The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching: An Effective Way to Learn a Language

 Learning a new language can be a challenging but rewarding experience. Over the years, various language teaching methods have been developed to help learners acquire a new language. One of these methods is the Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching, which was inspired by the Direct Method.


The Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching was developed by British and Australian linguists who believed that the best way to learn a language was through speaking and listening. However, they also believed that the material should be more structured, so they introduced the concept of “vocabulary control” and “grammar control”. These concepts allowed for the careful selection of frequently used vocabulary and a graded approach to grammar. This ensured that learners had a strong foundation of grammar and vocabulary that they could build on.


In this approach, teachers would focus on the precise execution of oral language. Once the foundation of grammar and vocabulary was established, teachers would then focus on reading and writing. Students would learn the grammar by figuring it out for themselves (inductive) rather than having the teacher explain it to them. The students were then expected to transfer what they learned in class to real-life situations.


One of the key features of this method was the presentation of material situationally. This meant that the grammatical concepts and vocabulary reflected situations that students could relate to. For example, a series of grammatical concepts that related to the interaction of people at a restaurant or at a basketball game. This allowed learners to practice language in meaningful contexts and helped them to transfer their language skills to real-life situations.


Today, this approach is still present in many textbooks. Usually, they start with simple sentence patterns such as “This is a _____”; “That is a __”; “These are ”; “Those are.” Students listen and repeat, focusing on the precise pronunciation and grammar of sentence patterns.


In conclusion, the Oral Approach and Situational Language Teaching method has proven to be an effective way to learn a language. This approach allows learners to develop strong foundations of grammar and vocabulary, practice language in meaningful contexts and transfer language skills to real-life situations.

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