In this post I’m going to discuss three methods for learning English and their pros and cons. There are more methods out there, but I have a personal experience particularly with these three and I think that if you manage to combine them together, you will have amazing results.
Let me first go a little back in time and tell you about my beginning with learning English. If you have read some of my previous posts or watched some of my YouTube videos, you probably remember that I took English in high school back in my native country Bulgaria, but I could hardly put together a coherent sentence.
Then, in my mid-twenties, after I moved to Poland and when I found out that I was going to move to the US, I wanted to start learning English because I wanted to be able to communicate. Everything was happening very fast and I knew I didn’t have time to sign up for an extensive course, but I wanted to at least learn some basics. I ended up choosing a course where they taught English the traditional way. Meaning, a lot of grammar, textbook exercises, and memorizing new words.
I knew that this method hadn’t worked for me back in high school because after years of such lessons, I couldn’t even say one simple sentence. But back then I blamed myself for this. I thought I was lazy and if I could put some effort into it, I’d manage to learn the language.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me that time either. After a few weeks into the course, I still couldn’t even hold a basic conversation. Although I knew I had to put more effort into studying, I couldn’t convince myself to sit down and do the grammar exercises from the textbook. So, I was failing again.
The Callan Method
One day, my husband ran into an ad for another English school. According to the ad, they were using another method to teach English. They called this the Callan Method and explained that it helped students to acquire the language in a natural way.
When my husband told me about it, I was skeptical. I didn’t want to spend money on yet another course that wouldn’t give me any results, but I decided to give it a try because I didn’t know what else to do. Nothing had worked so far, and we were about to move to the US, so I was desperate.
I ended up signing up for the course and the first time I went there, I was terrified. The teacher was speaking super fast and asking the class different questions. Everyone seemed to have the answer right away. Everyone but me.
But the teacher told me that this was normal in the beginning and that I would quickly catch up. The next time I went to the class, I actually realized that the reason everyone else knew how to answer all of these questions so fast was because the teacher had given them the answers earlier and they drilled them over and over again. This sounded strange to me, but I started to understand how this method worked.
The teacher was asking a question and pointing to someone from the class to answer. Then, the teacher also responded with the answer first and then the student repeated after him. These questions and answers were repeated so many times that students eventually started to memorize them. And after one or two classes like that, I also started to answer. All of a sudden, I was speaking. Of course, these answers were not my own opinions, so this technically wasn’t a real conversation, but I didn’t care. I was speaking in English and I felt incredible.
Not for everyone
Now, I understand that this method is not for everyone because it doesn’t teach you grammar and is not based on real communication. But it worked for me in the beginning.
Later, when I was already in the US, I went to an English as a second language (ESL) school. My teachers there used the Communicative method, which as the name suggests is a method based on communication. There, when I tried to have a real conversation, I started learning some vocabulary and grammar as well. But the Callan Method was a great start because it propelled me to start speaking, which was a great confidence booster.
There are many opinions when it comes to the best methods of teaching and learning English. Some people still think that drilling grammar rules and memorizing many words at the same time is the way to go.But many other people, including me, believe that learners shouldn’t focus so much on formal rules and just need to get acquainted with the sound, melody, and natural flow of the language. Just like children acquire their mother tongue.
One of the most prominent linguists Stephen Krashen claims that acquiring a language in a natural way is more central to learning a language in the classroom. But he doesn’t underestimate formal learning, as long as it’s used as a supplement to acquisition. According to him:
The optimal user is the performer who uses learning as a real supplement to acquisition, monitoring when it is appropriate and when it does not get in the way of communication.
So, if you’re trying to learn English, what should you do? Who should you listen to? The thing is, when it comes to learning a foreign language, there isn’t only one way that works best for everyone. We are all different and we have different learning styles.
Three methods of teaching and learning English or any other language
Below are the three methods that I have personally used when I was learning English.
The Grammar-Translation Method
The first one is the Grammar-Translation Method. This is the classical method of teaching and learning a language. With this approach, you study and analyze grammar, memorize vocabulary, and translate words and sentences from your native language to the target language and the other way around. This method is still used in many English schools around the world.
Pros:
The pros of this method are that If you like studying this way, you will learn how to use correct grammar from the get go. This might give you confidence, which is super important to have when you speak another language. Many learners complain that they make grammar mistakes and that’s why they are afraid to speak. If you understand grammar and find a way to remember a large number of words at once, you will feel confident enough to keep learning.
Cons:
The cons are that this method can be quite boring and intimidating for many learners. Sitting in a classroom with a textbook and trying to understand grammatical structures you might not have in your native language gives many students so much headache that they quit before having the chance to advance. Also, many people find memorizing words out of context daunting. This method is also not based on real communication and many students find it tedious.
The Communicative Approach
The next method on my list is the Communicative Approach. This approach is based on the belief that learning a new language should happen through communication. The goal here is to have a real, meaningful conversation rather than drilling grammar and repeating sentences from a textbook. This can include role-play, games, interviews, sharing opinions on different topics, etc.
Pros:
The pros are that students start developing their speaking skills in different real-life situations. At the end of the day, being able to communicate is the goal of most people who decide to learn a foreign language. This method is easier to implement if you live in an English-speaking country or have the chance to communicate in English with people who don’t speak your native language.
Cons:
While this approach is great for developing fluency, it doesn’t focus on accuracy. Teachers try not to correct students while they are speaking. This is great for breaking speaking barriers and building confidence, but if learners are not careful, they can end up developing some incorrect habits, which will be harder to correct in the future.
The Audio-Lingual Method
The third method that I used when I was learning English was the Audio-Lingual Method. This method focuses on oral skills and is based on the behaviorist theory, which, in a nutshell, suggests that humans – and not only humans – can be trained to develop certain skills through a system of reinforcement.
In this method, the teacher doesn’t explicitly teach vocabulary or grammar, but presents a correct form of a sentence and the students repeat it.
For example, let’s say that I am the teacher and you are the student. I’m going to ask you:
“What do you do when you get sick?”
But instead of waiting for you to struggle to find the words and answer yourself, I’m going to immediately give you the answer:
“When I get sick, I go to the doctor.”
Then you repeat this answer immediately after me. All lessons go like this with many questions and answers, and lots of repetition.
The idea is that after some time and many repetitions, students will remember the correct form and continue using it. This is what I experienced back in Poland when I started learning English using the Callan Method.
Pros:
The pros are that this could be a great beginning for learners who have studied the language using other methods before but are still hesitant to speak. Repeating after the teacher takes the pressure off from the students, who don’t have to come up with their own sentences and that’s why they are not afraid of making mistakes. Some researchers claim that using this method could also lead to a certain level of subconscious acquisition.
Cons:
The cons might be that this method alone is not sufficient for learning another language. Unlike children, adults need a certain level of instruction to complement the acquisition. Also, this method involves many oral drills, which can quickly become exhausting.
★
As I mentioned in the beginning, I’ve used all three methods in my journey to English fluency. I miserably failed back in Bulgaria because my teachers only used the Grammar-Translation Method. But once I started learning with the Callan Method, which incorporated a version of the Audio-Lingual Method, for the first time I began seeing results.
Later when I moved to the US and started taking ESL classes, my teachers introduced me to the Communicative Approach, which worked wonders, but the only reason I was comfortable saying something in the first place was because of my earlier experience with the Callan Method.
The truth is that one and only perfect method to acquire a foreign language simply doesn’t exist. Just try different approaches and don’t give up if you don’t see results right off the bat. Remember, just be persistent and have fun.
Let me know in the comments how you are learning English. What works best for you?
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