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      INSTRUCTIONAL APPLICATION VS. METHODOLOGY
      Submitted by bushnell on 16 October, 2009 - 17:57

      Hi everyone, could anyone help me differentiate between an instructional application and methodology with relevance to ESLs?

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      Heath's picture
      Heath
      Maybe.
      Submitted on 3 September, 2010 - 11:33

      Hi,

      I'm not sure if this is exactly right, the terms I've heard are 'approach', 'method' and 'technique', but I'm assuming  'instructional application' is another term for 'technique' (or at least a rough equivalent).  So, based on something in Richards & Rodgers "Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching":

      • Approach
        A set of beliefs.  The underlying theories/philosophy behind your teaching.
        Example:  The Communicative Approach (a broad collection of ideas about language learning stemming from the idea that language is best learned when it is used in interactive communication).
      • Method
        A collection of practical procedures and techniques (specific or general) based on an approach.
        Example:  Task-Based Learning (specific suggestions for: staging a lesson, the types of tasks to use, etc)
      • Technique (Instructional Application?)
        A classroom procedure with a specific objective.
        Examples:  A guided role-play (a specific task); 'hold up handout -> give instructions -> do a demonstration of task -> check that instructions were understood -> set a time limit -> give out handouts -> Ss start task' (a specific procedure for setting up tasks); backchaining (a specific technique for modelling and drilling pronunciation); etc.
      cmftrier's picture
      cmftrier
      I think you're right
      Submitted on 9 September, 2010 - 10:01

      I think you're right - and the suggested definition of 'instructional application' is further supported if we look at what we mean by "methodology". Richards & Schmidt's "Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics" says that methodology is "the study of of the practices and procedures used in teaching, and the principles and beliefs that underlie them" This definition would mean that understanding both the 'approach' and 'method' aspects is included in the meaning of the term 'methodology'. Thus it makes sense that, as Heath says, and as it's explained in Richards & Rodgers "Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching", the "instructional application" refers to the "techniques", so the procedures, activities, etc used in teaching.

      CMF