UNIT 1

1. INTRODUCTION.
1.1. Aims of the unit.
The present work aims to provide a detailed account of thee v o l u t i o n 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 inteaching English as a foreign language from ancient roots to present-day
trends. In order 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 learner’s 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.
1.2. Notes on bibliography.
Numerous sources have contributed to provide an overall basis for the development of the
unit. A valuable introduction tothe study of language is given by Otto Jespersen,Language: Its
Nature, Development and Origin (1922); David Crystal, Linguistics (1985); and Baugh and
Cable, A History of the English Language(1993). For a historical overview of the tradition
oflanguage teaching, see Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers,Approaches and Methods
in Language Teaching (1992) and Howatt, A History of English Language Teaching(1984).
Among the many general works that incorporate the teaching of English as a foreign language,
see especially and Wilga M. Rivers, Teaching Foreign-Language Skills (1981) and on theories
oflanguage acquisition, see Krashen, S. D., and T. D. Terrell, The Natural Approach: Language
Acquisition in the Classroom (1983). The most complete record of current publications onnew
directions in language teachingis published by Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada
(AESLA) and its annual supplements. For a comprehensive overview, see the following
collections: Universidad de Alcalá, La Lingüística Aplicada a finales del Siglo XX. Ensayos y
propuestas (2001); Universidad de Barcelona, Trabajos en Lingüística Aplicada (2001); and
Universidad de León,Perspectivas Recientes sobre el Discurso(2001). Bibliography is fully
presented at the end of this work.
2. THE ORIGINS OF LANGUAGE TEACHING.
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 phys ical, 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.
3. A HISTORY OF THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. EARLY
AND CURRENT TRENDS.
3.1. 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’ need. 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 todayapplied linguistics.
A central concept to this process was that ofmethod and was defined by Howatt (1984) as “the
notion of a systematicset 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 preoccupied teachers and applied linguistics throughout the 20th century.
Approachesare 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.
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3.2. Up to the eighteenth century: The spread of English language teaching in Europe.
3.2.1. 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 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.
3.2.2. Europe in Early Modern 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 as a
result 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.
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3.3. The nineteenth century: Approaches and methods on language teaching.
3.3.1. 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 learninggrammar 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.
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 mainf a i l u r e s 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 for students.
3.3.2. 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.M a r c e l, 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 FrenchmanClaude 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 EnglishmanThomas 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
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first to record the observation of children in speaking. The FrenchmanFrançois Gouin is
perhaps
the best known of these reformers.
Gouin’s approach to teaching was based on his observations of children’s use of language.
They recognized the need for speaking proficie ncy 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.
3.3.3. The Reform Movement: Sweet, Viëtor 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.
From the 1880s, an intellectual leadership gave greater credibility and acceptance to reformist
ideas thanks to linguists likeHenry Sweet (1845-1912) in England, WilhelmViëtor (1850-1918)
in Germany, andPaul Passy in France. Among the earliest goals of the association, we find the
leadingrole 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). ForV i ë t o r, whose name is directly associated with
aphonetic
method, speech patterns were the fundamental elements of language, stressing the value of
training
teachers in the new science ofphonetics . 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.
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3.3.4. The Direct Method. Natural methods from Montaigne to Berlitz.
As we have stated before, these early reformers, who included Henry Sweet of England,
Wilhelm Viëtor 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 tonaturalistic 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 theDirect 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 MaximiliamB e r l i t
z who promoted the use of intensive oral interaction in the target language. Saveur’s method
became known as theNatural
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.B e r l i t z, 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-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 wasGouin who, in 1880
attempted to build a methodology around observation of child language learning when
publishing
L'art d'enseigner et d'étudier 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
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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 led to Audiolingualism in the United States and the Oral Approach or
Situational Language Teaching in Britain. These models are the aim of next sections.
3.4. The twentieth century: A communicative approach.
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. Let us now 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.
3.4.1. The Communicative Language Teaching Approach.
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, such as Situational
Language Teaching in Britain and Audiolingualism in the United States 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: notional categories
(time, sequence, quantity or frequency) and categories of communicative function (requests,
offers, complaints). 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.
Beginning in the mid-1960s, there has been a variety of theoretical challenges to the audio-
lingual method. Scholars such as Halliday, Hymes, Labov and the American linguist Noam
Chomsky challenged previous assumptions about language structure and language learning,
taking the position that language is creative (not memorized by repetition and imitation) and
rule governed (not based on habits). ForHymes (1972), the goal of language teaching is to
develop a
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“communicative competence”, that is, the knowledge and ability a learner needs to be
communicatively competent in a speech community.Halliday (1970) elaborated a functional
theory of the functions of language, and Canale and Swain (1980) identified four dimensions of
communicative competence: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discourse and strategic competence.
Chomsky leveled some criticisms at structural linguistic theory in his bookSyntactic Structures
(1957). He demonstrated that the fundamental characteristics of language –creativity and
uniqueness of individual sentences- were not part of the structural theories of language.
This communicative view is considered an approach rather than a method which provides a
humanistic 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 specialist, as well as institutions, such as the British
Council. However, some of the claims are still being looked at more critically as this approach
raises important issues for teacher training, materials development, and testing and evaluation
(Richards & Rodgers 1992).
3.4.2. 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 ofsociolinguistics are the American linguists EdwarSapir and
LeonardBloomfield within a tradition on Structuralism although they follow different lines.
These 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 Bloomfield’s contribution is more scientific, clearly influenced
by psychology theories.
In the field ofpsychology,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 asIvan Pavlov andS k i n n e r, 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 arosethe audio-
lingual method, examined in the following sections.
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Another interdisciplinary overlap, as Crystal (1985) states ispsycholinguistics. 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
theacquisition of language by
children. Linguists such as R. Ellis or Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell’s contribution show an
approach focusing on teaching communicative abilities and emphasizing the primacy of
meaning when second language acquisition is on study. Chomsky’s 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.
3.4.3. Approaches and theories of language and language learning.
3.4.3.1. 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 thenature of language and oflanguage
le arningare 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, thestructural 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 andgrammatical 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 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, thefunctional 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 andcommunicative 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.
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The third, theinteractional 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 allfour
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 studentswho 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.
3.4.3.2. 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 apsycholinguistic andcognitive 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 theacquisition of language by children. The
most prominent figures in this field are, among others, Stephen Krashen, Tracy D. Terrell and
Noam Chomsky.
Stephen D.K r a s h e n developed a second language acquisition research as a source for
learning theories. He distinguishes two concepts here,acquisition andlearning , where
acquisition is seen as thebasic process involved in developing language proficiency. For him, it
is theunconscious development of the target language system as a result of using the language
for real communication.
Learning would be related to the consciousrepresentation of grammatical knowledge and non
spontaneous processes. He developed the Monitor Model on which the Natural method was
built.
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
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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).
Chomsky’s 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 theCounseling -Learning
and Silent Way method which focus on the conditions to be held for successful learning
without specifying the learning processes. James Asher’sTotal 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. Curran’s approach, theCounseling- Learning (1972), focused mainly on creating the
conditionsnecessary 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 producedAudiolingualism.
3.4.4. Language teaching methods.
3.4.4.1. The Oral Approach and Situational Language teaching method.
This approach dates back to the 1920s and 1930s and develops a more scientificfoundation 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 thebasis 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 theprinciples 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, therole 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
firstdictionary
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for students of English as a foreign language, and some grammaticalguides 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 termedsituatio nal,
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.
3.4.4.2. 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 (Skinner’s
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.
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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 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.
3.4.4.3. 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 ofs p e e c h anda c t i o n
and was developed byJames Asher, a professor of psychology. For him, including movements
within the linguistic production reduces learner stress, creating apositive 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.
3.4.4.4. 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 af i d e l, 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 coloured 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.
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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.
3.4.4.5. 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.
3.4.3.6. 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.
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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.
4. NEW DIRECTIONS ON LANGUAGE TEACHING.
What’s now, what’s next? 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 acommunicative 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
literatureand languageitself, and we are beginning to see a resurgence of interest in literature
and
in discourse and genre analysis , schema theory, pragmatics, andfunctional 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 metacognitivestrategies 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.
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5. CONCLUSION.
On revising the literature on language teaching theories, it is possible to get a sense of the
wide range of proposals from the 1700’s 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
learner’s 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 a different way children do, due to different cognitive and psychological
features.
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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6. 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
- Richards, J., & Rodgers, T. 1992.Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (2nd 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 Asociación Española de Lingüística Aplicada (AESLA): De la Cruz, Isabel;
Santamaría, Carmen; Tejedor, Cristina y Valero, Carmen. 2001.La Lingüística Aplicada a finales
del Siglo XX. Ensayos y propuestas. Universidad de Alcalá.
- Celaya, Mª Luz; Fernández-Villanueva, Marta; Naves, Teresa; Strunk, Oliver y Tragant, Elsa.
2001. Trabajos en Lingüística Aplicada . Universidad de Barcelona.
- Moreno, Ana I. & Colwell, Vera. 2001. Perspectivas Recientes sobre el Discurso. Universidad
de
León.