Related Articles
There is a variety of pre-service and in-service teacher training programmes out there. Such programmes are diverse; while some of them provide practical training for classroom teaching, other courses tend to focus on theory, with little attention to teaching practice. A third type responds to teachers’ needs and plan their training accordingly.
So, whatever the training objectives are, should we really bother about introducing teaching methodologies? There are good reasons to do that.
Diane Larsen-Freeman (2000: ix-x) mentioned 5 reasons why studying teaching methods in teacher training is important. The following are the reasons with my comments on them:
1) Studying methods allows us to understand the premise underlying our actions: this gives us a logical base which we can refer to (and revisit when necessary) during our teaching practice. It’s very useful when initial teacher training programmes such as CELTA gives undivided attention to aims; this includes main, subsidiary, and personal aims as well as objectives for each stage in the lesson. Bringing the teaching method to teachers’ attention lets them know which techniques they use are appropriate and which aren’t.
2) Being aware of the principles upon which methodologies are based can develop teachers’ analytical skills in relation to the suitability of a particular method to their teaching context. This can be very demanding especially with teachers who are planning to embrace teacher training or academic management pathways. Having this knowledge is critical to specialist policymakers who need to assess methods and decide which can best suit their situations.
3) Understanding the history of teaching methods and their development over the decades inspires practitioners to hold discussion forums and conferences to share what they gain and what they need to reconsider regarding their teaching practice, no matter how diverse their contexts or cultures are. A good example of this is TESOL and IATEFL annual conferences in which ELT professionals from around the globe present, challenge and discuss their ideas.
4) Greater understanding of teaching methods promotes teachers’ reflective practice through which they are able to properly match teaching approaches to their learner groups and decide which techniques better suit individuals in different situations.
5) A package of techniques is needed so that teachers can cater for different learning styles and employ the most relevant way of teaching. Adequate study of methodologies is a key factor in expanding this repertoire of skills. Not only does this make a teacher expert in how to teach different students, materials, contexts, etc, but it also boosts his creativity and ingenuity.
Larsen-Freeman, D. (2000) Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (2nd ed.) Oxford: OUP.
