English Pedagogy (Principles & Methods of ELT) - Software Development MCQ

Methods of language teaching have been influenced by a variety of extant social, political, and psychological factors. There are several methods of English language teaching and the grammar translation method is one of them.

Key Points

• The grammar-translation method focuses heavily on translating sentences between the target language and the learner's native tongue.
• It prioritizes understanding grammar rules and written comprehension over spoken communication.
• Pronunciation receives little to no attention in this method.

Hint

• CLT (Communicative Language Teaching) method: This method emphasizes spoken communication and fluency, including pronunciation.
• SLT (Situational Language Teaching) method: Similar to CLT, SLT focuses on using language in real-life situations, which inherently involves pronunciation practice.
• Audio-lingual method: This method centers on repetitive drills and exercises aimed at perfecting pronunciation and speaking fluency.

Therefore, the grammar-translation method is the one that neglects pronunciation.

Language is the means by which children can explore their inner and begins to make connections between objects and sounds, experiences, and words.

Key Points Phonic method:

• Phonics is one of the most important building blocks of reading.
• It may be referred to as a method used for teaching the reading and writing skills of the English language, which develops the phonemic awareness of the learners.
• It includes the ability to discriminate between sounds and shapes.
• It emphasizes the relationship between letters and sounds.
• Teachers need to understand the relationship between letters and sounds before they can claim that reading has happened.
• The Phonic method focuses on one sound/letter as the basic unit. Within this approach, the sound unit is dealt with one at a time i.e. a single graphic unit in various positions, as for example the ‘m’ in ‘man’, ‘music’ or ‘s’ in ‘sit’, ‘star’, ‘vest’, etc.
• This method relies on the visual discrimination possessed by the learner. 

Thus, it is concluded that the correct answer is phonic method.

Language teaching refers to a process whereby a child gains communicative comprehension or fluency over a language. It involves practice by learners where facilitation is provided by a teacher. There are several methods of English language teaching and Communicative Language Teaching is one of them.

Key Points 

• Communicative Language Teaching focuses on Spontaneous Production and Comprehension and emphasizes on the improvement of communicative ability”, that is ”the ability to apply the language principle in order to produce grammatical sentences and understand ’when, where, and to whom’ the sentences used”.
• Michael Canale said that “communicative ability is formed by four competencies: 1) grammatical, 2) sociolinguistic, 3) discourse, and 4) strategy”.
  • Grammatical competence relates to language system mastery, such as: ’vocabulary, word formation, and sentence meaning’.
  • Sociolinguistic competence is the competence to understand and produce accurate utterances in accordance with the context in which the utterance happens.
  • Discourse competence relates to the ability in combining the form and the meaning of a language. Besides to understand the kinds of discourse which is cohesive and coherent.
  • Strategy competence refers to the ability of overcoming the obstacles and simultaneously improving the effectiveness of communication.

Hence, it is clear that 'Communicative Language teaching does not include grammatical competence' is not true with regard to Communicative Language teaching.

Principle of Selection is based on the assumption that it is not possible to teach the whole system of the language within a short period. Because only limited things can be taught within a limited period so the teacher has to select a matter.

Key PointsCriterion for selection of language items to be taught involves:

• Learnability: How far an item is easy to learn.
• Teachability: How far an item is easy to teach.
• Availability: How far an item is convenient to teach.
• Range: In what different contexts a word can be used.
• Frequency: How often a particular word or item is used.
• Coverage: How many different meanings a word can convey.

Therefore, complexity is not a criterion for selection of language items to be taught.

Methods of language teaching have been influenced by a variety of extant social, political, and psychological factors. There are several methods of English language teaching and the Direct Method is one of them.

Key Points

• The belief that a second language can be taught in the same way as the learner’s first language by using only the target language aligns with the principles of the Direct or Natural Method.
• This approach emphasizes immersive learning experiences where the target language is used exclusively in the classroom, mimicking the natural process of language acquisition.
• It focuses on communication and real-life situations, encouraging students to learn through context and meaningful interaction rather than explicit grammar instruction.

Therefore, the Direct or Natural Method, is the correct choice.

The audiolingual method is also known as the oral/aural approach. It is based on the structural view of language and the behaviourist theory of language learning. It rejects the use of the mother tongue and stresses on speaking and listening competencies.

Key PointsSkills that can be developed through audio-lingual methods:

• I. Mastering sound system and grammatical patterns: Audio-lingual methods focus heavily on the mastery of sound systems and grammatical patterns through intensive drilling and repetition of dialogues and language patterns.
• II. Adhering to the natural order of LSRW skills: The audio-lingual method typically follows a structured progression in language learning, starting with listening and speaking skills before moving on to reading and writing. This aligns with the natural order of language acquisition.
• III. Teaching pronunciation from the beginning: Pronunciation is a key aspect of the audio-lingual method, and instruction often begins with teaching correct pronunciation and intonation patterns from the outset.

Hint

• The audio-lingual method aims to minimize interference from the students' native language skills, rather than allowing them to interfere with target language learning skills. 

Hence, the correct answer is I, II and III.

Language is taught as a second language and as a foreign language. For language teachers, it is essential to teach in such a manner that desired goals can be achieved. Therefore, a sound knowledge of the principles of teaching language is needed.

Key Points

Principles of second language learning have been identified as critical to successfully teaching language students.

• Know your student and motivation to learn the second language
• Create a welcoming classroom environment
• Build Background Knowledge
• Provide Comprehensible Input by building vocabulary
• Include frequent opportunities for Interaction and Discussion
• Use Multiple Modalities during instruction
• Conduct ongoing review and assessment

Hence, we can conclude that regular monitor and assessment of language development is incorrect regarding the principles of teaching language.

The whole language approach advocates for reading instruction that mirrors children's natural language acquisition process.

Key Points

• This entails providing students with complete texts that integrate various language skills, such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
• Rather than focusing solely on isolated phonics sounds or drilling grammar rules, the whole language approach emphasizes meaningful engagement with authentic texts.
• Through exposure to whole words and texts, students develop reading comprehension, language fluency, and vocabulary in a holistic manner.

Therefore, engaging with complete texts that connect reading to other language skills, aligns with the principles of the whole language approach.

The main aim of teaching English/foreign language is to help children to acquire practical commands of English/foreign language. There are several methods of teaching English to students who are learning the language for the first time.

Key Points 

Structural Approach:

• A structural approach is a language tool that helps the learner to master the structure or pattern of sentences. It is the descriptive approach that gives more importance to speech only without reference to meaning.
• It advocates the selection and gradation of the structures or patterns of sentences and vocabulary and the principle of selection of structures in a structural approach should be based on the collection, selection, and usefulness.
• A learner in this approach is expected to be accurate and useful in whatever s/he says or writes and this grammatical accuracy is to be realized through constant drills and construction of correct (error-free) sentences from substitution tables.

Hence, it becomes clear that the structural approach gives importance to speech.

Language teaching is less about the school and more about the process of learning English. It depends on teachers' application of principles of language teaching.

Key Points

• The principle of habit formation is related to the idea that language learning and the acquisition of language skills can be improved by regular practice.
• Language learning involves developing new habits and patterns of thinking, speaking, and writing. Regular practice of these habits helps to reinforce them, making them more automatic and natural over time.
• This principle applies to all aspects of language learning, from vocabulary acquisition to mastering grammar and syntax. By practicing these skills consistently, learners can internalize them, making them a natural part of their language repertoire.

Hence, it is clear that "Language and its associated skills can be mastered with regular practice" correctly explains the principle of habit formation in language learning.