ASSIGNMENT
KARMELA RANI TRAINING
COLLEGE KOLAM
EDU 09.2 - Theoretical Base of
English Education- II
UNIT VI
RESEARCH IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
Submitted By
Jeesmol George
ACTION RESEARCH IN ENGLISH
Introduction
Action
research generally involves inquiring into one's own practice through a process
of self monitoring that generally includes entering a cycle of planning,
acting, observing and reflecting on an issue or problem in order to improve
practice. Wallace (1991: 56-7) maintains that action research can have
'specific and immediate outcome which can be directly related to practice in
the teacher's own context' and is 'an extension of the normal reflective
practice of many teachers, but it is slightly more rigorous and might
conceivably lead to more effective outcomes'. systematic reflection means that language teachers·
collect data about their teaching so that they can make more informed decisions
about their teaching; however, whereas reflective teaching can result in
non-observable behavioral changes in the classroom such as increased levels of
awareness of a teacher's assumptions, beliefs and practices, conducting an
action research project usually results in some kind of transformation of the
research into actual and observable actions.
Action Research in English
Language Teaching
Within English language education, action research has
usually been associated with the study of classroom actions rather than
addressing social problems associated with language teaching. Action research
for language teachers is 'an approach to collection and interpreting data which
involves a clear, repeated cycle of procedures'. Action research is conducted
by practicing language teachers because they themselves are valuable sources of
knowledge regarding their own classroom situations and as a result change can
be implemented more credibly because practicing teachers will find the results
more credible and valid for their needs. However, action research is different
from usual research conducted by academics, and while academic research is
valuable in its own terms, it often has little practical application for
practicing teachers. 'The topics, problems, or issues pursued [in academic
research] are significant, but not necessarily helpful to teachers on the front
line'. Examples of
actual action research abound in the English language teaching literature in
recent times and teachers who have carried out action research often report
significant changes to their understanding of teaching.
The positive results from partaking in action research included
increased teacher awareness of classroom dynamics, and expectations of their
learners. In addition, the teachers learned 'a great deal about themselves,
their students and their teaching and learning environments through action
research'. Action
research for language teachers is not only a way to solve problems 'but it is
found in the very act of entering into the cycle of investigation'. Action research 'forces teachers to
think about what they are doing in the classroom in a systematic way through a
lens focused on one particular area of their practice'.
The action research for
language teachers suggests the following:
·
It
involves collecting information about classroom events (in the classroom),
through observation or through collecting information in other ways, such as
through interviews, questionnaires or recordings of lessons.
·
It
involves careful and systematic collecting of that information.
·
The
research involves some kind of follow-up action.
·
This
action involves some change in practice, and monitoring the effects of such
change.
·
The
results are owned by teachers, rather than the research community.
·
The
results of the research can be reported at a staff meeting or through a written
report.
·
It
seeks to build up a knowledge base about teaching based on practitioner's knowledge,
rather than expand the knowledge base developed by academics and theoreticians
outside of the school context.
·
To
develop research skills useful for classroom inquiry.
·
To
bring about changes in classroom teaching and learning.
·
To
develop a deeper understanding of teaching and learning processes.
·
To
empower teachers by giving them the tools which they can use to further impact
changes within the profession in which they work.
From research to
practice when teachers want to conduct an action research project they enter
into a cycle of investigation that includes the following steps:
1. Identify an issue
2. Review literature on issue and ask questions to narrow
focus of issue
3. Choose method of
data collection
4. Collect, analyse
and interpret information 5. Develop and implement and monitor action plan
Identify an issue
1. Purpose: Why are you engaging in this action research?
2. Topic: What area are you going to investigate?
3. Focus: What is the precise question you are going to ask
yourself within that area?
4. Product What is the likely outcome of the research, as you
intend it?
5. Mode: How are you going to conduct the research?
6. Timing. How long have you got to do the research? Is there
a deadline for its completion?
7. Resources: What are the resources, both human and
material, that you can call upon to help you complete the research?
A large number of interesting general issues are available
for language teachers wishing to reflect on their practice through action
research including (but not limited to) the following:
·
Teaching
the four skills (issues relating to changes in the way aspects of reading,
writing, listening or speaking are taught in your class).
·
Classroom
dynamics (issues related to the kinds of interaction which occur in the
language classroom).
·
Learner
language (issues relating to the kind of language that is generated by specific
activities your students use when completing classroom discussions and the
amount of language they produce during pair or group work).
·
Grouping
arrangements (issues relating to how different grouping. arrangements such as
pair, group or whole class, promote learner motivation, language use and
cooperation).
·
Use
of materials (issues relating to different ways in which materials are used
and how these affect the outcomes of
lessons).
·
Grammar
and vocabulary (issues relating to the teaching of grammar and vocabulary and
the effect of using different teaching and learning strategies) .
·
Assessment
policies and techniques (issues relating to the forms of assessment you
currently use in your classes and their outcomes.
Review literature and ask questions
1. Should learner errors be corrected?
2. If so, when should learner errors
be corrected?
3. Which learner errors should be
corrected?
4. How should learner errors be corrected?
5. Who should correct learner errors?
Approaches to collecting classroom data
1. Journals/diaries: regular dated
accounts of teaching/learning plans, activities and classroom occurrences,
including personal philosophies, feelings, reactions, reflections,
explanations.
2. Teaching logs: more objective notes
on teaching events, their objectives, participants, resources used, procedures,
processes, outcomes (anticipated and unanticipated).
3. Document collection: sets of
documents relevant to the research context, e.g., course overviews, lesson
plans, students' writings, classroom materials/texts, assessment tasks/texts,
student profiles, student records.
4. Observation: closely watching and
noting classroom events, happenings or
interactions, either as a participant in the classroom (participant
observer) or as an observer of another teacher's classroom (non-participant
observation). Observation can be combined with field notes, recordings and logs
or journals.
5. Field notes: descriptions and accounts of
observed events, including non-verbal information, physical settings, group
structures, interactions between participants. Notes can be time-based (e.g.,
every 5 minutes) or unstructured according to the researchers purpose.
6. Recording: audio or video recordings,
providing objective records of what occurred, which can be re-examined.
Photographs or slides can be included.
7. Transcription: written
representations of verbal recordings, using conventions for identifying
speakers and indicating pauses, hesitation, overlaps and any necessary
non-verbal information.
Collect, analyze and
interpret information
1. To identify patterns in the data.
2. To compare findings from different
sources of data.
3. To build an interpretation from the
information collected.
Develop, implement and monitor action
plan
1.
Is the focus on your teaching action?
2. Are
you in a position to be able to change your future actions (teaching and
otherwise) based on the results of your action research project?
3. Is improvement possible?
Reflection
1. What is your understanding of action
research and have you ever conducted ano action research project? Explain.
2. Why do you think academic research
generally has little impact on practicing teachers?
3. Do you think there is a gap between
academic research findings and practice in the classroom?
4. Why or why not? In what ways can conducting action research
empower a second language teacher?
5. In what ways can conducting action
research develop a collaborative relationshipo with other teachers?
6. Do you think the results of the
action research project should be reported, e.g. at ao staff meeting or through a written
report to a journal? Explain.
7. Wallace (1998) discusses how an
interest in a topic such as group work, must beo thought through to find a more
specific focus for classroom investigation. Can you add any more to the list
developed by Wallace?
1. how to set up groups?
2. how to form groups?
3. how to resolve personality clashes
within groups?
4. how to deal with the use of the
mother tongue during group work?
5. how to select materials for group
work?
6. how to assess the effectiveness of
group work?
Conclusion
Action research serves the needs of the reflective
professional well because it combines the mastery of the professional knowledge
a teacher has built up over the years with the wisdom of everyday practice.
Although there is no one universally accepted set of processes that constitute
conducting action research, it is generally agreed that it focuses on
researching an issue of interest to the teacher and usually takes place inside
the classroom to determine what is currently occurring. Action research
involves the teacher systematically collecting information about this issue and
then acting on the information to make improvements to the issue. In order to
help teachers collect information related to their action research project,
they can use such reflective tools such as teaching journals, classroom
observations, narrative analysis and group discussions among other methods that
are all covered in this book. Through a process, then, that includes planning,
observing, analyzing, acting and reviewing, language teachers can learn a great
deal about the nature of classroom teaching and learning as well as acquire
useful classroom investigation skills.
Second language
acquisition
Introduction
Second
language acquisition is now an established discipline, represented in both
graduate programmers bearing its name and in programmers in Applied
Linguistics, TESOL and foreign language education graduate programs. It boasts
journals and conferences specifically devoted to it and it figures
conspicuously in conferences such as this one. While controversy exists
regarding its exact boundaries, with some researchers arguing that it
constitutes a branch of cognitive psychology and others that it is primarily a
social phenomenon, there is broad agreement about what the main areas of the
discipline are (i.e. those associated with the description of second language
learner language, whether narrowly of broadly defined, and the explanation of
how it is acquired).
SLA originated in the felt need of a number of teachers-cum-researchers
to understand how learners learn a second language (L2) in both untutored and
tutored settings so as to better incorporate those experiences that were found
facilitative of learning into the actual practice of language teaching. Thus,
the close connection between theory and research in SLA and language pedagogy was
established from the start. Over years this nexus eroded as SLA increasingly
sought to establish itself as an academic discipline in its own right but the
connection is still there, as evident in, for example, the continuing interest
in form-focused instruction, in the role that theory and research in SLA play
in the advocacy of language teaching approaches such as total physical response
and task-based teaching and in the identification of general principles that
can inform specific methodological practices such as corrective feedback.
Arguably, SLA is still at heart an applied rather than a pure discipline.
Ten principles for instructed
second-language acquisition
Rod Ellis’s ten principles provide a strong research
base for the planning and delivery of effective language teaching and learning
programmes.
The
ten principles
1. Instruction
needs to ensure that learners develop both a rich repertoire of formulaic
expressions and a rule-based competence.
2. Instruction
needs to ensure that learners focus predominantly on meaning.
3. Instruction
needs to ensure that learners also focus on form.
4. Instruction
needs to be predominantly directed at developing implicit knowledge of the L2
while not neglecting explicit knowledge.
5. Instruction
needs to take into account the learner’s ‘built-in syllabus’.
6. Successful
instructed language learning requires extensive L2 input.
7. Successful
instructed language learning also requires opportunities for output.
8. The opportunity
to interact in the L2 is central to developing L2 proficiency.
9. Instruction
needs to take account of individual differences in learners.
10.
In
assessing learners’ L2 proficiency, it is important to examine free as well as
controlled production.
These principles are
explained and exemplified in Ellis's Instructed Second Language
Acquisition: A Literature Review (Ministry of Education, 2005).
Language
learning tasks
Ellis’s concept of a language learning task is
relevant to all teachers of languages. In his discussion of principle 2, Ellis
describes classroom ‘tasks’ as language learning activities that:
·
require
the student to focus on meaning
·
include
a ‘gap’ that students can close by communicating
·
require
students to produce their own language structures
·
have
a clear outcome.
Such tasks can be cross-curricular in nature and can
provide students with rich opportunities to develop thinking and problem-solving
skills as they engage in genuine social interactions.
Second
Language Pedagogy
Webster’s New Universal
Unabridged Dictionary defines pedagogy as “the function or work of a teacher,
the art or science of teaching, and instructional method.” (Barnes and Noble,
1996) This popular source weighs its definition of pedagogy toward the more mechanical
aspects of teaching. The field of second language education views pedagogy in
similar ways. In their Teacher’s Handbook, Judith Shrun and Eileen Gilson refer
to pedagogy as “teaching methods” or “classroom activities” (Heinle, 2009), and
Helena Curtain and Carol Ann Dahlberg call it “classroom applications”
(Languages and Children, Pearson, 2010). Others, such as Timothy Regan and
Terry Osborn, label a teacher’s actions within the classroom “classroom
strategies” (The Foreign Language Educator in Society, LEA, 2002). Common to
the above definitions are references to the mechanical aspects of the
profession, about which teachers tend to be principally concerned. Language
teachers are apt to view their lessons through the lens of their classroom activities,
becoming anxious and insecure when their list of activities is insufficiently
rich. In my experience as a teacher trainer, I have witnessed time and again
how teachers become impatient in professional development sessions when they
are not presented with enough ideas for activities that they can immediately
apply in upcoming lessons. This concern has translated itself into an enormous
market for educational companies that sell readymade materials for classroom
activities, in addition to the myriad of books and websites serving a similar
function. The field is literally flooded with resources available to all
language teachers in every area, including second-language acquisition.
Resources for second-language pedagogy include two types of teaching activities.
The first emerged as a result of research derived from disciplines such as
psychology, linguistics, education and neurology. The famous Audio Lingual
Method (ALM), for example, is based on research into the behaviorist model that
explains learning as the relationship between stimuli and response; the Grammar
Translation method relies on Noam Chomsky’s theory of Universal Grammar; James
J. Asher’s Total Physical Response method (TPR) uses studies about the brain;
and the Krashen Monitor Theory has inspired practitioners to find ways of
creating an anxiety-free learning environment which provides comprehensible
input to its learners, teaches the language in a specific order and encourages
students to monitor their language development. The second type of resources
are those created by experienced, successful practitioners, using their
intuition and creativity.
While the challenge of finding
sources for activities is now easily met, it remains for us to empower our
teachers with the expertise to identify the best and most suitable activities
and to use them wisely in their classrooms. Wellchosen and aptly executed
classroom activities will maximize the learner’s efforts to achieve language
goals faster and better. If we further enhance our teachers’ abilities,
coaching them to develop their own tools and pedagogy, they will succeed in
catering their activities specifically to their learners’ needs.
The first and most commonly
adopted model in Jewish education today is called “teaching as doing.” This
approach reflects the behavioral view, which requires teachers to master a
prescribed set of behaviors along with a set of actions. In this context, the
underlying assumption is that a teacher’s learned behavior can lead to the
desired student outcome. This behavioral approach fits when teachers are viewed
as the operators who implement a readymade curriculum in which the materials
and classroom activities have been dictated by the creators of the curriculum.
This is the approach preferred by teachers and institutions that do not want to
undertake the responsibility of investing in designing a curriculum or teaching
a pedagogy of their own. Adopting this stance, however, will not lead to
results in which language learning is maximized. Language acquisition is a
dynamic process influenced by the many variables of learners and learning
contexts that result in learners progressing in the language at different
rates. Teachers need to constantly modify learning materials and classroom
actions in order to meet the different needs of their learners. In the
behavioral view of the profession, allowance is not made for such
accommodation.
In order to make use of the right
pedagogies, the field needs to embrace the other two ideal framework models
defined by Freeman for fostering the growth of second-language educators. The
second model outlined by Freeman perceives language teaching as a “cognition.”
This approach requires teachers not only to become experts in the available
canon of teaching activities but also to be knowledgeable about the research
that supports them. This research relates to both second language development
and to learner variables, such as learner’s age, motivation, learning style,
strategy, other language learning experiences and so on. Such knowledge can
help teachers select the most appropriate classroom activities for their
learners and also transform the teachers so that they consider themselves able
to access infinite resources to create their own classroom activities. When a
teacher understands these theories, he/she can also understand the rationales
behind methodologies and thus make educated decisions about which methodology
to use and when, all the while accommodating learners with the process that
will be most effective in helping them to make progress and to retain the
target language. Such a teacher would use this understanding of the research to
create original activities that reflect language-acquisition processes.
Freeman’s third model, which should also be adopted by the profession, views
teaching as “interpretive.” This model recognizes the fact that not all
learning environments are similar. Because each educational setting has its own
characteristics and demands, teachers need to rely not only on their knowledge
about the needs of their learners, but also on how the particular conditions of
the learning environment can impact learning. These conditions may include the
school’s mission, the number of contact hours, the number of students in the
classroom and many other aspects of a given environment, which must be
interpreted in order to make expert adjustments to the language curriculum and
to the classroom activities.
The best classroom activity:
1. is language level appropriate
2. is age appropriate
3. is research based
4. is relatively easy to
implement
5. has a measurable outcome
6. fits the appropriate part of
the lesson
7. fits the language skill that
it aims to reinforce
8. can serve students with
diverse learning styles.
As we
contemplate the best ways to teach Hebrew in our schools, we should note that
the best learning pedagogy can emerge only when the language educator is
adequately equipped. When teachers are knowledgeable about the theories of
second-language acquisition, aware of learner variables and responsive to
learning conditions and environments, they will be able to reflect on their
practices and modify their activities, either during or after the lesson, in
order to make the right decisions as they choose or create the most effective
pedagogies in support of the language acquisition process.
INNOVATIVE PRACTICES IN TEACHING ENGLISH
Introduction
English, the official language of the entire world is a very tricky
language to teach. In fact every language varies to teach. English is a very
old language and has undergone many forms changes from Proto English derived
from the Latin and the German culture to the Modern English which was
established after in the post Renaissance period. Each version was simpler than
it‟s previous. Present
day English is the simplest adaptation of
a very old Language and yet it is still difficult to teach this language
effectively especially to those who speak English as a second language.
Problems with current methodologies:
In todays world English is
taught in a very orthodox manner. The basic teaching is needed. Teaching the alphabets and the formation of the words is
essential and a must. But there is something that is even more important. The
children must be able to speak the words and understand their meaning before
writing them down. The foundation to teach English can only be taught using the
orthodox methods of teaching the alphabets and the words and the rules. But
then teaching only the rules is found to be boring by most students and it is
because of this that they lose interest in learning the language. Although
there is no way other than the traditional one to teach the basics of the
language these methods must be tweaked a bit so as to appeal to the students.
When it comes to teaching English to students of higher classes who already
know the basics the traditional methods generally tend to yield poorer results
that innovative methods. This has already been proven by methods implemented
like use of stories, poems, movies, books and newspapers etc. These methods
help the students learn the language better without them actually realizing and
also it keeps their interest. This paper will provide a few of such methods to
teach English Language.
Enacting the stories.
Stories form a very integral part of teaching a
language. These stories help teach the students about the formation of
sentences and how to express their thoughts and a lot of other things and plus
they help in keeping the students interest alive as the story‟s end is something that every student
wants to know. It appeals to the
inquisitive nature of the students. Any unfinished story always keeps the mind
of the reader agitated.
Although this method of using stories has been
implemented the procedure of teaching the language through it is generally not
right. The evaluation procedure of testing the students in their proficiency
over the language is through questions based on the story. This is generally
not that effective. Due to this the students generally tend to take up the
stories as a chapter rather than looking at it as an interesting read. A story
is supposed to appeal to the creative part of the brain. It helps us be more
imaginative, by trying to visualize the things that are happening inside the
story. It should not only teach them the language but it should also help them
in extracting a lesson from the story. Keeping questions for evaluation kills
the entire idea of imagination for the students look at the story as something
that they need to learn for answers.
There is a better way of using the stories to English
using stories. The students can enact the stories or the plays. In this way the
students are personally engaged with the stories. They can bring their own
interpretation of the character to life. It is interesting for the students to
understand the characters and put themselves in their positions. It engages
their creativity by allowing them to create the entire set, assign the
characters and play it out according to what they had imagined. It also helps
them understand other peoples interpretation of the story and helps them have a
healthy conversation about it which again helps them in learning the language.
It removes the dull aspects and makes the learning more colourful without
jeopardizing the learning of the language. It may not be perfect but it will
leave a deep impression on their mind. The story will help them learn the
language as they will be enacting it by dialoge which they will themselves
extract from the stories and also modifications can be made to the plays to
help the students be more interactive and creative. They can add more lines,
characters, change the ending, bring in an interesting twist etc. The more
creative the modification, more are the points awarded to the team. This also
leads to personality development and helps them work as a team player and all
the way the student was learning the language. For example if Julius Caesar was
taught using the traditional methods of questions and answers the student would
never understand the deep emotions of Brutus, the cunningness of Cassius, the
loyalty of Antony, the tragedy of war, the brilliance in Antonys speech and many other such aspects of
the story for which the story of Julius
Caesar was written by Shakespeare. Similar is the case with all great stories
such as Christmas Carol, Harry Potter, and all the epic stories. Emotions help
define the story and they form a very important aspect of the language and ones personality. If these emotions are left
out then it would be very difficult to
express ourselves. On the other hand if such stories are enacted then every
intention of the story becomes clear. The students have to immerse themselves
into the atmosphere of the story and they have to put them in their positions.
This entire process has many benefits besides being a very effective method of
teaching the language; it helps preserve the literature, which is nothing but
our culture. This method brings about the total learning experience that was
meant to be provided by the story and in the end the student will definitely be
able to answer questions without even preparing for it as an exam, besides the
entire process is fun and not at all boring. Hence it ensures the learning
process is complete.
Teaching through conversations
Conversations are by far the most useful ways of
teaching the language. When a child learns his or her mother tongue it is by
the conversations that takes place between them and others or by listening to
the conversations made by the others. The child is never taught the language
but is still able to percept the meaning and learns it automatically to use it
in day to day life. No one ever teaches the kid the characters of the language
or how to make sentences or the grammar of that language. The conversations
alone teach the children.
Hence conversations form a very important part of the
teaching process. The sentence construction and the grammar is not something
that can be entirely taught by rules. They have to be taught intuitively. That
can only happen through a lot of reading and a lot of listening. This can be
taken care of easily as every conversation needs a topic. The topic can be
given to the students in form of written documents which they have to first
read then form an opinion and then have a conversation about it or it can be
spoken out and then they can listen, understand and also take part in the
conversation.
The participation and other aspects of the
conversation can always be evaluated through points which will also push the
students to take part in the conversation. These conversations have to be
general. They have to happen as if friends are talking to each other. This way
the students are comfortable in expressing themselves in the best possible way.
This process may take some time but in the end it would be the most efficient one
in teaching the language.
Teaching through games
This is a very
interesting method of teaching. Students and children generally tend to like
games and want to play them more and more. Traditional methods dictated for
study and games to be separate but the fact remains that the students tend to
be more interested in playing games rather than sitting down to study. Any
logical reasoning would dictate us to combine the two aspects to solve the
problem. The games part of learning would help the students keep their interest
as the desire to win is very strong. It keeps us going and when included with
different aspects of learning the learning process would continue almost
throughout the day without the children getting tired or bored of studying.
Word games
The most important part of any language is the vocabulary. To
understand the meaning of the words and to use them in day to day life is a
very difficult task and games can help the students overcome this difficulty.
Games like scrabble, housie etc. have been designed for this specific purpose.
These games are just based on words and help the students develop their
vocabulary. In addition to these very simple games can be played to help
improve the word database of the students such as simple dictation
competitions, synonym competitions, words puzzles, anagrams and hangman. All
these games are very addictive and help a lot in improving our vocabulary as
whenever the student hears a new word the first question that comes up is “what
is its meaning?” and in this way the vocabulary improves and most of the times
we don‟t even have to
consult the dictionary.
Competitions
Most of the times competitions like debates and
elocutions also help the help the students a lot in learning the language as
the aspect of the competitions keep them at the best in conversations. It
forces them to use the best possible construction of sentences to put forward
their opinions and to use good vocabulary etc. This is a very important tool in
helping them learn the language. Also these competitions help them address
large crowds which is again is a very important part of personality
development.
Creative assignments
Up till now most of the techniques that we discussed
required a greater amount of effort on the student‟s part. This method requires effort on
the teacher‟s part. Assignments help the students learn something on their own and most of the times they have to
research on something then write something up on it. This method although
effective is most of the times very tedious. This method of approach is very
appropriate for sciences and engineering although when it comes to languages
the students should be given assignments in which they have to modify something
that already exists. If the students are just given assignments like „write a
story or a poem or a report‟ then most of the students crack
because not everyone can come up with a story or even if they come up with one
they cannot write it down. In such case the students should be given the base
knowledge and data and then ask them to modify the data for example the
students can be given a base story and then ask them to modify a part of it.
This engages their creativity and also helps them overcome their difficulty of
writing. Above all it lifts the pressure of creating completely new. Invention
is very difficult especially when we are being forced to do it. In this way the
students are not forced to complete the assignment and then they can do it
whole heartedly and hence complete the learning experience that can be gained
from the assignment.
Help from the multimedia
Multimedia
sources like songs, movies, TV series, magazines, newspapers play a very vital
role in improving our language. We don‟t even realize that they have helped us.
We just wake up one fine day and realize
that we are better than it than we were yesterday. Such sources can be used to
help the students improve their language. But great precautions must be taken.
This method should be used in the final stages of learning as that is the only
place where there is no scope of damage as most of the movies and songs etc.
use colloquial English most of the times which is grammatically wrong and it is
very important that the students understand that fact so that they do not use
that form of the language in their everyday usage. Apart from that this source
is very helpful as it does not feel like education. This is something that the
students will do in their spare time. The songs are the best way to communicate
how to use a language to express our feelings. Movies are a very common past
time but apart from that most of the times they are also very instructional and
educational. Also this method appeals to the students as most of the times they
are able to connect with the songs and the movies which help them understand
the meaning of expressions, usage of tools of the language like comparisons,
personifications etc. These sources help them understand why such tools are
necessary and also help them understand their usage. Hence this method is again
very effective in teaching the language. Traditional methods of reading
newspapers and books, novels are also very good methods to teach the language.
When the traditional methods are modified along with some innovative ideas the
entire learning and the teaching process is enriched and guarantees a success
in efficient learning. These are some of the innovative and creative ways of
teaching the English Language.
Conclusion
The languages play a very important role in our lives.
They help us express our emotions. They help us explain what we want. They help
us to communicate and hence are the prime tools to express who we are. Thus the
knowledge of a language and its proper utilization is very important as it
defines us. If languages were not there to help us communicate there would be
no difference in our communications and the way the animals communicate. Hence
the ways the languages are taught play a very vital role in a person‟s life. Since English is the official language of this world it is of utmost
importance that this language has to be taught in such a way that it will help
us not just to speak and write and listen but to communicate. That is the
purpose of the language and that is what it must be used for. Hence innovative
methods help in bringing a change and most of the times for the better. It
helps the students learn faster and in an efficient, interesting and an
interactive manner and it is the teacher‟s responsibility to leave the traditional
methods and make way for new and better
methods for the students benefit.
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