Meaning/concept
There was no scope of selection and gradation of material
in older methods-alternative to direct method-also known as
Structural-oral-situation approach-(SOS)-outcome of experiments in army campus
during world war II-the Army Specialized Training Programme in 1942 in
America-the language is taught by intensive oral drilling of basic sentence
structures-systematic attention to pronunciation- A. S. Hornby and Harold
Palmer developed situational approach-became very effective in late 1940s and
1950s
It is the presentation and practice of carefully selected
and graded grammatical structures of English in effective, meaningful
situations initially through speech and later through reading and writing
Principles:
1. Language is primarily a
speech-LSRW
2. A language is a set of
habits-influence by operant conditioning of B.F. Skinner-practice make
automatic response-personal skill
3. Language is a system of
structures and signals
4. Language should be
presented in an organic way
5. Learning becomes easy if
presented in small units
6. Learning of foreign
language is facilitated if presented in the context of mother tongue
7. Quantity of language-gradation
of language make efficient learning
8. Learning rules make
dull-language is a living system-situational teaching
Characteristics/features
1. Selection of structures:
according to usefulness, productivity, simplicity, teachability
2. Grading of structures : according
to usefulness, productivity, simplicity, teachability-vocabulary also graded
3. Language items presented
first orally then written form
4. Reading and writing is
based on what has been introduced orally
5. Structural syllabus
prepared by language experts: lessons that introduce language items and
vocabulary-divided into three parts-preparatory material, reading passage,
exercises
6. Major activity drilling
7. Situational teaching
8. Functional grammar
9. Does not favour mother
tongue but allowed
Merits/advantages
1. Selected and graded
structures facilitates learning
2. Speech is
emphasized-learning becomes lively
3. Habit formation stressed
4. Situational teaching in
context
5. Pupils become active-drill
work
6. Masters basic structures
so masters basic elements of a language
7. 275 basic structures and
3000 words are mastered -enough for expression
8. Repetition naturalize
habit of using the language
9. Indirectly and
automatically learns grammar rules
10. Learning language of day
to day life-easy for interaction for students in the real world
11. LSRW
Disadvantages/demerits
1. Rapid sequencing of
structures results in production of uninteresting reading material
2. Reading, writing and
vocabulary expansion neglected-over emphasis on speech
3. Mechanical drilling-does
not always lead to habit formation
4. Not suited for senior
clases
5. Competent teachers
required-who know structure-
6. classroom management
difficult if big class
7. other aspects of language
difficult-literary-idiomatic expressions-difficult structures
8. the soul of language not
presented-touched
