Basic Classification of Methods

Basic classification of methods falls into three main categories:

(1) Structural methods:  the grammar-translation method and the audio-lingual

method (described below)

(2) Functional methods: situational language teaching (described below)

(3) Interactive methods (in alphabetical order):

 communicative language teaching,

 direct method,
 language immersion,
 natural approach,
 proprioceptive language learning method,
 silent way,
 storytelling,
 ,
 teaching proficiency through reading and
 total physical response (TPR).

Structural Methods
The Grammar-Translation Method
This foreign language teaching method is a structural method based on the
traditional (also called classical) method of teaching Greek and Latin.

 In the 18th and 19th centuries, an adult was considered mentally prepared
for the world and its challenges only if the person had learned classical
literature of the Greeks and Romans and mathematics.

The Goal
The goal of the grammar-translation method was to make learners able to read
and translate literary masterpieces and classics and not to speak a foreign
language.

It stayed in schools until the 1960s (including American schools), but the evolving
teaching methodology found many weak points of this method and it was
consequently replaced with the audio-lingual and direct method.
Note: However, India, where a number of methods and techniques have evolved in
foreign language teaching, this method is the oldest method of teaching and it is
still in active use.

Characteristics
In this method, students strictly follow the textbook and translate sentences word
for word in order to memorize abstract grammatical rules and exceptions and long
bilingual vocabulary lists:

 The teacher translates from the foreign language into the mother tongue and
the students from their mother tongue into the foreign language.
 Grammar points are presented contextually in the textbook and explained by
the teacher.
 The only exercised skill was reading but only in the context of translation.

Disadvantages
Because of these limited objectives, language professionals found
more disadvantages in this method than advantages.

 Namely, it is thought to be an unnatural method because it neglects the

natural order of learning (listening, speaking, reading and writing).

 It also neglects speech by placing very little or no attention to

communicative aspects of the language. Therefore, students lack an active
role in the classroom and as a result, they fail to express themselves
adequately in spoken language.

 Also, translating word for word is wrong because the exact translation is not
always possible or correct. Moreover, translation is nowadays considered an
index of one’s language proficiency.

 Another disadvantage of this method is that it does not provide such practice
to the learner that the person can internalize the patterns of a language to the
extent to make it a habit.

Positive and Negative Sides

Note: Language learning means acquiring certain skills, which can be learned
through practice of listening, speaking, reading and writing and not by just
memorizing rules.

The Audio-Lingual Method

In the audio-lingual method, students are taught directly in the target language
without using their native language. New words and grammar are explained orally
in the target language.

Unlike the direct method, the audio-lingual method doesn’t focus much on
vocabulary, but on static grammar drills. There is no explicit grammar instruction,
just memorizing in form and practising a certain construction until it is used
spontaneously.

 The innovation, however, was the use of the language laboratory or lab (an

audio or audio-visual installation aid). In this context, the teacher presents
the correct model of a sentence and the students repeat it. The language lab
stayed in use in modern teaching, especially to practice listening
comprehensions. However, the students exposed to this method have almost
no control on their own output and exactly this is in direct opposition to
modern language teaching.

Its Origins
 The audio-lingual method is also known as ‘’the army method’’ because of
the influence of the military; this method is the product of three historical
circumstances and the third factor of its birth was the outbreak of World
War II. American soldiers were sent to war all over the world and there was
a need to provide them with basic verbal communication skills.
 In addition, the launching of the first Russian satellite in 1957 motivated the
Americans to give special attention to foreign language teaching in order to
prevent possible isolation from scientific advances in the world.

 The other two circumstances include:

1. the work of American linguists such as Leonard Bloomfield, who led the
development of structural linguistics in the US (1930-1940) and
2. the work of behaviourist psychologists (e.g. B.F. Skinner) who believed that
all behaviour (language included) was learnt through repetition and positive
or negative reinforcement.

Note: The prevailing scientific methods of the time were observation and
repetition, conveniently suited for teaching masses.

The primary concern of American linguistics in the first decades of the 20th
century were languages spoken in the U.S. and linguists relied on observation in
order to theoretically describe native languages.

 The Pennsylvania project conducted in the period from 1965 to 1969 by

Philip Smith provided significant proof that the traditional cognitive
 approach involving mother tongue was more effective than the audio-lingual
methods.
 Other research also produced results which showed that explicit
grammatical instruction in the mother language is more productive.

 Since 1970, audio-lingualism has been discredited as an effective teaching

method, yet, it continues to be used today, although not as the foundation of
a course. It is rather integrated into lessons covered by modern language
teaching methods.

The structural view of language was eventually replaced by the view presented in
oral approach. The philosophy of the oral approach consists in viewing speech as
the basis of language and structure i.e. the basis of speaking ability.

American structuralists such as Charles C. Fries shared this view, but the British
linguists (such as M.A.K. Halliday and J.R. Firth) went further and stated that
structures must be presented in situations in which they could be used. Thereby,
they opened the door to Situational Language Teaching.

An Example of a Functional Method

Situational Language Teaching
In applied linguistics, Situational Language Teaching is considered an oral
approach developed by British linguists in the period from 1930s to 1960s. Its
main principles are learning vocabulary and practising reading skills.

This approach (some linguists refer to it as a method) has a behavioristic

background; it deals less with conditions of learning and more with the processes
of learning.

These learning processes are divided into three stages:

1. receiving knowledge,
2. memorizing it by repetition and
3. using it in practice to the extent that it becomes a personal skill and habit.

Characteristics of Situational Language Teaching:

 In theory, language learning is a habit-formation, which means mistakes
should be avoided as they make bad habits.
 Language skills are presented orally and then in written form as they are
learnt more effectively that way.
 The meanings of words are learnt only in a linguistic and cultural context.
  There is strong emphasis on oral practice, thereby this form of teaching still
attracts the interest of many practically oriented classroom teachers.

The view of this method was called into question by Noam Chomsky, who in 1957
showed that the structural and behavioristic approaches to language teaching were
not right. He claimed that fundamental defining features of a language such as
creativity and uniqueness of individual sentences were neglected by their
application. He also believed that a learner must have an innate predisposition for a
certain kind of linguistic competence.

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