Article review 2

Review 2


Methods,post-method,and metodos by Scott Thornbury

At the first section of this article the writer states that if teachers are asked what method they subscribe to,most will answer that they do not follow a method at all or that they are eclectic some might add that their teaching follows the principles laid down by the communicative approach,itself a mixed bag,embracing anything from drills to communicative tasks and everything in between.Scott continues that the concept of a single prescriptive method-as in the direct method ,or oral method-seems how to be dead and buried.

At the next section,the writers focuses on the Ends of Methods.he continues that the demise of method is consist with the widely held view that we are how in a post-method era.in this respect Stern declared that several developments indicate a shift in lg pedagogy away from the single method concept as the main approach to lg teaching.(1983,p.477)

The writer stated that one such developments was the failure,on the part of researchers ,to find any significant advantage in one method over method.as Richards noted,studies of the effectiveness of specific methods have had a hard time demonstrating that the method itself,rather than other factors,such as the teacher's enthusiasm,or the novelty of the new method ,was the crucial variable(p.36).

Moreover,recognition of the huge range of variables that impact on second lg learning fuelled a general disenchantment with the notion of quick fix or what in social science,is sometimes caused the 'technical-rational approach ',i.e.the notion that social change and improvement can be effected through the strict application of scientific method.therefore the last decades of the last century witnessed a Vchalleng to scientism in the social science ,a challenge associated with the advent of postmodernism,and its rejection of the idea of universalist,objective knowledge.accordingly,Pennycook(1989) argued that methods are never disinterested,but serve the dominant power structures in society,leading to a de-skilling of the role of teachers,and greater instituitional control over classroom practice.(p.610).

This article is continued by a turn to postmethod era.it is mentioned that Kumaravadivelu(1994)identified what he caused postmethod condition,a result of the widespread dissatisfaction with the conventioned concept of method.rather than subscribe to a single set of procedures,postmethod teacher adapt their approach in accordance with local,contextual factors,while at the same time being guided by a number of macrostrategies.but the writer states that nevertheless,and in spite of the claims of postmethodist,the notion of method does not seem to have gone away completely.in fact, it seems to be dogged persistent,even if the term itself is often replaced by its synonyms.he notes that it seems that-in the public mind,at least-the method concept is not dead.they are just defined and teachers seems to be aware of both the usefulness of methods and the need to go beyond them.on the other hand,in a recent paper,Akbari(2008)suggests that in Efl contexts such as Iran ,it is text books that have largely replaced methods in their traditional sense.

At this point the article continues with a consideration to textbooks and metodo.in fact,the conflation of method with text book is an idea with a long history,especially in the Spanish speaking world,where the two concepts share a single name:metodo.

At the last section of this article the writer himself contends that the concept of method is not only alive and well,but has been reincarnated in form of course books.here,then,there are the ingredients of a method enriched in a metodo.teachers who claim not to be following a method,but who are using a course book,are as much method-bound as the Direct Method –practitioners of Berlitz's day,or Audiolingualists of Lado's.of course,teachers will argue that they use course books selectively ,in accordance with their own principles as well as the needs of the learners.fair enough however selective a teacher is,he or she still tied to a theory of lg,embodied in the way that the course selects and describes lg,and to a theory of lg,as manifested in the way the course priorities certain types of activities over others.

Critique:

Lg,learning,teaching are dynamic,fluid,mutable processes.there is nothing fixed about them. Therefore teaching is a developmental process. This article aims at describing methods,postmethods and also conflation of method with textbook which share a single neme''metodo''.in achieving this aim the writer explained why we tend to move from method era to post method era.as we know the history of lg teaching in the last on hundred years has been characterized by a search for more effective ways of teaching second or foreign lg.the commonest solution to the lg teaching problem was seen to lie in the adoption of new teaching approach or method. according to Richards and Rodgers the extent to which new approaches and methods become widely accepted and have a lasting effect on teacher's practices also depends on the relatives ease or difficulty of introducing the changes the approach or method requires.

At the end I accept the point that still methods are alive and even teaching according to a textbook is following a method and connecting with a theory of lg and theory of learning. in fact,the emergence of post method era is emergency of creativity and eclectic use of approaches and methods.

References :

Bailey,k.1996.The best-laid plans:voices from lg classroom.

Clark,C.M.,and P.Peterson 1986.handbook of research on teaching

Holiday,A.1994.Appropriate methodology.

Nunan,D.1989.Understanding lg classrooms

Richards,J,and Rodger,T.2002.approaches and methods in lg teaching.