Post-method era

Question 1

Problems

Answer 1

• no general agreement on what method is (any principled choice of techniques can be termed “method”)
• some methods – not based on clear language learning theory
• methods are open to wide interpretation by materials developers and teachers
• the rise and fall of methods - due to the influence of profit seekers, promoters and forces of the intellectual marketplace
• ELT is a massive industry where much is done in the name of profit and glory 
• developed in western developed countries (US and UK), fallacy that anything imported by US and UK is by nature effective and advanced 
• developed in a specific educational, social and cultural context (cannot be exported wholesale and used in countries with different philosophies, values and beliefs)

Question 2

Postmethod pedagogy

Answer 2

a three-dimensional system consisting of three pedagogical parameters:
1) Particularity – pedagogical practices that are sensitive to a particular group of teachers teaching a particular group of learners pursuing a particular set of goals within a particular institutional context.
2) Practicality – the correspondence between theory and practice, i.e. practice in the real context of classrooms.
3) Possibility – the correspondence of teaching and learning with socio-cultural and political conditions outside the classroom, i.e. it relates to both linguistic and cultural knowledge as well as identity formation and social transformation, it should provide learners with opportunities to seek subjectivity and self-identity.

Question 3

strategic framework – ten macrostrategies

Answer 3

• maximize learning opportunities
• facilitate negotiated interaction
• minimize perceptual mismatches
• activate intuitive heuristics
• foster language awareness
• contextualize linguistic input
• integrate language skills
• promote learner autonomy
• raise cultural consciousness
• ensure social relevance

Question 4

Microstrategies

Answer 4

classroom procedures designed to achieve the objectives of a particular macrostrategy.
Any type of microstrategy depends on the local learning and teaching situation.

Question 5

Eclectic Approach in Teaching English

Answer 5

• strengths as well as weaknesses of single theory based methods (reliance upon a single theory of teaching has been criticized because the use of a limited number of techniques can become mechanic)
• T decides what methodology or approach to use depending on the aims of the lesson and the learners in the group
• almost all modern course books have a mixture of approaches and methodologies

Question 6

The eclectic approach

Answer 6

the eclectic approach – not a concrete, single method, but one which combines listening, speaking, reading, and writing and includes practice in the classroom
 the current preferred teaching methods are an integration of GTM, the structural method and CLT
 teachers should take advantage of all other methods whilst avoiding their disadvantages

Question 7

Advantages of the eclectic approach

Answer 7

• Safety: the use of a variety of ideas and procedures from different existing approaches and methods will increase the chances of learning
• Interest: Ts need to use different techniques to hold the LLs’ attention
• Diversity: different learning/teaching contexts require different methodologies
• Flexibility: awareness of a range of available techniques will help Ts exploit materials better and manage unexpected situations. Informed teaching is bound to be eclectic

Question 8

Principles of the eclectic method

Answer 8

• Language should be taught in the target language, but if necessary, the teacher can use the native language.
• There is a relationship between the motivation and the learning of the learner when language learning is not wanted by the learners and is not sufficient to the time.
• Word usage should be started early and used in sentences; vocabulary items should be taught in context.
• Considerable time should not be spent on mechanical repetition, rather communication oriented activities should be conducted.
• Language teaching should be appropriate to the scientific field of the student.
• The four language skills should be taught in an integrated fashion.
• Language teaching should be lively.
• Students should be provided with a language learning request.
• The material should be introduced from easy to hard, concrete to abstract.
• The teacher should consider that the students have individual differences.

Question 9

Eclecticism

Answer 9

the use of a variety of language learning activities, each of which may have very different characteristics and may be motivated by different underlying assumptions