Research Conceptions

These see the essential skills in teaching as following: Examples Understand the learning principles. ALM Develop task & activities based on learning principles. TBLT Monitor students’ performance. Learner Training

Zahorik includes the followings as the examples: Operationalizing learning principles.

(Developing a teaching methodology from learning research.) Following a tested model.

( applying the results of empirical or experimental research to teaching) Doing what effective teachers do.

2) Theory-Philosophy Conceptions

These see the essential skills in teaching as : Understand the theory and the principles. Select syllabi, materials & tasks based on the theory. Monitor your teaching to see that it conforms to theory.

Teaching conceptions which are derived from what ought to work are essentially Theory-Based or Rationalist Approaches. Examples : CLT / SW

On the other hand, lies the “Value-Based Approach” which is derived frombeliefs about what viewed as morally right. Examples : Humanistic Approaches, CLL, learner-centered curriculum,Reflective teaching , Team Teaching

3) Art- Craft Conceptions

The essential skills of teaching in this approach are: Treat each teaching situation as unique. Identify the particular characteristics of each situation. Try out different teaching strategies.Develop personal approaches to teaching.

Examples: There are no general methods of teaching ! Teachers should do what they feel the best ! (teachers’ decision making)

In contrast to the “science-research conception” which is“top-down”, this approach is “bottom-up.