Approach, method and techniques in Language Learning and Teaching

1. TEFL
APPROACH, METHOD
AND TECHNIQUE
Elih Sutisna Yanto- FKIP PBI Unsika
West-Java Indonesia

2. Edward Anthony (1965)
An approach is a set of correlative
assumptions dealing with the nature of
language and the nature of language
learning and teaching.

3. According to Edward Anthony’s model (1965)
approach is the level at which assumptions and
beliefs about language and language learning are
specified; method is the level at which theory is put
into practice and at which choices are made about
the particular skills to be taught, the content to be
taught, and the order in which the content will be
presented; technique is the level at which classroom
procedures are described.

4. Summary and elements and sub elements that
constitute method (Richards & Rodgers:33)
Method
Approach
a. A theory of the
nature of language
b. A theory of the
nature of language
learning
Design
a. The general and specific objectives
of the method
b. A syllabus model
c. Types of learning and teaching
activities.
d. Learner roles
e. Teachers roles
f. The role of instructional materials
Procedure
a. Classroom techniques, practices,
and behaviors when the method is
used.
b. Resources in term of time, space,
and equipment used by the teacher.
c. Interactional patterns observed in
lessons.
d. Tactics and strategies used by
teachers and learners when the
method is being use.

5. Three different views of
The nature of language
1. Structural view: It views language as a system of
structurally related element.
2. Functional view: It regards language as a
vehicle for the expression of functional
meaning.
3. Interactional view: It sees language as a
vehicle for the realization of interpersonal
relations and social interaction between
individuals.

6. The common assumptions about
the nature of the language
1. Language is a group of sounds with specific
meaning and organized by grammatical rules (The
Silent Way).
2. Language is the everyday spoken utterance of the
average person at normal speed (Audio Lingual
Method).
3. Language is a system for the expression of meaning
(Communicative Language Teaching).
4. Language is a set of grammatical rules and language
consists of language chunks (Total Physical
Responses)

7. Definitions of learning
1. A change in behaviour as a result of experience or
practice.
2. The acquisition of knowledge.
3. Knowledge gained through study.
4. To gain knowledge of , or skill in, through study,
teaching, instruction or experience.
5. The process of gaining knowledge.
6. A process by which behavious is changed, shaped, or
controlled.
7. The individual process of constructing understanding
based on experience from a wide range of sources.
(Alan Prichard 2009:2)

8. The nature of language learning:
1. Behaviorism: Stimulus- Response-
Reinforcement.- Drilling, exercise,
repetition.
2. Nativism: A child naturally has a language
acquisition device. (Kodrati).
3. Constructivism: A child acquired a
language through interaction between the
child and environment. (Jean Piaget).

9. The nature of learning:
1. Behaviorism is a theory of learning
focusing on observable behaviour and
discounting any mental activity. Learning is
defined simply as the acquisition of new
behaviour. (Alan Prichard 2009:6)

10. Cognitive, constructivist learning
Constructivists view learning as the result of
mental construction. That is, learning take
place when new information is built into and
added onto an individual’s current structure
of knowledge, understanding and skills. We
learn best when we actively construct our
own understanding (Alan Prichard 2009:17)

11. The following assumptions relate to theories of learning and
teaching
1. Learning is facilitated if language learners discover
rather than repeat and remember without
understanding what is to be learned (Silent Way).
2. Learning involves the unconscious functions, as well as
the conscious functions (Suggestopedia).
3. The norms of the society often block the process of
learning (Suggestopedia)
4. Language learning will take place if language learners
maintain their feeling of security (Community Language
Learning).
5. Language learning is a process of habit formation (Audio
Lingual Method)

12. Assumption about learning and
teaching, which have been developed
from theories in psychology, seem to
develop faster than those about the
nature of language.

13. Method
The plan of language teaching which consistent
with the theories. (Edward Anthony-1963)
Method may mean different things to different
people (Mackey, 1975:155) For some , it means a
set of teaching procedures; for others, the
avoidance of teaching procedures. For some, it is
the primary of a language skill; for others, it is the
type and amount of vocabulary and stucture.

14. Method cont...
The term “method” in the Direct Method may
refer to a single aspect of language teaching:
presentation of material.
Method in the Reading Method refers to the
emphasis of a single language skill: reading, while
In the Grammar Translation Method, method
refers to the emphasis of the teaching material.

15. Method cont...
According to Mackey (1975:157), all teaching,
whether good or bad, must include some sort of
selection, some sort of gradation, some sort of
presentation, and some sort of repetition.
Therefore, all methods should include the four
steps of teaching a language.
Any method should include the four steps:
selection, gradation, presentation, and repetition.

16. Method
According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), a
method is theoretically related to an approach,
organized by the design, and practically realized
in procedure.

17. Technique
Carry out a method. It is
implementational, meaning
that a technique is something
that actually takes place in
language teaching or learning
in the classroom.

18. Technique cont...
The following are some examples of techniques in error
correction.
1. The teacher does not praise or criticize so that language
learners learn to rely on themselves (Silent Way).
2. The teacher often praises when a student has made a good
thing in learning (Audio Lingual Method).
3. When a student has produced a wrong expression, the
teacher just repeats the right one (Total Physical Response).
4. The teacher does not care when a student make an error as
long as it does not hinder (delay/prevent) communication
(Natural Method)

19. The Term of Technique
(H.D. Brown 2007:180)
1. Task. Task usually refers to a specialized form
of technique or series of techniques closely
allied with communicative curricula, and as
such must minimally have communicative
goals. It is focuses on the authentic use of
language for meaningful communicative
purpose beyond the language classroom.

20. The Term of Technique
2. Activity. Activity may refer to virtually anything that learners
do in the classroom.
 We usually refer to a reasonably unified set of student
behaviour, limited in time, preceded by some direction from
the teacher, with a particular objective.
 Activities include role plays, drills, games, peer-editing, small-
group information-gap exercise, and much more.
 Because an activity implies some sort of active performance
on the part of learners, it is generally not used to refer to
certain teacher behaviours like saying “good morning,”
maintaining eye contact with students, explaining a grammar
point, or writing a list of words on the chalkboard.
Such teacher behaviour, however can indeed be referred to as
technique.

21. The Term of Technique
3. Procedure. Richards and Rodgers (2001) used the
term procedure to encompass “the actual moment-
to-moment techniques, practices, and behaviour
that operate in teaching a language according to a
particular method” (p.26)
 Procedures from this definition, include techniques.
Thus, for Richards and Rodgers, this appears to be a
catchall term, a thing for holding many small objects
or a group or description that includes different
things and that does not state clearly what is
included or not.

22. The Term of Technique
4. Practice, behaviour, exercise,
strategy...
In the language-teaching
literature, these terms, and
perhaps some others, all appear
to refer , in varying degrees of
intensity, to what is defined as
technique.

23. The Term of Technique
5. Technique
Even before Anthony (1963) discussed and
defined the term, the language teaching
literature generally accepted technique as a
superordinate term to refer to various
activities that either teachers or learners
perform in the classroom.
In other words, technique include all tasks and
activities.
They almost always planned and deliberate,
done on purpose rather than by accident.

24. The Term of Technique
Cont...
They are the product of a choice made by the
teacher. And they can, for your purposes as a
language teacher, comfortably refer to the
pedagogical units or components of a classroom
session.
You can think of a lesson as consisting of a
number of techniques, some teacher-centered,
some learner-centered, some production-
centered, some comprehension-centered, some
clustering together to form a task.

25. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
1. Warm-up: Mimes, dance, songs, jokes, play. This activity gets
the students stimulated, relaxed, motivated, attentive, or
otherwise engage and ready for the lesson. It does not
necessarily involves use of the target language.
2. Setting: Focusing on lesson topic. Teacher directs attention to
the topic by verbal or nonverbal evocation of the context
relevant to the lesson by questioning or miming or picture
presentation, possibly by tape recording of situations and
peole.
3. Organizational: Structuring of lesson or class activities
includes disciplinary action, organization of class furniture
and seating, general procedures for class interaction and
performance, structure and purpose of lesson, ete

26. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
4. Content Explanation: Grammatical, phonological, lexical
(vocabulary), sociolinguistic, pragmatic, or any other aspect
of language.
5. Role-play demonstration: Selected students or teacher
illustrate the procedure(s) to be applied in the lesson
segment to follow. Includes brief illustration of language or
other content to be incorporated.
6. Dialogue/Narrative presentation: Reading or listening
passage presented for passive reception. No implication of
student production or other identification of specific target
forms or functions (students may be asked to “understand”)
7. Dialogue/Narrative recitation: Reciting a previously known or
prepared text, either in unison or individually.

27. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
8. Reading aloud: Reading directly from a given text.
9. Checking: Teacher either circulating or guiding the correction
of students’ work, providing feedback as an activity rather
than within another activity.
10. Question-answer display: Activity involving prompting of
students responses by means of display questions (i.e.
teacher or questioner already knows the response or has a
very limited set of expectations for the appropriate
response). Distinguished from referential questions by the
likelihood of the questioner’s knowledge of the response
and the speaker’s awareness of that fact.

28. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
11. Drill: Typical language activity involving fixed patterns of
teacher prompting and student responding, usually with
repetition, substitution, and other mechanical alterations.
Typically with little meaning attached.
12. Translation: Student or teacher provision of L1 or L2
translation of given text.
13. Dictation: Student writing down orally presented text.
14. Copying: Student writing down text presented visually.
15. Identification: Student picking out and producing/labeling or
otherwise identifying a specific target form, function,
definition, or other lesson-related item.

29. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
16. Recognition: Student identifying forms, as in identification
(i.e., checking off items, drawing symbols, rearranging
pictures), but without a verbal responses.
17. Review: Teacher-led review of previous week/month/or
other period as a formal summary and type of test of student
recall performance.
18. Testing: Formal testing procedures to evaluate student
progress.
19. Meaningful drill: Drill activity involving responses with
meaningful choices, as in reference to different information.
Distinguished from information exchange by the regulated
sequence and general form of responses.

30. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Semicontrolled Techniques
20. Brainstorming: A form of preparation for the lesson, like
Setting, which involves free, undirected contributions by the
students and teacher on a given topic, to generate multiple
associations without linking them; no explicit analysis or
interpretation by the teacher.
21. Storytelling (especially when student-generated): Not
necessarily lesson-based, a lengthy presentation of story by
teacher or student (may overlap with Warm-up or Narrative
recitation), May be used to maintain attention, motivate, or
as lengthy practice.
22. Question-answer, referential: Activity involving prompting of
responses by means of referential questions (i.e., the
questioner does not know beforehand the responses
information). Distinguished from Question-answer, display.

31. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Semicontrolled Techniques
23. Cued narrative/Dialogue: Student production of narrative or
dialogue following cues from miming, cue cards, pictures, or
other stimuli related to narrative/dialogue (e.g.,
metalanguage requesting functional acts).
24. Information transfer: Application from one mode (e.g.,
visual) to another (e.g., writing), which involves some
transformation of the information (e.g., student fills out
diagram while listening to description). Distinguished from
Identification in that the student is expected to transform
and reinterpret the language or information.
25. Information exchange: Task involving two-way communication as in
information-gap exercise, when one or both parties (or a larger group)
must share information to achieve some goal. Distinguished from
Question-answer, referential in that sharing of information is critical for
the task.

32. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Semicontrolled Techniques
26. Wrap-up: Brief teacher- or student-produced summary of
point and/or items that have been practiced or learned.
27. Narration/Exposition: Presentation of a story or explanation
derived from prior stimuli. Distinguished from Cued narrative
because of lack of immediate stimulus.
28. Preparation: Student study, silent reading, pair planning and
rehearsing, preparing for later activity. Usually a student-
directed or –oriented project.

33. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Free Techniques
29. Role play: Relatively free acting out of specified roles and
functions. Distinguished from Cued dialogues by the fact that
cueing is provided only minimally at the beginning , and not
during the activity.
30. Games: Various kinds of language game activity not like other
previously defined activities (e.g., board and dice games
making words).
31. Report: Report of student-prepared exposition on books,
experiences, project work, without immediate stimulus, and
elaborated on according to student interests. Akin to
Composition in writing mode.

34. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Free Techniques
32. Problem solving: Activity involving specified problem and
limitations of means to resolve it; requires cooperation on
part of participants in small or large group.
33. Drama: Planned dramatic rendition of play, skit, story, etc.
34. Simulation: Activity involving complex interaction between
groups and individuals based on simulation of real-life
actions and experiences.
35. Interview: A student is directed to get information from
another student or students.
36. Discussion: Debate or other form of grouped discussion of
specified topic, with or without specified sides/positions
prearranged.

35. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Free Techniques
37.Composition: As in Report (verbal),
written development of ideas, story, or
other exposition.
38.A propos: Conversation or other socially
oriented interaction/speech by teacher,
students, or even visitors, on general
real-life topics. Typically authentic and
genuine.

36. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Some techniques will fit into more than one category. Consider
the “warm-up” activity suggested by Klippel (1984,pp13-14) for
beginning level class:
Step1: Each student writes his/her full name of a piece of paper.
All the papers are collected and redistributed so that
everyone receives the name of a person he/she does not
know.
Step 2: Everyone walks around the room and tries to find the
person whose name he/she holds. Simple questions can
be: “Is your name......? Are you......?
Step 3: When everyone has found his/her partner, he/she
introduces him/her to the group.

37. Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
 This exercise seems to fit into a number of possible
categories. It involves question-answer, referential activity;
there is some information exchange as well.; and in some
ways either problem solving or games may fit here.
 The purpose in referring to such a taxonomy, therefore, is not
to be able to pinpoint every technique specifically. Rather, the
taxonomy is more of a help to you as
 An aid to raising your awareness of the wide variety of
available techniques
 An indicator of how techniques differ according to a
continuum ranging from controlled to free
 A resource for your own personal brainstorming process as
you consider types of techniques for your classroom.

38. References
• Brown, D.H. (2001). Teaching by Principle.Englewood Cliffs,
N.J: Prentice Hall.
• Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in
Language Teaching. 2nd ed.Oxford: OUP.
• Prichard, Alan.2009. Ways of Learning: Learning theories and
learning styles in the classroom. New York: Routledge.
• Richard, Jack C. , & Rodgers, Theodore S. (2001). Approaches
and Methods in Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge
University Press