Post Method era
What caused the demise of methods?
'It has been realised that there never was, and probably never will be, a method for all and the focus in recent years has been the development of tasks and activities which are consistent with what we know about second language acquisition and which are also in keeping with the dynamics of the classroom itself'(David Nunan 1992, p228)
The need was identified to unify the approach to teaching in order to design informed and effective tasks and techniques; methodology was needed, rather than new methods.
Brown's 12 principles are a particular approach to teaching Languages.
'It has been realised that there never was, and probably never will be, a method for all and the focus in recent years has been the development of tasks and activities which are consistent with what we know about second language acquisition and which are also in keeping with the dynamics of the classroom itself'(David Nunan 1992, p228)
- Methods became too prescriptive and over-generalised in their potential application to practical situations.
- They cannot be tested by scientific quantification to determine which one is best.
- They may be laden with 'interested knowledge' that is to say; their proponents may have mercenary or quasi-political agendas.
- Methods become indistinct from each other as a class progresses.
The need was identified to unify the approach to teaching in order to design informed and effective tasks and techniques; methodology was needed, rather than new methods.
Brown's 12 principles are a particular approach to teaching Languages.
- Automaticity: automatic for the learner to produce certain structures.
- Meaningful learning: use meaningful situations for the learners.
- Anticipation of reward: (behaviorism) being able to get the message across helps students want to learn.
- Intrinsic motivation: What do the students want to learn?
- Strategic investment: develop a goal and create steps to achieve it.
- Language ego: develop a clear personal identity as a learner.
- Self-confidence:
- Risk taking: learners who take risks learn faster.
- Language-Culture connection: cultural values will be affected by students' opinions.
- Native language effect: Students use their own language as a base, looking for similarities.
- Interlanguage: ability to restructure the processes that take place
- Communicative competence: confidence which comes with the ability to make oneself understood.