SITUATIONAL LANGUAGE TEACHING
v It refers to an approach to language teaching developed by British applied linguists from 1930s to 1960s.
v The impact of it has been long lasting.
v It has shaped EFL/ESL textbooks and courses including many still being used today.
v Structuralism is important.
v Grammar is important.
v Understanding the principles and practices of it is important.
BACKGROUND
v It began with the work of British applied linguists in the 1920s and 1930s.
v Harold Palmer and A.S Hornby was the leaders.
v They tried to develop a more specific foundation for an oral approach to teaching English than DM.
v Result was a systematic study of the principles and procedures that could be applied to the selection and organisation of the content of a language courses.
v The role of vocabulary was one of the first aspects of method design to receive attention.
v In 1920s and 1930s several largescale investigations were undertaken.
v The impetus for this research came from two quarters:
· Vocabulary was one of the most important aspects of foreign language learning.
· The increased emphasis on reading skills as the goal of foreign language study in some countries.
v Frequency counts showed a core of two thousands or so words occured in written texts.
v The Interim Report on Vocabulary Selection was produced as a guide to English vocabulary needed for teaching EFL.
v These efforts represented the first attempts to establish principles to syllabus design in language teaching.
GRAMMAR CONTROL
v Palmer emphasized the problems of grammar for the foreign learner.
v Palmer,Hornby and other British applied linguists:
· Analyzed English and classified its major grammatical structures into sentence pattern.
· Internalized the rules of English sentence structure.
v A standard reference source of basic English sentence patterns
· The A dvanced Learner’s Dictionary of current English.
· A grammar of spoken English on Strictly Phonetic Basis
· A handbook of English Grammar
· Guide to patterns and usage in English.
The characteristics of approach
v Material is taught orally before it is presented in written form.
v The language of the classroom is target language
v New language points are introduced and practiced situationally.
v Vocabulary selection procedures are followed.
v Simple forms should be taught before complex ones.
v A sufficient lexical and grammatical basis and then reading and writing.
v The term situational used in referring to the oral approach as the key feature
APPROACH
The Theory of Language
v It can be characterized as a type of British structuralism
v The basis of language is speech
v The heart of speaking is structure
v Palmer, Hornby and other British applied linguists prepared pedagogical descriptions.
The Theory of Learning
v In situational language teaching, behaviorist habit learning theory is used.
v It addresses the processes rather than conditions of learning
v According to Palmer there are three processes:
· receiving the knowledge or materials
· fixing it in the memory by repetition
· using it in actual practice until it becomes a personal skill
v French;
· The fundemental is correct speech habits.
· The pupils should put the words into sentence patterns which are correct without hesitation and thought.
· Speech habits can be cultivated by blind imitative drill
Situational Language Teaching
v Inductive approach to the teaching of grammar.
v The meaning of words or structures is to be induced from the way the form is used in a situation.
v Distinctive feature:
· Explanation is discouraged and the learner deduces the meaning of a particular structure or vocabulary item.
· Extending structures and vocabulary to new situations takes place by generalization.
DESIGN
Objectives
v To teach a practical command of the four basic skills
v Accuracy in both pronunciation and grammar is regarded ad crucial
v Errors are to be avoided.
v Automatic control of basic structures and sentence patterns is fundemental to reading and writing skills.
Syllabus
v A structural syllabus is a list of the basic structures and sentence patterns of English.
v Structures are always taught within sentences.
v Vocabulary is chosen according to how well it enables sentence patterns to be taught.
Types of Learning and Teaching Activities
v A situational approach to presenting new sentence patterns and a drill-based manner of practicing them.
v By situation,Pittman use of concrete objects, pictures and realia to demonstrate the meanings of new language items.
v Chorus repitation, dictation, drill and controlled oral based reading and writing tasks are guided repitation and substitution activities.
Learner Roles
v What the teacher say is listened and repeated,and questions and commends are responded by the learner, later more active participation is encouraged.
Teacher Roles
v The teacher sets up situation in which the need for the target structure is created ond then models the new structure for students to repeat.
v The teacher is the skillful manipulator; he uses questions, commands and other cues to elicit correct sentences from learners.
v The teacher is on the lookout for grammatical and structural errors that can form the basis of subsequent lessons.
v Teacher responsibilities:
· Timing
· Oral practice
· Revision
· Adjustment to special needs of individuals
· Testing
· Developing language activities
The role of Instructional Materials
v Textbooks: contains lessons planned around different grammatical structures
v Visual aids: consists of wall charts, flash cards, pictures, stick-figures…
PROCEDURE
v They vary according to level of class.
v They at any level aim to move from controlled to freer practice of structures and from oral use of sentence patterns to their automatic use in speech, reading and writing.
v The lesson shoul consist of:
· Pronunciation
· Revision
· Presentation of new structure or vocabulary
· Oral practice
· Reading of material
v Drills are likewise related to situations.
v The teacher’s kit, a collection of items and realia is an essential part of the teacher’s equipment.
v The sequence of activities teaching procedures propose:
1. Listening practice: the teacher repeats an example of the patterns clearly several times.
2. Choral imitation: Students all together repeat what the teacher has said.
3. Individual imitation: Several individual students repeat the model in order to check their pronunciation.
4. Isolation: The teacher isolates sounds, words or group of words causing trouble.
5. Building up to a new model: Students ask and answer questions using patterns they already know in order to introduce a new model.
6. Elicitation: Teacher’s using mime, prompt words, gestures; the students ask questions, make statements or give new examples of the pattern.
7. Substitution drilling: The teacher uses cue words to get individual students to mix the examples of the new patterns.
8. Question-answer drilling: Students ask and answer questions each other.
9. Correction: The teacher indicates the error repeating.
CONCLUSION
v The essential features of SLT are seen in the PPP lesson model:
· Presentation: introduction of a new teaching item.
· Practice: controlled practice of the item.
· Production: A freer practice phase.
v Situational Language Teaching is widely used when materials are based on a grammatical syllabus.
v SLT was failed as:
· It wasn’t sufficient.
· It had too much oral communication.
· It wasn’t appropriate.
· It was time consuming since there were many repetitions.
· It required being qualified.
· It was structural so the learners weren’t able to adapt it.
