Traditional language teaching methods

The ‘traditional language teaching approach’ is an umbrella term for language teaching methods developed before the 1970s. This term refers to some kind of teacher-centered instruction. The most commonly used methods were the grammar-translation, direct and audio-lingual methods. These methods were used for most of the 19^th century to teach modern foreign languages (Richards and Rodgers 2001).

As early as the seventeenth century, the grammar-translation method was the way languages were taught in schools. This approach focuses on analyzing and studying the grammatical rules of a language by translating to and from one’s mother tongue and the target language (Widdowson and Howatt 2004). Using grammar and vocabulary accurately is central to the grammar-translation approach (Larsen-Freeman and Anderson 2011).

Teaching English at a primary school in Vietnam, where so far - despite a recent language policy, according to the teaching of English mainly according to traditional teaching methods and social forms (grammar-translation method, focus on literacy, frontal teaching) is taught - to be aligned with the communicative approach.

The grammar-translation method is an academic exercise, using grammar to learn the target language, rather than an exercise to assist the learners in using the language (Cook

Chapter 4: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

2013). The teachers give instructions, explain conceptual problems and discuss the particular grammatical structure in the mother tongue. Typically, the teachers present the rules of one grammatical instance and then illustrate its use through repetition in reading, writing and translating. The text is often accompanied by a list of new vocabulary. In the grammar-translation method, repetition and the textbooks are essential for student to learn.

As unimaginative as it sounds, however, the grammar-translation method has achieved a remarkable success. Wahba, Taha and England (2013) observed that millions of people had successfully learned the second language to a high degree of proficiency using this method.

However, students could be more involved in the coursework instead of simply following the textbook and make corrections afterward. Therefore, the direct method was created as a consequence of the grammar-translation method (Hinkel 2011).

The direct method focuses on the written language, of which grammar and vocabulary are taught inductively by means of direct translations. Rather than analyzing and explaining grammar rules, students are encouraged to communicate freely and use grammar naturally.

In this approach, all teaching is done using the target language. The teachers may employ visual aids and pantomime to clarify concepts and vocabulary. The learners speak in the target language and speak as if they are in real life scenarios. This approach is often referred to as the natural or oral method (Wahba, Taha, and England 2013).Although the direct method focuses more on listening and speaking than its predecessor, it does have its own limitations. Brown (1994) wrote that the direct method “did not take well in public schools where the constraints of budget, classroom size, time and teacher background (native speakers or native-like fluency) made such a method difficult to use”. It ignores reading and writing activities, rarely teaches vocabulary and grammar is not taught systematically. Hence, by the early twentieth century, the direct method’s popularity began to wane and the audio-lingual method (ALM) was created to tackle some of the weaknesses of the direct method.

The ALM is based on the operant conditioning learning model developed by psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner, where the best way to reinforce/reduce behavior is by modifying the consequences (McLeod 2007). For example, if the learner is rewarded for correctly producing the sound, then he/she is more likely to produce the same sound in the future.

The ALM believes that repetition increases the likelihood of producing correct sounds and sentences. The learners listen and repeat the phrase until they are able to do so naturally.

They are first given said phrases in the subject-verb-prepositional format. After learning

these concepts, they will be able to add or remove words to make novel sentences. The ALM believes that learning a language is about acquiring the appropriate or right linguistic habits, and it uses drills to form good language habits (Singh 2008).

However, in this model, the teacher directly controls the students’ behavior: he/she provides a model as well as reinforces correct responses (Larsen-Freeman and Anderson 2011). Moreover, grammatical skills are neither taught nor reinforced.

In summary, the traditional understanding of teaching is that the teacher is the focal point of class activities and handles the responsibility of all teaching activities. Teachers utilize the same teaching methodologies of teaching regardless of the age, understanding level, or grades of pupils mainly basing on reading and memorizing textbooks. In addition, there are no supplementary activities to help students understand and visualize the content of a lesson. During class time teachers read text aloud and involve students in a process of repeating the text. This ideal can be found in the study by Menon, G (2008). The author found that the traditional learning environment consists of “discipline, listening, obeying, repeating and reproducing”.

The main aim of this method is to help students finish their textbook is their ultimate goal and to finish textbook is commonly considered a success among teachers.

Key features of traditional methods of teaching are listed :

• Teachers are at the center of all activities;

• Teachers work a lot;

• Teacher accomplishes all activities;

• Teacher work a lot and transfer the knowledge to the students;

• Teachers just teach textbooks;

• The lessons are just prepared in accordance with the syllabus of the textbooks;

• Students are afraid of entering the class since the class environment is dreadful and teachers act like dictators;

• Students learn but forget soon;

• The classroom is arranged in a manner that has all students seated in a row and faced toward the board;

• During the class, students are quiet, calm, and concentrated on the teacher;

• The students sit passively listen and receive information as communicated by the teacher;

Therefore, teaching English as a foreign language is a more monotonous process whereby teaching is reduced to recital and word by word translation of English to the native language Vietnamese. Instead of coaching and leading students to cognitively understand the overarching message of the lesson, teachers make the students read, repeat, and

memorize. As a result of this type of traditional teaching, many students even finished several years of learning English, but they still have difficulty in introducing themselves in English.

However, according to Carrasquillo (1994), in English as foreign language courses, it is important that learners have the opportunity to talk and to practice what they have learned in the classroom. The sooner the students realize that language habits drive from custom and usage rather than from logic, the sooner they will get down to the serious business of mastering a new set of language skills. As a general rule, we may say that the teacher should do no more than 25% of the talking in the class and that students should be permitted to do 75% of the talking through multiple relevant activities created by their teachers.

As a response, the CLT method was developed to address the previously mentioned disadvantages of the grammar-translation method, the direct method, and ALM).