Oral Approach in Teaching English
An oral approach has been a most popular talking point in foreign language teaching for a long time. If you ask any foreign language teacher, he will assure you that the oral approach is the greatest thing, and it is the best approach in foreign language teaching. All of us will agree. But let`s pause for thought. How is the oral approach evaluated nowadays? Is it universal indeed? Is it in the same way suitable to teaching children, teenagers and adults?
What are the criticisms of the oral approach? The oral approach to teaching English as a foreign language often seems so novel and interesting to most teachers, that a general notion of it is formed and embraced without evaluation. Misguided generalizations about principles and techniques are made and it becomes twice an unproductive as the traditional grammar-translation method. Teachers, half understanding the terminology and techniques, work without asking themselves why they do that they do. They dash off into classroom and wreak havoc among their students. They try to apply the techniques, meet resistance and problems in class and as a result may have a crisis of confidence in the approach. The teachers simply don`t know which of the techniques are achieving anything and gradually they become victims of a dangerous virus. This virus is called “Isn`t-an-oral-approach-marvellous?” This virus can produce dogma and insularity. Pedagogical practice shows that at its worst an oral approach leads to a pointless display of fireworks on the part of the teacher, and confusion and dissatisfaction on the part of students.
Over-valuing of technique. Rather often one can hear teachers say: “You know, I did a fantastic progressive substitution drill today”. This concentration on techniques goes beyond a reasonable awareness of their usefulness and becomes petty, punctilious and absolutely boring. A teacher may bring to the lesson suitcases full of flash-cards, beautiful sets of carefully-prepared visual aids and may use all these to teach expressions which are absolutely useless to students. Every teacher should remember that at its best an oral approach provides a set of techniques which can make learning more efficient and enjoyable only in appropriate circumstances.