An Analysis of English Teaching Methods in Middle School

【Abstract】English teachers and researchers have always been trying to find an ideal way to teach foreign languages. To explore the factors that affects the choice of teaching methods， this paper interviewed four teachers from the First Middle School， in Juye， Shandong Province. The results reveal that （1） The choice of teaching methods is related to students proficiency. Different learning levels need different methods. （2） The current teaching method is effective. But for senior students， it is better to add more methods that emphasize on critical thinking. The results of this paper will be helpful to English teaching and learning in middle school.

【Key words】Teaching Methods； Influencing Factors； Learning Proficiency

【作者簡介】姚敏，内蒙古师范大学。

What is“teaching method”？ According to Brown （2001）， teaching methods can be defined as three hierarchies： teaching approach， teaching method and teaching technique. For example， grammar translation method and direct method are both considered to be teaching methods.

From the mid-1980s， professionals have been seeking an ideal method to teach foreign languages （Wu Haiyan， 2010）. However， qualitative research is comparatively less. Therefore， in this study， an in-depth interview are conducted to explore what factors should be considered when choosing teaching methods and what is the effect of current methods. Besides， the following questions are put forward：

1. Does teaching contents affect the choice of methods？

2. Are the current methods helpful to achieve teaching goals？

Ⅰ. Research Design

1.1 Subjects

The subjects are four English teacher （two men and two women） from Grade 7 and Grade 9 of the First Middle School in Juye， Shandong Province.

1.2 Instruments

A semi-structured interview is designed for the teacher. The main questions includes ‘what teaching methods do you often use in your class？， ‘Why do you use these methods？， etc.

1.3 Data Collection and Analysis

All subjects are told the purpose of the interview previously， and they promise that they will take it sincerely and answer based on their teaching experiences. During the interview， recordings are taken for further analysis. And after the interview， the recordings are faithfully transcribed into text. Then data are encoded and sorted.

Ⅱ. Results and Discussion

2.1 Teaching contents and methods

The interview shows that teachers in Grade Sevenuse audiolingual method and grammar translation frequently.This is probably because students language ability is in beginning level and they need to be taught some basic knowledge. In contrary， in Grade Nine， teachers use methods like communicative teaching method and the silent way more frequently as students in this level have mastered the basic knowledge. And teachers pay more attention to students communicative competence， abstract thinking ability and generalization ability in the actual language environment. Therefore， for different levels of students and different teaching contents， different teaching methods are adopted.

2.2 Teaching methods and goals

Each method can help to achieve some of specific teaching objectives， such as listening and speaking help to cultivate students pronunciation， vocabulary， grammar， listening and speaking ability. A teacher say that nowadays， most teaching methods emphasize ‘real personal experience， that is， the social and communicative ability of language. While for senior students， it is better to add some methods that can improve students abstract thinking and cooperation， the cultivation of students interest and ability to self-construction （Zhang Delu， Ding Zhaofen， 2013）.

Ⅲ. Conclusion

This study explores factors influencing English teaching methods in middle school classes. Teachers should select effective methods based on specific language environment， curriculum objectives and students proficiency to achieve teaching goals. Shifting the function of teaching methods. Traditional teaching holds that teaching is a one-way activity from teachers teaching to learners learning. However， teaching is a multilateral activity among teachers and students， or students and students. So teaching methods should be shifted from cramming system to transferring knowledge， training ability and improving quality. And teachers are expected to encourage students participation， interaction and cooperation.