3. Methods and approaches of teaching foreign languages and cultures viewed diachronically

1. Grammar translation approach is a method of foreign language teaching which makes use of translation and grammar study as the main teaching and learning activities. In the 18^th - 19^th centuries it was used to teach “modern” languages the way classical languages were taught (Latin, Greek). The best known representatives of that approach were Maydinguer (Germany) and Ollendorf (GB). In tsarist Russia it was the main method till 1917. Grammar translation method later developed into textual translation metod (Hamilton in GB) It emphasized reading rather than the ability to communicate in a language. Language was viewed as a system of rules, a learner was viewed as an empty mug to be filled with knowledge and a teacher as a jug full of that knowledge. The language structures were regarded as mainly the same in all the languages (e.g. Grammar Blago: 7 cases of nouns in English). A typical lesson consisted of the presentation of a grammar rule, a study of lists of vocabulary, a text for reading and translating, and a translation exercise. Context and meaning were often completely ignored, e.g. “The horse of my father was kind. The philosopher pulled the lower jaw of the hen.” Mistakes should be immediately corrected and learners punished for their carelessness. “All languages are now dead. Still existing languages have been killed by the teacher in the classroom”.

Positive results: Language analysis, analogies with the native language, translation exercises, teaching culture through literature, writing essays.

Negative results: languages were not taught as a means of communication, pronunciation aspect was totally ignored, form and meaning were separated most of the time, original texts from classical literature were very difficult for understanding.

2. Direct method appeared in the middle of the 19^th century as reaction to GT and had the following features: only the target language should be used in class; meanings should be communicated “directly” by associating speech forms with actions, objects, mime, gestures and situations; reading and writing should be taught only after speaking; grammar should be taught inductively, i.e. starting with examples, teaching through imitating the model supplied by the teacher. Numerous repetitions were compulsory. Mistakes were viewed negatively, though a learner was given a chance to self-correct. Later some modifications of the direct method appeared, e.g. oral method by Harold Palmer. The scholar believed that for several months learners have to listen to spoken language, to immerse in the speech flow without speaking themselves, then speak and some moths later start reading short texts.

Positive results: techniques of teaching spoken language (e.g. substitution tables, question and answer exercises, dialogue models), ways of introducing new words, using pronunciation exercises, using the principle of continuity and gradation in the system of exercises(from easy to more difficult).

Negative results: teaching grammar only inductively, complete exclusion of the native language in class, more difficult texts that contained some unfamiliar words and not just the material that had been practiced orally, were ignored.

3. Audio-lingual approach (Army method, How-to-get-to-the-bathroom method) was prominent in the 1950s and 1960s in the USA and many other countries (Charles Fries, Robert Lado). It was based on structural linguistics (language is viewed as a system of signs, the written language as an artificial and inaccurate way of fixing the sound form) and behavioral psychology (stimulus – response - reinforcement). It emphasized the teaching of speaking and listening before reading and writing; used dialogues and drills; discouraged use of the mother tongue in the classroom; often made use of contrastive analysis.

Positive results: based on scientific data, attempts to develop communicative skills, worked out a new system of exercises (substitution, transformation, expansion, completion, sentence combining).

Negative results: exaggerated the importance of structures, vocabulary was often ignored, functional aspect was not taken into account, the mechanic repetition of structures was often boring, learner’s native language was excluded.

4. Audio-visual approach is another one that is based on behaviorism and views on language as a system of signs for communication. It also teachers speaking and listening before reading and writing; does not use the mother tongue in the classroom; uses recorded dialogues with film-strip picture sequences to present language items; uses drills to teach basic grammar and vocabulary. It was developed in France in the 1950s (its best known representatives are Guberina (Yugoslavia), Rivenc, Michea, Gugenheim (France). and was based on the belief that language is learned through communication in situations.

Positive results: the language of real communication was used in teaching, situations were introduced alongside with the language material, and visual aids were amply used.

Negative results: importance of mechanic practice was exaggerated, and learner’s native language was excluded.

5. Communicative approach emphasizes that the goal of language learning is communicative competence. It has been developed by British applied linguists in the 1960s. (Henry Widdowson, Brumfit, Littlewood). In Russia Passov developed its ideas.

The main principles and features of CLT:

• language as a means of communication;

• teaching language in a meaningful context (specifying notions, functions, functional exponents based on the learners’ needs analysis);

• prioritising meaning over form;

• focus on skills;

• task-based learning;

• focus on sociolinguistic and pragmatic competence as well as linguistic competence;

• the correlation between accuracy and fluency(viewed not in abstract but in context), the role of grammar;

• errors as learning steps;

• the changed roles of a teacher and a learner.

Roles of a teacher according to the communicative approach:

• an organizer (organizes learners’ work at the lesson)

• a manager (manages the process of learners’ work)

• a model (of correct language behavior patterns)

• an informant (informs learners about language norms and exclusions)

• a monitor (observes learners’ work , decides when to stop etc)

• a councilor (gives pieces of advice when asked)

• a facilitator (helps in case of difficulty)

• a communication partner (talks with learners)

• a life-long learner (a teacher improves his own competence all the time)

Roles of a learner:

• the subject of the educational process (not the object but a participant)

• a communication partner

• an active participant (in selecting the ways of learning, some texts for reading, some additional information etc)

• an autonomous learner (responsible for his own learning

Characteristics of a communicative task:

• communicative purpose

• information/opinion gap

• communicative situation

• learners’ choice of the language material

• authenticity of materials

• minimal degree of the teacher’s control.

Implications of the communicative approach for classroom practice: creating conditions for communication in the classroom .

Positive results: learning foreign language as a means for communication, attempts to communicate are encouraged from the very beginning, communicative competence is the desired goal, anything which helps the learner is accepted, contrastive analysis and translation included.

Negative results: accuracy may suffer, the teacher cannot know exactly what language the students will use and often cannot preplan the course of the lesson, a number of mistakes during pair and group work may remain uncorrected and not explained, a teacher needs more preparation for the lesson and heavier work during it.

6. Innovative approaches.