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What Methods of FLT. Method is a plan for presenting a certain language material to be learned. The subject “Methods of FLT” deals with Language education that is the teaching and learning of a language. It can include improving a learner's mastery of her or his native language, but the term is more commonly used with regard to second language acquisition, which means learning a foreign or second language. The field of linguistics and teaching in the 20th century is marked by the development of different foreign language teaching methods and approaches. Some have no or small following and others are widely used.
Although modern foreign language teaching has adopted completely new methods, the work of language professionals in the period between 1950 and 1980 contributed significantly to scientific views in the field of second language teaching and learning.
We distinguish General Methods and Special Methods.
General Methods – Methods of FLT irrespective of the language taught (whether it is English, German or French).
Special Methods – Methods of teaching a particular foreign language, in our case Methods of teaching English.
Methods as a science and its relation with other sciences. “Methods of foreign language teaching” is closely related to other sciences such as pedagogics, psychology, physiology, linguistics, and some others. Pedagogics is the science concerned with the teaching and education of the younger generation. Since Methods also deals with the problems of teaching and education, it is most closely related to pedagogics. To study foreign language teaching one must know pedagogics. One branch of pedagogics is called didactics. Didactics studies general ways of teaching in schools. Methods, as compared to didactics, studies the specific ways of teaching a definite subject.
Psychology – the scientific study of the mind and how it influences behavior. If a teacher wants his/her students to speak English, he/she should know the psychology of habits and skills, the ways of forming them. Effective learning of a foreign language depends on the students’ memory. Psychology helps Methods in selecting techniques for teaching and learning, i.e. in how to teach in a most effective way, for example, under what conditions students can learn words, phrases, sentences more effectively, or how to ensure students memorizing new themes in an easier way.
Physiology is the study of life. Physiology helps us understand how the body works, from the smallest part (cells) all the way to the whole body. It helps us understand how different parts of the body work together. One of the forms of human behaviour is language behavior, i.e. speech response to different communication situations. Therefore in teaching a foreign language we must bear in mind that students should acquire the language they study as a behaviour, as something that helps people to communicate with each other in various real situations of intercourse.
Linguistics – the scientific study of languages. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields: the study of language form, of language meaning, and of language in context.
The first is the study of language structure, or grammar.
The study of language meaning is concerned with how languages employ logical structures and real-world references to convey process and assign meaning.
Language in its broader context considers the origins of language; how children or adults acquire language and so on. Methods successfully uses the results of linguistic investigations in the selection and arrangement of language material for teaching.
Speak about the fundamental principles foreign language teaching should be based upon and name the specific principles which, you think, must be observed in teaching English at schools.
The methodology of FLT is based on fundamental principles of didactics:
- the principle of conscious approach;
- communicative approach;
- activity;
- visuality;
- accessibility and durability;
- individualization;
The Principle of Conscious Approach. It is one of the leading principles because conscious learning plays an important role in language acquisition, enlarges intellectual capacities of learners, and helps to understand new concepts and express new ideas in the target language. The acquisition of a FL means the transition to thinking in a second language. For this it is necessary to acquire the ability of establishing direct associations between concepts and their means of expression in the target language.
The Principle of Activity. The didactic principle of activity presupposes a constant accumulation of knowledge and active participation of learners in the process of instruction. We usually differentiate between intellectual, emotional and speech activities, which, if taken together, ensure favourable conditions to master the language.
The Principle of Visuality. The principle of visuality or ostensive principle is realized in direct and visual modes of semantizing or explaining meanings, i.e. in the demonstration and naming by the teacher of objects, pictures and actions wherefrom the learners infer the meanings of words and expressions used. Visuality in methodology of FLT creates favourable conditions for sensual perceptions and brings another reality in instructive and educative process.
The Principle of Accessibility. In FLT this principle is realized in conformity with teaching strategies to the pupils’ capacities so that they don’t experience insurmountable difficulties. The teaching materials should meet requirements of linguistic and psychological factors:
1. correspond to the age and mental abilities of the learners; be neither difficult nor easy;
2. be properly graded;
3. be heuristic in form and structure;
4. be presented in such a way that the pupils have to solve one problem at a time.
The Principle of Durability. This principle assumes particular importance in FLT because it is largely concerned with a constant growth of language and speech units, words, word-combinations, idioms, clichés which are to be stored and retained in the pupils’ memory so that the learners could use them in listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing.
The Principle of Individualization. This principle takes into account individual peculiarities of the learner, his background knowledge, what he knows, his spheres of interest, etc., i.e. cognitive styles. Cognitive styles have been defined as characteristic mental and psychological behaviours that “serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment”.
Except for the basic didactic principles Methodology of teaching English uses specific principles that are applied in teaching a foreign language. Since the aim of teaching English at school is to teach the pupils how to use the target language for communicative needs’, one of the main methodological principles is the principle of communicative approach. It means that the pupils should be involved in oral and written communication throughout the whole course of learning English.
There are four types of language activities to be developed in pupils: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each language activity has its own set of actions that are characteristic of this activity, thus special exercises are needed which should be adequate to each activity. So in teaching a particular language activity the teacher faces specific problems that should be solved since the development of each activity requires certain techniques and exercises. This is the application of the principle of a differential approachin teaching English, i.e. each language activity requires special attention on the part of the teacher.
The principle of an inteerated approachis another methodological principle. Pupils do not assimilate sounds, grammar units, lexical items as discrete components of the language, but they acquire them in sentence-patterns, pattern-dialogues related to certain situations. Pupils should use their skills in the four language activities as interdependent parts of their language experience.
The principle of durabilityimplies the ability of a pupil to keep in his memory linguistic and language material he learns of ready access, i.e. the pupil can use units of the language whenever he needs them for oral or written communication. The durability is ensured: – by vivid presentation of material; – by constant revision and drills; – by the use of the material on the part of the learner for communicative needs; – by systematic control; – by constant supervision of pupil’s habits and skills on the part of the teacher.
The principle of conscious approachto language learning means that the language material is acquired consciously, the pupil understands what he learns. Such approach usually contrasts with “mechanical” learning throughout repetitive drill. So the pupils should acquire the rules of the language in order to be able to follow them in the act of Communication.
The principle of activity implies that the pupils should be active participants in the learning process. Activity arises under certain conditions.
The principle of visualizationis very important in teaching English since the process of knowledge gaining begins with sense perception. The use of visualization makes the lessons emotionally coloured, gets the pupils interested and awakens their thought. It creates natural or almost natural situations for the use of the language as a means of communication.
The principle of individualizationis getting very important at present. There always are some individuals in the class who learn more slowly than others, or faster than others. The teacher has to assess the progress of each individual in the class and find the way how to manage the classroom activity so that the slowest learners are not depressed being left behind and the fastest learners are not frustrated by being held back. This principle is achieved: by using the individual cards; by specific selection of exercises for each group of pupils in the class; by the use of additional material, etc.
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