Language teaching methodology

New methods of teaching

Pedagogy as a science has existed in ancient Greece yet, so teachers have been refining teaching methods for not one century already. With the development of society, teaching methods have been also changing. Modern methods mostly reflect an improved understanding of the psychology of children as well as acceptance of the technological leap forward. Modern teachers prefer such new methods as:
1. Contextual learning
Only a dozen years ago most of the schools were committed to factual learning. The main evidence of good knowledge was the ability to repeat learned information by command. Everything has changed since that time, as now pupils have to analyze, find pros and cons, make conclusions and find evidence but not only memorize. This method has made schooling more productive and appealing.
2. Various approaches
The modern school has little in common with traditional lectures that were considered the main kind of lesson in the past. Modern lessons differ much as the variety of approaches used impresses even adults, who finished school not so long ago. Apart from lecturing, teachers use storytelling, group work, individual assignments, games, presentations and numerous other activities within one lesson. Constantly changing the activities on the lessons they manage to promote a working atmosphere in the class and lessons do not seem to last so long.
3. New technological devices
Of course, there are numerous arguments about advantages and disadvantages of various devices in education, but still, their benefit makes them useful for the lessons. They enhance the learning system making it developed and contemporary. Children have acquired various new tasks that are available on the Web, can learn through video conferences or live chats, receive notifications from teachers etc. Parents have also appreciated the contribution of the innovative devices into the schooling as now they can control their children’s grades online and visit school less often. Teachers also use modern aids as they simplify the preparation process and add color and diversity to simple lessons. Any device like a speaker, online streaming video, interactive whiteboard, visualizer, projector, educational software, CD player can be useful for teaching and is used by tutors at the lessons making them more appealing to modern pupils. For example, there is a powerful software tool called Hiver. This software is a service application that helps collaborating from email inboxes. It helps to organize the work process and makes it easier and more productive. Isn’t it great?
For example, there is a powerful software tool called Hiver. This software is a service application that helps to collaborate from email inboxes. It helps to organize the work process and makes it easier and more productive.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MODERN TEACHING METHODS?

NOW THAT WE’VE DISCUSSED THE TOP MODERN TEACHING METHODOLOGIES , LET’S SEE HOW THEY WORK TOGETHER TO HELP LEARNERS.
1.ACTIVE LEARNING
MODERN TEACHING IS ACTIVITY –BASED AND CREATES HIGHLY INTERACTIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCES. ACTIVE LEARNING IS KNOWN TO BE NOT ONLY MORE ENGAGING –FASCINATING, EVEN-BUT IT DOESN’T EVEN BEGIN TO COMPARE WITH PASSIVE LEARNING IN TERMS OF EFFECTIVENESS.
IN THE WORDS OF THE FAMOUS PROVERB , “TELL ME AND I FORGET , TEACH ME AND I MAY REMEMBER, INVOLVE ME AND I LEARN.”
WHEN STUDENTS ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE LEARNING PROCESS, WHETHER IT IS THROUGH A DISCUSSION OR A HANDS –ON PROJECT, WHEN THEY SOLVE REAL-WORLD PROBLEMS AND NOT MEMORIZING FACTS AND TERMS WITHOUT CONTEXT, THEY INTERNALIZE THE INFORMATION WITH SIGNIFICANTLY LESS EFFORT.
2 .SOFT SKILLS
MODERN TEACHING ALSO PROMOTES ESSENTIAL SOFT SKILLS, MOVING AWAY FROM THE NARROW CONCEPT OF EDUCATION THAT FOCUSES ON TECHNICAL SKILLS. CRITICAL THINKING, PROBLEM-SOLVING, TEAMWORK, AND MANY MORE CHARACTER TRAITS AND COMPETENCIES ARE DEVELOPED NATURALLY IN THE PROCESS AND HELP STUDENTS DISCOVER THEMSELVES AND WORK WITH THEIR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.

3. PERSONALIZATION

MODERN TEACHING METHODS ARE FLEXIBLE AND OFFER DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES AND UNIQUE STUDENT NEEDS , LIKE THOSE OF LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES. LEARNERS CAN LEARN AT THEIR OWN PACE AND WITH THE MATERIAL THEY LIKE BEST.

4. DEEP LEARNING

A NATURAL BYPRODUCT OF ACTIVE LEARNING IS DEEP LEARNING. WHEN STUDENTS ARE ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN THE LEARNING PROCESS, EXPLORING AND DISCOVERING THINGS ON THEIR OWN, NOT ONLY THEY ARE MORE ENGAGED AND EXCITED . THEY ARE ALSO TRULY LEARNING BECAUSE THEY HAVE ACQUIRED THIS NEW KNOWLEDGE BY DOING AND NOT BY WITNESSING.
Activity1: Scattergories (Board Race )

Procedure:
Divide the participants into the teams according to the number . They can be in group of 2 or 3 . They are given theme vocabulary and have to write them on the handout. Teacher rules the circumstances and says the letters or students can roll the dice. With letter they should write the appropriate words in a limited time. This Scattergories works well with teaching new vocabulary and also revising the passed themes and their hard pronouncing words. Articles are not counted, the same answers are not accepted by the teacher. The unique answers are considered as a winners.
Activity 2: Debate about Teaching methods and its concepts

Objective : to share the latest teaching methods with the help of modern technologies
Materials : 2 printed out handouts with the name of teaching concepts and teaching methods
First of all, we have to understand what concepts are. Concepts are categories into which experiences are organized and the larger network of intellectual relationships brought about through categorization. Understanding a concept requires some level of critical thinking in order to make associations between words and ideas according to certain criteria. Objects or events are sorted into concept categories according to their basic characteristics or critical attributes. The critical attributes must be present in a particular sequence, relationship or patterns to qualify for category placement. These represent the concept criteria. The specific ordering of attributes is known as the concept definition or rule.
Word meanings are best learned through conceptual development. This approach stresses in-depth understanding as opposed to surface understanding. Existing concepts can be used as a basis for acquiring new concepts. For example, a student who knows what a horse is can relate the new concept of unicorn to horse in order to understand the new concept. Word meanings should be learned in context. The contextual setting gives student clues to word meanings. The teacher should provide examples in which the new word is used correctly and students should have opportunities to apply the word's meaning. Vocabulary instruction should be based on learner-generated word meanings. Learner involvement increases understanding and memory; thus, when students use their experience and background knowledge to define words, they learn better. The words serve as labels for concepts and students associate words to a larger vocabulary and experiences. Vocabulary should focus on usable words. The use of vocabulary related to a theme or instruction in "word webs" is helpful. Students should be taught how to figure out related words. Students should be taught the use of contextual clues and structural analysis skills (prefixes, suffixes, root words).
A student’s vocabulary - the words he or she can understand when reading and listening and use when writing and speaking are critical to success in school. This is the reason why vocabulary is an essential element of effective language teaching. So how do students learn all the words they need to know? The combination of direct instruction and wide reading is a good formula for word learning. In the following overview I will briefly mention some methods that encourage word learning.
The direct instruction is explicit teaching of carefully selected words which improves understanding and helps students’ vocabulary grow. Often, it is best to pre-teach key words.

Glossary

Abatement	noun the action of abating or being abated; ending or subsiding. "this trend shows no sign of abatement"
Advancement	Career advancement is the upward trajectory of a person's professional journey. Examples include progressing from an entry-level position to management and transitioning from one occupation to another.
Abstinence	the fact of not doing something, usually something that is considered harmful such as drinking alcohol or using a drug: We found that with abstinence from smoking, the severity of symptoms decreased. Alcohol abstinence is recommended for breast-feeding mothers.
Assessment	The measurement of the ability of a person or the quality or success of a teaching course, etc. Assessment may be by test, interview, questionnaire, observation, observation and so on.
Authentic task	A task which replicates or resembles a real-life task, e.g. scanning an article for particular information; this may be contrasted with a task which is specifically designed for , and only relevant in the classroom.
Applied linguistics	The study of second and foreign language acquisition and learning the study of language and linguistics in relation to practical problems, such as lexigraphy, translation or speech pathology
Autonomous learning	This learning approach means that students have the power to regulate their learning activities — they have the autonomy to control their learning processes.
Brainstorming	Brainstorming is a group problem-solving method that involves the spontaneous contribution of creative ideas and solutions. This technique requires intensive, freewheeling discussion in which every member of the group is encouraged to think aloud and suggest as many ideas as possible based on their diverse knowledge.
Clt	Communicative language teaching also (communicative approach)an approach to foreign or second language teaching which emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence. The communicative approach has been developed particularly by British applied linguists as a reaction away from grammar –based approaches such as the audio–lingual approach.
Comprehensible input	Input language which contains linguistic items that are slightly beyond the learner’s present linguistic competence.
Context	The ideas or content which occurs before and / or after a word, a phrase or even a longer utterance or text. The context often helps in understanding the particular meaning of the word, phrase, etc. for example, the word loud in loud music is usually understood as meaning “noisy” whereas in a tie with a loud pattern it is understood as a unpleasantly colourful.
Co-operative learning also (Collaborative Learning)	An approach to teaching and learning in which classrooms are organized so that students work together in small co-operative teams. Such an approach to learning is said to increase students’ learning since a)it is less threatening for many students, b)it increases the amount of student participation in the classroom, c)it reduces the need for competitiveness , and d )it reduces the teacher’s dominance in the classroom
Elicitation	Techniques or procedure which a teacher uses to get learners to actively produce a response.
Evaluation	In general, the systematic gathering of information for purposes of decision making. Evaluation uses quantitative methods (e.g. tests), qualitative methods (e.g. observations, ratings), and value judgements.
Facilitate	To make a learning process possible or easier: to work with a group in order to help them to articulate ideas.
Feedback	In teaching: comments or information learners receive on the success of a learning task, either from the teacher or from other learners.
Fluency (developing activities)	In second and foreign language teaching, fluency describes a level of proficiency in communication , which includes: the ability to produce written and /or spoken language with ease and without significant hesitation;
Ice-breaker	An activity to make learners feel less nervous or inhibited when they first meet.
Information gap activity	An activity in which a pair or two groups of students hold different information, or where one partner knows something that the other doesn’t. This gives a real purpose to a communication activity.
Inset	In-service teacher training.
Interaction pattern	Mode of work (individual work, pair work, group work)used in learning or teaching.
Interlanguage	A term used to describe the state of a learner’s language-somewhere between being a complete beginner and native speaker standard.
Jigsaw activity	A type of co- operative activity in which each member of a group has a piece of information needed to complete a group task. Often used in reading work when each learner or group of learners reads and understands a part of a text, then takes part in pooling information to establish the meaning or message of the whole text.
Language awareness	In ELT, this is an approach to language which takes account of social dimensions of language use as well as encouraging to think about language systems , discourse and communication. It involves exploring authentic language through questions and tasks as well as questioning traditional views of grammar and lexis.
Multiple –choice	In testing or teaching: a device in which the learner is presented with a question along with four or five possible answers from which one must be selected. Usually the first part of a multiple –choice item will be a question or incomplete sentence. This is known as the stem. The different possible answers are known as alternatives. The alternatives typically include one correct answer and several wrong answers or distractors.
Objective	Objectives are statements of what is to be achieved in a course or lesson. They are detailed descriptions of exactly what a learner is expected to be able to do at the end of a period of learning. This might be a single lesson, a chapter of a book, a term’s work, etc.
Pair work	A learning activity which involves learners working together in pairs.
Peer observation	Observation of a teacher or trainee by a colleague of equal status.
Role play	Classroom activities in which students take the roles of different participants in a situation and act out what might typically happen in that situation. For example, to practice how to express complaints and apologies in a foreign language, students might have to role-play a situation in which a customer in a shop returns a faulty article to a salesperson.
Scanning	A type of speed reading technique which is used when the reader wants to locate a particular piece of information without necessarily understanding the rest of a text or passage. For example, the reader may read a chapter of a book as rapidly as possible in order to find out information about a particular date, such as when someone was born.
Second language acquisition (SLA)	(in applied linguistics) the processes by which people learn or acquire a second or foreign language. These processes are often investigated with the expectation that information about them may be useful in language teaching.
Self-correction	Correction by a learner of her/his own mistakes- usually possible only in the case of post-systematic errors.
Simulation	Classroom or training activities which reproduce or simulate real situations and which often involve learners/participants in playing roles and group in order to solve a problem or complete a given task. They are given instructions to follow (for example, an employer- employee discussion over wage increases in a factory). The participants then make decisions and proposals. Consequences are “simulated” on the basis of decisions the participants take. They later discuss their actions; feeling and what happened in a debriefing session which generally follows simulation proper.
Study skills	Abilities, techniques and strategies which are used when reading, listening, and writing for study purposes. For example, study skills needed by university students studying from English-language textbooks include: adjusting reading speeds according to the type of material being read, using the dictionary, guessing word meanings from context, interpreting graphs, diagrams, and symbols, note-taking and summarizing.