To start with, we will introduce the traditional methods which constitute the most common ways of approaching foreign language teaching before the 1970s.
1. The Grammar-Translation Method.
By the 19th century, Grammar-Translation was the dominant methodology. This was because of the importance given to the study of Greek and Latin in schools, which at this time focused on accessing their literature by consciously memorizing the grammatical rules and lexical items of the target language.
Its main goal was “to be able to read literature written in the target language”, and the teaching/learning process was made by translation, memorizing grammatical paradigms and native-language equivalents. This way, the language areas that were emphasized were vocabulary and grammar, and there were few opportunities for listening and speaking practice. Evaluation was made by written tests with translation tasks and grammar exercises; and the teacher was the authority in the classroom, so most of the interaction was from the teacher to the students.
2. The Direct Method.
The Direct method, which arrived at the end of the 19th century, was the product of a reform movement which was reacting to the restrictions of Grammar-Translation. Advocates of this method believed that students learn to understand a language by listening to it in large quantities. They learn to speak by speaking, especially if the speech is associated simultaneously with appropriate action.
Its main goal was “to be able to communicate in the target language”, and the teaching/learning process was made by association of meaning and the target language directly. This way, correct pronunciation was emphasized, and students were engaged in oral language use that was contextualised. Moreover, vocabulary was emphasized over grammar, and oral communication was seen as basic, although all four skills were worked on. On this method the teacher and the students were seen like partners, so there was interaction both ways.
3. The Audiolingual Method.
In the 1920s and 1930s, the Direct Method morphed into the Audiolingual method in the USA. Audiolingualism saw itself as the first “scientific” language teaching methodology, and its linguistic principles were based on those of structural linguistics and behaviourist psychology. This theory was translated into practice in the 1940s in the Army Specialized Training Program, and later, dominated academic programs in the country in the 1950s and 1960s.
Its main goal was “to be able to use communication in the target language”, and the teaching/learning process focused on the oral form, code and structures; and new vocabulary and structural patterns were presented through everyday speech dialogues and learned through imitation and repetition. The oral/aural skills received most of the attention, and pronunciation was taught from the beginning. On this method the teacher was like an orchestra leader, directing and controlling the language behaviour; and there was student-student interaction in chain drills.
And now that you know something more about them, what do you think?
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