Historical Overview of Methodologies in ESL

Key Terms

Approach

a well informed set of assumptions and beliefs about the nature of teaching and learning

Method

a generalized set of rules that should be followed when teaching language

primarily concerned with the teacher and the students’ roles as opposed to subject-matter objectives

Technique

specific activities manifested in the classroom

consistent with a method and therefore in harmony with an approach as well

Curriculum/syllabus

a design for carrying out a particular language program

consists of specification of linguistic and subject-matter objectives, sequencing, and materials to meet the needs of a designated group of learners in a defined context

Methodology

a theoretical framework

pedagogical practices in general and considerations involved in “how to teach”

based on an epistemological stance (how do we learn)

Historical Overview of ESL Education

Classical Period

Education as an arm of theocracyPurpose of education was to teach religious orthodoxy and good moral character

Emphasis on learning to read and writeLittle importance on placed on higher education

Latin Grammar SchoolsLatin and Greek to Understand the Holy Scriptures

Modern Languages were learned by studying abroad or from private tutors

American Revolution to the Civil War

The Age of EnlightenmentExpanding trade and commerce

Cultural NationalismCareers available in book-keeping and foreign trade for children of the upper-class

Secular control of educationEmergence of academies and high schools

Modern and Foreign Language TeachingBegins in the mid-eighteen century and it was considered a “frill” subject; not enough of a mental discipline

The “Boom Period”—Civil War to World War I

Tax-Supported Public Education (response to influx of immigrants), Decline of private academies

Decline in Latin and Classical Studies,German and French the most popular languages

Dominance of traditional methods, Emphasis on memorization and grammar-translation methods; reading as a foreign language

continued

Establishment of the Modern Language Association of America (MLA) in 1883Stressed need for L2 study as intellectual discipline

Emergence of psychology as a science and psychological theory and practice influence teaching methods and learning theory

Introduction of the “Direct Method”Role of L1 and L2 is assessed

World War I to 1952

Post-War IsolationismDisillusion with American omnipotence in world affairs

Goal to educate all America’s childrenFocus away from education of the elite; foreign language study only for the “college bound”

The “Melting Pot”Assimilation or “Americanization” of immigrants stressed as the role of the public schools

Continued

Emergence of cultural anthropology and linguisticsLeonard Bloomfield criticizes L2 methodologies; declares “primacy of oral language”

BehaviorismB. F. Skinner and Verbal Behavior, stimulus response learning theory; emphasis on scientific methods of observation

1950s Trends that Last into the 1960s

Age of Material comfort and psychological discomfortEra of bomb shelters, “hippies” rise of subcultures, the “Great Society”

Expanding academic, vocational and general education programsPublic schools seen as the vehicle for progress and social change

New Approaches to teachingTeam-teaching; non-graded classes; open classrooms; individualized instruction; programmed instruction; flexible and core curriculum scheduling

Continued

The Audiolingual MethodA marriage of stimulus response (B. F. Skinner) learning theory and linguistics

Rise and fall of media and computer technologyDiffusion and later abandonment of the language laboratory; growing expansion of technology

Continued

1952—William Riley Parker’s National Interest and Foreign LanguagesExpounds on how expanding global interests of the United States require people who are multilingual and multicultural for business, industry, foreign relations, education

1957 Chomsky’s Syntactic StructuresEmergence of generative-transformational grammar; the competence/performance distinction

The 1960s Wedding of Disciplines

1964—Emergence of psycholinguistic theory and interest in childhood vs. adult education

Emergence of eclecticismThe “great debate” over L2 methods resulting from disillusion with audiolingual method; impact of cognitive psychology; examination of L2 teaching “mythology”

Continued

Competence-based EducationAge of social engineering; emergence of the behavioral objective and Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive and effective objectives

Rise of Humanistic PsychologyStudent-centered classrooms; explorations in values education; cognitive styles; attitudes and motivation; group dynamics

1966- TESOL is founded

Back to the Basics Movement

Disassembling of “innovations”; emphasis on accountability reforms in teacher education to emphasize knowledge of subject matter vs. pedagogy

Abolition of language requirementsDe-emphasis of grammar instruction; focus on pragmatic L2 instruction and communicative competence

Incorporation of research findings in L2 theory and teachingExamination of the nature of language proficiency in varying contexts

Language Education 1970 to the Present

The Bilingual Education Act of 1968 and 1974(Title VII) and Lau vs. Nichols. Emphasis on second vs. foreign language studies. Rise of Paolo Freire’s critical pedagogy; cultural pluralism; acculturation; multicultural education. Focus on teaching L2 culture in the classroom

Continued

Emergence of new methodologies and curriculum modelsInnovative methods include the Natural or Communicative Approach; Social therapeutic orientations such as Community Learning, suggestopedia; the Notional-Functional Syllabus

Theorists link cognitive and linguistic development and explain bilingual language development and competence

Shift in emphasis to literacy and content area instruction

Continued

Constructivist theory leads to Whole Language Movement and renewed study of the role of language proficiency in reading and writing; Methods focus on integration of language and content area teaching such as Sheltered English, Integrated Thematic Instruction

English-Only versus English plus Movements

There was a heated debate in political arenas and the public sector over the role of foreign languages and bilingualism in American society; emergence of immersion vs. transitional and two-way bilingual models. Rise of the English-only movement; Proposition 227 in California virtually eliminates bilingual education programs; “Sheltered Immersion” becomes the state-mandated model of instruction; bilingual education preserved and expanded in Texas, New York and Florida.

Overview of Methods

The Grammar Translation Method

Vocabulary is taught in the form of lists or isolation

Long explanations of grammar rules

Readings of classical difficult texts

Grammatical analysis

Little or no attention to pronunciation

The Direct Method

Classroom instruction exclusively in the target language

Grammar was taught inductively (teacher is a facilitator)

New teaching points were taught through modeling and practice

Both speech and listening comprehension were taught

Correct pronunciation and grammar were emphasized

The Audiolingual Method

New material is presented in dialogue form

Memorization

Set phrases

Drills

Tapes, language lab, visual aids

Successful responses immediately reinforced

Cognitive code learning

Deep structure of language

Chomsky LAD (language acquisition device)

Deductive

Conscious awareness of rules

Generative transformational grammar

“Designer” Methods of the Spirited 1970s

Separation of ESL and linguistics as a field of study

Language acquisition studies based on language learning inside and outside of the classroom

Innovative methods were conceived

Community Language Learning

Language learning was visualized as a counseling session

Rogers’s views on language learning

Avoids threatening environment

Deductive learning (when A then B, knowledge is “transferred” from the teacher to the learner, information according to established knowledge)

Suggestopedia

Language learning occurs under the right conditions

Students are asked to be “child like”

Business enterprise

The Silent Way

Learning is facilitated by physical objects

Problem solving involving the material to be learned

Rods to introduce vocabulary

Charts to introduce pronunciation models, grammatical paradigms

Total Physical Response

Commands are given

Listening and acting

No verbal response is necessary

Krashen

Acquisition Learning Hypothesis (learning vs. acquisition)

The Natural Order (grammatical rules are learned in a predictable way)

The Monitor Hypothesis (checks and monitor output of what has been learned)

The Input Hypothesis (I + 1) a little beyond the comprehension level

The Affective Filter Hypothesis (motivation)

The Post-method Era

The Pull of Methods

Teachers want to believe that if they just do X their students will learn language.

Students also want to believe that there is some magic pill that if the teacher would just give it to them, they would learn.

Positivist vs. critical perspective

Postivist (or scientist) orientation: empirical-analytic approach, claims of objectivity, how we teach is based on knowledge derived through experimental research

Critical theory: all knowledge is social, cultural, and political; produced in a particular economic, historical context; claims to knowledge represent the interests of certain individuals or groups

But…

Researchers still do not know exactly how we learn a second language

Human learning can’t be reliably studied with experimental research designs

So…we cannot produce the “magic bullet”!

Discussion

What is Prabhu’s problem with people saying “There is no best method”?

What does Pennycook mean when her says that “all education is political” and that “all knowledge is ‘interested’” (p. 590)? Use the example of English education in Puerto Rico (or language education in another context that you know well) to illustrate his two claims.

What is Pennycook’s problem with the concept of Methos as published by different scholars? (see pp. 599-606)

Pennycook argues that the concept of Method is patriarchal (it imposes ideas developed by mostly male linguists on the mostly female workforce of ESL teachers) and imperialistic (it assumes that Methods, developed in the West, are the best way to teach ESL across the world). Do you agree with Pennycook? Why or why not?

What do you think is the relationship between method and what teachers actually are doing (and have been doing) in the classroom?

Prabhu

Best method varies from context to context Still left with search to find the best method for a

particular context.

There is truth in every method But which parts are true?

Objective method evaluation is impossible

Pennycook