Total Physical Response

Teaching method developed by James Asher, based on the idea that the brain is biologically programmed for acquiring a language. According to him, the teacher should make gestures, use pictures and realia and say commands to the students. The role of the students is to watch, imitate and listen to the teacher and interact with the realia by touching and playing.

This method is very effective when teaching small children. I have experienced it with a group of four kindergarten students and I realized that when they are playing, singing, dancing, etc, they learn and have fun at the same time. But if we try to make them sit down and just observe without interacting, it will not last long, because their attention span is short.





TPRS Publishing: Innovative Teacher Training & Unrivaled Materials for
Communicative Language Instruction - http://www.tprstorytelling.com/

Singlish: building language the fun way - http://www.totalphysicalresponse.com/

NORLAND, D.; PRUETT-SAID, T. A kaleidoscope of models and strategies for teaching English to speakers of other languages. Westport: Teacher Idea Press, 2006

RCHARDS, J.; RODGERS, T.; Approaches and methods in language teaching. 2ª ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 278 p.

Realia

Objects used to teach and illustrate vocabulary. They provide multisensory experiences that facilitate the understanding of the taught words.

As the students are able to experience the vocabulary being taught, it is easier to memorize it. It is also good to help teachers explain difficult words, specially in basic levels.



How to Use Realia in ESL Lessons - http://www.ehow.com/how_4549705_use-realia-esl-lessons.html

Realia - http://www.usingenglish.com/weblog/archives/000228.html

HARWOOD, N. English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

SMITH, B. Virtual Realia. The internet TESL journal, Tucson, vol. 3, n. 7, jul. 1997. Disponível em: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Smith-Realia.html. Acesso em: 23 jun. 2010

Natural Method

Foreign language teaching method with the purpose to emulate as the natural process of first language acquisition, for that reason communicating in the target language is its main focus. Translation is forbidden once the student is supposed to, as a little child does, become used to listening and speaking in the target language. Meaning is demonstrated through the use of mimics, gestures, visual aids, flashcards, realia, etc.

In my opinion, this method is very good for students to acquire autonomy in the foreign language, but the emphasis in oral practice also results in lack of grammar knowledge. Because of that, those students tend to express themselves with many grammatical mistakes.



The Natural Approach - http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/hutt/esl/natapp.htm

Macmillan English Dictionary for ELT Terms -
http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/glossaries/definitions/m-p.htm

Second Language Teaching Methods: Principles & Procedures - http://www.moramodules.com/ALMMethods.htm

NORLAND, D.; PRUETT-SAID, T. A kaleidoscope of models and strategies for teaching English to speakers of other languages. Westport: Teacher Idea Press, 2006

KNIBBELER, W. The Explorative-Creative way: Implementation of a humanistic language teaching model. Tübingen: Narr, 1989.

Lexical Approach

Foreign language teaching method developed by Michael Lewis. According to him, language is composed by chunks (groups of lexical items) which students should be able to recognize and organize to produce speech. The teacher plays a very important part, once he or she is the source of almost every input. This method states that language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar.

Some of the premises of the lexical approach are very useful for students. Learning contextualized language can be easier than learning “solid” grammar, but the teacher should keep in mind that getting to know lists of words by heart is not an effective way of being an independent user of the language.

A abordagem lexical - http://denilsodelima.blogspot.com/2009/06/lexical-approach-abordagem-lexical.html

What does the lexical approach look like? - http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/lexical-approach-2-what-does-lexical-approach-look

MOUDRAIA, O. Lexical approach to second language teaching. ERIC digest, Washington, D.C., 2001. Disponível em: http://www.cal.org/resources/Digest/digest_pdfs/0102-moudraia-lexical.pdf Acesso em 23 jun. 2010.

RCHARDS, J.; RODGERS, T.; Approaches and methods in language teaching. 2ª ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 278 p.

Learning Strategies

Specific actions that are helpful for learners to achieve success in learning, and they are usually chosen according to the student’s learning style.
There is not a single strategy that is better than the others. It has to be adapted to each student learning style, the way he or she acquires better new information.

Learning strategies can be useful if the students are taught how to use them properly. A student that is outgoing will learn more through interacting with the classmates, while a shy student can learn more doing activities by him or herself.

Macmillan English Dictionary for ELT Terms - http://www.macmillandictionaries.com/glossaries/definitions/j-l.htm

Teaching and Learning Strategies - http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/front_strategies.html

Learning strategies - http://tip.psychology.org/strategy.html



NISBET, J.; SHUCKSMITH, J. Learning strategies. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986. 107 p.

O’MALLEY, J.; CHAMOT, A. Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. 276 p.

BORUCHOVITCH, E. Estratégias de aprendizagem e desempenho escolar: considerações para a prática educacional. Psicol. Reflex. Crit., Porto Alegre, v. 12, n. 2, 1999.