ELT Approaches and Methodology

It focuses on grammar over everything else.

There is a lack of attention to the spoken language.

The use of L1 is the language of instruction.

• The Direct Method

• The Situational Approach

• Grammar Translation Method

This method aimed to reconstruct the conditions that children have when learning their first language naturally. This approach focuses on good pronunciation, with spontaneous use of the language, no translation, and little grammar analysis.

• The Direct Method

• The Lexical Approach

• Dogme ELT

Lessons using this method were highly teacher-centered and the learners did not initiate interaction as this can lead to errors. A typical lesson would begin with the learners listening to a text and then repeating it. The teacher would then select a part of the text that highlights the use of a certain structure and provide a range of different kinds of drills for the learners to practice chorally and then individually.

• The Lexical Approach

• Audio-lingual Method

• Situational Approach

Grammar was not explained but learners were encouraged to arrive at an understanding of its meaning and use through the situation in which it was presented.

• The Communicative Approach

• Audio-lingual Method

• The Situational Approach

In this approach, the value of communicative competence (Hymes, 1966) came to take priority over grammatical accuracy.

• The Communicative Approach

• The Silent Way

• Total Physical Response

A typical lesson would involve the teacher briefly modeling a sound or word and pointing to it on the colored chart or a particular Cuisenaire rod. The learners repeat, firstly after the model and then are cued to produce it by the teacher pointing to the color or rod.

Feedback on their performance is given non-verbally in the form of gestures and facial expressions.

• The Communicative Approach

• The Silent Way

• Total Physical Response

The classroom is brightly decorated, the seats are comfortable, baroque music is played and the teacher speaks in a soft comforting tone. The use of yogic breathing techniques and occasional gymnastic exercises are also promoted.

• Suggestopedia

• The Silent Way

• Total Physical Response

Vocabulary is prized over grammar in this approach. The teaching of chunks and set phrases has become common in English as a foreign or a second language.

• The Eclectic Approach

• The Silent Way

• The Lexical Approach

A method of language education that combines various approaches and methodologies to teach language depending on the aims of the lesson and the abilities of the learners. Different teaching methods are borrowed and adapted to suit the requirement of the learners.

• The Eclectic Approach

• The Silent Way

• The Lexical Approach

Planning takes place after the lesson, not before it. Thornbury wanted the lessons to be driven by the immediate needs and interests of the learners rather than by materials teachers prepare in advance.

• Communicate Language Teaching

• The Eclectic Approach

• Dogme ELT