A brief Talk On ELT Theories!

There is a constant clash among the group of theorists and the practitioners of English language teaching. According to the theorists, the practitioners, sometimes, do not have enough cognitive ability to understand the psychoanalytical condition of learners. On the other hand, the practitioners believe that the theorists are not adequately expressed to the practical situation. From the point of view of a practitioner, the hypothesis made by the theorists hardly matches with the real life situation. While the theorist emphasis on analytical ability of teachers to implement their hypothesis. However, it is very unfortunate that the output of the hypothesis is expected without providing the space and privileges mentioned in the hypothesis for the practitioners. There is no doubt that the theories of English" language teaching (ELT) are introduced to improve teaching and learning methods but the collective benefits are yet to be achieved. Moreover, traditional education system and designed curriculum are highly examination based. Therefore, it becomes impossible to apply the theories of English language teaching (ELT) and to make students prepare for traditional assessment simultaneously. At the same time, a particular theory focuses on a particular skill of language and it can hardly focus on other skills of language. For example, Grammar Translation Method (GTM) highly focuses on accuracy but unfortunately fluency gets less importance in this method. On the other hand, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) emphasizes on communication skills and fluency paying less attention on grammar. Similarly, Audio-Lingual Method and Task-Based Method focus on drills and exercises in a given situation and can hardly cope with an unexpected situation. There is no doubt that these theories have some positive output but it is not wise to follow them blindly. Therefore, a practitioner or a teacher needs to be very sensible and develop his own style, techniques and methods depending on different types of theories and real life situation to ensure maximum benefits to the students.