THEME 1.

THE EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGE TEACHING. PRESENT-DAY TRENDS IN THE

TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE. THE COMMUNICATIVE
APPROACH.

OUTLINE:

1. INTRODUCTION.

2. TRADITIONAL TEACHING METHODS.

2.1. The Grammar-Translation Method.
2.1.1. The Philosophy.
2.1.2. The Teaching Practice.
2.1.3. The evaluation.
2.2. The Direct Method.
2.2.1. The Philosophy.
2.2.2. The Teaching practice.
2.2.3. The evaluation.
2.3. The Audio-Lingual Method.
2.3.1. The Philosophy.
2.3.2. The Teaching practice.
2.3.3. The evaluation.

3. HUMANISTIC APPROACHES.
3.1. Suggestopedia.
3.2. The Silent Way.
3.3. Community Language Learning.
3.4. Total Physical Response.
3.5. The Natural Approach.

4. CURRENT APPROACHES.
4.1. A Functional Approach: The Communicative Language Teaching.
4.2. The Modern Integrated Language Teacher: Eclecticism.

5. CONCLUSION.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

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1. INTRODUCTION.

In the long search for the best way of teaching a foreign language, hundreds of different
approaches have been devised. To some teachers, the wide variety of options available may be
confusing rather than helpful. So, let’s start by explaining basic concepts as regards
methodology. Language teaching is sometimes discussed in terms of four related aspects which
for some authors could be considered as synonymous, but which are actually of a different
nature: approach, method, procedure and technique.
An approach is a theory about nature of language and language learning: It offers a model of
language competence; it describes how people acquire their knowledge of the language and
makes comments about the conditions that will promote successful language learning. Examples
of different approaches are the aural-oral approach and the communicative approach.
A method is the practical realization of an approach. Its originators have decided types of
activities, roles of teachers and learners, kinds of materials which will be helpful: A method can
not contradict its approach, although it is possible to have more than one method within an
approach. Examples of different methods that are based on a particular approach are the audio-
lingual method, the direct method, etc.
A procedure is an ordered sequence of techniques; e.g., first you do this, then you do that, and
finally ...Smaller than a method, it is bigger than a technique.
A technique is an activity used in a particular method, like drills, dialogues, role-plays, silent
viewing or “finger technique”. This last one consisting in holding up one’s hand and giving each
of the five fingers a word, e.g. He is not playing tennis, and then by bringing the is and the not
fingers together, to show the verb is contracted into isn’t.
Having said this, it is advisable for the English teacher to be aware of a range of methods or
approaches in order to find the one most appropriate to the learner’s needs and circumstances.

2. TRADITIONAL TEACHING METHODS.

2.1. The Grammar-Translation Method. (1850-1950s).

2.1.1. The philosophy. This method is based on the so-called faculty psychology. Applied to an
educative model, this particular approach considered that mental discipline through tedious
drilling repetitions was the best way for students to learn.

2.1.2. The teaching practice. In most schools that followed this method, grammar was taught as
a set of rules (e.g. verb conjugations) modelled after the classical languages, Latin and Greek;
practice was done through written exercises; the medium of instruction was the mother tongue;
vocabulary was learnt via long lists of translated terms, often related to the comprehension of
written texts; written text was seen as the ‘real’ language, superior to the spoken version; written
texts were constantly translated and composition in L2 was regarded the final goal and a token of
language competence; speaking and listening were seen as less important.
A typical Grammar Translation class would be teacher-centred, teacher-controlled. The teacher
presents grammatical rules (deductively) and long lists of vocabulary to the students. Next,
students would translate a text reflecting the previous items.

2.1.3. The evaluation. According to most modern linguists and pedagogues, this method lacked
a structured scientific vision of the language. It also neglected phonology, syntax and oral
input and output. Because translation was done on a word by word basis, students made several
mistakes which caused them some degree of frustration. Nevertheless, translation may not be

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totally criticized as long as it follows a coherent linguistic approach with the clear
methodological purpose of having students realize how structures work in both L1 and L2.

2.2. The Direct Method (1890s-now).

2.2.1. The philosophy. The direct method was an answer to the high degree of dissatisfaction
with the grammar-translation method, which taught students grammar and vocabulary through
direct translations and thus focused on the written language. With the upcoming of the Direct
Method, here was an attempt to set up the same conditions in which babies acquire L1:
through the imitation of the mother tongue’s acquisition process. For this reason the beginnings
of these attempts were marked as The Natural methods, being the Berlitz school the most
prominent one.

2.2.2. The teaching practice. Speaking and listening were the most important skills considered
by this method; the medium of instruction was English; students learnt sequences of strictly-
chosen grammatical phrases by listening and repetition; grammar ‘rules’ were avoided (rules
were acquired inductively), as well as translation; vocabulary was learnt either incidentally, as
part of the phrases being taught, or via lists grouped under types of situation, including pictures
and visual aids; phonetic correction is crucial. Today, its modern incarnation survives in the form
of language phrasebooks, and the method is still the basis of lower-level teaching in Berlitz
language schools.  

2.2.3. The evaluation. The main problem that most critics encountered when reviewing this
method was its lack of serious linguistic foundations. Another serious setback was the fact that
due to the impossibility of using L1, long and ineffective paraphrasing was required, thus
resulting in time managing trouble. Positive aspects can be found in the fact that students were
constantly exposed to a spoken input of the target language in a way more realistic version of L2
than the one offered by the Grammar Translation method.

2.3. The Audio-Lingual Method: ASTP (1960s-1970s).

2.3.1. The philosophy. The approach was theoretically underpinned by structural linguistics, a
movement in linguistics that focused on the phonemic, morphological and syntactic systems
underlying the grammar of a given language. As such, it was held that learning a language
involved mastering the building blocks of the language and learning the rules by which these
basic elements are combined from the level of sound to the level of sentence. It was also based
on the behaviourist theory of learning, which held that language, like other aspects of human
activity, is a form of behaviour. In the behaviourist view, language is elicited by a stimulus and
that stimulus then triggers a response. The response in turn produces some kind of reinforcement,
which if positive, encourages the repetition or the response in the future, or, if negative, its
suppression.

2.3.2. The teaching practice. In this context, it is worth considering for a moment what goes on
in the typical learning classroom. Do you ever ask students to repeat phrases or whole sentences?
Do you drill the pronunciation and intonation of utterances? Do you ever use drills?. What about
choral drilling? Question and answer?. If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then,
consciously or not, you are using techniques that are features of the Audiolingual approach.
This approach has its roots in the USA during WWII, when there was a pressing need to train
key personnel quickly and effectively in foreign language skills. The results of the Army
Specialized Training Programme are generally regarded to have been very successful, however

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it involved small groups and highly motivated learners, which undoubtedly contributed to the
success of the approach.
In the mid 60s, three new technological aids came into general use in the classroom -language
laboratory, portable tape-recorder and film-strip projector. They were greeted with euphoria, and
so considered revolutionary for language teachers. It meant the possibility of bringing native
speaking voices into classroom, among other advantages.

2.3.3. The evaluation. Its basic method of teaching is repetition, speech is standardised and
pupils turn into parrots who can reproduce many things but can never create anything new or
spontaneous. Mechanical drills were criticised as being not only boring and mindless but also
counter-productive, if used beyond initial introduction to new structure.
There was a tendency to regard audio-visual materials as a teaching method in themselves, not as
a teaching aid.
However, the approach did mark the start of the technological age in language teaching, eliciting
language from visual cues. It placed far more weight on the use of the foreign language in the
classroom by both teacher and pupil.

3. HUMANISTIC APPROACHES (1970s-1980s).

Since the 70s, several approaches to foreign language have been devised, aiming to provide a
radical alternative to traditional methods, which their proponents believe have failed. They draw
attention to the success with which people acquire more than one language all over the world,
and contrast this with the limited achievements of the classroom situation. If foreign language
learning can be made more natural, and the learner made more receptive to the task, it is argued,
more efficient learning will result.

3.1. Suggestopedia.

3.1.1. The philosophy. Often considered the strangest of the so-called “humanistic approaches”,
Suggestopedia was originally developed in the 70s by the Bulgarian educator Georgi Lozanov.
The approach was based on the power of suggestion in learning, the notion being that positive
suggestion would make the learner more receptive and, in turn, stimulate learning.

3.1.2. The teaching practice. This approach makes use of music, a comfortable and relaxing
environment, and a relationship between the teacher and the student that is similar to the parent-
child relationship. Music, in particular is central to the approach. Unlike other methods, there is
no apparent theory of language in Suggestopedia and no obvious order in which items of
language are presented.

3.1.3. The evaluation. There is, however, little evidence to support the extravagant claims of
success. The more obvious criticism lies in the fact that many people find classical music
irritating rather than stimulating, the length of the dialogues and the lack of a coherent theory of
language may serve to confuse rather than to motivate, and the provision of comfortable
armchairs and a relaxing environment will probably be beyond the means of most educational
establishments. In addition, the idea of a teacher reading a long dialogue aloud, with exaggerated
intonation, to the accompaniment of music may well seem ridiculous to many people.
However, certain elements of the approach may be incorporated into more ecclectical
approaches. The use of music both in the background and as an accompaniment to certain
activities can be motivating and relaxing. Attention to factors such as decoration, lighting and
furniture is surely not a bad thing. Dialogues too have their uses. Perhaps, most important of all

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ideas, creating conditions in which learners are alert and receptive can only have a positive effect
on motivation.

3.2. The Silent Way.

This method, devised by Gattegno, is based on the principle that the teacher should be as silent
as possible, and the learner should be encouraged to speak as much as possible. Gattegno claims
that first language acquisition and second language acquisition are totally different processes.
The method of learning a second language must differ radically from first language acquisition.

3.2.1. The philosophy. The three basic tenets of the approach are that learning is facilitated if the
learner discovers rather than remembers or repeats, that learning is aided by physical objects, and
that problem-solving is central to learning. The use of the word “silent” is also significant, as
Silent Way is based on the premise that the teacher should be as silent as possible in the
classroom in order to encourage the learner to produce as much language as possible.
The mind is considered an active agent that constructs its own learning process and
consequently students are responsible for their own learning process.

3.2.2. The teaching practice. The goal is for students to achieve near-native fluency; L2 is the
only language used in the classroom; the teacher does not interfere with the learner’s mind
processes in a student-centered class; classes start with pronunciation tasks and continue with
structures and vocabulary; it was typical to use coded-coloured sticks in order for teachers to
teach the basic structures of the language; lessons were planned around grammar items and
vocabulary; the class action constantly repeats the same pattern: teaching action (involving
silence from students) then testing and finally moving on to the next structure.

3.2.3. The Evaluation. The apparent lack of real communication has also been criticised, as it is
very difficult to take the approach beyond the very basics of the language, with only highly
motivated learners being able to generate real communication from the rigid structures. The fact
that it is limited to relatively small groups is also seen as a weakness.
As with other methods, however, aspects of the SW can be observed in many lessons in the
modern classroom. The problem-solving feature of the SW may well prove its most enduring
legacy as it has held indirectly both the idea of task-based learning and to the widespread use of
problem-solving activities in language classrooms.

3.3. Community Language Learning.

3.3.1. The philosophy. Community Language Learning was also called counselling learning.
It is founded on Charles Curran’s counselling psychology and based on the premise that a human
being needs to be aided by the community throughout the learning processes that he or she may
carry out. CLL appears different from traditional language learning in many ways. One of the
most significant issues is that it has many techniques to reduce anxiety. First, the form of the
class, the conversation circle itself, provides security. The desirable size of the conversation
circle is less than ten. Second, understanding between teacher and learners produces a sense of
security which reduces anxiety. Finally, a sense of security is woven into each activity of a
typical CLL cycle. The circle helps to build community. It provides a non-competitive
atmosphere, a sense of involvement and of equality. When students are comfortable with their
peers, they take more risks.

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3.3.2. The teaching practice. The teacher should not control the conversation in CLL, but let
students talk whatever they want to talk.
Transcripts of conversations, which are usually provided in the CLL approach, give a lot of
security especially to the learners whose learning style tends to rely on written forms. However,
one has to be careful so as not to depend on written forms too much, which has the danger of
ruining learners’ pronunciation since they are not relying on listening. Card games are seen as
helpful to internalize the material, enjoyable, as well as a means of reducing learning anxiety.
Above all, the reflection session is essential in the CLL approach. Trust between the teacher and
learners or among learners is established by sharing their feelings, anxieties, frustrations or
demands. By sharing anxiety, learners may build a sense of unity to do one task together, they
are members of the same group responsible for constructing their learning.

3.4. Total Physical Response.

3.4.1. The philosophy. According to James Asher, TPR is based on the premise that the human
brain has a biological program or device for acquiring any language. The process is visible when
we observe how infants internalize their first language. It looks to the way the children learn
their native language. Communication combines both verbal and physical aspects. The child
responds physically to the speech of his or her parent. For many months the child absorbs the
language without being able to speak. It is during this period that the internalization and code-
breaking occurs. After this stage the child is able to reproduce the language spontaneously. With
TPR the language teacher tries to mimic this process in class. This is not an elaborate linguistic
approach and consequently it has received a limited response from teachers.

3.4.2. The teaching practice. The main goal consists of teaching oral proficiency at beginner’s
levels; the method works by means of intensive oral drilling of grammatical structures in the
form of stimulus-response patterns. Competence is acquired through a physical response to
spoken utterances. Teachers use a great deal of commands that require an immediate physical
response. All classes are in L2 in the form of question-answer exchanges. No translation is
allowed in a teacher-controlled atmosphere.

3.5. The Natural Approach.

In the 1970s, the American linguist Stephen Krashen propounded an influential view on second
language learning. The term natural emphasizes that the principles underlying the method
conform to the principles of how children learn their first language.
Krashen distinguishes between acquisition and learning. The former is a subconscious process,
parallel to L1 acquisition, whereas the latter refers to a process in which conscious rules about
language are developed. According to this theory, acquiring a language is more successful and
longer-lasting than learning.
Krashen considered successful acquisition to be bound up with the nature of language input the
pupils receive in class. Input includes the language that the students already know, as well as
language that they have not previously seen. In other words, the input should be at a slightly
higher level than the students are capable of using, but at a level that the students are able to
understand. Like TPR, the Natural Approach gives importance to comprehension over
production. There is an emphasis on exposure or input, rather than practice.

3.5.1. Characteristics.
The main features of this method are:

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As much comprehensible input as possible must be presented. Teachers should afford students
the opportunity to acquire language rather than force them to learn it.
Whatever helps comprehension is important: visual, auditory aids, gestures, context, repetitions.
Focus on listening and reading; speaking should be allowed to emerge. Learners’ silent periods
should be respected. Speech from students can wait until they are ready for it.
A relaxed classroom atmosphere, in order to lower the affective filter, should be promoted.

3.5.2. Advantages and disadvantages.

The Natural Approach emphasizes comprehension and meaningful communication, as well as
the importance of emotional rather than cognitive factors in learning. These principles have
influenced current syllabus designs. However, some authors point out problems in the
learning/acquisition hypothesis. One problem is that acquisition takes a long time. L2 learners
have less time and opportunities for language exposure than children acquiring their mother
tongue. Research has shown that it takes over a year to accumulate as much L2 experience as a
young child gets from L1 in a month. Another problem is that it doesn’t make sense that learnt
language doesn’t lead to acquisition. It has been shown that learnt language, which is practiced,
does become part of the acquired store. Freer practice activities, such as communicative
activities, act as a “switch” which allows learnt language to transfer to the acquired store.

4. CURRENT APPROACHES.

4.1. A Functional Approach: The Communicative Language Teaching.

The CLT is described as an approach rather than a method, since it is defined in rather broad
terms and represents a philosophy of teaching which is based on communicative language use. It
has developed from the writings of British applied linguists such as Wilkins, Widdowson, and
others, all of whom emphasize notional-functional concepts and communicative competence,
rather than grammatical structures, as central to language teaching. It arose in the 1970s as a
reaction to the Audiolingual method. Noam Chomsky rejected the structuralist approach to the
description of language and the behaviourist ideas about language learning. He argued that
sentences are not learnt by imitation and repetition but generated from the competence of the
learners, so learners should be encouraged to use their innate and creative abilities. British
applied linguists emphasized another fundamental dimension of language, its functional and
communicative potential. Scholars who advocated this view of language drew on the work of
British functional linguists (Halliday) and American sociolinguists (Hymes), as well as on
philosophy texts (Austin and Searl). The work of these scholars had a significant impact on the
development of a Communicative Approach to language teaching. The Council of Europe
incorporated this communicative view into a set of specifications for a First Level
Communicative Language syllabus called Threshold Level English in the 1980s.

4.1.1. Characteristics.
The goal of language teaching is for the learner to develop communicative competence.
Language is learning to communicate in that language. Contextualization of language items is a
basic premise: teaching items are introduced in a meaningful context. The items are isolated for
controlled practice first, and later for freer practice.
A functional syllabus consists of arranging the functions, not the forms, of language. Form refers
to the grammatical structure, whereas function refers to the meaning and use of structures.
Examples of functions are introducing oneself, describing something, requesting information,
apologizing, etc. Translation and grammar explanations may be used where and when students
benefit from them.

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Fluency is prior to accuracy. Errors are seen as normal in the teaching-learning process.
Materials have a very important role in promoting communicative language use. Variation is
essential: audio-visual materials, task-based communication activities, games, role-plays, realia.
It is based on the principles of Information Transfer, applied to activities which involve the
student extracting information from a reading or listening text, the Information Gap principle,
the Jigsaw principle, the Task-dependency principle and the principle of balance between
accuracy and fluency.

4.1.2. Advantages and disadvantages.

Among its advantages is the fact that its teaching focuses on real world language use. The
learners’ perceptions, feelings and attitudes are taken into account. The learner is also
encouraged to work independently from the teacher, through pair and group work. But once the
initial wave of Communicative Teaching has passed, some possible disadvantages can be seen.
For instance, is this approach suitable for all levels? Many teachers consider that the functional
syllabus is more suitable for intermediate students, who have already learnt the basic
grammatical items. Is it a good idea to abandon the procedures of structure-based methods? It is
argued that students must inevitably learn the grammar of the language: They’ll still have to drill
structures and organize grammatical items into a suitable form of grading.

4.2. The Modern Integrated Language Teacher: Eclecticism.

Having analysed the most important teaching methods throughout history, we are ready to depict
how teachers may benefit from so many different approaches. A modern teacher who is familiar
with all these methods may actually use them to the benefit of his or her students so as to cover
all the possible variables of learning pace and language acquisition. Today’s teachers may use
translation when it is quick and efficient to get across meaning; they still may teach grammar
even though it is no longer assumed to be a starting point, but more a reference point. Drilling
(e.g. listen-repeat) may be appropriate when it is an efficient way for students to get around the
sounds and rhythm of a useful expression. Teachers also use gap-filling exercises to raise
students’ awareness of common lexical expressions. Information gaps can be used almost all
the time, in accuracy as well as fluency work. Personalization may be sought all the time,
whether the students are practicing language, preparing for a role-play, or reading the newspaper.
Task-based approaches come in handy when students are set a discussion role-play and are
required to prepare their positions in groups, asking for language help from the teacher as they
go along. Tasks are now seen as an excellent opportunity for students to put their different
competences into practice and they are recommended by the present Spanish legislation.
It has been a curious tendency to dispense with the old to make way for the new, but the modern
teacher should be able to use any approach from the past as long as it is appropriate and useful.
Eclectics try to absorb the best techniques of all the well-known language teaching methods into
their classroom procedures, using them for the purposes for which they are most appropriate. The
true eclectics must seek the balanced development of all 4 skills at all stages. In order to have
a sound eclectic method a core of principles is needed to guide the teacher’s selection of
techniques, strategies and teaching procedures.

5. CONCLUSION.

In the long search for the best way of teaching a foreign language, hundreds of different
approaches have been devised, but none of them has proved to be the magic wand anxiously
expected. No perfect method has yet been found which could enable both teachers and learners
to proclaim the success to which they have been aspiring. Therefore, all approaches, methods,

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procedures and techniques devised so far may result useful, provided they manage to enhance
teachers’ and learners’ motivation in the learning process.

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY.

HARMER, J. The Practice of English Language Teaching. Longman 1991.

MACKEY, W.F. Language Teaching Analysis. Longman 1965.
WILGA M. RIVERS Teaching foreign-language skills. University of Chicago Press. 1968.