Historical Overview of Methodologies in ESL

Historical Overview of
Methodologies in ESL
English 6010 Week 2
Key Terms
Approach
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a well informed set of assumptions and beliefs
about the nature of teaching and learning
Method
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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
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specific activities manifested in the classroom
consistent with a method and therefore in
harmony with an approach as well
Curriculum/syllabus
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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
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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
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Education as an arm of theocracy
Purpose of education was to teach religious orthodoxy
and good moral character
Emphasis on learning to read and write
Little importance on placed on higher education
Latin Grammar Schools
Latin and Greek to Understand the Holy Scriptures
Modern Languages were learned by studying abroad or
from private tutors
American Revolution to the Civil
War
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The Age of Enlightenment
Expanding trade and commerce
Cultural Nationalism
Careers available in book-keeping and foreign trade for
children of the upper-class
Secular control of education
Emergence of academies and high schools
Modern and Foreign Language Teaching
Begins 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
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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
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Establishment of the Modern Language Association of
America (MLA) in 1883
Stressed 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
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Post-War Isolationism
Disillusion with American omnipotence in world affairs
Goal to educate all America’s children
Focus 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
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Emergence of cultural anthropology and linguistics
Leonard Bloomfield criticizes L2 methodologies;
declares “primacy of oral language”
Behaviorism
B. F. Skinner and Verbal Behavior, stimulus response
learning theory; emphasis on scientific methods of
observation
1950s Trends that Last into the
1960s
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Age of Material comfort and psychological discomfort
Era of bomb shelters, “hippies” rise of subcultures, the
“Great Society”
Expanding academic, vocational and general education
programs
Public schools seen as the vehicle for progress and
social change
New Approaches to teaching
Team-teaching; non-graded classes; open classrooms;
individualized instruction; programmed instruction;
flexible and core curriculum scheduling
Continued
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The Audiolingual Method
A marriage of stimulus response (B. F. Skinner)
learning theory and linguistics
Rise and fall of media and computer technology
Diffusion and later abandonment of the
language laboratory; growing expansion of
technology
Continued
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1952—William Riley Parker’s National Interest and
Foreign Languages
Expounds 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 Structures
Emergence of generative-transformational grammar;
the competence/performance distinction
The 1960s Wedding of Disciplines
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1964—Emergence of psycholinguistic theory
and interest in childhood vs. adult education
Emergence of eclecticism
The “great debate” over L2 methods resulting
from disillusion with audiolingual method;
impact of cognitive psychology; examination of
L2 teaching “mythology”
Continued
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Competence-based Education
Age of social engineering; emergence of the behavioral
objective and Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive and
effective objectives
Rise of Humanistic Psychology
Student-centered classrooms; explorations in values
education; cognitive styles; attitudes and motivation;
group dynamics
1966- TESOL is founded
Back to the Basics Movement
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Disassembling of “innovations”; emphasis on
accountability reforms in teacher education to
emphasize knowledge of subject matter vs. pedagogy
Abolition of language requirements
De-emphasis of grammar instruction; focus on
pragmatic L2 instruction and communicative
competence
Incorporation of research findings in L2 theory and
teaching
Examination of the nature of language proficiency in
varying contexts
Language Education 1970 to the
Present
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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
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Emergence of new methodologies and curriculum
models
Innovative 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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New material is presented in dialogue form
Memorization
Set phrases
Drills
Tapes, language lab, visual aids
Successful responses immediately reinforced
Cognitive code learning
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Deep structure of language
Chomsky LAD (language acquisition device)
Deductive
Conscious awareness of rules
Generative transformational grammar
“Designer” Methods of the Spirited
1970s
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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
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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
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Language learning occurs under the right
conditions
Students are asked to be “child like”
Business enterprise
The Silent Way
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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
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Commands are given
Listening and acting
No verbal response is necessary
Krashen
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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
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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
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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…
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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
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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
Prabhu
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Best method varies from context to context
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There is truth in every method
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Still left with search to find the best method for a
particular context.
But which parts are true?
Objective method evaluation is impossible
Pennycook

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