ENGLISH TEACHING METHODS

English Teaching Methods

English Teaching Methods

Introduction

Language is a set of signs, both oral and written; through its meaning and their relationship it allows the expression of human communication. Language is possible because of different and complex functions performed by the brain. These functions associated with intelligence and memory known as linguistics (Kumaravadivelu, 2006, pp. 125-169). The complexity of language is one of the major differences that separate man from animals, because although the latter also communicate with each other, they do so through instinctive media related to different conditions that have little to do with intelligence of the human.

Another feature of language is that it begins to develop and cemented from pregnancy, and set according to the individual's relationship with the world around him. Thus, learning, listening and understanding certain sounds and not others, planning what is to communicate in a way quite particular.

As we know there are many different languages, which we refer to the diversity of languages that exist around the world. Researchers have not yet found a primitive language that behaves as the mother of all others; however, they have developed several hypotheses to explain language as a result of certain psychophysical relations that arise from the feelings, both visual and hearing. Another hypothesis is that branch of language derived from a natural evolution in which social and human needs are converged. Modern theories suggest that the leguaje is an integral part of our brain, so it will manifest in one form or another, and education makes this drive and ability develop latent in us.

Teaching methodologies

There are three teaching methods that dominate the business of language instruction: the Direct Method, the Grammar-Translation Method, and the Audio-Lingual Method. Deciding which is the best method is difficult because each has strengths and weaknesses, and the nature of a student's goals will determine which is best for that student. Although many language-training sources may speak about exclusive or unique approaches, with few exceptions they are using one of these three methods. We conducted extensive research on the subject of teaching methods for our online language training programs. Here is a description of the three primary language teaching methods along with our analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each one:

The Direct Method

The Direct Method is also known as the Oral or Natural method. It's based on the active involvement of the student in both speaking and listening to the new language in realistic everyday situations. The process consists of a gradual acquisition of grammatical structure and vocabulary. The learner is encouraged to think in the target language rather than translate. He or she hears and uses the language before seeing it written.

Direct method used in Germany and France in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. It is also more or less widespread in the United States. In France the term “direct method”, appears for the first time in the Circular of 15 November 1901, which opposed the systematic methodology of traditional grammar-translation because of its ...