C1M2 History of Language Teaching

From Antiquities to the Present

University of Winnipeg, ESL TCP, 2010

The following presentation is based on Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching by H.H. Stern (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), Chapter 6

How people learn languages has been of interest from ancient Greece and Rome through the Middle Ages and the following centuries right up to modern times.


Language learning theory first crystallized around Latin, which was the primary language of instruction for religious scholarship before the sixteenth century.


Using their own learning as evidence, monks in the fifteenth century presumed that languages were learned best through reading, copying out and repeating.


By the sixteenth century however, people wanted to learn European languages for social purposes, not just for religious or academic pursuits.

Some writers of the time therefore suggested that “foreign languages” should be taught differently than Latin.


Reading, copying and repeating Biblical texts was not a useful way of becoming fluent enough to travel to other countries for pleasure or business.


Thus began the idea that language teaching should be a combination of learning through active use and learning by grammar rule.


The early arguments

about which was

better

(learningthrough use

or learning from a

book), continued to be

influenced by thinkers

in a number of other

disciplines.

Logic, Grammar, Philosophy

Education, Theology

Linguistics, Psychology

Anatomy

ESL-TCP, University of Winnipeg, 2009

Imagine how new

thinking and research

in each of these fields

might have changed

what people believed

about language

learning over the

centuries.

Logic, Grammar, Philosophy

Education, Theology

Linguistics, Psychology

Anatomy


By the end of the nineteenth century, “foreign languages” were being taught in schools and universities.

A number of prominent academics started the push to reform language teaching methods, so that foreign or “modern” languages would be separated from “the classics” once and for all.


School curriculum changed, language learning organizations were founded, and debates about the best teaching methods flourished.

Modern language learning became more popular and functional.


After the tragedy of World War I, even more people wanted to learn new languages to promote better understanding between countries.

Theorists tried to resolve the debates about methods by conducting research and devising practical and realistic teaching resources.


Highlights

•Research increased in an attempt to understand both languages and learning more scientifically:

•Word count studies determined which words in a language were most important.

• Idioms were catalogued.

• Testing methods were studied.


Highlights

•Teaching resources like word books, textbooks and idiom lists were published. • Language was looked at in its cultural context.


Just like World War I, World War II brought about radical changes to language learning theory and practice.

American wartime language programs proved that language learning could take place outside conventional classrooms.


By using an intensive, oral method that simulated the real world, functional language skills could be taught quickly to large groups of ordinary citizens.


Wartime media also awakened the awareness in the vast diversity of languages spoken around the globe.

Several new languages gained official status in the UN and UNESCO.


New formats of language teaching were developed:

bilingual schooling, individualized instruction, immersion courses

New technology began to be widely used for language learning:

tape recorder, radio, television, film strip projector, language laboratory


New teaching materials were designed to implement the then-popular Audiovisual and Audio-Lingual Methods

Teacher education programs were created to help instructors develop new teaching skills


The scientific study of language learning became more prominent

Soon, new ideas about “immersion” learning were supported by emerging research in linguistics, sociolinguistics and neurobiology

The hope was that an ideal method, supported by scientific research, could be found


Despite all the advances, the new methods of the 1960’s and 70’s did not lead to the degree of fluency that had been envisioned however

By the early 1980’s, the focus again began to move away from teaching methods and back to theoretical questions of language learning


A completely new way of looking at the functional uses of language emerged out of discussions in linguistics, psychology and neuroscience

Social and affective factors of language learning began to take centre stage

Cultural context and natural language learning again became critical


“Linguistic competence” was defined and then expanded to become “communicative competence”

The idea of teaching and learning language for specific purposes (science, hospitality, business, etc) was born


Real language use became the focal point of instruction

Once again, new textbooks and support materials were designed

An eclectic approach to teaching was encouraged through professional development


Today, the Communicative Approach still shapes fundamental ideas about language teaching and learning

Authentic language use, whether oral or written, is still the focus of learning.

Culture and context are considered critical A variety of teaching methods and materials

are integrated into instruction


New ideas will continue to emerge from current research and practice

New technologies will become available

Global connections between people will expand

Just think …


What a long way we’ve come from the old days of learning Latin by copying phrases from the Bible!


The preceding presentation was based on Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching by H.H. Stern (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), Chapter 6
