TOPIC 1

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE TEACHING.

CURRENT TRENDS IN THE TEACHING OF
ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. THE
COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH.

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1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. General aims.
1.2. Aims of the unit.
2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE T E A C H I N G .
2.1. Key issues: approaches vs. methods.
2.2. Up to the eighteenth century: The spread of English language teaching in Europe.
2.2.1. Ancient Times.
2.2.2. Europe in Early Times. The decline of Latin.
2.3. The nineteenth century: Approaches and Methods on language teaching.
2.3.1. The Grammar-Translation method.
2.3.2. Individual reformers: Marcel, Prendergast and Gouin.
2.3.3. The Reform Movement: Sweet, Vitor and Passy. The role of phonetics.
2.3.4. The Direct Method. Natural methods from Montaigne to Berlitz.

3. CURRENT TRENDS IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE.

3.1. The twentieth century: Language Teaching Methods
3.1.1. The influence of sociology and psychology on language teaching.
3.1.2. Approaches and theories of language and language learning.
3.1.2.1. Approaches of language and language learning.
3.1.2.2. Influential theories on language learning.
3.1.3. The Oral Approach and Situational Language teaching method.
3.1.4. The Audiolingual method.
3.1.5. Total Physical Response.
3.1.6. The Silent Way.
3.1.7. Community Language Learning.
3.1.8. Suggestopedia

4. THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH.

4.1. The Communicative Language Teaching A p p r o a c h .

5. NEW DIRECTIONS ON LANGUAGE TEACHING.

5.1. Task based approach
5.2. Project based approach
5.3. Computer assisted language learning
5.4. Flipped learning

6. CONCLUSION.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

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 1. INTRODUCTION.

1.1. General Aims.

The learning of a foreign language is part of the traditional curriculum within all organic laws. To
justify the use of other languages from their contribution to the improvement of the linguistic skills does not
seem enough when the European Union has established as European targets, the improvement in the
knowledge of the European languages, the increasing of mobility among states and the building of European
citizenship.
On the other hand, the incorporation of these languages in the media and its more frequent use in other
fields such as music and technological devices, contributes to increase the interest of the students and to
guarantee their necessity from motivation.
We as teachers must make students communicative competent in one foreign language and allow their
access to a second one.
According to the current legislation, the teaching of languages therefore, has as its goal the
development of the communicative competence to facilitate its use in social activity, from the knowledge of
the context in which it develops, without forgetting the possibility of contemplating them as learning vehicles.
These matters contribute to develop the capacities contemplated in the general objectives of the area in
relation with the use of the listening, speaking, conversing, reading and writing skills in a correct manner
within the foreign language and to pursue values of respect to language diversity and to generalize the whole
of the linguistic abilities.
The contents of the subject answer to the communicative approach in languages in coherence with
what is established in the Common European framework of languages. It is about giving priority to
communication using linguistic skills and abilities which are common to all languages in the right way. This
organization gives answer to programming criteria and in any case, does it determine communicative practice
in the class.

1.2. Aims of the topic.

The present work aims to provide a detailed account of the evolution of language from its
origins, as an object of study, to a theory of language teaching. As Albert C. Baugh (1993) states, the
basis for an understanding of present-day English and for an enlightened attitude towards questions
affecting the language today is a knowledge of its origins.

A historical and cultural setting links the nature of language to a theory of language teaching and
a tradition in teaching English as a foreign language from ancient roots to present-day trends. To do so,
subsequent sections will enable us to become better informed about the different methods, approaches and
language acquisition theories on English teaching as a foreign language at different periods, where special
attention is paid to present-day communicative approaches. For extensive comments, within the
framework of different research fields, new directions on language teaching are offered to reflect the
learners need within the current educational system. In a final section, a conclusion examines the
strengths and weaknesses of methods and approaches from a broad perspective.

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2. THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE T E A C H I N G .

It was around the fifth century B.C that in ancient India the early states of language were written
down as a set of rules. This was, in fact, a grammar of Sanskrit whose effects went far beyond the
original intentions of the authors. According to Howatt (1984), a thorough education consists not only
of the acquisition of knowledge, but the physical, mental, emotional, moral, and social development of the
individual. Hence, the early Greek aim was to prepare intellectually young people to take leading roles
in the activities of the state and of society, and Romans considered the teaching of rhetoric and oratory
important, with particular attention to the development of character.

In the seventeenth century, Jan Amos Komensky (1592-1670), commonly known as Comenius, is
often said to be the founder of the Didactics of Language; for him, the word didactics means the
art of teaching. Language study and therefore, language teaching was to be promoted in subsequent
centuries through the fields of philosophy, logic, rhetoric, sociology, and religion, among others,
providing the framework for the main task of linguistic scholars. This was basically to study and
understand the general principles upon which all languages are built and in doing so, teach them better.
Some of those methodological and theoretical principles and ideas are still used in modern linguistics
nowadays.

2.1. Key issues: approaches vs. methods.

The extent and importance of the evolution of language teaching, and therefore, the teaching of
English as a foreign language, make it reasonable to define some key concepts within this issue. Many
theories about the learning and teaching of languages have been proposed from a historical perspective and
many changes in language teaching methods have occurred as well as changes in the kind of learners
needs. Developments in other fields such as linguistics, psychology, anthropology, and sociology have
been the source of many methods and approaches which searched continuously the most effective
method for students to learn a new language. The study of these theories is called today applied
linguistics.
A central concept to this process was that of method and was defined by Howatt (1984) as the
notion of a systematic set of teaching practices based on a particular theory of language and language
learning. The search for innovations to find more efficient and effective ways of teaching languages
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preoccupied teachers and applied linguistics throughout the 20 century.
Approaches are language teaching philosophies that might be interpreted and applied in a variety
of different ways in the classroom. Both methods and approaches are linked, in turn, to a set of design
features which describes the underlying nature of language teaching methodology, for instance, learning
objectives, syllabus specifications, types of activities, roles of teachers, learners, materials, procedures and
techniques used. The proliferation of approaches and methods is a relevant characteristic of contemporary
second and foreign language teaching.

2.2. Up to the eighteenth century: The spread of English language teaching in Europe.
2.2.1. Ancient Times.

As we have stated previously, language teaching traces back to ancient civilizations. As Richards &
Rodgers (1992) state, the function of the earliest educational systems was primarily to teach religion and

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to promote the traditions of the people. Thus, in the Old Testament, one of the aims and methods of
education among the ancient Jewish traditions was to teach their children a foreign language.
During the Middle Ages (15th-16th century), the early educational systems of the nations of the
Western world emanated from the Judea-Christian religious traditions, which were combined with
traditions derived from ancient Greece philosophers like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. According to
Howatt (1984), Christianity in the Middle Ages became a powerful force in the countries of the
Mediterranean region and other areas in Europe. Many monastic schools, as well as municipal and
cathedral schools, were founded during the centuries of early Christian influence. Teachings, then, centered
on grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music, and the chief storehouse of
learning were the monasteries, which maintained archives that preserved many manuscripts of the
preceding classical culture, and during this period universities were established in several countries, such
as Italy, Spain, France and England. Medieval education also took the form of apprenticeship training in
some craft or service. As a rule, however, education was the privilege of the upper classes, and most
members of the lower classes had no opportunity for formal learning.

2.2.2. Europe in Early Times. The decline of Latin.

During the Renaissance period educators emphasized such subjects as history, geography, music,
and physical training, and taught mostly in Latin grammar schools. Montaigne, among others, in the
sixteenth century and Comenius and John Locke in the seventeenth century, promoted alternative
approaches to education, making specific proposals for curriculum reform and for changes in the way
Latin was taught (Howatt 1984), but since Latin had for so long been regarded as the classical and
therefore most ideal form of language, the role of language study in the curriculum reflected the long-
established status of Latin.
Beginning around the 16th century, French, Italian, and English gained in importance because of
political changes in Europe, and Latin gradually became displaced as a language of spoken and written
communication.
During the 17th century there was a rapid growth of scientific knowledge, which gave rise to its
inclusion in courses in the universities of the European countries and led to the exchange and spread of
scientific and cultural ideas throughout Europe. Children entering grammar school in the sixteenth,
seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries in England were initially given a rigorous introduction to Latin
grammar (Howatt 1984) and were often met with brutal punishment. Latin was said to develop
intellectual abilities, and the study of Latin grammar became an end in itself.

2.3. The nineteenth century: Approaches and Methods on language teaching.

2.3.1. The Grammar-Translation method.

As modern languages began to enter the curriculum of European schools in the eighteenth century,
they were taught using the same basic procedures that were used for teaching Latin. Emphasis was on
learning grammar rules, lists of vocabulary, and sentences for translation which usually had little
relationship to the real world. Speaking the foreign language was not the goal, and oral practice was
limited to students reading aloud the sentences they had translated. This method came to be known as
the grammar-translation method and was the offspring of German scholarship.

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 The grammar-translation method was the dominant foreign language teaching method in Europe
from the 1840s to the 1940s, and a version of it continues to be widely used in some parts of the world.
As Richards & Rodgers (1992) points out, it is still used nowadays where understanding literary texts
is the primary focus of foreign language study. However, there is no literature that offers a rationale or
justification for it or that attempts to relate it to issues in linguistics, psychology, or educational theory.
Consequently, it has no advocates, as it is a method for which there is no theory.
The main failures of the method are that it does not sound natural to a native speaker; produces
difficult mistakes to eradicate; tedious experience of memorizing endless lists of unusable grammar rules
and vocabulary; and little stress on accurate pronunciation; and often creates frustration and
demotivation for students.

2.3.2. Individual reformers: Marcel, Prendergast and Gouin.

In the mid-late nineteenth century, increased opportunities for communication among Europeans
created a demand for oral proficiency in foreign languages. The Grammar Translation method was
challenged by new approaches to language teaching developed by individual language teaching
specialists in several European countries. Some of these specialists, like C. Marcel, T. Prendergast, and
F. Gouin, did not manage, according to Richards & Rodgers (1992), to achieve any lasting impact, though
their ideas are of historical interest. It was difficult to overcome the attitude that Classical Latin was the
most ideal for the way language should be taught. (Howatt 1984).
The Frenchman Claude Marcel (1793-1896) emphasized the importance of meaning in learning,
proposing a rational method, and referring to child language learning as a model for language teaching.
The Englishman Thomas Prendergast (1806-1886) created a mastery system on a structural syllabus to
work on basic structural patterns occurring in the language. He was one of the
first to record the observation of children in speaking. The Frenchman Franois Gouin is perhaps the best
known of these reformers.

Gouins approach to teaching was based on his observations of childrens use of language. They
recognized the need for speaking proficiency rather than reading or writing, and there was an interest in
how children learn languages. Attempts to develop teaching principles from observation of child
language learning were made but these new ideas did not develop into an educational movement as there
was not sufficient organizational structure in the language teaching profession (i.e., in the form of
professional associations, journals, and conferences). However, this would change toward the end of the
nineteenth century, when a more concerted effort arose in which the interests of reform-minded
language teachers, and linguists, coincided.

2.3.3. The Reform Movement: Sweet, Vitor and Passy. The role of phonetics.

As the names of some of its leading exponents suggest (C. Marcel, T. Prendergast, and F. Gouin),
the Grammar Translation method was challenged, and eventually, with no success due to a lack of the
means for wider dissemination, acceptance and implementation of their new ideas on language teaching.
However, toward the end of the nineteenth century, teachers and linguists began to write about the need
for new approaches to language teaching, and through their pamphlets, books, speeches, and articles,
the foundation for more widespread pedagogical reforms was set up. This Reform Movement, as it is
known, laid the foundations for the development of new ways of teaching languages within the
Direct Method and raised controversies that have continued to the present day.

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 From the 1880s, an intellectual leadership gave greater credibility and acceptance to reformist
ideas thanks to linguists like Henry Sweet (1845-1912) in England, Wilhelm Vitor (1850-1918) in
Germany, and Paul Passy in France. Among the earliest goals of the association, we find the leading role
of phonetics within the teaching of modern languages; Sweet (1899) set forth principles for the
development of teaching methods based on sound methodological principles (an applied linguistic
approach). For Vitor, whose name is directly associated with a phonetic method, speech patterns were
the fundamental elements of language, stressing the value of training teachers in the new science of
phonetics. In general, the reformers believed that grammar had to be taught inductively, translation
avoided, and a language learning based on hearing the language first, before seeing it in written
forms.
These principles provided the theoretical foundations for a principled approach to language teaching,
one based on a scientific approach to the study of language. However, none of these proposals assumed
the status of a method. They reflect the beginnings of the discipline of applied linguistics. Parallel to the
ideas put forward by members of the Reform Movement was an interest in developing principles for
language teaching out of naturalistic principles of language learning, such as are seen in first language
acquisition. According to Rivers (1981), this led to natural methods and ultimately led to the development
of what we know as the Direct Method.

2.3.4. The Direct Method. Natural methods from Montaigne to Berlitz.

As we have stated before, these early reformers, who included Henry Sweet of England, Wilhelm
Vitor of Germany, and Paul Passy of France, believed that language teaching should be based on
scientific knowledge about language, that it should begin with speaking and expand to other skills, that
words and sentences should be presented in context, that grammar should be taught inductively, and that
translation should, for the most part, be avoided.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, linguists became interested in the problem of the best way to teach
languages. An increasing attention to naturalistic principles of language learning was given by other
reformers, and for this reason they are sometimes called advocates of a natural method. In fact,
several attempts to make second language learning more like first language learning had been made
throughout the history of language teaching. For instance, if we trace back to the sixteenth century, we
find out that the Frenchman Montaigne described his own experience on learning Latin for the first
years of his life as a process where he was exclusively addressed in Latin by a German tutor.

These ideas spread, and these natural language learning principles consolidated in what became
known as the Direct Method, the first of the "natural methods, both in Europe and in the United States.
It was quite successful in private language schools, and difficult to implement in public secondary
school education. Among those who tried to apply natural principles to language classes in America
were L. Sauveur (1826-1907) and Maximiliam Berlitz who promoted the use of intensive oral interaction
in the target language. Saveurs method became known as the Natural Method and was seriously
considered in language teaching. In his book An Introduction to the Teaching of Living Languages
without Grammar or Dictionary (1874), Saveur described how their students learnt to speak after a month
on intensive oral work in class, avoiding the use of the mother tongue, even for grammar explanations.
Berlitz, however, never used the term natural and named his method the Berlitz method (1878), and
it was known for being taught in private language schools, high-motivated clients, the use of native-

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speaking teachers, and no translation under any circumstances. In spite of his success, this method lacked
a basis in applied linguistic theory, and failed to consider the practical realities of the classroom.

In Europe, one of the best-known representatives of language teaching was Gouin who, in 1880
attempted to build a methodology around observation of child language learning when publishing L'art
d'enseigner et d'tudier les langues. He developed this technique after a long struggle trying to learn to
speak and understand German through formal grammar-based methods. However, their total failure and
his turning to observations of how children learn a second language is one of the most impressive
personal testimonials in the recorded annals of language learning.

According to Richards & Rodgers (1992), although the Direct Method enjoyed popularity in
Europe, not everyone had embraced it enthusiastically. In the 1920s and 1930s, the British applied
linguist Henry Sweet and other linguists recognized its limitations. They argued for the development of
sound methodological principles as the basis for teaching techniques. These linguists systematized the
principles stated earlier by the Reform Movement and so laid the foundations for what developed into the
British approach to teaching English as a foreign language. This would lead to Audiolingualism in the
United States and the Oral Approach or Situational Language Teaching in Britain. These models are the
aim of next sections.

3. CURRENT TRENDS IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE.

3.1. The twentieth century: Language Teaching Methods

In this section, we offer an overview of English language teaching since 1900, and specially of the
teaching of English as a foreign or second language. Since language is a part of society, and a part of
ourselves, we find a relationship between linguistics and other fields of study that shed light on the old
patterns and new directions in language teaching. During the twentieth century, different methods have
resulted from different approaches to language and language learning, and also to the influence of fields
such as sociology and psychology on the study of language. In the upcoming lines, we will turn to the
major approaches, teaching methods and theories on language acquisition that are in use today and
examine them according to how they reflect their methodology.

3.1.1. The influence of sociology and psychology on language teaching.

Since language is not an isolated phenomenon, we are committed to relate it to other aspects of
society, behavior and experience through the development of a theory between linguistics and other fields
of study, such as sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, philosophical linguistics, biological linguistics, and
mathematical linguistics. Among all the interdisciplinary subjects, two of them have strongly contributed
to the development of the study of language teaching, thus, sociology and psychology. The former,
sociolinguistics studies the ways in which language interacts with society in relation to race, nationality,
regional, social and political groups, and the interactions of individuals within groups. The latter,
psycholinguistics , focuses on how language is influenced by memory, attention, recall and constraints on
perception, and the extent to which language has a central role to play in the understanding of human
development.

Main researchers on the field of sociolinguistics are the American linguists Edwar Sapir and
Leonard Bloomfield within a tradition on Structuralism although they follow different lines. These

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grammarians claimed that every language consists of a series of unique structures and that the
construction of sentences follows certain regular patterns. However, Sapir points out how linguistics and
anthropology reflects the social aspect of language when dealing with race, culture and language, whereas
Bloomfields contribution is more scientific, clearly influenced by psychology theories.

In the field of psychology, behaviorism has had a great effect on language teaching as various
scientists in the early to mid-1900s did experiments with animals, trying to understand how animals
behaved under certain stimulus. Theorists as Ivan Pavlov and Skinner, believed that languages were
made up of a series of habits, and that if learners could develop all these habits, they would speak the
language well. Also, they believed that a contrastive analysis of languages would be invaluable in
teaching languages, and from these theories arose the audio -lingual method, examined in the following
sections.

Another interdisciplinary overlap, as Crystal (1985) states is psycholinguistics. It is a distinct area of

interest developed in the early sixties and in its early form covered from acoustic phonetics to language
pathology. Most of its researchers have been influenced by the development of generative theory where
the most important area is the investigation of the acquisition of language by children. Linguists such
as R. Ellis or Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrells contribution show an approach focusing on teaching
communicative abilities and emphasizing the primacy of meaning when second language acquisition is
on study. Chomskys view of linguistics is another important contribution to the study of the human mind,
as a branch of cognitive psychology, apart from showing the weaknesses of structural grammar.
Regarding the teaching of languages, the psychological approach is related to questions such as when
and how children develop their ability to ask questions syntactically, or when they learn the inflectional
systems of their language.

3.1.2. Approaches and theories of language and language learning.

3.1.2.1. Approaches of language and language learning.

We saw in the preceding sections the relationship between method and approach. Within the study
of language different methods resulted from different approaches as responses to a variety of historical
issues and circumstances. Since ancient times, linguists and language specialists sought to improve the
quality of language teaching, elaborating principles and theories that came into force from the nineteenth
century on. Linguists such as Palmer, Skinner, Chomsky, and Krashen among others, have contributed to
this development of present-day approaches which developed in current methods.

Following Richards & Rodgers (1992), theories about the nature of language and of language le
arning are the source of principles in language teaching. Within a theory of language, at least three
different theoretical views provide current approaches and methods in language teaching.

The first, the structural view, is the most traditional of the three. Within its theory, language is a
system of structurally related elements for the coding of meaning, and is defined in terms of phonological
and grammatical units, grammatical operations and lexical items. Some methods have embodied this
particular view of language over the years. Thus Audiolingualism, and contemporary methods as Total
Physical Response and the Silent Way, share this view of language. Supporters of this view are linguists

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such as Edwar Sapir and Leonard Bloomfield within a tradition on Structuralism although they follow
different lines, thus anthropological and linguistic respectively.

From the second, the functional view, language is seen as a vehicle for the expression of functional
meaning. A main tenet within this view is the notion of communication within a theory that emphasizes
the semantic and communicative dimension rather than merely the grammatical characteristics of
language. Content is also organized by categories of meaning and function rather than by elements of
structure and grammar.

The third, the interactional view, sees language as a vehicle for the realization of interpersonal
relations and for the performance of social transactions between individuals. Its main tenet is the
creation and maintenance of social relations focusing on the patterns of moves, acts, negotiation, and
interaction found in conversational exchanges.

In the words of Rivers (1981), the eclectic approach must be included on language teaching theory
due to its prominence on our present educational system. For her, some teachers experiment with novel
techniques for more successful teaching, retaining what they know from experience to be effective. This
approach is supported by an honorable ancestry, thus Henry Sweet and Harold Palmer. Its main tenets seek
the balanced development of all four skills at all stages, while retaining an emphasis on the early
development of aural-oral skills. Their methods are also adapted to the changing objectives of the day
and to the types of students who pass through their classes. Moreover, to be successful, an eclectic teacher
needs to be imaginative, energetic and willing to experiment. This approach is being currently applied to
language teaching as part of our present educational system, LOGSE, based on communicative methods.

3.1.2.2. Influential theories on language learning.

The four theories of language provide a theoretical framework to any particular teaching method
from a structural, functional, interactional and eclectic point of view. However, we must bear in mind that
they are incomplete in themselves and need to be complemented by theories of language learning. It is
to this dimension that we now turn.

A theory of language learning needs a psycholinguistic and cognitive approach to learning

processes, such as habit formation, induction, inferencing, hypothesis testing, and generalization. Most
of its researchers have been influenced by the development of generative theory where the most
important area is the investigation of the acquisition of language by children. The most prominent
figures in this field are, among others, Stephen Krashen, Tracy D. Terrell and Noam Chomsky.

Stephen D. Krashen developed a second language acquisition research as a source for learning
theories. He distinguishes two concepts here, acquisition and learning, where acquisition is seen as the
basic process involved in developing language proficiency. For him, it is the unconscious development of
the target language system as a result of using the language for real communication. Learning would be
related to the conscious representation of grammatical knowledge and non-spontaneous processes. He
developed the Monitor Model on which the Natural method was built.

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 Another theorist, Tracy D. Terrell is closely related to Krashen, since they both wrote a book
named The Natural Approach (1983), and their theories emphasize the nature of the human and physical
context in which language learning takes place. Their learning theory is supported by three main
principles. Firstly, they claim that comprehension precedes production (commonly known as input);
secondly, they state that production may emerge in stages and students are not forced to
speak before they are ready; and thirdly the fact that the course syllabus consists of
communicative goals, thus classroom activities are organized, by topic, not grammar (Krashen & Terrell
1983).

Chomskys view of linguistics is another important contribution to the study of the human mind, as
a branch of cognitive psychology. Apart from showing the weaknesses of structural grammar, Chomsky
demonstrated that creativity and individual sentences formation were fundamental characteristics of
language, not part of the structural theories of language. His approach provides a humanistic view of
teaching where priority is given to interactive processes of communication.

We also find other less influential theories reflected on methods, thus the Counseling-Learning and
Silent Way method which focus on the conditions to be held for successful learning without specifying
the learning processes. James Ashers Total Physical Response (1977) centers on both processes and
conditions aspects of learning. Thus coordinating language production with body movement and
physical actions is believed to provide the conditions for success in language learning.

Charles A. Currans approach, the Counseling-Learning (1972), focused mainly on creating the
conditions necessary for successful learning, such as a good atmosphere of the classroom, where
intimacy and security are a crucial factor together for students when producing language. The Silent Way
method, developed by Caleb Gattegno , is also built on a conscious control of learning to heighten
learning potential. We also observe some fringe methodologies sharing certain theories of language and
theories of language learning. For instance, the linking of structuralism and behaviorism which produced
Audiolingualism.

3.1.3. The Oral Approach and Situational Language teaching method.

This approach dates back to the 1920s and 1930s and develops a more scientific foundation for an
oral approach than the one evidenced in the Direct Method. Its most prominent figures are the British
applied linguists Harold Palmer and A.S. Hornby, who developed the basis for a principled approach to
methodology in language teaching. The terms Oral Approach or Situational Language Teaching are not
commonly used today, but the impact of the Oral Approach has been long lasting, and it has shaped the
design of many widely used textbooks and courses, including many still being used today.

Therefore, it is important to understand the principles and practices of this oral approach which
resulted from a systematic study of the lexical and grammatical content of a language course. This
approach involved principles of selection, organization and presentation of the material based on applied
linguistic theory and practice. Thus, the role of vocabulary was seen as an essential component of
reading proficiency, and parallel to this syllabus design was a focus on the grammatical content, viewed
by Palmer as the underlying sentence patterns of the spoken language. This classification of English
sentence patterns was incorporated into the first dictionary

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 for students of English as a foreign language, and some grammatical guides which became a
standard reference source for textbook writers.

The Oral Approach was the accepted British approach to English language teaching by the 1950s,
but in the sixties, another active proposal from Australia and termed situational, entered this approach
developing an influential set of teaching materials based on the notion of situation, linking structures to
situations. Its main leader was George Pittman, and its main characteristics were as follows: material is
taught orally before it is presented in written form; introduced and practiced situationally; and reading
and writing are introduced only when sufficient lexical and grammatical basis is established. The skills
are approached through structure.

This third principle became a key feature characterized as a type of British structuralism, in which
speech was regarded as the basis of language, and structure was viewed as being at the heart of speaking
ability. In the words of Richards & Roberts (1992), this theory that knowledge of structures must be
linked to situations has been supported by British linguists, giving a prominent place to meaning, context,
and situation. Prominent figures such as M.A.K. Halliday and Palmer emphasized the close relationship
between the structure of language and the context and situations in which language is used.

3.1.4. The Audiolingual method.

The origins of this method trace back to the entry of the United States into World War II since the
government aimed to teach foreign languages to avoid Americans becoming isolated from scientific
advances in other countries. The National Defense Education Act (1958) provided funds for the study
and analysis of modern languages based on the earlier experience of the army programs such as the so-
called ASTP (Army Specialized Training Program). This program was established for military personnel
in 1942 in American universities, and its main objective was for students to attain conversational
proficiency in different foreign languages through significant drills.

This fact had a significant effect on language teaching in America, and in fact, new approaches on
language teaching were soon developed, and toward the end of the 1950s a new approach emerged
under the name of Audiolingualism (term coined by Professor Nelson Brooks in 1964. It is based in
structural linguistics (structuralism) and behavioristic psychology (Skinners behaviorism). Therefore, it
is primarily an oral approach to language teaching and there is little provision for grammatical explanation
or talking about the language.

The audio-lingual method aims at teaching the language skills in the order of listening, speaking,
reading, and writing, and is based on using drills for the formation of good language habits. Thus, students
are given a stimulus, which they respond to. If their response is correct, it is rewarded, so the habit will be
formed; if it is incorrect, it is corrected, so that it will be suppressed. As Rivers (1981) states, material is
presented in spoken form, and the emphasis in the early years is on the language as it is spoken in
everyday situations.

It was a methodological innovation which combined structural linguistic theory, contrastive analysis,
aural-oral procedures, and behaviorist psychology. Therefore, linguists such as Leonard Bloomfield,
developed training programs within an anthropological and linguistic tradition. The best known of these
programs was the informant method, based on a strict timetable (ten hours a day during six days a

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week), fifteen hours drill with native speakers and almost thirty hours of private study over nearly three
six-week sessions. Statistics show that excellent results were often achieved in small classes of mature and
highly motivated students.

3.1.5. Total Physical Response.

Total Physical Response is linked to several traditions, such as psychology, learning theory, and
humanistic pedagogy. This method is built around the combination of speech and action and was
developed by James Asher, a professor of psychology. For him, including movements within the
linguistic production reduces learner stress, creating a positive mood which facilitates learning. This
emphasis on comprehension and the use of physical actions to teach a foreign language is not new. In
the nineteenth century, Gouin acknowledged a situationally based teaching strategy in which action verbs
served as a basis for practicing new language items.

This method owes much to structuralist or grammar-based views of language as most of vocabulary
items and grammatical structures are learned through an instructor. Asher still sees a stimulus- response
view as reminiscences of the views of behavioral psychologists, directed to right-brain learning. The main
goal is to teach oral proficiency at a beginning level through the use of action- based drills in the imperative
form.

This method is updated with references to more recent psychological theories and supported by
prominent theorists as Krashen because of its emphasis on the role of comprehension in second
language acquisition. However, Asher himself, points out the need for this method to be used in
association with other methods to be fully successful.

3.1.6. The Silent Way.

Caleb Gattegno introduced this classroom technique wherein the teacher remains silent while pupils
output the language through simulated experiences using tokens and picture charts as central elements.
For instance, a color-coded phonics (sound) chart called a fidel, with both vowel and consonant clusters
on it, is projected onto a screen to be used simultaneously with a pointer, thus permitting the pupil to
output continually the target language in a sequence of phonemes.

Brightly colored rods are integrated into this method for pupils to learn spatial relationships,
prepositions, colors, gender and number concepts, and to create multiple artificial settings through their
physical placement.

This method works effectively to promote small group discussion. Students are encouraged to
produce as much language as possible and to self-correct their pronunciation errors through manual
gesticulation on the part of the instructor. The greatest strength of this method lies in its ability to draw
students out orally, while the teacher listens. This inner criteria allow learners to monitor and self-
correct their own production. It is here where this method differs notably from other ways of language
learning.

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3.1.7. Community Language Learning.

As the name indicates, this method follows a humanistic approach which was supported by
Charles A. Curran, a specialist in counseling and a professor of psychology at Chicago University. His
method is known as Counseling-Learning, and it redefines the roles of the teacher (counselor) and learners
(the clients) in the language classroom.

He developed a holistic approach to language learning, since human learning is both cognitive and
affective. For him, learning takes place in a communicative situation where teachers and learners are
involved in an interaction. One of its main tenets is for the student to develop his relationship with the
teacher.

This process is divided into five stages and compared to the ontogenetic development of the child.
Thus, feelings of security are established; achievement of independence from the teacher; the learner
starts speaking independently; a sense of criticism is developed; and finally, the learner improves style
and knowledge of linguistic appropriateness.
Curran wrote little about his theory which was to be developed by his student, La Forge. He built a
theory on basic sound and grammatical patterns which started with criteria for sound features, the
sentence, and abstract models of language in order to construct a basic grammar of the foreign
language.

Since these humanistic technique of counseling students engage the whole person, including the
emotions and feelings (affective part) as well as linguistic knowledge and behavioral skills, this method
has been linked to bilingual and adult education programs.

3.1.8. Suggestopedia

In the 1980s and 1990s, an extremely esoteric method was developed by a Bulgarian psychiatrist-
educator called Georgi Lozanov. The most outstanding features of this mystical method are, according to
Rivers (1981), its arcane terminology and neologisms, and secondly, the arrangement of the classroom to
create an optimal atmosphere to learning, by means of decoration, furniture, the authoritative behavior of
the teacher and specially, through the use of music. Therapy theories are the reason of using music in the
classroom as Lozanov calls upon in his use to relax learners as well as to structure, pace, and punctuate
the presentation of linguistic material.
Lozanov acknowledges following a tradition on yoga and Soviet psychology, borrowing techniques
for altering states of consciousness and concentration, and the use of rhythmic breathing. In fact,
teachers are trained in a special way to read dialogues, using voice quality, intonation, and timing. Lozanov
also claims that his method works equally well whether or not students spend time on outside study and
promises success to the academically gifted and ungifted alike.
In the own words of Lozanov (1978), Suggestopedia prepares students for success by means of
yoga, hypnosis, biofeeback or experimental science. Its main features such as scholarly citations,
terminological jargon, and experimental data have received both support and criticisms. However,
Suggestopedia is acknowledged to appear effective and harmonize with other successful techniques in
language teaching methodology.

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4. THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH.
4.1. The Communicative Language Teaching A p p r o a c h .

Communicative Language Teaching has its origins in two sources. First, the changes in the British and
American linguistic theory in the mid-late sixties and secondly, changes in the educational realities in
Europe. Therefore, teaching traditions until then, started to be questioned by applied linguists who saw the
need to focus in language teaching on communicative proficiency rather than on mere mastery of structures.
Meanwhile, the role of the European Common Market and the Council of Europe had a significant
impact on the development of Communicative language teaching since there was an increasing need to teach
adults the major languages for a better educational cooperation.

In 1971 a system in which learning tasks are broken down into units is launched into the market by a
British linguist, D.A. Wilkins. It attempts to demonstrate the systems of meanings that a language learner
needs to understand and express within two types:
- Communicative Functions: the purpose for which an utterance is used (identifying, asking and
giving information, requesting).
- Notions: the concepts and meanings the learners need to communicate (time, location, duration,
quantity).

The rapid application of these ideas by textbook writers and its acceptance by teaching specialists gave
prominence to what became the Communicative Approach or simply Communicative Language Teaching.

This was the first step towards New Communicative Trends in F.L Teaching. The Communicative
Approach aims:
- To make communicative competence the goal of language teaching.
- To develop procedures for the teaching of the four skills (listening, speaking, Reading and
Writing).

In short, Communicative language teaching emerges upon the basis that language and
communication are at the heart of the human experience, and therefore the main aim is for students to be
equipped linguistically and culturally in order to communicate succesfully in a pluralistic society and abroad.

The Communicative Approach in language teaching starts from a theory of language as

communication. The goal of language is to develop what Hymes referred to as Communicative Competence.
The term communicative competence has been used widely in many different contexts. We will
focus on its use in the fields of linguistics, beginning with Chomskys original formulation of the concept of
language in 1.957.
CHOMSKY (1957) defined language as a set of sentences, each finite in length and constructed
out of a finite set of elements. A capable speaker has a subconscious knowledge of the grammar rules of his
language which allows him to make sentences in that language.
Subsequent writers, such as DELL HYMES thought that Chomsky had missed out some very
important information: the rules of the use. When a native speaker speaks, he does not only utter
grammatically correct forms, he also knows where and when to use these sentences and to whom. Hymes,
then, said that competence by itself is not enough to explain a native speakers knowledge, and he replaced it
with his own concept of communicative competence.
HYMES distinguishes 4 aspects of this competence:

- Systematic potential means that the native speaker possesses a system that has a potential for
creating a lot of language. This is similar to Chomskys competence.

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 - Appropriacy means that the native speaker knows what language is appropriate in a given situation.
His choice is based on the following variables, among others:
Setting
Participants
Purpose
Channel
Topic
- Occurrence means that the native speaker knows how often something is said in the language and
acts accordingly.
- Feasibility means that the native speaker knows whether something is possible in the language.
Even if there is no grammatical rule, we know that these constructions are not possible in the language.

These four categories have been adapted for teaching purposes. Thus, the communicative
competence as comprises five subcompetences:
- Grammar competence or the ability to use correctly the linguistic code applying gramar rules.
- Discourse competence or the ability to use different types of discourse and organise them according
to the communicative situation and the people involved in the conversation.
- Strategic competence or the ability to make adjustments in communication.
- Sociolinguistic competence or the ability to adapt statements to a specific context.
- Sociocultural competence is the appropiateness of utterances with respect to the socio-cultural
context.
This communicative competence and its subcompetences seek to help children to provide opportunities
for gaining real language in real use.
The communicative view provides an approach to teaching where interactive processes of
communication receive priority. Its rapid adoption and implementation resulted from a strong support of
leading British applied linguists and language specialists, as well as institutions, such as the British Council.
The Communicative Approach is based on the following principles:
- Communicative principle: activities which involve real communication promote learning.
- Task principle: meaningful tasks promote meaning.
- Meaningfulness principle: language which is relevant or meaningful to the learner supports
the language process.

There is almost an unlimited range of activities within the communicative process (information
sharing, negotiation of meaning and interaction).
Littlewood1 distinguishes between:
- Functional-communicative activities: comparing sets of pictures, working out a sequence
of events, following directions
- Social interaction activities: role-plays, discussions, debates

Harmer classifies communicative activities into oral or written:

Oral communicative activities Written communicative activities
Reaching a consensus Count on instructions
Communication games Exchanging messages
Problem solving Writing games
Interpersonal exchange Fluency writing

1 In Foreign and Second Language Learning, William Littlewood surveys recent research into how people
acquire languages

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 Story construction Story construction
Simulation and role play Writing reports and advertisements

Most communicative techniques operate by providing information and holding it from the others.
Every communicative activity has these characteristics:
A desire to communicate
A communicative form
A variety of contents and language

The teachers role must be to facilitate the communication process and be involved as a participant
within the group, analysing needs, counselling, managing the process and organising resources.
Learners must interact. Successful communication can only be achieved through interaction. The two
main roles of the learner are those of participant and negotiator of meaning.

5. NEW DIRECTIONS ON LANGUAGE TEACHING.

The future is always uncertain when anticipating methodological directions in second language
teaching, although applied linguistic journals assume the carrying on and refinement of current trends
within a communicative approach. They are linked to present concerns on education, and they reflect
current trends of language curriculum development at the level of cognitive strategies, literature,
grammar, phonetics or technological innovative methods.
The Internet Age anticipates the development of teaching and learning in instructional settings by
means of an on-line collaboration system, perhaps via on-line computer networks or other
technological resources.
A critical question for language educators is about "what content" and "how much content" best
supports language learning. The goal is to best match learner needs and interests and to promote optimal
development of second language competence. The natural content for language educators is literature
and language itself, and we are beginning to see a resurgence of interest in literature and in discourse
and genre analysis, schema theory, pragmatics, and functional grammar propose an interest in
functionally based approaches to language teaching.
Also, "Learning to Learn" is the key theme in an instructional focus on language learning
strategies. Such strategies include, at the most basic level, memory tricks, and at higher levels, cognitive
and metacognitive strategies for learning, thinking, planning, and self-monitoring. Research findings
suggest that strategies can indeed be taught to language learners, that learners will apply these strategies in
language learning tasks. Simple and yet highly effective strategies, such as those that help learners
remember and access new second language vocabulary items, will attract considerable instructional
interest.

5.1. Task-based approach

A task is a work unit in the class which involves pupils in the comprehension, manipulation,
production and interaction of the F.L. Their attention is focused mainly on the meaning instead of the
form.

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 The outstanding feature of the task-based method is the presentation of communication globally
with all its elements interrelated as in reality. On the other hand, linguistic items are treated when
communication demands it. Evaluation is an integral part of the teaching-learning language process. Task-
based work implies the task as the planning unit; in other words, we do not depart from linguistic contents
but from communicative ones when designing our planning units.

5.2. Project-based approach

Project- based work is based on the same theoretic and methodological principles than the task-
based work. A global task related to pupils interests is proposed, for example, to elaborate a magazine or a
DVD. All the classroom activities are thought to develop the project. The main difference with task-based
method is duration: a project may last a month, a term or even, a year.

5.3. Computer aided language learning

Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) may be defined as the search for and study of
applications of the computer in language teaching and learning. The name is a recent one; the existence
of CALL in the academic literature has been recognizable for about the last thirty years. The subject is
interdisciplinary in nature, and it has evolved out of early efforts to find ways of using the computer for
teaching or for instructional purposes across a wide variety of subject areas, with the weight of knowledge
and breadth of application in language learning ultimately resulting in a more specialized field of study.
CALL has been made possible by the invention and subsequent development of the computer. As a
result, the nature of CALL is, to a large degree, a reflection on the level of development of the technology.
The speed with which technology has developed since the invention of the computer has been both
extraordinary and surprisingly sustained. For educators, the rapid and continuing introduction of new
technology into education has outpaced the ability of teachers and developers to evaluate it properly.

5.4. Flipped learning

Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group
learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a
dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and
engage creatively in the subject matter.

The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P:

- Flexible environment: Flipped Learning allows for a variety of learning modes; educators often
physically rearrange their learning spaces to accommodate a lesson or unit, to support either group work or
independent study. They create flexible spaces in which students choose when and where they learn.
Furthermore, educators who flip their classes are flexible in their expectations of student timelines for
learning and in their assessments of student learning.

- Learning culture: the Flipped Learning model deliberately shifts instruction to a learner-centered
approach, where in-class time is dedicated to exploring topics in greater depth and creating rich learning
opportunities. As a result, students are actively involved in knowledge construction as they participate in and
evaluate their learning in a manner that is personally meaningful.

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 - Intentional content: Flipped Learning Educators continually think about how they can use the
Flipped Learning model to help students develop conceptual understanding, as well as procedural fluency.
They determine what they need to teach and what materials students should explore on their own. Educators
use Intentional Content to maximize classroom time in order to adopt methods of student-centered, active
learning strategies, depending on grade level and subject matter.

- Professional Educator: The role of a Professional Educator is even more important, and often more
demanding, in a Flipped Classroom than in a traditional one. During class time, they continually observe
their students, providing them with feedback relevant in the moment, and assessing their work. Professional
Educators are reflective in their practice, connect with each other to improve their instruction, accept
constructive criticism, and tolerate controlled chaos in their classrooms. While Professional Educators take
on less visibly prominent roles in a flipped classroom, they remain the essential ingredient that enables
Flipped Learning to occur.

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6. CONCLUSION.

On revising the literature on language teaching theories, it is possible to get a sense of the wide range
of proposals from the 1700s to the present, with their weaknesses and strengths, from grammar-based
methods to more natural approaches. There is still present a constant preoccupation for teachers and
linguists to find more efficient and effective ways of teaching languages. This proliferation of approaches
and methods is a relevant characteristic of contemporary second and foreign language teaching, and is
only understood when the learners need is approached from an educational perspective. These approaches
have been called natural, psychological, phonetic, new, reform, and direct, among others.

In the middle -methods period, a variety of methods were proclaimed as successors to the then
prevailing Situational Language Teaching and Audio-Lingual methods. These alternatives were promoted
under such titles as Silent Way, Suggestopedia, Community Language Learning, and Total Physical
Response. In the 1980s, these methods in turn came to be overshadowed by more interactive views of
language teaching, which collectively came to be known as Communicative Language Teaching. These
CLT approaches include The Natural Approach and Community Language Learning.
Special attention has also been paid to the role of the teacher as a commander of classroom
activity (e.g., Audio-Lingual Method, Natural Approach, Suggestopedia, Total Physical Response)
whereas others see the teacher as background facilitator and classroom colleague to the learners (e.g.,
Communicative Language Teaching, Cooperative Language Learning).

Language learning theories have approached second language learning on adults and children
around first language acquisition model. Schools such as Total Physical Response and Natural Approach
claim that second language learning must be developed in the same way as first language acquisition
although this is not the only model of language learning we have. However, the Silent Way and
Suggestopedia schools claim that adult classroom learning must be developed in some different way
children do, due to different cognitive and psychological features.
As observed in our survey, language teaching adopted a prominent communicative approach which,
with different varieties and hues, is still dominant today.

Bibliography, in a final section, will provide a source for readers to detail differences and
similarities among the many different approaches and methods that have been proposed.

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7. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Introduction to the study of language

- Jespersen, O. 1922. Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin. London: Allen and Unwin.
- Crystal, D. 1985. Linguistics. Harmondsworth, England. Penguin Books.
- Baugh, A. & Cable, T. 1993. A History of the English Language. Prentice-Hall Editions.

On origins and evolution of language teaching

nd
- Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. 1992. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2 ed.).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Howatt, A. (1984). A history of English Language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

On approaches to language teaching and the teaching of English as a foreign language

- Rivers, W. 1981. Teaching Foreign-Language Skills. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
- Krashen, S. D., and Terrell, T. D. 1983. The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the
Classroom. Oxford: Pergamon.

New directions in language teaching

- Revistas de la Asociacin Espaola de Lingstica Aplicada (AESLA): De la Cruz, Isabel;
Santamara, Carmen; Tejedor, Cristina y Valero, Carmen. 2001. La Lingstica Aplicada a finales del
Siglo XX. Ensayos y propuestas. Universidad de Alcal.
- Celaya, M Luz; Fernndez-Villanueva, Marta; Naves, Teresa; Strunk, Oliver y Tragant, Elsa.
2001. Trabajos en Lingstica Aplicada . Universidad de Barcelona.
- Moreno, Ana I. & Colwell, Vera. 2001. Perspectivas Recientes sobre el Discurso. Universidad
de Len.

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