Teach English in Sancha Zhen - Xinzhou Shi

Different Methods of Teaching Different methodologies of teaching include one called “Grammer-Translation” which many of us will have been exposed to as this is a popular system of learning in the state school sector. The basic principle of this system is, as the name suggests, learning about a language through finding equivalents in the students own Native language and what that translates to in English. It is, in effect, a system of translation but the major drawback is that it seems to prevent the students from getting the kind of natural language input that will really help them acquire the language. The danger is that the students will learn “about” the language instead of the language itself, and another strong drawback it that the teacher must then also be knowledgeable about the students Native language as well (if not fluent). Another method is Audio Lingualism which is the name given to a language teaching/learning methodology based upon behaviourist theories of learning This theory suggests that much learning is a result of habit formation through conditioning. Audio lingualism concentrates to a large degree on long drilling repetition in which the students are taught to repeat the correct usage of the language. It went out of fashion because the modern way of teaching a language is more from the knowledge acquired rather than merly the habits formed. However it must be noted that language drills are still a popular way of learning, especially for lower level students at the beginning. Another method of teaching is “Presentation, Practice and Production”. This is where the students practice making sentences with the language in a controlled way (including drilling) before going on to the production phase where thay are able to be more creative with the language. PPP has proven to be extremely effective in teaching simple language at lower levels but is less productive when teaching students at a higher level because they already know language and do not need such a significant “Production” phase. Nowadays, PPP is regarded as lacking in flexibility and it too easy to turn classes into “teacher centred” lessons. Another method of teaching is Communicative Language Teaching which stresses the importance of language FUNCTION (such as agreeing, denying, inviting etc) as opposed to the usual just reliance on grammer and vocabulary. This approach suggests that if the students manage to use the English language to complete different tasks, for example while role playing different situations, the language will be absorbed this way. Community Language Learning is a student based method of learning English where all the students sit around in a circle and come up with the subject matter themselves. It is based on improvisation and the teacher should really remain silent except for when a problem arises or a question needs answering. There is also another way called the “Silent Way” where the teacher, again, says as little as possible. This is to make the students “discover” the language and come up with the words needed themselves. A lot of teachers find this method a little “unnatural” when trying to bring it to fruition. The Silent Way makes use of coloured rods, each representing an aspect of the English language. These rods are called “Cuisenaire” rods and can represent aspects such as grammer points, sounds or physical objects while playing with them. Finally, the most popular and effective way of teaching is that of “Engage, Study, Activate” , or ESA. This method was first put forward by a Jeremy Harmer and has been used ever since. The approach gives the teacher a lot of flexibility and is ideal for new teachers when it gives them direction when lesson planning. The first point is always “Ellicitation” which is when a teacher first approaches students by asking thought provoking questions and is an extremely useful part of the process. Some examples of elicitation techniques are: using real objects to represent words or actions, using flashcards or pictures, using mime or just asking questions out loud. Teachers should use a variety of different elicitation methods so that the lessons don’t become boring or predictable. All ESA lessons should comprise of Engage, Study, Activate. Firstly, the Engage part of the lesson is where the teacher will ask a question about something the students find interesting to get the students interested and involved in the class. They need to spark the students interest so that they find the lessons more fun and stimulating, and this way it will reduce their inhibitions leading to a more successful language learning environment. The “Engage” phase of the lesson can be considered like a “warm up” and can include games, music, pictures, objects etc. all with the aim of getting the students thinking and speaking in English as much as possible before the next phase of the lesson comes along. Here, we may wish to “preteach” certain vocabulary the students are going to encounter to make sure there is an understanding when it appears. For example if the lesson was about Elvis Presley, in the Engage part of the lesson we may wish to play some of his songs and see what the students think and elicit their previous knowledge about him. In the second “Study” phase is where we use activities following the “Engage” section such as the presentation of Board work saying different things about the subject at hand, and drilling exercises are used to ensure the correct pronounciation of new vocabulary. Worksheets tend to be handed out in this section, to ensure the material taught is understood. As a class, we then go over the worksheets together to make sure the exercise has been done correctly and everyone understands. For example, using the example of Elvis Presley, the students could go over a written article on the man and take it in turns to read out loud sections of the article. Study means any stage where the students are focused on the construction of the language, so this would be where the students complete their worksheets. Thirdly comes the”Activate” phase of the lesson where students should be using the language they know as freely as possible to get them familiarised with it. The focus here is on fluency, rather than accuracy. Typical Activate activities include role play, communication games, debates (more for higher level students) and story telling. An activity for the Activate section of the Elvis Presley lesson, could be to get into groups and each present the class with what they have learnt about Elvis Presley, with just one member of the group reading everything they have written out loud to the class. All three ESA elements need to be present when teaching lessons, sometimes with more focus on one of other of the sections. When a lesson follows the “Engage, Study, Activate” route to a tee, it is called a “Straight Arrow” lesson. But when some lessons are more complicated they can be called “Patchwork” lessons, where the rhythm might be “Engage, Study, Activate, Study, Activate” for example. With the Elvis Presley class the Engage section could be where a couple of his songs are played if students remember the titles and students talk a bit about him, then the study phase could be when the students have to take turns in reading out loud an article about him. The activate phase could be when the students go into groups and rewrite the article as if they were writing it , adding any bits of information they have and then presenting it to the class as groups. The second study part of the class could be when worksheets are handed out with gap fill activities about Elvis Presley and the students have to complete the worksheets with their new knowledge. The second Activate stage of the lesson could be when individuals are called out by the teacher to make a speech on what they have learnt about Elvis Presley Today. This class would be a patchwork class, as it would have been, Engage, Study, Activate, Study, Activate.