Introduction

Language Teaching came into its own as profession in the twentieth century and
evolve in its principles and procedures for the design of teaching methods and
material. This derives to frequent change and innovation and by the development
sometimes competing language teaching ideologies.
As fashions in language teaching come and go, the teacher in the classroom
needs assurance that there is some bedrock beneath the shifting sands. Once
solidly founded on the bedrock, like the sea anemone, the teacher can sway to
the rhythms of any tides or currents, without the trauma of being swept away
purposelessly.
WILGA RIVERS, 1992, p. 373

Kumaravadivelu has made a major contribution in this regard in his book

on Understanding Language Teaching: From method to postmethod by
presenting personal and professional perspectives of ELT methods. This book is
fundamentally intended to portray the pattern that connects the various
elements of learning, teaching, and teacher education in language teaching (p.
xiii). Generally, the book is divided into three major sections: (1) Language,
Learning, and Teaching, (2) Language Teaching Methods, and (3) Postmethod
Perspectives.
Method vs Methodology
Kumaravadivelu put a spectacular points and highlighted much on
language teaching methods. Before we go in deep to what his paradigm about
language teaching method, some might confused what is the difference between
method and methodology? Are they the same? Kumaravadivelu defines methods
as;
Method is central to any language teaching enterprise. Many of us in the
lan-guage teaching profession use the term, method, so much and so often that
we seldom recognize its problematic nature. P.83
Method is an established methods conceptualized and constructed by
experts in the field. In the other hand methodology is what practicing teachers
actually do in the classroom in order to achieve their teaching objectives.

In the second part of the book, Kumaravadivelu categorized teaching

language methods into three categorizes and provides a brief description of
them; language-centered, learner-centered, and learning-centered

language

teaching methods in Chapter Four, and then elaborates on each in Chapters Five,
Six,

and

Seven

by

discussing

relevant

theoretical

principles,

classroom

procedures, and critical assessments.

Language-Centered Methods
Kumaravadivelu highlights indispensable historical, psychological, and
linguistic factors which shape the language-centered instruction in chapter five.
Kumaravadivelu defined language-centered methods as those that are principally
concerned with linguistic forms. This method provide learners with the
oppurturnities to practise preselect, presequenced linguistic structures (formfocused exercise in class). This methods belief that preoccupation with form will
lead to target language mastery including communication outside the classroom.
Through this method learners need to pay continual and attention to linguistic
features using systematic planning and sustained practice in order to learn and to
use them.
Kumaravadivelu underline Audiolingual method and Grammar Translation
method under languaged-centered. In

these methods planned preoccupation

with linguistic systems of the target l yanguage will automatically lead to

communicative use. The major intentional in this categorize is language learning
where teacher focus on grammar and vocabulary. In classroom, teacher present
prepackaged items, help learners to practice and demonstrate linguistic
knowledge and ability and induce intentional learning.
As Ellis (1990 as cited in Kumaravadivelu, 1993) claimed the review of
research found many learners the practice pattern is boring and memorizing
patterns did not lead to fluent and did not meet or failed to achieve its objectives
of promise of developing effective communicative ability in the learner. As a
result, new developments in field of psychology and linguistics to practice new
method called, Communicative Language Teaching that prototypical example of a
learner-centered pedagogy.
Learner-Centered Methods

These methods principally concerned with learner needs, wants and situation.
Providing oppurturnities for learners to practise preselected, presequenced
linguistic structures and communications or functions through meaning focused
activities as they believe lead to language mastery and learners can both use
them both formal and functional repertoire to fulfill their communicative needs
outside the class. In this view, language development is more intentional than
incidental. These methods aim is making language leaners grammatically
accurate and communicatively fluent in social interaction or for academic study.
In this method language development is more incidental than intentional.
Moreover, the learners pay attention to the process of meaning-making, not
explicitly focused on the formal properties of the language.
The author outlines the theoretical principles and classroom procedures of
learner-centered pedagogies such as Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) in
which the main focus are on learners and communication. Most aspect of
organization and classroom procedure of this method are similar to Language
Centered method, it just that Learner Centered method take major consederation
on grammar, vocabulary and functional categories as per learner needs, wants
and situations.
There is criticisms lead to this methods popularity fading away that said it
is an additive view of Language Centered. Moreover its procedure where
presentation-practice-pruduction

sequence

of

language

teaching

has

not

significantly different from or any better than the Language Centered pedagogy.
This derive to the next category of method, Learning Centered methods.
Learning-Centered Methods
In Chapter Seven, Kumaravadivelu those that are principally concerned with
cognitive processes of language learning. These methods seek to provide opportunities for learners to participate in open-ended meaningful interac-tion
through problem-solving tasks in class, assuming that a preoccupation with
meaning-making will ultimately lead to target language mastery and that the
learners can deploy the still-developing interlanguage to achieve linguistic as well
as pragmatic knowledge/ability.
In this case, unlike in the takes prominent examples of the Natural
Approach and the Communicative Teachi ng Project that fall into the category of
learning-centered pedagogy. Thus, the author provides a succinct survey and

careful examination of language teaching methodologies derived from linguistic,

psychological, and social perspectives of SLA. These also allow the language to
emerge from the activity itself.

Designer Non-methods
In this book, Kumaravadivelu underlined list of methods under designer
non methods where refer to them for illustrative purposes as and when appropriPart of the method boom that Stern talked about has given us what are called
new methods . Kumaravadivelu claimed and include Community Language
Learning, the Silent Way, Suggestopedia, and Total Physical Response as
Designer Non methods. All these new methods advocate a humanistic approach
to language learning and teaching. Community Language Learning treats
teachers as language counselors who are sensitive to the language learners
emotional struggle to cope with the challenges of lan-guage learning. They are
supposed to create a nonthreatening atmosphere in the classroom, forming a
community of learners who build trust among themselves in order to help each
other. The Silent Way believes that teachers treat the designer methods and TBLT
as independent language teaching methods.
However, I do believe that Community Language Learning, the Silent Way,
Suggestopedia, and Total Physical Response as methods that underline in Learner
Centered Methods. This is because its acquire learners pay attention to the
process of meaning-making, not explicitly focused on the formal properties of the
language.
Conclusion
Language

Teaching

Methods

therefore

is

useful

language

effectiveness. However teachers need to be able to implement

acquisition
flexibly and

creatively based on their judgement and experience based on learners need. As

Kumaravadivelu

provides

purely

theoretical

and

philosophical

notions

of

postmethod language pedagogy, teachers particularly practicing language

teachers, should make a great effort to

put such ideas into practice as our

commitment to promote language efficiency and mastery.