The Dialogue: A Useful Tool in Language Teaching

Abstract

As far as the teaching of English is concerned, modern language teachers have seen the emphasis placed on the aural-oral method. This tendency has arisen as a reaction against the grammar method or the memorizing of rules as a vehicle for learning a foreign language. This reaction has been reinforced by the great strides made in linguistics in the last fifty years from which many methods and techniques now being used in the teaching of English as a second language have been drawn. Without fear of being altogether wrong, we can say that some of the principles on which the new methods and techniques are based can unquestionably be found in the teaching device called the dialogue. The present paper will demonstrate how the dialogue fits into this oral approach, why it is advisable to use it, what the characteristics of a good dialogue are, and how it can be used in the classroom. We will concentrate on the four propositions just mentioned as simply as possible, ignoring the ancillary issues. A dialogue, as we usually understand it, is a natural conversation to be presented either orally or in writing, practiced, and drilled in class. The essential principles of colloquial usage can be attained in a most satisfactory way through the dialogue. The process involved is the same as that used by the child when he is learning his mother tongue (though in this case through artificial means): listening-the hearing of certain speech patterns in connection with related situations-understanding, repeating, and natural production (answering and asking questions). Speech is transmitted through basic patterns, which are, in turn, the ones that contain the grammatical structures of the language. All these structures, or at least most of them, can be effectively taught through carefully graded dialogues, provided that there exists a contextual relation among the structures. The repetition of the conversation leads to the formation of speech patterns as habits. The dialogues aim at enabling the students to use the patterns of the foreign language, within certain vocabulary limits at an average speed of delivery, in a lifelike situation. It is in this situational atmosphere that the students can express their own emotions and feelings, and show interest in and cooperation with the class. In this way, the learning process becomes easy, natural, and, consequently, it avoids strain. In other words, it will stimulate the students to further efforts. As a language is spoken by a group of people living within a certain geographical area, and as these people have their own traditions, customs, values, and ways of living, it is of great importance to teach the cultural content of the language. This should be done even if we are teaching the language only as a tool and not necessarily as a cultural experience.