TEFL

APPROACH, METHOD
AND TECHNIQUE IN
LANGUAGE TEACHING
Elih Sutisna Yanto- ENGLISH EDUCATION
PROGRAMME Unsika, West-Java, Indonesia
elihsutisnayanto@gmail.com
 Purpose of this Powerpoint

• to become more aware of the terms of

approach, method, and technique relating to
English learning and teaching;
• to think about the nature of language and the
nature of language learning.
• To think about how language are learned ( a
first language) according to behaviorists,
innatists and interactionists
 Edward Anthony (1965)

An approach is a set of correlative

assumptions dealing with the nature of
language and the nature of language
learning and teaching.
According to Edward Anthony’s model (1965)

approach is the level at which assumptions and

beliefs about language and language learning are
specified; method is the level at which theory is put
into practice and at which choices are made about
the particular skills to be taught, the content to be
taught, and the order in which the content will be
presented; technique is the level at which classroom
procedures are described.
In other words, According to Edward
Anthony’s model (1965)
an approach embodies the theoretical
principles governing language learning and
language teaching. A method, however, is “an
overall plan for the orderly presentation of
language material, no part of which
contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the
selected approach. An approach is axiomatic,
true in such an obvious way that you do not to
prove it, a method is procedural” (p.65)
The Antony framework attempted to portray
the entire language teaching operations as
simple, hierarchical relationship between
approach, method, and technique, without in
any way considering the complex connections
between intervening factors such as societal
demands, institutional resources and
constraints or restrictions , instructional
effectiveness, and learners needs.
 Clarke (1983) summarized the inadequacy
of the Antony framework as follows:
Approach, by limiting our perspective of language learning and
teaching, serves as a blinder which hampers rather than
encourages, professional growth. Method is so vague that it
means just about anything that anyone wants it to mean, with
the result that, in fact, it means nothing. And technique, by giving
the impression that teaching activities can be understood as
abstractions separate from the context in which they occur,
obscures the fact that classroom practice is a dynamic interaction
of diverse system. (p.111)

In short, the Antony framework did not

effectively serve the purpose for which it
was designed.
 Summary and elements and sub elements that
constitute method (Richards & Rodgers:33)
The first level, approach defines those assumptions,
beliefs, and theories about the nature of language and the
nature of language learning which operates as axiomatic
constructs or reference points and provide a theoretical
foundation for what language teachers ultimately do with
learners in classrooms. The Second level in the system,
design, species the relationship of theories of language and
learning to both the form and function of instructional
materials and activities in instructional settings. The third
level, procedure, comprises the classroom techniques and
practices which are consequences of particular approaches
and design.
Notice that the term, method, does not figure
in this hierarchy. That is because Richards and
Rodgers preferred to use it as an umbrella
term to refer to the broader relationship
between theory and practice in language
teaching.
Summary and elements and sub elements that
constitute method (Richards & Rodgers:33)
Richards and Rodgers retained the
term, approach, to mean what it
means in the Antony framework,
that is, to refer primarily to the
theoretical axioms governing
language, language learning, and
language teaching.
Richards and Rodgers introduced a new term,
design, to denote what Antony denoted by the
term, method. Design, however, is broader
than Antony’s method as it includes
specifications of (a) the content of instruction,
that is , the syllabus, (b) learner roles, (c)
teacher roles, and (d) instructional materials
and their types and functions.
Procedure, like technique in the Antony
framework, refers to the actual moment-to
moment classroom activity. It includes as
specification of context of use and a description
of precisely what is expected in term of
execution and outcome for each exercise type.
Procedure is concerned with : the types of
teaching and learning techniques, the types of
exercises and practice activities, and the
resources – time, space, equipment – required
to implement recommended activities.
The three-tier system proposed by Richards and
Rodgers (2001) is surely broader and more
detailed than the Antony framework. However,
a careful analysis indicates that their system is
equally redundant and overlapping.
(Kumaravadivelu 2006:86)
For instance, while defining approach, the
authors state that “theories at the level of
approach relate directly to the level of design
since they provide the basis for determining the
goals and content of language syllabus.”
(Kumaravadivelu 2006:86-87)
While defining design, they state that design
considerations “ deal with assumptions about
the content and the context for teaching and
learning....
The boundary between approach and design is
blurred (not clear) here because the
operational definition of both relate to
theoretical assumptions that actually belong to
the realm of approach. (Kumaravadivelu
2006:86-87)
 Three different views of
The nature of language
1. Structural view: It views language as a system of
structurally related element.
The target of language learning is seen to be the mastery of
elements of this system, which are generally defined in
terms of phonological units (e.g., phonemes), grammatical
units (e.g., clauses, phrases, sentences), grammatical
operations (e.g., adding, shifting, joining, or transforming
elements), and lexical items (e.g., function words and
structure words)
For examples: the Audiolingual method, the Total Physical
Response, and the Silent Way embody this particular view
of language.
 Three different views of
The nature of language
2. Functional view: It regards language as a vehicle for the
expression of functional meaning.
The communicative movement in language teaching
subscribes to this view of language.
This theory emphasizes the semantic and communicative
dimension rather than merely the grammatical
characteristics of language, and
Leads to a specification and organization of language
teaching content by categories of meaning and function
rather than by elements of structure and grammar.
 Three different views of
The nature of language
3. Interactional view: It sees language as a vehicle for the
realization of interpersonal relations and for the
performance of social transactions between individuals.
Language is seen as a tool for the creation and
maintenance of social relations.
The development of interactional approach to language
teaching include interactional analysis, conversational
analysis, and ethnomethodology,
Rivers (1987) defined the interactive
perspective in language education:
“Students achieve facility in using a
language when their attention is focused
on conveying and receiving authentic
messages (that is, messages that contain
information of interest to both speaker
and listener in a situation of importance
to both.) This is interaction (Rivers
1987:4)
 The common assumptions about
the nature of the language
1. Language is a group of sounds with specific
meaning and organized by grammatical rules (The
Silent Way).
2. Language is the everyday spoken utterance of the
average person at normal speed (Audio Lingual
Method).
3. Language is a system for the expression of meaning
(Communicative Language Teaching).
4. Language is a set of grammatical rules and language
consists of language chunks (Total Physical
Responses)
 Definitions of learning
1. A change in behavior as a result of experience or
practice.
2. The acquisition of knowledge.
3. Knowledge gained through study.
4. To gain knowledge of , or skill in, through study,
teaching, instruction or experience.
5. The process of gaining knowledge.
6. A process by which behavior is changed, shaped, or
controlled.
7. The individual process of constructing understanding
based on experience from a wide range of sources.
(Alan Prichard 2009:2)
 The nature of language learning:

1. Behaviorism: Stimulus- Response-

Reinforcement.- Drilling, exercise,
repetition.
2. Nativism: A child naturally has a language
acquisition device. (Kodrati).
3. Constructivism: A child acquired a
language through interaction between the
child and environment. (Jean Piaget).
 The nature of learning:

1. Behaviorism is a theory of learning

focusing on observable behavior and
discounting any mental activity. Learning is
defined simply as the acquisition of new
behavior. (Alan Prichard 2009:6)
 Learning a first language
Say what I say: the behaviorist position

 Traditional behaviorists believed that language learning

is simply a matter of imitation and habit formation.
 Children imitate the sounds and patterns which they
hear around them and receive positive reinforcement
( the form of praise or just successful communication)
for doing so.
 The quality and quantity of the language which the child
hears, as well as the consistency of the reinforcement
offered by others in the environment, should have an
effect on the child’s success in language learning.
 Learning a first language
It’s all in your mind: the innatists position

 The linguist Noam Chomsky claims that children are

biologically programmed for language and that language
develops in the child in just the same way that other
biological functions develop.
 For example, every child will learn to walk as long as
adequate nourishment and reasonable freedom of
movement are provided.
 The child does not have to be taught, most children
learn to walk at about the same time, and walking is
essentially the same in all normal human beings.
 Chomsky (1959) argues that
behaviorism cannot provide sufficient
explanations for children’s language
acquisition for the following reasons:
–Children come to know more about the
structure of their language than they
could be expected to learn on the basis
of the samples of language they hear.
 – The language children are exposed to
includes false starts, incomplete sentences
and slips of the tongue, and yet they learn
to distinguish between grammatical and
ungrammatical sentences.
– Children are by no means systematically
corrected or instructed on language by
parents.
 Cont...
 For Chomsky, language acquisition is very similar to the
development of walking.
 The environment makes a basic contribution – in this
case, the availability of people who speak to the child.
The child, or rather, the child’s biological endowment,
will do the rest.
 Chomsky developed his theory in reaction to the
behaviorist theory of learning based on imitation and
habit formation.
LAD: LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
DEVICE ( or BLACK BOX)
– It contains all and only the principles which are
universal to all human languages
(i.e.. Universal Grammar – UG).
 CONCLUSION

• Children’s acquisition of grammatical rules is

guided by principles of an innate UG which
could apply to all languages.

• Children “know” certain things of the

language just by being exposed to a limited
number of samples.
Evidence used to support Chomsky’s
innatist position:

Virtually all children

successfully learn their native language
at a time in life
when they would not be expected
to learn anything else so complicated
(i.e. biologically programmed).
–Language is separate from other
aspects of cognitive developments
(e.g., creativity and social grace)
and may be located in a different
“module" of the brain.
The language children are exposed to
does not contain examples
of all the linguistic rules and patterns.
 Animals cannot learn
to manipulate a symbol system
as complicated as
the natural language
of a 3- or 4-year-old child.
Children acquire grammatical rules

without getting explicit instruction.

The biological basis for the innatist position:

The Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) –Lenneberg:

• There is a specific and limited time period (i.e.,
“critical period”) for the LAD to work successfully.

• Only when it is stimulated

at the right time
Virtually every child learns language on a similar
schedule in spite of different environments.

– Three case studies of abnormal language

development - evidence of the CPH
• Victor – a boy of about 12 years old (1799)
• Genie – a girl of 13 years old (1970)
• Deaf signers (native signers, early learners, vs.
late learners)
 Cognitive, constructivist learning

Constructivists view learning as the result of

mental construction. That is, learning take
place when new information is built into and
added onto an individual’s current structure
of knowledge, understanding and skills. We
learn best when we actively construct our
own understanding (Alan Prichard 2009:17)
 Learning a first language
Mom’s the word: the interactionist
position
 A third theoretical position focuses on the role of the
linguistic environment in interaction with the child’s
innate capacities in determining language development.
 ‘The interactionist’ position is that language develops as
a result of the complex interplay between the uniquely
human characteristics of the child and the environment
in which the child develops.
 Unlike the innatists, the interactionists claim that
language which is modified to suit the capability of the
learner is a crucial element in the language acquisition
process.
 Cont...
For example: Caretaker talk (Motherese)
 We are familiar with the way adults typically modify the
way they speak when addressing little children.
In English, caretaker talk involves a slower rate of
speech, higher pitch, more varied intonation, shorter,
simple sentence patterns, frequent repetition, and
paraphrase.
Example:
Son : I putted the plates on the table.
Mother : You mean, I put the plates on the table.
Son : No, I putted them on all by myself.
The following assumptions relate to theories of learning and
teaching

1. Learning is facilitated if language learners discover

rather than repeat and remember without
understanding what is to be learned (Silent Way).
2. Learning involves the unconscious functions, as well as
the conscious functions (Suggestopedia).
3. The norms of the society often block the process of
learning (Suggestopedia)
4. Language learning will take place if language learners
maintain their feeling of security (Community Language
Learning).
5. Language learning is a process of habit formation (Audio
Lingual Method)
 Assumption about learning and
teaching, which have been developed
from theories in psychology, seem to
develop faster than those about the
nature of language.
 Method
 The plan of language teaching which consistent
with the theories. (Edward Anthony-1963)
 Method may mean different things to different
people (Mackey, 1975:155) For some , it means a
set of teaching procedures; for others, the
avoidance of teaching procedures. For some, it is
the primary of a language skill; for others, it is the
type and amount of vocabulary and stucture.
 Method cont...
 The term “method” in the Direct Method may
refer to a single aspect of language teaching:
presentation of material.
 Method in the Reading Method refers to the
emphasis of a single language skill: reading, while
 In the Grammar Translation Method, method
refers to the emphasis of the teaching material.
 Method cont...
 According to Mackey (1975:157), all teaching,
whether good or bad, must include some sort of
selection, some sort of gradation, some sort of
presentation, and some sort of repetition.
 Therefore, all methods should include the four
steps of teaching a language.
 Any method should include the four steps:
selection, gradation, presentation, and
repetition.
 Method
 According to Richards and Rodgers (2001), a
method is theoretically related to an approach,
organized by the design, and practically realized
in procedure.
 Technique

Carry out a method. It is

implementational, meaning
that a technique is something
that actually takes place in
language teaching or learning
in the classroom.
 Technique cont...
The following are some examples of techniques in error
correction.
1.The teacher does not praise or criticize so that language
learners learn to rely on themselves (Silent Way).
2.The teacher often praises when a student has made a good
thing in learning (Audio Lingual Method).
3.When a student has produced a wrong expression, the teacher
just repeats the right one (Total Physical Response).
4.The teacher does not care when a student make an error as
long as it does not hinder (delay/prevent) communication
(Natural Method)
 The Term of Technique
(H.D. Brown 2007:180)
1. Task. Task usually refers to a specialized form
of technique or series of techniques closely
allied with communicative curricula, and as
such must minimally have communicative
goals. It is focuses on the authentic use of
language for meaningful communicative
purpose beyond the language classroom.
 The Term of Technique
2. Activity. Activity may refer to virtually anything that learners
do in the classroom.
 We usually refer to a reasonably unified set of student
behaviour, limited in time, preceded by some direction from
the teacher, with a particular objective.
 Activities include role plays, drills, games, peer-editing,
small-group information-gap exercise, and much more.
 Because an activity implies some sort of active performance
on the part of learners, it is generally not used to refer to
certain teacher behaviours like saying “good morning,”
maintaining eye contact with students, explaining a grammar
point, or writing a list of words on the chalkboard.
Such teacher behaviour, however can indeed be referred to
as
 The Term of Technique
3. Procedure. Richards and Rodgers (2001) used the
term procedure to encompass “the actual moment-
to-moment techniques, practices, and behaviour
that operate in teaching a language according to a
particular method” (p.26)
 Procedures from this definition, include techniques.
Thus, for Richards and Rodgers, this appears to be a
catchall term, a thing for holding many small objects
or a group or description that includes different
things and that does not state clearly what is
included or not.
 The Term of Technique
4. Practice, behaviour, exercise,
strategy...
In the language-teaching
literature, these terms, and
perhaps some others, all appear
to refer , in varying degrees of
intensity, to what is defined
as technique.
 The Term of Technique
5. Technique
 Even before Anthony (1963) discussed and
defined the term, the language teaching
literature generally accepted technique as a
superordinate term to refer to various
activities that either teachers or learners
perform in the classroom.
 In other words, technique include all tasks
and activities.
 They almost always planned and deliberate,
done on purpose rather than by accident.
 The Term of Technique
Cont...
They are the product of a choice made by the
teacher. And they can, for your purposes as a
language teacher, comfortably refer to the
pedagogical units or components of a classroom
session.
You can think of a lesson as consisting of a
number of techniques, some teacher-centered,
some learner-centered, some production-
centered, some comprehension-centered, some
clustering together to form a task.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
1.Warm-up: Mimes, dance, songs, jokes, play. This activity gets
the students stimulated, relaxed, motivated, attentive, or
otherwise engage and ready for the lesson. It does not
necessarily involves use of the target language.
2.Setting: Focusing on lesson topic. Teacher directs attention to
the topic by verbal or nonverbal evocation of the context
relevant to the lesson by questioning or miming or picture
presentation, possibly by tape recording of situations and peole.
3.Organizational: Structuring of lesson or class activities includes
disciplinary action, organization of class furniture and seating,
general procedures for class interaction and performance,
structure and purpose of lesson, ete
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
4.Content Explanation: Grammatical, phonological, lexical
(vocabulary), sociolinguistic, pragmatic, or any other aspect of
language.
5.Role-play demonstration: Selected students or teacher
illustrate the procedure(s) to be applied in the lesson segment to
follow. Includes brief illustration of language or other content to
be incorporated.
6.Dialogue/Narrative presentation: Reading or listening passage
presented for passive reception. No implication of student
production or other identification of specific target forms or
functions (students may be asked to “understand”)
7.Dialogue/Narrative recitation: Reciting a previously known or
prepared text, either in unison or individually.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
8.Reading aloud: Reading directly from a given text.
9.Checking: Teacher either circulating or guiding the correction
of students’ work, providing feedback as an activity rather than
within another activity.
10.Question-answer display: Activity involving prompting of
students responses by means of display questions (i.e. teacher
or questioner already knows the response or has a very limited
set of expectations for the appropriate response). Distinguished
from referential questions by the likelihood of the questioner’s
knowledge of the response and the speaker’s awareness of that
fact.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
11.Drill: Typical language activity involving fixed patterns of
teacher prompting and student responding, usually with
repetition, substitution, and other mechanical alterations.
Typically with little meaning attached.
12.Translation: Student or teacher provision of L1 or L2
translation of given text.
13.Dictation: Student writing down orally presented text.
14.Copying: Student writing down text presented visually.
15.Identification: Student picking out and producing/labeling or
otherwise identifying a specific target form, function, definition,
or other lesson-related item.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Controlled Techniques
16.Recognition: Student identifying forms, as in identification
(i.e., checking off items, drawing symbols, rearranging pictures),
but without a verbal responses.
17.Review: Teacher-led review of previous week/month/or
other period as a formal summary and type of test of student
recall performance.
18.Testing: Formal testing procedures to evaluate student
progress.
19.Meaningful drill: Drill activity involving responses with
meaningful choices, as in reference to different information.
Distinguished from information exchange by the regulated
sequence and general form of responses.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Semicontrolled Techniques
20.Brainstorming: A form of preparation for the lesson, like
Setting, which involves free, undirected contributions by the
students and teacher on a given topic, to generate multiple
associations without linking them; no explicit analysis or
interpretation by the teacher.
21.Storytelling (especially when student-generated): Not
necessarily lesson-based, a lengthy presentation of story by
teacher or student (may overlap with Warm-up or Narrative
recitation), May be used to maintain attention, motivate, or as
lengthy practice.
22.Question-answer, referential: Activity involving prompting of
responses by means of referential questions (i.e., the questioner
does not know beforehand the responses information).
Distinguished from Question-answer, display.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Semicontrolled Techniques
23.Cued narrative/Dialogue: Student production of narrative or
dialogue following cues from miming, cue cards, pictures, or
other stimuli related to narrative/dialogue (e.g., metalanguage
requesting functional acts).
24.Information transfer: Application from one mode (e.g., visual)
to another (e.g., writing), which involves some transformation of
the information (e.g., student fills out diagram while listening to
description). Distinguished from Identification in that the
student is expected to transform and reinterpret the language or
information.
25.Information exchange: Task involving two-way communication as in
information-gap exercise, when one or both parties (or a larger group) must
share information to achieve some goal. Distinguished from Question-
answer, referential in that sharing of information is critical for the task.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Semicontrolled Techniques
26. Wrap-up: Brief teacher- or student-produced summary of
point and/or items that have been practiced or learned.
27.Narration/Exposition: Presentation of a story or explanation
derived from prior stimuli. Distinguished from Cued narrative
because of lack of immediate stimulus.
28.Preparation: Student study, silent reading, pair planning and
rehearsing, preparing for later activity. Usually a student-
directed or –oriented project.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Free Techniques
29.Role play: Relatively free acting out of specified roles and
functions. Distinguished from Cued dialogues by the fact that
cueing is provided only minimally at the beginning , and not
during the activity.
30.Games: Various kinds of language game activity not like other
previously defined activities (e.g., board and dice games making
words).
31.Report: Report of student-prepared exposition on books,
experiences, project work, without immediate stimulus, and
elaborated on according to student interests. Akin to
Composition in writing mode.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Free Techniques
32.Problem solving: Activity involving specified problem and
limitations of means to resolve it; requires cooperation on part
of participants in small or large group.
33.Drama: Planned dramatic rendition of play, skit, story, etc.
34.Simulation: Activity involving complex interaction between
groups and individuals based on simulation of real-life actions
and experiences.
35.Interview: A student is directed to get information from
another student or students.
36.Discussion: Debate or other form of grouped discussion of
specified topic, with or without specified sides/positions
prearranged.
Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Free Techniques
37.Composition: As in Report (verbal),
written development of ideas, story, or
other exposition.
38.A propos: Conversation or other socially
oriented interaction/speech by teacher,
students, or even visitors, on general real-
life topics. Typically authentic and genuine.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
Some techniques will fit into more than one category. Consider
the “warm-up” activity suggested by Klippel (1984,pp13-14) for
beginning level class:
Step1: Each student writes his/her full name of a piece of paper.
All the papers are collected and redistributed so that
everyone receives the name of a person he/she does not
know.
Step 2: Everyone walks around the room and tries to find the
person whose name he/she holds. Simple questions can
be: “Is your name......? Are you......?
Step 3: When everyone has found his/her partner, he/she
introduces him/her to the group.
 Taxonomy of language-teaching Techniques (adapted
from Crookes & Chaudron,1991 pp.52-54)
 This exercise seems to fit into a number of possible
categories. It involves question-answer, referential activity;
there is some information exchange as well.; and in some
ways either problem solving or games may fit here.
 The purpose in referring to such a taxonomy, therefore, is not
to be able to pinpoint every technique specifically. Rather,
the taxonomy is more of a help to you as
 An aid to raising your awareness of the wide variety of
available techniques
 An indicator of how techniques differ according to a
continuum ranging from controlled to free
 A resource for your own personal brainstorming process as
you consider types of techniques for your classroom.
 References
• Brown, D.H. (2001). Teaching by Principle.Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice
Hall.
• Clarke,M.A.1983. The scope of approach, the importance of method, and
the nature of technique. In J.E. Alatis. H.Stern,& P. Strevens (Eds.).
Geogetown University Round Table on Language and Linguistics 1983. :
Applied linguistics and the preparation of second language teachers
(pp.106-115). Washington, D.C: Georgetown University.
• Kumaravadivelu, B. 2006. Understanding Language teaching.New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,Inc. , Publisher.
• Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language
Teaching. 2nd ed.Oxford: OUP
• Lightbown, P& Nina Spada.1993. How language are learned. New York:
Oxford University Press.
• Prichard, Alan.2009. Ways of Learning: Learning theories and learning
styles in the classroom. New York: Routledge.
• Richard, Jack C. , & Rodgers, Theodore S. (2001). Approaches and
Methods in Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press