According to academic research, linguists have demonstrated that there is not one single best method for everyone in all contexts, and that no one teaching method is inherently superior to the others.
Also, it is not always possible – or appropriate – to apply the same methodology to all learners, who have different objectives, environments and learning needs.
The main methodologies are listed below in the chronological order of their development:
Grammar Translation – the classical method
Direct Method – discovering the importance of speaking
Audio-lingualism – the first modern methodology
Humanistic Approaches – a range of holistic methods applied to language learning
Communicative Language Teaching – the modern standard method
Principled Eclecticism – fitting the method to the learner, not the learner to the method
What are the Differences?
Each method has a different focus or priority, so let’s look at what this means in practical terms in the classroom.
The more common methods have a link to a separate page with more details and an explanation of how they work, including the most common method currently used – Communicative Language Teaching:
| Method | Focus | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Grammar Translation |
Written literary texts
|
Translate from English into your native language
|
| Direct Method (also called Natural Method) |
Everyday spoken language
|
Student learns by associating meaning directly in English
|
| Audio-Lingual Method |
Sentence and sound patterns
|
Listening and speaking drills and pattern practice only in English
|
| Cognitive Code Approach |
Grammar rules
|
English grammar rules deduced and then understood in context
|
| Humanistic Approaches – 4 popular examples: | ||
| – The Silent Way |
Student interaction rather than teacher
|
Teacher is silent to allow student awareness of how English works
|
| – Suggestopedia |
Meaningful texts and vocabulary
|
Relaxed atmosphere, with music; encourages subliminal learning of English
|
| – Community Language Learning |
Student interaction
|
Understanding of English through active student interaction
|
| – Comprehension Approach (Natural Approach, the Learnables, and Total Physical Response) |
Listening comprehension
|
English speaking delayed until students are ready; meaning clarified through actions and visuals
|
| Communicative Language Teaching |
Interaction, authentic communication and negotiating meaning
|
Understanding of English through active student interaction; role play, games, information gaps
|
| Content-based, Task-based, and Participatory Approaches |
What is being communicated, not structure of English
|
Content based on relevance to students’ lives: topics, tasks, problem-solving
|
| Learning Strategy Training, Cooperative Learning, and Multiple Intelligences |
How to learn
|
Teach learning strategies, cooperation; activities vary according to different intelligences
|
Based on Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (Oxford University Press)
See more at:
http://blog.tjtaylor.net/teaching-methods/