Language Teaching Approaches

          As a Spanish language learner I have experienced various language approaches. The two main approaches my teachers used throughout high school and college in the United States are the Cognitive Approach and Communicative Language Teaching. The Cognitive Approach was probably used the most. I remember usually learning the grammar rules first and then practicing them whether with the teacher, individually or in groups. We made errors because that is inevitable, but my teachers only corrected when the deemed it necessary. We did a lot of reading activities (usually about cultural aspects of various Spanish speaking countries) and were required to express our ideas and knowledge frequently through writing activities.
          Another approach I experienced while learning the language is Communicative Language Teaching. This approach was introduced in more advanced Spanish classes in which the students knew a lot of grammar and were able to converse with more ease. We were encouraged to use only the target language in class even though most of us students still reverted back to our native English tongue more often than our teacher preferred. We worked in small groups frequently and were required to engage in dialogue.  During my freshman year of college, our first test was giving an oral partner presentation.  We drew a role-play situation out of a hat and had to create dialogue for ten minutes in the target language (TL). In my opinion, communicative language teaching was in a sense “scarier” because I felt as though more was expected from me, however I learned more and enjoyed the classes.
          I spent the second semester of my sophomore year of college in Granada, Spain and there I experienced the Direct Approach for the first time.  My teachers (all natives of Spain) did not use English at all during class and reverted to actions and showing pictures when students were not able to understand them. At first, I felt overwhelmed and confused but I soon got used to the different accents and hearing the TL.  By the end of my studies abroad, my comprehension of the Spanish language improved immensely and I was quite glad that the direct approach was used.
          I am not sure if I felt most comfortable with any one approach to teaching a language.  I think all of them were implemented at appropriate times.  There is definitely not “one best method” that fits for all students’ needs because everyone is unique and learners differently. However, I do believe that the TL needs to be used as much as possible during class so that learners can hear it and get it engrained in their heads so speaking and hearing it comes as second nature.
          As I am on my way to becoming a foreign language teacher, I need to figure out what and how I am going to tech my students. In the second chapter of Beyond Methods: Macrostrategies for Language Teaching, B. Kumaravadivelu introduces the idea of macrostrategic framework.  This is formed of both macro and micro strategies for teaching a language. Kumarayadivelu lists ten macrostrategies in order to help future language teachers create their own theory of practice.  I found this list very insightful.  Some of strategies included are maximize learning opportunities, promote learner autonomy, integrate language skills, and raise cultural consciousness.  One macrostrategy that stuck out to me was “ensure social relevance” which refers to the need for teachers to be aware that not every student has the same societal, political, economic, or educational background and be sensitive to that.  I recall my high school Spanish teacher, Señora Kunz, saying that she may not treat everyone equally, but she treats everyone fairly. Some people may need a little more assistance, attention, encouragement, etc than others. I will definitely take that statement to heart as well as implementing Kumaravadivelu’s macrostrategic framework.