Analisys of the metodologies used by teachers in the teaching and learning process that influence

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN

ANALISYS OF THE METHODOLOGIES USED BY TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS THAT INFLUENCE THE ACADEMIC OUTCOME OF STUDENTS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT INSTITUTO NACIONAL TECNICO INDUSTRIAL 2007.

THIS RESEARCH WAS DONE TO GET THE B.E. DEGREE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

WORK PRESENTED BY:

GERSON DANILO CHÀVEZ TEJADA MANUEL DE JESÙS IRAHETA RAMÌREZ

SAN SALVADOR, JANUARY 2008

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………….........… i 1.1. OBJECTIVES………………………………….…………………………………..1 1.2. ANTECEDENTS OF THE PROBLEM……………………………………….....2-8 1.3. JUSTIFICATION.…….……………..…...………………………………..…..........9 1.4. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM…….………………….……………….….…10 1.5. REACHES AND LIMITATIONS …………………………….……………….….11 1.6. CONCEPTS AND CATEGORIES TO BE USED……………………………...12-20

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1. THEORETICAL-METHODOLOGICAL BASE .……………………….………....21 2.2.PRINCIPLES

CONTAINED

IN

THE

DIFFERENT

TYPES

OF

METHODOLOGIES……………………….…………………..………………...22-60 2.3. THEORETICAL-METHODOLOGICAL FORMULATION OF THE RESEARCH……………………………………………………………………...61-80 2.4. CLASS OBSERVATION……...…………………………………………...……81-82 2.5.DEVELOPMENT AND THEORETICAL DEFINITION (After contrasting the authors´ ones)……..……………………………………………………………..............83

CHAPTER III

OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECTS OF THE RESEARCH……………..........84-86 3.2 PROCEDURE FOR THE GATHERING OF THE INFORAMTION……………...87 3.3 SPECIFICATION OF THE TECHNIQUES OF THE DATA ANALYSIS..............88 3.4 ANALYSIS OF THE DATA………………………………………………...…89-103 4

CRONOGRAM……………………………………………...……………………..104

5

RESOURCES.…………………...…………………………………………………105

6

PRELIMINAR INDEX ON THE FINAL DRAFT…..…...………………..............106 BIBLIOGRAPHY USED.…………………………………………....………..107-108 ANNEXES

INTRODUCTION

This work shows the different steps the researchers followed in order to analyze the methodologies used by the English teachers in the Teaching and learning process that Influence the Academic Outcome of the Students of First Vocational Year of High School at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial 2007.

It also contains the General and Specific objectives which were the leading thread of this work. The antecedents of the work are presented to know what has been happening in previously relation to this research.

In the same way in this work appears the theoretical framework which mainly contains the revised literature and the theoretical position of the specialist writers who were taken into account to carry out this work and also the researchers’ reactions to these specialists’ theories.

The operational framework states the description of the subjects taking into account what was stated in the first stage of the work, and also what was observed during the development of the research and what was found at the end of it.

On the other hand in the annexes there area some tools which were used to get the necessary information to carry out this work.

i

AUTORIDADES

ING. LUIS MARIO APARICIO RECTOR

LCDA. CATALINA MACHUCA DE MERINO VICE –RECTOR ACADEMICO

LIC. JORGE ALBERTO ESCOBAR DECANO FACULTAD DE EDUCACION

Lic. Gustavo Alonso Ramos Ramírez Presidente

Lic. Sonia Guadalupe López Primer Vocal

Lic. Néstor Walter Rivera Clavel Segundo Vocal

Lic. Irma Carballo Asesor

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We owe special debt of gratitude to Lic. Irma Carballo, Lic. Gustavo Alonso Ramos RamĂ­rez, Lic. Sonia Guadalupe LĂłpez, Lic. Nestor Clavel and Dr. Pedro Ticas for their careful and critical reading of our research and their insightful and detailed comments which were invaluable in creating our final result.

DEDICATED TO:

To the almighty GOD, who is the one who lets us keep going on any dream or career that we want to finish or any goal we want to reach, thanks, thanks to my GOD for let me finish this research.

To my children, Meñol and Gabriel and my espouse Imelda who patiently supported me in every moment I dedicated to do this research. Thanks to my parents Don Manuel Iraheta and Doña Virgina Ramirèz who always were concerned about what I was doing and thanks for ever for their prayers.

Special thanks to my sisters Lore, Yoya, La Vicha and my brother Jepeto who always were attending my calls of help and advice to keep me going and never fall, to my relatives who were expecting and anxious for me to finish this research and reach my B.E. degree.

Special but very special thanks to my dear and beloved friend Pamela Cline, who gave me all the support somebody can give without any personal interest just to help and enjoy others triumphs; thanks Pam for your help, special support and your advice, thanks for being there when I called you and never said I can’t.

And thanks to all those who contributed to make this possible, even I don’t mention them but I am still thankful for what they have done for me in order to reach my goal and finish my career.

Manuel de Jesús Iraheta Ramírez.

DEDICATED TO:

I`m really thankful with The Almighty GOD for being the guide of my life.

I want to dedicate this research to my beloved wife Elda and our baby girl Eunice for supporting me all the time and for being my inspiration in everything I do.

I also want to thank my parents, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews for their prayers and support.

Gerson Danilo ChĂ vez Tejada

1.1.GENERAL AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

GENERAL OBJECTIVE •

To analyze the methodologies used by English Teachers in the teaching and learning process that influence the academic output of students of First Year of High School at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial 2007.

ESPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

•

To identify through the observation of classes the methodologies used by English Teachers in the teaching and learning process that influence the academic output of students of First Year of High School at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial 2007.

•

To determine which of the methodologies used by English Teachers in the teaching and learning process influence the academic output of students of First Year of High School at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial 2007.

1.2. ANTECEDENTS

Humanity, in any manner; for many years, has been looking for methods that let them teach a Foreign or Second Language, in this case English as a Foreign Language, teachers and innovators involved in the learning teaching process have found, after practicing with different methodologies, and experiences, a variety of ways of teaching. That is the reason why this problem is not new. It is because even there exist many experiences in the teaching area, there are still appearing more barriers that don’t let the teachers teach how they are supposed to, or solve problems that don’t let students acquire the foreign language how they must do it. Those have been the reasons why through during a long time, specialized people in this area have been trying with different methodologies, as in the twentieth century when some teachers tried, in other words, to teach a foreign language it is a real old profession, characterized by the implementation of different methodologies to improve the efficiency in the teaching-learning process. The problem for some teachers it is how to teach at once, in one way those students are able to learn in the easiest way and, practice when being taught on the different skills.

The first persons known as the pioneers in English Teaching methods were “the German and educator Wilhelm Viëtor in the early 1800’s, Gattegno, Lazanov, Gottlieb Henese and Dr. L. Sauveur in Boston around 1866”1 These men had the initiative, the need to transmit something that for many people only means a part of their lives. But for the inventors of the methods it meant going deeper, finding out new ways in the teaching and learning area.

Even that teaching foreign languages was a good idea, later it was not any more; it was necessary to overcome barriers to communicate, that’s the reason they invented some methods that were even shorter in application; besides these methods were created in order to teach in a right and appropriate formal way, but as all projects, before their implementation, they had to go through a deep investigation. They had to be analysed and

1

Schütz, Ricardo. Teaching Methods and Correlation to Learning in the Language Classroom. htt://ivc.uidaho.edu/flbrain/learning.htm.

depending on the results, teachers considered if they were suitable or not. That is why during hundreds of years there are still appearing new methods in the teaching areas but some of the first to be applied in the huge process were the Direct Method, Audiolingualism, and the Situational Approach. It is necessary to make emphasis in the need of being successful when teaching the students, and that is the reason teaching methods are one of the most important tools in the teaching-learning process and pioneers adopted the idea of approaches and methods because they were looking for one way to be more successful. That is how language teaching came into its own a profession in the twentieth century. But through the pass of the years it has been important to up date these methodologies. That’s why “Language teaching in the twentieth century was characterized by frequent change and innovation and by the development of sometimes competing language teaching ideologies.”2 It was occurring in the way that every teacher was in search of the best way of applying the methodology they consider more successful on the teaching-learning process.

Most of the approaches and methods implemented in language teaching have been object of many changes, especially for those persons whose profession is to improve and make changes and look for better implementations in the methodologies already known. And in that way once they thought that it was necessary to implement new methods because the existent ones were not suitable for the demanding needs of the students, they did it, “When linguistics and language specialists sought to improve the quality of language teaching in the late nineteenth century, they often did so by referring to general principles and theories concerning how languages are learned, how knowledge of language is represented and organized in memory, or how language itself is structured.”3

As professionals in the teaching-learning process teachers probably know how difficult is to teach because during the process many aspects are involved, not only listening, speaking, reading or writing skills, there are more aspects such as emotional, personal or

2

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, page 3.

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, page 18.

3

even some more areas of the students personal attitudes. But why are these factors sometimes not taken into account? It could be because the teacher is not interested in knowing what is going on with the students, maybe because what the teachers really care is to finish the class and go home without any concern if students are learning or not.

Maybe because they think that these actions are not affecting the students in any way but they have to know that when they are teaching “Your whole person is affected as you are struggling to reach beyond the confines or your first language and into a new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting.� Not only learning a new vocabulary language is included, there is a whole package included, and teachers must find out which are those that make easy or hard the assimilation of the foreign language because it depends on that the students have an easiness for learning or have a difficult way to go and lost the interest on the English as a foreign language.

What does it take to learn English language in a professional way? Probably this was the question that the creators of methodologies to be used in the English Teaching area visualized and that many people who were interested and concerned in teaching shared with them; especially to communicate in an honourable and right performance. Those people started thinking on how planting this seed in those who do not have it as a heritage and introduce the students to a new world, the English teaching for real communication.

This is because every change in the methodology teachers apply influences the students` attitudes, and it may cause them to lose the real way.

Nowadays there are difficulties to teach English, to assimilate it, because at the end of the lesson writing sometimes it is evaluated; if it doesn’t have mistakes, the student reaches a good grade; but later consequences of a wrong teaching appear. There is poor communication to interact with people who only speak English.

To make a decision in how to look for a better methodology for a good English teaching to others, it is to think about an internal motivation, what is called self-evaluation; and for somebody who is making decisions like that, it is to encourage students to learn so they may want to become part of a society that is demanding more professionalism in social

life activities for a common benefit. This kind of teachers must be self confident in the teaching interest and in the interest of helping others; not only solving their problems but helping them to make it easy to carry on in the way that learning will participate in the developing of the society where they are living. That will be possible if teachers contribute to reach the goal, a foreign language to be included in an adequate competitive living. It is here where those who really were interested in the learning process conceived this practice as a profession and stopped thinking it as a kind of job through which someone was looking only for the monetary pay back.

It was in the twentieth century when “Language teaching came into its own as profession and the whole foundation of contemporary language teaching was developed during the early part of the twentieth century, as applied and developed principles and procedures for the design of teaching methods and material.”4 But further than that, in the formation of the future of countries, it is important forming professionals who have the obligation to give good education to their inhabitants; in this case, give to students a qualified basic education, because nowadays it is really important to speak, at least; a foreign language, for example English as a foreign language. In other words, to speak a foreign language that will let the student overcome the barriers of communication. That is the reason why MINED (Ministerio de Educación) has created a National Plan named PLAN NACIONAL DE EDUCACION 2001, which intends to bring a good and excellent education to students, starting with teachers who need to have a close relationship with students, and give more ideas and activities for a more effective learning to let them be more involved in their learning process.

“In writing, we represent words and grammar through orthography. When speaking, on the other hand, we construct words and phrases with individual sounds, and we also use pitch change, intonation, and stress to convey different meanings”

5

and only making

emphasis on these elementary observations excellent English teachers will find out the methodologies they are applying are producing as a result excellent English learners.

4 Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, 2nd page.

5 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Teaching. LONGMAN, First Edition. 1992. Page 28th.

There is the possibility that there are files somewhere showing how teachers used to teach the English language but there is something clear; the way teachers used to teach long time ago is not the same nowadays. The differences between those times and the present days are that the students were forced to learn but they assimilated and now, students are not forced to learn, because they don’t care whatever it brings as consequences for their reluctancy. It doesn’t mean people have to go back to those strategies. It is not necessary to implement methodologies that let the teacher be in control.

It is necessary to remember the existence of a diversity of material that leads the teacher to improve in the teaching process, but sometimes teachers choose to follow with common and traditional methodologies, a short path that reflects a low quality in the results of students’ assimilation. A good option can be leaving behind the old teaching model and start entering into the new one. Language teachers need to think about what they do, how and why they do it. And it is important to mention that in High School only certified and qualified teachers are supposed to be hired.

In the teaching process, it´s necessary to think about and develop a formal and adequate plan where students become part of it and make them to be the active counterpart of the lesson. That is another basic tool in the teaching-learning process. Most of the times can occur that the teacher does not think in the student’s needs and maybe if the teacher includes them in his teaching, it could be helpful identifying their needs in learning outcomes. Because of that it is really necessary to make emphasis on those instruments that truly will be the base in the different ways that English as a foreign language must be acquired. Teachers must think about the different areas that are involved in the process, especially remembering that it is important to go from the simple to the complex, this can make emphasis in the students’ backgrounds. This is especially in the case that teachers want to implement their education system but they don’t think about the students` learning styles.

When people are learning a new language everything is involved, not only the psycologycal area, all senses are coming together. People can not say yes to something

and not to something else, especially when everything is related. That is why teachers can’t say no to the remaining areas in the teaching learning process because they will be, obviously; moving one side to other points that will affect the students learning if they are not taken that into account.

Could it be possible that the environment affect the teaching and learning process?

Everything is possible; especially when the principal goal of the teacher is to make the students learn no matter how. He probably will look for all what makes him to be successful in preparing and make the students to be ready to acquire the new language, but there is one point to think about for teachers, maybe they haven’t thought about this before or maybe they have done it before, but after all it can not be any reason for not mentioning that everything is related in order to acquire new knowledge because every single part of what is being learned, belongs to what is around, if it is possible to see it or not, if it is possible to feel it or not, but for some persons could say that it is not important to talk about what is around, but “your whole person is affected as you struggle to reach beyond the confines of your first language and into a new language, a new culture, a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting. Total commitment, total involvement, a total physical, intellectual and emotional response is necessary to successfully send and receive messages in a second language”6 All that means that the teaching learning process is not so easy as probably many teachers have thought before, especially those who are really not teachers in the English teaching learning process and become amateurs in a different field where they are supposed to be.

English teaching is not a subject about copy and paste, it is more than that and only a real teacher has possibly noticed that.

It is important to think about the age the students are; some people can think that it is not important to think about it, but there are differences in ages; it is not the same to teach to students of kindergarden than teaching students of high school; or teach at a college level.

All of them have different needs and each area must be taught according to the students

6

H. Douglas Brown. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Addisson Wesley Longman, Inc. 4th Edition, Page 1

needs, because as it is well known, children have a better and faster assimilation than teenagers, those who are in high school level.

Teenagers in one side have more expectations, most of them should think of ideals, learning a foreign language could be a good way to increase their vocabulary and be taken into account when looking for a job when finishing high school. They are able to analyze and have the possibility to change what they are not in agreement with; they can express their feelings and tell the teacher the methodology he is using is not helping them to learn, it doesn’t mean teachers can not apply activities that involve dynamics to the teaching-learning procedure. On the other side there are children who are expected to receive what the teacher gives them, even they learn faster than younger, they are not allowed; because they do not know about the teaching process, to ask for more or better methodologies to be applied to their learning process. Making emphasis in those methodologies implemented in high school, can not be implemented with children, the reasons, obviously teachers are not going to implement reading and dialogs activities to children that probably will desperate with these methodologies besides, young boys, can well receive the implementation of dynamics for them to have fun and learn; at the same time they are interacting and exploring new fields with students. But it is important to remember that every teacher has his/her own way of teaching and the methodologies they implement when teaching, but it is also necessary to think of creating the adequate environment for the students no matter in what level they are, if they are children or young people.

To think about what has been said before, it lets to think in that planning is also the tool that makes possible to identify what is intended to be taught and the aspects to be considered from students and teachers. From that point of view is how teachers will figure out that “evidently the different areas in the teaching-learning process underline one aspect, or maybe shows predetermined the objectives interests.”7 Including all areas focused in the teaching-learning process could bring out a good learning and a qualified learning from students.

7

Benjamin S. Bloom and Collaborators. Taxonomía de los Objetivos de la Educación. Segunda Edición. Editado por David Mckay Company Inc. 1972, Pagina 184.

1.3. JUSTIFICATION. This research was done with the intention to determine the influence if any, that methodological elements have, especially in the teaching-learning process of English as a Foreign Language.

Based on the methodology to be used in the teaching-learning process is where the results depend on a great measure. That’s why every single teacher must plan his lesson and choose the right methodological strategies to be applied in all the teaching-learning process; with the purpose of reaching the objectives and goals that have been previously stated. Without any doubt what teachers say or do in English classes will affect in a straight way their students´ attitude and as a result, all the learning process will be influenced.

This work was important to determine which of the methodologies used by the English teacher in the teaching and learning process influenced the academic outcome of the students.

1.4. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Do the methodological elements that the teachers of English use influence their students’ outcome?

The different methodologies to teach English as a foreign language are supposed to fullfil nowadays requirements that the changing and technological world is demanding from education.

The importance of learning English is emphasized more and more in all areas of professionalism, even in everyday activities. That’s why English has to be taught the best way as possible in order to prepare students who are the future professionals so they can be able to deal with the demanding life they will face. But how will students do it? How will they learn English to use it as a tool not to be isolated from the rest of the world?

How do teachers use methodologies in the teaching learning process?

Since long time ago, there has been the necessity to use special ways to teach a language and many methods have emerged and teachers have used them. Those methods may or may have not a significative influence in the pupils’ academic outcome in a good or in a bad way when learning English as a foreign language. That’s why this research was developed.

This work has been done because it was necessary to analyze and identify through classes observation if the methodologies used in the teaching learning process influence the academic outcome of students in a specific moment. Thus it was necessary to analyze if the methodologies used by the teacher influenced the English learning level that students of a vocational area could reach in the English learning process.

1.5. REACHES AND LIMITATIONS

This research represents one made in the vocational area of high school related to methodology in the English teaching-learning process.

On one hand, one of the reaches in this research is that the work itself will be as one made in the vocational specialization in high school as a pioneer in the area. Another reach is the bibliography available related to the English teaching methodologies which can be found in books and also on internet. For instance Diane Larsen Freeman, who in her book Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, (1986) provides in a most illuminating and imaginative way an overview and elucidation of English Language teaching methods that have achieved international prominence according to the 1980s.

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers who in their book, Approaches and Methods in Language teaching talk a lot about methodologies, on one side they agree with Diane Larsen Freeman about some methods that are applied in the English Language Teaching process, but on the other side, they bring new ways for teaching a foreign language.

These new ways are called Approaches which are not mentioned by Larsen Freeman.

Approaches are more focused on being implemented in terms, not permanently, on the contrary of methods, which are applied in English teaching most of the time. No matter if they are old-fashioned they are still applied in the schools as a tool for teaching the students. Approaches are another reach for this research.

On the other hand, there are some limitations which need to be overcome. As it is in the case that there was found no other work like this has been developed before. This brings difficulties to relate this research to another research focused on methodologies used in language teaching in the vocational area used in High School. There are no researches like this to be used as background for this research.

1.6. SUMP OF CONCEPTS AND CATEGORIES TO BE USED

In de following description of methods and approaches are differences about them, that is why it is important to have a clear idea about what is a method and what is an approach.

Method: a method is the practical realisation of an approach. The originators of a method have arrived at decisions about types of activities, roles of teachers and learners, the kinds of material which will be helpful, and some model of syllabus organization. Methods include various procedures and techniques as part of their standard fare.

When methods have fixed procedures, informed by a clearly articulated approach, they are easy to describe. The more all-embracing they become, however, the more difficult it is to categorise them as real methods in their own right.

Approach: this refers to “theories about the nature and of language and language learning that serve as the source of practices and principles in language teaching” (Richards and Rodgers 1986). An approach describes how language is used and how its constituent parts interlock-in other words it offers and model of language competence.

An approach describes how people acquire their knowledge of the language and makes statements about the conditions which will promote successful language learning.

For the study of a foreign language there are different methodologies which have being used through the years and they have been evolutioning and being applied in different countries of the world with the purpose of teaching a foreign language, this led to think that the teaching-learning activity is not new. The same difficulties occur in this process, but there is always somebody who is looking to minimize this inconvenient to teach in a better and effective way. Teachers have a different point of view in the teaching-learning process. Teaching is sometimes based on students’ containers because they receive the action, and “There are no instant recipes. No quick and easy method is guaranteed to provide success. Every learner is unique, and every teacher is unique. Every learner is

unique, and every context is unique�8 but the target is still the same. The teachers have to look for the best methodologies to apply so that students can be able to acquire what is taught. Many teachers can make emphasis in different methodologies or instead of that, make emphasis in approaches because alternative approaches and methods are referring to make more emphasis in communication and not taking a long time in grammar and other tasks that are not focused in oral practice. For some others, oral practice can be the most important objective for alternative approaches and methods in the teaching-learning process. But it does not mean other aspects do not have to be taken into account. What is intended to be said is that students have to be taught to develope the different skills, make emphasis in all areas not be stucked only in one, no matter which it is.

One methodology that makes more emphasis in sounds and practice in speaking is The Audiolingual Method, which refers to how students can learn practicing reading different materials. This method emerges as a regulated form to increase the attention given to foreign language teaching in the United States toward the 1950s, but that started to be implemented when the United States came into World War II because it was necessary to have specialized personnel in translating different languages and codes into English. Then Americans thought that “language is primarily speech in Audiolingual theory, but speaking skills are themselves dependent on the ability to accurately perceive and produce the major phonological features of the target language, fluency in the use of the key grammatical patterns in the language, and knowledge of enough vocabulary to use with these patterns�9 this methodology is based in the belief that students must develop and acquire habits through pronunciation and phrases, repetition drills and then practicing with sentences until they are able to produce the correct sound automatically.

The method makes emphasis also on the reading of small paragraphs but before reading it, it is important to have passed through the pronunciation side because both parts are going together, listening in the target language is fundamental to acquire practice and have the knowledge to pronounce when reading with no fear to make any mistake.

8

H. Douglas Brown. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Addisson Wesley Longman, Inc. 4th. Edition, Page 14

9

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 58.

This kind of methodology can be applied when teachers want to make students to practice good habits, memorizing some paragraphs and speaking without any fear, acting like this, students will have more opportunities for success without making many mistakes.

The Communicative Language Teaching was a method found in the changes in a European county, in Britain. This occurred in 1960s when “Some teaching proposals focus more directly on instructional factors. Cooperative Learning for example, which shares many of the characteristics of Communicative Language Teaching, promotes learning through communication in pairs or small groups�.

10

Teachers have to play the

role of assessing and take the control of the class because what the students interact in most of the time of the class doesn’t mean they have the control, some times the teacher has to interrupt to guide back students to the main point and follow the program they are working on. It bases are in the theory that a foreign language has to be focused in learning through interacting, speaking all the time in the target language and even Communicative Language Teaching is considered more than a method, an approach.

One characteristic about The Community Language Learning Method is in which every body participates, even both, teachers and students are spectators but at the same time are demanded to put lots of their attention when they attend the class, especially in listening. This methodology was developed by Charles A. Currant and his associates.

Charles was a specialist in counseling and his experiences and knowledge were implemented applying his technique in the teaching area.

This methodology makes emphasis on how students become counselors for other classmates, it depends on the level they are, this qualifies them to interact with the teacher and the teacher becomes another listener in the group. All the class is developed with the colaboration of students who have more knowledge in the area, other students are using their classmates experience to learn.

10

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 174.

Everything is focused in social interaction, that leads students to work in pair or groups listening what others are explaning about the task they are going to work on, it depends in how many helpers the teacher chooses, That’s why some teachers could think in what “Learners are expected to listen attentively to the knower, for freely provide meanings they wish to express, to repeat target utterances without hesitation to support fellow members of the community, to report deep inner feelings and frustrations as well as joy a pleasure, and to become counselors of other learners.”11

In this methodology teachers can make use of some students previously selected. They can make the rest of the class to become more interested in the class when their own classmates ask them to interact with the group. The teacher has to make them socialize, tell them that it is important to work in groups because in that way they can learn from some other knowledge and start looking for new activities during the development of the class. The teacher is only a member of the class, a counselor, because he is there to make some corrections or to guide the activities when they are loosing the target of the activities.

A contrastive method with the previously named is the Competency-Based Language teaching because “It seeds to teach language in relation to the social contexts in which it is used. Language always occurs as a medium of interaction and communication between people for the achievement of specific goals and purposes.”12 And either it is based on improving what is going to be taught. Teachers have to improve the class in order to create and develop activities where the students will participate more actively and a more effective language learning process will take place because it will let students learn from each others by changing roles and interacting using the guide in what they have learned and what they expect to do with the language.

Competency-based Language Teaching is at the same time a strategy because when teachers are applying this approach, they are adopting an attitude where are feeding back 11

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 94.

12 Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 143.

their own knowledge, at the same time they are making students to interact, they are teaching them to improve their based on their backgrounds increasing the capacity on individual competency in the real world or when developing a specific activity.

The teaching-learning process is a huge area, and that is why teachers make references in different methodologies because they can not be conditioned to use only one methodology, they have to be changing and changing depending on what they want to teach. These changes in methodologies probably have to do with the special way they want to teach so they don’t become stereotypes, using and using the same tools all the time, and this can be done only by improving their English teaching-learning process and maybe because of that it is important to include Suggestopedia also known as Desuggestopedia, and here is where “The learner learns not only from the effect of direct instruction but from the environment in which the instruction takes place. The bright décor of the classroom, the musical background, the shape of the chairs, and the personality of the teacher are considered as important in instruction as the form of the instructional material itself.”13 Teachers make emphasis in the students contact with literature, texts and some other materials that led them have a direct and personal experience with language. In the classroom everything around it is used, music and text books. Everything is combined in a harmonic rhythm coming from music and words the teacher reads from a text previously selected.

This type of procedure is applied for teachers to group of students, indications are given before starting the class, it is applied as a kind of therapy because they encourage the students to pay attention until the music is playing, every body is quiet and listening the music, after the music stops playing the students are told to read a paragraph of the reading, then to make a kind of reflection, and the process continues like that; at the end the students leave the classroom very quietly. It is supposed that students will remember

13

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 102.

more when they are sleeping or not making any effort to answer any homework, they must be focused on what they have listened and read, unconsiously, they will remember,

This methodology is not implemented so often for English teachers, maybe because they think that it is not too effective as other methods are. Maybe because it is believed that English is best acquired through practicing when speaking and not only through listening or reading.

In The Direct Method, another option in the teaching-learning process, “Sauveur and other believers in the Natural Direct Method argued that a foreign language could be taught without translation or the use of the learner’s native language if meaning was conveyed directly through demonstration and action”14 In order to this, when students are learning English as a foreign language, they are told what to do in the target language, the instructor never translates into their native language, that makes students speak most of the time and corrections are made when interacting. It’s based on the importance of what can be inferred as a deductive way in denominating and understanding words, phrases or sentences making the learning process more complete. So because of a result of its application, it becomes necessary that the teacher be more interested in his/her teaching responsibility and devote more time, energy and resources to reach the goal that is the students to learn the foreign language appropriately.

The students can be taught with the direct methodology, here the teacher is looking to increase the students’ vocabulary, make them participate in the class, practicing what they already know, trying to keep a conversion. Even indications are given in English, if possible using mimics or signals but never translating. It forces students to pay attention to the teacher and follow the class, but the teacher even has to make emphasis that it is important to check out if students are following him in the class in progress. He must speak slowly when he sees that students are getting lost.

14

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 11.

On the other hand there is the The Lexical Approach, another tool for the teaching area, especially to be applied when teachers want to make emphasis in real communication, grammar, in how to acquire the language, in how to use the language, “A lexical approach in language teaching refers to one derived from the belief that the building blocks of language learning and communication are not grammar, functions, notions, or some other unit of planning and teaching but lexis, that is, words and word combinations.�15 This approach infers that has to be a combination with word and words.

It’s focused on the vocabulary; it will let the students interchange their ability to communicate in the daily life. It will help them analyze and compare the meaning of different words. It is focused on the aspect that words have a different meaning depending on the function of the phrase; besides, the looking for new vocabulary can be done in different ways, in local libraries, newspapers, internet, in what ever help the student to find information that let them associate their learning with real life.

This approach makes the observation in how important is to make use as much as possible material that can be found, starting from a magazine to a complete book of literature, from a lesson on tape to a complete movie, Lexical appoach must be used with different types of materials.

When teachers apply this approach, it is possibe they are letting students to research, to create in the students the habit of reading, listenning different information on the radio or on the T.V. Students can become interested in learning about writing structure and make emphasis on their own activities, improving programs to be studied and analyse the results, without losing the principal target that is grammar and language construction.

There is another method that is known as The Silent Way. Here, most of the teachers like to be giving explanations, correcting students, making emphasis on different aspects related with the class.

15

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 132.

The Silent Way is different because here, speaking is what the teacher doesn’t do in most of the possible time, that is why this method “it is based on the premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom but the learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible.”16 The teacher is only an observer most of the time. He uses his knowledge to represent through mimics and comparing words to let the students the meaning of a particular word. This methodology can help students to increase their vocabulary and playing with their imagination will let them be able to put together some words to find the meaning for the word they are looking for.

This kind of activities can even help them to associate different words to find new sentences and make more fluid sentences when speaking. In other words they selfcorrect their mistakes using their criteria.

In the teaching-learning process is taken into account an approach that is used as well as the other methodologies and it is The Natural Approach, which is focused on aspects where the students do not have to be told with the correct answer at all. This approach is applied especially on English Teaching as a Foreign Language. It was implemented in the United States of North America, to teach foreign people from different countries to encourage them to learn in a natural way because according to that, “When the student says something incorrectly, the teacher repeats or paraphrases correctly within the context of creating meaning so that the grammar is never allowed to become the focus of the lesson”.17 This approach makes emphasis too, in the natural learning and don’t look for making corrections in the students mistakes, students never are corrected even they can ask as many times as they want because making mistakes is how they are going to learn and if errors are fixed in an indirect way as telling the correct pronunciation without telling the student in which part of the sentence the mistake is.

The former approach can be applied working in pairs or working in small groups because in this way students will be able to work directly in the foreign language using real communiation and even if they make a lot of mistakes, they always will be corrected to

16

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition, Page 81.

17 Jane Brauer, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. The Natural Approach, “Learning Language” Vs. “Acquiring Language” 1995, Page 8.

apply the correct word and try again making new sentences with the correct words the teacher repeats the phrase.

CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK.

2.1. Theoretical-Methodological Base.

In the twentieth century, teachers begun to study the different methodologies about how students acquire best a foreign language, some of them based their methodologies on the use of Grammar and Translation Method. Some of its first writers were “Johan Seidenstü, Karl Plötz, H. S. Ollendorf, and Johann Meidinger who suggest that Grammar Translation was the offspring of German scholarship, the object of which, according to one of its less charitable critics, was to know everything about something rather than the thing itself.”1 The purpose of this methodology is to acquire the foreign language through reading in the most possible, all literature that the students can get, it is because according to the writers above, Jack C. Richards tells how only through the rules of grammatical structure students will be able to translate what they are reading into their native language and vice versa.

1

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition 2001, page 5.

21

2.2.

Principles contained in the different Types of Methodologies.

The different methods and approaches contain their own principles to teach a language.

The principal characteristics of the Grammar and Translation Method were:

1. The goal of foreign language study is to learn a language in order to read its literature or in order to benefit from the mental discipline and intellectual development that result from foreign language study.

Everything is based in the purpose that in the foreign language teaching-learning process the most important thing is to make use as much as possible of literature, it is in order to develop an auto discipline for intellectual development that is acquired through the experience in studying foreign languages.

2. Reading and writing are the major focus.

In most of the cases little attention or not is taken into account for listening and speaking.

3. Vocabulary selection is based solely on the reading texts used.

The lesson is presented including a list of words which are taught through a bilingual vocabulary, grammar rules are the most dominant during the class development.

4. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language practice.

This part is the basic unit of the Grammar and Translation Method because all texts have to be translated into the foreign language or into the target language, everything makes more emphasis in translating readings or selected previously for the teacher.

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5. Accuracy is emphasized.

In this part students are expected to acquire the highest level of translating.

6. Grammar is taught deductively.

Translation is applied after being studied the rules of grammar. This only can be well done after translating paragraphs, texts, and some other written materials.

7. The student’s native language is the medium of instruction.

The teachers use their native language to instruct the students to interpret and translate the readings.

In her book, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Diane Larsen Freeman tells how Grammar Translation is not a new methodology, that even has been used for a long time, and she makes emphasis on that according to this method the goal that teachers are looking for is that “through the study of the grammar of the target language, students would become more familiar with the grammar of their native language and that this familiarity would help them speak and write their naïve language better”2

In this methodology the foreign language is an important instrument because through this, students are taught in how to apply the grammatical rules when translating into the target language or into their native language, teachers make use of their native language to explain the questions that students have.

H. Douglas Brown, in his book: Principles of Language Learning and Teaching; makes emphasis on how the Grammar and Translation was named at first Classical Method, which is remarked by Jack C. Richards and Larsen Freeman.

2

Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press 1986, page 4.

23

H. Brown describes this method too in how “It focuses on grammatical rules, memorization or vocabulary and of various declensions and conjugations, translation of text”

3

In this case, Brown describes how Prator and Celce-Murcia (1997) list the mayor

characteristics of Grammar Translation methodology. Here, classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.

1. Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.

2. Long elaborated explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given.

3. Grammar provides the rules for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words.

4. Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.

5. Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis.

6. Often the only drills are exercises in translating disconnected sentences from the target language into the mother tongue.

7. Little or no attention is given to pronunciation.

This statement comes to remark what the other writers mean in when and how the Translation Method is used and what it is the target and how to make emphasis not in an oral practice, the teaching is not focused in real communication in the target language, but it is used to make students to be more confident with their native language.

There is another method, The Direct Method that, “According to F. Franke, a language could best be taught by using it actively in the classroom. Rather than using analytical procedure that focuses on explanation of grammar rules in classroom teaching, teachers must encourage direct and spontaneous use of the foreign language in the classroom.

Learners would then be able to induce rules of grammar.” 4 and about this principle that was provided, it was the foundation for the beginning of what come to be known as The 3

H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 4th edition, Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. page 15.

4 Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition 2001, page 11.

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Direct Method. But like other methods it has its own principles too to be applied in the classroom when the teacher is developing the class.

1. The class has to be conducted in the target language.

2. Every day vocabulary and new sentences to be build.

3. Oral communication skills are build in a carefully grade of progression. Develop the class through yes and no questions and answer between teachers and students must be provided.

4. Grammar is taught inductively.

5. New points are introduced orally.

6. The concrete vocabulary is taught through pictures, demonstrations and objects.

7. Speech and listening comprehension are taught.

8. Correct pronunciation and grammar are emphasized.

The Direct Method, the other way of acquiring a foreign language is not new because it has been applied by English teachers in foreign language acquiring, and with the main characteristics that this method is special because translation into the native language is never allowed, everything is worked on the target language.

“The Direct Method has one very basic rule: No translation is allowed. In fact, the Direct Method receives its name from the fact that meaning is to be connected directly with the target language, without going through the process of translating into the students’ native language.�5

When applying the Direct Method, no translation into the native language is allowed, most students have to practice in the target language because only inducting the students to the foreign language through this technique, they will be able to practice and work in the target language in order to have a better communication and practice most of the possible time during the class, even it will let them think in the target language without the need of thinking in their own language, in other words, it is good for the students to 5

Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press. 1986, page 18.

25

think in the foreign language, it reduces the possibilities to get confused and be more successful when speaking in the target language.

In the Direct Method there is another characteristic, the teacher when he is introducing a new vocabulary to the students, he becomes very active because he explains it using mimics, pictures, but all this is done in the target language. Because of the nature of this method, every body participates in a direct way, every body has an active part in the class development because the class runs in a way of going and coming conversation and questions, every single student participates.

There are some other ways in teaching a foreign language, like The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching, where “two of the leaders in this approach movement are Harold Palmer and A.S. Hornby, two of the most prominent figures in British twentieth-century language teaching.� 6 These two persons were the first ones who tried to look for a more fundamental scientific prove to establish an oral approach to teaching English as a foreign language.

In the 1920s and 1930s, several large-scale investigations of foreign language vocabulary were undertaken, in order to look for principles that led to the development of principles of vocabulary control. After that vocabulary was seen as an essential component of reading proficiency.

But in the looking for a better way of English teaching, many people try to find the best way to reach this goal, and besides the methodologies some approaches appeared. These approaches came to complement the teaching profession.

In the world where students are, not in classrooms just to be part of the English-teaching process, they must become part of this process; they need to become not only watchers and documents readers and translators. Students´ progress in acquiring the foreign

6

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition 2001, page 36.

26

language has to be noticeable. Even when students seem to be confused or seem slow to catch on or respond, teachers need to continue to engage them in meaningful activities; teachers have to be in attention to make them interact with the whole class, like a tide body looking for the same goal, like every classmate.

According to this approach, what the learner acquires in the classroom has to be applied in real life, talking and practicing what he has learned. Only acting like this the student will become part of the target language because in other ways, what is learned in the classroom stays in the classroom. This is what the Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching try to avoid.

In contrast to the Direct Method, in this approach the student is required to repeat what the teacher is expressing, to make short or long questions or to answer questions made by the teacher. On the other hand teachers are called to be the inductors or directors of the class. They become the conductor until the students’ develop the class. He calls the students to repeat what he is teaching. In other words the teacher “The teacher is required to be a skillful manipulator, using questions, commands, and other cues to elicit correct sentences from the learners.”7

One of the most important objectives of the Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching is to make emphasis in the different skills. But the most important point is to make special reference in pronunciation and grammar through new structures and new vocabulary.

“Davies et al. likewise gives detailed information about teaching procedures to be used with Situational Language Teaching”8. The sequence of activities they propose consists on the following:

7

Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition 2001, page 43.

8 Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition 2001, page 46.

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1. Listening practice in which the teacher obtains his student’s attention and repeats an example of the patterns or a word in isolation clearly, several times, probably saying it slowly at least once.

2. Choral imitation in which students all together or in large groups repeat what the teacher has said.

3. Individual imitation in which the teacher asks several individual students to repeat the model he has given in order to check their pronunciation.

4. Isolation, in which the teacher isolates sounds, words, or groups or words which cause trouble and goes through techniques 1-3 with them before replacing them in context.

5. Building up to a new model, in which gets students to ask and answer questions using patterns they already know in order to bring about the information necessary to introduce the new model.

6. Elicitation, in which the teacher, using mime, prompt words, gestures, etc. gets students to ask questions, make statements, or give new examples of the patterns.

7. Substitution drilling, in which the teacher uses cue words (words, pictures, numbers, names, etc,) to get individual students to mix the examples of the new patterns.

8. Substitution drilling, in which the teacher gets one student to ask a question and another to answer until most students in the class have practice asking and answering the new questions form.

9. Correction, in which the teacher indicates by shaking his head, repeating the error, etc., that there is a mistake and invites the student or a different student or correct it. Where the teacher not simple corrects the mistake himself. He asks the students to correct themselves so they will be encouraged to listen to each other carefully.

The Situational Language Teaching approach makes strong emphasis in oral practice, grammar construction and in sentence patterns.

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The Audiolingual Method basically is applied to develop mechanical habits by memorizing words what makes the possibilities of making mistakes less possible, and it is more successful when the vocabulary is presented in an oral form than in written form, it also helps to develop not only the skill of listening, but also the development of other skills. It is like to develop the habit of the practice what is being taught and keep practicing to increase the ability of speaking fluently and the fewer mistakes possible.

There are some principles to be taken into account when applying the audiolingual method in a typical lesson class.

1. The dialogue is adapted to the students’ interest or situation, through changing certain key words of phrases. This is acted out by the students.

2. Some parts of the dialogue are selected and pronunciation is practiced individually and in chorus.

3. The students may refer to their notebook; followed up by the reading and new vocabulary activities from the dialogue may be required.

4. Follow-up activities may take place in the language laboratory, where further dialogue and drill work is carried out.

The practice of Audiolingual Method doesn’t depend so much on the instructor’s creative ability and do not require excellent proficiency in the language.

There was an era when the Audiolingualism decline, after reaches its most widespread use in the 1960s.

Noam Chomsky rejected the structuralist approach to language

description as well as the behaviorist theory of language learning. “Language is not a habit structure. Ordinary linguistic behavior characteristically involves innovation, formation of new sentences and patterns in accordance with rules of great abstractness and intricacy”9

9

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 65.

29

The Audio-lingual Method has to do with military aspects because it was a discovery made by the United States Army, during World War II, due to the need to communicate in different languages in the way that they were looking for a program were the elements of the army to be able to learn foreign languages, because of that, The Audio Lingual Method was not after all, at that moment, a real goal to be used as method for teaching in schools or colleges in the United States. It was exclusively for the army implementation, but “there was a growing demand of foreign expertise in the teaching of English.

Thousands of foreign students entered the United States to study in universities, and many of these students required training in English before they could begin their studies.

These factors led to the emergence of the American approach to ESL, which by the mid1950s had become Audiolingualism.”10 The growing of the demand of this methodology was based in the need of use a methodology, at that time, to fulfill their expectations in a complete manner, to bring an answer to the objectives or interests they have at that time, because they needed to find a methodology to be applied in the shortest time as possible, to get results to let the army communicate in different languages. But at the end, and even during the war II, the Audio-lingual Method wasn’t any more only a military theme. This becomes a theme for foreign language teaching, as it is used nowadays.

There are some other methods and approaches to be used when teaching English as a foreign language. They are called Alternative Approaches and methods. These Methods and Approaches have their origins in what “rather than starting from a thirty of language and drawing on research and theory in Applied Linguistics, these methods are developed around particular theories of learners and learning, sometimes the theories of a single theorizer or educator.”11 Here are found some strategies that were taken from class observations and how the ideas of different ways of teaching were taken from those experiences.

10

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 51.

11 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 71.

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Included in the branch of English Teaching as a foreign language teaching, it is the Total Physical Response, a method that was developed by James Asher. Who describes the method´s purpose to develop and internalize the action when listening, followed by the physical movements. Because it is believed that teaching is based on that listening comprehension should be fully developed before any active oral participation from the students. Some other actions are important as are listening and physical movements but without the two principles, is defined the optimal instruction for the teachers.

The commands are given to get students to perform an action; the action makes the meaning of the command clear. “Asher views the verb and particularly the verb in the imperative, as the central linguistic motif around which language use and learning are organized.”12 The Total Physical Response principles “upon which teacher’s behavior is based.”13 According to Diane Larsen Freeman are the following:

1. Meaning in the target language can often be conveyed through actions. Memory is activated through learner response. The target language should be presented in chunks, not just word by word.

2. The students’ understanding of the target language should be developed before speaking.

3. Students can initially learn on part of the language rapidly by moving the body.

4. The imperative is a powerful linguistic device through which the teacher can direct student behavior.

5. Students can learn through observing actions as well as by performing the actions themselves.

6. It is very important that students feel successful. Feeling of success and low anxiety facilitate learning.

7. Students should not be made to memorize fixed routines.

8. Correction should be carried out in an unobtrusive manner.

12 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 73.

13 Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press. 1986. page 114.

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9. Students must develop flexibility in understanding novel combinations of target language chunks. They need to understand more than the exact sentences used in training.

10. Language learning is more effective when it is fun.

11. Spoken language should be emphasized over written language.

12. Students will begin to speak when they are ready.

13. Students are expected to make errors when they first begin speaking. Teachers should be tolerant of them. Work on the fine details of the language should be postponed until students have become somewhat proficient.

Applying this principle, can be inferred in that students will be able to learn the target language in an effective process through making students to think first an applying what they acquire later.

The Silent Way, another method of language teaching. “The Silent Way is the name of a method of language teaching devised by Caleb Gattegno.” 14 in this method the teacher is active in setting up classroom situations while the students do most of the talking and interaction among themselves. All skills are taught from the beginning. Student´s errors are expected as a normal part of the learning; the teacher’s silence helps to foster selfreliance and student initiative. But Gattegno makes emphasis in that the Silent Way is the idea that students must be subordinated to learning and must develop their own inner criteria for correctness.

In this method most of the class is developed by the students in order to make them to participate actively in their on learning. The teacher only participates in the class when he considers it is necessary, but it is one of the principles of this methodology that “teachers are exhorted to resist their long-standing commitment to model, remodel, assist, and direct desired students responses.”15 This is because the students in this case have to

14

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 81.

15 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 85.

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interact as much as possible because they will learn to work in groups, to share in groups not as individuals. They need to be able to accept other student’s corrections as others are going to be asked to correct others´ work. At the end of the class they all together have to make conclusions about their own class development.

In the first part of the class the teachers focus the lesson on something that students already know.

“Since the Silent Way may not be familiar to many of you, let us review in detail our observation and examine its principle” thinking in that these principles were applied in a class observation.16

1. The teacher should start with something the students already know and build from that to the unknown. Languages share a number of features, sounds being the most basic.

2. The teacher should give only what help is necessary.

3. Language is not learned by repeating after a model.

4. Students’ action can tell the teacher whether or not they have learned. Students need to develop their own inner criteria of correctness.

5. Students should learn to rely on each other and themselves.

6. Learning involves transferring what one knows to new contexts.

7. Silence is a tool. It helps to foster autonomy, or the exercise of initiative.

8. Meaning is made clear by focusing student’s perceptions, not through translation.

9. If the teacher praises (or criticizes) students, they will be less self reliant. The teacher’s action can interfere with students’ developing their own criteria.

10. Students show the teacher where things are unclear.

11. If students are simply given answers, rather than being allowed to self-correct, they won’t retain them.

12. The students learn and they must give the teacher their attention in order not to miss what he says. Student attention is a key to learning.

16

Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press. 1986, page 58.

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13. Students gain autonomy in the language by exploring it and by making choices.

14. Some learning takes place naturally as sleep. Students will naturally work on the day’s lesson to them. (there is no homework)

The Silent Way is first focused on pronunciation, but it depends in a great deal in the level of knowledge the students are, from this determination, teachers build their lesson class, and then start working on other areas, like sounds and phrases.

Unlikely of The Silent Way, there is another methodology that is The Community Language Learning; this method was “developed by Charles A. Curran and his collaborators.”17 This methodology is based on the counseling brought from student to student, depending on the level of knowledge that they have. They will be able to assess others of the class. Here when a student has a problem, it can be in spelling, or any misunderstanding, another student brings him support to fulfill his need.

This process of learning according to Jack C. Richards has an indirect result too, it is because students learn to socialize with each others, taking advantage about being independent and look for their own answers in the same group without asking the teacher, except if there is not a complete or a clear vision of the work, they refer to the teacher, who is just observing and giving advice when it is really necessary.

Curran describes the key of the Community Language Learning as “a group of ideas concerning the psychological requirements for successful learning are collected under the acronym SARD (Curran 1976; 6)”18, which can be explained as follows:

S stands for security. Unless learners feel secure, they will find it difficult to enter into a successful learning experience.

17

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 90.

18 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 92.

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A stand for attention and aggression. CLL recognizes that a loss of attention should be taken as an indication of the learner’s lack of involvement in learning, the implication being that variety in the choice of learner tasks will increase attention and therefore promote learning. Aggression applies to the way in which a child, having learned something, seeks an opportunity to show his or her strength by taking over and demonstrating what has been learned, using the new knowledge as a tool for selfassessment.

R stands for retention and reflection. If the whole person is involved in the learning process, what is retained is internalized and becomes a part of the learner’s new persona in the foreign language. Reflection is a consciously identified period of silence within the framework of the lesson for the student.

D denotes discrimination. When learners have retained a body of material they are ready to sort in out and see how one thing relates to another.

Students base their lesson on what they want to talk about. It is based in what they expect to do, expressing their ideas through conversation. The teacher becomes an expectant providing new vocabulary according to the level the students are. The teacher lesson depends on the topics to develop the class and make the students feel in an adequate environment to make successful English acquisition.

As most methods, CLL combines different principles and activities that makes the English-learning more successful. The principles are the following.

1. Translation. Learners form a small circle. A learner whispers a message or meaning he or she wants to express, the teacher translates it into the target language. And the student repeats the teacher’s translation.

2. Group work. Learners may engage in various group tasks, such as small-group discussion of a topic, preparing a conversation, preparing a summary of a topic

35

for presentation to another group, preparing a story that will be presented to the teacher and the rest of the class.

3. Recording. Students record conversations in the target language.

4. Transcription. Students transcribe utterances and conversations they have recorded for practice and analysis of linguistic forms.

5. Analysis. Students analyze and study transcriptions of target language sentences in order to focus on particular lexical usage or on the application of particular grammar rules.

6. Reflection and observation. Learners reflect and report on their experience of the class, as a class or in groups. This usually consists of expressions of feelingssense of one another, reactions of silence, concern for something to say, and so on.

7. Listening. Students listen to a monologue by the teacher involving elements they might have elicited or over heard in class interactions.

8. Free conversation. Students engage in free conversation with the teacher or with other learners. This might include discussion of what they learned as well as feelings they had about how they learned.

Here every body participates, interacting with each others is basic, working together in sentences building and reading it or practicing pronunciation, or making small dialogues.

The point is to make the student to think and express their ideas and giving examples and conveying some others ideas.

When Diane Larsen Freeman refers to Community Language Learning, addressing that “The Community Language Learning Method takes its principle from the more general Counseling-Learning approach developed by Charles A. Curran.�19 Where is applied the believe that students can be self confident if they are allowed to try speaking by their own and changing ideas and counseling other to be successful when speaking, they will not be afraid any more if interact with others as much as they can. The teacher encourages them to loose shade attitudes and become more open to participate during the 19

Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press. 1986, page 89.

36

class development. In other words, students learn from their own knowledge, learn from what they already know, what they already have learned from themselves or from other students.

According to Freeman some “principles” can be mentioned 20

1. Building with and among students is very important.

2. Any new learning experience can be threatening. When students have an idea of what will happen in each activity, they often feel more secure. People learn best when they feel secure.

3. Language is for communication.

4. The teacher should be sensitive to students’ limitations and not overwhelming them with more than with what they can handle.

5. Students feel more secure when they know the limits of an activity.

6. Teacher and students are whole persons (students are invited to talk about how they felt during the conversation).

7. Guided by the knowledge that each learner is unique, the teacher creates an accepting atmosphere. Learners feel free to lower their defenses and the learning experience becomes less threatening.

8. The teacher “counsels” the students. He shows them he is really listening to them and understands what they are saying. But understanding how students feel, the teacher can help students to overcome their negative feelings, which might otherwise block their learning.

9. The students’ native language is used to make the meaning clear. Students feel more secure when they understand everything.

10. The teacher should take the responsibility for clearly structuring activities in the most appropriate way possible for successful completion of an activity.

11. Learning at the beginning stages is facilitated if students attend to on task at a time.

20

Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press. 1986, page 95.

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12. The teacher encourages students´ initiative and independence.

13. Students learn best when they have a choice in what they practice. Students develop an inner wisdom about where they need to work. If students feel in control, they can take more responsibility for their own learning.

14. Students need to learn, to discriminate; for example, in perceiving the similarities and differences among the target language forms.

15. In groups students can begin to feel sense of community and can learn from each others as well as the teacher. Cooperation, not competition, is encouraged.

16. Developing a community among the class members builds trust and can help to reduce the threat of the new learning situation.

17. Learning tends not to take place when the material is too new or conversely, too familiar. Retention will best take place somewhere in between novelty and familiarity.

18. In addition to reflecting on the language, students reflect on what they have experienced. In this way, they have an opportunity to learn about their own learning as well as learning about the language.

19. In the beginning stages, the “syllabus” is designed primarily by the students.

Students are more willing to learn when they have created the material themselves.

According to all the ahead principles, the teacher is looking for what the students learn the target language trough practicing, creating their environment in which they are going to learn by interacting, even the teacher is an spectator, he never will tell the students something is wrong, on the contrary, he will guide them and advise them to keep going without telling them they are wrong.

There is a variety of methodologies, like the ones described before; there it is “Suggestopedia, also known as Desuggestopedia, it is a method developed by the Bulgarian psychiatrist-educator Georgi Lozanov.”21 In this methodology is made a lot of 21

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 100.

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emphasis in the material that is going to be used in the class development. Students learn not only from what the material the teacher has prepared previously, here is included a big gamma of materials, this is because the teacher uses everything he can, lid the furniture in the classroom, which can be used as much as the teacher consider it necessary, the same shape of what it is in the classroom is used making the students to speak when describing the object the teacher asks for.

Sugestopedia makes lot of emphasis in the use of music to help students to become in a kind of relaxing attitude, helping them to be more concentrated in what comes next. That is why both, intonation and rhythm are coordinated with a musical background, what actually makes the students to be less stressed and be more awake and concentrated in the lesson. With all this activities it is expected that students acquire a practice when delivering, delivering in a well performed vocabulary which has been previously said by the teacher to be acquired by their own sake, so when they speak they will find out that speaking in the target language is not a problem, it is something that can be enjoyed from the moment it is being learned.

As in other methodologies, in Suggestopedia different material for teaching can be used, not only the material that is found in the classroom, like wall paper, posters, the chairs, windows, etc. the teacher can bring his own material to be used during the class development, texts, magazines, or other materials that let the teacher to make the students participate from the beginning to the end of the class. All this is about that previously material can be used for discussion between the same classmates, find different points of view. Even the teacher can participate to suggest the students to stand their opinions.

When the new material comes, it can also be discussed as much as the teacher considers it necessary or translated into the native language or not, that is why the teacher´s participation is important.

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“Lozanov lists several expected teacher behaviors that contribute to these presentations”22

1. Show absolute confidence in the method.

2. Display fastidious conduct in manners and dress.

3. Organize properly and strictly observe the initial stages of the teaching processthis includes choice and play of music, as well as punctuality.

4. Maintain a solemn attitude toward the session.

5. Give tests and respond tactfully to poor papers (if any).

6. Stress global rather than analytical attitudes toward material.

7. Maintain a modest enthusiasm.

“We fear that we will be unable to perform, that we will be limited in our ability to learn that we will fail. One result is that we do not use the full mental powers that we have.’23

Diane Larsen Freeman when referring to Georgi Lazanov and Caleb Gattegno in how important is to make emphasis in use all the capacity when learning, only applying the complete mental power students will be successful in acquiring the foreign language. It is a way of show how students can overcome barriers, difficulties, and that giving their best will help them to perform in to the new world they are trying to get in.

From this, we will attempt to uncover the principles of Suggestopedia.

1. Learning is facilitated in a relaxed, comfortable environment.

2. A student can learn from what is present in the environment, even if his attention is not directed to it. (Peripheral Learning).

3. If the student trusts and respects the teacher’s authority, he will accept and retain information better.

4. The teacher should recognize that learners bring certain psychological barriers with them to the learning situation. She should attempt to “dessugest” these.

22

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 104.

23 Diane Larsen-Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press. 1986, page 72.

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5. Activating the learners’ imagination will aid learning.

6. The teacher attempts to increase her/his students’ confidence that they will be successful learners. The more confident the students feel, the better they will learn.

7. Assuming a new identity enhances students’ feeling of security and allows them to be more open. They feel less inhibited since their performance is really that of a different person.

8. The dialog that the students learn contains language they can use immediately.

9. The teacher should integrate indirect positive suggestions (there is no limit to what you can do) into the learning situation.

10. The teacher should present and explain the grammar and vocabulary, but not dwell on them.

11. One way that meaning is made clear is through mother tongue translation.

12. On the conscious plane, the learner attends to the language; on the subconscious plane, the music suggests that learning is easy and pleasant. When there is a unity between conscious and subconscious, learning is enhanced.

13. Listening to a concert is ideal for overcoming psychological barriers and for taking advantage of learning potential.

14. At these times, the distinction between the conscious and the subconscious is most blurred and, therefore, optimal learning can occur.

15. Dramatization is a particularly valuable way of playfully activation the material.

Fantasy reduces barriers to learning.

16. The fine arts (music, art, and drama) enable suggestions to reach the subconscious. The arts should, therefore, be integrated as much as possible into the teaching process.

17. Music and movement reinforce the linguistic material. It is desirable that students achieve a state of “infantilization” -having a childlike attitude-so that they will be more open to learning. If they trust the teacher, they will reach this state more easily.

18. In an atmosphere of play, the conscious attention of the learner does not focus on linguistic forms, but rather on using the language. Learning can be fun.

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19. Errors are to be tolerated, the emphasis being on content, not form. The teacher should use the form a little later so the students will hear it used correctly.

The methodology is centered in learning through musical rhythm, even that a same time it is well applied as therapy for students to relax and through that relaxed attitude; they will become more susceptible in the class and increase their self-satisfaction through this kind of performance.

The profession of English Teaching, besides the methods to be used can make use of the named Approaches, like the Whole Language which “was created in the 1980s by a group of U.S. educators concerned with the teaching of language arts, that is, reading and writing in the native language”24 with the difference that Whole Language is not a method, it is an approach to learning that sees language as a whole entity, that is way is said that every teacher is free to apply what ever approaches he or she considers appropriate to the development of their classes.

This approach is based specially on separating the language into components in order that students can enjoy their learning through different activities like reading, writing or analyzing a text. In this approach teachers are called not to transmit knowledge; they are called to make knowledge together with the students.

The teachers are able to apply the approach as they considered necessary, in other words, teachers implement the Whole Language as the way they interpret it and how it fixes in what subject they are teaching.

“Whole language is said to be authentic, personalized, self-directed, collaborative, and pluralistic. Such characteristics are believed to focus learner attention and to motivate mastery.”25 In these terms, the teacher is seen as a facilitator, as an active participant to

24

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 108.

25 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 109.

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the development of the class. He is not seen like other teachers are seen trying to pass what they know to the students. Here the teacher experiments the moment of developing a class that is being built through time is running during the class period, not planned before it starts, in order to make the students participate to build the lesson plan making them to interact and what they consider will be the most important to learn, but, not because the students have that privilege, the teacher is not going to take part on that, on the contrary, the teacher participates actively showing that he can be not just the teacher, he can become another member of the class through interacting with students.

“The mayor principles underlying the design of Whole Language instruction are as follows”.26

1. The use of authentic literature rather than artificial, especially prepared texts and exercises designed to practice individual reading skill.

2. A focus on real and natural events rather than on especially written stories that do not relate the students’ experience.

3. The reading of real texts of high interest, particularly literature.

4. Reading for the sake of comprehension and for a real purpose.

5. Writing for a real audience and not simply to practice writing skills.

6. Writing as a process through which learners explore and discover meaning.

7. The use of student-produced texts rather than teacher-generated or othergenerated texts.

8. Integration of reading, writing and other skills.

9. Student-centered learning: students have choice over what they read and write, giving them power and understanding of their world.

10. Reading and writing in partnership with other learners.

11. Encouragement of risk taking and exploration and the acceptance of errors as signs of learning rather than of failure.

26

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 110.

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Whole Language approach is based in the cooperative teaching-learning process, because teacher has to interact with the students as the students are called to interact with the teacher during the class development, if don’t, the learning process can not reach the planned goal, that students acquire the most possible level in foreign language learning.

The Multiple Intelligence Approach.

“Multiple Intelligence is based on the work of Howard Gardner of the Harvard Graduate School of Education” 27 According to Howard, teachers have to make lot of emphasis in that students are not only trying to acquire a foreign language, that students besides acquiring or learning a foreign language have to be trained to recognize what they are studying, because every student has a different way to see things and the teacher has to visualize his individual preferences, according to these differences the teacher will find the way in how to focus his/her lesson to the group.

According to Howard there are different intelligences:

a) Linguistic: the ability to use language in special and creative ways, which is something lawyers, writers, editors, and interpreters are strong in. b) Logical/mathematical: the ability to think rationally, often found with doctors, engineers, programmers, and scientists. c) Spatial: the ability to form mental models of the world, something architects, decorators, sculptors, and inters are good at. d) Musical: a good ear for music, as is strong in singers and composers. e) Bodily/kinesthetic: having a well-coordinated body, something found in athletes and craftspersons. f) Interpersonal: the ability to be able to work well with people, which is strong in salespeople, politicians, and teachers.

27

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press . “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 115.

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g) Intrapersonal: the ability to understand oneself and apply one’s talent successfully, which leads to happy and well-adjusted people in all areas of life. h) Naturalist: the ability to understand and organize the patterns of nature.

In this methodology student parents can be very helpful in a big manner, because they are the ones who expend most of the time close to their children, they know them better and in relation to that can give many information in what their children like more and on this information the teacher can make his activities plan to make emphasis in the students’ abilities.

Most of the time the teacher refers to a general learning, with the object to develop a general lesson no matter if it’s adequate or if it’s not adequate to be taught to a particular ability, what really matter is, that the class be developed.

“The Multiple Intelligence was originally proposed by Gardner (1993) as a contribution to cognitive science”28, one year latter, Armstrong´s interpretation was that this study could be applied to education not only to cognitive science, because according to Multiple Intelligence everything in the class has to be with language, starting with rhythm, tone, volume of the voice. The case is that for Multiple Intelligences are not staged goals in order to make the learner his own designer of his own language learning experiences. Also, there is no syllabus as such, either prescribed or recommended in respect to Multi Intelligence based language teaching.

“Like teachers, learners need to see themselves engaged in a process of personality development above and beyond that of being successful language learners.”29 The classroom is prepared to make the students develop all their potential as a whole person, the environment has to be created in such a way that the students can feel they are able to become successful learners. Students have to grow in their learning in the belief, that

28

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 116.

29 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 120.

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applying an approach that awake their intelligence through activities that make them to develop this intelligence that is to be unveil. Students have different abilities and they will be found only through different activities focused in discovering what is or are the students´ particular intelligence.

Among the different approaches, The Neurolinguistic Programming approach appeared in the mid-1970s. It was proposed by psychologist John Grindler and Richard Bandler a student of linguistics, “as a collection of techniques, patterns, and strategies for assisting effective communication, personal growth and change, and learning. It is based on a series of underlying assumptions about how the mind works and how people act and interact."30 According to that, it focuses on people’s attitude when interacting with others to improve their lives through programming themselves to learn and perform specific behavior in order to be able to successful in their daily activities.

The Neurolinguistic model proposes that teachers must model the teaching to conduct students to be excellent. Teachers are supposed to be models of integral education not only at school but in everything they do. Revell and Norman point out the following about teachers´ role “set the project of modeling good learners. Encourage them to share and try out strategies they learn. If you want to speak a language like a native speaker, model native speakers”31 It is not a secret that teachers might be the guides in every step of the teaching process, how they speak, write and manage the whole class activities to students to follow their example.

Revell and Norman (1997) present thirteen principles. “The idea is that these principles become part of the belief system of the teacher and shape the way teaching is conducted no matter what method the teacher is using”.32

30

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 125.

31 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 128.

32 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 127.

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1. Mind and body are interconnected: they are parts of the same system, and each affects the other.

2. The map becomes the territory: We all have different maps of the world.

3. There is not failure, only feedback….and a renewed opportunity for success.

4. The map becomes the territory: What you believe to be true either is true or becomes true.

5. Knowing that you want helps you get it.

6. The resources we need are within us.

7. Communication is nonverbal as well as verbal.

8. The nonconscious mind is benevolent.

9. Communication is nonconscious as well as conscious.

10. All behavior has positive intention.

11. The meaning of my communication is the response I get.

12. Modeling excellent behavior leads to excellence.

13. In any system, the element with the greatest flexibility will have the most influence on that system.

As a set of suggestions of how people can make their lives better, its attention is centered in learner and person for they have the power to control theirs and others´ lives.

A different point of view of second language learning is called The Lexical Approach which “refers to the belief that the building blocks of language learning and communication are not grammar, functions, notions, or some other unit of planning and teaching but lexis, that is, word and words combinations”33 That’s the reason why lexis has the main role in the teaching and learning a second language. Blocks refer to combination and order of words in sentences, and vocabulary takes an important place in this approach.

33

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 132.

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So the right position of words in the teaching and learning process is called collocation and it “refers to the regular occurrence together of words.”34 It is clear that for everybody who is involved in education, teachers and learners; need to know a lot of vocabulary to move on in the way they are walking together. The roles of each one is also set. The teacher is viewed as an organizer of a right atmosphere in the classroom to help students in their own learning. For many years has existed the same belief, here in El Salvador, thinking about teachers as the models and guides of their pupils´ learning, and they have been considered lately, as the constructors of their own learning. In this approach, learners are thought to be discoverers of collocations, given them a main role in the process.

But assigning the roles does not guarantee that students are learning English in an integral way to be ready to communicate, and this approach has some disadvantages, such as lexis is just one part of a whole. Pawley and Syder points out “ learners of foreign language might not internalize such quantity of phrases, and Lewis says that the Lexical Approach lacks a coherent theory”.35

There is the complete idea in looking for the best way of teaching, looking for the best approach or methodology to be implemented so the students can acquire the foreign language making emphasis in both, lexical and linguistic theory.

That is how “Lewis attempts to rectify this with the following assumptions about learning theory in the lexical approach.”36

1. Encountering new learning items on several occasions is a necessary but sufficient condition for learning to occur.

34

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 133.

35 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 134.

36 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 134.

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2. Noticing lexical chunks or collocations is necessary but not sufficient condition for “input” to become intake”.

3. Noticing similarities, differences, restrictions, and examples contributes to turning input into intake, although formal description o rules probably does not help.

4. Acquisition is based not on the application of formal rules but on an accumulation of examples from which learners make provisional generalizations. Language production is the product of previously met examples, not formal rules.

On the other hand, there is another approach which also emerged in the 1970s in the United States. The Competency-Based Language Teaching Approach provides students with life situations for them to develop the ability to deal with tasks especially designed to that purpose. That focus of teaching seems to be interesting and important because students can face real life situations as the theory of this approach claims.

The benefits of the Competency-Based Language Teaching are defended by Docking when he says “competency-based approaches to teaching and assessment offer teachers an opportunity to revitalize their education and training programs…the quality of teaching and student will be enhanced by the clear specification of expected outcomes and the continuous feedback that competency-based assessment can offer.”37 It’s important to notice that this approach is not applied in the teaching only but in the workplace training as he points out.

Another important aspect of this approach of foreign language teaching is that the context where the language is used is the place where it is developed. According to the Mined (Ministerio de Educación), one of the abilities that the students of high school must develop is “to use conversational phrases at school, restaurants, stores, telephone and mail offices, banks, supermarkets and hospitals, and some others, in the oral way as well as in writing.”38

37

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 142.

38 Ministerio de Educación de El Salvador. “Dominios Curriculares Básicos: Educación Parvularia, Básica y Media.

2002, page 150.

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The competency students show with the language is important in order to set them in a scale of grades, according to the theory of this approach, it´s also important to establish how the syllabus of English of high school and especially how the methodologies used by teachers, prepare students to be capable to interact among themselves and in the real life situations where they will need to do it.

Auerbach “identifies eight key features” 39 in the implementation of this approach:

1. A focus in a successful functioning society. The goal is to enable students to become autonomous individuals capable of coping with the demands of the world.

2. A focus on life skills. Rather than teaching language in isolation, CBLT teachers language as a function of communication about concrete tasks.

3. Task or performance-centered orientation. What counts is what students can do as a result of instruction. The emphasis is on overt behaviors rather than on knowledge or the ability to talk about language and skills.

4. Modularized instruction. Objectives are broken into narrowly focused subobjectives so that both teachers and students can get a clear sense of progress.

5. Outcomes that are made explicit a priori. Outcomes area public knowledge, known and agreed upon by both learner and teacher. They are specified in terms of behavioral objectives so that students know exactly what behaviors are expected of them.

6. Continuous and ongoing assessment. Students are pretested to determine what skills they lack and posttested after instruction in that skill. If they do not achieve the desired level of mastery, they continue to work on the objective and are retested. Program evaluation is based on test results and, as much, is considered objectively quantifiable.

39

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 146.

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7. Demonstrated mastery of performance objectives. Rather than the traditional paper-and-pencil tests, assessment is based on the ability to demonstrate prespecified behaviors.

8. Individualized, student-centered instruction. In content, level, and pace, objectives are taken into account in developing curricula. Instruction is not time-based.

The Competency-Based Language Teaching Approach claims that students are previously told what behaviors are expected of them. It is necessary to individualized students´ needs to offer so their progress can be easily checked out.

The theory of this approach also covers the four basic skills that every student should domain, and that should be the purpose of all teachers, students, and of everyone who is involved in the teaching and learning of English.

There is an approach to teach English as foreign language called The Situational Language Teaching Approach which according to Richards and Rodgers emerged in late 1960s in England as a response against Situational Language Teaching and its teaching based on practicing basic structures. The Communicative Language Teaching proposes that the focus should be on developing the four basic skills as well as paying attention to grammar, but using English to learn English. The claim of this approach is perhaps one of the closest to the intentions and goals of teaching and learning a second language like English. If there were the will, resources, and adequate and well used methodologies, students would acquire and learn English the best way as possible for them to be successful in this world where English is necessary to communicate.

Chomsky points out that “the focus of linguistic theory was to characterize the abstract abilities speakers’ posses that enable them to produce grammatically correct sentences in a language.”40 This shows the learner is supposed to have the ability and previous

40

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 159.

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knowledge to interact using the second language. Even though some students seem to have a natural ability to learn a second language, for Hymes “communicative competence was a definition of what a speaker needs to know in order to be communicatively competent in a speech community”41 This contrast made by Hymes shows that for him the important is to provide students with knowledge for them to develop the ability to communicate in specific situations in the context where language is utilized.

This view of learning and acquiring a second language like English seems to be adequate when it is considered that students need to be involved in the whole process, speaking and practicing English. But what about students´ attitude towards English itself?, when some of them think of it as another subject they just have to pass, not even learn it to open new opportunities in their future. How teachers can turn English into something attractive to their pupils’ interests? Language teaching must be meaningful to every learner in the tasks, and activities to promote learning of the second language. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why students of high school do not take English in a serious way. They may have the resources, excellent classrooms, right methodologies chosen by teachers, but English may not be important for them to learn it.

It is also necessary to make a distinction between acquisition and learning for students may acquire a little of English in this case, but they may not learn English. “Acquisition refers to the unconscious development of the target language system as a result of using the language for real communication. Learning is the conscious representation of grammatical knowledge that has resulted from instruction, and it can not lead to acquisition.”42 It may occur then, that students use English in conversations or dialogs prepared by teachers, as well as in written exercises, but students themselves might forget what they already acquired, and as result, they are not involved in the process of learning English in an integral way.

41

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 159.

42 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 162.

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Students ought to feel sympathy to the learning of such an important language like English nowadays; “the basic domains consist of a meaningful learning, knowledge, abilities and attitudes which promote the personal and social development of students wherever the level of education they are.”43 There is where methodologies have to encourage and lead students to learn English.

Besides cheering up students to show interest into English, good methodologies, techniques, activities and everything that is necessary in the process of teaching and learning, students and teachers must be sure of their respective roles. Until learners assume their responsibility in the process and they also know exactly what it is expected from them, the objectives and goals that they need to achieve, everything else in the way may be useless. Some authors propose the following about the learner’s role in the Communicative Language Teaching Approach “as negotiator –between the self, the learning process, and the object of learning- emerges from and interacts with the role of joint negotiator within the group and within the classroom procedures and activities which the group undertakes.”44(Breen and Candlin, cited by Richards and Rodgers) There is no doubt about it, when a student interacts in the classes every body gains because the goals are achieved as a team. About the roles of teachers the same authors say “the teacher has as main roles…to facilitate the communication process between all participants; to act as an independent participant within the learning-teaching group.”45

In past times the teacher was considered as the only one who knew everything, the authority of the class, the unquestionable master of knowledge, and students as recipients to be filled with the wisdom of their teachers. They had no opportunity to express what they thought; some of their needs were not taken into account in the process; they were like robots listening to their masters.

43

Ministerio de Educación de El Salvador. “Dominios Curriculares Básicos: Educación Parvularia, Básica y Media.

2002, page 10.

44 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 166.

45 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 167.

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Now the conception seems to be changing and even the MINED (Ministerio de Educación) says about the Basic Domains that “are organized in function of the student as an integral human being…taking his experiences in function of his needs and characteristics as an axis”46 Definitely it is essential not to forget students must understand that the learning of English, and of other languages, is a necessity if they want to be successful in life.

The Communicative Language Teaching claims that the activities (games, role plays, pair or group work, and task-based communication activities), textbooks and all materials to be used in the process, have to be in order to emphasize the practice of communication between all participants. About the classroom management, it suggests the practice of dialogs, but teachers must motivate students first, discussions of topics, learner discovery of grammar rules, interpretative activities, and oral evaluation between students themselves; all of the activities should emphasize the communication among students (Finocchiaro and Brumfit, cited by Richards and Rodgers. Pages 170-171). This vision of teaching and learning a language may be one of the most accurate because its focus is on practicing the target language to learn the target language through the interaction that students have during the process.

“Communicative Language Teaching is best considered an approach rather than a method. It refers to a diverse set of principles that reflect a communicative view of language and language learning and that can be used to support a wide variety of classroom procedures”.47

Its principles are:

1. Learners learn a language through using it to communicate.

46

Ministerio de Educación de El Salvador. “Dominios Curriculares Básicos: Educación Parvularia, Básica y Media.

2002, page 9.

47 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 172.

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2. Authentic and meaningful communication should be the goal of classroom activities.

3. Fluency is an important dimension of communication.

4. Communication involves the integration of different language skills.

5. Learning is a process of creative construction and involves trial an error.

There is another point of view about teaching and learning a language in which “there is an emphasis on exposure, or input, rather than practice; optimizing emotional preparedness for learning; a prolonged period of attention to what the language learners hear before they try to produce language; and a willingness use written and other materials as a source of comprehensible input”48 It means then that Natural Approach focuses on comprehension, and it was proposed in 1970 by Tracy Terrel and Stephen Krashen as an approach of second language acquisition. They pointed out some problems with some methods like The Audiolingual Method because its emphasis is on grammar.

Instead, they make emphasis on vocabulary, and if someone understands it in the target language, acquisition occurs. The most important for them are the messages, even though they give a role to grammar according to the level where the learner is. (Richards and Rodgers 2001:180)

The authors propose five hypotheses the first is called “The Acquisition/Learning Hypothesis” through which they make a distinction between acquisition and learning: “Acquisition is the ´natural´ way which refers to an unconscious process that involves the naturalistic development of language for meaningful communication. Learning, by contrast, refers to a process in which conscious rules about a language are developed. It results in explicit knowledge of a language and the ability to verbalize this knowledge.”49

Like the Communicative Language Teaching, the Natural Approach claims that learning can not lead to acquisition.

48

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 179.

49 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 181.

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The second one is the Monitor Hypothesis, where the learners correct themselves during the process, and there has to be enough time, and the learner must know the rules that govern the process. The Natural Order Hypothesis claims that grammar is acquired in a specific order of progress beginning with morphemes according to researches. Then the Input Hypothesis which “explains the relationship between what the learner is exposed to of a language (the input) and language acquisition.”50

They take into consideration of emotional aspects of students in the Affective Filter Hypothesis when they propose that the attitudes showed by learners determine in some cases the acquisition of a second language. If students are motivated, self-confidence, and they have anxiety, acquisition may vary.

The hypotheses mention something that sometimes might happen in the classrooms; that is the fear that some students show when participating.

The Natural Approach in its hypotheses “has obvious implications for language teaching.

In sum these are”51:

1. As much comprehensible input as possible must be presented.

2. Whatever helps comprehension is important. Visual aids are useful, as its exposure to a wide range of vocabulary rather than study of syntactic structure.

3. The focus in the classroom should be on listening and reading; speaking should be allowed to “emerge”.

4. In order to lower the affective filter, student work should center on meaningful communication rather than of form; input should be interesting and so contribute to a relaxed classroom atmosphere.

50

Ídem page 182 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 183.

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Another approach is The Cooperative Language Learning, and it “is an approach to teaching that makes maximum use of cooperative activities involving pairs and small groups of learners in the classroom”.52 In this approach, learning is encouraged in group works activities, what makes and socializes learning procedure. The students learn from each others experiences, making possible that those who are in a low level, increase it interacting with others who have an upper knowledge.

In the Early twenty Century U.S. educator John Dewy is usually credited with promoting the idea in working in groups or in cooperation with others, the idea was to promote it in schools as a way of teaching. But that idea “was more generally promoted and developed in the United States in the 1960s as a response to the forced integration for public schools and has been substantially refined and developed since then”53. Even that the idea was born long time ago, its promotion brought out a result that was the creation of an approach focused in the cooperative work.

“Cooperative Learning in this context sought to do the following”:54

1. Raise the achievement of all students, including those who are gifted or academically handicapped.

2. Help the teacher build positive relationships among students.

3. Give students the experiences they need for healthy social, psychological, and cognitive development.

4. Replace the competitive organizational structure of most classrooms and schools with a team-base, high-performance organizational structure.

52

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. Page 192 “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001 53 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. Page 192 “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001 54 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. Page 182 “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001

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The teacher at the time of assigning the tasks, he chooses the students in order to make groups that have at least one person who is in a level more advanced than the rest of the group.

Content-Based Instruction “is the teaching of content or information in the language being learned with little or no direct or explicit effort to teach the language itself separately from the content being taught”55. Here communication sees every action as part of the communication, every activity or action is added to the process of learning a foreign language. Nothing is seemed separated, everything is part of the same process, pronunciation, reading, grammar, and everything is a complement of something else.

Content is used with a different variety of meanings for what is being thought making exclusively pointing to the subject that is being studied.

There are some writers who refer to Content-Based Instruction that proposed, for example “Brinton, Snow, and Wesche (1989) propose that Saint Augustine was an early proponent of Content-Based Instruction. Kelly’s history of language teaching cites a number of such meaning-based proposals (Kelly 1969). Content-Based Instruction likewise draws on the principles of Communicative Language Teaching, as these emerged in the 1980s”56.

The Content-Based Instruction has two central Principles:

1. People learn a second language more successfully when they use the language as a mean of acquiring information, rather than as an end in itself. This principle reflects one of the motivations for CBI noted earlier that it leads to more effective language learning.

55

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 204.

56 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 204.

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2. Content-Based Instruction better reflects learners’ needs for learning a second language. This principle reflects the fact that many content-based programs serve to prepare ESL students for academic studies or for mainstreaming; therefore, the need to be able to access the content for academic learning and teaching as quickly as possible, as well as the processes through which such learning and teaching are realized, are a central priority.

This way of teaching is known as Immersion Education, which is described: “Immersion Education that is a type of foreign language instruction in which the regular school curriculum is taught through the medium of the foreign language”57. This is based on teaching English to foreigners as a way to help them to live in a foreign country. In the Immersion Education program students goals are: Developing a high level of proficiency in the foreign language.

Developing positive attitudes toward those who speak the foreign language and toward their culture (s).

Developing English language skill commensurate with expectations for a student’s.

Gaining designated skills and knowledge in the content areas of the curriculum.

In Content-Based Instruction learners are expected to be active participants to the development of the class, even if some of them are not accustomed to participate in past classes, they are called to be interprets exploring different strategies of learning because they are focused in learning through thinking and acting in the target language.

The “Task-Based Language Teaching refers to an approach based on the use of tasks as the core unit of planning and instruction in language teaching”.58 It is based in that the 57

Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. Page 206 “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001 58 Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. Page 223 “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001

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teacher should involve learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language focusing in meaning.

The key assumptions of task-based instruction are summarized by Feez (1998) as:

1. The focus is on process rather than product.

2. Basic elements are purposeful activities and tasks that emphasize communication and meaning.

3. Learners learn language by interacting communicatively and purposefully while engaged in the activities and tasks.

4. Activities and tasks can be either: Those that learners might need to achieve in real life; Those that have a pedagogical purpose specific to the classroom.

5. Activities and tasks of a task-based syllabus are sequenced according to difficulty.

6. The difficulty of a task depends on a range of factors including the previous experience of the learned, the complexity of the task, the language required to undertake the task, and the degree of support available.

According to “Skeham 1996b:20”59 task definition is: tasks…are activities which have meaning as their primary focus.

The activities can be from watching TV. To read a magazine, reading the newspaper or what the teacher considers necessary, even a book if it is required from the students. The class can even work in groups or as individual participants to the development of the class if the teacher considers important to work like that.

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Jack C. Richards, Theodore S. Rodgers. Cambridge University Press. “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching.” 2001, page 224.

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2.3. Theoretical-Methodological Formulation of the Research.

According to Jack C. Richards, Grammar and Translation Method has to deal with intellectual development that includes most of the time reading and grammar structure, using a lot the native language to apply rules in translating and sentences structure. And little or no attention is given to pronunciation.

Diane Larsen Freeman refers to Grammar Translation Method as how much vocabulary is used when teaching with Grammar and Translation, because students need to learn vocabulary as much as possible , in other way they are not going to have enough lexicon to translate, and the native language is important because some explanations are given in that language. Little or not attention is given to pronunciation.

Both agree, Richards and Freeman, about how principles of Grammar and Translation are applied because both processes are almost the same and follow the same goal. The researchers of the present work are also in agreement with the position of these two specialists because most of the time can be that teachers don’t follow the principles of a determined method or approach.

Even the teacher in the English class development at ITI was applying some principles belonging to Grammar and Translation Method, if he could have thought on the students interests, probably he could have done something better making emphasis in translating every single word. In this way he limited him self to translate single words, he most apply the complete method to make a direct impact on the students and work together scanning the weak areas to make it grow in knowledge and practice. This method can help the teacher to encurage the students to work in translations from the target language to the native language and viseversa, but the teacher all the time translated only from English to Spanish not from Spanish to English.

When Jack C. Richards refers to The Direct Method explains that this method is applied when the teacher wants to work only with the foreign language, the teacher makes lot of

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emphasis in new vocabulary that is given to the students every session, interaction between teacher and students are done in the target language and English is applied all the time making lot of reference on listening and comprehension. Corrections are made through demonstrations and the native language is not used.

According to Diane Larsen Freeman, the native language is not aloud in the classroom, the students are told to think in English because the teachers do not explain to them, they demonstrates, so they will be able to learn from direct objects, not using the native language to explain.

The teacher makes emphasis in pronunciation from the beginning to the end because students are told that they will learn correctly only practicing the right pronunciation and will be successful practicing self correction too. That is why they are told to practice most of the time, as the same time the teacher has to include lot of conversation in the class program.

In the Direct Method, both writers agree when referring to the Direct Method Principles, both are in agreement in what this method makes emphasis in, it is about that students learn the grammatical rules for the target language, work in grammatical structures and achieve the most new vocabulary as possible without using the native language. The researchers are in agreement with the position of these two specialists. It is important to include oral practice not to focus the students only in the grammatical part of the target language.

In order to what was observed with First Vocational Year at ITI in English classes development, the teacher had to use this method if he really wanted his students learn the target language, if he applied this methodology the students would be encouraged to acquire a foreing language in a direct way. With this method the teacher could have made his students to work only with the target language and be concentrated in what they were doing not playing around and disconnected of what had to be their task. It would had led

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the teacher to keep them working in something that depending in how he motivates them, can become their own sake in the way they go performing in the foreing languge.

On the Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching, Jack C. Richards, the teacher repeats the word as many times as possible until getting the student’s attention, making them to pronounce after him.

With this method the students have to apply what they already know to build new dialogues and sentences, asking and answering questions each others. Besides the students are asked when somebody makes a mistake, to correct it by themselves.

The teacher either uses mimic, gestures, etc. to tell the students to make new sentences or make more questions about the statement they are using.

The Oral Approach and Situational Language Learning is a different way of English teaching. It is an approach focused on oral expressions, the students need to have already a background, in other ways this approach can not reach the goal the teacher is looking for, and the researchers agree with Jack C. Richards, because of that it is very important to mention, that The Oral Approach and Situational Language Learning are not approaches to be used in classes in progress with beginners.

Even this approach is focused in pronouncing a word as many times as possible so the students can acquire it in a repetitive performing, at ITI it was not seen this, the teacher repeated a word twice, if it was possible.

If the First Vocational Year English teacher at ITI would have applied this method, it would help the students to pay more attention in new vocabulary and be interested in repeating and aquire it, if the teacher would have applied this approach, the students could have paid attention to the class development and be active participants in the class activities not being spectators waiting the last second of the class for this to finish and leave.

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About The Audiolingual Method Jack C. Richards explains how the students are called, first to listen attentively, and then they have to repeat what they heard, they are corrected immediately if any mistake.

What students learn is to apply to a particular situation. Here it is required new vocabulary to form new dialogues creating new activities which the students will develop putting special emphasis in listening.

Diane Larsen Freeman explains that The Audio Lingual Method is where the students do not have to interact with in languages, the native and the foreigner; they have to practice the target language, because it helps them to pay more attention to the target language and does not contribute to the students mix both of them.

Like Richards establishes, the teacher’s role is to introduce the foreign language through modeling the foreign language, reason why it is important the class be developed by a native speaker of the foreign language, because the sound will be how it is supposed to be and students will be able to mimic the real sound. These help them to practice and communicate in the foreign language.

After all students learn new vocabulary when building sentences to practice in the class, helps them to create a habit of using the language they are trying to learn.

The students have to build some of the sentences that are going to be taught in the class, making them to practice to create a habit of speaking in the target language, this will help them to correct their mistakes and create new vocabulary.

That is how Jack C. Richards and Diane Larsen Freeman, describe the same principles when talking about The Audio Lingual Method, both specialists talk about the same target the method is looking for and what teachers do for the correct application of the methodology.

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In this case the researchers were in agreement with the specialists, but not with the English techer who was at ITI in the First Vocational Year developing the English class.

The researchers` opinion is that if the teacher would have applied this methodology the students could have acquired a wide vocabulary to perform. If the teacher would have done that, the students would have been aware they were in an optimus situation to make a short conversation with their classmates or even with the teacher. Using this methodology the teacher would have helped the students to practice the correct pronunciation and to acquire a wide vocabulary.

In the Total Physical Response, even that Jack. C. Richards does

not mention

principles; he talks about how students learn with this method following the commands the teacher gives them, being the action the complement of the learning because students, according to him, learn by doing and practicing the actions for the given command making it clear.

But Diane Larsen Freeman, in the principles she explains when applying Total Physical Response, this conveys with Richards about that Memory is activated thought the movements the students do when practicing with movements, at the same time students are having fun, they are learning.

According to the principles mentioned by Larsen Freeman, it is expected that students make mistakes when start learning, but through practice it will be overcome.

In the explanation above, it is clear that both writers, even that one does not mention principles, explains what the target to reach is and how to reach it. The other writer, in her principles explains the same thing, what is the target to get using a particular tool.

And through physical response, both of them believe is easier to learn a foreign language.

Both writers agree that the principles of Total Physical Response must be applied when using this method, both describe similar steps. And the researchers support the

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specialists’ reaction to this issue, because students need to feel part of the activities when they participate in an active way. They also can be motivated to learn on their own.

A few principles of this approach were observed by the researchers when watching the English class development at ITI, when the teacher called the students to make a brief performance to acquire a grade. According to this situation the researchers can mention that Total Physical Response can be applied by the English teacher helping the students to interact not only through conversations but interacting and making fun with different activities.

The teacher is the called to make the students develop activities that let them interact with each others. If the English teacher should have applied Total Physical Response approach, the students would have a more active participation focused in the class development not to particular activities which had nothing to do with the class.

According to Jack C. Richards, in the Silent Way, the teacher starts the class with vocabulary or something that the students already know; it can be a situation described before or can be a particular reading. Errors are expected but the teacher’s silence helps to foster self-reliance ands student initiative. The class is developed by the students and the teacher only participates when it is really needed. But one more thing is that students have to interact in groups to make conclusions at the end of the class about its development. This is in order that they have to correct their mistakes by themselves.

The teacher starts the class with something that the students already know, the self corrections are available, and the teacher only participates when he estimates it is necessary. Translation is not aloud, the students have to use their own perception to find the meaning of any phrase.

When the students work alone, they gain self confidence, but when something is unclear, they show it to the teacher, so he can help them to make those points become clear. But there is something else, the students work in group, something that makes them to look

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for the possible solutions to unclear points by themselves before asking the teacher for his help.

Both writers convey in the principal objectives the Silent Way is looking for when it is applied by the teachers. Self confidence, learn through group work developing their own tasks what let them look for some mistakes that they try to solve by their own, but if the teacher’s help is necessary, they look for his help, he all the time remains quiet.

The researchers´opinion about the class they observed is that if the teacher would have applied The Silent Way when teaching to his students to the Firs Vocational Year, he would have been helping the students encouraging themselves to think on their own and work in groups instead of criticizing each other, that is why the researchers´ opinion is based in the need of the students to work individually or in groups attending the teacher`s indications when they felt they were not sure about any lesson in particular or what they had to do.

The researchers´ are sure that the teacher most use this methodology if he really know about his students academical level of understanding the foreign language, because in other ways, he will fail if applying the Silent Way to his lesson classes development because translation to the native language is not allowed.

In Community Language Teaching Methodology, everybody is sitting making a circle; one of the students reads a lesson. Then the teacher translates the lesson into the target language, then the students repeat what the teacher is saying. The native language is aloud to translate into the target language.

Jack C. Richards describes how students are allowed to speak in the native language, and the researchers think that it is not a good idea because it looses the target that is to learn a foreign language and, from the researchers point of view, it must be acquired through the practice of the target language; in other words it will not bring considerable good results from the students when repeating and speaking in the target language.

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If the teacher should have applied this methodology he would have gotten the students` attention and make them to concentrate in the development of the class, but on the contrary, there was no concentration. The teacher could have used this method and if doing that, he would have showed more interest and awake the curiosities of the class, so the students would have liked to discover what was going on and choose to have the experience in something new for them.

The researchers’ opinion is that if the teacher would have used this methodology, he would have encouraged the students to pay attention but there was something else, when the teacher translated to the mother tongue the students could have showed interest in the lesson but at the end, it was a waste of time because they spent a lot of the class time translating. That was something that according to what was observed by the researchers, could have been a good tool for the teacher if he would have applied it besides remaining quiet and silent avoiding practicing any new vocabulary or making any reading.

In Community Language Teaching Method, Richards describes the principles in which the method is based on. The principles describe translation, group work, recording, transcription, analysis, reflection and observation, listening and free conversation.

On the other hand, Diane describes how students are encouraged to learn step by step, the students are not forced to practice something new, they have to be familiar first with the new material, and this will help them to assimilate more. Even, if they after having developed the class are still a little confused or they don’t really understand, the teacher explains to them in the native language because for him it is very important they have very clear every single task they are going to work with.

Here the students are allowed to work in groups, an activity that will let them to interact and have self confidence, so they can try to solve some problems of misunderstanding but, if it is necessary they will recur to the teacher.

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Richards and Freeman convey in the importance that everything has to be very clear for the students because they will learn better if they have clear what the activity is about; that is why the teacher has to use the native language to make clear some indications for the activities.

The group work is essential, oral practice is important and essential, the teacher is asked for help if the students need it because what it is important is that they try to fin out a solution before going to him for help.

It is necessary to let students interact in the target language, using the available resources to do it. The researchers are also in agreement with both authors about the use of analysis.

When learning a language students must know what they are learning, not only learn by heart a set of rules or vocabulary, but to use the language in a conscious way in class activities and later in real life situations. When students get into that level, translation won’t be necessary. Students also need to learn how to communicate in the target language in a written way as well as in the oral way, in which free conversation is a good activity so learners become self confident to move on in this process.

The researchers` opinion about this methodology is that if the teacher would have applied this methodology for his class development; the students would have followed step by step his lesson instead of being talking in Spanish about something different. If he would have applied this methodology the students would have been more interested in his class.

He should have applied this methodology to make the students to succeed in English as Foreign language learners.

About Suggestopedia, Richards says how important is that teachers need to attract the students´ all attention, because it is important to be concentrated in the lesson, it is important that every body at the beginning of the class be focused, in other words, those who are late, when they came into the classroom will make others to distract from the activity the others are developing, that is why its important to put all the attention in the class development to don’t lost the objective.

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The attention has to be in the teacher´s directions or if any recording is used, they must concentrate and give special importance to sounds and pronunciation they are listening.

The students need to focus their attention as much as physically as mentally. Most of the lesson activities are based on listening. There can be written tests, even though they are not that important in this methodology. The students have to be self confident.

Freeman describes how a class is developed applying the Sugestopedia Methodology, especially that students have to be in a relaxed position and in a comfortable environment, because they are learning from everything around them even though, they do not need to pay attention to what is around them.

It is important that the teacher tries to Dessugest the students’ psychological barriers they bring to the class. They have to develop self confidence.

Until the teacher is developing the class, students are attending but, in a consciously attendance, they are listening to music, which helps them to be relaxed and, with this technique, they are supposed to acquire more about the lesson.

This methodology helps the students to trust the teacher, because at any moment they will need to pay attention, even if they are practicing through playing, there will be more possibilities to acquire the target language in a funny way.

The researchers agree with the specialists because when the teacher motivates their pupils they involve themselves in the class activities and in the whole process of learning a language, not only the environment will be useful, but the teacher stimulates them to show a correct attitude toward their learning, and to become self confident.

The use of music and other listening resources should be considered according to the students’ needs about the reality, and their own objectives of learning. Teachers may use songs as instructional aids, too. But teachers should not forget that the students must learn

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a new language to perform in a full way, so it is necessary to make emphasis in all the different skills (speaking, listennigng, writing, translating) for students to be prepared when going out there to the real world to face its challenges.

No matter what the teacher is doing, both, Richards and Freeman agree in this and the researchers also are agree with both of them because it is a very nice methodology not only to learn but also to acquire the target language and also it is a tool so students can use imagination.

In the class development observed by the researchers, even if the teacher had the good intention to apply Suggestopedia methodology in his English class activities, the researchers´ opinion is that there were no conditions to do it. This methodology could have been applied but not by him, but in case of being applied it would have helped the students to interact in an armonious way. The researchers’ opinion is that the teacher can use this methodology but not in this case.

Besides the environment in the classroom, there was the difficulty about the students who have to interact in the target language, something that was not possible because for what it was observed, the students did nothave an optimus English level to interact only in the Target language.

Whole Language approach is the use of authentic literature rather than artificial, especially prepared texts and exercises designed to practice individual reading skill. All of them based on real life not on fiction, focused on what the students will face the real world.

Whole Language has to deal with reading to develop reading skills, reading for comprehension and for real purposes; and writing for real not just to practice. The target is to write for real audience which helps the students to explore and discover real meanings.

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The students are allowed to work in groups to overcome mistakes that are part of the process of learning and not a significative failure at all. The students are focused on what they are learning about reality to be successful in the real world.

Teachers must try to enable and motivate their learners in all the aspects of the teaching and learning process, which is the reason why the researches are in disagreement to the emphasis which the Whole Language makes in reading, leaving behind the other skills that are completely necessary for the students to handle if they want to succeed in the real world.

The researchers´opinion about this approach is that eventhough it is a good approach to be applied in an English class to make students practice by reading for real life, according towhat it was observed in the class in progress, the students did not show a level of understanding to say the teacher can apply this methodology because it is more based in reading and the researchers´ opinion is that students were not on a level where they could work with this approach.

About Multiple Intelligence, Richards refers to this approach when he menton that the teacher has to put especial attention to the students interests, because based on those interests he will built his lessons, especially when students have different needs, that’s why the teacher has to be careful and work with what students like more because this will help them to develop their special abilities.

It is important that teachers ask frequently to the children´s parents what they like to do, in order to find out enough information about the activities they like to practice more.

Here the teacher uses the techniques of group works because the students can learn from each others and develop some other abilities.

The students have to be taught in an environment where they can feel that only through developing different activities they will discover their individual abilities; because of that,

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they need to work in the class with different activities. They will be encouraged to discover what they can do and develop different activities.

In the learning and teaching process it is extremely important to include the student’s family. Their parents are also responsible of the children’s education, and they are supposed to know them better than teachers do. On the family environment depends in a great deal the success or failure of the process. Not only the parents must provide teachers the information that is useful, but to be involved in the whole way to let students know their abilities, and to develop and discover new ones, which they need to be successful to learn a new language, that will help students when interacting among them.

The researchers´opinion is that if the teacher wants to find out the student´s interests, he should apply Multiple Inteligence Approach; in other words find some other methodology according to what he wants to do with the students, and about what it was seen in the class development, the teacher showed no interest in the students’ individual ability.

The Neurolinguistic Programming has to be with an interconnection between body and mind, here everything around is a whole world and everything is surrounding the sigle goal; the target language. There is no failure; every fall down is a new experience to learn about that. No matter if the student is conscious or unconscious about the lesson, he always practices the target language, speaking or not, just by following the lesson development shows that he is aware of what he is doing and about his goals in the process.

The students have to be very clear about the intention of this approach, especially they must have in mind that only by practicing what they know, and they will become successful. The students have to think and believe they are part of that system, and that everything they do wrong or well will affect what is around them.

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The researchers agree with the authors when they say that students must practice what they already know, and that they are part of the process. Maybe Most of the students do not have clear the idea that they are involved in the teaching and learning process of the target language, so they are not interested in doing right things to rech their objectives. If students do not show the correct attitude, they do not even focus in the activities that are developed in the class, they do not take advantages of the mistakes they or their classmates commit to improve the learning and if they don´t correct it, for sure they will fail when facing real life.

If the teacher applies this approach with his students in the class that was observed by the researchers at Instituto Técnico Industrial in the First Vocacional Year in the Morning Shift, he will be doing something very interesting to improve the students´ academic outcome because they will be practicing what they have acquired during his academic process.

The researchers´ opinion is that this method can be used by the teacher to keep the students practicing what they already know, because only by doing this the students will keep developing different skills instead of stucking themselves and forget through the pass of the time what they already have learned.

About The Lexical Approach, Richards in reference to Lewis, explains this approach has some assumptions which are focused on looking for different items for teaching, if it’s necessary, so learning can occur.

The Lexical Approach is implemented noticing similarities, differences, restrictions, and examples which contributes to call the students interests to acquire, even that in some structures, formal description or rules probably do not help because language acquisition at the end is through different examples not through grammatical rules or formal readings, but about practices through which the students will be successful in learning the target language.

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The researchers disagree with most of the principles of The Lexical Approach. Even though students need to learn how to identify the use of words, and to learn the order of words and phrases in a whole, they are not able to learn by hearing extent contents with several new vocabularies to be able to deal with real world situations. They need to learn specific things to go from the very basic to the more general, but not jus to put words together; they need to develop a complete and integral practice of all language skills.

The teacher at the ITI can not apply this methodology with his students because it is too advanced for them, in the belief that according to what it was observed they were not ready to work with this approach because they did not have a wide vocabulary and without thar it was not going to be possible they practice building sentences, definitively it was not possible the teacher used this approach in his English classes. First he needed to provide a big gamma of bocavulary to his students. That is why the researchers did not agree with the application of this approach with the students of First Vocational Year in the morning shift at ITI.

About Competency-Based Language Teaching Approach, Richards mentions eight key features in the implementation of this approach. This mainly describes how the students learn the target language through using it to communicate, especially practicing with determined or concrete task.

In this approach the teacher makes emphasis in the students´ application of what they have learned, following the instructions he gives them previously.

The students are tested to grade the knowledge they have acquired, if they have not yet achieved the level they are supposed to be at. They have to keep on working with subjects they have problems with, and then, they are retested. These tests are based on the ability and behaviors that they have developed.

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Students pay special attention to those areas that give them some problems to acquire them, especially because they do not have limit of time; they learn according to their rates.

The researchers support the principle of The Competency-Based Language Teaching Approach which refers that students must use the target language to communicate among them in order to learn it, because it is necessary to practice what they already know and try to take them into new situations where they need to learn new vocabularies to make themselves clear when communicating in the foreign language.

It is also important, testing the student to set them in a rate or level, but it is necessary to consider the reality of every class. Not all students are at the same level, so teachers must find out the way to let their pupils to help each others to achieve the goals of learning a language.

This approach can be applied with the students of First Vocational Year, if the teacher use this method with his students he would be able to find out what are his students´ special needs, it can help to contrast with what it was observed during his English classes development. The teacher can have an idea of what to do with every single student and work in his area to overcome his expectations and awake the interest in the foreign language. It will let them to have an idea of how much more they have learned in every step they make and the effort they make to encrease their vocabulary.

Community Language teaching, this is an approach where the students learn the foreign language using it to communicate and it can be done only through authentic speaking activities, being the main goal of the students in the classroom.

The fluency of students when speaking will be due to the practice they are supposed to have in the class development. Richards’s makes emphasis on fluency as an important part of communication, especially in the target language.

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In Communicative Language Teaching, it is believed that communication involves different language skills; it is because of that, communication is a process which has to be developed.

The researchers, as the author does, they support the idea that students need to communicate in the target language to learn it. Students must develop the language skills to be able to communicate what they think, no matter the situation they are in; they may need to express themselves in a written or oral way.

Teachers need to build the right environment in the class to let students to interest in the learning the target language.

The researchers´ opinion about the teacher at First Vocacional Year in the Morning Shift at Instituto TÊcnico Industrial is that he can apply the Community Language teaching in order to make the students have oral practices and promote at the same time the group works between students and create and environment so friendly and words interaction.

The English teacher should apply this approach to make the students be in constant communication in the target language.

In his research, Richards mentions some principles that describe the Natural Approach in which the student has to contribute as much as possible because that is the only way to increase his knowledge.

The teacher gets some support from visual aids to explain better the situation to the students.With this, the students are provided with new vocabulary. It is not given too much importance to grammatical structure.

Most of the student’s attention is focused on reading and pronunciation. Speaking is allowed to emerge.

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The researchers are in agreement to the principle that sets the difference between acquisition and learning. One of the problems that teachers face is that most of the students do not like to read. Most of them do not read useful materials even in the mother tongue. So teachers must fight against the student’s attitude, and try to wake up their interest to learn. But the focus should not be only on listening and reading. Speaking is also important, as well as writing.

With this approach the teacher will encourage the students to work in the reading area, something that will finish in making them work in the correct pronunciation. Because of that, the researchers’ opinion is that the teacher has to work in this area with his students so they can be focused in reading and pronunciation instead of working in grammatical structure, something that at the end will take much time from their class development and does not contribute to speak in English, what the students intend to do. That was something not observed in the researchers’ observation of the classes in progress. That is why the researchers’ opinion is the teacher has to include this approach to his lesson plans.

The Cooperative Language Learning looks to raise the students’ achievements, no matter if students are academically handicapped. Every body cooperates, not only student to student, even sometimes, the teacher asks for the students help in order to build a relationship among them.

Students are thought to interact and socialize to get the experience to share with others not only in social life, to help them in their psychological and cognitive development. As a difference of some other schools or teacher programs, according to Richards, the Cooperative Language Learning looks for the creation of an environment of cooperation, not competition between the students, but something that really helps them to reach a higher performance.

The researchers support the principle of sharing together the responsibility of learning from other experiences in the same environment that everybody helps to create. Students

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can learn in a class where all of them cooperate; even the mistakes that they commit in the development of the activities may be useful in the process of learning a language. It is convenient to try to develop the four language skills, so the students can be ready to go into their real life where the language is completely necessary more and more.

The researchers´ opinion is that the teacher has to look for a warm up for the students. He has to make them participate in the class development. The teacher has to make them interact among themselves and one of the best ways of doing this is applying the Cooperative Language Learning approach, it can be done in collaborating and participating with each others no matter if they are at the same English level. It is about to help ech others, student to student or teacher to student. If the teacher applies this approach with the First Vocational Year in the Morning Shift at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial, students can have more choices in how to learn the target language interacting and making come together the entire environment around them.

In content-Based Instruction, people learn better when using the language with the intention of acquiring information, not only just by speaking or reading in the target language. If the students´ objective is to learn a foreign language, the best way of acquiring it, is through practice, but students have to focus on that goal.

After all, Content-Based Instruction is one way of showing student’s needs, so they can start improving about their needs, and can be done by working harder in those areas.

Even that Content-Based Instruction approach makes reference to Learning a Second Language; this approach is more applied when developing activities for teaching and learning a foreign language, this according to Jack C. Richards.

The researchers are agree with the principles described by the specialist, because implementing this approach students will have the opportunity of practicing what they have acquired and at the same time it practice will show out the students weak skills.

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The researachers´ opinion is that if the teacher of English class at First Vocational Year in the Morning Shift at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial implements the ContentBased Intruction approach he will be helping the students develop activities to fulfill their needs, something that was not observed in the class development the researchers had the opportunity to watch.

Students must learn and acquire a second language in order to be prepared to communicate. When the teacher knows the needs of their students, he or she has advantages to plan the class activities and all the materials to use. It can be chosen in advance the right methodology to achieve the goals of the learning.

Richards in his research, making reference to Feez, explains some principles about TaskBased Language Teaching. With this approach the teacher focuses on the class development, no matter if students achieve the objective of the class.

For the class development, basic elements are purposeful activities and tasks that emphasize communication and meaning, because students will learn only by interacting with each others, that is why activities and tasks are developed in groups.

In Task Based Language Teaching, the teacher can use the task he considers more objective, like activities from real life or pedagogical activities for the classroom.

For the development of a task, the teacher takes into account the students backgrounds, depending on that, he makes his lesson plan, if figuring out the response the students probably are going to bring back. In this response can influence a lot the support in didactic implements are available for the use of the teacaher for the class development.but after all, the teacher´s focuses are to stands in the student’s level.

The researchers agree with this kind of teaching when it proposes the group work as a technique in the class development. But teachers must have the objectives clear for the process of learning as well as the students, to work together as one to achieve them.

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It is also necessary to take into account the students´ backgrounds to begin the process from what they already know about the language, and look and treat students as equals.

That could encourage them to show interest to succeed in their learning.

The researchers´ opinion about Task Basesed Language Teaching is that if

it is

implemented by the teacher of English whose classes were observed, he would be working in the students real needs because at applying this approach it is necessary to know the students´ needs and backgrounds, and the teacher will provide them with tools that will help them encrease their knowledge.

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CLASS OBSERVATION

All the useful principles which the methods and approaches contain may be useful if they are applied in the class activities taking into account the reailty of every institution, and every group of students.

In the class observations made by the researchers, the teacher used English to give some directions to his students and to address to them, but he also used Spanish when students didn`t understand him.

In the first session, all students were suppossed to go in front of the class to explain a recipe of food or drink of their preference. The teacher was taking notes to evaluate every performance, and sometimes when a student mispronounced a word or phrase, he corrected him. Right after a student finished his presentation, the teacher assigned a grade.

In the second and third sessions the teacher told in Spanish to his pupils to work in groups. He played a conversation on a compact disc. After listening to it, they had to write about some people ordering dinner at a restaurant. They were given five minutes to do it. Then he began to ask them to read what they wrote about the situations.The teacher corrects them when necessary, and explains grammatical rules in Spanish, too.

The students didn`t show interest in the foreign language, but they looked to be interested in getting a grade to don´t fail the subject.

According to the observation, it was obvious that the teacher bases his classes on some principles of Grammar and Translation Methodology when he translates to the mother tongue and explains grammar aspects to the students. He also uses the group work as Cooperative Learning and Communicative Language Teaching.

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Even though the teacher uses the principle of Audiolingual Method when makes his learners to listen a recorded conversation and they repeat parts of it after it is over, the teacher doesn’t make any emphasis in motivation to wake up the students` interest toward the language, he doesn’t even tried to develop the language skills in an atmosphere of playing, as Suggestopedia claims.

The atmosphere of the classroom should be more attractive to support the activities and the whole process itself.

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2.4. DEVELOPMENT AND THEORETICAL DEFINITION (After contrasting the authors´ methodologies)

The different methodologies the teacher uses for English teaching a foreign language are the most important instruments that will lead the students to be successful when learning English, because of that reason, the researchers are not in agreement with the methodology implemented by the teacher in The First Vocational Year of High School in the Morning Shift at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial 2007. It is not considered the best because the teacher didn´t make emphasis about the students, the teacher even didn´t lead the students a considerable table of vocabulary with the one the students can show what they have acquired.

Those characteristics were not helping to the correct development of classe. To dis situation it´t important to add the students’ attitude, they didn´t show interest in learning English, but only in passing the subject as a requirement of the Institution to graduate from High School.

The researchers think the best methodology to be used with the students of First Vocational Year of High School in the Morning Shift at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial 2007 is The Eclectic Methodology because it takes the best parts from all the other methods in order to fulfill the students’ needs.

The researchers suggest an Eclectical Methodology taking different principles from the different methods and approaches, and also from the creativity of teachers that will make the students pay

attention and participate more actively in the class development,

according to their reality, including parents, and all other participants of the learning experience.

The researchers´ believe the most important thing is to prepare students to communicate in the target language in different ways, using different skills, like writing, reading, listening, and speaking, so they can succeed in their studies.

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CHAPTER III

OPERATIONAL FRAMEWORK

3.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE SUBJECTS OF THE RESEARCH. The first vocational year of High School at Instituto Nacional TĂŠcnico Industrial where the researchers observed the classes in process has fifteen students; fourteen boys and one girl only.

At the beginning of the work the researchers had great expectations in order to observe the classes in progress at First Vocational Year of High School in the morning shift at Instituto TĂŠcnico Industrial, and also when reading of the theory in relation to the topic.

Diane Larsen-Freeman and Jack C. Richards offer different approaches, methodologies, and techniques in order to have a successful English class.

During the development of the research and the observation of classes in progress the researchers could realize that even though the teacher in charge of the English class was specialist in English, he did not use any of the principles of the different approaches and methods to teach English in order to influence the academic outcome of his students.

To begin with the observation the researchers filled in one checklist everytime they were observing the class and at the end, after analyzing this checklist the researchers concluded that the teacher needs to improve different aspects during the class in progress in order to improve the students academic outcome besides improving elemental aspects such as motivation, participation, moral values, classroom atmosphere and among others.

Besides the previously mentioned it is advisable to put into practice the English teaching methods, but respecting their principles, in such a way that the English teaching methods influence the students academical outcome.

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On the other hand, according to the analysis of the three tools used to develop this work, it is concluded that most of the students didn’t think that their academic outcome had improved since they were taking classes with that teacher. They also didn’t think that the activities developed in English classes motivate them to acquire the English Language.

Many students said they didn’t pay attention when their classmates were performing in front of the class because their classmates did not make them participate. All the students said the teacher didn’t encourage them to participate in the English classes. In the same way all the students thought that the classroom atmosphere did not help them to learn the English Language.

The students also didn’t think that the vocabulary provided by the teacher was enough to improve their academic outcome.

All the students were very sincere when expressing they didn’t participate in the English classes to learn the English Language; they just did it in order to get a grade.

Besides the questionnaire administered to the students, the teacher answered five open questions questionnaire.

The teacher said the methodology he used in his classes was intended to motivate the students to learn the English Language, they didn’t want to.

The teacher also said the students only participated in the English classes because they needed a grade, but they did not want to learn the English Language. According to the teacher that attitude on the students´ part was because they took English subject as a requirement established by the Ministerio de Educación (MINED).

The teacher also commented that the activities he planned were intended to make students participate in the English classes. That let the researchers conclude that he did not make

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students learn or acquire the English Language. Finally, the teacher said that he used an Eclectic Methodology to teach his students.

That was in contrast with the principles of the Eclectisism because according to the data from the checklist of the observations of the classes in progress the teacher didn’t follow the principles of the Eclectical Approach.

The researchers could realize the teacher used the Audiolingual Method once. This was when he played a recorded conversation at the beginning of the class for the students to repeat after listening to it.

It was also observed that the teacher let the students work in groups. This evidenced he used a principle from the Situational Language Teaching and Cooperative Language Learning.

One of the principles of Grammar Translation Method was also used by the teacher in the English classes. He translated some sentences from English to Spanish, and he let some students translate the sentences, too.

According to the data analyzed by the researchers, and from the theory by Diana LarsenFreeman and Jack C. Richards, the researchers concluded that the methodologies the teacher used to teach the English Language influenced strongly in the academic outcome of the students, this according the percentages show in the use of some principles like repetition and repetition drill that represents the 22% , sentences translation a 34%, group work in a 33% and the use of target language which influenced a 34% of the students outcome, this principles belong to different methodologies described before.

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3.2 PROCEDURE FOR THE GATHERING OF THE INFORAMTION

Different ways for the gathering of the information in the development of the research were designed. One of them was a checklist of class observation designed by the researchers. The checklist contained thirty categories related to any English class in progress that could be easily perceived by any specialist observer. The checklist also contained three frequency criteria to realize wether each of them were developed by the teacher. The researchers filled in each checklist after observing every English class because in that way, they could record the information without embarrassing the English teacher in the classroom. (See annex

1)

Another instrument used to carry out this work was a questionnaire to be administered to the students. It had ten questions. It was a closed questionnaire. Every question had two answer options (yes/no) in order to get the information required by the researchers. This was done at the end of the observation process. It was administered to fifteen students, who were the 100% percent of the population in the classroom. The students answered the fifteen questions questionnaire outside the classroom while they were in the breaktime to avoid any inconvenient or inhibition on the students´ part that could happen at that moment. (See annex

2 )

It was also designed a five questions questionnaire to be administered to the teacher in order to get his opinion about the methodology he used in the English classes. It was to analyze if according to the teacher it influenced the students´ academic outcome in the English Language according to his opinion. (See annex 3 )

Letter for the principal of Instituto Técnico Industrial (annext 4)

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3.3 SPECIFICATION OF THE TECHNIQUES OF THE DATA ANALYSIS

In the questionnaire to the students every question was analyzed, and it was done through the percentage technique because it was a closed questionnaire. The researchers chose this kind of questionnaire because it is appropriate for this type of work in order to avoid reluctance from students to answer.

It was also used a checklist of class observation in order to identify the different elements the teacher used in the class in progress. This was done because these types of tools are used to observe the different moments and steps in classes in progress. This instrument does not embarrass any of the members taking part in the research. At the end of the research the checklists were analyzed taking into account the codes which were assigned to each category which at the same time were distributed into frequencies. These frequencies were divided and analyzed as absolute, relative and accumulated.

The questionnaire to be administered to the teacher had five questions. It was intended to analize the methodology that was used in the classes as well as its influence in the students’ academic outcome. It was an open questionnaire because in this way the researcher could go deeper into the teacher’s own point of view related to the real situation.

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ANALYSIS OF THE DATA CHECKLIST ANALYSIS FOR THE OBSERVATION OF THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT INSTITUTO NACIONAL TECNICO INDUSTRIAL 2OO7.

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 1 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 0 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class # 1 11.11% 11.11% 11.11% In this graphic is represented the teacher used a 33.33% in de class development the principle listening and repetition drill which belongs to The Audio Lingual Method.

Sentences and translation, a principle that belongs to Grammar and Translation Method was used in a 33.33% for the first class development the researchers observed.

A third principle was applied in the first class development, it represents the other 33.33% of the class development; this principle is the use of Target Language which belongs to the Direct Method.

33.33%

33.33%

1 2 3

33.33%

90

4

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLIGUAL METHOD 1 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 1 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class #2 11.11% 11.11% 11.11% 11.11%

For the second class development the teacher used Listening and Repetition drill; this represents the 25% of the time used of this class.

Other principles used in the second class development were sentences translation, group work and use of target language, representing 75%, which is divided in 25% for each principle, and in other words, four principles from different methodologies were implemented for the class development.

25%

25%

1 2 3

25%

25%

91

4

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 0 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 0 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class # 3 50% 50%

In the third class development the teacher implemented two principles for the whole process, one principle which belongs to Grammar and Translation, this principle is about sentences translation and represents the 50% dedicated to this class development.

The other principle is the use of target language, this principles belongs to The Direct Method, and represents the other 50% of the time used for the class.

50%

50%

1 2

92

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 1 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 1 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class # 4 11.11% 11.11% 11.11% 11.11% In this class development, the four principles were implemented, which means the teacher took a 25% of the time for the use of each one of the principles to develop his class.

25%

25%

1 2 3

25%

25%

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4

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 1 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 1 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class # 5 11.11% 11.11% 11.11% 11.11%

Like in class number four, the teacher implemented the four principles from different methodologies to develop his class, it means that he took 25% of the class time when applying this principles, this makes a total of 100%.

25%

25%

1 2 3 25%

25%

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4

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 1 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 0 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class # 6 11.11% 11.11% 11.11%

When developing class # 6 the teacher implemented three principles from the different methodologies, as Listening and repetition drill, which represents a 33.33% of the time that was taken for this class, and another 33.33% for applying group work and the use of target language, the other 33.33% for a total of 100%

1 33.33%

2

33.33% 0%

3 4

33.33%

95

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 1 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 0 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class # 7 11.11% 11.11% 11.11%

Here as the teacher did in class # 6 he implemented in class # 7 three principles from the different methodologies, as Listening and repetition drill, which represents a 33.33% of the time that was taken for this class and another 33.33% for applying group work and the use of target language, the other 33.33% for a total of 100%

33.33%

33.3%

1 2 3 4

0% 33.33%

96

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 0 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 0 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

Class # 8 11.11% 11.11%

For class # 8 the teacher only implemented 2 principles, one was sentences translation which represents the 50% of the time he took for this class development and the other principle he implemented was the use of target language, which represents the other 50% of the time of the class development.

1

50%

50%

2 3

0%

0%

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4

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD 0 SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH 1 GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH 0 USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD 1

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

N=NEVER

Sm=SOMETIMES

Class # 9 11.11% 11.11% As the teacher did in class # 8 he only implemented 2 principles, one was sentences translation which represents a 50% of the time he took for this class development and the other principle was the use of target language, which represents the other 50% of the time of the class development.

0% 50%

50%

1 2

0%

3 4

98

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

66.67% 100% 33.33% 100%

In conclusion the researchers can mention that the methodology used by the teacher in First Vocational Year of High School at Instituto Técnico Industrial influences strongly on the students outcome, a 22% in listening and speaking, a 34% in sentences translation or grammar usage, a 33.33% in relation ship or interchanging ideas or points of view, social experiences, and a 33% in speaking in the target language.

22%

33%

1 2 3 4 33.33%

1 2 3 4

34%

Listening and repetition drill.

Sentences translation.

Group work Use of target language

99

Sm 6 9 3 9

N

QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTERED TO THE STUDENTS 1. Do you think that your academic outcome has improved since you are taking English classes with this teacher?

Yes________

No_______

In question number one two students answered yes, and thirteen answered no, which meant that the 13.33% said yes and the 86.67% said no. Thus, the 13.33% of them thought that their academic outcome had improved since they were taking classes with that teacher, and the 86.67% did not think the same.

2. Do you think that the activities done in the English classes motivate you to acquire the English Language?

Yes________

No_______

To this question all students answered no, so the 100% of them thought that the activities developed in the English classes did not motivate them to acquire the English Language.

3. Do you pay attention when your classmates are performing in front of the class?

Yes________

No_______

About question three only three students answered yes, and twelve answered no. Then it was concluded that the 20% of them paid attention to their classmates when they were performing in front of the class, and the 80% did not.

4. Do your classmates make you participate when they are performing in the class?

Yes________

No_______

The 100% of the students answered no to this question. So, nobody made their classmates participate when they were performing in the class.

100

5. Does the teacher ask you to participate in the class when your classmates are performing in it?

Yes________

No________

All of students answered no to question number five. Thus, the 100% of them said that the teacher did not ask them to participate in class when their classmates were performing in it.

6. Does the teacher encourage you to participate in the English classes?

Yes________

No________

To this question 100% of the students replied that the teacher never encouraged them to participate in the English class.

7. Do you think that the classroom atmosphere helps you to learn the English Language?

All students said no to question seven, and it was concluded that they thought the classroom atmosphere did not help them to learn the English Language.

8. Do you think that the vocabulary provided by the teacher is enough to improve your academic outcome?

Yes________

No________

In this question everybody answered no, so they believed that the vocabulary provided by the teacher was not enough to improve their academic outcome.

9. Do you participate in the English classes to learn the English Language?

Yes________

No________

Only one student answered yes to this question, and fourteen replied no. Then, the 6.67% of them participated in English classes to learn the English Language, and the 93.33% did not.

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10. Do you participate in the English classes just to get a grade?

Yes________

No________

In the last question fourteen students replied yes, and one answered no. This represented that the 93.33% of them participated in the English classes just to get a grade, and the 6.67% did it to learn the English Language.

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QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTERED TO THE TEACHER

1. How do you think that the methodology used in your classes influence your students´ academic outcome in the English Language?

To this question the teacher´s answer was that he made his planning to try to motivate students in class, which means that he briefly answered he tried to motivate them to participate in class, but he did not provide details on the issue.

2. How do you explain the motivation that students have to participate in the English classes?

In question two his answer was that students participated in the English classes just to get a grade. This means that to the teacher his students lack of motivation for learning the language.

3. Why do you think students participate in your English classes just to get a grade?

About question three the teacher replied that the students took the English class because it was a requirement established by the MINED (Ministerio de Educacion). It means that they take the class because it is a compulsory subject, but they do not really care about it.

4. How do you plan your classes to encourage your students to participate in them?

The teacher answered to question four that he planned in order to motivate his students in class. That is to say that he planned activities with the objective to make them participate in class, but not to make them learn or acquire the language.

5. What is the English teaching methodology that you use to teach to this group?

The teacher answered that he used different English teaching methodologies to teach the group, which means that he used an eclectic methodology.

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CRONOGRAM

ACTIVITY J

F

M

E

MONTH J J A

Procedure to request for an assessor for the Thesis Project. meeting with the advisor for the Thesis Project

PLACE S

O

N

D Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador Library. On internet.

Looking for information for the thesis project.

Making the corrections to the thesis project Attending to Doctor Ticas´ Office to sing as proval of the first Draft to be presented to the Evaluation Committee.

Observing 9 English classes in progress.

Different places.

Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador.

Instituto Técnico Industrial (ITI) Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador.

Second Draft Delivery Presenting the Third Draft to Dr. Ticas to be signed to be presented to the Evaluation Committee.

Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador.

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7

RESOURCES

HUMAN RESOURCES:

1. The advisor.

2. Personnel of the library.

3. Head of the Research and technological Transference Direction, Doctor Ticas.

4. The Principal of Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial (ITI) 5. The manage of academical resources at Instituto Nacional Tècnico Industrial (ITI) 6. The teacher of English class development in the morning shift at Instituto Nacional Tècnico Industrial (ITI) 7. The students of English class of First vocational Year at Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial (ITI)

MATERIAL RESOURCES:

1. The library of Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador.

2. Books from Universidad Pedagógica de El Salvador.

3. Cyber caffe.

4. Memory flash.

5. Instituto Nacional Técnico Industrial. (Facilities) 6. Dictionaries.

7. Paper.

8. Ink. 9. Pens.

10. Notebooks.

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8

PRELIMINAR INDEX ON THE FINAL DRAFT.

Chapter one The Conceptual Framework begins with the antecedents where appear some names of the first people who began to propose specific methodologies to teach a second language like English. This chapter also includes the reason why the research was made, and the purpose of its development, as well as the leading question of the process is presented in the Statement of the Problem. The reaches and limitations and the Concepts and Categories to be used are listed, too in this part.

Chapter Two The Theoretical Framework contains the Theoretical-Methodological Base of the research. Then it continues with the Principles Contained in the Different Types of Methods and Approaches related to the teaching of English as a second language. After that, there is a contrast of the theory of the methodologies an the reality observed in the classes in progress at Instituto TĂŠcnico Industrial, which is called TheoreticalMethodological Formulation of the Research.

This chapter concludes with the Development and Theoretical Definition, which consists of a list of suggestions from the researchers after contrasting the theory of the methodologies of the teaching of English with the reality that was observed in the classes.

Chapter Three The Operational Framework presents a Description of the Subjects of the Research, the fifteen students of the first vocational year in the morning shift at Instituto TĂŠcnico Industrial. Then follows the Procedure for the Gathering of the Information, which lists the different tools the researchers used to get the data from the reality observed.

After that, is presented the Specification of the Techniques of the Data Analysis with the interpretation of the information obtained from the students and the teacher. The chronogram of the activities developed by the researchers in the whole process is specified, and the resources they used to carry out the project.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY USED

S. Bloom Benjamín y Colaboradores. Taxonomia de los Objetivos de la Educación 2da.

Edición 1992.

Larsen-Freeman Diane, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Oxford University Press 1986.

Brown H. Douglas. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. Addisson Wesley Longman, Inc. 4th. Edition.

Richards Jack C. and Theodore S. Rodgers. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Second Edition.

Harmer Jeremy, The Practice of English Teaching. LONGMAN, First Edition. 1992.

Hernández Sampieri Roberto, Carlos Fernández Collado y Pilar Baptista Lucio, Metodología de la Investigación, McGraw-Hill/Interamericana Editores, S.A. de C.V. 1997, México D.F.

Freeman Yvonne S. & David E. Freeman. Whole Language for Second Language Learners. Heinemann Educational Books, Inc.1992. http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/index.htm

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodologyf/tpr.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/dictation.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/large_classes.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/mother_tongue

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http://www.sk-chom.html

http://www.sk.com.br/sk-inst.html

SchĂźtz, Ricardo. Teaching Methods and Correlation to Learning in the Language Classroom.htt://ivc.uidaho.edu/flbrain/learning.htm

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ANNEXES

ANNEXE 1

UNIVERSIDAD PEDAGÓGICA DE EL SALVADOR FACULTAD DE EDUCACIÓN PRINCIPLES OBSERVED IN THE CLASS IN PROGRESS IN THE FIRST VOCATIONAL YEAR IN THE MORNING SHIFT AT ITI PRINCIPLES METHOD/APPROACH A Sm N LISTENING AND REPETITION DRILL AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD SENTENCES TRANSLATION GRAMMAR AND TRANSLATION METH GROUP WORK COMMUNITY L.L. APPROACH USE OF TARGET LANGUAGE DIRECT METHOD

GENERAL COMMENTS: A=ALWAYS

Sm=SOMETIMES

N=NEVER

ANNEXE 2

QUESTIONNAIRE TO THE STUDENTS 1. Do you think that your academic outcome has improved since you are taking English classes with this teacher?

Yes________

No_______

2. Do you think that the activities done in the English classes motivate you to acquire the English Language?

Yes________

No_______

3. Do you pay attention when your classmates are performing in front of the class?

Yes________

No_______

4. Do your classmates make you participate when they are performing in the class?

Yes________

No_______

5. Does the teacher ask you to participate in the class when your classmates are performin in it?

Yes________

No________

6. Does the teacher encourage you to participate in the English classes?

Yes________

No________

7. Do you think that the classroom atmosphere helps you to learn the English Language?

Yes________

No________

8. Do you think that the vocabulary provided by the teacher is enough to improve your academic outcome?

Yes________

No________

9. Do you participate in the English classes to learn the English Language?

Yes________

No________

10. Do you participate in the English classes just to get a grade?

Yes________

No________

ANNEXE 3

QUESTIONNAIRE TO THE TEACHER 1. How do you think that the methodology used in your classes influence your students´ academic outcome in the English Language?

2. How do you explain the motivation that students have to participate in the English classes?

3. Why do you think students participate in your English classes just to get a grade?

4. How do you plan your classes to encourage your students to participate in them?

5. What is the English teaching methodology that you use to teach to this group?

ANNEXE 4