AN APPROACH TO VERBAL SUBTITLE METHOD
A)
EXPLANATION
PART I
An approach is a way of looking at teaching and
learning. An approach gives ways and even rise to methods. In fewer words, it
is theoretical view of what language is.
A method contains the principles and rules used by the
teachers to enable student learning. The station that an approach comes to a
final shape but still can be improved according to the nature of the students
of different eras because time brings changes upon the principles that have to
be applied on different kinds of learners from different age groups.
You can rightfully think that an approach is an
approach and a method is a method also
there is no definition in the midpoint on the way that goes from an approach to
a method but different eras demand finding different ways to expose learners to
understand what is being told. So, this is an approach of a new method.
There are many approaches and methods by many valuable
linguists and other language people who dedicated themselves to find ways of
teaching in more efficient ways. Verbal Subtitle Method is an ambitious and
promising way to teach a foreign language to learners. The level of the method
can be altered according to the level of the learners but it is much better to
be used for weak and average learners. It is also good for learners who
understand a lot but still cannot express themselves by using the foreign
language.
Before we move to the list of principles of this
method, it is much better to compare this method with another one to understand
the full purpose and shape of this method.
Choosing Grammar Translation Method must be a good
option to explain Subtitle Method because both methods contain translation. As
many teachers know, Grammar Translation Method was used by many teachers in the
early times of language teaching era. It is one of the first methods in
language teaching field. Basically, learners were exposed to the variety number
of rules of the targeted language and they were asked to memorize them all from
top to bottom. By knowing even the meaning and purpose of the smallest parts of
the sentences, they were asked to translate it in their mother tongue and vice
versa. The learners were able to master the targeted language after thousands
of hours which were filled by rules that were going down to the smallest
element of the targeted language. Learners had to concentrate on numerous rules
to complete their task to finally come to a point that they could use the
target language with its fully purpose in their daily, educational and business
lives. On the other hand, Subtitle Method doesn’t concentrate on endless rules.
There is no serious need to explain the inner side of the connection which is
between the mother tongue and the target language and most important of all,
learners don’t have to write the translation. It is enough that learners just
have to concentrate and hear the translation of the targeted language because
unlike the Grammar Translation Method, the translation of the sentences in Verbal
Subtitle Method is quite shorter. After understanding the list of the rules and
principles you can keep reading to see how it is good for students.
The list
consists of the principles that you read above and more.
B)
VERBAL
SUBTITLE METHOD PRINCIPLES
·
It is mainly used to make students start speaking as
soon as possible.
·
It is done only by the teacher. Learners just listen.
·
Subtitle Method doesn’t concentrate on endless rules.
Learners concentrate on the meaning side of learning. They just need to know
the meaning not the reason why and how the target language and the mother
tongue have a connection between each other in detailed information including
parts of the speech and the particles of language. There is no serious need to
explain the inner side of the connection which is between the mother tongue and
the targeted language.
·
Learners don’t write the translation. They learn it
after hearing it from time to time.
·
The most important focused sentences that were
translated must be given as home study to the learners systematically.
·
It is important that learners have to concentrate and
hear the translation of the targeted language to form the language connection
in their minds.
·
The sentences that are translated are quite shorter.
·
It must not be confused with sandwich method.
·
There is no focus on the differences of sentence
structures of the target language and the mother tongue.
·
The translation
is done between the sentences as the teacher is talking or writing about
something.
·
The teacher gives key words and sample phrases for
each topic.
·
There is no necessity of serious intonation and stress
on the translations so as not to confuse the learners with sentence structure
of target language and mother tongue.
·
Subtitle Method is a way to a correct inner learning
without giving focus on the rules more than enough.
·
It can be used for all levels but for the best result,
it must be used for weak and average learners and also for those who understand
but cannot speak.
·
When learners understand everything and are able to do
their tasks there is no need for the method. It is used to teach something new.
·
It is used during revision only if the students don’t
remember the lesson that is already covered. If the students have no serious
trouble in understanding the lesson that is already covered, the teacher and
the learners can have the class in English without any translation.
·
It is not always used to avoid the possibility that
learners will not pay attention to English by knowing that translation is
already made. After a good amount of repetition the teacher must leave the
method.
·
After enough amounts of teaching and repetition by the
teachers, the learners must be supplied with conversational activities.
·
After each unit learners must be given relevant topics
according to the things that they learn. After that learners must take parts in
relevant speaking exercises in English without using their mother tongues.
C)
EXPLANATION
PART II
Learners of this era, especially language learners can
have the temptation easily to give up language education because they think
that when they don’t understand they never will. For adults, this event is easy
because they go to private language courses and when they feel that they don’t
learn they can blame the teachers or the administration claiming that they
cannot get the service well. After that they can take their money back and
leave the learning environment. When it comes to regular students in schools
this period is so painful. It is like giving up but at the same time continuing.
To make it clear we can say that even if the students feel that they cannot
learn a target language because of not understanding most of the things, they
cannot go anywhere else and they have to continue their school knowing that
they cannot change their school whenever they want for a better language
education. Also, going to a private language course takes time for them and
they cannot have enough time for their other school subjects. For regular students it is not that easy so
they keep being in classes in which they think they cannot learn and sooner in
time this situation is unbearable for the students and the teachers. Yet, both
groups must be given the ultimate opportunity to have the feeling that they
always have a chance to understand what is being told in the target language
and the good part of the method is that this understanding doesn’t always come
from the translation because teachers stop using the method for the parts of
the speech, phrases, sentences and instructions that are already repeated in
the classrooms and when the learners understand what the teacher is saying
without any translation they get motivated to keep listening and learning more.
When new vocabularies or new phrases are about to be taught or when the
students seem to have difficulty in review classes the teachers can return to
the method.
Proceed with
reading the events that took place in a real life classroom environment. These
events took part in a classroom in Istanbul, Turkey so the translation language
of the method is in Turkish that is spoken by 250 million people in the world.
D)
VERBAL
SUBTITLE METHOD IN THE CLASSROOM
The teacher entered a classroom in which there are
twenty five nine grade students with A2 level. The topic was how to express
ourselves while checking in a hotel room. After greeting the students, the
teacher wrote some key words and phrases of the topic on the board. While he
was writing he was also saying them loud. In the meanwhile, students were
taking notes. The teacher chose a different way of using the board. After writing
some keywords on the top part of the board he divided the board in four columns
and started to write the phrases and moved to another column and keeps writing
so he didn’t block the same part of the board for a long time. After writing he
moved from column one to three and from three to one. In this way, all of the
students could see what was written and they managed to finish writing only a
few seconds after the teacher because they didn’t have to wait for the teacher
to move away from the board to see. He also gave number to each phrase. Examine
the illustrations to visualize the action in your mind.
Illustration
1:
cost, shower, balcony, housekeeping, check, check
in, check out, forbidden
|
|||
1.How much does it cost per night?
3.Is housekeeping always available?
5. I want to check in.
7. Is it forbidden to invite friends?”
|
2.Does it have a balcony?
4. Can I see the room?
6. What time can I check out?
|
||
The keywords were cost, shower, balcony, housekeeping,
check, check in, check out, forbidden. The phrases were “How much does it cost
per night?”, “Does it have a balcony?”, “Is housekeeping always available?”,
“Can I check the room?”, “I want to check in.”, “What time can I check out?”,
Is it forbidden to invite friends?”
The teacher stood in front of the students and looked
at them. He told them to lean back and put their hands on their desks. The
teacher started to speak and the students started to listen. He also warned
them not to take any notes in Turkish.
“Look at
the top part now…to the keywords. cost maliyet, shower, balcony, housekeeping,
check control etmek or hesap, chech in, check out and finally forbidden yasak.”
After this short explanation the teacher and the
students had a repeat after me exercise. This time teacher didn’t use Turkish.
Then, he continued by saying:
“Now,
concentrate on the phrases. The first one is How much does it cost per night? Tek
gecelik ücret ne kadar? Does it have balcony?Balkonu var mı? , Is housekeeping
always available? Oda bakımı herzaman müsait mi? Can I see the room? Odayı
görebilir miyim? , I want to check in? Giriş yapmak istiyorum. What time can I
check out? Ne zaman çıkış yapabilirim?, Is it forbidden to invite friends?
Arkadaş davet etmek yasak mı?”
Then he wrote the possible answers to form a dialogue
on the board such as “It costs 30$ per night.”, “Yes it has a balcony.”, “No,
it doesn’t have a balcony.” “Yes, it is always available.”, “Yes, you can check
the room.”, “Of course, give me your identity, please.”, “You can check out at
11 pm.”, “Yes, it is forbidden to invite friends.” This time he moved from column 2 to column 4
for the students to see clearly preventing to be standing and writing in the
same spot blocking the board from the same angle that some of the students must
see to write.
Illustration
2:
cost, shower, balcony, housekeeping, check, check
in, check out, forbidden
|
|||
1. How much does it cost per night?
3. Is housekeeping always available?
5. I want to check in.
7. Is it forbidden to invite friends?”
|
It costs 30$ per night.
Yes, it is always available
Of course, give me your identity, please.
Yes, it is forbidden to invite friends.
|
2. Does it have a balcony?
4. Can I see the room?
6. What time can I check out?
|
Yes it has a balcony
No, it doesn’t have a balcony.
Yes, you can see the room.
You can check out at 11 pm.
|
Then the teacher asked the students to repeat after him.
After that, he applied the method once again.
“It costs
30$ per night gece başı 30 dolar. Yes it has a balcony evet balkonu var. No, it
doesn’t have a balcony. Yes, it is always available evet herzaman müsait. Yes,
you can check the room evet odayı control edebilirsiniz. Of course, give me
your identity, please tabi ki, kimliğinizi verin lütfen. You can check out at
11 pm akşam 11de çıkış yapabilirsiniz. Yes, it is forbidden to invite friends
evet arkadaş getirmek yasak.
Now, I am
the customer. Customer müşteri. And you are the tourist. You must answer all
together.”
After each question that was asked by the teacher
students gave answers loudly all together. Later on, they changed the roles.
The students asked the questions of the customer and the teacher gave the
answers.
Making sure that output after input also occurred, the
teacher finished the class by telling them next lesson they had to come to the
board one by one and act out the created dialogue with good pronunciation and
intonation. For that, students wrote the sample dialogue below to let the students
make use of it.
Sample
dialogue that is written on the board:
A:
How much does it cost per night?
B:
It costs 30$ per night.
A:
Does it have balcony?
B:
Yes it has a balcony/No, it doesn’t have a balcony
A:
Is housekeeping always available?
B:
Yes, it is always available
A:
Can I see the room?
B:
Yes, you can check the room
A:
I want to check in.
B:
Of course, give me your identity, please.
A:
What time can I check out?
B:
You can check out at 11 pm.
A:
Is it forbidden to invite friends?
B:
Yes, it is forbidden to invite friends.
After the break, students did what they were told to
do at the end of the previous hour. The teacher kept the dialogue on the board
and continued with a new instruction.
“Now, you are going to come to the board with pairs again
but this time I want you to change some parts of the dialogue to make new ones
because we don’t use the same words or phrases all the time. In this way the
teacher wanted the students to be exposed the language. Forcing them in a good
way to use the language would be a good way to activate a more efficient output
from the students.
Here are some of the sample dialogues that were
created by the students by using the dialogue that was already written on the
board.
Dialogue
by the students 1:
A:
How much should I pay per night?
B:
You should pay 20$.
A:
Does the room have balcony?
B:
Yes it has no balconies.
A:
When is housekeeping available?
B:
Only at 2 pm.
A:
Can I check the room, please?
B:
Sure, you can check the room.
A:
I want to check in, please.
B:
Of course, but I need your identity.
A:
What time can I check out?
B:
Check out time is 11 pm.
A:
Is it forbidden to invite my friends?
B:
Yes, it is forbidden to invite anybody.
Dialogue
by the students 2:
A:
How much for one night?
B:
25$ will be enough.
A:
What about balcony?
B:
Yes it has a good balcony.
A:
Is housekeeping always available?
B:
Yes, it is always from 1 to 3 pm.
A:
Can I see the room?
B:
Definitely, you can check the room.
A:
I would like to check in.
B:
Of course, give me your passport, please.
A:
When can I check out?
B:
You must check out at 10 pm.
A:
Is it OK to invite friends?
B:
Unfortunately, it is forbidden.
Dialogue
by the students 3:
A:
How much does it cost for one night?
B:
25$ on weekdays. 30$ at the weekends.
A:
With a balcony?
B:
No, it is without a balcony.
A:
Is housekeeping always available?
B:
No, it is not.
A:
Can I go and see the room?
B:
Yes, let me show you.
A:
I want to stay for one night.
B:
Of course, fill the form, please.
A:
What time can I check out?
B:
Between 10 and 11 pm.
A:
Is it forbidden to call my brother over?
B:
You must tell us first.
Dialogue
by the students 4:
A:
How much does it cost per night?
B:
One night is 50$.
A:
With a balcony, right?
B:
No, it doesn’t have a balcony
A:
When is housekeeping available?
B:
Yes, it is available 7/24
A:
Can you show me the room?
B:
Sure, let’s go together.
A:
I wanna to check in.
B:
Of course, give me your identity and passport, please.
A:
What time must I check out?
B:
You must check out at 11.30 am.
A:
Is it forbidden to invite my friends?
B:
No, it is against our policy.
After hearing such dialogues from the students, the
teacher told the students that next day they had to come to the board and have
a similar conversation about checking in a hotel without any assisting dialogues
and so on, only speaking.
E)
EVALUATION
OF THE CLASS
·
It shows the learners that there is not only one way
to say or understand something.
·
Learners get motivated and keep the motivation because
there are always things to be understood.
·
Learners practice the words and sentences related to
each topic by repeating after the teacher. In this way, they learn and practice
pronunciation, word stress and sentence intonation.
·
Learners follow a path from with a lot of help to less
help and then finally to no help while they try to use the language.
·
Teachers do not move to other topics without
sufficient amount of repetition.
·
The pedagogical progress follows the four efficient
and essential steps that are listen, understand, learn and practice thinking
that learners must listen very carefully to actualize understanding because
understanding something is completely impossible without listening knowing that
knowledge is never that same, on the contrary it always evolves. Thusly, learners
always know that there can always be something they do not know inside
something else that they know.
·
As well as from the teachers, learners learn from each
other.
·
It enhances learners’ speaking capacity.
·
Input is not more than output.
·
It is open for practicing and revising out of the
school as well.
·
Learners have an opportunity to make research on
language to make new sentences and they can always improve themselves.
