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  • January 10, 2020

ORAL APPROACH

Introduction: Hearing before speaking, speaking before reading and reading before writing is the oral approach. Here emphasis is given to hearing and speaking in the early stages of language learning.

Some views of oral approach are:
v  Language is primarily a spoken form, script is a later development.
v  No two languages are exactly alike. Each language is unique in its own structure.
v  Languages are habits. Habits are established by repetition. Hence language must be learnt through repetition.
v  The aural-oral aspects should e taught before reading and writing.
v  The reading and writing aspects should be taught in their stated order, since graphic symbols must be seen before they are produced.

Aims of Oral Approach:
v  To suggest new ideas: The teacher is to encourage the pupils to think and understand for themselves instead of thrusting his own ideas
v  To introduce new words: With new ideas come new words and they are to be supplied by the teacher. Everyday a few new words should be added to their active vocabulary.
v  To teach arrangement of words: The teacher should make pupils frame sentences in English, as the syntax of the English language is different from that of the mother tongue.

Significance of Oral Approach
v  Oral work leads to reading and understanding the text. It supplies the aural value of visual symbols. It is basis for good loud and silent reading. It is a means of acquiring fluency in reading. As a pupil speaks, so will he write. Therefore, learning to speak a language is the shortest way to learning to write it. It serves as basis for building up proficiency in writing. The pupil will not only acquire the required habits but will be able to put the items into use. Errors in the use of language can be checked as soon as they are uttered. It does no prohibit reading and writing.
v  The teacher’s duty is to teach the child the new sounds that the child forms correct and accurate speech habits. To make oral practice lively, interesting and useful. To drill the patterns. To see that the pupils must be able to use all the English they learn everyday. To see that the teaching of reading and writing commences a few days after oral practice.

 SITUATIONAL APPROACH


Importance
                         To make language teaching natural, meaningful and realistic words and structures should be taught by creating appropriate situations. It is obvious that a word or structure conveys its meaning completely only when it is presented in a situation. The particular situation helps the teacher to practice the structure and relate it to its meaning. It also helps him to build up a vocabulary of content words.


How to create situations?
                        Everyday class room situations may be used in  order to inculcate interest among the pupils towards language learning. And these situations may be built up by using objects available in the class or outside the classroom, by the use of pictures, drawings, maps and sketches, by gestures and actions and by drawing on the chalkboard. In the advanced stages conversation is the best way to create situations. This conversation is best assisted by the questioning and elicitation process.


How the situation should be?
                      The situation should be appropriate to a particular structure. If it is not appropriate to a structure it may lead to confusion. Take for example the structure I walk. If this structure is to be taught, the action demonstrating it should be performed simultaneously as the words are spoken. The teacher should say it, performing the action of walking.


The Different ways of creating situations
1.     Through Gestures and Actions
                    One way of creating appropriate situations is to use right gestures and actions. For example, the teacher wants to teach the structure I sleep- he should close his eyes while speaking these words and put his hand behind his neck and bend his head backward a little giving the idea of resting on a pillow. I wake-the teacher should open his eyes. All this should be repeated by pupils. They may also be called to demonstrate other gestures and speak while they demonstrate. Other structures like every, all, into, upon, in addition to etc. may also be taught in this way by using appropriate gestures and actions. Pointing to a pupil the teacher may say – He is wearing a shirt. He may, then point to the second boy, then to the third, the fourth, the fifth and finally say – Every boy is wearing a shirt. And then making a circular motion of his hand he may say – All the boys are wearing shirts.

2.     By the use of pictures
                 Pictures go a long way in motivating the pupils and make the teaching-learning process easy and interesting. They create the best situations in the best manner. Words bearing similarity and contrast may be easily taught in an interesting way to the pupils with the help of pictures. For example, the following structures may be framed.

This is a dog. This is a cat.
These are birds. Those are trees.
The dog is near the house.
The cat is far away from the house etc.

                 A picture in which a house is shown with trees in the background, birds near the house, the cat away from the house and the dog in front of the house – the teacher may proceed giving verbal illustrations first and then pointing to the illustrations in the picture next.

3.     By drawing on the Chalkboard
                 Pictures and illustrations can be drawn on the chalkboard in the class whenever the teacher feels they are necessary. This makes the teacher as well as the pupils active. The children shake off all their lethargy and concentrate on what the teacher draws on the chalkboard. The parts of a body, for example, can be easily taught by drawing on the chalkboard. Drawing the sketch of a human body, or a part of it, for example, the face the teacher may proceed to say: This is noise; these are eyes; this is mouth, this is tongue, this is chin; these are ears, this is hair etc. he may also draw stick figures illustrating various human postures like sitting, standing, walking, running, jumping, kneeling etc.


STRUCTURAL APPROACH
                         The structural Approach is an improvement over the Direct Method of teaching English. For it is not a method in itself but only an approach. An approach can be used with any method. The basic principles and techniques of the Structural Approach do not differ much from those of the Direct Method. Hence many teachers and language experts still believe that the approach is nothing but the Direct Method itself with certain alterations and additions here and there. That it is the same wine poured into a new bottle. No doubt, there are many similarities between the Structure Approach and the Direct Method. But the fact remains that by following the new arrangement of selected structures instead of the old jumble of unselected structures, the Direct Method is greatly improved.
                      In the opinion of M.L. Tickoo, “The Structural Approach in India is a child of necessity It is based on the belief that in learning a foreign language like English, mastery over the structure of the language is more important than acquisition of vocabulary.
                       That the limitation inherent in the study of English due to lack of natural incentive, restricted number of periods for teaching the language and grammatical difficulties can be overcome by an intensive drilling of the structures. The advocates of the Structural Approach demand that we have to concentrate at the secondary school on what is known as 

Essential English.
                      After careful research and experimental investigations, language experts realized that there are about 275 language patterns which constitute the core of the essential English. These essential language patterns are otherwise known as structure.

What are Structures?
                    The tools of language teaching-learning are sounds, words and structures. By using these language tools can be developed among the learners the four-fold skills of language learning viz., listening, speaking, reading and writing. Hence structures may be defined as tools of language teaching-learning. Just as a carpenter, a goldsmith or blacksmith works with his tools, similarly the teaching-learning process in a language is worked upon by its structures.

Importance of Structures
                    Among the three types of language tools mentioned above structures are the most important. Words, no doubt are important. But the ways in which words are combined are more important than the words themselves. In other words, words are not so important compared to the ways in which they are put or arranged together. Words convey meaning only when they are arranged in a proper order. We communicate with one another not in isolated words or sounds but by using meaningful combinations of sounds or words, they are not grouped together at random when we speak or write. Instead they are arranged in a definite order according to the needs of the situation. For example when we wish to make a statement the arrangement of words should be


Subject            +          Auxiliary Verb           +          Main Verb (S+AV+MV)
Govind                                   is                                             reading.
                 Here the auxiliary verb follows the subject which, in turn, is followed by the main verb. But to convert this statement into a question the order of words should be.
Auxiliary Verb           +          Subject            +          Main    Verb (AV+S+MV)
Is                                 Govind                                   reading?
                 Here the auxiliary verb precedes the subject. These and many other arrangements of words or patterns are known as structures. Hence structures are of primary importance whereas sounds and words are of secondary importance.

Difference between Structures and Sentences
                  The above examples are in the form of sentences. The first one is an assertive sentence and the second one an interrogative sentence. However structures should not be confused with sentences. No doubt all sentences are structures. But all structures are not sentences. The reason is, a sentence is a grammatical order of words whereas a structure need not have any grammatical background. Structure may be in the form of complete utterances (sentences & idioms) or they may be part of a group pattern (phrases) or isolated utterances (formulas)

Different types of Structures or Patterns

1.     Sentence Patterns
                   Structures which are in the form of sentences are known as sentence patterns, Look at the following examples.

Ravi gets up early in the morning. He takes bath. He takes breakfast.

He goes to school. He plays cricket. He returns home after school.

Did he wake up early in the morning today as usual?

Did he go to school? Did he play cricket in the school? Etc.
2.     Phrase Patterns
                   Structures which are in the form of phrases are known as phrase patterns. Look at the following examples. The underlined portions are the phrases.

Ravi sits in the front row.

Birds fly in the sky.

The thief was tortured by the police.

The boys are playing with a ball.

The book is on the table.

It is a fine picture.

Don’t look through the window.

The cat jumped over the wall. Etc.

3.     Formulas
                    These are groups of words used regularly on certain occasions. Look at the following examples.

Good morning.    How do you do! Thank you.                        Excuse me.                 Good bye. Etc.

4.     Idioms
                   Grammatically an idiom looks like a sentence but is different from a sentence. For n idiom should not be understood literally. That is, its surface meaning should be understood as a whole. Look at the following examples.

1.      He kicked the bucket. (He died)
2.      It rained cats and dogs. (rained heavily)
3.      Nehru was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. (very much)
4.      This must be done by hook or crook. (by any means) etc.

Selection of Structures
                          In making a proper selection of structures the learning ability of the average learners in average school conditions should be taken into consideration. Their average age, mental condition, time given to the learning of English and availability of the material also should be borne in mind. The following principles may be followed while making a good selection of structures.
1.     Simplicity
                  Out of the total number of structures, those structures which are simple should be selected. Simplicity of a structure depends both on its from and meaning. For example,
I am reading – is simple not only in its form but also in its meaning. But the structure,
Had you been present in the class you, also would have received your prize is simple neither in its form nor in its meaning. Hence simple structures are to be taught first; and difficult and complex structures later.
2.     Utility or Usefulness
                   The utility of a structure depends chiefly on two important factors. They are,
1.      How frequently does the structure occur both in the spoken and the written forms of language.
2.      The basis it provides for the further building up of the language.
Look at the following examples
a.       Ravi and Raju are friends.
b.      But for the perseverance of my teacher I would have been an illiterate.
                        Between the two structures mentioned above, the first one is frequently used. It also serves as a model for the further building up of the language. For example we can make structures like,
Sita and Gita are twins.                     Gopi and Govind are talking.
Lata and Rani are dancing.              My father and mother are teachers etc.
                       As far as the second pattern is concerned it is not so frequently used as the first one. Hence the first pattern should be taught first and later the second one.
3.     Productivity
                   Some structures are productive. That means other structures can be produced keeping them as base. Look at the following examples.

a.       Raju is here.
b.      Here is Raju.
                          The first one is productive for keeping it as base other sentences like – “He is here” can be produced. But no sentence can be produced from the second pattern. We cannot say – Here is he.
4.         Teachability
                  The structure which can be easily demonstrated in a realistic sense is supposed to be better teachable than the others. For example:

‘I am opening the book’ can be taught better and with ease than

‘Rajani always comes late to school’

                          The first one can be easily demonstrated by actually opening the book while saying the sentence. But to teach the second one a verbal situation has to be built up in the following manner.

The school commences at 10.00 A.M.
Rajani came at 10.30 A.M. the day before yesterday.
She came at 10.20 A.M. yesterday.
Today she has come at 10.10 A.M.
Therefore Rajani always comes late to school.

Grading the Structures
                        The pupils have to be taught about 275 structures in a five year course in our school. In order to make the learning of these structures easy for the learners they have to be arranged in a systematic manner proceeding from easy to difficult. This is what is meant by grading. Also several structures have got more than one meaning. These different meanings also should be graded. And only one meaning of a structure should be taught at a time, and should be established by practice before another meaning is taught. Each meaning should be taught as a fresh item. The following are the important principles of grading the structures.

1.     Simplicity
                  The principle of simplicity implies both simplicity of form and simplicity of meaning.
                  There are several kinds of flowers in the garden – is simple in its meaning and form whereas. In spite of the strenuous efforts made by the police they could not trace the culprit – is simple neither in its form nor in its meaning. In order to follow the principle of simplicity the teacher has to introduce easy and simple structures at the initial stages and difficult and complex structures at the advanced stages.
2.     Utility and Usefulness
                  This principles implies that structures which occur more frequently in the spoken and written language should be taught before those structures which occur less frequently. Look at the following examples.

          a.       Raghu can speak Telugu and Tamil.
          b.      Raghu can speak not only Telugu but also Tamil.

                    The first structure is more useful than the second one for the first one is more frequently used in the day-to-day expression. Therefore the first one should be taught before teaching the second one.

3.     Teach-ability
                    The structure which can be taught easily in a realistic situation is supposed to be better teachable than the others. The structure –

The book is on the table – has better teachability than the structure

The weather in England is undependable.

Merits of the Structural Approach
1.      The Structural Approach lays more emphasis on oral work. As such more opportunities are extended to the learners to practice the use of language.
2.      In oral work the difficulties and the defects of the pupils can be detected, rectified and removed on the spot.
3.      Language learning through oral work is lively, interesting and real.
4.      The Structural Approach creates and establishes a suitable environment viz., the English environment in the class for learning the language by avoiding the use of the mother tongue.
5.      It extends better and more opportunities to the learners to express their ideas, feelings and experiences. As such it enables pupils get command over the use of English.
6.      As much emphasis is laid on practicing the language in a given situation, it helps in better retention and better use of the language.
7.      The Structural Approach alone fulfils the four-fold aims of teaching a language.


Criticism
                         As the Structural Approach lays more emphasis on mastery and use of structures, some people are of the opinion that it does not help in understanding the content of a given reading material. This is a wrong opinion, however. It does help in understanding the content of a given reading material. It supports the building up of a vocabulary of content words. When the teacher proceeds to teach the items from the syllabus, content words will spring from the particular situations.


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