An Approach to Methodology of Teaching English

An Approach to Methodology of Teaching English ________________________________________________________________.

An Approach to Methodology of

Teaching English

Prepared by Ayman Alomari 2003

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PREFACE In a plenary speech entitled “How School Must Change” given on the

Ontario Reading Association in October 1989 Frank Smith noted that the only changes that make profound differences in school are changes made in the social structure. In other words, changes that affect the way teachers and students perceive one another and themselves ultimately affect the social climate for learning.

If that be the case, then the basis for effective change in school rests on the interpersonal relationship found within the schools. Experts support the view that the teacher has a key role in reforming the classroom; they state that when teachers allow the classroom to be a place for inquiry, where questions are explored in meaningful contexts and teachers and students collaborate to seek answers then teachers have a redefined role as teacher-researcher. By becoming researchers teachers take over control of their classrooms and become experts themselves. They trust their intuitions, take risk, and believe in themselves as part of decision-making process.

The result that they claim autonomy and liberate themselves from any outside forces; the teacher is the most important factor to generate change and make difference. Once an expert said: “I touch the future I teach”. Whether we like or not teachers demonstrate what learners learn. How the learners experience our presence is what is remembered. If this memory to be significant then we as teachers must live the great values that we invite our learners to hold. ONLY THEN WILL BE TEACHERS WORTH REMEMBERING.

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Look at the following table and check your opinion about the following jobs: Job Prestige Usage Accepted Yes No Yes No Yes No Football player Law professor Banker Singer Nurse Detective Cafe owner Mayor Veterinarian Reporter Cook Parliament member

Chemist Officer Plumber

The purpose of this table is to show the look between different cultures toward different people and here we face the question of having learner of different background and criteria, so we find the following questions:

• Why do you train? • Who do you train? • How do you train? The answers for these questions define the teaching process concerning the purpose of teaching, the category of the learners and the methods, techniques and tools used. Teachers have to make sure that the logistics are complete and maintain the target of the course Why do you train?

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Teachers should define the purpose of the course and to label a title for the course and they should set a plan states precisely his targets to achieve the main goal of the course. Who do you train? The category of the learners is so significant to decide the background of the learners which in turn would create an easygoing atmosphere. That is to say that teacher must understand that students differ from one another in maturity, knowledge, motivation, responsibility, and learning skills. Teacher’s requirement: Teacher must have the following prerequisites for his career:

• Professional competence • Personal competence • Pedagogical skills Professional competence:

1. Expert in the field of training 2. Analytical skill and ability to summarize 3. Capacity of reporting and giving feedback 4. Know what results should be obtained 5. Ability to develop instructional materials 6. Ability to detect problems and propose solutions 7. Skills in time management

Personal competence: 1. Charismatic character 2. Open to criticism 3. Methodological 4. Structured 5. Patient 6. Tolerant (accept difference) 7. Sense of responsibility 8. Self-confident 9. Credible

Pedagogical skills: 1. Very good communication skills (informing and influence

skills) 2. Ability to listen and capture the attention of others 3. Coaching skills 4. Ability to lead a group to a certain target with a quality of

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Attractive person quality that has a great influence over people and make them admire him.


5. Team spirit 6. Knowledge sharing 7. Encouraging students to be over dependent on teacher.

Teacher must contribute to achieving organizational goals. To do this, he or she must regularly assess organizational needs and measure the outcomes of your teaching programs in relation to these needs and measure the outcomes of your teaching programs in relation to these needs. The planning, managing, and evaluating activities are just important as the teaching activities.

( Teacher’s mind map) Managing the classroom

Personality

Charisma

Eye contact

Phase II Phase III Phase I 1. Define program

objectives 1. Select

evaluation criteria

1. Assess needs

2. Develop lesson plan 2. Prioritize needs 3. Select program

methods 2. Evaluation

design 4. Prepare materials 3. Implement

evaluation design

5. Schedule and implement program

4. Interpret results

Learners’ impression of teacher’s personality is vital for success of learning process.

Likable and authoritative presence in l

Common trap! Avoid establishing eye contact with few students. Let your eyes continually scan the class

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Body language

Voice

Movement

Relaxed, not static, clear gestures, comfortable distance, assertive

Loud, but low pitch, clear, annunciating, slow rhythm

Continuous, static teachers often invite a sense of boredom among learners.

Maslow’s theory of motivation: This theory states that a person needs to satisfy his basic needs before

he looks forward higher stages; some experts think that these motivations are not adequate to forward people but if we ignore the basic needs will get what is known as the negative motivations which implies serious consequences and this is labeled as dissatisfiers . However when a person gets his basic needs, he will move to maximize his energy within three categories:

• Belonging • Appreciation • Self-realization

Consequently, people feel satisfied with their jobs because of the proper appreciation they get so it is not a question of money promotion but also self-realization and this is labeled as satisfiers. In this sense we can label both groups (teachers and learners) in the following types:*

• Parent • Adult • Child These three types are known as the transactional analysis. Parent: the first impression students get about the teacher that he/she are parents and here the parents category is classified either ideal or protector.

* These roles were applied by two psychologists: Eric Berne and Thomas Horris.

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Adult: this term actually implies both teacher and student. Child: it includes both sides (teacher and student). The following chart illustrates the types mentioned above:

Category Behavior Movement Verbal Phrases

Attitudes Advantage disadvantage

Ideal parent serious angry Must, mustn’t

steady leading fear

Protect parents

tenderness Move towards the front

Let’s encouraging Love, protect

Suppress

Adult Mentally-balanced

Straight In my opinion

Concentrate and facts

Develop character

Limit character

Obedient child

Shy Bow head Ok, no problem, would you mind

obedience Important for community

Dependent

Rebel child Opposer Frowned, loud voice

No Disobey Independent no control

Spontaneous child

Natural, sympathetic, creative

Laugh, cry I like, I dislike

Easygoing Energy, creativeness

wild

Teacher’s role: Teacher has to play many roles such as authority figure, director,

manager, counselor, guide, and even roles such as friend, confidante, and parent. Depending on the country you are in, on the institution in which you are teaching, on the type of course, and on the makeup of your students, some of these roles will be more prominent than others, especially in the eyes of your students.

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Teacher’s style: Your teaching style is another affective consideration in the development of your professional expertise. Teaching style will almost always be consistent with your personality style, which can vary greatly from individual to non-individual. As you consider the teaching styles below, remember that each represents a continuum of possibilities:

Shy Gregarious: اجتماعي Formal Informal

Reserved Open, transparent Understated Dramatic

Rational Emotional Steady Variety of mood Serious Humorous

Restrictive Permissive: متساهل

Where do you place yourself in these continua? Do you feel it is necessary to lean toward one end in order to be effective teacher? Make sure your style of teaching is also consistent with the rest of you and with the way you feel you can be most genuine in the class room. Cultural expectations:

Western cultures emphasize nondirective, nonauthoritarian, roles and teaching style in the right hand-column in the list above; the culture in which a teacher is teaching is a major factor in developing styles. Listed below are a number of cultural expectations of roles and styles as they relate to teachers and students:

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Teachers are expected to have all answers

Teachers are allowed to say “I don’t know”.

Teachers are expected to suppress emotions (and so are students).

Teachers are allowed to express emotions (and so are students).

Teachers interpret intellectual disagreement as personal loyalty

Teachers interpret intellectual disagreement as a simulating exercise.

Teachers reward students for accuracy in problem solving

Teachers reward students for innovative approaches to problem solving

Students admire brilliance in teachers

Students admire friendliness in teachers

Students should speak in class only when called on by the teacher

Students are encouraged to volunteer their thoughts

Teachers should never lose face; to do so loses the respect of students

Teachers can admit when they are wrong and still maintain student’s respect

Students expect the teacher to show them” the way”.

Teachers expect students to find their own way.

If you feel that one column is more than another then you should be cautious in developing a relationship with students and colleagues who may come from a different tradition. Always be sensitive to the perception of others but then do what you feel appropriate. Be ready to compromise to some extent especially when you start teaching a new course. Remember that after all you might learn something from them!

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Creating a positive classroom climate: ` Establish a rapport: rapport is defined as the relationship between the teacher and his students which in turn creates trust and respect that leads to students feeling capable, competent, and creative. Now how can you set this relationship? You can set the rapport by:

• Showing interest in each student as a person. • Giving feedback on each person’s progress. • Openly soliciting students’ ideas and feelings • Valuing and respecting what students say and think. • Laughing with them not at them • Work with them as a team and not against them • Developing a genuine sense of vicarious joy when they learn

something or otherwise succeed Praise and criticism: The balance between praise and criticism plays a crucial role in establishing the rapport and here are some guidelines for effective and non effective praise:

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Effective praise Ineffective praise • Shows genuine pleasure

and concern • Is impersonal, mechanical

and robotic • shows verbal and non-

verbal variety • Shows bland uniformity

• Specifies the particulars of an accomplishment

• Is restricted to global comments so students are not sure what was performed well.

• Is offered in recognition of noteworthy effort on difficult tasks

• Is offered equally for both easy and difficult tasks

• Attributes success to effort implying that

• Attributes success to ability, luck, or other external factors.

• similar success can be expected in the future

• Fosters intrinsic motivation to continue to pursue goals

• Fosters extrinsic motivation to perform only to receive more praise

• Is delivered without disrupting the communicative flow of ongoing interaction

• Disrupts the communicative flow of ongoing interaction

Energy: What is classroom energy? Energy is what you react when you walk out of the class period and say to yourself, “Wow! That was a great class. Energy is an aura of creativity sparkled by the interaction of students; energy draws students toward more attainment. Both teachers and students take energy with them when they leave the classroom and bring it back the next day. Learning approaches:

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Approach

Role

Oral/situational Learner listens to teacher and repeats; no control over content or methods

Audioliguial Learner has little control; reacts to teacher direction; passive, reactive role

Communicative Learner has an active, negotiative role, should contribute as well as receive

Total Physical Response TPR† Learner is a listener and performer; little influence over content and none over methodology

The Silent Way Learners learn though a systematic analysis; must become independent and autonomous

Community Language Learning Learners are member of a social group or community; move from dependence to autonomy as learning progresses

The Natural Approach Learners play an active role and have a relatively high degree of control over content language production

† To be discussed later.

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Some universal teaching principles:

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Transfer of

learning

Multiple sense

learning

Meaningful

material

Primacy and End

Reinforcement

Over learning

Feedback

Active learning

Whole or part

learning Spaced learning

Universal learning

principles


Some universal learning principles: These principles are so significant because they affect both teachers and students. And it is important to use the proper principle to have the maximum effect.

1) Whole or part learning: work from known to unknown. This principle actually deals with separate parts and segments rather than unified block of material.

2) Spaced learning: spaced learning at reasonable intervals is usually superior to massed learning if you want long-term retention of the material.

3) Active learning: students here are involved in the learning process so they learn effectively.

4) Feedback: it is important to use two-way communication in every session.

5) Over learning: over learning is learning until one has perfect recall and then learning it some more. The repetition is so important to recall but it is important to involve students in this process.

6) Reinforcement: learning that is rewarded is much more likely to be retained.

7) Primary and End: students keep the start (primacy) and the finish (end) but they forget the middle so teachers should emphasize it.

8) Meaningful material: it means the motivation that is existed for students to learn information that would be useful in the future.

9) Multiple-sense learning: psychology states that trainees learn 80 % out of sight, 11% by hearing and 9 % by other senses combined. So sight provides most information for students and we consequently emphasize visual aids.

10) Transfer of learning: it depends on the similarity between what was learned and what occurs out of classroom.

Session models: We divide session models into two types:

1. Theory-session model 2. Skill-session model

Theory-session model: This session is used to present information (facts, knowledge or principles) This session is divided into three segments: AO 093-726240


1- Introduction: it is intended to raise interest, check knowledge, orient and motivate.

2- The body: it includes explanation and activity. 3- The conclusion: it includes review, test, link, clarify

and finish. Time allocation: If you have 40 minutes for a theory session you give 8 minutes for introduction and conclusion and 32 minutes for the body. In this sense we emphasize you plan your time schedule in advance. Skill –session model: The situation is easier when working with the skill-session model because you can actually see the training performing the task and applying the content of the session directly. In the skill-session model, the physical activity is what the skill-session is all about. This model has three types: The introduction: it displays the objective(s) for the entire session; it announces the topic and shows the students how this particular task fits in the whole system. The body: it includes the following steps:

1. Show: here you show the students of the objectives clearly and perfectly.

2. Show and Tell: show and tell each skill step as set out in the task. 3. Check of understanding: this is the initial feedback (for both you and

your students) and it is a useful technique to measure the performance but remember two points:

Don’t let one student answer everything –give others a chance-.

Make sure that all your students stress your most important goals.

4. Practice: students must practice at least 50% of the total time allocated for the body of the session, so if the body of your session 20 minutes you should give the students 10 minutes at least of the time allocated.

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Provide sufficient materials for the task to be carried out at least three or four times. Be sure to supervise the students throughout the practice period. Be on the lookout for unusual practice, untidy housekeeping, and incorrect methods. Correct errors in a constructive manner. Watch for a student who is lost or confused, and spend more time with a slow student. The conclusion: Briefly review the steps and key points (using questions). You can write these questions on the board for emphasis. Teaching needs analysis Actually we want answers for two questions:

What is being done now? What should be done (either now or in the future)?

If we find gap between the two, we can decide whether training is likely to close it. If training can close the gap, then our collected data become the basis for deciding:

The content and method of training Which people need the training (target population)

Teaching Needs Analysis is a three-stage procedure: 1. Surveillance 2. Investigation 3. Analysis

1- Surveillance: In this stage we review the data and documents to have an up-to-date and broad picture of the total performance. 2- Investigation: You undertake an investigation when you suspect a performance gap; the purpose of the investigation is to gather more specific and detailed data in the pertinent area. Investigation can be conducted in the following ways:

Observation Interview Questionnaires

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Psychological tests 3- Analysis: It involves the examination of incoming data in order to eliminate invalid information; we analyze the following headings:

Organization analysis: it includes the statements and objectives of a given organization and the human resources available and the performance quality.

Job analysis: it defines the skills, knowledge, and standards for a given job.

Individual analysis: it is intended to diagnose individual performance.

Creating the session plan When we create a plan we have to take the following points into consideration: It is essential to have a session plan otherwise the structure is going to be disjointed. The plan should be clearly defined. Allow enough time to prepare an adequate plan.

Advantages of session plan It is your road map to remind you where you want to go and how to decide. Here are some points related:

1. SP‡reminds you of the content of the session to keep on course. 2. SP reminds you of the techniques and summaries. 3. SP helps you to time the session and finish on time. 4. SP indicates what visual aids you need to present a particular point

when you need them.

How to write a session plan? You can’t set the session plan unless you identify the training objectives and when you set this plan take the following points into consideration:

1. Decide what content is relevant to the state objective. 2. Grade the session content into must know, should know and could

know.

‡ SP: Session Plan

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3. Arrange the content in logical order. 4. Select basic resources. 5. Select the training techniques. 6. Estimate segment time.

How to organize an SP When you want to organize an SP follow the following layout: Session Plan Sheet Program title:-------------------------------------------------- Session title:--------------------------------------------------- Total time:----------------------------------------------------- Objective(s):-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Visual aids--------------------------------- Special actions before session: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. Time

Modus Operandi

Main Points

Details

X minutes

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When you prepare a lesson, calculate time by starting at 0 minutes. During the session you can check at a glance whether you are ahead of, on or behind time.

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Latin formal. List every technique you use (some trainers use capitals, or different colors inks to highlight questions, activities and so on.

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You insert here introduction, body and conclusion. You can include the should/could know material that you can include or delete as time allows.

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Here you include everything to be said and done in the session. With the passage of time this field becomes optional as a reserve memory bank or anyone who can use your plan.


Assessment & Measurement Methods

We define assessment and measurement in terms of four areas of outcomes:

1. Reaction 2. Learning 3. Results

Categories of Students

Experts in the field of teaching have developed many names for students’ categories but the four most recognized are Visual, Tactile, Auditory, and Kinesthetic. Learning methods How learners learn What learners do Visual Through their eyes Notice details around

them. Tactile Through touching They learn more when

they touch objects (they are good at machines and physical procedures)

Auditory Through their ears They learn more by hearing rather than seeing. They can memorize more than the other methods.

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Simply you can define this term in like or hate of students to your lesson. It can be measured by interview or questionnaire after the program. Also we can depend on the informal discussion

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It can be measured by tests during or after the test. as a teacher you will have to construct your own tests of teaching outcomes .

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Here we can discuss the performance of students. you can use reports and records (the report indicates the quality of your teaching, advantages and disadvantages. Here the teacher can build the data so you can compare your inference on logical basis.


Kinesthetic Through movement They need to carry out physically to understand

In this sense you have to define your students’ category which in

turn would enhance the process for more flexibility. So you have to answer the question which category best describes your students.

You can check your students’ category through this simple questionnaire:

Always Sometimes Never

a. I see on the page in my mind o o o b. I write down several times o o o c. I associate it with things I already

know o o o

d. I repeat it aloud or in my mind o o o e. I use movement to help me

remember o o o

f. I underline or highlight in my book o o o g. I imagine situations I can use it o o o

Assessment Report: This report presents data a bout a given course at one hand and

constitutes a historical record on the other hand. This report includes:

Quality aspects Quantity aspects

The environment of the course Numbers of attendants

Teachers’ proposals Satisfactory amount

Training tools The length of course

Targets achieved Tests and pass rate

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Teaching methods: Teaching methods are categorized as follows: Questioning Lecture Presentation Discovery These methods are of some advantages and disadvantages and the

following chart shows them:

Method Advantages Disadvantages Questioning You can intercept the

students and his background

Some students feel embarrassed to be questioned and here we refer to the students’ categories.

Lecture It is a direct way to present the materials where the students are mere recipient without affecting the materials.

The problem here is the teacher is the master and the students play minor role or no role at all.

Presentation This method simplifies the action for more flexible understanding and here the teacher should have the tools to present the materials.

Sometimes the lack of materials is an obstacle which creates a problem in assimilating the ideas conveyed.

Discovery It shows the thoughts Students here are AO 093-726240


and points simply as to show someone a place on a map.

guided directly by the teacher who plays a principal role here so students are so dependent in terms of this method.

Actually the method of questioning is crucial in the process because

it enjoys the dynamic feature of exchange; in other words the teacher asks and the student listens then the student responds and the teacher listens.

It is recommended for teachers to preplan their questions and that doesn’t mean that you can’t use spontaneous questions which arise during the session. Questions are divided within two categories:

Open questions (general) Closed questions (specific) The rate of unemployment is so high. What are the basic causes for

that? (Open question): students can draw out of broad possibilities. Unemployment of cotton workers was high last year. What is the reason behind that? (Closed question). Here there is a limited area of drawing answers. Funnel-shaped series of questions

1. Initial open

2. Less open 3. Relatively

closed 4. closed

The first question is primary question and the other questions either

planned or spontaneous are secondary questions.

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Questioning techniques: experts divided them into five types:

Overhead questions: here the question is hanged over students’ heads and no one knows who will answer that makes the entire group think.

Direct question: name the person to answer; it is used for shy person.

Combined questions: it mixes the two last techniques where you as a question then you pick up a student to answer.

Relay questions: a student asks a question and the teacher relays the question back to the group.

DOS DONT’S Distribute your questions equally Avoid regular order Use direct question for inattentive student

Don’t use long question

Use easy questions at the beginning of the session to warm-up your students

Avoid the leading questions because they provide the answer so they can’t be a useful device. You always try to speak English, don’t you?

Rephrase your questions if your students don’t understand the first form

Don’t overuse yes/no questions. Avoid using ambiguous questions.

The rhetorical questions: it needs no answer for example to ask: “What is wrong with the world?”

Remember: questions are so critical because they involve the inactive students.

Here are some dos and don’ts about the questioning method: Listening: Listening is so significant device for the following reasons:

1. To identify what students say. 2. To encourage students that he or she has your attention. 3. Promote the listening behavior in the group. Responding:

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it is more productive to listen to students without interrupting them and try to identify the main points students saying; this process is known as Listening for Meaning

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Maintain eye contact to show that you pay attention and reward students for having attempted to answer.

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Ask your students to speak up and other students to listen carefully


There are two ways for teacher to consider students’ responding: o Paraphrasing: it is repeating the major points in

explicit language that will allow students to judge that the teacher understands the answer correctly.

o Probing: it is a mixture of open question, paraphrase and funnel sequence.

Total Physical Response TPR It was developed by James Asher. This method relieves the pressure on students to speak before they are ready to do so allowing students to answer without fear or hesitation. It is helpful at early stages of learning when students are not able to produce a verbal response. In fact research shows that many students go through a silent period before they begin to speak. During this period they require intense listening to acquire the language. At the beginning use movement to present the action then command the action without movement. You can use pictures such as a plane and ask your students to point to the pilot for instance. TPR is also helpful to present and clarify tenses. Working in Pairs and Groups: Working in pairs and groups is so helpful because students can collaborate on answers and rehearse them before speaking in front of the whole class. Face-to-face interaction simulates real-life social contact encouraging the use of eye contact, proper intonation, emotional tone, exclamation, etc which are difficult when reciting in front of the class. Forming the groups: You will want to give each student in the class the opportunity to work with as many different partners or groups as possible during the course. You might assign partners and/or groups at the beginning of each week or even at the beginning of each class. You can simply have students sitting next to or in front of and behind

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each other. Sometimes you may want to have students choose their own partners or groups. No matter how you assign the groups, you will want one member of each group to as a leader. it is the leader’s task to keep the group work smoothly and talking in English. The leader should take any necessary notes and report any conclusion to the class.

!Remember that every student be given the opportunity to act as a group leader. Establish a time limit. This will help keep students on task (e.g. 5 minutes). Walk around the class and monitor groups’ task. Encourage students to speak in English only. Answer any question or provide any language needed. Students make mistakes but don’t interrupt to check but keep them go ahead. Pair or group work can result in a noisy in the classroom, but remember- it’s the sound of students communicating in English! Using Realia: The use of realia in the classroom will motivate students to make them realize the relevance of their language study. Realia includes anything from the real world: native speakers, radio and TV programs, films, records, and tapes, printed materials such as brochures, tickets, schedules, ads, maps, menus, and objects such as food, clothing, toy vehicles and furniture, photos and other pictures. The case study: It is description of an event that involves some problem or problem situation. The description often has some narrative elements together with sufficient background material to make the problem seem real and allow the development of real solutions. The case is usually presented in written form, although, students can use visual and/or audio inputs. The amount of detail may

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vary greatly; for example, many case studies involve about one half of a printed page but some can be as long as 50 pages. Case study is virtually appreciated for:

The case study encourages transfer of training closer to the real world.

It involves students in practical situations. It broadens the process of perception and analysis.

On the other hand we find some disadvantages for this technique:

It gives a tunnel view. Students are somehow detached because they have no commitment to solving the problem.

Sometimes longer case study leads to slow the pace of learning.

Students concentrate on quick solutions rather than on developing skills of analysis and application of theory.

Case study requirement: 1. The case seems real. 2. The data given allow the

development of realistic solutions 3. The content of the case

demonstrates the principles you wish to establish.

4. The level of detail in the case study can be effectively dealt with the time available.

The Role Play: The difference between the case study and the role play is that the former is a description of a situation and the latter is acting for this situation so they are so interrelated to each other.

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Training tools: 1st-Boards and board work: There are three types of boards:

The chalkboard: it is familiar since the days of school. The whiteboard: it has a glossy white surface on which you write with a special pen “marker”.

Paperboard: a number of sheets of blank paper are clipped to a board for teacher. You can take it from room to another.

Board check: check the following for your board: Have a duster or an eraser handy. Be sure that you have a sufficient quantity of chalk or pens and the colors you need. Clean the board.

2nd-Overhead Projection technology: It has three types available for the teacher:

1. The overhead projector 2. Computer-assisted visual packages. 3. The overhead visualizer.

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An Approach to Methodology of Teaching English

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