Teaching techniques and strategies in foreign languages1

Teaching Techniques and
Strategies in Foreign
Languages
Presented by
Dr. G. Sakinah Abdur-Rashied,
Assistant Professor of
Modern Foreign Languages
Jackson State University


Teaching Techniques and
Strategies in Foreign
Languages
Best Practices in Foreign Language
Teaching and Learning


Methodologies in Foreign
Language Teaching
Grammar-Translation Method (1890-1930)
Cognitive Approach (1940 – 1950)
Audio-Lingual Method (1950-1960)
The Direct Method (1970)
The Natural/Communicative Approach

(1960 – 2000)


Methodologies Continued
Total Physical Response/TPR (1960–

2000)
The Silent Way (1960 – 2000)
Suggestopedia (1960 – 2000)
Community Language Learning/CLL:
(1960 – 2000)
Total Immersion Technique


Grammar
Translation

Cognitive
Approach

Use of dictionaries

Introduction for the first
time of the four skills

Grammar explanations
Exercise drills
Little opportunity for
second-language
acquisition existed

 Listening
 Speaking
 Reading
 Writing

Audio-Lingual
Method

Direct
Method

 Audio tapes and lab

 Discussion in the

 Mimic native speakers

language
 Teacher/student
interaction
 Accuracy in
pronunciation and
oral expression
became the main
intention

 Dialogues recited and

Memorized
 Repetition and
substitution
 Transformation and
translation

Communicative
Approach
Response

Physical

 Tracy Terrell and

 TPR founded by James

Stephen Krashen says
 Acquisition-focused
approach progresses
through three stages:
1. Aural comprehension
2. Early speech production
3. Speech activities

Asher
 Language and body
movement are
synchronized through
imperative commands
 Kinetic movement vs.
rote memorization
 Speech is delayed


The Silent Way

Introduced by Dr. Caleb
Gattegno of Alexandria,
Egypt
 Production before
meaning
 Color-coded phonetics
 No pronunciation model
 Ability to draw students
out orally

 Teacher takes a back seat
 Small group or round-

table required
 No textbook, syllabus in
initial phase
 The silent way truly gives
students a spoken facility


Suggestopedia Method
Based on the Bulgarian
medical doctor, hypnotist,
psychology professor Dr.
Georgi Lozanov and his
techniques of
superlearning This
Avant-garde method is sub
conscious & subliminal
melodic and artistic

 Background classical or
Baroque music
 Soft lights, pillows
Cushions on floor

 Low/no stress focus
 Maximizes natural

holistic talents
 Low/no stress focus
 Breathing exercises to
lead into the “alpha state”
Derivative Programs
1. Donald Schuster
(SALT)
2. Lynn Dhority (ACT)
3. Suzuki Method of
Music learning


Community Language
Learning/CLL
Designed and elaborated by
Charles Curran
 Eases the learner into
gradual independence
and self-confidence in
the target language
 SARD
1. S = Security to foster

student confidence
2. A = Attention or
aggression
( involvement and
frustration)

R = retention and
reflection (what is
internalized and
ultimately reflected
upon)
4. D = discrimination (the
learner can now
discriminate through
classifying a body of
material, seeing how
one concept interrelates
to another previously
presented structure)
3.


Total Immersion Technique
This technique in foreign language pedagogy
“immerses” or “submerges” the student directly
into the target language from the first opening
day or hour of class. There are basically two
types:
1. Effective – begins in hour one wherein the
teacher speaks the foreign language slowly,

clearly, and uses understandable
comprehensible cognates( pictures/photo/TPR
2. Ineffective – begins in hour one wherein the
teacher speaks rapidly at native speed as if the
students were residing within the target culture.


Strategies in Foreign language
Learning and Teaching
Definition of Strategies:
1. Wenden and Rubin (1987) defines strategies
as…”any set of operations, steps, plans,
routines used by the learner to facilitate the
obtaining, storage, retrieval, and use of
information.”
2. Richards and Platt (1992) state that learning
strategies are “intentional behavior and
thoughts used by learners during learning so as
to better help them understand, learn or
remember new information.”


Strategies Continued
According to Rubin (1987) there are three types of
strategies:
1.

Learning strategies

2.

Communication strategies

3. Social strategies


Learning Strategies
Cognitive Learning
Strategies
 Steps or operations

used in learning that
require direct
analysis,
transformation, or
synthesis

 Six main cognitive
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

strategies:
Clarifying/Verifying
Guessing / Inductive
Inferencing
Deductive Reasoning

Practice
Memorization
Monitoring


Learning Strategies Cont’d
Communication
strategies
 Related to the process

of participation in a
conversation and
getting meaning
across or clarifying
what the speaker
intended

Social strategies
 Those activities that

learners engage in to
be exposed to and to
practice their
language knowledge


Teacher Role in Strategy
Training
 Teacher should learn

about students

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Interests
Goals
motivations
Learning styles
Purpose for learning
a language

 The most important

teacher role in foreign
language teaching is
the provision of a
wide range of tasks to
match the needs of all
students possessing
different learning
styles, motivations
etc. (Hismanoglu)


Application of Techniques
 Language mastered

 Computers and

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

interactive
multimedia learning
are creating
meaningful learning
environment in
foreign language
pedagogy
 (Jacobs,1992)

more meaningfully
when instructors
utilize:
Sounds
Patterns
Gestures
Symbols
And multimedia


Techniques continued
Good teaching means

that the teacher must:
1. Be knowledgeable in
discipline
2. Show enthusiasm
3. Emphasize concepts and
critical thinking
4. Encourage questions
from students
5. Be caring to
students(Ali, 2005)

Creativity and Art as a
constructivist technique
which allows student to
make personal
discoveries through
student centered
learning: with the
freedom to choose how
to learn, what to learn,
when to learn, and to
become an active
member of the
community of learners


Effective Teaching and Effective Learning Process
Teacher
Planning and stategies

Student
Group Work

Methodology

Attitude & perception

Preparation

Critical thinking

Presentation

Willingness to learn

Promote thinking skills

Cooperative learning

Technology integration

Goal orientation

Satisfaction

State of the mind

Motivation

Self-regulated

Result

Reason application

Evaluation

Accountability


Factors Effecting Learning Outcome

Student’s attitude

Teacher’s attitude

Learning environment

Social environment

Student’s interaction

Classroom management

Learning instruction

Student-teacher interaction


Techniques of Positive Teaching

Storytelling + surprises
Use reasoning
Use communications
Relevancy
Use left-right brain
Connections


Techniques of Positive Teaching Continued

Presentations
Using fewer facts
Media integration
Emphasize Concepts
Experience
Encourage questions


Learning Process

L e a r n in g P r o c e s s

M o tiv a tio n

Engagem ent

G r o u p L e a r n in g

References
Faryadi, Q., (2007). Techniques of Teaching Arabic as a Foreign
Language through Constructivist Paradigm: Malaysian Perspective
Hadley, A. (2001). Teaching Language in Context, Third Edition,
Heinle & Heinle Publishers
Hismanoglu, M. (2000). Language Learning
Strategies in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching. TESL
Journal Vol. VI, No.8, retreived August 8, 2009.
Lozanov, G. (1999). Methodologies in Foreign Language Teaching: a
brief historical overview.
Pufahl, I., Rhodes, N. & Christina, D. (2001). What We can Learn from
Foreign Language Teaching in Other countries. Center for Applied
Linguistics.
Richards, J. & Platt, J. (1992).Longman Dictionary of Language
Teaching and Applied Linguistics
Wenden, A. & Rubin, J., (1987). Learner Strategies in Language
Learning, Prentice Hall.