Chapter I. Learning english through oral approach

1.3 Understanding the concept of situational language learning
Situational language learning is a language teaching method that emphasizes the use of language in specific situations or contexts. It is also known as situational language teaching or the communicative approach. This method focuses on teaching language skills that are relevant to real-life situations, such as ordering food at a restaurant, making a hotel reservation, or having a conversation with a colleague.
The goal of situational language learning is to enable learners to communicate effectively in a range of situations, using appropriate language and social skills. In this approach, the teacher acts as a facilitator, providing learners with the necessary language input and guiding them to use it in context.
The method typically involves the following steps:
Presenting a situation: The teacher introduces a situation or context that learners are likely to encounter in real life, such as buying groceries or asking for directions.
Vocabulary and language input: The teacher provides learners with the vocabulary and language structures needed to communicate effectively in that situation. This may involve role-play, reading or listening exercises, or other language input activities.
Practice: Learners practice using the language in context, either through role-play or other interactive activities.
Feedback: The teacher provides feedback on learners' language use and guides them to improve their communication skills.
Situational language learning is widely used in language classrooms around the world and has been found to be effective in developing learners' communicative competence. It is particularly suitable for learners who need to use the language in specific social or professional contexts, such as business or tourism.In spite of the controversies on language learning processes, there is the underlying fact that the main practical objective of teaching a language is to enable the learners to use it. That is, to know to what real-life situations each particular form of the target language corresponds.
There is considerable debate among linguists and psychologists as to the nature of language. Language learning, in particular, is characterized by vicissitude; in the 1930’s, for example, it meant accurate translation of readings, but in the 1950’s it meant facile ability in aural comprehension and oral production. The origin of this vicissitude is rather to be found in the theoretical concepts which in turn cause corresponding shifts in notions of what it means to acquire, teach, or learn a language.
This leads us to the term “approach” which according to Edward M Anthony is “a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning.” According to this definition, any approach is basically a collection of intrinsic beliefs which serve as a framework to a specific outlook on language. At this point, we often realize that approaches are in and out of style; that is, because some attempts prove to be more effective than others during a given period. An approach is “in” when widely used methods and techniques are made up according to its principles; and, accordingly, the impact may be traced in current classroom practices.
Developed by British applied linguists in the 1930s, the Situational Approach has survived, so far, by completing later approaches and methodologies such as Audio-Lingual Method, Communicative Language Teaching, Total Physical Response, The Silent Way, Community Language Learning, The Natural Approach, Suggestopedia., etc.
According to the Situational Approach, and to insure that the language that is being taught is realistic, all the words and sentences must grow out of some real situation or imagined real situation. Thus, the meaning of words are tied up with the situations in which they are used. The learners know the meaning of the word “blackboard”, not because they have looked it up in a dictionary, but because they have learned the word in situations; by hearing commands such as: “Look at the blackboard!”; “Clean the blackboard!”, “ Write on the blackboard!”. This example stresses the association between the word “blackboard” and the action of “looking at it”, “cleaning it”, or “writing on it. Even if the classroom environment is limited, the teacher’s inventiveness should be put into practice in the pretence of a situation picked up from outside the classroom.
Since the purpose of teaching a foreign language is to enable the learners to use it, then it must be heard, spoken, read, and written in suitable realistic situations. Neither translation nor mechanical drills can help if they are not connected to practical life. Drilling words and structures or making a maximum of sentences out of substitution tables would, inevitably, lead to the unreality, boredom, and remoteness of the language process. The difference between American structuralists, such as Fries and the British applied linguists such as Firth and Halliday, lies in the fact that structures must be presented in situations in which they could be used.
The situational environment should be presented in such a way that even the slowest learner gets involved in what the teacher or the other learners do and say in the classroom. The idea of making the learners cooperate with one another underlines the social touch of this approach. Learners are always eager to take part in make-believe situations, especially when they assume roles and enact a situation before the rest of the class.
The theory backing up the Situational Approach includes the following principles:

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  language learning is habit-formation
  
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  mistakes are bad and should be avoided, as they make bad habits
  
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  language skills are learned more effectively if they are presented orally first, then in written form
  
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  analogy is a better foundation for language learning than analysis
  
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  the meanings of words can be learned only in a linguistic and cultural context
  

Situational Language Learning (SLL) is an approach to language teaching that emphasizes the importance of learning language in the context of real-life situations. The approach is based on the idea that language is most effectively learned when it is presented in a meaningful context, and when learners are given opportunities to use the language in communicative situations.
SLL was first introduced by British linguist and language educator, Brian J. Tomlinson, in the 1990s. Tomlinson argued that traditional language teaching methods, which often focus on teaching grammar and vocabulary in isolation, fail to provide learners with the necessary tools to communicate effectively in real-life situations. SLL, on the other hand, aims to provide learners with the language skills and confidence to communicate in a variety of social and professional settings.
In SLL, language is taught through the use of authentic materials and tasks that reflect real-life situations. Learners are presented with language in context, and are encouraged to use the language in communicative activities, such as role-plays, simulations, and discussions. The approach emphasizes the importance of learners' active participation in the language learning process, and encourages learners to take responsibility for their own learning.
One of the key advantages of SLL is that it allows learners to develop their language skills in a way that is relevant to their needs and interests. By focusing on real-life situations, learners are better able to understand the practical applications of the language they are learning, and are more motivated to continue learning. SLL also helps learners to develop a more natural, fluent style of communication, as they learn to use language in a way that is appropriate to the context.
However, SLL is not without its challenges. One of the main challenges is the need for teachers to carefully select and design materials and activities that are appropriate to learners' needs and interests. Another challenge is the need for learners to have access to a variety of authentic materials and resources, such as videos, audio recordings, and texts, that reflect real-life situations.
Despite these challenges, SLL has become an increasingly popular approach to language teaching, particularly in the field of English as a second language (ESL). Its focus on real-life situations and communication skills has been widely praised, and its success has been demonstrated in a number of studies.