Lecture Methods of teaching English in primary schools

Now let us Sum up Specific basic Approaches to Teaching English in Modern Times.

1. 
   Task-Based Approach – This approach focuses on competencies the students want to develop and is based on the idea, why is English taught? Rather than what is shown. So here, the language is learned by doing certain activities and relating English to daily conversation. The tasks given range from ‘ordering in a restaurant’ to ‘reviewing a movie,’ and the grammar and vocabulary revolve around the job itself.
   
2. 
   Project-Based Approach – as a teacher, you need to ask yourself why your students have come to learn English. Now keeping their requirements in mind, you need to devise a project which the learner works on. The project might be a role-play or a presentation.
   
3. 
   Lexical Syllabus – In this approach, the teacher is supposed to develop the student’s vocabulary, which is specific to their needs. The word list, if found to be big, is categorized under different headings. For, e.g., the coronary syndrome is terms related to medicine, and so their word list will consist of these words. 
   

Lecture 7. Teaching methodologies in primary schools

The primary teaching methodologies are slightly different from the regular teaching methodologies as students in class are of very young age. The teaching space stands out as a very dynamic environment where students from different backgrounds with varying abilities and personalities are brought together and it is a teachers responsibility to make everyone feel comfortable and at the same time educate them all together. It is thus important to be an effective teacher who can implement the creative and innovative teaching strategies in order to meet the individual needs of the students.
Some of the best teaching methods which could be implemented in primary schools are as follows:
1. Visualization
Bring dull academic concepts to life with visual and practical learning experiences, helping your students to understand how their schooling applies in the real-world.
2. Cooperative learning
Encourage students of mixed abilities to work together by promoting small group or whole class activities.
3. Inquiry-based instruction
Encourage students to ask questions and investigate their own ideas this will help them improve their problem-solving skills as well as gain a deeper understanding of academic concepts. Both of which are important life skills.
4. Differentiation
Differentiate your teaching by allocating tasks based on students’ abilities, to ensure no one gets left behind.
5. Technology in the classroom
Incorporating technology into your teaching is a great way to actively engage your students, especially as digital media surrounds young people in the 21st century. Mobile devices, such as i Pads and tablets, can be used in the classroom for students to record results, take photos/videos or simply as a behavior management technique.
6. Behavior management
Implementing an effective behavior management strategy is crucial to gain your students respect and ensure students have an equal chance of reaching their full potential.
7. Professional development
Engaging in regular professional development programmes is a great way to enhance teaching and learning in your classroom.
Being an effective teacher is a challenge because every student is unique, however, by using a combination of teaching strategies you can address students’ varying learning styles and academic capabilities as well as make your classroom a dynamic and motivational environment for students
List Of Teaching Methods


1. Teacher-Centered

Often thought of as one of the most traditional teaching methods, the teacher-centered methodology, attention is concentrated on the teacher. Teachers are in charge of the classroom and direct all activities. Typically, in this approach, children are seated at individual desks that face the teacher. While group-work may take place, most classroom time is spent with the teacher explaining concepts and assigning individual work.

The teacher-centered methodology has recently fallen out of favor because this strategy for teaching is seen to favor passive students. Ideally, teachers would rather their students participate actively in the learning process. The teacher-centered approach does not strategically aim to facilitate this. Instead, control over student behavior is a priority. One advantage is that behavior problems are typically easy to control in this environment. Another advantage is that it’s rare for a student to miss a topic because the teacher directs everything that happens in the classroom.
Despite its advantages, there are quite a few downsides to the teacher-centered approach. Most importantly, children don’t get to benefit from the social advantages of other approaches. In addition, children don’t get the chance to direct and play an active role in their own learning. Life skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, debate, and more, are harder to gain in a teacher-centered classroom.

2. Student-Centered / Constructivist Approach
Many of the teaching methods and strategies on this list are considered student-centered or constructivist. In simple terms, it turns the focus on students rather than only on the teacher. In this approach, children may sit in small groups, access centers, and possibly move about the classroom freely. Children play a more active role in their learning and may even help choose the topics they learn about.

To avoid behavior problems, teachers must lay a lot of groundwork in student-centered classrooms. Typically, it involves instilling a sense of responsibility in students. In addition, students must learn internal motivation. Although sometimes challenging to achieve, these qualities of responsibility and intrinsic motivation also build self-confidence and instill a lifelong love of learning in students.

The student-centered approach can be difficult for teachers to master or perfect. However, the results and outcomes can be very positive when the approach is effectively employed.
3. Project-Based Learning
A relatively new teaching method, project-based learning is a teaching method that falls within the student-centered approach. As the name suggests, in project-based learning, students complete projects. However, these are big, meaty projects in which students acquire knowledge, research, think critically, evaluate, analyze, make decisions, collaborate, and more. Also, an important tenant of the project is that students have choice.
Typically, projects are created in response to an open-ended question such as “How can our school be greener?” or “How was our city planned in the past and how could it be planned in the future?” Another important part of the projects is that they relate to real-world problems. The projects shouldn’t be just a project for school but have an impact, too. For example, students might make a radio show for the whole school to hear. Or, they might write a letter to the town council and attend a meeting to express an opinion.

All of the learning is conducted under the care of the teacher. In between projects, a teacher may provide scaffolding and smaller bite-sized projects to help build skills such as how to research, how to solve division problems, how to write a letter, etc.

Project-based learning teaches many skills that are useful after graduation, and so is considered a very useful teaching method.

4. Inquiry-Based Learning
What if learning was question-driven? This is exactly what inquiry-based learning is about. In this approach, the teacher guides students to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. To learn these skills, the teacher helps students think through their processes, teaches them possible approaches, and encourages them to try various methods. Students are encouraged to fail as a part of the process and then improve their performance in subsequent activities.

Instead of repeating answers students have been taught, students learn to seek their own answers to questions. So, students develop strong research skills. In addition, children learn how to choose questions to answer and what questions they might ask.

This approach is also student-centered as it requires active participation on the part of students. The teacher guides and teaches, however, students also help choose topics of study.

5.CooperativeLearning
As the name suggests, cooperative learning involves a lot of group work. However, it also requires a lot of structure and intervention from the part of the teacher to make learning as effective as possible. Some commonly used cooperative learning strategies include “think-pair-share”. Discussions in small groups or pairs can also be effective, as can a “jigsaw” approach. In the jigsaw model, students are broken into small groups and read or learn from a certain perspective. Then, one group member from each of the groups form new groups and they bring their understanding to that group.

Essentially, cooperative learning believes that social interactions can improve learning. In addition, the approach recreates real-world work situations in which collaboration and cooperation are required. There is good evidence that this student-centered approach is an effective teaching strategy.

7. Personalized Education
Personalized education takes the student-centered approach to a new level by, as much as possible, responding to each individual learner’s unique needs, strengths, and weaknesses. Through individualized instruction, learning is tailored to the student. In today’s world, this might be seen in one-on-one tutoring or high-tech, responsive learning applications like Happy Numbers.

What Is the Best Method of Teaching?
There is no “best” method of teaching. However, some methods do prove to be more effective than others. Many researchers today agree that including more student-centered learning approaches to the classroom can improve learning. Using only a teacher-centered approach leaves out many skills and learning opportunities for students. Yet, there may still be space for teacher-centered learning for some specific topics and learning objectives. However, teacher-centered learning shouldn’t be the only strategy in your teacher toolbox.

The bottom line is that each teacher needs to find a teaching style that fits their personality. An effective teacher is a passionate teacher who is confident in what they’re doing! So, if any of the strategies on this list of teaching methods intrigued you, why not look into it a bit more? You might discover a new method that motivates your students and improves their learning and your teaching experience!