BEYOND METHODS by kumaravadivelu

In this document Kumaravadivelu establishes the different roles teachers take as Passive Technicians, Reflective practitioners or Trans-formative Intellectuals.

As PASSIVE TECHNICIANS teachers implement knowledge, their task is to execute what is prescribed  for them. They only act as transmitters of received knowledge. If I were to be this type of teacher, I would have the advantage that it would be easier, since I would only have to understand information and transmit it to my students. I also would not require much of skills and time for thinking from me. But I would have the disadvantage that my classes would be very boring for both my students and myself. And the classes would not be related to their common day life.

As REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONERS teachers are viewed as problem-solvers. They look back critically and imaginatively. They do cause-effect thinking, derive explanatory principles, do task analysis and also look forward and do anticipatory planning. The obstacles for being this kind of teacher are that it might demand a lot of time from the teacher to meditate on his performance but he can always ask the students for suggestions for the class, they can help doing some of the thinking. Or perhaps the Principal of the school does not agree with some of the teachers activities such as going outside the classroom  or making to much noise but the teacher can talk the Principle into it, convincing him that these technics have a purpose and are good.

As TRANSFORMATIVE INTELLECTUALS the teacher cares about how his student can apply what he learns in his personal life and improve his surrounding. The teacher guides the student in solving problems in his community . This is very demanding from the teacher. But, I think it's worth the while, because these type of teachers can really make a difference in the students life, and their English would become a lot more meaningful to them.

The best way to teach English

This semantic map is showing that in the 1970's many improvements in language teaching came about through the adoption of new approaches and methods (the light bulbs represent these new ideas. )

The heyday of methods can be considered to have lasted until the late 1980's.
By then many of these methods were discredited and unfashionable, because learners were often viewed as passive recipient of the methods. And teachers had to accept on faith the method and apply it in their own practice.

By 2000  the post method era came about, wish focuses on the processes of learning and teaching as the key rather than on a specific method . The conclusion reached was that sticking to one Language Teaching Method did not allow the teacher to be free and flexible. So, in the post method era the teacher  creates his own method, according to his particular students.

Competency based Education

Competency based Education

 Focuses on the outcomes of learning. CBE addresses what the learners are expected to do rather than on what they are expected to learn about.  CBE emerged in the United States in the 1970's and refers to an educational movement that advocates defining educational goals in terms of precise measurable descriptions of knowledge, skills and behaviors students should posses at the end of a course of study. -Richards and Rogers

Competencies: are essential skills that adults need  to be successful members of families, the community and the workplace.

As an English teacher my goal of language acquisition for my students is communicative competence.

Communicative competence: the ability to use the language correctly and appropriately to accomplish communication goals. The desired outcome of the language learning process is the ability to communicate competently, not the ability to use the language exactly as a native speaker does.

Linguistic competence: Should not be confused with communicative competence. LC only addresses the knowledge of  grammar, syntax, phonics, semantics  and vocabulary of a language. So, basically the linguistic competence falls under the domain of communicative competence because communicative competence is made up of several competence areas including linguistic, sociolinguistic, discourse, and strategic.

In the early stages of language learning, instructors and students may want to keep in mind the goal of communicative efficiency: That learners should be able to make themselves understood, using their current proficiency to the fullest. They should try to avoid confusion in the message (due to faulty pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary); to avoid offending communication partners (due to socially inappropriate style); and to use strategies for recognizing and managing communication breakdowns.

 http://www.nclrc.org/essentials/goalsmethods/goal.htm

 

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