An overview of post-methods and a contrast with traditional methdos and eclecticism used in our subject, Practice II, Didactics of ELT, UNLPam.

1. .
UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL DE LA PAMPA
FACULTAD DE CIENCIAS HUMANAS,
DEPARTAMENTO DE LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS.
PRACTICA EDUCATIVA II, DIDACTICA ESPECIAL DE LA LENGUA INGLESA Y RESIDENCIA EN PRIMARIA.
PROF. ADJUNTA REGULAR A/C Estela Nélida Braun. AUXILIAR DOCENTE Prof. Liliana Monserrat.
The Post -methods Era.(2014)

2. ELT History of Methods
• Richards and Rodgers (2001) , Diane Larsen Freeman (2001).
• Changes in Methods since 1900’s.How many different methods can
we name?
• CRITICISM OF METHODS:
• A. They are usually eurocentric or American views that did not take
into account socio-cultural concerns.
• B. They were part of textbooks that were meant to teach
“homogeneous” clases all over the world.
• C. The teacher’s roles were of passive acceptance of new methods,
sometimes believed to be new “dogmas”.

3. Kumaravadivelu (2003)
• Teachers were not always successful in putting methods into practice in
their classrooms.
• Kumaravadivelu states that in the post-methods era it is necessary to
question the relationship between theorizers and practicioners.
• THEORY –PRACTICE DICHOTOMY
• Researchers are Theoretical Teachers are Practical.
• Bring about teacher’s growth by discussing the limits of methods and
helping construct a post-method pedagogy.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBWRgi9_bB4
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YrvW6p5uG0

4. Method vs. Post-method
•Post-method can be defined as the
construction of classroom procedures
and principles by the teacher
himself/herself based on his/her prior
and experiential knowledge and/or
certain strategies.

5. • Teachers know that methods are not based on the realities of their
classroom but are “artificially transplanted” into their classrooms
(Kumaravadivelu, 2006, pp. 162, 166).
• Such a top-down process cannot allow teachers to be in change and
development. They also lack research basis as Allwright (1991)
warns language teachers against “the uncritical acceptance of
untested methods” (Cited in Kumaravadivelu, 2006, p.161).
• Brown (2002) also thinks that methods are not based on empirical
study as they are too “artfuland intuitive” (p. 10).

6. Criticism of Traditional Methods
• (1)Scholastic dimension- methods ignore local knowledge and
emphasizes Western knowledge;
•
• (2)Linguistic dimension- methods encourage the use of English in the
classroom preventing learners and teachers from using their L1
linguistic resource;
•
• (3) Cultural dimension- methods considerlanguage teaching as
culture teaching emphasizing “monoculturalism”, which create
employment opportunities worldwide for native speakers of English
making them privileged (pp. 541-544).
•

7. The teacher at the centre of the
Process
• Teachers are considered as great sources as a result of
their experience in the past as students, past experience
of teaching, knowledge of one or more methods gained
throughout their training as teachers, knowledge of other
teachers’ actions and opinions and their experience as
parents or caretakers (Prabhu, 1990).

8. The power of narratives
• TASK:
• Draw a rope with knots that indicates all your
experiences with teaching until now. Write about
two instances that were important for your
teacher education.

9. Art-craft conception of Teaching
• Post-method teachers are:
• autonomous,
• analysts,
• strategic researchers and
• decision-makers.
• Such teachers are also reflective as they observe their teaching, evaluate the
results, identify problems, find solutions, and try new techniques.
• Based on this, there is a movement from “science-research conceptions” towards
“art-craft conception of teaching” (Arikan, 2006, p. 4) as well as a shift from top-down
process to bottom-up process as teachers “theorize what they practice or
practice what they theorize” (Kumaravadivelu, 2003a,pp 38)

10. The Post-method framework
• PARTICULARITY: Sensitive to the particular context where
students and teachers carry out the educational aims.
• PRACTICALITY: The Method should be appropriate socailly,
culturally and politically.
• POSSIBILITY:The method should be applicable.

11. TASKS:
• 1. Summarize Kumaravadivelu’s STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK.
• 2. Choose one of the activities, analyze it and be ready to discuss it
with your partners.
• 3. What is the difference between Eclecticism and Post-Methods?
• SOURCE: Dr. T. Karunakaran & M. Suresh Babu. Article published
on the Dawn Journal, Vol. 2, No. 2, July - December 2013. English
Language Teaching Methods –An Overview.