The Postmethod Era: Toward Informed Approaches H. D Brown

Method vs Methodology Method as a construct or defunct notion Method : Overused term or mere techniques Approach or Methodology-systemic ways of applying principles Postmethod- an alternative to method (Kumaravadivelu, 2001, 2006b)

Theory vs. Practice Dichotomous notion of who produce and consumes knowledge Power difference b/w theoriests/researchers & practitioners Teacher empowerment-Teacher as researchers, action research(AR), classroom-based research Students as researchers?

Enlightened/eclectic approach Continuum of possibilities Meaning vs. grammar Analyze language vs intuitive learning Use of L2(TEE, TETE) vs. L1 Translation Immediate reward vs. long-term reward Tough, demanding vs. gentle, caring teacher Frequent vs. infrequent feedback Accuracy vs. fluency

CLT Balanced development in four components-grammatical, discourse, sociocultural, strategic competence Function vs. Form Fluency vs. accuracy Skills for real communication in social contexts-authenticity Autonomous learning with strategies

CLT Teacher roles-facilitator, guide Student Roles- active participants Reference- ALM vs. CLT (p. 49)

CLT Caveats Beware of lip service-make sure to understand & practice what you say you do! Overdoing CLT-some controlled practices work, too! Many different ways of doing CLT-CLT is an approach not a method!!!

TBLT Meaning first Problem-solving through communication Based on real-world activities Sequence of steps in task completion Target outcome must be achieved (Skehan, 1998a)

TBLT Target task-what is expected outside class Pedagogic task-class task to help practice for target task Tasks may be a series of sequenced techniques or steps which are well planned

Learner-centered Approach Meet learners’ needs, styles, goals Students’ self-control (group work, strategy training, etc) Student input is valued Student creativity & innovation Enhance students’ sense of competence & self-worth

Cooperative Learning Cooperative vs. competitive (individual-based) model of teaching or learning Cooperative vs. Collaborative learning: -who controls the process? -social constructivist: Issue of power & autonomy, ownership of learning

Interactive Learning Learning through interaction-importance of negotiation of meaning Pair work, group work Authentic language input Produce language for real purposes Prepare for real language use with tasks Long’s interaction hypothesis

Whole Language Approach Originates from reading research-phonics vs. whole language Language is more than sum of its parts Cooperative, participatory, student-centered, sense of community, social nature of language, authentic & natural language use, meaning-centered, holistic assessment, integration of skills

Whole Language Approach Language as whole Whole  parts -> Whole Integrated skills approach Language entails more than linguistic elements-empower learners by liberating them from social, political, economic forces

Content-based Approach Content and language Integrated Learning(CLIL): EAP or ESP See Celce-Murcia

Other Innovative Approaches Lexical Approach-Corpus or corpus linguistics Collocations Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 1983, 1999, 2004) -Linguistic, Logical-mathematical, Musical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinethetic, Naturalist, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal Goleman(1995, 1998)-Emotional Intelligence