History

of Language
Teaching Methods
A lecture course by
Dr. Poór Zoltán
 Topic 2

Historical aspects
of foreign language
teaching
 Changes in ‘bilinguism’ (1)
1. Ancient Times
• Greek and Latin
2. The Middle Ages
• Latin and Vernacular (local) languages
2. Renaissance
• Vernacular (local) languages and Latin
2. Reformation and Counter-reformation
• Vernacular (local) and national
languages
• National languages and Latin
• National languages and ‘modern’
languages
Waves of the spreading of languages

1. The First Wave

• French (16th c.)
2. The Second Wave
• English and German (16th-17th c.)
2. The Third Wave
• Hungarian and other languages (the
beginning of the 19th c.)
2. The Fourth Wave
• Slovak and other languages (the end of
the 19th c. and 20th c.)
 Ages of LT
1. Ancient Times
– Sumerians
– Egyptians
– Greeks
– Romans
2. The Middle Ages
3. Renaissance
4. Reformation and Counter-
reformation
5. Enlightment (The Age of Reason)
6. …
7. 19th century
8. 20th and 21st centuries
 Techniques and processes
in early LT (1)
1. READING
• Recognition of letters
• Letter by letter
• ‘Sounding’ letters
• Syllables
• Sound reading: recital
1. PRONUNCIAION
• Phonetic transcription
v/s
• Original spelling
 Techniques and processes
in early LT (2)
3. WRITING
• Copying
• Imitation
• Paraphrase
• Composition and ‘versification’
3. SPEAKING
• Questions and answers
• Dialogues
• Rote learning
• Action series
• Monologues
• ‘Drills’
 Techniques and processes
in early LT (3)
5. Grammar and translation
• ‘Orthographiae’ and ‘copiae’ (Knowledge
of the word)
• ‘Praelectio’
• ‘Commentum’ (Words and Morphology)
• ‘Glossa’ (Syntax, Style, Register)
• Vulgaria (Exemplary sentences)
• Interlinear translation
• Double translation
• Tandem language teaching
• L1L2L3L2