2. SITUATIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHING This term is not commonly used today, but it is an approach developed by British linguists such as Harold Palmer and A.S. Hornsby in the 1930s, and which had an impact on language courses.
3. OBJECTIVES A practical command of the four basic skills of a language, through structure Accuracy in both pronunciation and grammar Ability to respond quickly and accurately in speech situations Automatic control of basic structures and sentence patterns
4. THEORY OF LEARNING The theory of learning underlying Situation Language Teaching is behaviorism, addressing more the processes, than the conditions of learning
5. PRINCIPLES OF THEORY OF LEARNING Languagelearningishabit-formation Mistakes are bad and should be avoided, as they make bad habits Language skills are learned more effectively if they are presented orally first, then in written form Analogy is a better foundation for language learning than analysis The meanings of words can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context.
6. Theory of language The Structural view of language is the view behind the Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching. Speech was viewed as the basis of language and structure as being at the heart of speaking ability.
7. Learner role The role of the learner, in the initial stages, is reduced to listening and repeating what the teacher says and to respond to questions and commands. The learner has no control over the content of learning or the environment
8. Teacher Role In the presentation stage of the lesson, the teacher serves as a model, setting up situations in which the need for the target structure is created and then modeling the new structure for students to repeat. Then the teacher “becomes more like the skillful conductor of an orchestra, drawing the music out of performers”.
9. Material role It depends on both, a textbook and visual aids The textbook contains tightly organized lessons planned around different grammatical structures Visual aids may be produced by the teacher or may be commercially produced; they consist of wall charts, flashcards, pictures, stick figures, and so on
10. Procedure Classroom procedures in situational language teaching vary according to the level of the class, but procedures at any level aim to move from controlled to freer practice of structures and from oral use of sentence patterns to their automatic use in speech, reading and writing
11. Themainbody of thelesson… Might consist of four parts: Revision (to prepare for new work if necessary) Presentation of new structure or vocabulary Oral practice (drilling) Reading of material on the new structure, or written exercises.
12. In a typical lesson, the following procedures would be observed Students first hear a model dialogue (either read by the teacher or on tape) containing key structures that are the focus of the lesson. The dialogue is adapted to the students’ interest or situation, through changing certain key words of phrases. Certain key structures from the dialogue are selected and used as the basis for pattern drills of different kinds. The students may refer to their textbook and follow-up reading writing or vocabulary activities based on the dialogue
13. Background The origins of this approach began with the work of British applied linguists in the 1920s. Beginning at this time, a number of outstanding applied linguists developed the basis for a principled approach to methodology in language teaching. Two of the leaders in this movement were Harold palmer and A.S. Hornsby, two of the most prominent figures in British twentieth-century language teaching.
