Four Teaching Methods

In teaching English, most of the teachers are using different methods one another. However, although they use different methods, the goal is same. Teachers want their students to catch and comprehend the lesson. Therefore, the most appropriate method that is used will work and get the main goal, which will be reached by students. By the development of the technology, the methods of teaching and learning have been developed, too. Nowadays, there are many methods that are being used by the teachers in class. They are like Building Knowledge of the Text, Modeling, Joint Construction of Text, and Individual Construction of the Text, and others. However, actually those methods are not popular for students. Therefore, it is necessary for students to know the methods of their learning English. For that reason, I would like to tell about the process of teaching and learning methods in improving students’ speaking skill by using methods like Building Knowledge of the Text, Modeling, Joint Construction of Text, and Individual Construction of the Text. Building Knowledge of the Text is one of the methods that is usually used by teachers in improving students’ speaking skill. Building knowledge of the text is a class activity that allows students to apply the material that has been taught by the teachers by operating the material in the natural way to speak English as a communication way. In this method, at first, teachers handle the class. Teachers can introduce the materials of speaking that will be taught to the students. The students then are given some questions related to the material. The questions can be related to the daily life. Next, the students will answer the question actively and enthusiastically. To achieve it, the teachers should have a good interaction with the students. The students are also allowed to have a discussion with other students to get the accurate answer. The last activity is to give an opportunity to the students to ask about what part of the material that the students do not know. The teachers then will answer it with a clear explanation. The material’s goal is to improve the students’ speaking skill, and get the students own knowledge in speaking as a communication way. Modeling is another method of teaching that can be used by teachers of English in improving the students’ speaking skill in class. Modeling empowers students to observe, discover, classify, articulate and in the process construct the students own knowledge about oral language, and apply it to their own speaking (http://en.wikipedia.org). This method is about teaching by example. First, the teachers demonstrate the activity that will be done by the students. The activity can be a story telling, conversation, or any speaking activities. If the students understand the activity that they will do, then the teachers ask one of the students to do the activity in front of the class. The students may discuss the topic first with other students. When the students are ready, the teacher may offer the students to be a volunteer to speak in front of the class about the topic that has been given and discussed before. Then, all of the students have to do the same activity. After all of the students have done the activity, then the teachers have to explain what mistakes that the students have made and correct them. Therefore, the students can learn what part of their speaking that has been wrong. Finally, the teachers give some advices to the students how to do that kind of activity well. Similar to Modeling, Joint Construction of the text is also a method that can be used for teachers to teach in the speaking class. It is the method where the teachers and the students work together in small groups or as a whole class in discussing a topic that will be talked about. It is an effective method in teaching students about the process, the forms, the conventions, the skills and behaviors of speaking (http://wwwfp.education.tas.gov.au). First, teachers give an example of doing a speaking activity like speech, re-telling, or others. Besides, teachers should explain the point of the material clearly, including the way how doing the speaking activity well. Next, teachers share the material together with the students and put the ideas together till the students get the clear meaning about the activity. Then, the students can do the activity with the guide from teachers by using different ideas for each student. Independent Construction of Text is the last method that is usually used by teachers in teaching students’ speaking skill. This method is made for showing the students’ competence in speaking English. Therefore, in this method, the teachers ask the students to perform their presentation of speaking in front of the class. The presentation can be a dialog, describing things, or others. The teachers can select one of those speaking activities that will be done by the students. Then, students can perform their speaking presentation in front of the class, while the teachers can assess the students’ competence by using certain grade. Finally, after all of the students have done their turn, they can ask the teachers about the difficulties that they have in their previous presentation. Building Knowledge of the Text, Modeling, Joint Construction of Text, and Individual Construction of the Text are the four methods that are commonly used by the teachers in teaching speaking class. The process of those methods can help students to improve the students’ speaking skill. Those are good methods for students to make them speak English more fluently. Then finally, they will understand the goal of speaking English, that is as a communication way.