Approaches and methods chapter 1

Question 1

What assumptions underlie the concept of method in language teaching as it emerged as a significant educational issue in the 19th and 20th centuries?

Answer 1

Some questions that prompted innovations and new directions in language teaching in the past are:

• What should the goals of language teaching be?Should a language course try to teach: conversational proficiency, reading, translation, or some other skill?
• What is the basic nature of language and how will this affect the way we teach it?
• What are the principles for the selection of language content in language teaching?
• What principles of organization (such as topics, themes etc), sequencing (order in which language elements (e.g., vocabulary, grammar, etc.) are introduced. For instance, simpler, high-frequency words taught before more complex ones. and presentation (how language is introduced in the classroom, such as using visual aids, dialogues, role-plays, or inductive/deductive approaches to grammar) best facilitate learning?
• What should the role of first languages be?
• What language acquisition process do learners use in mastering a language, and can these be incorporated into a method?
• What teaching techniques and activities work best under what circumstances?

Question 2

The study of past and present teaching approaches and methods is taught on many teacher-education programmes. Why?

Answer 2

Provide teachers with a view on how the field of language teaching has evolved and forms part of the disciplinary knowledge formed today;

Introduces teachers to the issues and options that are involved in planning and developing a language course;

Introduces a variety of principles and procedures teachers can review and evaluate in relation to their own knowledge, beliefs and practice.

In order to understand the fundamental nature of methods in language teaching it is necessary to conceptualize the notion of approach and method (next chapter). In the next chapter: present a model for the description, analysis, and comparison of methods. This model will be used as a framework for the discussions and analyses of particular language teaching methods and philosophies.

Question 3

Applied linguistics

Answer 3

the branch of language study and research concerned with the scientific study of second and foreign language teaching and learning.

Question 4

The emergence of methods (why have new methods come about?)

Answer 4

• Changes have reflected changes in goals e.g. goal oral proficiency rather than reading comprehension.
• They have also reflected changes in theories of the nature of language and language learning

Summary :

In short, language teaching methods and approaches change because of the shifting educational goals (from reading to oral skills), criticisms of old methods, global changes like immigration and tourism, the rise of applied linguistics, and the influence of new technology and globalization.

Question 5

What did applied linguistics sort to do?

Answer 5

Applied linguistics sort to develop principles and procedures for the design of teaching methods and materials developing/based on the fields of linguistics and psychology.

Question 6

What was introduced in the 18th century?

Answer 6

Modern languages began entering European school curricula in the 18th century (Jack C. Richards) (19th century Jeremy Harmer)

Question 7

When first introduced, how were modern languages taught in schools?

Answer 7

They were taught by using the same basic procedures that were used for teaching Latin:
- Abstract grammar rules, lists of vocabulary and sentences for translation.
- Speaking the language was not the goal

Question 8

What was the common approach to foreign language teaching (after moden languages were introduced)? What did this approach become known as?

Answer 8

• Grammar taught deductively
• Accuracy highly prioritized
• The foreign language is codified into fixed rules of morphology and syntax to be memorized.
• Grammar rules are practised and tested through the translation of isolated sentences both into and out of the target language

This approach to foreign language teaching became known as the grammar-translation method.

Question 9

what was the ‘Grammar Translation’ method called in the States?
Give:
- criticism
- why it is still used today

Answer 9

Grammar Translation method (Prussian Method in the States)

Criticism:
- No rationale or justification for it relating to linguistics, psychology or educational theory.

Continued use in some parts of the world due to :
- Limited English of teachers
- It was the method the teachers’ teachers used
- It gives teachers a sense of control in the classroom
- It works well in large groups

Question 10

Reasons for questioning the effectiveness of the grammar-translation method. When?

Answer 10

In the mid 19th Century, several factors were the reason for questioning the effectiveness of the grammar-translation method.

• Increased opportunity for communication among Europeans created a demand for oral proficiency in foreign languages.
• Initially created a market for books intended for private study, but language teaching specialists turned their attention to the way English and modern European languages were taught in secondary schools.

Question 11

‘pre-methods era’ what did educators recognize the need for?
What was there an interest in?

Answer 11

In this period educators recognized the need for speaking proficiency rather than reading comprehension and grammar. There was an interest in how children learned languages which prompted attempts to develop teaching principles from observation (and reflections about) child language learning.

Question 12

When did the Reform Movement start? Who were some intellectual leaders? What did they give it?

Answer 12

The Reform Movement

From 1880’s: Henry Sweet (England), Wilhelm Vietor (Germany) and Paul Passy (France) provided the intellectual leadership needed to give reformist ideas great credibility.

Question 13

Phonetics

Answer 13

the scientific analysis and description of the sound systems of languages – was established. Giving new insights into speech processes. Linguists emphasized that speech rather than written word was the primary form of language.

Question 14

What was founded in 1986? what was designed? why?

Answer 14

• International Phonetic Association founded (1886)
• International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) designed so the sounds of languages could be transcribed.

Question 15

What are the Reformists’ principles (the approach) on which foreign language teaching should be based?

Answer 15

Vietor, Sweet and other reformists in the late 19th century shared many beliefs about the principles. This was the approach on which foreign language teaching should be based.

• The spoken language is primary
• Phonetics should be applied to teaching and teacher training
• Learners should hear the language first.
• Words should be presented in sentences and sentences should be in meaningful context and not isolated.
• Grammar should be taught inductively ( rules of grammar taught only after the students have practiced the grammar in context.
• Translation should be avoided

Question 16

What did the Reformists’ principles provide?

Answer 16

These principles provided the theoretical foundations for a principled approach to language teaching. They reflected the beginnings of the discipline of applied linguistics.

Question 17

What are natural methods and where did they come from ?

Answer 17

To make second language learning more like first language learning.

Parallel to ideas put forward by members of the reform movement was interest in developing principles for language teaching out of naturalistic principles of language learning, such as seen in first language acquisition. This led to what have been termed as natural methods.

Question 18

Whose methods were foundational to what later became known as the Natural Method? What were they?

Answer 18

L. Sauveur (1826–1907) applied natural principles to language classes in the 19th century.
- He used intensive oral interaction in the target language.
- He employed questions as a way of presenting and eliciting language.
- His methods were foundational to what later became known as the Natural Method.

Question 19

What was the Natural Method?

Answer 19

The Natural Method was supported by Sauveur and others.They argued that:
- foreign languages could be taught without translation or the use of the learner’s native language.
- Meaning was conveyed directly through demonstration and action

Question 20

What did F. Franke (German) provide?

Answer 20

F. Franke (German) provided a theoretical justification for a monolingual approach to teaching.

Question 21

According to Franke, what were the principles that later became the___ Method?

Answer 21

According to Franke:

• Language best taught by using it accurately in the classroom
• Teachers must encourage direct and spontaneous use of foreign language in the classroom. Then learners could induce rules of grammar.
• Attention to pronunciation
• Mime, demonstration and pictures to teach new vocabulary
• These natural language learning features came to be what is known as the Direct Method (the most widely known of the natural methods)

Question 22

When and where was the Direct Method introduced?

Answer 22

Introduced in France and Germany (officially approved very early 20th Century)

Question 23

Why did the Direct Method become widely known in the United States?

Answer 23

Became widely known in the United States through its use by Sauveur and Maximillian Berlitz in commercial language schools.

Question 24

What did Berlitz refer to the method as and what were its principles?

Answer 24

Berlitz referred to the method used in his schools as the Berlitz method.

It stood for the following principles:

• Classroom instruction conducted in the target language only
• Only everyday vocabulary and sentences were taught
• Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully graded progression organised around question and answer exchanges between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.
• Grammar taught inductivelyNew teaching points introduced orally
• Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures; abstract by association of ideas
• Both speech and listening comprehension were taught
• Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized.
• Principles still used for teaching oral language in Berlitz schools.

Question 25

What were some criticisms of the Direct Method?

Answer 25

Criticisms of the Direct Method:

1) Practical Realities of the Classroom:
- The method required teachers with native or near-native fluency, but many were not proficient enough in the target language to use it effectively.
- Dependent on the teacher’s skill, rather than on a textbook.
- Avoiding the native language at all costs could be inefficient—a quick translation would sometimes save time.
2. Theoretical & Pedagogical Limitations:
- Distorted similarities between first and second language learning (assuming adults learn like children).
- Lacked a rigorous basis in applied linguistic theory.- Criticized by academic linguists and proponents of more structured methods (e.g., Henry Sweet and later linguists).
3. Implementation Challenges:
-Despite success in private language schools, it was difficult to implement in public secondary education (especially in the U.S. and other countries)

Question 26

When and where did the Direct method decline In Europe? What did it become?

Answer 26

By 1920’s, use of Direct Method in noncommercial schools in Europe had declined

In France and Germany it modified into versions with some Direct Method techniques with more controlled grammar-based activities.

Question 27

What is the British or Oral Approach?
When?
How?
What did it emphasise? What did it lead to?

Answer 27

1920’s and 1930’s applied linguistics systematized the principles proposed earlier by the Reform Movement and laid the foundations for the British or Oral Approach to teaching English as a foreign language.

Emphasised:
- the need to grade language items according to difficulty.
- Teach language on its core structures and grammar

Developments led to Audiolingualism in the United States and Situational Language Teaching in Britain.

Question 28

What was the impact of the Direct Method on language teaching?

Answer 28

• The Direct Method was the first language teaching method to have caught the attention of teachers and language teaching specialists.
• Offered a methodology that appeared to move language teaching into a new era.
• It marked the beginning of what we can refer to as the ‘methods era’

Question 29

What is the Methods era?

Answer 29

• One of lasting legacy of the Direct Method was the notion of “method”
• The controversy over the Direct Method was the first of many debates on how foreign languages should be taught.
• The 21st century saw the rise and fall of many language teaching approaches and methods

Question 30

Broadly what is an approach or method (difference between these covered in chapter 2 in more detail)

Answer 30

An approach or method (difference between these covered in chapter 2) refers to the theoretically consistent set of teaching procedures that define good practice in language teaching.

Question 31

Why is it important for teachers to know and follow particular approaches and methods correctly? What should teacher training include?

Answer 31

• Particular approaches and methods, if followed correctly, will lead to more effective language teaching /learning.
• Teacher training should include preparing teachers to understand and use the best available language teaching methods.

Question 32

Teaching approaches and methods that have emerged since the 1950’s and 1960’s, have differences and things in common. What are they?

Answer 32

The different teaching approaches and methods that have emerged since the 1950’s and 1960’s, while often having very different characteristics in terms of goals, assumptions about how a second language is learned, and preferred teaching techniques, have in common the belief that if language is to be improved, it will come about through changes and improvements in teaching methodology.

Further notes:
- Certain professional organisations endorse particular teaching approaches and methods and not others.
- Publishers produce and sell textbooks based on the latest teaching approaches and methods
- Teachers are continually looking for the best method of language teaching.
- There is a tendency to package up the past ‘hunter and smith’ assigning methods to bounded periods of time. However, it is important not just present these methods as a fixed set of procedures and principles, with little attention paid to:

• context in which they were developed
• the way alternatives were debated at the time
• the extent to which there was continuity to the previous period

Question 33

The 1950’s and 1960’s saw the emergence of the Audiolingual Method and the Situational Method; both were superseded by what?

Answer 33

The 1950’s and 1960’s saw the emergence of the Audiolingual Method and the Situational Method; both were superseded by the Communicative Approach.

Question 34

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, other methods attracted smaller but equally enthusiastic followers. Name 3:

Answer 34

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, other methods attracted smaller but equally enthusiastic followers, including the Silent Way, the Natural Approach, and Total Physical Response.

Question 35

What are some approaches and movements from the 1980’s and 1990’s?

Answer 35

Since 1980’s and 1990’s, Content Based Instruction, and task-based and text-based approaches were developed as well as movements such as Competency-Based Language Teaching that focuses on Outcomes of learning rather than methods.

Question 36

What are some approaches developed in general education later extended to second language settings?

Answer 36

Cooperative Language Learning, Whole Language, and Multiple Intelligences, originally developed in general education, have been extended to second language settings.

Question 37

What recent approaches have shifted the focus to learning outcomes?

Answer 37

More recently CLIL and the Common European Framework of Reference which shifts focus to the outcomes of learning.

Question 38

Since the 1990s, what have applied linguists moved away from, and what is this era known as?

Answer 38

Since 1990’s linguists have moved away from the idea that “newer” and therefore “better” approaches and methods are the solution to problems in language teaching.

Alternative ways of understanding the nature of language teaching have emerged ‘post-methods era’.

Question 39

Who criticized methods from the Methods Era, and what did they say?”

Answer 39

Applied linguists have questions on the assumptions implicit in approaches and methods:

✔ 1994 – Holliday argued that the Communicative Approach (CLT) reflects assumptions from dominant Western cultures (Britain, Australia, North America).
✔ 2005 – He expanded this critique, stating that Western teaching models dominate global ELT.

✔ 1994 – Kumaravadivelu critiqued Western methods (also known as ‘inner-circle’ or ‘centre-based’ methods) for promoting a one-size-fits-all, cookie-cutter approach that assumes a common clientele with common goals.
✔ 2003 – He formalized the concept of the Post-Method Era, CHATGPT = playing a key role in defining and developing it, arguing that language teaching should move beyond rigid, standardized methods to be more context-sensitive and adaptable.