Methods and Approaches to Language Teaching

Methods / Approaches to Language Teaching
17th Century
Johann Comenius, Czech scholar and teacher.
19th Century
20th Century
First to introduce an inductive approach.
His goal was to teach students to use the language through imitation.
Learn through pictures and the practice of reading.
Grammar-Translation Approach
Late 19th Century
Derived from the method of teaching Greek and Latin.
Explicitly focused on studying grammar.
Translate texts to read literature.
Direct Method
Teaching focused on speaking and listening in the foreign language.
Main objective: Develop communicative competence among students.
1950s
1970s
1980s
Audiolingual Method
2000s
Based on theories of Behaviourism.
Learning meant using the language to form new habits.
Lessons focused on drills and getting feedback from teachers.
The Silent Way
The teacher should be silent and the learners encouraged to speak.
1960s
Language used for self-expression, thoughts, and feelings.
Communicative Language Teaching
As a reaction to grammar-oriented approaches.
Focus on communicative competence.
Knowing when and how to say what to whom.
Total Physical Response
Built around the coordination of speech and action.
To reduce stress people may feel while studying a foreign language.
Community Language Learning
Meant to understand students' feelings, physical reactions, desire to learn.
Teacher's role: a counsellor.
Eclectic Approach
A blend of different methods to teach a language.
Learner-centered
Teacher's role: facilitator.
Suggestopedia
21th Century
Learning is fostered by reaching an optimal state of alert relaxation
Learning happens accidentally and naturally.
Task-based Language Teaching
Students can learn language by doing tasks.
They are assessed in terms of whether they manage to complete the task.
Dogme
Encourages to teach without textbooks.
Focus on language that emerges from conversation.
Content and Language Integrated Learning
Curriculum content and foreign languages are taught together.
A method that is quite popular.
726