This essay is
about how i would approach teaching English, using a personal touch and
explaining why it would be the most beneficial for my students. Teaching
English as a profession is such that requires one being able to handle all
levels such as Beginners, elementary, intermediate, upper intermediate and high
level. According to Oxbridge scale of leveling, they are S1, P2, P3, P4 and P5.
So, in order to do this successfully, one has to consider a lot of factors and
also apply different approaches.
The first
method is the grammar- translation method. This method actually focuses more on
writing and not speaking, the goal is not to develop the students on how to
communicate but develops them on lexicon-grammar such as verb conjugations,
tenses, lists of verbs, prepositions, etc. Attention is also paid more on
reading comprehension passages, answering questions, making inferences based on
understanding of the passage, and little or no attention is paid on
pronunciation. Organization of the syllabus focuses more on lexicon grammatical
and task based syllabus. There is no interaction between teacher and student, students
memorize Target Language vocabulary and words. The Oxbridge system is
completely different, their method entails using different activities to
explain things to students such as Structure, Vocabulary and Topic activities.
Their goal is to develop students´ ability to interact without using their
mother tongue (L1), more of students talking time (STT) than Teachers´ Talking Time
(TTT), vocabulary and grammar are initiated by giving examples to students and
allowing them to make a free use of them as much as they want until the teacher
is convinced that every student understands the usage of these words. They also
emphasize on students speaking rather than writing, teachers are seen as models
while students are like communicators. Students are made to understand the
definition and usage of vocabulary and grammar, and not to memorize them for
examination purposes. There is also a good rapport between students and
teachers, and this relaxes the students and motivates them to learn, also
translation is discouraged. Fluency is also a key factor rather than knowing
the theoretical aspect of grammar and building productive and receptive skills in
learners. In my opinion, I would like to adopt a little of the grammar-
translation approach as a last option in terms of doing a little translation for
the beginners level (S1), but I would also follow more of the Oxbridge method
in terms of fluency and flow of language. For other levels, I would adopt the
system of conducting examination and evaluating the students´ level of
understanding. An example is the use of gap-fills, another example for grammar
-translation is when trying to explain the verb` to eat´ to children in the
Beginners class, I could explain this by making a sentence like `I eat
breakfast´ accompanying with a picture of cereal. `I would name this method, grammar-trans
Oxbridge language method.
Another
method of teaching is the Direct (Berlet) Method, this is completely against
translation. Objects like realia, pictures and pantomime are used to make
students understand explanation of words and their usage. This method
emphasizes on demonstration and not translation and explanation, communication
by learners is highly encouraged by making students use language in its right
context, pronunciation is introduced from the beginning of the course and then
grammar. The skills of listening, speaking, reading and writer are developed by
students. Specific language used at different situations like banks, shopping,
geography, money or weather, this method is very similar to that of Oxbridge in
terms of developing different skills in students like using skills such as
English for Specific purpose (ESP). For example teaching medical, business, law
English etc. Oxbridge method is
different from Berlitz method in terms
of discouraging the students from writing, students do not do much reading,
pronunciation is not done frequently only when
it has to do with grammatical errors. As for wrong pronunciation of
words, Oxbridge tries not to interrupt students because it could lead to
frustration or discouragement of students. For example, a beginners level
student who has no vocabulary, or an elementary level student might not know
how to pronounce some words, once they experience this pronunciation of words
several times, they could say things like`this language is too difficult, i´m
getting frustrated´, they say this using their mother tongue. I would approach
the student by saying `don´t be frustrated, it´s a gradual process, when you
practice, it will be easier´. I´ll recommend things like watching of English subtitled
movies, listening to audio cds, reading and explaining target language,
especially for the elementary level,
making the students practice how to use these target language, practice
dictation sometimes and also practice vocabulary using the vocabulary activity,
but will give examples first before they use them. If they have to listen to
audio cds, I would make them act or demonstrate the roles or words,
pronunciation will be a key issue, for the grammar, I would make them use the
affirmative and negative use of verbs like `to have´, `I have a pen´ or I don´t
have a pen´ could be demonstrated by picking up and dropping of a pen. I could call
this method the electronic-language method.
However,
third method is the audio-lingua method, this just drills students in using
grammatical sentence patterns. This is based on theoretical learning rather
than practical, learners could overcome habits of mother tongue and form habits
of target language speakers. Learners are prevented from making mistakes, they
are reinforced to develop correct habits. Oral skills receive more development
rather than providing explicit grammar rules. The Oxbridge approach is
different from this approach because students are encouraged to be active
learning than passive. Teachers use activities such as vocabulary, structure
and topic activities, audio-lingua approach is never their style. Emphasis is
made more on speaking, developing fluency and flow of language, starting from
learning simple words to learning difficult ones keeping that rhythm. In my
opinion, one would approach this method using it for students in different
levels such as Beginners, Elementary, Intermediate, Upper intermediate and High
level .This would be useful for the vocabulary activity especially, students
can be made to identify the target language, practice how to pronounce, and
then if it is a dialogue audio cd on vocabulary, i´ll use realia such as
objects around, pictures, drawing and writing on a white board. This will be
beneficial to students to get used to sounds of words, this can be played
severally, by so doing, students find it difficult to forget this.
The fourth
method of teaching is silent way method, the teacher is passive and the
students develop inner criteria for new correctness. Students are allowed to
speak more at length, the silence of a teacher encourages group co-operation,
students are not praised or criticized because they will feel less reliant.
This method is a little bit similar to what Oxbridge teaches, teachers are
taught to have less teachers´talking time(TTT) and more of students´ talking
time(STT) so as to encourage them to speak
and develop their fluency. But it also negates what Oxbridge teaches because
teachers are taught to praise their students but they are not to overdo it because
they could feel flattered and criticism of student is not allowed by Oxbridge
because they could feel less confident. In
my opinion, I would adopt this method of teaching because I would want to
motivate the students to speak the language without feeling shy. For example,
to express this in a class of aged group students in beginners level( S1) , as
a teacher, I would explain `how are you?´
by showing a picture of two people shaking hands, then I´ll make them repeat
after me. Things like `where do you live? ´ by showing the picture of a house,
and then repeat. At this level, my concentration will be more on pictures and
repetition of what they´ve been taught. I wouldn´t use a syllabus or the
Oxbridge activities for this group, I would plan the class doing more of
salutations and demonstration of words because one needs to be patient and slow
with this level making sure there´s interference of the mother- tongue.
Furthermore, another approach is suggetopedia whereby
students are encouraged to discarding all the barriers that might discourage
them from learning, displaying colour posters with pictures as target language.
Students work from textbooks containing dialogues, vocabulary is emphasized,
and teachers initiate interaction with groups and individuals. Students respond
non-verbally and eventually, they respond more appropriately even initiating
interactions. There´s also reading and writing by student which opposes what
Oxbridge does. There is less reading and no writing, teachers do not write on
the board for instance, not even the
students, dialogue is also used to demonstrate activities, grammar practice is
quite high, then vocabulary follows but from simple to complex words. Oxbridge
does not display pictures on walls because most of the clients are taught in
offices and not school. That´s why lessons are planned starting off with quick
questions, then structure, vocabulary and topic activities. In my opinion, I
think I like this method of displaying
posters with pictures of because students
who are still struggling with words, like the elementary level students can be
encouraged, negative feeling of learning could be eliminated by giving` thumbs
up´ for a good performance or `very
good´.
Lastly, total
physical response is another method, it deals with modeling, students’
demonstration, observation of actions
by students, etc. It is actually fun and
less stressful and no language translation. Oxbridge has a similar method which
they use a lot for low level learners, for upper intermediate or high level
learners. An example is if I wanted to explain a phrasal verb like `sit down´or
stand up to a level P2 student, I would explain it by demonstrating it in
class, or by playing the game `Simon says´, or by consulting the internet for
more ideas.
In
conclusion, one would say that all the methods are geared towards achieving a
common goal which is making learners learn successfully, this should be a very
important goal of a teacher. Successful teaching can be approached in several
ways be it traditional or modern, what should be the concern of any teacher is
using ones teaching skills, and approaching it very well because the end justifies
the means´. All I can say is that training with Oxbridge has been an eye opener
for me in the teaching profession.