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Second Language Teaching Methods

Researchers in the field of didactics have been making efforts in exploring proper second language teaching methods. The traditional teaching method is an earlier example. It is a common method used by English teachers in many middle and high schools in China. The traditional teaching method includes the Grammar-Translation Method，the Audio-Lingual Method，the Cognitive Approach，etc. Among them, the Grammar-Translation Method is the representative. It originated in Europe at the end of the 18th century, and its main purpose was teaching grammar through translation exercises. It was in the 1980s that people began to criticize it as being neglecting the communication skills, especially speaking and listening (Grammar Translation, 2011/3/25). The Grammar-Translation Method, however, has advantages. First, this method helps the teacher to save time. In traditional classes, teachers are demanded to finish their teaching task in a limited time. They may fail to meet the requirement if they use other methods. Besides, in China, there are often more than fifty students attending one class. It may be impossible to get everyone involved. Doing exercises is a proper way for them to have a better understanding of grammar points and memorize them.

On the other hand, the disadvantages call for attention, too. First, language is taught in a single style during the whole class. Students’ attention cannot be easily maintained. In the long run, this may affect their interests in the subject. Second, the class has little

connection with reality. This point has been criticized for years. When too much emphasis is on grammar, the lesson will become inhuman. Third, in the teacher-centered class, little opportunity is given for the communication between students and the teacher. Only a minority of students are asked to do exercises orally in front of the class. Some students possibly just skip what has not been fully understood, for they do not have the chance to express their questions to the teacher.

Being aware of similar problems, Chinese teachers have attempted to make an integration of the Grammar-Translation method and other teaching methods in English study. For example, some activities are produced in class. Students work either in pairs or in a group. Though the teacher’s role as a controller remains, students are freer in doing activities. And the assignment given by the teacher can be done orally. Considering the Task-based teaching method, students can be encouraged to talk with their partners about their experience of private schooling, the effect and their own attitudes toward this kind of education.

Some theorists claimed that interlanguage development in classroom learners does not differ significantly from that in learners acquiring a second language in a natural way. The process in second language development is the same in both acquisition and learning context. Therefore, researchers on language teaching came up with natural language learning experiences for classroom learners, and the elimination of structural grading, a focus on form and error correction, even for adults. Larsen-Freeman and Long (1991) recorded Felix’s finding of structural parallels between the Inter-language negation, interrogation, pronouns and sentence types of German high-school EFL students and naturalistic acquirers of ESL. He concluded:

…foreign language learning under classroom conditions seems to partially follow the same set of natural processes that characterize other types of language acquisition…there seems to be a universal and common set of principles which are flexible enough and adaptable to the large number of conditions under which language learning may take place. (Larsen-Freeman and Long, 1991: 301)

There are many second language teaching methods other than the Translation-

Grammar Teaching Method and Naturalism Teaching Method. It cannot be denied that any methodology can have advantages and disadvantages. Teachers can combine many methods in one class while teaching under the guidance of one particular teaching methodology in the whole process.