Approaches & Methods in ELT / Examples

1. Major: English Language and Literature
Applied Linguistics
Session 4 (Approaches & Methods in ELT)
Dr. Badriya Al Mamari
Academic year 2021/2022

2. Approaches & Methods in
English Language Teaching
(ELT)

3. A common error among teachers is to use
interchangeably terms like approach, method, and
technique.
• What’s the difference between Approach, Method,
Procedure & Technique?
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Activity 1

4. • Generally speaking, the three terms are often used
interchangeably. But in English language teaching
context, they are identified as three different
terminologies.
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5. 5

6. Approach
• An approach provides philosophy to the whole process
of instruction. It represents the sum of our philosophy
about both the theory of language and the theory of
learning.
• In other words, an approach to language teaching
describes:
1.The nature of language,
2.How knowledge of a language is acquired,
3.And the conditions that promote language acquisition.
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7. 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;
• It is an organized, orderly, systematic, and well-planned procedure aimed at facilitating
and enhancing students’ learning. It includes decisions about:
• The particular skills to be taught,
• The roles of the teacher and the learner in language teaching and learning,
• The appropriate procedures and techniques,
• The content to be taught,
• And the order in which the content will be presented.
• It also involves a specific syllabus organization, choices of the materials that will boost
learning, and the means to assess learners and evaluate teaching and learning. It is a sort
of an organizing plan that relies on the philosophical premises of an approach.

8. Procedures
• Jeremy Harmer (2001) describes ‘procedures’ as “an
ordered set of techniques.” They are the step-by-step
measures to execute a method.
• Ex. A common procedure in the grammar-translation
method, for example, is to start by explaining the
grammar rules and exemplifying these rules through
sentences that the students then had to translate into
their mother tongue. According to Harmer, a procedure
is “smaller than a method and larger than a technique.”
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9. Technique
• Implementing a procedure necessitates certain practices and
behaviors that operate in teaching a language according to a
particular method. These practices and behaviors are the
techniques that every procedure relies on. Techniques, in this
sense, are part and parcel of procedures. They are the actual
moment-to-moment classroom steps that lead to a specified
outcome.
• Every procedure is realized through a series of techniques.
• They could take the form of an exercise or just any activity
that you have to do to complete a task.
• EX. when using videos, teachers often use a technique called
“silent viewing” which consists of playing the video without
sound and asking students to figure out what the characters
were saying.
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10. Richards & Rodgers as Approach (2001, p.20)
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11. Edward Anthony (1963, pp.63-67)
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12. Methods & Approaches in English
Language Teaching (ELT)

13. Teaching ELT Approaches
• GrammarTranslation approach
• The Direct approach.
• Natural Approach
• The communicative approach
• The reading approaches
• The Situational approach
• The Audio-lingual approach
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14. 1.The Grammar Translation Approach
• This is the oldest and traditional method of teaching
English.
• In Europe, this method was used to teach Greek and
Latin for several years.
• The emphasis in this method is mainly on translation
of English words, phrases, and passages into and from
the mother tongue of a learner.
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15. Principles of this method:-
• 1.) Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of
the target language.
• 2.) Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.
• 3.) Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and
instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words.
• 4.) Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early. Little attention is
paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in in
grammatical analysis.
• 5.) Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected
sentences from the target language into the mother tongue.
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16. Advantages disadvantages
Increases the vocabulary skills like speaking and listening are
not emphasized
makes teaching activity very easy it prevents students from thinking
directly in English
saves time and energy it gives rare opportunity to
students to practice speaking
a strong memory bond is
established
clarity in understanding of words
can be easily used in over-crowded
classes 16

17. Typical Techniques of this method :-
• 1. Translation of a passage
• 2. Antonyms/ Synonyms
• 3. Cognates
• 4. Fill-in the blanks
• 5. Memorization
• 6. Make sentence
• 7. Composition
• 8. Reading comprehension questions
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18. 2.The Direct Method
• *Direct method is the method through which students
learn to communicate in the target language and not
involving L1 in the language learning process.
• *Learning L2 without taking help of L1.
• *This method is also known as Natural Method; because
the characteristics we observe in language teaching is similar
to acquisition of L1, but it was very difficult to bring exact
environment in which L1 is acquired.
• *So later, the same method became popular as the direct.
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19. • This method was a reaction against the Grammar
Translation Method.
• In Grammar Translation Method, the focus was
mainly on grammar.
• The learners were acquiring the knowledge of the
grammar instead of the language.
• The method originated in France in 1901. The
principles of this method came from Germany and were
popularized by the international phonetic association of
France.
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20. • According to Alemi, M., & Tavakoli, E. (2016), “The
direct method is a method of teaching English directly; is
to establish a direct or immediate association between
experience and expression, between English words,
phrases or idioms and its meaning.”
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21. Principles:
• 1.)Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the
target language
• 2.)Only everyday vocabulary and sentences are taught.
• 3.)Oral communication is built up in a carefully traded
progression organized around question-and-answer
exchanges between teachers and students in small intensive
classes.
• 4.)Grammar is taught inductively.
• 5.)Vocabulary is taught through demonstration, objects
and pictures.
• 6.)Both speech and listening comprehension are taught.
• 7.)Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.
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22. Advantages disadvantages
Understanding of English become
easier.
Not helpful to the average
students.
Good habit of speech is required. This method is not achievable in
overcrowded classes.
Fluency of Speech and Writing is
improved.
Schools don’t have enough
equipment.
Lessons become interesting with
the use of pictures.
Teacher has to spend a lot of
time in planning and designing
Activities
It aims at practical command of
the Language.
LSRW skills are improved. 22

23. Typical techniques
• -Reading aloud
• -Question and answer exercise
• -Student self-correction
• -Conversation practice
• -Fillin the blanks
• -Dictation
• -Paragraph writing
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24. 3.The Audio-lingual method
• is used to improve communicative competence in
learners. It is the most effective way for to learn
language in an interesting way through different skills.
• * This Method was initially called the Army Method,
and was the first to be based on linguistic theory and
behavioral psychology
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25. • -Based on Skinner’s Behaviorism theory, it assumed that a
human being can be trained using a system of reinforcement.
• -Correct behavior receives positive feedback; while errors
receive negative feedback.
• This approach to learning is similar to the Direct Method, in
that the lesson takes place entirely in the target language.
• Emphasis is on the acquisition of patterns in common
everyday dialogue.
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26. • -The Audio-lingual Method was widely used in the
1950s and 1960s, and the emphasis was not on the
understanding of words, but rather on the acquisition of
structures and patterns in common everyday dialogue.
• -These patterns are elicited, repeated and tested until
the responses given by the student in the foreign
language are automatic.
• -The Audio-lingual Method is still in use today in
different ways through blogs, flipped learning, YouTube
and much more. Nowadays many courses are available
online also. 26

27. Principles of this method:
• 1.) New material is presented in dialogue form.
• 2.) There is dependence on mimicry, memorization of
set phrases and over learning.
• 3.) Structures are taught one at a time.
• 4.) Structural patterns are taught using repetitive drills.
• 5.) There is little or no grammatical explanation.
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28. • 6.) Vocabulary is strictly limited and learned in
context.
• 7.) There is much use of tapes, language labs and
visual aids.
• 8.) Great importance is attached to pronunciation.
• 9.) Very little use of the mother tongue by teachers is
permitted
• 10.) Successful responses are immediately reinforced.
• 11.) There is great effort to get students to produce
error-free
• utterances.
• 12.) There is a tendency to manipulate language and
disregard the content. 28

29. Advantages disadvantages
It can be used in medium-
sized class
Confident teachers with
fluency of language are
needed.
Listening and speaking skills
can be improved.
Repetition can be boring
and meaningless.
It can be used at elementary
and intermediate level.
Reading and writing are
neglected as an individual
form.
Learners can form
grammatically accurate
language.
It requires more time in
preparing these activities.
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30. Typical techniques of the audio-lingual method:
• *Dialogue memorization
• *Use of minimal pairs
• *Backward build-up
• *Complete the dialogues
• *Different Type of Drills
• *Grammar game
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31. • To be continued next session >>>>>>>>
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32. References:
Alemi, M., & Tavakoli, E. (2016). Audio lingual method. In 3rd International
Conference on Applied Research in Language Studies (pp. 1-5).
Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2014). Approaches and methods in language
teaching. Cambridge university press.
Anthony, E. M. (1963). Approach, method and technique. English language teaching,
17(2), 63-67.
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