'A language teaching method is a single set of procedures which teachers are to

follow in the classroom. Methods are usually based on a set of beliefs about the
nature of language and learning.'

Ask teachers what method they subscribe to, and most will answer either that they
don’t follow a method at all, or that they are 'eclectic', and pick and choose from
techniques and procedures associated with a variety of different methods. Some might
add that, essentially, their teaching follows the principles laid down by the
communicative approach, itself a mixed bag, embracing anything from drills to
communicative tasks, and everything in between. But the concept of a single,
prescriptive ‘method’ - as in the Direct Method or the Oral Method – seems now to be
dead and buried.

The end of methods

The demise of method is consistent with the widely held view that we are now in a
'post-method' era. Thus, as long ago as 1983, Stern declared that 'several developments
indicate a shift in language pedagogy away from the single method concept as the main
approach to language teaching' (1983, p. 477). One such development was the failure,
on the part of researchers, to find any significant advantage in one method over another.
As Richards (1990) noted, 'studies of the effectiveness of specific methods have had a
hard time demonstrating that the method itself, rather than other factors, such as the
teacher’s enthusiasm, or the novelty of the new method, was the crucial variable' (p.
36). Moreover, recognition of the huge range of variables that impact on second
language learning fuelled a general disenchantment with the notion of a 'quick fix', or
what, in the social sciences, is sometimes called the 'technical-rational approach', i.e.
the notion that social change and improvement can be effected through the strict
application of scientific method. This had very much been the mind-set that impelled
the spread of audiolingualism, founded as it was on (now largely discredited) research
into animal behavior. The last decades of the last century, however, witnessed a
challenge to 'scientism' in the social sciences, a challenge associated with the advent of
postmodernism, and its rejection of the idea of universalist, objective knowledge.
Accordingly, Pennycook (1989) argued that methods are never 'disinterested', but serve
the dominant power structures in society, leading to 'a de-skilling of the role of teachers,
and greater institutional control over classroom practice'(p. 610).

The post method era

At around the same time, Kumaravadivelu (1994) identified what he called the 'post
method condition', a result of 'the widespread dissatisfaction with the conventional
concept of method' (p. 43). Rather than subscribe to a single set of procedures, post
method teachers adapt their approach in accordance with local, contextual factors, while
at the same time being guided by a number of 'macro strategies'. Two such macro
strategies are 'Maximise learning opportunities' and 'Promote learner autonomy'. And in
a much-cited paper in 1990, Prabhu argued that there is no one method, but that
individual teachers fashion an approach that accords uniquely with their 'sense of
plausibility.'

Nevertheless, and in spite of the claims of the post Methodists, the notion of method
does not seem to have gone away completely. In fact, it seems to be doggedly
persistent, even if the term itself is often replaced by its synonyms. In the on-line
advertising for language courses, for example, we find the following:

'Developed and used over years in the classroom, the earworms mbt® method has
shown phenomenal success….'
The Byki approach to learning languages… is the fastest possible way to lock foreign
words and phrases in your long-term memory.'

Byki is not the most well known language learning brand. An acronym for 'Before you
know it', Byki plans to have a language course available for every single language on
the planet. It is a noble goal, but they are on track. With languages such as
Swedish, Thai and Latin already available, Byki has a range of languages like no other.
Although they many languages, does the software actually work?

First Steps

When I first got the Byki language software I was pleased with how fast and simple it
was to install. The program seemed to be professional and it was positive to see that the
software works on both PC and Mac. This is very welcome for the many Apple users
who get fed up with not having an affordable alternative to the big software programs.
On top of this, there are ample updates for the software so you know that you are going
to be supported with the software for a few years to come.

The Byki Method

When I loaded up Byki I was presented with the Byki method, which seems to consist
of three steps; 'preview it', 'recognize it' and 'produce it'. 'Preview it' involves looking
through a series of interactive flashcards which are read out by a native speaker. These
flashcards contain both the phrase or word in the language and the English equivalent
below. The idea is that you just read through them and think about them. After a while
this can get a little repetitive but a helpful progress meter on the right hand side helps
you get through them.

The next step is 'recognize it' which involves viewing just the foreign language phrase
or word, and then having to flip the flashcard to see what the English equivalent is. This
is good because you are not forced to take any action yet; you only need to think in your
head what the answer may be.

The final step is 'produce it', which is where you are given either an English or foreign
language phrase or word and have to translate it. This three step method gradually
increases in difficulty and allows for the user to properly solidify their memory of
words and phrases.

What you will learn

Different language programs teach different things. Some will give you a good
grounding in Grammar whereas others will teach you a lot of vocabulary. The language
content you learn with Byki will not be comprehensive. At the end of the course you
will not be fluent in the language, but this is not the aim. Few language learning
programs will give you a complete knowledge of the language and Byki is designed to
give you a basic foundation that will last you into the future. With Byki, you will
probably need further instruction but at such a good price, Byki is worth it.

With Byki you will learn mostly vocabulary, but you will also learn a lot of grammar.
The method of learning is gentle and you will not really be aware that you are learning,
but you will find that you can make basic conversation and understand much of the
language after using the software. Using Byki can actually be quite enjoyable, and I
even started using the software to get a break from work!
Features

Byki contains a lot of features to help you learn your language of choice. There are a
number of games and different learning methods so that you can customize Byki to help
you learn in the way that you learn best. One of the most impressive features of Byki is
the speech recognition component. Designed to help users who do not have much
contact with native speakers of the language, the speech recognition allows the user to
practice with a computer microphone and see a graph which tells them how close they
were to pronouncing it correctly. Although it is not always completely accurate and can
be somewhat frustrating, the speech recognition is as good as other programs I have
tried such as Rosetta Stone.

Tracking your progress

This is what I like most about Byki; the ability to track your progress. Byki seems to
remember pretty much everything that you type in, and you can look back to see which
words you need to work on again and which words you have learnt. Byki separates
these words into 'Fresh' and 'Stale' and reminds you when it thinks a word might need to
be reviewed because you had difficulty with it. On top of this, you can print lists of
words that you find difficult and print individual flip cards, which makes learning on-
the-go very simple and easy.

Criticisms of Byki

Byki is an excellent piece of software but there are a few things that are not
ideal. Firstly I don't really like the interface that much. The program is very easy to use
but I feel that the interface could look just a little a bit better. It certainly doesn't really
catch your eye. Another problem is the fact that it does not teach you very much
advanced content. Despite this, I don't really think that it is a big issue because it
teaches you enough to get by in the language and does not cost or take up nearly as
much space as its competitors.

Conclusions

In conclusion, I think that Byki is a really good value product. Retailing at around $69,
it is truly good value. Sure it is not as advanced as Rosetta Stone but it costs less than a
quarter of the price and provides almost as good of a learning experience. Despite a few
flaws, its ability to be customised and to remember everything that you have learnt
makes it an impressive and powerful new product. If you are looking for a cheap
supplement to your language learning, then you should consider this software.

'Rosetta Stone software is built around a concept called Dynamic Immersion, an [sic]
unique learning method that uses a computer to mimic the ways in which you learnt
your first language.

It seems that – in the public mind, at least – the method concept is not dead. As Block
(2001) notes, 'while method has been discredited at an etic level (that is in the thinking
and nomenclature of scholars), it certainly retains a great deal of vitality at the grass-
roots, emic level (that is, it is still part of the nomenclature of lay people and teachers)'
(p. 72). This is a view echoed by Bell (2007) who interviewed a number of teachers on
the subject, and concluded:

'Methods, however the term is defined, are not dead. Teachers seem to be aware of both
the usefulness of methods and the need to go beyond them.' (p. 143).
On the other hand, in a recent paper, Akbari (2008) suggests that, in EFL contexts such
as Iran, it is textbooks that have largely replaced methods in their traditional sense:

'The concept of method has not been replaced by the concept of post method but rather
by an era of textbook-defined practice. What the majority of teachers teach and how
they teach... are now determined by textbooks' (p. 647).

Textbooks and método

In fact, the conflation of method with textbook is an idea with a long history, especially
in the Spanish-speaking world, where the two concepts share a single name: método.
Direct Method and Grammar-Translation courses, in particular, were often named after
their progenitor, as in El Método Kucera (Barcelona, 1954), El Método Girau
(Barcelona, 1925), and the El Método Massé-Dixon (Barcelona, n.d.).

I, too, contend that the concept of method is not only alive and well, but has been
reincarnated in the form of course books, such that it would be valid to talk about the
Soars and Soars Method, or the Cunningham and Moor Method, since it is course
book series like Headway and Cutting Edge that – more than any other factor –
determine and define current teaching practice. That is to say, rather than the método
embodying a specific method, the método is the method.

What is a method?
What is it; after all, that defines a method? In their Dictionary of Language Teaching
and Applied Linguistics (2002), Richards and Schmidt make the reasonable claim that
'different methods of language teaching... result from different views of:

a. the nature of language

b. the nature of second language learning
c. goals and objectives in teaching
d. the type of syllabus to use
e. the role of teachers, learners, instructional materials
f. the activities, techniques and procedures to use'

Even a cursory glance at their content and at the way they are marketed confirms the
fact that the writers and publishers of course books take particular positions, either
explicitly or implicitly, with regard to each of these areas. The theory of language that
course books instantiate, for example, is clear from their contents pages, where
language is typically construed as a system of 'accumulated entities' (Rutherford, 1987),
or what I have referred to elsewhere as grammar McNuggets. As Basturkmen (1999)
concluded, after reviewing the cover blurbs of a number of current course books, 'the
emphasis [is] on the underlying generative base or language rules rather than on surface
level aspects of use' (p. 34).

Course books and second language learning

The 'nature of second language learning', as evidenced from course books, seems
generally to follow a cognitive model, where declarative knowledge is proceduralised
through successive practice activities. The back cover of Inside Out (Kay and Jones,
2001), for example, makes the claim that 'easy-to-use exercises put rules into practice –
and are then recycled as speaking activities'. As for 'the goals and objectives of language
learning', these tend to be loosely aligned with those of the communicative approach.
Inside Out, for example, 'has been designed to develop real-life communicative skills
and powers of self-expression' (Kay and Jones, op. cit), while Cutting Edge
(Cunningham and Moor, 1998) aims at 'improved confidence and fluency' as well as 'a
clearer understanding of how language is used'. (There is, of course, no recognition that
the discrete-item focus of the syllabus might be at odds with these more holistic
objectives.) With regard to the syllabus, the grammar 'canon' predominates, but the
influence of the lexical approach (Lewis, 1993) and of corpus linguistics is now
apparent. Innovations (Dellar and Hocking, 2000) 'has a strongly lexical syllabus,
presenting and practicing hundreds of natural expressions which students will find
immediately useful', and Natural English (Gairns and Redman, 2002a) offers 'a new
syllabus area called natural English – accessible, high-frequency phrases which
intermediate students can pick up and use'.

The role of the teacher

The 'role of teachers, learners and instructional materials' is most clearly demonstrated
in the Teacher’s Book component, where the teacher’s role is both didactic and
facilitative, and serves primarily to mediate the course book materials, by, for example,
explaining, demonstrating and modelling language items, and by setting up and
monitoring student interactions. For example (from Gairns and Redman, 2002b):

'Once learners have thought about exercise 1, go over the language in the natural
English box. You could model the phrases and replies yourself and ask learners to
repeat them, then practice the two-line dialogues across the class' (p. 24).

The guidelines typically construe the teacher as the locus of control in the classroom
and even at times imply that the learners are potentially disruptive:

'Don’t let the false beginners dominate the real beginners or pull you along too
quickly… Encourage [the false beginners] to concentrate on areas where they can
improve (e.g. pronunciation) and don’t let them think they know it all!' [Oxenden and
Seligson, 1996, p. 15]

Nevertheless, occasional reference is made to the need to encourage learner agency and
autonomy. For example, 'Choices within tasks encourage learners to take charge of
interactions' (Kay and Jones, op. cit). Unsurprisingly, though, the coursebook forms the
core component of instruction: it is both the medium and the message.

Finally, the types of 'activities, techniques and procedures to use' draw on a range of
methodological approaches (but scarcely ever involve translation, or encourage the use
of, or any reference to, the learners’ L1). The influence of the communicative approach
appears to be strong, with most courses including information-gap tasks, and texts that,
if not authentic, attempt to simulate the same. There is a strong skills focus, and the
distribution of the material is weighted more towards skills-based activities than
language-focused ones. The dominant model for representing English is a native-
speaker one, and both the topics and the design of the materials reflect an 'aspirational
culture' (Gray, 2002) of travel, consumerism and popular culture.

Conclusions
Here, then, are the ingredients of a method, enshrined in a método. Teachers who claim
not to be following a method, but who are using a coursebook, are as much method-
bound as the Direct Method practitioners of Berlitz’s day, or the Audiolingualists of
Lado’s. Of course, teachers will argue that they use coursebooks selectively, in
accordance with their own principles as well as the needs of the learners. Fair enough,
but however selective a teacher is, he or she is still tied to a theory of language,
embodied in the way that the course selects and describes language, and to a theory of
learning, as manifested in the way the course prioritises certain types of activity over
others.
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