3Main Part: a brief history of language teaching

Approach
- Although specific theories of the nature of language may provide
the basis for a particular teaching method, other methods derive primarily from a
theory of language learning. A learning theory underlying an approach or method
responds to two questions: a) What are the psycholinguistic and, cognitive processes

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involved in language learning? and b) What are the conditions that need to be met

in order for these learning processes to be activated? Learning theories associated
with a method at the level of approach may emphasize either one or both of these
dimensions. Process-oriented theories build on learning processes, such as habit
formation, induction, inferencing, hypothesis testing, and generalization. Condition-
oriented theories emphasize the nature of the human and physical context in which
language learning takes place. Stephen D. Krashen's Monitor Model of second
language development is an example of a learning theory on which a method (the
Natural Approach) has been built. Monitor theory addresses both the process and the
condition dimensions of learning. At the level of process, Krashen distinguishes
between acquisition and learning. Acquisition refers to the natural assimilation of
language rules through using language for communication. Learning refers to the
formal study of language rules and is a conscious process. According to Krashen,
however, learning is available only as a "monitor." The monitor is the repository of
conscious grammatical knowledge about a language that is learned through formal
instruction and that is called upon in the editing of utterances produced through the
acquired system. Krashen's theory also addresses the conditions necessary for the
process of "acquisition" to take place. Krashen describes these in terms of the type
of "input" the learner receives. Input must be comprehensible, slightly above the
learner's present level of competence, interesting or relevant, not grammatically
sequenced, in sufficient quantity, and experienced in low-anxiety contexts [9.p.204].
James Asher's Total Physical Response is likewise a method that derives
primarily from learning theory rather than from a theory of the nature of language.
Asher's learning theory addresses both the process and condition aspects of learning.
It is based on the belief that child language learning is based on motor activity, on
coordinating language with action, and that this should form the basis of adult
foreign language teaching. Orchestrating language production and comprehension
with body movement and physical actions is thought to provide the conditions for
success in language learning. Caleb Gattegno's Silent Way is likewise built around
a theory of the conditions necessary for successful learning to be realized. Gattegno's

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writings address learners' needs to secure about learning and to assume conscious

control of learning. Many of the techniques used in the method are designed to train
learners to consciously use their intelligence to heighten learning potential. There
often appear to be natural affinities between certain theories of language and theories
of language learning; however, one can imagine different pairings of language
theory and learning theory that might work as well as those we observe. The linking
of structuralism (a linguistic theory) to behaviorism (a learning theory) produced
audiolingualism. That particular link was not inevitable, however. Cognitive code
proponents, for example, have attempted to link a more sophisticated model of
structuralism to mentalistic and less behavioristic brand of learning theory
[10.p.429].
Different theories of language and language learning influence the focus of a
method; that is, they determine what a method sets out to achieve. The specification
of particular learning objectives, however, is a product of design, not of approach.
Some methods focus primarily on oral skills and say that reading and writing skills
are secondary and derive from transfer of oral skills. Some methods set out to teach
general communication skills and give greater priority to the ability to express
oneself meaningfully and to make oneself understood than to grammatical accuracy
or perfect pronunciation. Others place a greater emphasis on accurate grammar and
pronunciation from the very beginning. Some methods set out to teach the basic
grammar and vocabulary of a language. Others may define their objectives less in
linguistic terms than in terms of learning behaviors, that is, in terms of the processes
or abilities the learner is expected to acquire as a result of instruction. Gattegno
writes, for example, "Learning is not seen as the means of accumulating knowledge
but as the means of becoming a more proficient learner in whatever one is engaged
in". This process-oriented objective may be offered in contrast to the linguistically
oriented or product - oriented objectives of more traditional methods. The degree to
which a method has process-oriented or product-oriented objectives may be revealed
in how much emphasis is placed on vocabulary acquisition and grammatical
proficiency and in how grammatical or pronunciation errors are treated in the

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method. Many methods that claim to be primarily process oriented in fact show

overriding concerns with grammatical and lexical attainment and with accurate
grammar and pronunciation.
Decisions about the choice of language content relate both to subject matter
and linguistic matter. In straightforward terms, one makes decisions about what to
talk about (subject matter) and how to talk about it (linguistic matter). ESP courses,
for example, are necessarily subject-matter focused. Structurally based methods,
such as Situational Language Teaching and the Audiolingual Method, are
necessarily linguistically focused. Methods typically differ in what they see as the
relevant language and subject matter around which language teaching should be
organized and the principles used in sequencing content within a course. Content
issues involve the principles of selection that ultimately shape the syllabus adopted
in a course as well as the instructional materials that are used, together with the
principles of gradation the method adopts. In grammar-based courses matters of
sequencing and gradation are generally determined according to the difficulty of
items or their frequency [11.p.210].
In communicative or functionally oriented courses (e.g., in ESP programs)
sequencing may be according to the learners' communicative needs. Traditionally
the term syllabus has been used to refer to the form in which linguistic content is
specified in a course or method. Inevitably the term has been more closely associated
with methods that are product centered rather than those that are process centered.
Syllabuses and syllabus principles for Audiolingual, Structural-Situational, and
notional-functional methods as well as in ESP approaches to language program
design can be readily identified. The syllabus underlying the Situational and
Audiolingual methods consists of a list of grammatical items and constructions,
often together with an associated list of vocabulary items. Notional - functional
syllabuses specify the communicative content of a course in terms of functions,
notions, topics, grammar, and vocabulary. Such syllabuses are usually determined
in advance of teaching and for this reason have been referred to as "a priori
syllabuses".

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