BMU

DEPARTEMENT OF ENGLISH

DIDACTICS

FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING METHODS

A SURVEY

The need to learn languages has always existed in a form or another. It is only quite
recently that the demand for FLT tremendously increased, and with it a need for better
educational facilities for large groups of learners.
Many different language teaching methods have been developed throughout time .
FLT in Classical Times, in the Middle Ages, and in the Renaissance did not share the
same aspects and methods. Generally, the preference in the 18th c, and the major part of
the 19th c was for the Grammar Translation Method, whereas for instance, the Direct
Method prevailed about 1900, in the 1950’s and the 1960’s.
The change in methods, however, is not time bound, and therefore cannot be treated
chronologically. As noticed by Mackey, most methods which have been developed in the
past still exist in some form or another.

THE GRAMMAR TRANSLATION METHOD

The Grammar Translation Method (the GTM) was a very popular language teaching
method throughout the 17t hc , the 18thc, and the 19thc . It prevailed in the formal teaching
of Greek, and Latin in Europe
It is also called the traditional method, not because it is the oldest one time wise, but
probably because this method is a near reflection of the way Latin and Greek have been
taught for centuries.Some of its most important exponents were the German Karl Plotz
and H.S.Hollendorf.
The overriding objective of the GTM was the development of intellectual discipline ,and
logical thinking .The language taught was in itself quite insignificant .When modern
languages were introduced in the curriculum , they were taught along the same lines and
for the same educational objectives as classical languages ( Latin & to a lesser extent
,Greek ).
 The GTM was the dominant foreign language teaching method in Europe from 1840’s
to the1940’s. It has been, and still is extensively used in different parts of the world in a
somehow modified version, even today.

The Grammar Translation teaching techniques

In the GTM , the mother tongue of the learners is the sole medium of expression
and instruction in the teaching process.It is used to explain new items , to clarify
meaning , and to enable comparisons between the learner’s mother tongue and the target
language
The GTM teaching techniques put the emphasis on training the learners to
understand the Grammar, and the rules of the target language. The students identified the
parts of speech, memorized conjugations, grammar rules, and exhaustive bilingual lists of
vocabulary. They were also taught to write accurately through the methodical application
of the grammar rules learnt.
As far as meaning acquisition was concerned, regular and intensive practice of
translation exercises helped the learners to extract meaning from the FL texts through the
medium of their mother tongue. Easy classics and selected literary texts were translated
into the target language and vice-versa.
In short, in the GTM language learning was viewed as a merely deductive process.

The Grammar Translation Method Teacher

The teaching of modern languages used to be deeply influenced by a classical

paradigm : Grammar and literature were at the core of any language teaching Many
teachers of modern languages adopted this method for quite a long time , largely because
of the psychological security and confidence it provided .The GTM induced the teacher
to teach the target language through the medium of the mother tongue , by means of
exhaustive explanation of rules ,structures, and paradigms .The FL was simply presented
as a system of modifications of the mother tongue in the sense that new words , and new
vocabulary items were substituted for the words and expressions of the mother tongue by
means of transfer techniques (Translation) .Students were given little opportunity , if
any ,to practise associations of sounds with their graphic symbols in the foreign language
writing system This occurred only in occasional reading practice , and through dictation .
GTM textbooks were usually written by scholars not engaged in teaching at the
secondary level .They offered detailed studies of grammar and conjugations followed by
elaborate application exercises (graded from simple to complex) .They proposed selected
literary texts or excerpts from great writers, chosen for their intellectual content, rather
than for the standard of difficulty of the language or their intrinsic interest for the
learners.
To sum up :

In the GTM :
1. The language is taught in the learners L1 & the target language is used very little .
2. The teacher provides long lists of vocabulary & explanation of grammar rules .
3. Teachers don't have any special teaching skills ,only a knowledge of grammar .
4. Learners memorize grammar rules & vocabulary .
5. The class focuses on translation of texts .
6 .Learners don't learn to speak or use the target language to communicate .
7. Presentation of information is sequenced according to grammatical structures .
( Ref :Introduction To Teaching Methodology )

With changing historical conditions , where oracy emerged as an important language

learning objective ,the main fallacy of the GTM resided in the fact that it failed to help
people to learn to speak a FL fluently .Its main advantage is that it succeeded to make
learners able to translate written material.

THE DIRECT METHOD

The Direct Method was introduced by the end of the 19th c. and the early turn of
the 20 th c. as a reaction to the Grammar Translation Method that was judged too
artificial and too remote from the living language.
Nevertheless, a number of its basic principles have already been suggested and used long
before .In this respect , reference could be made to the Czech Jan Amos Comenius ( in
the 17th c.) whose ideas could be summarized as below :
.
(1) The learner will acquire rules of grammar inductively .The best method is not to
make the learner learn the rules themselves , but to provide direct practice in
speaking and reading through imitation and repetition .

(2) The best method of teaching meaning is the one using sensory experience,
generally visual perception.
( ref .Titone 1968 :14 in Van Els 1984 : 149 )

N.B: In his Latin courses, Comenius (1658) used L1 as well as L2.

In the 19th c , language innovators , such as F.Gouin , L.Sauveur, and Franke

attempted to introduce natural principles in language study , i.e. they sought to make L2
learning similar to L1 acquisition (cf: previous lectures ) .
They started to perceive the importance of speech (oral skills) in the target language
study, and therefore decided to devise a teaching method that would replicate the
natural process of language acquisition in the early years of human life. They
advocated learning by the direct association of foreign language words and phrases with
the denotated objects and actions, without the mediation of the native tongue of the
learner. “The ultimate objective was to develop the ability to think in the target
language whether conversing, reading, or writing.”(W .Rivers 1968)
Indeed, the DM advocated a direct association between the target language and
experience in concrete situations without the mediation of the mother tongue , the written
word , and all analytical grammar as formerly used in the traditional method .It put
emphasis on oral skills and the phonetic aspects of the target language . Grammar rules
were not explicitly formulated, or explicitly taught.” The learner acquires knowledge
of grammatical structures inductively by practising with complete and meaningful
utterances “. (W.Rivers).
With the development of phonetics in the second half of the 19thc., teachers could make
use of the IPA (The International Phonetics Alphabet) and therefore could improve
their students’ pronunciation.

The Direct Method Teaching Techniques.

The DM put the emphasis on the teaching of oral skills at the expense of any
traditional activity. The phonetic aspect of the target language was of prime importance.
Grammar was largely taught through practice and induction .The learner’s mother tongue
was totally prohibited in the language class and the target language was the sole medium
of instruction and expression . A linguistic island was therefore permanently built to
encourage the learners to establish a direct link between their FL utterances and the
concepts, or objects they refer to. When the concepts were too abstract to be made clear
by concrete representations, the FL teacher resorted to miming, sketches, pictures, or long
explanations in the target language, but never supplied any L1 explanations, or
translation.
So , the ultimate objective of the DM was the stimulation of the learner to think in the
target language whether speaking, reading, or writing .It also urged the learner to take an
active part in the language learning process as a performer.

The Direct Method Teacher.

Unlike the GTM , the DM is a very demanding language teaching method .It
requires imaginative , and dynamic teachers , with a good command of the target
language, and plenty of resourcefulness to teach it adequately . Direct method teachers
are permanently requested to create situations ,and learning contexts which stimulate the
learners’ receptiveness to the target language . As the target language is the only medium
of instruction used in the classroom , teachers were obliged to find means and ways to
make meaning clear , without resorting to the learners ‘L1 at any time . They were
requested to provide opportunities for interaction in the language classroom through
using various teaching procedures, all of which concentrate on practical performance ,
especially in the early stages of learning.
With the expansion, and the development of the DM , audio-visual aids such as overhead
projectors, tape recorders, and language laboratories, etc…have been gradually
introduced into the DM teaching procedures to assist the teacher in his pedagogic task.

To sum up in the DM :

 Classroom instruction is conducted exclusively in the TL.

 Only everyday vocabulary & sentences are taught,
 Oral communication skills are built up in a carefully graded progression
 Grammar is taught inductively.
 Correct grammar & pronunciation are emphasized..
 Concrete vocabulary is taught though demonstration,pictures,objects
etc...Abstract
vocabulary is taught by association of ideas.
 Speech & listening were the focus.

Evaluation of the Direct Method

The Direct Method is one of the most widely known natural methods .It is not one
single method , ( we often talk of “ Direct Methods “ ) , but rather a collection of
approaches and methods , a number of which have a name of their own like the Audio-
Lingual Method , the Audio-Visual Method , the Natural Method of F.Gouin , etc.. It
has been particularly influential in its various forms in FLT especially around 1900. The
DM was quite successful namely in private commercial language schools such as those of
the German Maximilian Berlitz in the United States. ( He even called the DM after his
name i.e. ” the Berlitz Method “). In those schools, the students –paying clients – were
highly motivated, and the teachers, native speakers of the target language.
Despite its popularity, the DM did not remain uncriticized .Many linguists,
especially the British applied linguist Henry Sweet, underlined its limitations .It was
recognized that it presented many innovations at the level of teaching procedures, but
lacked a sound methodological basis.
Indeed, the D M presented many drawbacks when it was implemented in secondary FL
classes as it lacked a rigorous basis in Applied Linguistics.
One of the advantages of the DM is that it provided an exciting and interesting way of
learning a foreign language through a variety of activities and teaching procedures, in an
artificially created FL environment, made as conducive as possible to the acquisition of
the target language.
But, the major fallacies of the DM is that it wanted to replicate L1 acquisition
(a natural, unique process) while teaching a FL in an artificially created setting.” It
urged the student into expressing himself too soon in the FL in a relatively
unstructured situation …..It was unrealistic to believe that the conditions of native
language learning could be re-created in the classroom with adolescent learners.”
(W. Rivers.)
Another difficulty of the DM lies with the teachers who had often studied the
FL via the traditional method. So, trying to teach conversational skills in the target
language in the very restricted time available was definitely impractical and unrealistic.
Besides, this limitation of the time allocated to FLT made the implementation of the DM
rather strenuous, and problematic. In fact, many teachers returned back to the Grammar
Translation Method .Some others tried to seek for a more “Eclectic Method “ , usually
by selecting the best techniques of all well known teaching methods and absorbing them
into their own teaching procedures in a balanced way .
By the 1920’s, the use of the DM in public secondary school education
considerably declined in Europe
In the U.S.A , an attempt was made to introduce it in public educational
institutions, without much success. In fact, The Coleman Report (1929) instituted the
Reading Method as the official language teaching method, and Reading as the main goal
of FL programmes in the U.S.A until the Second World War.