2.3. Survey of approaches and
methods in Foreign Language Teaching.
Approaches and methods to language teaching have known shifts
and innovations in the course of history as people found it necessary to adapt
to different situations prevailing at any given time. One can mention, for
example, the purpose for learning a language, opportunities and means at the
learners' disposal, their immediate needs, etc. The next section provides a
brief overview of the main methods and approaches used in language teaching and
learning.
2.3.1. Grammar Translation Method
This method dominated European and foreign language teaching
from the 1840s to the 1940s. It is also called the `traditional method' and
this does not mean that it is older than the others but that it was a
reflection of the way Latin and Greek were taught as classical languages. As
the name suggests, language was taught mainly for the purpose of translating
texts from the target to the first language and vice versa and a thorough
knowledge of the grammar of the target language was necessary (Kilfoil and Van
der Walt, 1997: 9) Then, children entering the grammar school were initially
introduced to a rigorous Latin grammar course that was taught through the study
of rules. The following step was the application of this knowledge to the task
of translating sentences and texts into and out of the target language.
Richards and Rodgers (2001:5) summarise characteristics of the
Grammar Translation Method as follows:
1. The goal of foreign study is to learn a language in order
to read its literature or in order to benefit from the mental discipline and
intellectual development that result from foreign language study;
2. Reading and writing are the major focus;
3. Vocabulary selection is solely based on the reading texts
used, and words are taught through bilingual word lists;
4. The sentence is the basic unit of teaching and language
practice;
5. Accuracy is emphasised;
6. Grammar is taught deductively - that is by presentation and
study of grammar rules;
7. The study of native language is the medium of instruction.
In the meantime, the decline of Latin led to a new method that
was called the Direct Method. Advocates of the reform claimed that the previous
one was favouring grammar rules at the expense of oral communication.
2.3.2. Direct Method.
The Direct Method became popular in the 1920s but was in its
various forms influential around 1900. This method was a result of the
teachers' interest in developing methodologies for language teaching based on
naturalistic principles. They advocated the natural method of second language
learning like first language learning. In other words, they realised the
importance of being able to speak the target language. Thus, they argued,
language could best be taught by using it actively in the classroom; the
learners could be immersed in the language directly without the medium of
translation. This is why it is called the `direct method'. Richards and Rodgers
(2001:11) explain that a foreign language could be taught without translation
or the use of the learner's native language if meaning was conveyed directly
through demonstration and action.
Later this method showed some drawbacks. According to Kilfoil
and Van der Walt (1997: 9), this method fell into disfavour when it was
realised that students learnt better when the input they received was more
structured and graded. This culminated in what has been called the `Reform
Method' whose innovators claimed another approach to language teaching with a
focus on the language used in daily communication. In this case, the reform
supporters placed a marked stress on the teaching of pronunciation and courses
such as phonetics held an important position. On the whole, the Reform Movement
suggested changes on the basis of several reasons: lack of a rigorous basis in
applied linguistic theory, the learning required teachers who were native
speakers or who had native-like fluency in the foreign language, etc (Richards
and Rodgers, 2001: 12-13). Owing to these problems, a further new method was
proposed: the Audio-lingual Method.
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