Managing a language school includes also a necessity to answer to the question of how we will teach foreign languages. This issue should not be left totally up to the decision of a teacher. Both the school’s methodologist and manager should also have some influence on the teaching policy and be aware of the pros and cons of a given choice.
If we are not a school that uses a single, defined method, like Callan or Scandinavian one, let’s enjoy the diversity we may offer to our groups. Separate teaching methods, although already developed through generations, today give us a range of possibilities that only need some dusting off and adjustment to specifics of work with our students to make our language school an effective and modern one.
Let’s look at slightly forgotten teaching methods to have an insight into the potential we can move around at will:
- The grammar translation method. In the past associated exclusively with Latin and an analysis of sentences word by word. How boring. But its original purpose was to improve the efficiency of reading comprehension and translation. A new material enriched with grammar descriptions that explained the complexities of a foreign language, became easier to internalize mainly during self-learning. At the same time the multitude of examples in the text made it easier to understand and remember. This works a treat when students are preparing for exams and helps to assimilate and remember various uses of given grammar structures or vocabulary. It provides and explains sample sentences for specific contexts. This provides students with descriptions of grammar illustrated by many examples. The key to their use for contemporary teachers is to prepare a set of sentences with a given grammar difficulty whose usage is most likely in daily life. One could also venture to make a list of quotes from the most popular movies, ads, songs, books, to show how frequent and useful is the use of a given grammar structure.
- Direct method. One of the earliest teaching methods used already by slaves in ancient Rome. They learnt language in a natural way of imitation as they were forced to start communicating. Today this method is perfect for small groups, based on natural contact with language and the teacher and abstaining from use of mother tongue. Exclusive use of a foreign language enhances perception and facilitates learning of everyday phrases. Its use will also work best for role-playing. It is worthwhile using props, drawings, body language, to explain as much as possible without a dictionary or without providing the word or phrase in student’s mother tongue, regardless of whether the goal of a given task is comprehension or encouraging for speaking.
- Audiolingual method. The method allegedly used by the army during the war. It aims to develop linguistic habits in a mechanical, purely reproductive way. A command provokes a reaction; a question provokes an answer, or possibly a narrow range of answers to choose from. As an example, if someone hears the question: “How are you?”, they answer mechanically “I am fine, thank you” and deems this communication situation stage to be complete. This works very well with small kids and groups of elderly people who are just starting their learning process. Pros of the method? Fast effects of stimulus-response kind. Today it can be successfully used in those phases of the lesson when new material is internalized through many controlled exercises supporting language drills. They aim to automate language structures in the minds of the learners.
- Cognitive method, usually set in opposition to the audio-lingual method. A slogan giving today many nice associations, namely that using language should be creative not recreative. Perfect to practice speaking and abstract thinking through a foreign language. Its assumptions are based on a claim that internalisation of a language is a process of trial and error, which one needs to be subjected to during learning. It fosters an approach that an error is not a denigrating element but a natural outcome of the learning process. It is perfect for conversations, stimulation of the speaking potential. This method works also in role-playing or lessons outside school. But if it is to be effective and actually encourage students to speak and make creative statements, the teachers need to curb their ambitions to correct mistakes and to aim at excellence of learners’ utterances.
- Total Physical Response (TPR) Method. Associating words with movement, activating the entire brain. Students use their entire body to pretend they do the things they speak about. Perfect for teaching of commands, the imperative, teaching of kids and in practicing pronunciation. A stress-free method conducive for relaxations and fun during classes. Certainly attractive for the youngest learners, but it can be also resourcefully used in a group of adults, particularly if they have problems with phonetic differentiation of similarly sounding words or articulation of certain sounds. The teacher demonstrates how to arrange the lips when pronouncing a given sound in a word (yawning, smiling, speaking through the teeth etc.), and the students repeat this arrangement when saying a given word until they learnt to say it correctly.
- Counselling Language Learning (CLL) method. A relatively young one, based on therapeutic experiences. Good for a group with persons fearing speaking aloud. It helps to adjust to the language and slowly enter the process of active participation in classes, without forcing anyone to speak aloud. It requires assignment to the group of teachers who are very gentle, emphatic but also resourceful. The focus is on making shy people speak.
Knowing the above methods and techniques will help you put together, depending on the group or situation, your own approach, so-called communicative approach, which assumes drawing on the already developed methodological concepts, combining them and designing the most effective classes in your school. But is also equally important to make the assumption that it is impossible to obtain an error-free command of a foreign language system. Whoever promises it is possible, may prove to be untrustworthy.