The GTM

•The classical method (19th century).

•First used in teaching classical languages (Greek
and Latin).
•Purpose: help students read and appreciate
foreign language literature.
•Based on reading in the target language and
Characteristics translating in to the mother tongue.
•Use of first language in asking questions.
Focus on grammatical rules as a basis for
translating from L2 to L1.
•Memorize vocabulary.
•Focus on accuracy.

•Be able to read literature.

•Be able to translate each language into the other.
•The ability to communicate is not the target of
foreign language instruction.
•Primary skills to develop are reading and writing.
•Learning is facilitated through attention to
similarities between L1 an L2.
•Focus on the form of language.
•Deductive application to learning grammar rules.
Principles
•Learners are conscious of the grammatical rules of
L2.
•Verb paradigms and conjugation should be
memorized.
•The teacher is the authority in the classroom.
•Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of
isolated words.
•Little attention is given to the content of the texts,
which are treated as exercises in grammatical
analysis.
•Little or no attention is given to pronunciation.
 The reform movement:
• Language teaching specialists in England, France and Germany: specialists like Marcel
and Gouin provided new and alternative methods to teach the language. Their methods
however failed to catch the necessary attention.

• Practical minded linguists such as Henry Sweet : gave the needed intellectual leadership
reformist ideas needed at that time to gain credibility and acceptance

• The discipline of linguistics was revitalized :

• The scientific analysis and description of the sound systems of languages, Phonetics, was
established

• Linguists emphasized that speech was the primary form of language

• The International Phonetic Association was established in 1886

• IPA: International Phonetic Alphabet was designed

• One of the earliest goals of IPA was to improve the teaching of modern languages:

• The study of spoken languages

• Phonetic training to establish good pronunciation habits

• Use of conversation texts and dialogs

• An inductive approach to teaching grammar

• Teaching new meanings through association in TL

• Linguists became interested in the teaching of languages and tried to find the best ways
to teach foreign languages.

• ‘Sound methodological principles should be based on scientific analysis of language and

a study of psychology’ (Henry Sweet, The Practical Study of Language, 1899):

• Careful selection teaching material

• Imposing limits teaching material

• Arranging teaching material according to the 4 skills

• Grading material from simple to more complex

• In Germany W. Vietor used linguistics theory to justify his views on language teaching :
he argued that teachers should be well trained in phonetics because it would help them
 pronounce the language accurately. He believed that sound patterns are more important than
grammar.

• He criticized the ‘inadequacies not GTM and stressed the value of Phonetics as a new
science

• The reformer believed the following:

• Oral based methodology ( primacy of spoken language)

• The findings of phonetics should be applied to teachers and teacher training

• Learners should hear the language first before seeing it written

• Words in context: they should be presented in sentences. Teachers try to teach those
sentences in meaningful context not in isolation.

• Grammar taught inductively

• Translation should be avoided: sometimes the mother tongue can be used to explain
new words and check understanding.

• The reform movement laid the foundations of Applied linguistic: These principles
provided the theoretical foundations for a principled approach to language teaching, one
based on a scientific approach to the study of language and of language learning. The writings
of such scholars as Sweet, Vietor, and Passy provided suggestions on how these applied
linguistic principles could best be put into practice.
Theoretical DIRECT method
Background • Based on naturalistic principles emphasizing that learning should be
similar to kids’ learning of first language.
• Among those who tried to apply natural principles to language classes
in the nineteenth century was L. Sauveur (1826-1907), who used
intensive oral interaction in the target language, employing questions
as a way of presenting and eliciting language. He opened a language
school in Boston in the late 1860s, and his method soon became
referred to as the Natural Method.
• monolingual approach to teaching
• These natural language learning principles provided the foundation
for what came to be known as the Direct Method
• Direct Method receives its name from the fact that meaning is to be
conveyed directly in the target language through the use of
demonstration and visual aids, with no recourse to the students’
native language.

Principles • Instruction exclusively in the target language

• Only everyday vocabulary / sentences were taught
• Grammar taught inductively
• New teaching points taught through modeling and practice
• Oral communication skills were built up in a carefully graded
progression organized around question-and-answer exchanges
between teachers and students in small, intensive classes.
• Concrete vocabulary was taught through demonstration, objects, and
pictures; abstract vocabulary was taught by association of ideas.
• Both speech and listening comprehension were taught
• Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized

Goal of the • Teach the students how to communicate in the TL

teacher • Students should learn to think in the TL

The role of the • The teacher directs class activities

teacher • Works in partnership with the learners

The role of the • Learners are active partners.

learner

Student/teacher • Teacher/ student interaction

interaction • Student/ teacher interaction
• Student/student interaction
 •

Role of L1 • The students’ native language should not be used in the classroom.

Characteristics • Students need to associate meaning with the target language directly
of the Direct • Demonstrating meaning of new words through the use of realia,
Method objects…
• The teacher uses the target language to communicate and never uses
translation for any purpose whatsoever.
• The syllabus used in the Direct Method is based upon situations (for
example, one unit would consist of language that people would use at
a bank, another of the language that they use when going shopping)
or topics (such as geography, money, or the weather).
• No explicit grammar rules: grammar is taught inductively: students
make generalizations about rules from examples.
• New vocabulary is used in complete sentences.

View of • Language is primarily spoken, not written.

language • Students study common, everyday speech in the target language.

View of culture • They also study culture consisting of the history of the people who
speak the target language, the geography of the country or countries
where the language is spoken, and information about the daily lives
of the speakers of the language.
Areas of • Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar.
language • Pronunciation also receives attention right from the beginning of a
emphasized course.
• oral communication is seen as basic
Skills • work on all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening)
emphasized occurs from the start
• reading and writing exercises are based upon what the students
practice orally first
Errors • The teacher, employing various techniques, tries to get students to
self-correct whenever possible.
Evaluation • students are asked to use the language using both oral and written
skills
• Students might be interviewed orally by the teacher or might be asked
to write a paragraph about something they have studied.
Techniques • Reading Aloud: Students take turns reading sections of a passage,
play, or dialogue out loud. The teacher uses realia and objects to
explain the meaning of what is read.
 • Question and Answer Exercise: Students are asked questions and
answer in full sentences to practice new words and grammatical
structures. They can also ask question and answer them. All that is
done in the target language.
• Getting Students to Self-correct through:
o asking them to make a choice between what they said and an
alternative answer he supplied
o Repeating what a student has just said, using a questioning
voice signal to the student that something was wrong with it.
o Repeating what the student said, stopping just before the
error. The student then knows that the next word was wrong.
• Conversation practice
• Fill in the blank ( no explicit grammar)
• Dictation
• Paragraph writing

Criticism • Successful in private schools: motivation of clients and the use of

native-speaking teachers.
• Native- speaking or native like fluency in teachers
• Failed to consider the practicalities of the classroom
• Lack of basis in Applied linguistic theory
• ‘considered ‘enlightened amateurism’
• Dependent on teachers’ skills rather than on a textbook: not all
teachers were proficient enough in the foreign language to adhere to
the principles of this method.
• Strict adherence to DM can be counterproductive: sometimes
teachers may find themselves doing anything to avoid using students’
native language while explaining some things in the native language
would be efficient and save time and efforts.
• Verbal gymnastics can be frustrating : because of avoiding
translation
• By 1920s decline of use of DM in noncommercial schools in
Europe: combine it with some grammar-based activities.
• Attempts to implement it in the US
• 1923 study on the state of foreign language teaching ‘the
Coleman Report’ concluded: no single method could guarantee
successful learning
• Teaching conversation was impractical: time, skills of teachers,
relevance of conversation to American college students
• The recommendation of the Coleman Report (1929) was that the
goal of most language programs in the US became reading :
achieved through the gradual introduction of words and grammatical
Structures in simple reading texts.
• Despite its popularity in Europe, DM was not adopted by
everybody
 • It offered innovations in teaching procedures
• It lacks methodological basis
• Applied linguists (Henry Sweet among others) wanted sound
methodological principles and teaching techniques
• The reform movement laid the foundations for the British
approach to language teaching: Oral Approach/ or Situational
Approach , and the development of The Audiolingual Method in
the US

After DM • The concept of method as foreign language teaching was a

significant issue in education in 19th and 20th century
Here are some questions that prompted innovations:
• What should the goals of language teaching be? Conversational
proficiency, reading, writing, translation, other skills?
• What is the nature of language and how will it affect the teaching
method?
• What are the principles for the selection of language content in
language teaching?
• What principles of organization, sequencing, and presentation
best facilitate learning?
• What should the role of the native language be?
• What processes do learners use in mastering a language, and can
these be incorporated into a method?
• What teaching techniques and activities work best and under
what circumstances?
 Oral approach and situational language teaching

Introduction • An approach developed by British Applied linguists 1930s- 1960s

of the method • The Oral approach has had an impact on ESL and EFL.
• The basis of many textbooks that are still used today.

Background • It started with the work of British applied linguists in 1920s and 1930s
• Linguists such as Harold Palmer developed the basis for a principled
approach to methodology in LT
• Palmer and Hornby attempted to develop a more scientific foundation
for an oral approach than the Direct Method
• Systematic study of principles and procedures to select and organize
the content of a language course
•
Vocabulary • Investigations on foreign language vocabulary was undertaken for
control two reasons:
o Vocabulary was one of the most important aspects of foreign
language learning
o Emphasis on reading skills as the goal of foreign language
study( e.g.US as recommended by the Coleman Report) and
Vocabulary seen as an essential component of reading
proficiency (Michael West examined the role English in India)
• This lead to :
o Development of principles of vocabulary control (2000 words
guide of the most frequently used words) which greatly assist
students in reading a foreign language.
o A guide of English vocabulary was produced by West, Palmer
and other specialists
o This was revised to result in publishing ‘ A General Service
List of English Words’.
o These efforts which provided a scientific basis for choosing
vocabulary content of a language course produced the first
attempt to establish principles of syllabus design in language
teaching.
Grammar • Focus on the grammatical content of a course
control • Palmer dedicated his time to find suitable procedures to teach basic
grammatical patterns through an oral approach
• He saw grammar as the ‘underlying patterns of language’: not like the
grammar translation method which views all language as having one
single basis based on universal logic. This method considers teachers
responsible for showing students how each category of universal
grammar can be expressed in the foreign language.
 • Classification of major grammatical structures into sentence patterns
‘substitution tables’

• Pedagogical descriptions of language were developed by

specialists and used in :
o ‘A comprehensive methodological framework for the teaching
of English as a foreign language,
• All these efforts resulted in the British approach to ESL/EFL was
established
Situational • The British Oral approach( 1950s):
language • Systematic principles of selection (lexical and grammatical content)
teaching • Gradation (organization and sequencing of content)
• Presentation( techniques for presentation and practice of items in a
course)
• Direct Method, unlike this Oral approach, does not have systematic
basis in applied linguistics and practice.
• One of the active proponents of Oral approach was Pittman and
colleagues who developed situational based teaching material used in
English programs for immigrants in Australia
• Later published as the series Situational English
• Characteristics of this approach:
o Teaching spoken language first before writing
o Use of TL in the classroom
o New language is introduced and practiced in situations
o Vocabulary selections procedures : make sure that an essential
general service vocabulary is followed
o Graded grammar: teaching simple forms before complex forms
o Reading and writing introduced when enough lexical and
grammatical basis is established

Approach
Theory of • The theoretical basis For SLT is a type of British Structuralism:
language o Speech is the basis of language
o Structure is at the heart of the speaking ability
• British applied linguists prepared pedagogical descriptions of the basis
of grammatical structures of English
• Principle classroom activity is the oral practice of structures,
controlled sentence patterns in situations to give students a significant
amount of practice.
• Knowledge of structures should be linked to situations in which they
could be used : tenet of SLT
• British linguists developed powerful views of language:
o The structure of language has a close relationship to context
and situations in which it is used. (meaning, context, situation)
• Language situation activity: language, participants and object
 • Language was viewed as purposeful activity related to goals and
situations in the real world

Theory of • The theory of learning underlying SLT is a type of behaviorist habit

language learning theory: it addresses processes (receiving knowledge- fixing it
learning in the memory by repetition – using it in actual practice until it
becomes a personal skill) rather than learning condition.
• An inductive approach to the teaching of grammar: the meaning of
words and structures are induced from the way the form is used.
• Explanation is discouraged: meaning to be deduced
• What students learn should be applicable in real life situation (like a
child when he or she learns a language).
Design
objectives • Theories of language and language learning affects what the method
seeks to achieve
• Teach a practical command of the 4 basic skills
• The 4 skills are approach through structure
• Accuracy in grammar and pronunciation is crucial
• Errors are to be avoided at all cost
• Automatic control of the basic structures and sentence patterns to
reading and writing skills. This is achieved through speech work
• New structures and new vocabulary are taught orally.
• Free choice in sentence patterns and vocabulary are granted to those
students who can speak fairly correctly.
Syllabus • A structural syllabus: basic structures and sentence patterns (statement
patters, questions patterns and request or command patterns)
• A word list: chosen according to how well it enables sentences
patterns to be taught
• Sentences patterns:
o Statement
o Question
o request
o Command
• The course syllabus must include enough words upon which language
practice may be based.

•
Activities • Situations: use of concrete objects actions gestures to demonstrate
meaning
• Drill based activities: guided repetition, substitution activities, chorus
repetition, dictation, controlled oral based reading and writing tasks,
pair work, group work
The role of • Initially listen and repeat
learner • Respond to questions and commands
• Has no control over content
• Has to avoid incorrect habits
• Later more active participation is encouraged : initiate responses and
ask each other questions

The role of • Model for the presentation stage: set up situations in which the need
teacher for target language structure is presented and modeled for students to
repeat.
• Skillful ‘conductor of an orchestra’, ‘manipulator’ : uses commands
and questions to elicit correct sentences from learners
• Lessons are teacher-directed; the teacher sets the pace.
• The teacher is responsible for :
o Timing,
o oral practice,
o support textbook structures,
o revision,
o adjustments,
o testing,
o developing language activities other than the textbook

The role of • the method is dependent on textbooks and visual aids

instructional
materials
Procedures

Conclusion • SLT procedures were extensions of the Oral Approach

• Essential features, a lesson has three phases: P_P_P :
o Presentation ( introduction
o Practice( controlled practice)
o Production (free practice)
• SLT continued to be used (1980-1990s) :

• The view of language, teaching and learning were criticized in the

1960s
 The Audiolingual Method

Structuralism • Geneva School: F. de Saussure established Structuralism

and behaviorism • ‘A theoretical paradigm that views language as an interwoven
network in which elements are defined by their relationship to one
another.’
• A key objective: prove that every language has unique properties
• Observe and describe how a language is spoken by a group of people ,
without bias
• The rationale: no predictable relationship between the form of a
linguistic expression and its meaning ( arbitrariness)
• Language is a self-contained system of relations
• Langue ( language, a system of signs) vs. parole( the use of signs in
speech)
• syntagmatic relationships (linear: the relation between elements that
are combined with each other: letters, words, sentences)
• Paradigmatic relationships(elements of the same category: items that
can be substituted for each other)
• These relationships constitute the structure of language, and are the
main area of linguistic concern ,not meaning
• The Prague School: Jakobson and Trubetskoy
• Impact on phonology
• Distinctive features of phonemes
• Binary opposition [+ – voice ]
• Linguistic Circle of Copenhagen: Hjemslev
• Glossematics: a structural theory of language describing the formal
characteristics of language
• Shared Saussure’s ‘arbitrariness’
• London School: H.Sweet, D. Jones, J. Firth
• Synchronic description of language
• Prosodic analysis in phonology
• In the US structuralism was characterizes by empiricism: speech is the
only source of language
• L. Bloomfied : process of language description
• Immediate Constituent Analysis and Discovery procedures
• Segmentation, based on substitution, classification based on
distribution
• Bloomfield’s work was influenced by behaviorism
• ‘Humans, driven by stimuli, utter speech as a means to prompt a
response from the listener. Meaning is simply the relationship
between a stimulus and a verbal response. As an act of observable
behavior, language is acquired through conditioning and
 reinforcement. Conditioning occurs through interaction with the
environment.’
• (Hamawand, 2020)
background • DM did not take hold in the US
• Difficult to find native speakers in the US
• The Coleman Report 1929: Return to reading as a more useful method
of language learning
• Need for Americans to become orally proficient in languages of allies
and enemies : US government needed personnel who were fluent in
languages of allies and enemies to work as translators, code room
assistants and interpreters
• The US military funded special intensive language( too many hours
courses which focused on aural / oral skills
• ( aural: relating to the ear or the sense of hearing)
• Courses came to be known as Army Specialized Training Program
ASTP, the Army Method
• This program lasted only for two years, but it was discussed for a
decade by linguists
• Linguists and scholars were increasingly interested in language
teaching as America became a world power. Students from all over
the world came to America to study but needed training in English
before they could undertake their courses.
• All these factors led to the emergence of Audiolingual Method

•
 Approach

Theory of • Based on structural linguistics : learning a language entails mastering

language the elements of language and the rules by which they are combined

•
 • Structural linguistics believes that spoken language is more important
than writing, which results in this method focusing on oral skills
(speech)

Theory of • Based on the behaviorist theory of language learning elaborated by

language B.F. Skinner: learning is seen as a set of behaviors. Learners need a
learning stimulus to which they provide a response. Based on this latter, a
teacher gives a reinforcement which is crucial in turning this behavior
into a habit.

• Foreign language learning is a process of mechanical habit formation:

correct responses produce good habits. Memorizing dialogues and
pattern drills minimize mistakes.
• Language skills are learnt effectively if presented in spoken form:
Aural-oral training is needed.
• Analogy, generalization, and discrimination are better than
explanations of rules : inductive approach to grammar
• Meaning is best learnt in its cultural context
• .

Design
Principles • Language occurs in context : dialogues
• L1 and L2 have separate linguistic systems : minimizing interference
of L1 in L2 acquisition
• Language learning is a process of habit formation: repetition
strengthens habits.
• learners take the teacher as a model through imitating him or her
• Errors lead to bad habits: they are to be avoided at all costs.
• The purpose of language learning is to learn how to use the language
to communicate
• Students must learn parts of speech and which part they occupy in
sentence (substitution drills)
• Positive reinforcement = good habits
• Repetition /patterns drills help develop ‘good habits’
• Overlearning (automatic responses to verbal or non-verbal stimuli)
• A comparison between students L1 and the target language helps the
teacher to predict where students might find difficulties
• Learning a second language should be the same as acquiring the first
L1: grammatical rules are induced and not given directly to students.
• Learning structural patterns comes first then learning vocabulary.
The goals of the • Enable students to use language communicatively
teacher • Stop thinking before using the target language through overlearning
• Overcome bad habits of their native language.

The role of • An orchestra leader: directing/ controlling language behavior of

teacher students
• Provide a good model for imitation
•
The role of • They imitate the teacher/the model
learners • They have to respond actively to teachers directions
Characteristics • A great deal of oral activity : vocabulary and structural patterns
presented through dialogues
• Pronunciation and pattern drills( such as repetition, backward build-
up, chain, substitution, transformation, and question-and-answer)
• Conversation practice
• None of the grammar in traditional classes
• In the 1950s , with all its variations and adaptation , it came to be
known as the AudioLingual Method
• Dialogs are learnt through imitation and repetition
• Successful responses are positively reinforced
• Explicit grammar rules are not given
• Students’ reading and writing is based on oral work

Teacher/student • Student-student interaction in chain drills and role play in dialogs is

interaction teacher directed
• Interaction between teacher and student is initiated by the teacher
How is language • Influenced by descriptive linguistics
viewed • Language is seen as having a unique system with different levels:
phonological, morphological, syntactic
• Everyday speech is emphasized : the complexity of speech is graded (
beginners are provided with simple patterns)

Areas of • The ‘natural order’ of skills

language o Listening
emphasized o Speaking
o Reading
o Writing

• The oral/aural skills receive most of the attention. What students write
they have first been introduced to orally. Pronunciation is taught from
the beginning, often by students working in language laboratories on
discriminating between members of minimal pairs.

Role of L1 • L2 is used in the classroom

• L1 is thought to interfere with the students’ attempt to master L2
• The teacher may take advantage of a contrastive analysis between the
two languages to predict L1 interference.

Error correction • Errors are to be avoided at all costs. The teacher uses contrastive
analysis to prevent students from making mistakes.
Evaluation • Each question on the test would focus on only one point of the
language at a time. Students might be asked to distinguish between
words in a minimal pair, for example, or to supply an appropriate verb
form in a sentence.
Activities • Dialog memorization
• Repetition drills
• Chain drills : A chain drill gets its name from the chain of
conversation that forms around the room as students, one by one, ask
and answer questions of each other
• Backward build-up drill: This drill is used when a long line of a
dialogue is giving students trouble. The teacher breaks down the line
into several parts. The students repeat a part of the sentence, usually
the last phrase of the line. Then, following the teacher’s cue, the
students expand what they are repeating part by part until they are
able to repeat the entire line.
• Substitution drills: single slot/ multiple slot
• Minimal pairs: The teacher works with pairs of words which differ in
only one sound; for example, ‘ship/sheep.’ Students are first asked to
perceive the difference between the two words and later to be able to
say the two words
• Dialog completion
 • Grammar games
• Transformation drills: changing a statement into a question, an active
sentence into a passive one, or direct speech into reported speech.
• Question and answer drills

Decline • In the 60s ALM was used to teaching foreign languages and English
as a second language
• First criticism: the theoretical foundations were considered unsound
both in language theory and learning theory
• Second criticism: disappointing results of the method when students
did not succeed in transferring classroom knowledge to real life
communication
• Change in American linguistic theory in MIT
• ‘Language is not habit structure. Ordinary linguistic behavior
characteristically involves innovation, formation of new sentences,
and patterns in accordance with great abstractness and intricacy’ (
Chomsky, 1966, p. 153)
• The whole audio-lingual paradigm was called into question
•
 Silent Way

Caleb Cattegno
• Cattegno’s “Silent Way” was not the outcome of
Cognitive Psychology, but in line with it: both assign an
Pioneer active role to the learner.

•In both the Silent way and Cognitive Psychology,

teaching is subordinate to learning: Both are learner
centered, not teaching centered.

•People have been learning languages through the

Audio-Lingual Method.
•Disadvantage: students' inability to transfer classroom
acquired habits to communicative use in real life
Background situations.
•The criticism directed to behavorism by Noam Chomsky
challenged the validity of the habit formation premise on
which the Audolingual method was based.
•Behaviorism was followed by Cognitive Psychology.
•Structuralism was followed by
Transformational-generative linguistics.

•Creativity is the essence of human language.

•The behaviorist theory ( stimulus-response, mimicry,
repetition, etc. are not conducive to learning).
•Language is based on a finite number of words and an
infinite number of possible combinations (children produce
novel utterances everyday).
•Language learning is not the outcome of habit formation
(Behaviorism).
•Language learning is the process of creative rule
Concepts formation (cognitive psychology).
•Cognitive science deals with the scientific study of
thinking, reasoning and the intellectual processes of the
mind.
•Generative Transformational theory (proposed by
Chomsky in 1957) is a model for the description of all
languages.
•Internalized grammar of a language – Competence –
enables one to create and understand totally new
sentences.
•Competence enables us to tell what are and what are not
 possible sentences in a language (implicit knowledge)
•Competence is different from Performance which is the
actual use of the language by individuals
•Errors are inevitable, natural signs of learning/acquisition.
They show the learner is testing his hypotheses. The
progress is gradual .
•All four skills are worked on from the beginning.
•Form and meaning are important.

•Learning is facilitated if learners ‘discover’ or ‘create’

what is to be learned ( instead of repeating/remembering).
•Learning is facilitated by accompanying physical objects.
•Learning is facilitated by problem solving.
•Silent Way : tradition of discovery learning.
•Use of visual devices as associative ‘mediators’ for
learning and recall.
•Cattegno: openly skeptical ‘ of ‘the role of linguistic
theory in language teaching methodology’.
•Cattegno: importance of ‘grasping the « spirit » of the
language and not just the form.
The Silent Way takes a structural approach in organizing
Learning language taught.
Thoery •The Silent Way takes a structural approach in organizing
language taught.
•The sentence is the basic unit of teaching.
•Teacher focuses on propositional meaning instead of
communicative.
•Students learn structural patterns and grammar rules
inductively.
•The sentence is the basic unit of teaching.
•Teacher focuses on propositional meaning instead of
communicatie.
•Students learn structural patterns and grammar rules
inductively.
•Cattegno: vocabulary is a central dimension of language
learning
•The most important vocabulary: the most functional and
versatile words of the language
•« Functional vocabulary » provides a key to
comprehending the « spirit » of the language.
•Need of extensive understanding of native language.
•Cattegno: second language learning is ’radically different’
from first language learning.
 •Second language learning takes place in an ‘artificial and
a strictly controlled’ environment.
•Successful learning requires ‘commitment’ of the learner
through ‘silent awareness and active trial’.

•The teacher goes from familiar to unfamiliar. For example,

s/he starts with L2 sounds which are similar to L1 sounds.
•The teacher speaks very little, only when needed. Her/his
silence motivates the learners to participate more and be
active.
•The teacher is not the model. His gestures work.
•Students’ “self criteria” for correctness are emphasized.
•The student takes the responsibility of learning.
•Students’ actions show if they have learned.
•Students help each other.
•The teacher uses gestures and L1 to help them learn.
•Students’ familiar knowledge (old context) helps them
learn the unfamiliar (new context). The teachers
Principles interference is very little.
•Reading is worked on from the beginning but after
speaking.
•The teacher's silence leads to the student's autonomy:
learner centeredness.
•Meaning is achieved through perceptions (senses), not
translation.
•Little praise and punishment.
•Errors are important. They are the road signs.
•Self correction over teacher’s correction.
•Learning rates are different. Perfection is not the target.
•Meaningful practice is preferred to repetition.
•Logical presentation of language elements from familiar
to unfamiliar.
•Autonomy is gained by exploring and making choices.
•Feedback from students informs the teacher.
•No homework: sleeping practice
•Syllabus is structure based.
•Structures are not presented in a linear way( no expected
order of appearance).
•Skills (speaking, reading and writing) reinforce one
another.

Goals •Students should be able to use the language for

self-expression- to express their thought, perceptions, and
feelings.
•Students need to be independent from the teacher
Role of the •The teacher is a technician or engineer.
•The teacher should respect the autonomy of the learners
Teacher
in their attempts at relating and interacting with the new
challenges.

Role of the •The students make use of what they know, free
themselves of any obstacles that would interfere with the
Students
learning task.
•Students actively engage in exploring the language.

Teacher-Ss •The teacher is silent for the most part.

•The teacher sets up situations and gives clues.
interaction
•The teachers listens attentively to the students.
•Student –student interaction is desirable.

Students' •The teacher is attentive to the students’ feelings.

•They express how they feel at the end of the session.
feelings
•A relaxed atmosphere is required for their cooperation.

How are •Languages of the world share some features.

•Culture is reflected in the language and is inseparable
language
from the language.
and culture
viewed?
Areas of •All four skills are worked on from the beginning of the
course.
language
•There is a sequence in that students learn ( read and
emphasized write what they have already produced orally).

Role of Ss' •The native language is also used (at least at beginning
levels of proficiency) during the feedback sessions.
L1

•The teacher does not praise or criticize student behavior

since this would interfere with students' developing their
Evaluation
own inner criteria.
•The teacher expects students to learn at different rates.
•The teacher looks for steady progress, not perfection.

Errors •Student errors are seen as a natural, indispensable part

of the learning process.
•Errors are inevitable since the students are encouraged to
 explore the language.
•The teacher uses student errors as a basis for deciding
where further work is necessary.

Advantages •Innovation in organization of classroom activities.

•Responsibility placed on learners.
•Autonomy of learners in figuring out how language works.

Disadvanta •Traditional structural lexical syllabus.

•Use of traditional methods: focus on accurate repetition
ges
of sentences modeled by teacher.
 TPR

Background • 1970s-1980s : ‘major paradigm shift’

• Search for alternative methods to GTM
• ‘Growing interest in communication’
• Methods based not on a theory of language but the work of one
educator : Cattegno, Lozanov, Asher
• Asher’ work benefited from various field:
o Developmental psychology: ‘‘trace theory of memory in
psychology( the more often or the more intensively a memory
connection is traced, the stronger the memory association will
be and the more likely it will be recalled. Retracing can be
done verbally by rote repetition and or in association with
motor activity. Combined verbal rehearsal accompanied by
motor activity will increase the possibility of successful
recall.( Richards and Rogers, 2001)
o Humanistic pedagogy: focus on learner’s feelings; affective/
emotional factors in language learning
• Learning theory: ‘the brain and the nervous system are biologically
programmed to acquire language in a particular sequence and in a
particular mode? ( listening before speaking and the mode is to
synchronize language with the individual’s body)

•
• Palmer’s language teaching procedures to develop proficiency
• ‘…underdeveloped in the domain of theory of language’
• Most methods target the speaking skill of their students
• It is a comprehension approach because of the importance it gives to
listening comprehension
• 1960s-1970s: hypothesis is that language learning should start with
understanding and later proceed to production
• ‘after the learner internalizes an extensive map of how the target
language works, speaking will appear spontaneously’
• ‘Students’ speech will not be perfect, but gradually become target-
like’ similar to infants who speak when they are ready.
• Successful language learning rests on stress-free atmosphere in the
classroom
 •

Approach

Theory of • Total Physical Response : grammar-based view of language

language • ‘most of the grammatical structure of the target language and
hundreds of vocabulary items can be learned fron the skillful use of
the imperative by the instructor’
• (Asher, 1977:4)
• According to Asher, the verb in the imperative form is ‘ the central
linguistic motif around which language use and learning are
organized’

Theory of • Stimulus – response associated with ‘motor activity‘verbal rehearsal

language accompanied by motor activity…increase the possibility of successful
learning recall’
• Asher relies on three learning Hypotheses:
o 1. ‘The exitence of ‘a specific innate ‘bio-program for
language learning which defines an optimal path for first and
second language learning’
o 2. Brain lateralization defines different learning functions
o 3. Stress affects learning: lower stress results in greater
learning
• Asher based foreign language learning upon the way children learn
their native language
• L1 learning: children acquire ‘through motor movement’( Right
hemisphere activity)
• L2 learning should use the same path ( the left-hemisphere will
‘watch, learn..and be triggered to produce language’
• Comprehension before production is « imprinted » through carrying
out commands
• Reduction of stress is a condition to successful learning
• Movement can liberate the learner from ‘self-conscious and stressful
situations’

Design
Objectives • Teach basic speaking skills through comprehension
• Teach oral proficiency at a beginning level to produce learners who
can communicate uninhibitedly and intelligibly with native speakers
• Whatever goals the teacher has, it must be based on actions in the
imperative (the same way children learn their first language)
syllabus • Sentence-based syllabus with grammatical and lexical criteria being
primary with focus on meaning not form (unlike other methods
which have a grammatical-based or structural view)
• Grammar taught inductively
•
Principles • Meaning can often be conveyed through actions
• Memory is activated through learning responses
• L2 instruction should address the right hemisphere of the brain (the
part that controls non-verbal behavior)
• The target language is presented in ‘chunks’ not word by word
• A fixed number of words at a time
• The students’ understanding of the target language should be
developed before speaking
• It is important that students feel successful
• Language learning is better when it is fun
• Spoken language is emphasized over written language
• Students will speak when they are ready

Goals of teachers • Importance of having students ‘enjoy’ learning to communicate

• TPR was developed to reduce stress
• Encourage students to go beyond a beginning level of proficiency
•
Role of teacher • Active and direct role
• The director of ‘stage play’ with students as actors

Role of learners • Listeners and performers

• Little influence over content of learning
 •
Role of L1 • TPR is usually introduced in the student’s native language
• After introduction it is rarely used
• Meaning is made clear through body movements

Learner’s • TPR was developed to reduce stress

feelings • Learners speak when they are ready
• Perfection should not be expected
• Learning should be made enjoyable through zany commands and
humourous skits
• Feelings of success and low anxiety facilitate learning

Areas of • Vocabulary and Grammar embedded within imperatives ( frequency

language of occurrence in first language acquisition)
Emphasized • The spoken form of language is emphasized over the written form
• Understanding spoken language should precede its production
•
Error correction • Errors are expected
• Teachers should be tolerant of students errors
• Correction of ‘major errors unobtrusively’
• ‘Fine tune minor’ errors as learners advance

•
procedures • A typical TPR lesson: teacher introduces the method in the native
language
• The teacher tells the students that at first they will just listen and do as
she does
• The teacher will ask for volunteers
 • The teacher the gives ‘commands’ and carries them out; e.g. stand up,
sit down etc.
• The teacher issues more commands and the volunteer students carry
them out
• The teacher then approaches the other students and gives them
commands as well
• The commands are done in chunks
• The commands are not fixed
• The teacher then writes the commands on the board for students to
copy
• A Total Physical Response lesson does not use a TPR syllabus
exclusively
• Imperative drills are a major activity
• Use of dialogs after about 120 hours of teaching
• Use of role play everyday situations
•
Advantages • Stress reduction proved important
• TPR can be used with other methods
• TPR techniques may be effective

Disadvantages • Focus on imperatives is restrictive

• Students are not given the chance to express their opinions
• Not useful for non-beginners
• Not appropriate for all learning styles
 Suggestopedia/desuggestopedia

Background and • Derived from Bulgarian psychologist- educator Georgi Lozanov

approach (1979)
• ‘A set of learning recommendations derived from ‘Suggestology…a
science concerned with the systematic study of the nonrational and/or
nonconscious influences humans respond to’
• Lozanov borrowed rhythmic breathing techniques from yoga to alter
states of consciousness an concentration.
• All students can be taught at the same level skill , gifted or not gifted (
Russian psychology)
• Use of music to establish and maintain relationships, increase self-
esteem and self- satisfaction and use of rhythm to relax (therapy)
• The last use of music structures, paces, and organize the presentation
of linguistic materials.
• The contention was the human brain could process great quantities of
material if given the right conditions for learning:
o A state of relaxation
o Giving over control to the teacher
• According to Lozanov people are capable of learning much more than
they give themselves credit for
• Lozanov created this method which capitalized on relaxed states of
mind for maximum retention of material
• Music was central to this method
• No clearly articulated a theory of language
• No assumptions regarding language elements or their organization
• Emphasis on memorizing vocabulary pairs L1 and L2
• View of language: Lexis is important and so is lexical translation
rather than contextualization
• Experiencing language in ’whole meaningful texts’
• The goal is to direct students to acts of communication , not to
vocabulary memorizing and habits of speech
• Theory of learning: this method is based on suggestion.
• Lozanov’s method ‘suggests and desuggests’ through six components:
• 1. Authority: information coming from a trusted ‘authoritatively
appealing’ source is remembered better . The teacher should be highly
motivated with highly positive attitude, committed to the method,
self-confident has an acting ability
• 2. Infantilization: teacher-student relation is like child-parent
relations.
• - The child’s/ student’s role: role play, games, etc. ‘help the older
student regain the self-confidence, spontaneity and receptivity of the
child’
• 3. double-planedness:
 o Plane 1: Direct language use and instruction
o - Plane 2: the environment, classroom decor, musical
background,, chairs, teacher’s personality
• 4. Intonation, rhythm, and concert pseudo- passiveness: The
material is presentated in a dramatized and emotionalized way to give
meaning to ‘linguistic material’. Dramatic reading helps visualize the
context and memorize the material
• Coordination of rhythm, intonation with musical background to
induce a relaxed attitude ‘a concert pseudo-passiveness’
• Anxiety and tension are relieved for optimal learning

Design
Objectives • Deliver advanced conversational proficiency quickly through
increased memory power through ‘positive stimulation of personality’

syllabus • A Suggestopedia course: 30 days, 4 hours a day, 6 days a week

• Each unit: a dialog of about 1200 words + vocabulary list and
grammar commentary
• Dialogs are graded by lexis and grammar

Principles • Learning is facilitated in a cheerful environment

• Peripheral learning: students learn from environment even if their
attention is not directed to it
• Trust and respect enhance learning
• Role-play lowers inhibition
• Unity between the conscious and subconscious enhances learning.
Conscious : exposed to language
Subconscious : music suggests that learning is easy and enjoyable.
• The arts (music, art, drama…) should be integrated as much as
possible to enable students overcome their psychological barriers.
• Novelty aids acquisition: the teacher should use various techniques to
help students activate what they have been exposed to.

Goals of teachers • Accelerate the process of learning by dessuggesting the psychological

barriers by using techniques to activate the ‘paraconscious mind’ and
allow students to fully use their mental powers.

Role of teacher • The teacher is the authority in the classroom

• For the method to work, students should trust and respect the teacher
• Trust establishes security
• Security leads to spontaneity and less inhibition
 •

Role of learners • They should immerse themselves in the process of learning forgetting
about all distractions
• They should stay relaxed and not try to manipulate or study the
material. They should let it flow through them.
• They should respect teacher authority and open themselves to his or
her instructions.
•
•
Expected teacher • Show absolute confidence in the method
behavior • Display fastidious conduct in manners and dress(attentive to details)
• Organize properly and strictly observe the initial stages of the
teaching process
• Maintain solemn attitude toward the session
• Give tests and respond tactfully to poor papers if any
• Stress global rather than analytical attitudes toward material
• Maintain a modest enthusiasm

Characteristics of • Colorful environment

the learning • Grammatical information is displayed in the classroom through
process posters to take advantage of students’ peripheral learning. They are
changed in weeks so the class maintains a sense of novelty.
• Students choose names, occupations, identities, biographies
• Students work from handouts/ lengthy dialogs
(a translated version is provided in the native language of the student)

Student-teacher • Teacher initiates interaction. Students respond nonverbally or using a

interaction little bit of the target language words they have learnt.
• Students later respond appropriately and eventually initiate interaction
•
Students feelings • Great attention is given to students’ feelings
• A fundamental principle is that students are relaxed and confident.
Learning does not come the hard way. It comes naturally and easily.
• Students’ psychological barriers are to be ‘desuggested’
• Indirect positive comments suggested are to enhance the students’
self-confidence
• Students can choose a new identity in the target language, which
enables them to be more open and feel secure to learn better.
procedures • A typical class has three phases
• Phase one: oral review session: review of previously learned
material :
o Micro studies: grammar, vocabulary and Q&A
o Macro studies: role play
• Phase two: presenting new material
• Phase three: a séance, concert session
•
How is language • Language is the first of two planes in the two-plane process of
viewed communication
• In the second plane are the factors which influence the linguistic
message (nonverbal behavior). For example, how one dresses or uses
nonverbal behavior influences the interpretation the linguistic
message.
• Culture concerns the everyday life of people who speak the language
• Use of fine arts is important in Dessuggestopedic classes
•
Areas of • Vocabulary (the method claims its success in the large number of
language words that can be acquired)
emphasized • Grammar is dealt with explicitly and minimally
• (the paraconscious mind will absorb the linguistic rules)
• Speaking communicatively
• Reading dialogs
• Writing imaginative compositions

Role of native • Native language translation is used to make the meaning of the dialog
language clear
• The teacher uses the students native language in class when necessary
(less and less as the learning advances)
•
Evaluation • No formal tests because they threaten the relaxed atmosphere
necessary for accelerated learning
• Just normal in-class performance
Student errors • Errors are corrected gently, with the teacher using a soft voice.
•
Techniques
criticism • Some techniques used in Suggestopedia may be useful
• Its pseudo-science approach
• Use of ‘placebo’ system
•
 Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)

Introduction • Educators began to question the methods used in the 1970’s

• Students couldn’t communicate appropriately outside the classroom
• They noticed that communication required more than mastering
linguistic rules
• Knowing the rules of usage doesn’t necessarily mean mastering
language use
• It became clear that being able to communicate requires more than
linguistic competence
• Communication requires communicative competence

Theoretical • Communicative Language Teaching aims to broadly apply the

background theoretical perspective of the communicative approach
• CLT aims to make communicative competence (Hymes, 1972) the
goal of language teaching

• Communication is the aim of language learning.

• It started in 60’s and 70’s as a reaction against the grammar
translation method.
• New syllabuses took into account needs of different learners in terms
of usefulness for practical purposes.
• Communicative competence is what a speaker needs to know in order
to be communicatively competent in a speech community.
‘Knowing what to say, when to say it, how to say it and to whom to say it’
 • CLT acknowledges the interdependence of language and
communication.
• Communication requires that learners perform certain functions such
as promising, inviting, etc…
• Communication requires more than linguistic competence: rules of
linguistic usage
• Theory of learning: no clear writings about this area. However some
tried to infer it from CLT activities resulting in three principles
• Communication principle : activities involved real
communication promotes learning
• Task principle : activities to carry out tasks using language
promotes learning
• Meaningfulness principle: meaningful language promotes
learning.

How is language • Language is for communication

viewed? • Students need knowledge of forms and meanings and functions
• Students must take into account the social situation to convey
meanings
• Students need to be aware of certain cultural aspects important to
communication
• Students need to have communicative competence

Communicative • Four dimensions of communicative competence (Canale and

Competence Swain,1998) :
• Grammatical competence- similar to linguistic competence by
Chomsky: what is formally possible
• Sociolinguistic competence: understanding of the social context in
which communication takes place, including role relationships, the
shared information of the participants, and the purpose for their
interaction
• Discourse competence: the interpretation of individual message
elements in terms of cohesion and coherence
• Strategic competence: the coping strategies to initiate, terminate,
maintain, repair, and redirect communication

Design
Principles • Use of authentic language (language as it is used in real context)
• Providing all the forms related to a function
• Learners should be given the opportunity to express their opinions
• Learning to use language forms appropriately is an important part of
communicative competence
• Communicative interaction encourages negotiation of meaning
Goals of teachers • Enable learners to communicate in the target language
• Enable the students to learn the different forms they need to perfom
the different functions
• Enable the learners to choose which forms they need to perfom which
functions
• Enable the students to negotiate meaning
•
Role of teacher • Facilitate communication in the classroom
• Establish situations that promote communication
• Advise in communication activities
• Co- communicate in class activities
• Have a less dominant role than in other teacher-centered methods

Role of learners • Communicators

• Negotiators of meaning: they make themselves understood and
understand others even when their knowledge of the target language is
incomplete.
• Responsible managers of their learning
•
Role of L1 • Use of L1 is allowed only when necessary
• L2 is used in classroom exchanges for explanations and classroom
management to make students aware that the target language is a
vehicle of communication, not just a subject to study.

Teacher-student • Student to student interaction (includes the teacher where necessary)

interaction • Teacher monitors and intervenes only when necessary.
• Students are given every opportunity to practice communication.
• Teacher talking time (TTT) must be kept to a minimum.
• TTT should be controlled and appropriate. ∗ The classroom should
be learner-centered.
• The teacher’s role is to facilitate student communication
• Selection of materials and activities relevant to the aims of the lesson

Characteristics of • Communication is purposeful

Teaching/Learni • Students use the language a great deal (games, role plays, problem
ng solving tasks)
 • Authentic materials are used
• Activities are often carried out in pairs and small groups to find time
for everyone to communicate
•
Skills • Language functions are emphasized over forms
Emphasized • Students are presented with the various forms for each function
• Simpler forms are presented first
• Students learn about coherence and cohesion
• Students work on the four skills from the beginning
 •
How are • Learning to communicate is motivating
students’ feelings • Students feel they are learning something useful with the language
dealt with? • Students express their ideas, opinions and therefore their individuality
• The cooperative interactions among students enhance their security
•
Evaluation • Teachers evaluate both accuracy and fluency
• Evaluation can be done informally : students’ performance
• Evaluation can be done formally through integrative tests which have
communicative function: a teacher might ask students to write a letter
to a friend to assess their writing skills.
•
errors • Errors are tolerated in fluency activities as part of the learning
process. They are natural outcomes of learning.
• Errors of form are dealt with in accuracy-based activities by teachers
after noticing them in fluency-based activities.

Techniques and • Authentic materials:

materials o ‘Listening: TV shows, radio, commercials, news broadcasts,
documentaries, movies, phone messages, etc.
o Visual: photographs, art works, signs with symbols, postcards,
picture books, etc.
o Printed: restaurant menus, newspaper articles, bulletin board
advertisements, company websites, coupons, sales catalogues,
travel brochures, maps, telephone books, signs, blogs, movie
posters, food labels, etc.’
Procedure • In a typical class, teacher hands out a task where authentic language is
used
• Students are to figure out the writer’s intentions
• The target language is both vehicle and target of study
• Students try to predict writer’s intentions using different linguistic
forms
• Students play a language game which has features common in real
communicative events
• Students are asked how they feel about the predictions
• Errors are ignored/ tolerated
• Use of picture story (scrambled)
• Students role play (social context for communication)
• Teacher offers advice and answers questions
 • Students role play (social context for communication)
• Teacher offers advice and answers questions
Criticism • Being prejudiced in favor of native-speaker teachers by demanding a
relatively uncontrolled range of language use and expecting the
teacher to be able to respond to any and every language problem
which may come up.
• A basis of group and pair work and less teacher intervention against
education traditions
• Lack of explicit teaching of grammar :
• a consequent loss among students in accuracy in the pursuit of fluency
•