ELT Approaches and Didactic Material Preparation - Class 1

At the beginning of the Module “Abordagens no Ensino de Línguas e Preparo de Material Didático” we started thinking about what underlays our teaching  practice. To know how to answer to this question, for four weeks we have discussed about approaches, methods, The Post Method Era, multiliteracies, knowledge, techniques, how to deal and interact with students, the role of the teacher, and how to choose a didactic book.

Our hopes for this module were the discussion and clarification of the influence of different approaches on the teaching material that we use. In that respect, the first question posed for our consideration - Which principles underlay your teaching? - was a great start. We quickly defined what a good teacher should be: someone who encourages others to pursue knowledge, but also pursues knowledge themselves; someone who has passion for its teaching practice and value interaction; a true educator who builds bridges between the learners and the world around them, creating the perfect environment to help them leave their comfort zone. Eventually, we realized that techniques alone were not the base for this educator’s practice; they were like branches and leaves of a tree that were subject to the change of the seasons. Following this metaphor, we could visualize this image:

EFL teaching tree

After that, we started talking about the differences between 'Method' and 'Approach'. Method is something that guides the teacher, it is the technique teachers use for teaching; Approaches are the principles that underlay the teachers’ practice.

Let’s see some Methods and Approaches discussed during the module:

METHODS AND APPROACHES	BRIEF EXPLANATION
Grammar Translation Method	- Beginning of the eighteenth century; - Students have to translate literature texts and analyze grammar in order to understand the structure of the language; - Interaction: Teacher → Students
Direct Method	- Classes taught in English; - Grammar is inferred by the student; - Interaction: Teacher ↔ Student
Audio-Lingual Method	- Used during the War Period ( 1940-1960) - Focused on Speaking; - Students had to memorize vocabulary and long phrases; role-plays; drills; pair work - Interaction: Teacher centered
Suggestopedia	- Teachers had to set the scene (adapted classrooms); - Use of posters and imaginary scenes; -Change of moods while reading; - Students can act the role of a different character; -Songs help set the plot; - Students are asked to give a class feedback
Community Learning	- Based on cooperation, not competition; - Students oral production were taped; - Interaction: Teacher ↔ Student ↔ Student. The teacher sits at the same level as the students.
Total Physical Response	- Focused on listening and comprehension, - Learner responds to language input with body motions; - Low anxiety learning; - Interaction: Teacher ↔ Student ↔ Student.
Silent Way	- Teacher makes students think, encouraging them to solve their own problems; - use of colored rods to figure out the patterns of language based on a few examples given by the teacher - Interaction: Student ↔ Student
Communicative Approach	- Students have to learn how to interact in English; - Focus on meaningful communication not structure; - Functional syllabus instead of structural syllabus; - Authentic and meaningful language input is more important; - Interaction: Student centered

After analysing all this methodologies and approaches, we have thought about how we teach, and what is the method we have been using in our practice; then we realized that we mix lots of methods to reach the communicative approach, and that is why we can say that we have a Post Method Pedagogy: we worry about teaching the student how to interact and, in order to do it, we merge different kinds of approaches.

How about you: Have you ever thought about which principles underlay your practice? As a language student, do you ask yourself which techniques your teacher is using and how well it fits your style of learning?