Methods; forever changing

                     I remember the first day of class, professor Seloni said to us that this class wouldn't teach us how to teach in a TESOL classroom. It would simply provide us with an idea of the methods that make up the world of TESOL and help us structure our idea of curriculum and teaching. This coincides with Kumar's definition on page 24, "the term methods, as currently used in the literature on second land foreign language (L2) teaching, does not refer to what teachers actually do in the classroom; rather, it refers to established methods conceptualized and constructed by experts in the field." We study methods endlessly in the world of education but it is to help us structure our opinions on how to teach a classroom. Until two weeks ago, I had never heard of the method TPR. I think it is a really interesting way of presenting a language and could be very fun when teaching younger children. By learning methods, we have the freedom to construct our own views of how a classroom should be taught. Just because I learned TPR or community based learning doesn't mean that those are the methods I must follow. But Kumar does go on to discuss the "parameter of practicality and possibility". A method cannot be a generic set of principles vaguely guiding people into the world of teaching L2 acquisition. It must be a specific set of rules/ideas/principles etc. that is structured for a certain teacher as well as a certain target audience with a  specific set of goals. It must be detailed in order for it to be a successful and "practical" method.

                In chapter three of Brown, he discusses how we have entered the post-method era in terms of second language acquisition. This idea evolved from the fact that one method is not better than another. The methods can blend together and teachers can pull from many different methods and be successful. I believe this is very true in today's world because of how creative teachers have been forced to become. We have come a long way from the one room school house which taught grammar through repetition and rote memorization. Now we must be creative and all of these methods have something to offer. Also, as we break down different learning styles amongst students, we must be observant to how they learn best and what methods we can use to form curriculum to suit their needs. It also talked about task based teaching and how classrooms are learning centered. Task based learning is extremely useful in SLA because it helps the students interact with the material (language) in a way they find useful and relatable. Having a simulation where they have to go to the store or to the doctor is a very real situation for them and will help them process the material on a deeper level. What I think Brown means when discussing learning centered classrooms is how instead of teaching at students, we now teach with them. In some ways we get on their level and understand their strengths and weaknesses, their likes and dislikes, and help them learn based on those criteria. We create an environment where they can interact with the material rather than memorize it.