ESL TEACHING METHODOLOGY

By: Vianchery Atencio

An approach to language teaching has been developed which attempts to overcome the weaknesses of the "structural approach" . This is known as the "communicative approach" to language teaching.

This new approach is based on viewing language as a combination of:

• Linguistic Structures

• Situational Settings

• Communicative Acts

Differences between Structural Approach and

Communicative Approach

COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

It is assumed that exposure to lots of conversation from a native English speaker will produce a high level of aptitude in the students.

Communicative approach tends to create communicative confidence in combination with many entrenched errors.

STRUCTURAL APPROACH

It promotes accuracy and tends to inhibit communicative confidence.

Students memorize vocabulary and grammar rules through repetition and rote learning.

THE PPP APPROACH TO

LANGUAGE TEACHING

PPP is one of the most common teaching methodologies for ESL. At the same time , it is the most modern methodology employed by professional schools around the world.

• Presentation.

• Practice .• Productio

n.

PRESENTATION STAGEThis is the first (and perhaps most crucial) stage to the language learning process, as it usually has a profound influence on the stages that follow and governs whether those stages are effective or not.

The new language is builds using whatever English the students have already learned or have some access to.

It involves the building of a situation requiring natural and logical use of the new language.

PRESENTATION STAGE HAS TWO IMPORTANT ASPECTS

PRESENTATIONS SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST SOME OF THE FOLLOWING FEATURES:

• Meaningful• memorable • realistic

Examples: Logical connection; context; clear models; sufficient meaningful repetition; "staging" and "fixing"; briefness and recycling.

At lower levels, pictures and body language are typical ways of presenting new language.  As students progress, dialogues and text can also be used.  

EXAMPLES OF PRESENTATION ACTIVITIES

PRACTICE STAGE

At this stage, the students will practice what they are learning through activities that require them to speak English.

PRACTICE ACTIVITIES SHOULD BE:

• They should be appropriate to the language being learned and the level and competence of the students.

• Need to be clear and understandable. • They should also be directed toward

promoting a considerable degree of confidence in the students.

Production is the most important stage of communicative language teaching. It is an advanced form of practice that requires students to think on their own rather than completing the more closely targeted practice exercises.

PRODUCTION STAGE

EXAMPLES OF PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES :

Situational role-plays, debates, discussions, problem-solving, narratives, descriptions, quizzes and games.

DEVELOPING FLUENCY

The PPP methodology can help produce fluency because it builds from least student involvement to most student involvement, giving students a chance to learn and demonstrate their increasing abilities.

ENGAGE, STUDY AND ACTIVATEESA is different from PPP in that students move more freely among the three stages in this methodology . Jeremy Harmer noted that students do not always come to the classroom motivated to learn; some students need their teachers to engage them and create in them a desire for language mastery.

THANK YOU