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.

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.

Grammar Translation Method

Foreign language teaching method that first started in Prussia, at the end of the 18th century and was the most used in the 19th century, but it is still used nowadays for teaching dead languages, such as Latin and Ancient Greek. In this method, vocabulary is taught through bilingual lists of words. Reading and writing are the main focus, with little or no attention given to speaking or listening. Besides that, the classes are taught in mother tongue.

The main problem of the grammar translation method is that, as the learners don’t practice speaking and listening, they will never become autonomous speakers of the target language.

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

Grammar Translation Method - http://www.slideshare.net/vacoka/grammar-translation-method-presentation

Grammar translation Method or GTM - http://www.shvoong.com/books/1760532-grammar-translation-method-gtm/



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

NAGARAJ, G. English Language Teaching: Approaches Methods Techniques. Andhra Pradesh: Orient Longman, 2003.