Theory of language: Speech is the basis of language, and structure is the basis of speaking ability. Knowledge of
structures must be linked to situations. Context and meaning have a prominent place.
Theory of learning: Language learning emerges from habit formation. Grammar is learned inductively.
Syllabus: A list of basic structures and sentence patterns arranged in order of presentation.
Learning and Teaching Activities: New sentence patterns are presented in situations and practiced
through drills.
Learner roles: Learners listen and repeat, then respond to questions and commands. Later, learners ask questions
and initiate responses.
Teacher roles: The teacher first sets up situations and models target structures. Then the teacher uses questions,
commands, and other cues to elicit correct responses. In the practice phase, the teacher gathers errors for revision
in subsequent sessions.
Procedure: Stress and intonation practice are followed by the creation of situations for the presentation of new
structures, frequently using realia.
Few language teachers in the 1990s are familiar with the terms Oral Approach or Situational Language Teaching,
which refer to an approach to language teaching developed by British applied linguists from the 1930s to the
1960s.
Background
The origins of this approach began with the work of British applied linguists in the 1920s and 1930s. Two of the
leaders in this movement were Harold Palmer and A. S. Hornby. Both were familiar with the work of such linguists
as Otto Jespersen and Daniel Jones, as well as with the Direct Method. What they attempted was to develop a
more scientific foundation for an oral approach to teaching English than was evidenced in the Direct Method.
Vocabulary control
20s and 30s first, there was a general consensus among language teaching specialists, such as Palmer, that
vocabulary was one of the most important aspects of foreign language learning. A second influence was the
increased emphasis on reading skills as the goal of foreign language study in some countries.
Grammar control
The Oral Approach was the accepted British approach to English language teaching by the 1950s. It is described in
the standard methodology textbooks of the period.
4. Vocabulary selection procedures are followed to ensure that an essential general service vocabulary is covered.
5. Items of grammar are graded following the principle that simple forms should be taught before complex ones. . .
6. Reading and writing are introduced once a sufficient lexical and grammatical basis is established.
Approach
Theory of language
The theory of language underlying Situational Language Teaching can be characterized as a type of British
structuralism. Speech was regarded as the basis of language, and structure was viewed as being at the heart of
speaking ability.
Theory of learning
The theory of learning underlying Situational Language Teaching is a type of behaviorist habit-learning theory. It
address primarily the processes rather than the conditions of learning.
Design
Objectives
The objectives of the Situational Language Teaching method are to teach a practical command of the four basic
skills of language, goals it shares with most methods of language teaching. But the skills are approached through
structure. Accuracy in both pronunciation and grammar is regarded as crucial, and errors are to be avoided at all
costs. Automatic control of basic structures and sentence patterns is fundamental to reading and writing skill, and
this is achieved through speech work. before our pupil read new structures and new vocabulary, we shall teach
orally both the new structure and new vocabulary.
The syllabus
Basic to the teaching of English in Situational Language Teaching is a structural syllabus and a word list. A structural
syllabus is a list of the basic structures and sentence patterns of English, arranged according to their order of
presentation. In Situational Language Teaching, structures are always taught within sentences, and vocabulary is
chosen according to how well it enables sentence patterns to be taught.
Situational Language Teaching employs a situational approach to presenting new sentence patterns and a drill-
based manner of practicing them.
The practice techniques employed generally consist of guided repetition and substitution activities, including
chorus repetition, dictation, drills, and controlled oral-based reading and writing tasks. Other oral-practice
techniques are sometimes used, including pair practice and group work.
Learner roles
In the initial stages of learning, the learner is required simply to listen and repeat what the teacher says and to
respond to questions and commands. The learner has no control over the content of learning and is often regarded
as likely to succumb to undesirable behaviors unless skillfully manipulated by the teacher.
Teacher roles
The teachers function is threefold. In the presentation stage of the lesson, the teacher serves as a model, setting
up situation~ in which the need for the target structure is created and then modeling the new structure for
students to repeat. The teacher is required to be a skillful manipulator, using questions, commands, and other
cues to elicit sentences from the learners. Lessons are hence teacher directed, and the teacher sets the pace.
During the practice phase of the lesson, students are given more of an opportunity to use the language in less
controlled Situations, but the teacher is ever on the lookout for grammatical and structural errors that can form
the basis of subsequent lessons.
The teacher is essential to the success of the method, since the textbook is able only to describe activities for the
teacher to carry out in class.
Situational Language Teaching is dependent upon both a textbook and visual aids. The textbook contains tightly
organized lessons planned around different grammatical structures. The textbook should be used only as a guide
to the learning process. The teacher is expected to be the master of his text book (Pittman 1963: 176).
Procedure
1. Listening practice in which the teacher obtains his students attention and repeats an example of the patterns
or a word in isolation clearly, several times, probably saying it slowly at least once (where . .. is the . .. pen?),
separating the words.
2. Choral imitation
3. Individual imitation
4. Isolation, in which the teacher isolates sounds, words or groups of words which cause trouble
6. Elicitation, in which the teacher, using mime, prompt words, gestures, etc., gets students to ask questions, make
statements, or give new examples of the pattern. .
7. Substitution drilling
8. Question-answer drilling
9. Correction
Objectives: At first oral skills, with great focus on listening comprehension and accurate pronunciation. Later, links
to other skills. Fluency in the use of grammatical patterns is key.
Syllabus: Key items of phonology, morphology, and syntax, accompanied by a lexical syllabus.
Learning and Teaching Activities: Dialogues contextualize key structures and provide opportunities for repetition
and memorization. Drills and pattern- practice focus on grammatical patterns.
Learner roles: Learners respond to stimuli and avoid behaviors leading to error.
Teacher roles: Model the target language and keep learners engaged in verbal interaction with teacher.
Procedure: The presentation of dialogues containing key structures is followed by repetition, adaptation of the
dialogue, selection of key structures, and drilling of these structures.
This approach was developed initially as a reaction to the grammar-translation approach in an attempt to
integrate more use of the target language in instruction.
The goal of this method is to enable the students to speak/communicate in target language.
Lessons begin with a dialogue using a modern conversational style in the target language.
The preferred type of exercise is a series of questions in the target language based on the dialogue of an anecdotal
narrative.
Grammar is taught inductively. Rules are generalized from practice and experience with the target language.
Verbs are used first and systematically conjugated much later after some oral mastery of the target language.
Advanced students read literature for comprehension and pleasure.
The culture associated with the target language is also taught inductively.
TBLT
What is task-based language teaching (TBLT)?
Task-based learning focuses on the use of authentic language through meaningful tasks such as visiting the doctor
or a telephone call. This method encourages meaningful communication and is student-centred.
Characteristics:
Students are encouraged to use language creatively and spontaneously through tasks and problem solving
TBLT is student-centered
Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) is the latest trend in SLL approaches. Although it has produced very positive
results in certain contexts (eg small class sizes of immigrant children), like every method that has preceded it, TBLT
is also revealing its weaknesses. Broady (2006) notes that TBLT may not provide sufficient "Interaction
Opportunities." Bruton (2005) identifies other concerns:
Some students need more guidance and will not or cannot `notice language forms (grammar) or other elements
of accuracy
Students typically translate and use a lot of their L1 rather than the target language in completing the tasks.
What are the student and teacher roles in TBLT?
Teacher Says Teacher Does Students Says Student Does Why?
Presents task in Primes students Students speak among Students prepare Provides practical linguistic
the TL with key themselves to organize either a written or skill building.
vocabulary and and complete task. oral report to When tasks are familiar to
constructions Students present final present to class. students, they are more likely
task (sometimes orally). to be engaged and
motivated.
Students learn languages
through problem-solving.
What are some examples of tasks that can be used in the classroom?
David Nunan (2001) distinguishes between real-world or target tasks, which are communicative acts that we
achieve through language in the world outside the classroom, and pedagogical tasks, which are carried out in the
classroom. I subdivide pedagogical tasks into those with a rehearsal rationale and those with a pedagogical
rationale (Nunan, 2001). The goal of the language teacher is try to develop pedagogical tasks thatare as close to
real-world tasks as possoble, thus creating activities that are meaningful and relevant to students.