The book “Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching” by Diane Larsen-Freeman is devoted to different methods and approaches of language teaching which can be useful for teachers of foreign languages. According to the author, the book should also make its readers think about the approach to language teaching more and finally work out their own unique method or a set of methods which will accord to their personal beliefs and convictions regarding language teaching. In order to present the book as a useful instrument in teaching, the author also provides a system of techniques which can be implemented in the learning process at once.
The book consists of Acknowledgments, “To the Teacher Educator” section, introduction, ten chapters devoted to methods and approaches, the conclusion, and the appendix.
In the section “To the Teacher Educator” the author shares her ideas with her readers – presumably, teachers – and explain why it is necessary for a teacher to study this field and read this book and how much this edition is different from the previous one.
In the introduction the goals of the book are set, the connection between the thought and the action is defined. The author also examines a method as a coherent set of links between thoughts and actions and explains what the book is devoted to and how the methods will be applied in the classroom.
In all the above-mentioned chapters the author provides a vivid example of this or that method in the classroom, shares a few exercises based on the principles discussed, offers the teachers to compare the situations to their actual work in class, and even provides the activities for readers for better comprehension of the chapter and the practical application. At the beginning of each part there is a short introduction and historical overview of the method or approach. Each method is thoroughly studied from various perspectives: the goal, the role of the teacher, the learning process as it is, the interaction between the teacher and the students, the feeling of a student, the role of the language and the culture, the language areas and skills emphasized, the role of the native language, the evaluation of the students’ progress, and the correction of their errors.
In chapters 10 and 11 a few approaches and strategies are examined: a content-based, a task-based, and a participatory based approach; learning strategy training, cooperative learning, and multiple intelligences. Each type is studied and illustrated; the scholar also provides the interaction of the basic principles of the approach and their realization in real-life situations. At the end of the chapter the author, as always, suggests the readers evaluating the content and applying it to their class work. References for each approach are also provided.
In the conclusion the author provides a comparative table of the methods and approaches viewed in the book regarding the factors of language/culture use, language learning, and language teaching. Further on, the author compares the techniques and methods and finds similarities and differences. In the appendix the author offers a list of additional literature which may help to study this or that approach more comprehensively (Larsen-Freeman).
The information in the book may help a teacher of the second language or a teacher of the foreign language to versify and adapt their class work to various needs and various classes and grades. What is more important, there is not only theory and simple text, but also helpful exercises which can be applied the same day and tips for practical application which help a teacher successfully utilize this or that method in real life.
The book was positively received by the public as well. Ana Gabriela Romero de La Mora considers it an excellent book for teachers and believes it will be useful both for young and more or less experiences specialists. So, the reviewer recommends this book for people specializing or interested in teaching foreign languages (De La Mora).
Elizabeth M. Kissling also recommends this book as a very useful instrument for teachers of second language. However, the reviewer suggests working on some techniques more and providing more profound analysis and explanation. Besides, the author advises to add more ideas of practical implementation. In general, the book is positively evaluated by Kissling and advised for novice language teachers (Kissling 6-7).
As far as I am concerned, it is a very good book for any teacher of the foreign language. It contains not only classical and habitual approaches to language teaching (like grammar-translation method), but also more up-to-date and more interesting viewpoints and ideas which may enhance the work of the teacher. Thus, some specialists may find it interesting just to get acquainted with and some may apply some information from the book. Moreover, the information is provided in a very clear and systematical way so that it sometimes looks like an instruction, which is advantageous for practical utilization. What I also liked about the book is the absence of dry and emotionless, pure theoretical and scientific descriptions of the methods – each approach and idea is illustrated through true-to-life situations in class and pseudo-real communication examples, like dialogues. It enables even the least experienced specialists comprehend the gist and at once see the sample. Thus, I would recommend any English-speaking teacher of foreign languages read it and analyze his/her work with a few ideas taken in this book.
Works Cited
Kissling, Elizabeth M. "Review of Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching, Third Edition." LINGUIST List: 23.2741 (2012). Web. 13 May 2016.
De La Mora, Ana Gabriela Romero. "Book Review: Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching by Diane Larsen-Freeman." Lic. Docencia En El Idioma Inglés. Web. 13 May 2016.
Larsen-Freeman, Diane. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford U, 2000. Print.
