An Elementary Introduction to

The Methodology of Teaching English

With the rapid development of science and technology, the world that we are facing is changing fast. We should keep our paces with times. Education is facing great challenge. Reform is necessary. It is very important and necessary for our English teachers to study the teaching methods, especially the methodology of teaching English.

There are so many green hands of teaching English, who are eager to know such knowledge. So it is our duty, I think, to give them an elementary introduction.

The methodology of English teaching is a science that deals with the theory of teaching English. Its field covers the aims, the procedure, the laws and the methods of teaching English etc. It is a science in the sense that its theory comes from the practice of teaching English and is applicable to practice. Its theory is ascertained by observations and experiments, critically tested, systematized, brought under general laws and are supported by linguistic and pedagogical sciences. It is a new science and is now not perfect in every way. But because of its practical value and the role it plays in language teaching, it comes to be in vogue throughout the world. All English teachers avail themselves of this science to enrich their experiences and improve their work.

The methodology of teaching English comes form the practice of English teaching. In teaching English people get to know about English teaching. That is their experience. When one experience occurs again and again and brings about the same result, or when one's experience coincides with that of another person's one's experience becomes his knowledge of English teaching. The longer one teaches, the more experiences he has. Through constantly summing up one's experiences and through putting one's experiences into practice one see deeper and deeper into the work of English teaching. When one sees that teaching English in a certain way leads to success and that teaching English in some other way means a failure in one's work, one sticks consciously to one's successful experience and casts away the unsuccessful experience. The one is said to have discovered some law or laws involved in English teaching and this is now the theory of English teaching comes into being. Here we see the theory of English teaching originates from the practice of English teaching, is applied to and directs the practice of English teaching.

Every English teacher may have his theory of teaching English. But methodology as a science is not the work of a single person. Nor is it the work of one generation. It is the crystallization of the efforts of English teachers and linguists and pedagogues and psychologists of many generations and of various countries. At present methodology is still a young science. But it is in vogue throughout the world. It affords the young English teachers knowledge to start his new career in the right way; it helps the teachers in service to be more resourceful and more competent in their work.

Methodology of teaching English is closely connected with pedagogy, psychology, linguistics and the philosophy of materialism and dialectics. These sciences are known to be the scientific bases of methodology of English teaching.

Pedagogy is a science of teaching. People talked about pedagogy several thousand years ago. Many 0f the principles and observations in pedagogy apply also to teaching English. Pedagogy teaches that the aim of teaching is threefold: to impart knowledge, to cultivate the character or a moral sense in the student and to train the mind; it gives principles to be observed in teaching: the knowledge to be taught should be scientific, teaching should be graded, visual aid should be used in teaching, etc; it groups lessons into types; it talks about motivation, teaching procedures, class management, etc. All these are very important and useful to the teachers of English; some people say methodology of English teaching is a branch of pedagogy. It proceeds from the basis of pedagogy and develops into an independent science. Pedagogy talks about generalizations in teaching and methodology of English teaching, about specifications in an English class.

Psychology is a science of the mind and its processes. The psychology of learning deals with comprehension, skill, habit, memory and forgetfulness. Information of these shed light on how to help the student to learn a foreign language with efficiency. The gestalt theory that we grasp total configurations rather than separate parts gives birth to the sentence method in foreign language teaching. The experiments of the psychologists on conditioned reflexes or on stimulus and response give a sound basis to the habit formation school in foreign language teaching. The laws of learning discovered by the psychologists are always cited in English teaching.

Linguistics, the science of language, has a strong influence on methodology of English teaching.

Knowledge of language and of its component parts helps the teacher in the handling of the materials to be taught. In the methods of teaching English we have:

Grammar method taking grammar to be the key to language learning;

Phonetic method emphasizing the spoken language, pronunciation and phonetics;

Oral method or audio-oral method taking the spoken language as the principal object lf study;

Reading method taking reading to be the main aim and means in learning English:

Each of the methods cited above is connected with some aspect of linguistics and bases its theory and practice upon it. Thus, with the development of linguistics; methodology of teaching English is always furnished with new nourishment and explores into some new approach.

In linguistics we have:

General linguistics dealing with the nature, functions, development, classifications, etc, of language;

Applied linguistics dealing mainly with the methods of language teaching;

Psycholinguistics dealing with the way of the student in learning a second language;

Social linguistics dealing with language in relation to social factors.

In what ways do linguistics help methodology of English teaching?

a. Linguistics shows the nature and functions of language and this helps the teacher to know the aims to be pursued in English teaching and the orientation in teaching.

b. The development of language, that is, the spoken language precedes the written language, shows the order of listening, speaking, reading and writing to be followed in language teaching.

c. Descriptions of phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics enable the teacher to teach English pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary in a better and more rational way.

d. The similarities and differences in methods of children and adults in learning the mother tongue and the foreign language open the teacher's eyes to the general principles to be observed in language teaching and the specific varieties to be noticed.

•  With the social factors of language teaching in mind the teacher may explore into the field how language materials are to be selected, classified and taught.

As language teaching is a very complicated problem and as the efficiency in teaching depends not merely upon his knowledge of English, a teacher of English should know linguistics and view English teaching at the level of linguistics. Only then could he have more flexibility in his methods, be more resourceful and keep to the right orientation in his work.

Materialistic dialectics is the basic method that we use in looking into things and solving problems. In teaching English to the student we should always keep materialistic dialectics in mind. Unlike the idealist we respect facts; unlike the metaphysician we look at things as they are. That is they are in motion and are changing all the time. There are laws in English teaching, we know many of them and we will know more. We are to teach in accordance with such laws but we will adapt them to the specific condition in a specific way. There is always a way to solve a problem and bring about our aim. But we are always to pursue after the method that gives the best result. This is our attitude in our work and it is this attitude that helps us go ahead steadily.

Methodology of English teaching and teaching English are two different things. The former is a science and the latter is an art. One learns a science through reading and studying while one gets an art through practice. Methodology of English teaching is helpful to an English teacher. It helps only when the teacher makes conscious efforts to apply methodology to practice. Methodology is helpful in two ways: (1) It denotes or shows the model or the best method in teaching so that teachers may compare the models with their own teaching, see the differences between them, and beget in themselves the desire to do better or to improve their own teaching. (2) It tells how to teach, and explains the principles and methods involved. The key here is that the teacher should have the desire to learn and to do better work and that he should put the principles and methods suggested into practice and see to it that they are used in the right way.

What are found in methodology books are generalizations. Abstracted from actual specific English lessons. Thus when such generalizations or principles are applied to practice they should be adapted to the specific conditions. Here copying will not do, nor will imitation. Adaptation here means a creative use of the principles. In the hand of the teacher, the generalization is turned into a specification. Here we see the wisdom, judgment, dexterity and the very personality of the teacher himself. That is what we mean by art here. Art as a skill comes mainly from practice.

In addition to the study of methodology, an English teacher should try hard to use the theory of methodology in practice again and again to improve his skill of teaching. Practice never disappoints an energetic mind.

Some people argue that there are teachers that teach very well but they have not studied methodology. This argument shows that these people do not know: (1) there are many ways to study methodology and to take a course of methodology in the university is only one of them; (2) a teacher teaches well because his teaching agrees with the theory of methodology; (3) the teacher will teach better and make more rapid progress in his work if he studies methodology. The basic principle of the materialistic philosophy is that theory comes from practice. This is how theory comes about how it works.