History of Language Teaching
History of Language Teaching Many theories about the learning and teaching of languages have been proposed. These theories, normally influenced by developments in the fields of linguistics and psychology, have inspired many approaches to the teaching of second and foreign languages.
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Ancient Time
Speakers’ intellectual
Ancient time In the Western world back in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek, both supposed to promote the speakers’ intellectual. At the time was very important to focus on grammatical rules, syntactic structures, along with rote memorization of vocabulary and translation of literary texts.
Latin and Geek were not being taught for oralcommunication but for the sake of speakers becoming scholarly or creating an illusion of sophistication. Knowledge of Latin was needed for the study of the bible and for academic purposes like the study of medical books and legal documents.
After all speaking Latin played a subordinate role because it was a “dead Language� and because there were no authentic living people who could serve as a model for its phonetically correct pronunciation. It was not before the year 1886 that linguists like Wilhelm Vietor, Henry Sweet, and Daniel Jones created the International Phonetic Alphabet for the phonetic description of sounds in different languages.
16th century
Ancient Time
Go straight and at the end of the path you will find the next clue
Medieval Latin
16TH CENTURY Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors, Medieval Latin should not be confused with Ecclesiastical Latin. There is no real consensus on the exact boundary where Late Latin ends and Medieval Latin begins
Starting in late medieval times, Italian language variants replaced Latin to become the primary commercial language for much of Europe (especially the Tuscan and Venetian variants). This became solidified during the Renaissance with the strength of Italian banking and the rise of humanism in the arts.
17th century
16th century
Turn right and then go straight Lingua Franca
Importance of the senses
French as a lingua franca French was the language of diplomacy in Europe from the 17th century until its recent replacement by English, and as a result is still a working language of international institutions and is seen on documents ranging from passports to airmail letters.
For many years, until the accession of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark in 1973, French and German were the only official working languages of the European Economic Community. French was also the language used among the educated in many cosmopolitan cities across the Middle East and North Africa.
JAN AMOS COMENIUS Most famous language methodologist of 17th century was J A Comenius (1592-1670). Languages at this time were being taught by oral methods for communicative purposes. The works of Comenius stress the importance of the senses rather than the mind, the importance of physical activity in the classroom. He is best known for his use of pictures in language teaching. Much in Comenius is surprisingly modern. "The exemplar should always come first, the precept should always follow".
18th Century
17th century
• Go straight and then at the end of the path turn right Ploetz
18TH CENTURY Karl Julius Ploetz (1819-1881) was a German author of scholarly works, most notably his Epitome of History published in the English language in 1883. He is credited with the idea of arranging historic data by dates, geographic location, and other factors. As later used in the English language, Encyclopedia of World History credited with being one of the most complete and comprehensive academic tools available before the electronic revolution.
His work was a compilation of factual world events designed to help the students and the general reader. The first English translation was in the U.S. in 1883 by William H. Tillinghast and published by Houghton Mifflin Company. The name of the original work (in a form of a handbook) was Auszug aus der alten, mittleren und neueren Geschichte.
19th Century 18th Century
Straight forward and then turn right Tranlation
The Reform Movement
Pre-Reform Movement
Grammar Translation Method (1840 TO 1940s) Started to be known as the classical method. Proponents of this method believe that learning a foreign language is achieved through the constant and fast translation of sentences from the target language into the learner’s first language and vice versa. Word by word translation were popular because by them students could demonstrate that they understood the grammatical constructions underlying a specific sentence.
Grammar Translation Method (1840 TO 1940s)
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It is typical of this approach, therefore, to play emphasis on the rote memory learning of lists of bilingual “vocabulary equations” and on the learning of explicit rules of grammar, frequently in form of tables for the declension and conjugation of nouns and verbs.
• This method teaches a foreign language in a deductive way. It considers literary language as the most important thing in language teaching, and it also emphasizes on reading skills. Classes that follow this method are conducted in the student’s native language • Techniques used in this method are: Translation of Literary Passages, Reading Comprehension Questions, Antonyms/ Synonyms, Deductive Applications of Rules, Fill in the Blanks, Memorization, Use of Words in Sentences and Compositions.
International Phonetic Alphabet It began in the late 19th century, at the formation of the association and its declaration of creating a phonetic system used for describing the sounds of spoken language. The association was formed by French and British language teachers (led by Paul Passy) and established in Paris in 1886 (both the organisation and the phonetic script are best known as IPA).
International Phonetic Alphabet The first official version of the alphabet appears in Passy (1888). These teachers based the IPA upon the Romic alphabet of Henry Sweet (1881,-1971), which was formed from the Phonotypic Alphabet of Isaac Pitman and Alexander John Ellis
Pre-Reform Movement
The Frenchman Marcel (1793-1896)
•Conection between child learning and his/her language and foreign language teaching . • Importance of meaning •Reading taught before others skills The Englishman T. Predengarst (1806-1886) • The first to record the observation that children use contextual and situational cues to interpret utterance and they memorize phrases and routines in speaking.
The Frenchman Gouin (18311896) He attempted to build a methodology around observation of child language learning Other Reformers focus on naturalistic principles of language learning "Natural" method • •
For more information: http://esl.aladdin.shu.edu.tw/ezcatfiles/esl/download/attach/3/TESL %20histiory.ppt#262,7,Gouin’s (Frenchman) contribution
The Reform Movement Reformers sought to organize and simplify the traditional exposure to texts by using specimen sentences and emphasizing practice by translating in both directions. Through translation of specially constructed sentences that were keyed to lessons centred on particular grammatical points, learners could be exposed to the grammatical and stylistic range of the target language in an economical and systematic way. The reform was not, however, complete, and for the next 200 years the
The reform was not, however, complete, and for the next 200 years the grammar–translation method and the less systematic literary method coexisted and often blended. The Reform Movement Dissatisfaction with the practice of teaching modern languages by such textbased methods came to a head in the Reform Movement of the 1880s–90s, among scholars and teachers in Germany, Scandinavia, France, and Britain who were interested in the practical possibilities of a science of speech. It began with the publication in 1877 of Henry Sweet .
With its analysis of different sound systems, opened up the prospect of teaching speech systematically and escaping from the ancient dependence on texts. In 1882, the German phonetician Wilhelm Viëtor expressed the growing impatience in the pamphlet “Language teaching must start afresh”, initially published under a pseudonymin. is credited with inventing the term la méthode directe (the Direct Method) to sum up the aims of the reformers; other names are the Natural Method, New Method, and Phonetic Method. . Paul Passy
Other Important Methodologists
L. Sauveur (1826-1907) • He used intensive oral interaction in the target language • A foreign language could be taught without translation or the use of the L1 • Meaning was conveyed directly through demonstration and action Go Back to the Reforment Movement
See more
Harold E. Palmer See more (1877 -1949) • Unlike Natural Methodologists, Palmer felt that language teachers needed training in all balances of linguistics and not simply in phonetics He advocated oral and conversational approaches to language teaching • His sequencing or graduation included ears before eyes, receptions before production, oral repetition before reading, group work before individual work, drill exercise before free production, concrete before abstract meaning
F. Franke He provides a theoretical justification for a monolingual approach to teaching. Teacher must encourage direct and spontaneous use of the foreign language in the classroom (avoid analyzing and explaining grammar rules). Students would be able to induce rules of grammar Speaking began with systematic attention to pronunciation. Known words could be used to teach new vocabulary, using mine, demonstration, and pictures Go Back to the Reforment Movement
late of 19th century
19th Century
Turn right Direct Method
Direct Method This method was proposed by Charles Berlitz, in the last two decades of the 19th century. According to this method second language learning is similar to first language learning. In this light, there should be lots of oral interaction, spontaneous use of the target language, no translation is allowed, and little, if any, analysis of grammatical rules and syntactic rules.
• The Direct method is not new, most recently it was revived as a method that has as the most important goal how to use a foreign language to communicate. This method’s name comes from the fact that meaning is to be conveyed directly in the target language through the use of demonstrations and visual aids, without using the student’s native language. •
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Its main features are: only the use of target language is allowed in class, the learner should be actively involved in using the language in realistic everyday situation, students are encouraged to think in the target language, first speaking is taught and then reading and writing, the teacher should demonstrate not explain or translate.
This method uses some techniques like: Reading Aloud, Question and Answers Exercises, Getting Students to self Correct, Conversation Practice, Dictations, Map Drawing, and Paragraph Writing.
1929
late of 19th century
Turn right Teaching the Comprehension of Texts
The Coleman Report The Coleman Report in 1929 recommended a reading-based approach to foreign language teaching for use in American schools and colleges. This emphasized teaching the comprehension of texts.
Teachers taught from books containing short reading passages in the foreign language, preceded by lists of vocabulary. Rapid silent reading was the goal, but in practice teachers often resorted to discussing the cotent of the passage in English. Those involved in the teaching of English as a second language in the United States between the two world wars used either a modified Direct Method approach, a reading-based approach, or a reading-oral approach (Darian 1972).
Unlike the approach that was being developed by British applied linguists during the same period, there was little attempt to treat language content systematically. Sentence patterns and grammar were introduced. There was no standardization of the vocabulary or grammar that was included.
1920-1930
1929
Turn left and go straight. Turn left again Silent Reading
Reading Method 1920-1930s
The reading method was prominent in the U.S. following the Committee of Twelve in 1900 and following the Modern Foreign Language Study in 1928. The earlier method was similar to the traditional Grammar/Translation method and emphasized the transference of linguistic understanding to English. Presently, the reading method focuses more on silent reading for comprehension purposes.
1930
1920-1930
Turn right and then turn left Basic English
Charles Kay Odgen Basic English Basic English is an auxiliary international language of 850 words comprising a system covering everything necessary for everyday purposes..The language is based on a simplified version of English, in essence a subset of it.
Ogden did not put any words into Basic English that could be paraphrased with other words, and he strove to make the words work for speakers of any other language. He put his set of words through a large number of tests and adjustments. He also simplified the grammar but tried to keep it normal for English users.
• The concept gained its greatest publicity just after the Second World War as a tool for world peace. • Ogden said that it would take seven years to learn English, seven months for Esperanto and seven weeks for Basic English. Thus Basic English is used by companies who need to make complex books for international use, and by language schools that need to give people some knowledge of English in a short time
• To promote Basic English, Ogden founded the Orthological Institute, from orthology, the abstract term he proposed for its work
1941
1930
Go straight The ELI
Charles Fries The English Language Institute The English Language Institute was established in 1941 as the first English language research and teaching program of its kind in the United States. Since its founding, the ELI has become a leader in language teaching, learning, and assessment, in applied linguistics research, and in teacher education at the University of Michigan and throughout the world
• "Until this Institute was founded, there was no oral methodology for teaching English. A fast method was desired, and Fries developed the Oral Approach, which presented grammatical forms and patterns as exercises that were listened to, repeated and varied in a series of drills."
1950-1960s
1941
Go straight and turn right Speaking and listening
Bloomfield’s work in 1942 inspired both the massive US wartime programme of language teaching and postwar theories of teaching and learning. The audio-lingual method In the US in the 1950s there developed a movement based on the precepts of structural linguistics and behaviourist psychology and known variously as the audio-lingual method (ALM), audio-lingual teaching, audiolingualism, the structuralist approach, and structuralism.
Audiolingual Method
• The outbreak of world War II heightened the need for Americans to become orally proficient in the languages of their allies and enemies alike. To this end, bits and pieces of the direct method were appropriated in order to form and support this new method, “the Army Method” which came to be known in the 1950s as the Audio – lingual Method.
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This method was based on linguistics and psychological theory, and one of its main premises was the scientific descriptive analysis of a wide assortment of languages. • On the other hand conditioning and habit – formation models of learning put forward by behaviouristics psychologists were married whit the pattern practices of the Audio – lingual method.
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This method is characterized because of the very little use of the mother tongue in the classroom, lessons begins with dialogues, use of tapes and visual aids, learning vocabulary in context, it is focused on pronunciation, dependence on mimicry and memorization, According to this method speaking and listening competence preceded reading and writing competences.
1960-1970s
1950-1960s
Go straight and turn left Concious Control
The Cognitive Code approach
At the end of the 1960s and beginning of the 70s, as a reaction against the defects of the audio-lingual method, and taking as its theoretical base the transformational and generative grammar of Chomsky, the socalled cognitive-code approach became popular. According to this approach, the learning of a language consists in acquiring a conscious control of its structures and its phonetic, lexical and grammatical elements, by means of, above all, the study and analysis of these structures, organised into coherent groups of knowledge.
Once the student has reached a certain level of cognitive command of these elements, he will develop almost automatically the ability and capacity to use the language in realistic situations.
1977
1960-1970s
Go straight and turn left Unconcious Process
Natural Approach The Natural Approach was developed by Tracy Terrell and Stephen Krashen, starting in 1977. It came to have a wide influence in language teaching in the United States and around the world. • It adopts techniques and activities from different sources but uses them to provide comprehensible input
The Natural Approach is based on the following tenets: • Language acquisition (an unconscious process developed through using language meaningfully) is different from language learning (consciously learning or discovering rules about a language) and language acquisition is the only way competence in a second language occurs. (The acquisition/learning hypothesis) • Conscious learning operates only as a monitor or editor that checks or repairs the output of what has been acquired. (The monitor hypothesis)
• Grammatical structures are acquired in a predictable order and it does little good to try to learn them in another order.(The natural order hypothesis). • People acquire language best from messages that are just slightly beyond their current competence. (The input hypothesis) • The learner's emotional state can act as a filter that impedes or blocks input necessary to acquisition. (The affective filter hypothesis) For more information go to: http://www.sil.org/LinguaLinks/languagelearning/WaysToApproachLanguageLearning/TheNaturalApproach.htm
1977
1970-1980s
Go straight Humanism
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Suggestopedia Method Suggestopedia is a “humanistic
approach” developed by Georgi Lozanov in 1970’s. It is based on the idea that people, as they get older, inhibit their learning to conform to the social norms and in order to reactivate the capabilities they used as children, teachers have to use the power of suggestion. The suggestopedic approach is said to increase enormously the ability of students to learn, to remember, and to integrate what they learn into their personality.
Suggestopedia adopts a carefully structured approach, using four main stages as follows: • Presentation: A preparatory stage in which students are helped to relax and move into a positive frame of mind, with the feeling that the learning is going to be easy and fun. • First Concert - "Active Concert“: This involves the active presentation of the material to be learnt. For example, in a foreign language course there might be the dramatic reading of a piece of text, accompanied by classical music.
Second Concert - "Passive Review“: The students are now invited to relax and listen to some Baroque music, with the text being read very quietly in the background. The music is specially selected to bring the students into the optimum mental state for the effortless acquisition of the material. • Practice: The use of a range of games, puzzles, etc. to review and consolidate the learning.
1970-1980s
1970- 1980s
Turn right and go straight Internalization
Communicative Approach
Communicative language teaching is the generally accepted norm in the field of second language teaching. CLT suggests communicative language and language acquisition, and the approach proposes way for learners to internalize a second language and to experiment in a classroom context. Therefore, the classroom context is used to create activities to teach students how to react in a real world situation, not to fake real-world situations.
• Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audiolingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses.
•The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics.
Some characteristics
• It is assumed that the goal of language teaching is learner ability to communicate in the target language. • It is assumed that the content of a language course will include semantic notions and social functions, not just linguistic structures.
Students regularly work in groups or pairs to transfer (and, if necessary, negotiate) meaning in situations where one person has information that the other(s) lack. • Students often engage in role-play or dramatization to adjust their use of the target language to different social contexts. • Classroom materials and activities are often authentic to reflect real-life situations and demands.
• Skills are integrated from the beginning; a given activity might involve reading, speaking, listening, and perhaps also writing. • The teacher's role is primarily to facilitate communication and only secondarily to correct errors. • The teacher should be able to use the target language fluently and appropriately
1970- 1980s
1985
Go straight Students become independent
The Silent Way The Silent Way is an approach to language teaching designed to enable students to become independent, autonomous and responsible learners. It is part of a more general pedagogical approach to teaching and learning created by Caleb Gattegno. It is constructivist in nature, leading students to develop their own conceptual models of all the aspects of the language.
The best way of achieving this is to help students to be experimental learners. The Silent Way allows this. • The main objective of a teacher using the Silent Way is to optimize the way students exchange their time for experience. This Gattegno considered to be the basic principle behind all education: "Living a life is changing time into experience."
• The students are guided into using their inherent sense of what is coherent to develop their own "inner criteria" of what is right in the new language. They are encouraged to use all their mental powers to make connections between sounds and meanings in the target language. In a Silent Way class, the students express their thoughts and feelings about concrete situations created in the classroom by themselves or the teacher.
1980s
1985
Command
http://www.tpr-world.com
Total Physical Response
(TPR) is a method developed by Dr. James J. Asher, a professor of psychology, to aid learning foreign languages. The method relies on the assumption that when learning a second or additional language, that language is internalized through a process of codebreaking similar to first language development and that the process allows for a long period of listening and developing comprehension prior to production. Students respond to commands that require physical movement.
1980s 1980s
Go straight Left / right brain
NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming
NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) has been around in language teaching longer than we may realise. Those teachers who incorporate elements of suggestopedia, community language learning, music, drama and body language into their lessons are already drawing on NLP as it stood twenty years ago.
NLP, with its roots in psychology and neurology, is about the way the brain works and how the brain can be trained for the purpose of betterment. It encompasses or is related to 'left / right brain' functions, 'visual / auditory / kinesthetic' learning styles, multiple intelligence and other areas of research which are attempting to identify modes of learning whilst recognising the importance of the individual learner.
1983 1980s
At th first entrance, turn left
Seven human intelligences
Multiple Intelligence
Gardner presents the basis of his theory as follows: "I have posited that all human beings are capable of at least seven different ways of knowing the world -- ways that I have elsewhere labeled the seven human intelligences. According to this analysis, we are all able to know the world through language, logicalmathematical analysis, spatial representation, musical thinking, the use of the body to solve problems or to make things, an understanding of other individuals, and an understanding of ourselves.
Where individuals differ is in the strength of these intelligences -- the so-called profile of intelligences -- and in the ways in which such intelligences are invoked and combined to carry out different tasks, solve diverse problems, and progress in various domains."
Teachers are aware of the diversity in their classrooms. They know it is important to learn something about their students in order to invest more efficiently in the teaching-learning process, but it is not always clear what kind of knowledge would be most relevant and in what way this knowledge can be acquired.
1985
1983
Go straight and turn right
Integration
Whole language Approach
It is not a systemized approach, but rather a philosophy that assumes that reading and general language competencies are acquired through integrated use instead of through learning separate, finite skills, such as word attack, comprehension, and vocabulary. It relies heavily on the use of literature and trade books, rather than basal readers, and usually involves integrated thematic studies and the extended use of writing.
1985
1990
Go straight Lexis
Lexical Approach Based on the idea that an important part of language acquisition is the ability to comprehend and produce lexical phrases as unanalyzed wholes, or “chunks,� and that these chunks become the raw data by which learners perceive patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar-that language production is the piecing together of readymade units appropriate for a particular situation--the Lexical Approach concentrates on developing learners’ proficiency with lexis, or words and word combinations. This method proposes that it is not grammar but LEXIS that is the basis of language and that the mastery of the grammatical system is not a prerequisite for effective communication
Lexical Approach Based on the idea that an important part of language acquisition is the ability to comprehend and produce lexical phrases as unanalyzed wholes, or “chunks,� and that these chunks become the raw data by which learners perceive patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar--that language production is the piecing together of ready-made units
appropriate for a particular situation-the Lexical Approach concentrates on developing learners’ proficiency with lexis, or words and word combinations. This method proposes that it is not grammar but LEXIS that is the basis of language and that the mastery of the grammatical system is not a prerequisite for effective communication
1995
1990
Turn right
Curriculum
Content-Based Method In content-based instruction (CBI), the curriculum organizing principle is subject matter, not language. CBI can be focused around regular academic courses such as history and science taught in the target language or organized around a series of selected themes drawn from the regular curriculum.
1996
1995
Turn left Task
Task-based Instruction
It has interested some researchers and curriculum developers in second/foreign language instruction since the mid-1980s (Long 1985; Breen 1987; Prabhu 1987; Nunan 1989), as a result of widespread interest in the functional views of language and communicative language teaching. However, under the rubric of task-based instruction, a variety of approaches can be found, e.g., "procedural syllabuses," "process syllabuses," and "task-based language teaching“.
At a more fundamental level, the term 'task' itself has been a complex concept, defined and analyzed from various, sometimes critical, theoretical and pedagogical perspectives.
However, task-based approaches entail in common a more flexible approach in which "content and tasks are developed in tandem" From a course designer's point of view, the notion of task as the "unit of analysis" serves as a starting point in syllabus design, determining needs assessments, content selection, learning experiences, and evaluation it still remains the crucial point in taskbased approaches to second language teaching.
1996