Foreign Language Teaching Approach

P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

PRINCIPAL TYPE OF LANGUAGE TEACHING TECHNIQUE
EMPLOYED BY FOUR FEMALE FOREIGN LANGUAGE
INSTRUCTORS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS

An Undergraduate Thesis
Presented to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Letters
Polytechnic University of the Philippines
Sta. Mesa, Manila

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Arts in English

Arcega, Angelo D.
Asebuque, Shekinah D.
Grajo, Evelyn C.
Miña, Jessa Mariz M.
Pasco, Maricar D.
Verdadero, Vien Jan Clarenz

ABE IV-4

December 2015

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

ABSTRACT

Title:

Principal Type of Language Teaching Technique
Employed by Four Female Foreign Language
Instructors of the Department of English Foreign
Languages and Linguistics

Researchers:

Arcega, Angelo D
Asebuque, Shekinah D.
Grajo, Evelyn C.
Miña, Jessa Mariz M.
Pasco, Maricar D.
Verdadero, Vien Jan Clarenz

Degree:

Bachelor of Arts in English

Year:

2015

Institution:

Polytechnic University of the Philippines

Adviser:

Dr. Evangelina S. Seril

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This research aimed to identify the teaching techniques utilized
by four Female foreign Language instructors of the Department of
English Foreign Languages and Linguistics (DEFLL) in teaching their
students in French, Spanish, Nihongo, and Mandarin.
Specifically, the study sought to answer the following:
1.) What is the Profile of the respondents?
1.1

Age

1.2

Years of teaching Foreign Language

1.3

Language commands

2.) What are the Language teaching techniques foreign language
instructors utilized?
3.) From the Language teaching techniques, what is/are the most
commonly used by foreign language instructors?
4.) Following the taxonomy presented by Brown (2001) adapted from
Crookes

and

Chaudron

(1991),

what

are

the

possible

classification/s of the teaching techniques utilized by Foreign
Language instructors?
5.) And to that, what is the most commonly used type of language
teaching technique Foreign Language Instructors employed?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
This study aimed to determine the teaching techniques
utilized by four female foreign language instructors from the
Department of English, Foreign Languages and Linguistics (DEFLL).
For this purpose, the descriptive method of research was used to
address underlying concepts with regards to the foreign language
teaching viewed as an abstract theoretical context in this study.
According to Burns and Grove (2003:201), Descriptive research “is
designed to provide a picture of a situation as it naturally happens”. It
may be used to justify current practice and make judgment; and also,
to develop theories for the purpose of this study.
Thus, two avenues are utilized to maximize the inquiry of
techniques being employed by the instructor-respondents, i.e. through
semi-structured interview and a researcher-made-questionnaire.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Findings were drawn based on the gathered and analyzed data:
1.) Profile of the Foreign Language Instructors
Out of the four (4) instructors surveyed two (2) were 20-30
years old and two were 51-60 years old. Two have less than seven (7)
years of teaching foreign language and two (2) have more than eight
(8) years of teaching foreign language. All have more than two (2)
language commands where English and Tagalog were the second and
first languages.
2.) Techniques Utilized

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Findings showed that the thirty-eight (38) language teaching
techniques illustrated by Brown in his Taxonomy, twenty (20) under
controlled, nine (9) under Semi controlled, and nine (9) under free
were employed by foreign language instructors in their respective
classes. Other techniques which are not in the taxonomy but were
elicited by the instructors are: the use of relevance, culture, and
literature particularly, through poetry writing.
3.) Commonly used Techniques
Among the teaching techniques present in Brown’s Taxonomy,
four (4) teaching techniques under Controlled namely: Content
Explanation, Copying, Drill, Reading Aloud, and Testing are the
techniques that obtained the highest mean in terms of the frequency
of use, with a mean of 5.0 and an overall Qualitative Description of
“Always” used. While only one (1) technique under Semi controlled,
which is Preparation, bear a mean of 4.75 and an overall Qualitative
Description of “Often” used. Another technique that instructors
commonly employ is Drama under the Free technique with a mean of
5.0 and an overall Qualitative Description of “Sometimes” used. On
the other hand findings based from the interview confirmed that Drill
and Reading Aloud are the ones which are commonly used together
with Setting.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

4.) Classification/s of the Techniques Employed by the Instructors
From the thirty-eight (38) language teaching techniques
illustrated by Brown in his Taxonomy, findings showed that all
techniques, twenty (20) under controlled, nine (9) under Semi
controlled, and nine (9) under free were used by foreign language
instructors respectively, along different levels of frequency. While
interview findings suggested that almost all of the techniques
employed by female foreign language instructors were under the
controlled technique and only one (1) fell under the free type.
5.) The Principal Type of Teaching Technique
Among the three (3) Types of Teaching techniques, findings
determined that, the Controlled technique is the dominant type of
language teaching technique utilized by foreign language instructors,
with an overall mean of 4.54 marked as “always” been used; Followed
by the Semi-controlled which obtained a 3.8 overall mean, marked as
“often” used. The free technique gained 3.44 overall mean and
marked as a type of language teaching technique that is “sometimes”
used by the instructors. With regards to the interview, almost all of
the techniques elicited by the female foreign language instructors are
also under the controlled type.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
CONCLUSION
Conclusions were drawn based on the gathered and analyzed
data:
1.) Profile of the Foreign Language Instructors
The foreign language instructors are 20-60 years old with two
to nearly forty years of foreign-language-teaching experience. All
have more than two language commands where English and Filipino
are the second and first languages.
2.) Techniques Utilized
All of the techniques under Controlled, Semi controlled and
Free as proposed by Brown in his Taxonomy are utilized by the
instructors in various degrees. Other techniques which are not in the
taxonomy but were elicited by the instructors are: the use of
relevance, culture, and literature, particularly, through poetry writing.

3.) Commonly used Technique
From the given techniques present in Brown’s Taxonomy, four
(4)

teaching

techniques

under

Controlled

namely:

Content

Explanation, Drill, Reading Aloud, and Testing are the techniques
instructors commonly use in their foreign language classes along with
the technique under the Free type namely, Drama. Although none of
the techniques under semi controlled bear a mean of 5.0, the closest
among the language teaching techniques to the ones most commonly

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
employed is Preparation. On the other hand, findings based from the
interview confirmed that Drill and Reading Aloud are the ones which
are commonly used together with Setting.

4.) Classification of the Techniques Employed by the Instructors
Since all of the techniques present in Brown’s Taxonomy are
utilized by
Foreign Language instructors, it is evident that all classifications
namely: Controlled, Semi controlled, and Free are being considered in
the foreign language classes within various extents. While interview
findings suggested that almost all of the techniques employed by
female

foreign

language

instructors

are

under

the

controlled

technique and only one (1) fell under the free type.
5.) The Principal Type of Teaching Technique
The Controlled technique is the Principal type of language
teaching technique utilized by foreign language instructors of the
Department of English, Foreign Languages and Linguistics.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the findings obtained and conclusions drawn in the
study, the following recommendations are presented.
1.) Since most of the techniques utilized by Foreign Language
instructors are under the controlled type, they are encourage

to

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
incorporate new ways (under the same type of language teaching
technique) in presenting their material as part of their traditional
teaching approach, to where they find themselves most effective.
2.)

In terms of the techniques which is/are always used by the

instructors, given that five (5) among the controlled type of teaching
techniques appeared to be most utilized, and not at least one (1) of
the semi controlled technique happened to level its frequency of use,
foreign language instructors are encouraged to try techniques under
the semi controlled to see if the students' response is innovative in
driving towards a new learning process.
3.)

Since a lot of language teaching techniques are made

possible as products of continuous research on the field of teaching.
Foreign language instructors are encouraged to experiment within the
boundaries of their teaching methods to come up with possible
realizations of their teaching principles.

4.) Since the subject of the study only comprises four female
respondents, with the attempt to understand the nature of just a brief
account of the teaching techniques they employ in their foreign
language classes, researchers highly suggest that further study if not
make a comparative analysis between preference of teaching

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techniques when gender is involved is to increase the number of
respondents to gain better accounts of the techniques foreign
language instructors utilize.

5.) Since the study was drawn from a current research on 2008
at De La Salle, Columbia where two EFL instructors were the subjects
of the study following a triangulation as avenues to understand the
nature of the foreign language teaching; while this study utilized a
different set of approach to come up with the account of approaches
foreign

language

instructors

utilized,

the

researchers

highly

encourage other researchers to experiment by incorporating other
means of data collection instruments to further the study in the field
of foreign language teaching.

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.

Table of Contents

Page
TITLE PAGE
CERTIFICATION AND APPROVAL
SHEET…………………………………………………….….ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………
……………….………iii
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

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Introduction………………………………………………………
…..16
Background of the
Study……………………………………….18
Theoretical
Framework………………………………………….19
Conceptual
Framework………………………………………….23
Statement of the
Problem……………………………………..24

Hypothesis…………………………………………………………
….
Scope and
Limitations……………………………………………25
Definition of
Terms………………………………………………..28

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

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Introduction……………………………………………………….
.
Foreign
Literature………………………………………….......36
Foreign
Studies……………………………………………………46
Local
Studies……………………………………………………….56

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Method

Used………………………………………..58
Research
Design…………………………………………………..59
Description of the Subjects of the
Study………………59
Subjects of the
Study…………………………………………..59
Research
Instrument……………………………………………60

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Data Gathering
Procedure……………………………………61

CHAPTER IV

Presentation, Analysis, and Interpretation
of Data

CHAPTER V

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations
Summary of
Findings……………………………………………79

Conclusions………………………………………………………
….81

Recommendations……………………………………………….
83

Bibliography

Appendices
A. Letters of
Requests……………………………………………………92

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B. Survey
Questionnaire…………………………………………………
95
C. Taxonomy………………………………………………………
………….102
D. Validation
Letter………………………………………………………..10
7
E. Survey
Rubric……………………………………………………………
.109
F. Interview Guide
Questions………………………………………..111
G. Interview
Transcripts…………………………………………………
113
Curriculum Vitae

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LIST OF TABLES

Table

Title

Page

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure

Title

Page
1
Framework…………………………………..

Conceptual

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CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

This chapter provides the research introduction, its background,
and the problem that the researchers will address.

INTRODUCTION
Language teaching became a profession in the twentieth century
and was characterized as a growing battle between teaching
ideologies. Notions like the systematic set of teaching practices based
on a particular theory of language and language learning which lied
under the method concept in teaching (Richards and Rodgers, 2001).
According to Alatis (2003), “Every instructor starts with an initial
theory of language teaching and learning, based on personal
experiences as a language learner and, in some cases, reading or

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
training”. And language, to Mufwene (2001: 17 as cited from Spolsky,
2004) is parasitic, whose life and vitality depends on the acts and
disposition of its host, (i.e. speakers on the society they form and on
the culture in which they live). The late twentieth century has been
called the ‘age of communication’, and with some justification
(Wallace, 1991).
Wallace in his book “Training Foreign Language Teachers: A
Reflective Approach,” stated that language teaching, especially of the
great world languages, which are seen as international channels of
communication, becomes ever more important. In this book, he also
said that with the explosion in language teaching, there has been an
increased demand for language teachers and the consequent need to
train these teachers.
In order to better understand each other, language is important.
Learning a specific language is quite too complex in its own as that of
teaching it. One of the purpose and goals of this paper is to open the
eyes of the readers in language diversity. This paper mainly involves
foreign language teaching techniques. For as we can see, coping with
in this age of communication should be addressed.
For long years now, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines,
mainly the Department of English Foreign Languages and Linguistics
under the College of Arts and Letters already addressed this

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
communication gap. The Department has been nurturing Foreign
Language Instructors and has been teaching students from Bachelor
of Arts in English.
The researchers have been very interested in the teaching
techniques employed and practiced by some of the Foreign Language
Instructors under the Department. Therefore, this research aims to
connect the bridge of languages, looking forward to how the existing
Foreign Language Teaching Techniques employed by the Instructors
were to be classified and if there will be any other techniques to be
possibly applied further.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The Polytechnic University of the Philippines was already having
a Foreign Language class for a long time now. The university has
conducted Spanish classes since then. It has been the main foreign
language in the university until some other languages such as
Nihongo and French became part of the curriculum.
Just a year ago, that’s 2014, Mandarin as a Foreign Language
was added to the list of Foreign Language classes specifically tackled
in the Junior levels of Bachelor of Arts in English. It was the new era of
Foreign Language Teaching because of the language added, and each
language was taught in different sections. This era has been

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
remarkable for it tends to widen the range of possibilities for preservice foreign language teaching in the department.
Therefore, the researchers by now would like to extend the
cognizance of the foreign language teachers and the teaching
techniques they employ; and wants to determine whether these
teaching techniques would fall under teacher-centered, techniques or
student-centered ones. In line with this, the researchers draw
inspiration from a recent study made in De La Salle, Columbia where
two English as Foreign Language (EFL) instructors became subjects of
the study which aims to know the dominant type of teaching
techniques the two professors employ in their EFL classes using
Brown’s

Taxonomy

of

Language

Teaching

Techniques

as

their

framework.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Following

a

comprehensive

taxonomy

of

common

techniques for language teaching, adapted from Crookes and
Chaudron (1991), was the paperwork of H. Douglas Brown in 2001. In
recent classroom observation work by Chaudron and Valcárcel (1988),
a tentative list of activity types has been developed. The list group
was displayed according to three degrees of teacher versus student

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control over the performance of the activity, although like other
practitioners, we recognize that factors such as the topic and the
teacher’s goal can influence the degree of control (Crookes and
Chaudron 1991).
Crookes

and Chaudron

(1991) classified

the teaching

techniques as Controlled, Semi-controlled and Free. This research
work was further developed by Brown’s Taxonomy of LanguageTeaching techniques.
Teaching is simply the arrangement of contingencies of
reinforcement, as stated by Skinner (1968). Following this statement
in his book The Technology of Teaching, Skinner provided that some
promising advances have recently been made in the field of learning.
Special techniques have been designed to arrange what are called
contingencies of reinforcement – the relations which prevail between
behavior on the one hand and the consequences of behavior on the
other – with the result that a much more effective control of behavior
has been achieved.
Teaching and learning are always correlated to each other. As
one is present so as the other. Because of this, a lot of researchers
and theorists has come up with different ideas, theories and principles
which tackles these relations. Theorists such as Gage, Hull, Hillgard

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and the others studied the factors and theories in teaching and
learning.
A distinction can be made in theories of learning and theories of
teaching. While theories of learning deal with the ways in which an
organism learn, theories of teaching deal with the ways in which a
person influences an organism to learn (Gage, 1972). The teaching
theory proposed or applied by the teacher will always be influenced
by existing learning theory of the student.
However, teaching varies especially teaching a language.
Teaching a language differs depending on its context. The difference
of the approach and theories used depending on whether an
instructor teaches in a Second Language Context or Foreign Language
Context. In the case of this paper, dealing with the Foreign Language,
the Theory of Instruction proposed by Bruner in 1966.
Unlike the theories of learning and of development which are
descriptive, the theory of instruction is rather prescriptive in the sense
that is sets forth rules concerning the most effective way of achieving
knowledge or skill. Theory of instruction is a normative theory. It sets
up criteria and states the conditions for meeting them. A theory of
instruction somehow, is concerned with how what one wishes to teach
can be learned, with improving rather than describing learning
(Bruner, 1966, pp. 40).

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It has been customary, in discussing predispositions to learn, to
focus upon cultural, motivational, and personal factors affecting the
desire to learn and to undertake problem solving. For such factors are
of deep importance. There is, for example, the relation of instructor to
student – whatever the formal status of the instructor may be,
whether teacher or parent (Bruner, 1966, pp. 42).
This theory proposed by Bruner states that in order to learn a
language, a student who does not possess anything with the target
language must have a relational bond with one who does possess
something or knowledge. This way, the instructor has a higher hold
over the process and the student learns from the instructor.
Another theory proposed by Atlatis (2007), focuses on the
teacher-centered way of teaching. Every instructor starts with an
initial theory of language teaching and learning, based on personal
experiences as a language learner and, in some cases, reading or
training. In reflective practice, the teacher applies this theory in
classroom practice, observes and reflects on the results, and adapts
the theory. The classroom becomes a kind of laboratory where the
teacher can relate teaching theory to teaching practice.

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In his paper (pp. 5), Atlatis (2007) also stated that the concepts
that

the

teacher

acquires

through

reading

and

professional

development activities are absorbed into the theory and tested in the
reflective practice cycle. Below is the framework he proposed:

Both theories proposed by Bruner and Atlatis show the
dependence of the students in learning a language to a specific
source who, by means is the instructor. It shows that in learning a
language as a foreign language, one cannot rely on his prior
knowledge alone.
This paper will further open the space of knowledge in Foreign
Language Teaching and the relation of Bruner’s theory of instruction
and Atlatis’ reflective practice.

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CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
The study aims to identify the dominant type of technique
employed by the Foreign Language instructors of the DEFLL.

INPUT
 Language
Teaching
Techniques
employed by the
Foreign
Language
instructors of
DEFLL

PROCESS
 Data Gathering:
o Survey:
o Questionnaire
o Personal
Interview with the
foreign language
instructors
 Data Analysis
 Presentation of
Data
 Conclusion:
o Techniques
utilized by the
FOLA instructors



OUTPU
Identified
T
teaching
techniques

 Dominant type
of language
teaching
technique
(Controlled,
Semi-controlled,
Free) based on
the Taxonomy of
Brown

Figure 1. Research Paradigm

The input frame contains the Language Teaching Techniques
utilized by the DEFLL Foreign Language instructors. This frame is
where the researchers showed the background of the techniques
commonly used by the instructors.

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The process frame contains the gathering of data (through survey
questionnaires and interview with the instructors), data analysis,
presentation of data, and the conclusion, which shows the teaching
techniques employed
The last frame which is the output frame contains the identified
teaching

techniques

and

the

dominant

classification

of

these

techniques based on the Taxonomy of Brown.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This research aimed to identify the teaching techniques utilized
by selected Foreign Language instructors of the Department of
English Foreign Languages and Linguistics (DEFLL) in teaching their
students in French, Spanish, Nihongo, and Mandarin.
Specifically, the study sought to answer the following:
1.) What is the Profile of the respondents?
1.1

Age

1.2

Years of teaching Foreign Language

1.3

Language commands

2.) What are the Language teaching techniques foreign language
instructors utilized?
3.) From the Language teaching techniques, what is/are the most
commonly used by foreign language instructors?

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
4.) Following the taxonomy presented by Brown (2001) adapted from
Crookes

and

Chaudron

(1991),

what

are

the

possible

classification/s of the teaching techniques utilized by Foreign
Language instructors?
5.) And to that, what is the most commonly used type of language
teaching technique Foreign Language Instructors employed?

SCOPE AND LIMITATION
This research aimed to identify the teaching techniques employed
by the Female Foreign Language Instructors from the Department of
English

Foreign

Languages

and

Linguistics

who

are

teaching

Mandarin, Spanish, Nihongo and French as Foreign Languages to
Junior Bachelor of Arts in English students of the Polytechnic
University of the Philippines.
The researchers focused on the four existing Foreign Languages
taught in Bachelor of Arts in English last Academic Year 2014-2015
Junior students. This research only involved four female instructors,
one from each foreign language taught during the 2014-2015
academic year period. The research paper is limited to the professors
alone as the researchers only aimed to identify the teaching
techniques employed by the foreign language instructors and the
most common type of language teaching technique used in teaching
foreign language.

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Researchers
To the future researchers, this research introduces concepts that
link to other possible research topics with regards to language
teaching. The researchers are encouraged to continue, modify or
develop variables that will help better understand and identify the
different

techniques

present

in

the

undertaking

of

Foreign

Language/Foreign Language teaching
Industry
To the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), in general,
this study endeavored to identify the teaching techniques utilized by
some of the foreign language instructors of PUP, specifically from the
DEFLL faculty. The faculties are encouraged to be part in sharing their
preferred/utilized language teaching technique to enrich and pave a
way for the aspiring Foreign Language instructors in PUP.
Teachers
To the teachers, since teaching foreign language is not given
much attention as having a second language taught, this research
entails the essence of having a model technique in teaching a foreign

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
language. Also, the Foreign Language teaching techniques presented
herewith may be adopted by teachers aspiring to teach foreign
language or may be therefore improved further for better use.

Students
To the students, as the recipient of the different techniques
involved in the foreign language teaching, this research aimed to
make the students understand the value of the techniques utilized by
their instructors. This may also help the students learn more or
perhaps through the course of time be interested in involving more in
the foreign language teaching.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS
Technique
Brown (2001 as cited in Galindo and Guzman, 2007) defined
technique as a superordinate term which refers to various activities
that either teachers or learners perform in the classroom since they
include all the tasks and activities. In addition they are almost
planned and deliberate considering they are the product of choice
made by the teacher that can be addressed to the pedagogical units
of classroom session.

Controlled Techniques
Brown (2001) characterized the Controlled Techniques as, a
teacher-centered that is manipulative and structured. It also involves
a predicted student responses with a pre-planned objectives.

1. Warm-up: Mimes, dance, songs, jokes, play. This activity has the
purpose of

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
getting the students stimulated, relaxed, motivated, attentive, or
otherwise engaged and ready for the classroom lesson. It does not
necessarily involve use of the target
language.
2. Setting: Focusing in on lesson topic. Either verbal or nonverbal
evocation of the
context that is relevant to the lesson point; by way of questioning or
miming or picture presentation, possibly tape recording of situations
and people, teacher directs attention to the upcoming topic.

3.

Organizational:

Managerial

structuring

of

lesson

or

class

activities. Includes
disciplinary action, organization of class furniture and seating, general
procedures for class interaction and performance, structure and
purpose of lesson, assigning homework or any other out of class task,
etc.
4. Content explanation: Explanation of lesson content grammatical,
phonological,
lexical (vocabulary), sociolinguistic, pragmatic, or any other aspects
of language.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
5. Role-play demonstration: Use of selected students or teacher to
illustrate the
procedure(s) to be applied in the lesson segment to follow. Includes
brief illustration of language or other content to be incorporated.
6. Dialogue/Narrative presentation: Reading or listening passage
presented
for passive reception. No implication of student production or other
identification of
specific target forms or functions (students may be asked to
"understand").
7. Dialogue/Narrative recitation: Reciting a previously known or
prepared text,
either in unison or individually.
8. Reading aloud: Teacher or student reading directly from a given
text.
9. Checking: Teacher either circulating or guiding the correction of
students' work,
providing feedback as an activity rather than within another activity. It
can happen when students socialize work or after activities when it is

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
necessary to check students answers to a given exercise. It also
includes students’ peer correction.
10. Correction or feedback: Teacher or students jumping in during
students’
performance to make corrections, provide feedback, make related
comments,
complete or finish students sentences, add information (it includes
short content
reviews)
11. Question-answer, display: Activity involving prompting of
student responses
by means of display questions (i.e., teacher or questioner already
knows the response or has a very limited set of expectations for the
appropriate response). Distinguished from referential questions by
means of the likelihood of the questioner's knowing the response and
the speaker's being aware of that fact. Students’ questions to the
teacher or their partners make part of this activity. Remember that
the fact of using yes/no questions is not the only criterion; the main
criterion is the fact that the questioner knows the answer. In class
students usually don’t know the answer for this reason their questions
would fit into referential questions.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

12. Drill: Typical language activity involving fixed patterns of teacher
and student
responding and prompting, usually with repetition, substitution, and
other mechanical alterations. Typically with little meaning attached.

13. Translation: Student or teacher provision of Ll or L2 translations
of given text.
14. Dictation: Student writing down orally presented text.
15. Copying: Student writing down text presented visually.
16. Identification: Student picking out and producing/labelling or
otherwise
identifying a specific target form, function, definition, meaning or
other lesson-related item. Reading comprehension exercises make
part of this activity.
17. Recognition: Student identifying forms, etc., as in Identification,
but without producing language as response (i.e., checking off items,
drawing symbols,
rearranging pictures).

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
18. Review: Teacher-led review of previous week/month/or other
period as a
formal summary and type of test of student recall performance.
19. Testing: Formal testing procedures to evaluate student progress.
20.

Meaningful

drill:

Drill

activity

involving

responses

with

meaningful choices, as in
reference to different information. Distinguished from Information
Exchange by the
regulated sequence and general form of responses.

Semi controlled Techniques
Brown also defined semi controlled techniques as, using of
Language in a less restrictive way than the controlled, but taking into
account linguistic patters already set up by the teacher.

21. Brainstorming: A special form of preparation for the lesson, like
Setting, which involves free, undirected contributions by the students
and teacher on a given topic, to generate multiple associations
without linking them; no explicit analysis or interpretation by the
teacher.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
22.

Story-telling

(especially

when

student-generated):

Not

necessarily lesson-based. Lengthy presentation of story or even by
teacher

or

student

(may

overlap

with

Warm-up

or

Narrative

recitation). May be used to maintain attention, motivation, or as
lengthy practice.
23. Question-answer, referential: Activity involving prompting of
responses
by means of referential questions (i.e., the questioner does not know
beforehand the
response information). Distinguished from Question-answer, Display.
24. Cued narrative/Dialog: Student production of narrative or dialog
following
cues from miming, cue cards, pictures, or other stimuli related to
narrative/dialog (e.g.. metalanguage requesting functional acts).
25. Information transfer: Application from one mode (e.g., visual)
to another
(e.g., writing), which involves some transformation of the information
(e.g., student fills out diagram while listening to description).
Distinguished from Identification in that the student is expected to
transform and reinterpret the language or information.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

26. Information exchange: Task involving two-way communication
as in
information gap exercises, when one or both parties (or a larger
group) must share
information to achieve some goal. Distinguished from Questionanswer. Referential in that sharing of information is critical for the
resolution of task.
27. Wrap-up: Brief teacher or student produced summary or report at
the
end of a lesson or activity of point and/or items that have been
practiced or learned.
28. Narration/exposition: Presentation of a story or explanation
derived
from prior stimuli (that is to say, a dialog or story that the student
received before
and is not the product of something the teacher is showing him/her
like pictures or
scenes for students to construct at the moment). Distinguished from
Cued Narrative
because of lack of immediate stimulus.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

29. Preparation: Student study, silent reading, pair planning and
rehearsing,
preparing for later activity. Usually a student-directed or -oriented
project.

Free Techniques
While free techniques according to Brown is a student-centered
teaching type of technique that is communicative and open-ended
and involves unpredicted responses with negotiated objectives.

30. Role-play: Relatively free acting out of specified roles and
functions.
Distinguished from Cued Dialogues by the fact that cueing is provided
only minimally at the beginning, and not during the activity.
31. Games: Various kinds of language game activity, if not like other
previously
defined activities (e.g., board and dice games making words).
32.

Report:

experiences,

Report

of

student-prepared

exposition

on books,

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
project

work,

without

immediate stimulus,

and

elaborated

on

according to student
interests. Akin to Composition in writing mode.
33 Problem solving: Activity involving specified problem and
limitations of
means to resolve it; requires cooperative action on part of participants
in small or large group.
34. Drama: planned dramatic rendition of play, skit, story, etc.
35. Simulation: Activity involving complex interaction between
groups and
individuals based on simulation of real-life actions and experiences.
36. Interview: A student is directed to get information from another
student or
students.
37. Discussion: Debate or other form of grouped discussion (between
teacher
and students or students among them) of specified topic, with or
without specified

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
sides/positions prearranged. In these discussions the teacher can also
play an
important role
38. Composition: As in Report (verbal), written development of
ideas, story
or other exposition.:

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Literature
Foreign Language
Littlewood (1984) made a distinction between Foreign Language
and L2 wherein he described a second language as something having
a social function within the community where it is learned (e.g. as a

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
lingua franca or as a language of another social group), whereas a
foreign language is learned for the initial purpose of communicating
outside one’s country (Dictionary, n.d.) or is studied for the mere
purpose of cultural insights.

Language Teaching
In classical Greek and Medieval Latin periods, people tended to
learn foreign languages as both of these languages were considered
major languages. High education like philosophy, business, politics,
religion, and history, was imparted in these languages. Thus, the
educated class of that very span of time sharpened its edges over
speaking, reading, and writing of these languages par excellence.
However, there was, that time, no established way of teaching these
languages. And by this, “we can assume that the teachers or tutors
used informal and more or less direct approaches to convey the form
and meaning of the language they were teaching . . ” (Celce- Murcia,
2002).
Before the twentieth century, two primary approaches stood as
the basis of instructor,s methodology which are: getting learners to
use a language (i.e to speak and understand it) and getting learners
to analyze a language (i.e to learn its grammatical rules).

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Terminologies
Having mentioned the term methodology and
approach, it is now important to give its definition and how these
terms and the like are related to technique as a focus of this study.
To begin, (in Galindo& Guzman, 2001) teacher education can be
tackle as a language teaching theory for it is an umbrella term to
cover several elements which constitute a solid body of the act of
teaching. One of its dimensions is methodological which is the most
relevant to this study since it is centered on what teachers do in their
foreign language class. Methodology for Brown (1994) as cited from
Galindo& Guzman is “the study of pedagogical practices in general…
Whatever considerations in “how to teach” are methodological”.
From this, there will be different approaches to language teaching and
approach is something that reflects certain model or research
paradigm or as simply as theories about language, language learning
and teaching, thus it is the broadest among the Edward Anthonys
tripartite distinction of approach, method, and technique. A method,
on the other hand, is a set of procedures, typically compatible with
one approach and it is more specific than approach but less specific
than technique (Celce- Murcia,2002 ).

A technique is a classroom

device or activity and thus represents the narrowest of the three
concepts. Moreover, “a technique is implementational – that which

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
actually takes place in a classroom. It is a particular trick, stratagem,
or

contrivance

used

to

accomplish

an

immediate

objective.

Techniques must be consistent with a method, and therefore in
harmony with an approach as well.”
Anthonys tripartite distinction was developed and recast by
Richards and Rodgers (1982, 1985) as Approach, Design and
Procedure encompassed within the overall concept of Method, “an
umbrella term for the specification and interrelation of theory and
practice” (Richards and Rodgers, 1985)

Hubbard et al. (as cited in Sierra, n.d.) clarified the concept of
approach or principles, method an d technique, which are mutually
and hierarchically related. They represent three levels of analysis. An
approach or strategy is the most abstract of all three concepts and
refers

to

the

linguistic,

psycho-

and

sociolinguistic

principles

underlying methods and techniques. A technique is the narrowest of
all three; it is one single procedure to use in the classroom. Methods
are between approaches and techniques, just the mediator between
theory and classroom practice.
Before research began on language learning, methods used to teach
foreign languages in the United States were based on the Classical
method previously employed for teaching Latin and Greek. The

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
studying

of

classical

languages

was

thought

of

as

“mental

gymnastics” and “indispensable to an adequate higher education.”
(Brown, 2000, p. 15) Students were forced to memorize declension
and conjugation patterns, vocabulary lists, and other grammatical
rules. Translation and drills remained the only use of the language,
while pronunciation and conversational skills were ignored. Opponents
of this method maintain that there is no theoretical basis or
practicality to the Classical Method (also known as the GrammarTranslation Method). Yet it remains the most popular teaching method
because it does not require that teachers be experts or is fluent in the
language, and it is the easiest gauge of foreign language ability that
can be determined by standardized test.
Another facet of foreign language learning that needs to be
addressed is the hierarchy of difficulty “by which a teacher or linguist
could make a prediction of the relative difficulty of a given aspect of
the target language.” (Brown, 2000, p.119) Two levels that present
particular

problems

with

learning

foreign

grammar

are

under

differentiation and over differentiation. With under differentiation, “an
item in the native language is absent in the target language.”

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Contemporary Language teaching
The goal to establish principles and procedures for the design of
teaching methods and materials for a more effective and theoretically
sound teaching method fueled the foundation of the contemporary
language teaching, as spearheaded by applied linguist and others.
Language teaching became a profession in the twentieth century and
was characterized as a growing battle between teaching ideologies.
Notions like the systematic set of teaching practices based on a
particular theory of language and language learning which lied under
the method concept in teaching (Richards and Rodgers, 2001).
According to Alatis (2003), “every instructor starts with an initial
theory of language teaching and learning, based on personal
experiences as a language learner and, in some cases, reading or
training. Farlex (2003) defines Language teaching as, teaching people
to speak and understand a foreign language” while to Gage (1964 as
cited in “Language” n.d.) "To satisfy the practical demands of
education, theories of learning must be 'stood on their head' so as to
yield theories of teaching." Teaching is guiding and facilitating
learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the conditions for
learning (“Language”).

Language Testing

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Pierson (1996) agrees in saying that “the teacher and only
the teachers lead the learner to freedom and autonomy.” Holec
(1991) however set out that language teachers should provide
students information on language competencies to help the students
set their objectives and help them learn with their language
strategies.
On Classroom Assessment Technique
Angelo and Cross (1993) describe them as simple, and
formative assessments that faculty can use to collect feedback and
examine how well the students are learning the course material.
Classroom

assessment

techniques

enhancing

teaching

effectiveness

serve
while

the

dual

purpose

improving

of

student

understanding. Classroom assessment include assessment of prior
knowledge, assessing skill in analysis and critical thinking, assessing
skill in synthetic and creative writing, assessing skill in problem
solving, and assessing skill in application and performance.
Meanwhile, Ornstein (1990), a respected educator and
authors of several books on education, asserted that teachers do
make a difference in the classroom in a subtopic on Review of
Research on Teaching. It was sort of a reverse psychology whom he

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
bared his thoughts through a series of hypothetical statements that
follow:
“If teaching does not make difference, then the profession
has problems. If teacher do not make a difference, the notion of
teacher evaluation, teacher accountability, and teacher performance
are non-workable [sic] . . .; there is a little hope for many students to
continue to put their trust in the educational system.

On Dictation and Repetition
Dictation is one of the oldest language teaching activities.
Dictation is a decoding-recoding activity. It is the act or process of
dictating material to another for transcription. Oller (1979) defines it
as a “psychologically real system that sequentially orders linguistic
elements in time and in relation to extra linguistic context in
meaningful ways. Frodesen (1991) writes that dictation can help
students to diagnose and correct errors as well as others. Montalvan
(1990) added by saying that “as students develop their aural
comprehension of meaning and also the relationship among segments
of language, they are learning grammar.”
Testing plays a very important role in language learning through
the years. Repetition and Dictation has been used as a pedagogical
strategy throughout the recent history of language teaching. In her

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
article

entitled

Repetition

and

Dictation

as

Language

Testing

Technique, Natalico, S. (1999, p. 164) presented different reactions on
the use of these teaching techniques in language teaching. Reactions
to repetition and dictation as language testing techniques have
ranged from strong oppositions (e.g.Lado 1961) to enthusiastic
support (e.g.Oller 1973). Although these two techniques are now held
in an increasingly high regard among those involved in or familiar with
work

in

psycholinguistics,

there

is

evidence

of

continued

misunderstanding among language teachers about the nature of
repetition and dictation.
Procedurally, Natalico added, repetition and dictation tasks are
similar: both involve an oral stimulus that, upon presentation to a
student, is not to be modified, transformed, translated or completed;
rather it is to be reproduced as faithfully as possible. She stressed
that the primary difference between these two tasks, obviously, is in
the response modality, oral reproduction in repetition and written
reproduction in dictation.

On Pencil and Paper Test
Terman (2004) posited that paper and pencil test refers to a
general group of assessment tools which candidates read questions
and respond in writing. He stressed that this tool is used to assess a

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
job-related direction to the ability to solve numerical problems. He
further added that since many candidates can be assessed at the
same time with a paper and pencil tests, such tests are efficient
method of assessment.
Teacher-made paper and paper tests according to Kelly
(2006), can be effective method of assessing key knowledge, facts,
skills and procedures. Carefully constructed, they can be used to
assess more complex and challenging mental processes as well. She
further added that pencil and paper tests require students to read and
write independently or to demonstrate understanding of concepts at a
symbolic level. Pencil and paper tests may be gradually included as
part of their overall assessment.
Motivation
Learners'

motivation

numerous endogenous (i.e.,

internal

varies
or

because
inner

of

inspiration)

and exogenous (i.e., external to human personality) factors, such as
sociocultural

circumstances,

professional

needs,

and

language

requirements for international education. Endogenous factors bring
pleasure and satisfaction to a student, and exogenous factors relate
to the tangible benefits attached to an activity (Noels, Clement, &
Pelletier, 1999). A number of studies over the past couple of decades
have analyzed patterns of motivation in language classrooms in a

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
variety of situations (e.g., Cheng &Dörnyei, 2007; Dörnyei, 2001;
Gliksman, Gardner, &Smythe, 1982).
Motivating students to learn is of paramount importance.
Until recently, however, teachers were forced to rely on “bag-oftricks” approaches in their attempt to manage their classroom and
motivate their learners. Good and Brophy (1994: 212) hold that these
approaches have been influenced by two contradictory views:
a) That learning should be fun and that any motivation
problems that may appear should be ascribed to the teacher's
attempt to convert an enjoyable activity to drudgery; and
b) That school activities are inherently boring and unrewarding,
so that we must rely on extrinsic rewards and punishment with a view
to forcing students to engage in these unpleasant tasks.
Rewards and punishments may be a mainstay of the
teaching-learning process, but they are not the only tools in teachers'
arsenal. Dornyei (2001: 119) believes that ‘the spectrum of other
potentially more effective motivational strategies is so broad that it is
hard to imagine that none of them would work'. According to
Chambers (1999: 37), ‘[i]f the teacher is to motivate pupils to learn,
then relevance has to be the red thread permeating activities'.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
On Whole Language Approach
The whole language approach to phonics grew out Noah
Chomsky’s conception of linguistic development. Chomsky believed
that humans have a natural language capacity that we are built to
communicate through words. This idea developed a large following in
the 1960s. In 1967, Goodman wrote a widely-cited article calling
reading a “psycholinguistic guessing game” and chiding educators for
attempting to apply unnecessary orthographic order to a process that
relied on holistic examination of words. Goodman posited the
existence

of

three

“cuing

systems”

that

regulate

literary

development. These cuing systems are the graph phonemic cuing
system, the semantic cuing system, and the syntactic cuing system,
related to the linguistic domains of phonetics, semantics and syntax
respectively. The “graph” portion of the “graph phonemic” system
referred to the graphic input, i.e., the text. According to Goodman,
this system overlaps and works in tandem to help readers “guess”
appropriately. He emphasized that pronouncing individual words will
involve the use of all three systems (letter clues, meaning clues from
context, and syntactical structure of the sentence). Part of his
rationale was that in his studies of children who read words
individually and then the same words in connected text, the children

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
did better when they read the connected text. Later replications of the
experiment failed to find effects, however, when children did not read
the same words in connected text immediately after reading them
individually, as they had in Goodman’s experiment.
As cited by Rich (1985), language teachers preferred Whole
Language Approach because they view language teaching as a
dynamic, cooperative and interactive process where they can design
a curriculum using storytelling, games, songs, dramas, videotapes,
group discussion, etc. to integrate it with the Whole Language
Approach for an interactive, culturally aware pedagogy for language
classrooms. Therefore, Whole Language Approach can be used to
organize

different

activities

in

order

to

create

a

meaningful,

interactive and communicative language learning environment

Foreign Studies
Language Teaching
The work of teaching is simultaneously mental and social. It
is

also

physical,

emotional,

practical,

behavioral,

political,

experiential, historical, cultural, spiritual, and personal. In short,
teaching is very complex, influenced not only by these 12 dimensions
and perhaps others, but also requiring their contingent orchestration

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
in support of students’ learning. When language teaching in particular
is in focus, the complexity is even greater, shaped by teachers’ views
of the nature of language, of language teaching and learning in
general, and by their knowledge of the particular sociocultural setting
in which the teaching and learning take place (Adamson 2004).
Thompson, Nataschain her research Language Teaching
Strategies and Techniques Used to Support Students Learning in a
Language other than Their Mother Tongue in Kongsberg International
School identified the specific language teaching strategies and
techniques that were being used during a lesson. The following
describes the overall strategies and techniques that Thompson’s
participants were observed using, by Thompson, during the lesson
observation.
Vocabulary

Checks. At 21%, the language teaching

strategy of vocabulary checks was used the most by teachers and in
several different ways. One participant predicted that the students in
her class would not know what a particular word meant which was
crucial to the students understanding a story. The teacher chose to
show the class a picture of the word. This is a strategy that might
have helped to make the word easier for students to understand and
remember (Bloor 1991). Several teachers took time during lessons to
check that students had understood the meaning of key words or

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
concepts. This strategy may have enabled individuals to connect new
vocabulary with words that they already knew in their first language
(Brewster, Ellis and Girard 2004). Participants often used questions to
check that students had understood the meaning of key words or
concepts. Brewster, Ellis and Girard (2004:81) suggest that, “Providing
examples of words, their meanings and demonstrating how they
might be used when beginning to learn a language may be more
important than attention to the grammatical components and spelling
of vocabulary” (Brewster, Ellis and Girard 2004:81). It may also be of
importance to note that, “The acquisition of word meanings takes
much longer than the acquisition of the spoken form of the words, and
children use words in their speech long before they have full
understanding

of

them”

(Cameron

2001:73).Another

strategy

teachers used to check vocabulary understanding was to review and
recycle previously discussed vocabulary associated with the Unit of
Inquiry or from prior lessons at the beginning of a lesson. This may
have provided learners with the opportunity to re-hear words and
possibly helped with the retention of these words in their long-term
memory. Brewster, Ellis and Girard (2002:63) add “Children constantly
need to recycle what they have learned so they don’t forget, and to
perceive progress, maintain motivation and aid memorization”.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Eliciting. Eliciting was a technique that was used a total of
20% in lesson observations. This strategy helps a teacher to bring
forward student’s ideas and extend and sustain discussion which
Fisher (2005) considers being an important function of a teacher.
Conversations that extend past a single exchange may help a
learner’s language development as it could provide a more realistic
model of how an authentic conversation occurs (Wells 1986). This
kind of discussion might also help to reveal to a teacher “... the
framework the children are using to interpret new information” (Wells
1986:115) and might possibly provide children with some of the
language and ideas they will need to complete subsequent activities.
Modeling of Target Language. The modeling of target
language was a strategy that accounted for 19% of the strategies and
techniques used during lesson observations. Hill and Flynn (2006:23)
suggest that, “Language structure and form should be learned in
authentic contexts rather than through contrived drills in language
workbooks”. The modeling of target language would seem therefore
to be an extremely important strategy for teachers to use, as these
models may be a student’s only guide on how the additional language
is used in a natural environment.
Think Alouds. Think aloud was a strategy and technique
that were noticed a total of 13% of the time during lesson

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
observations. A think aloud can be defined as the offering of a
teacher’s inner dialogue or opinions out loud for students to hear their
thoughts, ideas and to model self-regulation of the thinking process
possibly through questions such as; “What am I going to do now?”,
“What is my problem?”, “I wonder what would happen if…” . Fisher
(2005:47) 10 suggests that the strategy of thinking aloud provides
teachers the opportunity “…to model the world as we understand it in
words”. The use of such a strategy may enable learners to hear more
authentic and broader examples of the target language (Nunan 1991)
and possibly help to scaffold and develop their own thinking skills
(Fisher 2005).
Modeling

of

Activities.

The

modeling

of

activities

accounted for 8% of the strategies and techniques used during lesson
observations. Dőrnyei (2001:58) comments that the criteria for the
successful completion of an activity need to be explicitly clear to all
learners although for some a discussion about these will not be
enough. The use of live demonstrations and the presentation of
examples of other student’s work may provide a more complete
description of the standard of content and presentation that is
expected for a particular activity and possibly help to ease learner
anxiety caused by not knowing what to do (Cameron 2001).

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Student Thinking Time. Student thinking time totaled 6%
of observation time. This strategy was employed by participants after
they had asked a question. Students need to be provided with the
opportunity “…to think about questions after they have been asked
before attempting to answer them” (Nunan 2000:193). In a research
investigation it was shown that by extending thinking time from three
to five seconds after asking a question there was a rise in student
participation (Nunan 2000:193) and a significant increase in the
quality of student answers (Fisher 2005:23). It would seem therefore
by consciously allowing silence after asking a question a teacher may
be fostering an environment more conducive to thoughtful responses
and allowing language learners more time to connect to what has
been asked.
Re-casts. Recasts were a strategy observed to be used a
total of 5% of all strategies and techniques. A recast, that is, the
repetition of a student’s utterance making changes to convert it to a
correct phrase or sentence (Lightbrown and Spada 2006) may provide
a teacher with the opportunity to model how a sentence or phrase
should be used without having to obviously highlight the student’s
error. For example:

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
18:44 Student Eight The trees are cutting down and ah, for
another house.
18:47 Teacher

Excellent Student Eight. They’re cutting

down the trees and they are going to build a new house.
“As no two students who are learning a language will have the
same amount of grounding in their native language (Flynn and Hill
2006:3) it would seem that this type of modeling of language is
therefore of great importance.

Error Correction. At 1%, error correction was the least
frequently used language strategy during the observed lessons.
Lightbown and Spada (2006:190) add that this corrective feedback
should also be provided in a clear and precise way e.g.
23.04 Student Two
23.06 Teacher One
23.08 Student Two

I did choose caring.
Pardon, pardon?
I did caring either.

23.09 Teacher One

You did caring as well.

23.11 Student Two

Ah ha.

It is important to note that this type of correction might only be
beneficial if a student is at that current level in their grammatical
development; a child who is not, is unlikely to automatically use the

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
correct form (Lightbown and Spada 2006:190). Nunan (2000:198) also
suggests teachers “...need to monitor not only how and when such
feedback is provided, but also whether the feedback is positive or
negative, and who receives the feedback”.
Incorporating Small Group and Pair Work in Lessons.
During lessons students were often given opportunities to work in
small groups and with a partner which according to Hill and Flynn
(2006:55) may be “… a powerful tool for fostering language
acquisition”. “Research has shown that learners use considerably
more language, and exploit a greater range of language functions
when working in small groups” (Nunan 2000:51). Small groups also
enable participants to hear language from each other therefore a
different source of input from the teacher. This might help to make
students feel more comfortable and relaxed and possibly reduce the
anxiety related to attempting the target language (Hill and Flynn
2006)
Elaborated Input. During lessons, some teachers used
Elaborated Input, that is the use of “…repetition, paraphrasing, slower
speech contains

redundant

information,

the redundancy

being

achieved through repetition, paraphrase, slower speech and so on”
(Nunan 2000:191) and according to research may be more effective
than a teacher using simpler syntax and vocabulary (Nunan

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
2000:191). The use of this type language with actions, illustrations,
context or prior knowledge, is a key factor in helping children to learn
a second language (Brewster, Ellis and Girard 2002).
Ali (1994) on his research on Teacher Teaching and Teacher
Awareness stressed that critical awareness help decision making. He
said that it is wrong to assume that mastery of the teaching technique
will equip teachers for this job. Furthermore, too much emphasis that
traditionally been placed on knowledge has led to the neglect of the
performance areas.
Ali further added that teachers have often been accused of
being narrow and provincial in observing teaching practice and
assessing them. Many language teachers tend to employ what they
called a technicist approach, that considered carrying out a prescribed
plan of teaching strategies and assessed by a pre-determined
checklist of criteria. King (1993) draw out attention to assessment as
a form of examination that “combines surveillance with normalizing
judgment.” Teachers believe that they have the right to classify,
punish and persecute errors. Therefore, language teachers must be
aware of the changing focus in their preparation.
In this connection, Alderson (1994) states that language
teachers need to be concerned not only with the nature of language
but also with language learning and the design and researching

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
achievement tests. Smith (1991, added that “there is a little doubt
that the attitude of teachers towards his teaching techniques
influences his behavior towards testing. There are also strong reasons
that influence students’ achievement.” He also added by stressing
that “this language teaching strategies should be based on a specific
objective/aim to be achieved for the day.
However, recent studies reveal that when teachers develop
and expand their instructional methods and techniques according to
the individual learning styles of their students, there is a marked
increase in performance and achievements, and a decrease in
discipline problems in as little as six to eight weeks. The adjustment
that teachers and parents must make will probably be difficult --initially at least. But the rewards for them, and for their students and
children are worth the effort. (Ibid)

Language Learning Strategies
Language learning and use strategies can be further differentiated
according to whether they are cognitive, metacognitive, affective, or
social (Chamot 1987, Oxford 1990). Cognitive strategies usually
involve the identification, retention, storage, or retrieval of words,
phrases, and other elements of the second language. Metacognitive
strategies deal with pre-assessment and pre planning, on-line

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
planning and evaluation, and post-evaluation of language learning
activities, and language use events.

Foreign Language Learning
The purposes and uses of foreign languages are as diverse as the
students who study them. Some students study another language in
hopes of finding a rewarding career in the international marketplace
or government service. Others are interested in the intellectual
challenge and cognitive benefits that accrue to those who master
multiple languages. Still others seek greater understanding of other
people and other cultures. Many approach foreign language study, as
they do other courses, simply to fulfill a graduation requirement.
Regardless of the reason for study, foreign languages have something
to offer everyone. It is with this philosophy in mind that the standards
task force identified five goal areas that encompass all of these
reasons: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons,
and Communities —the five C’s of foreign language education.
Communication is at the heart of second language study,
whether the communication takes place face-to-face, in writing, or
across centuries through the reading of literature.
Through

the

study

of

other

languages,

students

gain

acknowledge and understanding of the cultures that use that

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
language and, in fact, cannot truly master the language until they
have

also

mastered

languageoccurs.

the

Learning

cultural

languages

contexts
provides

in

which

connections

the
to

additional bodies of knowledge that may be unavailable to the
monolingual English speaker.
Through comparisons and contrasts with the language being
studied, students develop insight into the nature of language and the
concept of culture and realize that there are multiple ways of viewing
the world. Together, these elements enable the student of languages
to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the
world in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropriate ways.
(American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, Inc.)

Local Literature
On Language Teaching Techniques
In his book Principles and Practices of Teaching, Dr. Jose F.
Calderon (1998, pp. 70-119) enumerated the commonly used

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
teaching strategies in the classroom, i.e., motivational, questioning,
showing (lecture-demonstration), cooperative learning, and telling
(teacher talk). These tools are available to the teacher whenever he
deems appropriate.
Lardizabal (1998) in her book Foundations of Education
enumerated the factors that affect learning as follows:
The first motivation, “arouses interest in and provides an
objective, and directs towards a (learning) goal.” Reinforcement
comes in second, in reference to the use of audio visual aids, etc.
Third is extinction, which means letting “something die out or to be
forgotten by disuse”. Association comes in fourth to mean that “the
more connections are made with the subject, the better it will be
learned and retained.” Interest is fifth as a facilitator of learning, and
server as its own motivation. Recency comes in last, requiring
recurring reviews on previous lessons to ensure students to not forget
what they have learned in class.
Meanwhile, the Need for Evaluating the Results of Teaching
has been discussed in Teaching revised edition. Gregorio pointed out
that if education were to become a science and an art.” . . . it must
develop means of determining with accuracy the degree and kind of
all the changes which it brings about. Teaching becomes more

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
productive when followed by an accurate appraisal of its results.” (p.
435)
The quality of student learning remains to be the best gauge
to ascertain the quality of teaching. After all, evaluation is a tool to
judge the performance vis-à-vis desired standards made known prior
to teaching engagement. Aquino (2003, p. 120) enumerated the
following teaching models associated with subject matter/disciplines.
First is lecture, which for many centuries has been the
primary method of transmitting information. Second is discussionquestioning, which combines traditional recitation and classroom
discussion methods. The third is viewing-listening which makes use of
educational technology. Fourth is inquiry-training, which requires
students to develop skills in searching for and processing data to
develop concepts of logic and casuality.

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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides the research design, sampling technique,
instrument, procedures and statistical treatment used in this study.

Research Method
This study aimed to determine the teaching techniques utilized
by selected foreign language instructors from the Department of
English, Foreign Languages and Linguistics (DEFLL). For this purpose,
the descriptive method of research was used to address underlying
concepts with regards to the foreign language teaching viewed as an
abstract theoretical context in this study.

According to Burns and

Grove (2003:201), Descriptive research “is designed to provide a
picture of a situation as it naturally happens”. It may be used to
justify current practice and make judgment; and also, to develop
theories for the purpose of this study.
Thus, two avenues are utilized to maximize the inquiry of
techniques being employed by the instructor-respondents, i.e. through
semi-structured interview and a researcher-made-questionnaire.

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Research Design
In order to determine the teaching techniques utilized by the
DEFLL Foreign Language instructors and to come up with a possible
classification of these techniques, design under the descriptive
method was used.

Description of the Subjects of the Study
The subjects of the study were the Foreign Language Instructors
of the Department of English, Foreign Languages and Linguistics.
There were four (4) foreign languages i.e. French, Nihongo, Mandarin,
and Spanish; and each of these languages is represented by an
instructor chosen as respondent of the study. The respondents were
chosen based on a specific set of criteria consisting of two years or
more language teaching experience, and had taught junior students
from Bachelor of Arts in English academic year 2014- 2015.

Subjects of the Study
Four

(4)

female

foreign

language

instructors

under

the

Department of English, Foreign Language and Linguistics were chosen
as subjects of the study. They were chosen because they had

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
completed teaching AB English junior students during the school year
2014-2015 wherein they utilized various teaching techniques on the
undertaking of the foreign language classes.

Research Instrument
The research was conducted through the use of frequency likertscale and semi-structured interview.
The entire questionnaire obtained the instructors’ frequency of
use of the thirty eight language teaching techniques drawn from
Brown’s taxonomy. The techniques were also pre-classified as
controlled, semi- controlled and free and were listed vertically with
one sentence-description. Horizontal to every technique were the
checkboxes in accordance to the rate of use of instructors to each
technique. The five checkboxes were:
ALWAY

OFTEN

SOMETI

S

RARELY

NEVE

MES

R

Along with this, the researcher seek the aid of professionals
from

the

Institute

of

Data

and

Statistical

Analysis

for

data

interpretation where the research experts suggested that the
researchers apply numerical value to the Verbal Description with

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Always bearing the value of 5, 4- Rarely, 3- Sometimes , 2- Often , and
1- Never.

ALWAY
S
5

OFTEN

SOMETI

4

MES
3

RARELY

NEVE

2

R
1

The questionnaire was also presented to the research adviser
and to three professors with a rubric sheet for validation, correction
and suggestions regarding the content.
On the other hand, questions for the semi- structured interview
were prepared considering some firsthand suggestions given by
foreign language instructors. Bates et. al (n.d.) consider the use of a
qualitative interview as a good choice when the goals are: To obtain
understanding through detailed examples and rich narratives. To
ascertain

the

meanings

of

actions

and

experiences

and

the

sentiments underlying expressed opinions. To shed new light on
puzzling questions. To unravel complicated events that evolve over
time. To identify variables and to frame hypotheses for future survey
research.

Data-Gathering Procedure

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

The

researchers

employed

necessary

steps

and

instruments that were administered personally to gather the
data significant for the study.
1. Letters of requests were issued by the researchers. They were later
on signed and approved by the CAL, Chairperson, Dr. Seril. A copy of
the survey and interview letters of requests can be found at Appendix
A.
2. Validation letter (can be found at Appendix D) was issued together
with the survey-rubric (can be found at Appendix F).
3. The researchers sent the letters of requests together with the
validated survey -questionnaires to the instructors who will participate
in the study a day before the interview.
4. The primary data were gathered from the Polytechnic University of
the Philippines through the cooperation of the foreign language
instructors/respondents. The survey questionnaires are given and
interviews

were

scheduled

in

compliance

to

the

instructors’

vacant/free time.
5. After the questionnaires have been accomplished, the results were
tallied and tabulated. These data became the bases of analyses and
interpretation.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
6. Interviews with the instructors were audio-recorded with their
consent and were transcribed afterwards. Transcriptions of the actual
interview can be found at Appendix G.
7. Data were compiled for analysis.
8. In determining

the Dominant Type of Teaching Technique,

(Controlled, Semi-controlled, Free) the researchers made use of the
Taxonomy of Brown in categorizing each technique utilized by the
instructors.

Treatment of Data
The data gathered through survey

questionnaire were

collated, tabulated, and analyzed manually with the aid of
computer for precise interpretation of results.
To get the dominant technique/s and the principal type of
language teaching technique utilized by the four female foreign
language instructors, the overall mean and the mean of each

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
technique were computed using the same given formula with different
symbolical interpretations:
Mean Formula:

For each technique:

Wher

e

N

is the sum of all the data values
is the number of response

Overall Mean:

Whe

re

N

is the sum of all the mean values
is the total number of items

The dominant technique/s was drawn based on its mean which
was used as data for the rank method where five (5) being the highest
and one (1) as the lowest. While the Principal Type of Language
Teaching Technique bore a verbal description based from the set
frequency value.
Information gathered through semi-structured

interview

were transcribed from the recorded abstract material considering no

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
language or sound discrimination. The transcriptions of the records
were analyzed and classified according to where the techniques fall
under the Taxonomy illustrated by Brown (2001).. Other language
teaching techniques outside the boundaries of the taxonomy that
were elicited were also extracted and presented from the interview
transcriptions.

CHAPTER IV
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESEARCH FINDINGS

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
The purpose of this study was to identify the principal type of
language teaching technique utilized by Foreign Language instructors
from the Department of English Foreign Languages and Linguistics
(DEFLL) under the College of Arts and Letters. Along this chapter we
will delve into the description and analysis of the two instruments we
applied to collect data and discuss the emerging results from the
statistical analysis.
The survey questionnaire is divided into four (4) sections and
data generated will be presented as follows
 The first section comprises the profile of the respondents; their
age and the number of years they taught foreign language.
 The second section comprises the list of Controlled techniques
(items 1-20 in Brown’s Taxonomy) utilized by Foreign Language
instructors.
 The third section comprises the list of Semi Controlled
techniques (items 21-29 in Brown’s Taxonomy) utilized by FOLA
instructors.
 The fourth section comprises the list of Free techniques (items
30-38 in Brown’s Taxonomy) utilized by FOLA instructors.
 The fifth section comprises the Principal Type of Language
Teaching Technique employed by foreign language instructors in
their foreign language classes.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
 While the last section comprises the Principal Technique/s
utilized by the foreign language instructors in the undertaking of
the coursework.

Profile of the Respondents
Table 1
Instruct
or

Age

Number of Years of
Teaching FOLA

A

51-60

28

Number of
Language
Spoken
4

B

20- 30

2

3

C

20- 30

6

3

D

51-60

10

4

This table shows that instructor-respondents under the Department of
English Foreign Languages and Linguistics who teach foreign language have
at least two (2) years of teaching experience with their age ranging from
twenty (20) to sixty (60) years old. All have more than two (2) language

commands where English and Tagalog were the second and first
languages.
According to Kiplagat (2004) in his study, Factors that Influence
the Choice of Teaching Techniques, he found out that, “Experience
appeared not to do as much value to the use (choice) of more
effective method”. Richards (1998 as cited in as in Galindo and

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Guzman, 2007) quoted Halkes and Deikers (1984), who state that
teaching criteria have to do with the “personal subjective values a
person tries to pursue or keep constant while teaching”; as a
consequence, every teacher has his/her own view of himself/herself of
his/her learners, their goals and their role in the classroom; all of
which may be reflected in everyday practice. Moreover, according to
Galindo (2007) selected/ preferred “techniques have to do with a
teleological (relating to purpose) and procedural view of teaching with
respect to teachers stance, his/ her personal traits, the specifications
posed on the syllabus, the institutional policies, the objectives
expected to be achieved through a particular activity that is framed
within a lesson. . ”
In line with this, Gill (2013) supported the notion that no two teachers
are alike, bringing the idea that teaching experience comes when
teachers agree that their style of teaching is uniquely their own.
The following tables show the language teaching techniques
utilized by the four language instructors and their rate of use for each
technique.

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S

Classification of Language Teaching Techniques
Table 2
Controlled Techniques

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This table shows that all of the controlled techniques were
employed by the respondents, thus, obtained an overall mean/ mark
of 4.54 which is interpreted as, ‘’Always’’ use by the instructors.
Mea
n

Ra
nk

Descript
ion

5 4 3 2 1
Frequency
1 1 2 0 0
1 1 2 0 0
2 1 1 0 0
4 0 0 0 0
4 0 0 0 0

4.00
4.00
4.25
5.00
5.00

5
5
4
1
1

O
O
O
A
A

3 1 0 0 0

4.75

2

A

3 1 0 0 0

4.75

2

A

4
2
3
3
4
3
3

5.00
4.50
4.75
4.75
5.00
4.75
4.50

1
3
2
2
1
2
3

A
A
A
A
A
A
A

4

O

5
7
2
1
4

O
O
A
A
O

A O S R N
Controlled Technique
Warm-up
Setting
Organizational
Content explanation
Role-play demonstration
Dialogue/narrative
presentation
Dialogue/narrative
recitation
Reading aloud
Checking
Correction or feedback
Question- answer display
Drill
Translation
Dictation

0
2
1
1
0
1
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
1

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Copying

3 0 0 1 0

Identification
Recognition
Review
Testing
Meaningful drill

1
1
3
4
2

1
1
1
0
1

1
1
0
0
1

0
1
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

4.25
4.00
3.50
4.75
5.00
4.25

Overall Mean:
4.54
A
Brown (2001 as cited in Galindo and Guzman, 2007) characterized the

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Controlled type of Teaching Technique as, a teacher-centered that is
manipulative and structured. It also involves a predicted student
responses with a pre-planned objectives in a Set Curriculum.

Semi-Controlled Technique
Table 3
Ra
nk

Descript
ion

5 4 3 2 1
Frequency
1 1 2 0 0 3.75
1 2 1 0 0 4.00

6
5

O
O

2 1 1 0 0

4.25

4

O

2
1
0
1

0
0
0
1

4.50
3.50
3.25
3.25

3
7
8
8

A
O
S
S

Narration/ exposition

2 1 0 0 1

3.75

6

O

Preparation

3 1 0 0 0

4.75

2

A

Semi-Controlled
Technique
Brainstorming
Story-telling
Question- answer
referential
Cued narrative/dialog
Information transfer
Information exchange
Wrap-up

A O S R N

Overall Mean:

2
1
1
1

0
2
3
1

0
0
0
0

Mea
n

3.8

O

Table 3 shows that techniques under semi controlled were also
employed by the instructors which obtained an overall mean of 3.8
which is interpreted at “Often” use by the instructors.
In a Semi Controlled Type of Teaching Technique, Brown (2001)
defined it as, the use of Language in a less restrictive way than the

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
controlled, but taking into account linguistic patterns already set up
by the teacher.

Free Technique
Table 4
Free Technique
Role-play
Games
Report
Problem solving
Drama
Simulation
Interview
Discussion
Composition

A
5
3
3
0
0
4
2
1
0
0

O
S
R
4
3
2
Frequency
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
0
1
2
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
0
0
1
1
0
1
0
1

N
1
0
0
2
1
0
1
1
2
2

Mea Ran Descripti
n
k
on
4.75
4.75
2.25
2.75
5.00
3.75
3.50
2.25
2.00

Overall Mean:

2
2
12
10
1
6
7
12
13

3.44

A
A
S
O
A
A
O
S
S
S

The illustration shows that among the three (3) types of
teaching techniques, those under the free techniques from Brown’s
Taxonomy

are

sometimes

utilized

by

the

instructors

in

the

undertaking of their foreign language classes; bearing an overall
mean of 3.44 which is interpreted as “sometimes” used.
Following a semi controlled is Brown’s Free Type of Teaching
Technique wherein he characterized as, a student-centered type of
teaching technique that is communicative and open-ended and

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
involves unpredicted responses with negotiated objectives in a
Cooperative Curriculum.

Table 5
Commonly used Teaching Techniques

Classification

Controlled

Semi- Controlled
Free

Technique
Content

Mean
5.00

Rank
1

Explanation
Drill

5.00

1

Reading Aloud

5.00

1

Testing

5.00

1

Preparation

4.75 R

1

Drama
5.00
(R- For classification)

1

From the given Means, it appeared that among the teaching
techniques present in Brown’s Taxonomy, four (4) teaching techniques
under Controlled namely: Content Explanation, Drill, Reading Aloud,
and Testing are the techniques instructors commonly use in their
classes. While only one (1) technique under Semi controlled which is
Preparation is bore closed to the ones most commonly used. Another
technique that instructors commonly employ is Drama under the Free
technique.

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As adapted by Brown, Content explanation concerns the
explanation of lesson content grammatical, phonological, lexical
(vocabulary), sociolinguistic, pragmatic, or any other aspects of
language.
Drill is concerned with the typical language activity involving
fixed patterns of teacher and student responding and prompting,
usually with repetition, substitution, and other mechanical alterations.
Typically with little meaning attached.
Reading aloud is teacher or student reading directly from a
given text; and Testing which refers to the Formal testing procedures
to evaluate student progress.
Preparation (Representation) concerns the student study,
silent reading, pair planning and rehearsing, preparing for later
activity. Usually a student-directed or -oriented project.
And lastly, among the nine free techniques- Drama which is a
planned dramatic rendition of play, skit, story, etc is the most used. It
was just followed by games and role-plays.
Cited from the works of Lizasoain and Ortiz (n.d.) Asher (1982)
who used drama techniques under his Total Physical Response
method to teach foreign language come up with the idea that any
foreign language strategy should follow biological program where
comprehension is developed through body movements. The results

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from Lizasoain and Ortiz (nd) study demonstrated that “in a drama
technique provision classroom students are more motivated and learn
in

a

realistic

communicative

environment

offering

plenty

of

opportunities to use language meaningfully.”

Principal Type of Language Teaching Technique
Table 6

The illustration above shows that the controlled technique is the
dominant type of teaching techniques utilized by the respondents
with an overall mean of 4.58 marked as “always” been used by the
instructors. The semi-controlled obtained 3.75 overall mean, then it
was followed by the free technique with 3.44 overall mean and
marked as the language teaching technique classification that is
Controlled
Technique

Semi-controlled
Technique

Free
Technique

4.54

3.8

3.44

“sometimes” used by the respondents.
According to Scrivener (n.d. as cited in Boumová, 2008) teachercentered approach or the traditional teaching of foreign language has
been used very often in schools worldwide. It teaches the written

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
language as the highest priority in learning a foreign language. It is
the predominant method in some cultures where learning is imagined
as a’ jug and a mug’ where knowledge is poured from one receptacle
into an empty one.

INTERVIEW
The respondents are four female foreign language instructors
who all have taught junior ABE students academic year 2014- 2015.
Two of them are in the age bracket 21-40 years old, and the other two
belonged to age bracket 50-60 years old. These instructors have at
least two years or more than twenty- eight years of teaching Fola.
Most of them have the idea to teach foreign language because
they have the language in their curriculum as a college student before
and simply because they are very interested to the foreign language.
With that in mind, being fola instructor by choice or by appointment
does not matter
All of them answered that one of the challenges they’re facing
in teaching foreign language is making their students interested in the
course work and making them realize the relevance of learning the
language in connection to their courses or field of expertise.
In response to the challenges they encountered like getting the
attention/ getting the student to like the language, make the lesson

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
more understandable, and others, they employed the following
techniques:
Interview Interpretation
Table 7

A

B

C

D

1

18

2

1

motivatio

recap/recall

Picture

music,

n

of previous

presentatio

singing

lesson

n

12

12

8

repetition

calling their

reading

Chinese

aloud

names

5

TYPE OF
LANGUAGE
TEACHING
TECHNIQUE
CONTROLLED

demonstrati
13

on

translation
of words

1
games

8
reading
aloud

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
2

1

audio

Music
videos

19

presentatio

quiz after

n

lesson
7
dialogues
SEMI
CONTROLLED
30
FREE

monologue

OTHER

relevance

culture

TECHNIQUES

Literature:
poem
writing

The table showed that almost all of the techniques utilized by
foreign language instructors are classified under the Controlled Type
of Language Teaching Technique.
Other

teaching

techniques

foreign

language

instructors

incorporate focuses on relevance, culture and literature. Philips

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
(2007), in his journal entitled Foreign Language Education: Whose
Definition? wrote that most of the public still considers foreign
language study as a subject for the elite, the college bound, and a
skill or talent that Europeans or the citizens of developing nations
prize, but in reality, schools, colleges, and universities provide
instruction for reasons of creating new understanding of languages
and cultures within the framework of the humanities; they build
competencies through a trained teaching force and appeal to student
interest and purposes for communicating cultures that may or may
not be critical at the given moment.
The

respondents

also

perceived

differing

opinion

and

experiences in having English major students and non English major
students. Some of them sometimes adjust their approach and
technique to address challenges present in the class while others stick
to their techniques.

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CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter summarizes the findings, generated conclusion,
and recommendations based on the analysis of the results of the
study.
The overriding purpose of this research was to determine the
teaching techniques utilized by selected Foreign Language instructors
of the Department of English, Foreign Languages and Linguistics
(DEFLL). The data examined were obtained through interview and
questionnaire from the respondents representing each of the four
existing

foreign

language

(i.e.

French,

Spanish,

Nihongo,

and

Mandarin) taught in the university.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This research aimed to identify the teaching techniques utilized
by four female Foreign Language instructors of the Department of

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
English Foreign Languages and Linguistics (DEFLL) in teaching their
students in French, Spanish, Nihongo, and Mandarin.
Specifically, the study sought to answer the following:
1.) What is the Profile of the respondents?
1.1

Age

1.2

Years of teaching Foreign Language

1.3

Language commands

2.) What are the Language teaching techniques foreign language
instructors utilized?
3.) From the Language teaching techniques, what is/are the most
commonly used by foreign language instructors?
4.) Following the taxonomy presented by Brown (2001) adapted from
Crookes

and

Chaudron

(1991),

what

are

the

possible

classification/s of the teaching techniques utilized by Foreign
Language instructors?
5.) And to that, what is the most commonly used type of language
teaching technique Foreign Language Instructors employed?
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
Findings were drawn based on the gathered and analyzed data:
2.) Profile of the Foreign Language Instructors
Out of the four (4) instructors surveyed two (2) were 20-30
years old and two were 51-60 years old. Two have less than seven (7)
years of teaching foreign language and two (2) have more than eight
(8) years of teaching foreign language. All have more than two (2)

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
language commands where English and Tagalog were the second and
first languages.
2.) Techniques Utilized
Findings showed that the thirty-eight (38) language teaching
techniques illustrated by Brown in his Taxonomy, twenty (20) under
controlled, nine (9) under Semi controlled, and nine (9) under free
were employed by foreign language instructors in their respective
classes. Other techniques which are not in the taxonomy but were
elicited by the instructors are: the use of relevance, culture, and
literature particularly, through poetry writing.
3.) Commonly used Techniques
Among the teaching techniques present in Brown’s Taxonomy,
four (4) teaching techniques under Controlled namely: Content
Explanation, Copying, Drill, Reading Aloud, and Testing are the
techniques that obtained the highest mean in terms of the frequency
of use, with a mean of 5.0 and an overall Qualitative Description of
“Always” used. While only one (1) technique under Semi controlled,
which is Preparation, bear a mean of 4.75 and an overall Qualitative
Description of “Often” used. Another technique that instructors
commonly employ is Drama under the Free technique with a mean of
5.0 and an overall Qualitative Description of “Sometimes” used. On

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
the other hand findings based from the interview confirmed that Drill
and Reading Aloud are the ones which are commonly used together
with Setting.
4.) Classification/s of the Techniques Employed by the Instructors
From the thirty-eight (38) language teaching techniques
illustrated by Brown in his Taxonomy, findings showed that all
techniques, twenty (20) under controlled, nine (9) under Semi
controlled, and nine (9) under free were used by foreign language
instructors respectively, along different levels of frequency. While
interview findings suggested that almost all of the techniques
employed by female foreign language instructors were under the
controlled technique and only one (1) fell under the free type.
5.) The Principal Type of Teaching Technique
Among the three (3) Types of Teaching techniques, findings
determined that, the Controlled technique is the dominant type of
language teaching technique utilized by foreign language instructors,
with an overall mean of 4.54 marked as “always” been used; Followed
by the Semi-controlled which obtained a 3.8 overall mean, marked as
“often” used. The free technique gained 3.44 overall mean and
marked as a type of language teaching technique that is “sometimes”
used by the instructors. With regards to the interview, almost all of

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
the techniques elicited by the female foreign language instructors are
also under the controlled type.

CONCLUSION
Conclusions were drawn based on the gathered and analyzed
data:
2.) Profile of the Foreign Language Instructors
The foreign language instructors are 20-60 years old with two
to nearly forty years of foreign-language-teaching experience. All
have more than two language commands where English and Filipino
are the second and first languages.
2.) Techniques Utilized
All of the techniques under Controlled, Semi controlled and
Free as proposed by Brown in his Taxonomy are utilized by the
instructors in various degrees. Other techniques which are not in the
taxonomy but were elicited by the instructors are: the use of
relevance, culture, and literature, particularly, through poetry writing.

3.) Commonly used Technique
From the given techniques present in Brown’s Taxonomy, four
(4)

teaching

techniques

under

Controlled

namely:

Content

Explanation, Drill, Reading Aloud, and Testing are the techniques
instructors commonly use in their foreign language classes along with

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
the technique under the Free type namely, Drama. Although none of
the techniques under semi controlled bear a mean of 5.0, the closest
among the language teaching techniques to the ones most commonly
employed is Preparation. On the other hand, findings based from the
interview confirmed that Drill and Reading Aloud are the ones which
are commonly used together with Setting.

4.) Classification of the Techniques Employed by the Instructors
Since all of the techniques present in Brown’s Taxonomy are
utilized by
Foreign Language instructors, it is evident that all classifications
namely: Controlled, Semi controlled, and Free are being considered in
the foreign language classes within various extents. While interview
findings suggested that almost all of the techniques employed by
female

foreign

language

instructors

are

under

the

controlled

technique and only one (1) fell under the free type.
5.) The Principal Type of Teaching Technique
The Controlled technique is the Principal type of language
teaching technique utilized by foreign language instructors of the
Department of English, Foreign Languages and Linguistics.
RECOMMENDATION

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
Based on the findings obtained and conclusions drawn in the
study, the following recommendations are presented.
6.) Since most of the techniques utilized by Foreign Language
instructors are under the controlled type, they are encourage

to

incorporate new ways (under the same type of language teaching
technique) in presenting their material as part of their traditional
teaching approach, to where they find themselves most effective.
7.)

In terms of the techniques which is/are always used by the

instructors, given that five (5) among the controlled type of teaching
techniques appeared to be most utilized, and not at least one (1) of
the semi controlled technique happened to level its frequency of use,
foreign language instructors are encouraged to try techniques under
the semi controlled to see if the students' response is innovative in
driving towards a new learning process.
8.)

Since a lot of language teaching techniques are made

possible as products of continuous research on the field of teaching.
Foreign language instructors are encouraged to experiment within the
boundaries of their teaching methods to come up with possible
realizations of their teaching principles.

9.) Since the subject of the study only comprises four female
respondents, with the attempt to understand the nature of just a brief

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P O LY T E C H N I C U N I V E R S I T Y O F T H E P H I L I P P I N E S
account of the teaching techniques they employ in their foreign
language classes, researchers highly suggest that further study if not
make a comparative analysis between preference of teaching
techniques when gender is involved is to increase the number of
respondents to gain better accounts of the techniques foreign
language instructors utilize.

10.)

Since the study was drawn from a current research on

2008 at De La Salle, Columbia where two EFL instructors were the
subjects of the study following a triangulation as avenues to
understand the nature of the foreign language teaching; while this
study utilized a different set of approach to come up with the account
of approaches foreign language instructors utilized, the researchers
highly encourage other researchers to experiment by incorporating
other means of data collection instruments to further the study in the
field of foreign language teaching.

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