TOPIC 1: DIDACTIC EVOLUTION OF LANGUAGES.

CURRENT TENDENCIES IN THE DIDACTIC OF ENGLISH

AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. COMMUNICATIVE APPROACHES.

1. Introduction
According to LOMCE the study of a foreign language is very important at Compulsory Secondary
Education. At this stage, students are expected to manage the communicative competence required to
be able to communicate with some degree of independence in the foreign language. The following
topic, that I am going to explain, contributes to the achievement of this subject matter.

1.1. Aim of this unit.

As foreign language teachers we must be aimed at making the language a tool that our ss can use to
communicate with other people. This perspective is fairly new and it has led to the emergence of
new communicative models of language teaching. However, they do not constitute a unique way to
approach to foreign language teaching. As we know through history, many different methods of
language teaching and learning have been used. So the aim of this topic will be to deeply analyse
their basic characteristics with their pros and cons in relation to our profession. Therefore, a
revision of the different approaches used to teach and learn a foreign language throughout history
will be offered. As Albert C. Baugh (1993) states, the basis for an understanding of present-day
English and for an enlightened attitude towards questions affecting the lg. today is a knowledge of
its origins.
The contemporary attitude is flexible in recognizing that there are several ways of reaching the goal
of a foreign lg competence and we, teachers, must be aware of this range of methods in order to find
the most appropriate to our learners needs and circumstances. It is frequently necessary to
introduce and eclectic approach in which aspects of different methods are selected in order to meet
the demands of different teaching situations.

1.2. Notes on bibliography.

Numerous sources have contributed to provide an overall basis for the development of this unit. A
valuable introduction to the study of the language is given by Otto Jespersen, Language: Its nature,
development and Origin (1922); David Crystal, Linguistics (1985); and Baugh and Cable, A History of the
English Language (1993). For a historical overview of the tradition of lg. teaching, see Jac C. Richards and
Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods in Lg. Teaching (1992) and Howatt, A History of English
Lg. teaching (1984). Among the many gnarl works that incorporate the teaching of English as a foreign
lg, see especially Wilga M. Rivers, Teaching Foreign-Lg Skills (1981) and on theories of lg. acquisition, see
Krashen, S.D., and T.D. Terrell, The Natural Approach: Lg. acquisition in the classroom (1983). The most
complete record of current publications on new directions in lg. teaching is published by Asociación
Española de Lingüistica Aplicada (AESLA) and its annual supplement.

2. The origins of lg. teaching.

It was around the 5th century B.C. that in ancient India the early states of lg. were written down as a set
of rules. This was, in fact, a grammar in Sanskrit whose effects went far beyond the original intentions of
its authors. According to Howatt (1984) a through education consists of not only of the acquisition of
knowledge, but the physical, mental, emotional, moral, and social development of the individual. Hence,
the early Greek aim was to prepare intellectually young people to take leading roles in the activities of
the state and society, and Romans considered the teaching of rhetoric and oratory important, with
particular attention to the development of the character.
In the 17th century, Jon Amos Comenius is often said to be the founder of the Didactics of Lg. ; for him ,
the word “didactics” means the “art of teaching”. Lg. study and therefore, lg. teaching was to be
promoted in subsequent centuries through the fields o philosophy, logic, rhetoric, sociology and religion
among others, providing the framework for the main task of linguistic scholars.

3. History of the teaching of English as a foreign lg. Early and current trends.

3.1. Key isues: approaches vs methods

The extent and importance of the learning and teaching of lgs. And therefore, the teaching of English as
a second lg. make it reasonable to define some key concepts within this issue.
Method was defined by Howatt (1984) as “the notion of systematic set of teaching practices based on a
particular theory of language and lg. learning” The search for innovations to find more effective and
efficient ways of teaching lgs. preoccupied teachers and applied linguistics throughout the 20th century.
Approaches are lg. teaching philosophies that might be interpreted and applied in a varied of different
ways in the classroom. Both methods and approaches are lined, in turn, to a set of designed features
which describes the underlying nature of lg. teaching methodology.
The proliferation of approaches and methods is a relevant characteristic of contemporary second and
foreign lg. teaching.

3.2. Up to the 18th century: The spread of English lg. teaching in Europe.

3.2.1. Ancient Times

Lg. teaching traces back to ancient civilizations. As Richards & Rodgers (1992) state the function of the
earliest educational systems was to teach religion and to promote traditions of the people.
According to Howatt (1984) in the Middle Ages Christianity became a powerful source in the
Mediterranean region and other areas in Europe. Many monastic schools were founded. Teaching,
then, centred in grammar

3.2.2. Europe in early times: The decline of Latin

During the Renaissance period educators emphasized on subjects such as history, geography, music and
physical training. Those subjects were mostly taught in Latin grammar schools.
Montaigne in the 16th century and Comenius and John Locke in the 17th century promoted alternative
approaches to education. French, Italian and English were gaining in importance, and Latin gradually
became displaced as a lg. of spoken and written communication.

3.3.The 19th century. First approaches and methods on lg. teaching .

3.3.1.Grammar translation method: (19th Greek and Latin) The aim was to give students access to good
literature. A big importance to translations was given, students were given large lists of vocabulary and
in both the L1 and L2 in order to be memorized. Besides, they were given all the grammar rules with its
exceptions, also to be memorized. Class-work consisted of translations where students were allowed to
used dictionaries, they had to read texts and find synonyms and antonyms from the vocabulary lists. The
homework consisted on translations too. Evaluation/exams were also translations. An exaggerated
importance was given to mistakes/errors. The disadvantages were very obvious: pronunciation was
absolutely neglected, speaking omitted and students automatized the knowledge without making a
functional use of it.

3.3.2. Individual reformers: Marcel, Prendegast and Gouin.

In the mid-late 19th century the opportunities for communication among Europeans increased, and
therefore, it created a demand for oral proficiency. The grammar-translation method was challenged by
new approaches to lg. teaching developed by individual lg. specialists. Some of these specialist were
Marcel, Prendergast and Gouin who, according to Richards & Rodgers (1992) did not managed to
achieve any lasting impact, but their ideas were of historical interest. It was difficult to overcome the
attitude that Classical Latin was the most ideal for the way lg. should be taught.
The French man Marcel emphasized the importance of meaning in lg. proposing a rational method,
referring to child lg. learning as a model for lg. teaching. Prendergast created a mastery system on
structural syllabus to work on basic structural patterns occurring in the lg. He was one of the first to
record the observation of children in speaking. Gouin is probably the best known of these reformers. His
approach was based on his observations of children´s use of lg. They recognized the need for speaking
proficiency rather than reading and writing, and there was an interest in how children learn lgs.

3.3.3. The Reform movement: Sweet, Viëtor, Jespersen and Passy. The role of phonetics.
This movement began with the pamphlet Language Teaching must Start Afresh by Viëtor in 1882. This
phonetician together with Sweet The Practical Study of Language, Jespersen How to teach a FL, or
Passy, and supported by the foundation of the International Phonetic Association, established the
principles of the reform: Primacy of speech and oral methodology; written homework was abolished
and substituted by learning rhymes and songs by heart; the method was based on spoken language.
Viëtor proposed accurate descriptions of speech based on phonetics; pronunciation should be corrected
and grammar should not be explained in class (he proposed an inductive method).
This was a text-based approach which leaned on Psychology and its notion of association. According to
this, we should provide ss whit texts in which linguistic elements were correctly assembled to make
necessary associations. In this oral method the teacher spoke in the FL, using the L1 only for glossing
new vocabulary. They were non-native teachers. The main criticism received by this method was the
high emphasis laid on phonetics, which was considered an extra burden and highly complex for ss.

3.3.4. Direct Method: Natural method

This method is based on the belief that learning how to speak a FL is not a rational but an intuitive
process for which humans have a natural capacity that can be awakened provided that the proper
conditions exist, which are mainly as follows: someone to talk to, something to talk about and a desire
to be understood.
The aim was to make students speak by listening to the language in large quantities. Class-work
consisted of -here and now- meaning that English was used at all times with objects from the class, so
the speech between teacher-students was always in the target language. Pictures of daily life were
depicted to construct sentences in speaking and self-correction was carried out by the own students.
The disadvantages were: a native speaker was required and grammar was neglected.

3.3.5. The Berlitz Method.

Berlitz never used the term”natural” and named his method the Berlitz Method. He founded a school in
Rhode Island in 1878. It is not really a new method, but an application of the direct method and it has
been quite successful. Its slogan is ‘The Eye is an enemy to the ear’, which is true in the case of English.
The main characteristics that define this school’s profile are:
1. No translation.
2. No use of L1.
3. Oral work, based on question/answer technique.
4. Native trained teachers.
5. No grammar explanation till late in the course.
6. Only everyday vocabulary and structures are taught.
It was quite successful which was taught in private schools with highly-motivated clients.

3.4. The 20th century: A communicative approach.

3.4.1. The communicative lg. teaching approach.
By such milestones as the appearance of the Threshold level (1975) and Wilkin’s Notional Syllabus
(1976), communicative language teaching (CLT) has been with us for nearly three decades. A strong
theoretical impetus for the development of CLT came from the social sciences and humanities outside
language pedagogy. Different notions of communicative competence, proposed by Hymes from the
perspective of linguistic anthropology and by Habermas from the vantage point of social philosophy,
served as guiding constructs for the design of communicative competence as the overall goal of
language teaching and assessment. An influential and comprehensive review of communicative
competence and related notions was offered by Canale and Swain (1980), who also proposed a widely
cited framework of communicative competence for language instruction and testing.
But what exactly is the communicative ability that has gained such attention in second language
pedagogy? Pragmatics is a key term in this field. It has been defined in various ways, reflecting authors’
theoretical orientation and audience. A definition that appeals to me, not least for its usefulness for
second language pedagogy, has been offered by Crystal, who proposes that pragmatics is ‘the study of
language from the point of view of users, especially of the choices they make, the constraints they
encounter in using language in social interaction and the effects their use of language has on other
participants in the act of communication’. In other words, pragmatics is defined as the study of
communicative action in its socio-cultural context. Communicative action includes not only using speech
acts but also engaging in different types of discourse and participating in speech events of varying length
and complexity.
In many second and foreign language teaching contexts, curricula and materials developed in recent
years include strong pragmatic components or even adopt a pragmatic approach as their organising
principle. A number of proposals for instruction in different aspects of pragmatic competence are now
based on empirical studies of native speaker (NS) discourse, on both NS and interlanguage material, or
on the classical set of comparable interlanguage, L1 and L2 data. Examples of target-based teaching
proposals for L2 are Holmes and Brown (1987), Myers-Scotton and Bernsten (1988), Bardovi-Harlig,
Hartford and Reynolds (1991).
Regarding the theoretical basis of the communicative approach, Widowson stated the following main
features:
1. The heart of the language lesson is the communicative activity in itself, not the grammar
explanation.
2. The syllabus has to be built around a carefully grades selection of communicative acts
which the ss will need to perform their purposes.
3. Language must be used for communicative purposes. Interaction is not only advised but
also fundamental.
4. All skills should receive the same attention.
5. If possible, authentic materials should be used. They put ss in contact with the real use of
the language and are highly motivating.
6. The more L2 is used, the better.

A functional approach CLT +TBA + CLIL+CALL

Purpose: Ss must reach the communicative competence and teachers must use different techniques.
Chomsky defined lg a set of sentences and innate LAD and Universal Grammar; Compe/performa.
Hymes defined lg as a tool to communicate in accordance with interaction and discourse and the
mastering of all codes: gestures, espressions, sociolinguistics... He defined lg with occurrence, feasibility,
appropiacy and systematic potential. Canal defined communicative competence as grammar(rules)
discourse (context-situation) sociolinguistic (context-community) Strategic (correction,negotiation...)

CLT: It is a functional approach that was first invented in England and then established by the
CEF. The Council of Europe incorporated it into a set of specifications or frames. These threshold level
specifications -designed by van Ek & Alexander in 1980- have had a strong influence on the design of
communicative language programs and textbooks in Europe. It consists on 3 principles performed
through
3 Principles:
1.Communicative principle: Activities that involve real communication promote learning (REALIA).
2.Task principle that includes Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks to
promote learning. (TASK-based ACTIVITIES)
3.Meaningfulness principle to use Language that is meaningful. (TEXT-based ACTIVITIES)
Characteristics
-PPP: Presentation, Practice and Production is the Methodology to be followed.
-Teachers are communicators, facilitators, monitors and organizers.
-Error tolerance: now it is essential to make mistakes to learn.
-Group interaction: cooperative learning among Ss.
-Class activities: role-plays, simulations, gap filling, spot the difference, picture identification.
TBA: Task-based activities: To give students fluency and confidence. They focus on the use of
authentic learning and have to speak L2 at all times. They have different tasks to sort out like going to
the doctor, conducting an interview, buying plane tickets...
CLIL: Content and language integrated learning, which involves teaching a subject (Science,
history, arts and crafts, religion...) in the target language. In this type of learning language is seen as a
tool for acquiring knowledge about other things, instantly proving its usefulness. Grammar is not the key
element so students learn effortlessly the L2. It is motivating for students and reinforces the 4 skills:
listening, speaking, reading and writing.
CALL: Computer assisted Lg Learning (Tic)

3.4.2.Language teaching methods.

3.4.2.1. Basic English.

This method was devised by Richard and Odgen in 1928. they thought that each language has a basic
grammar and vocabulary which have to be taught on the first place.
Richard and Odgen reduced language to just 850 words which were classified in 3 different groups
according to the several grammatical categories: qualities (adj.), things (N) and operators (V, Prep.,
conj.). If one wanted to express any meaning impossible to be covered by these words, paraphrasing
was the solution offered by these authors. As we might guess this method presents several problems:
1. Each word has to carry a lot of meanings.
2. It doesn’t teach real English: paraphrases are needed to express words which exist in the language
(bush = small tree), and many usual terms used on a day-to-day basis (good-bye, thank you e.g.)
cannot be expressed.
3. Teachers also have to learn basic English before they are able to teach it.
However, a practical application of this model can also be found; since basic grammar and the frequency
criterion are still important when designing a language course.

3.4.2.2. THE STRUCTURAL APPROACH.-

This approach to language teaching is based on American Structuralism. Structuralists believe that 2
steps have to be followed when designing a language course: analysing the target language by means of
a descriptive approach and providing appropriate materials for that particular language.
The structural theory of language learning is based on behaviourism, whose main representative is
Skinner. Following this perspective, learning a language is just a process of learning correct habits by
means of S-R(r). In order for ss to acquire these habits, they present a hierarchical syllabus, together
with a slot and filler explanation. The most typical exercises are substitution tables and drills, which
work through repetition and aim at the creation of correct linguistic habits. Errors have to be avoided
because they lead to incorrect habits.
The most successful application of the structural approach has been the ASTP (Army Specialized Training
Programme). This project was devised to teach European languages to American soldiers during WWII.
The programme was characterised by the following features:
 Intensive learning.
 Small groups of selected, highly intelligent ss with some previous linguistic knowledge.
 Native teachers for conversations and drilling, and trained teachers for grammar.
 Use of new technologies.

But the most important cause of the success of the method seems to have been the high motivation of
the ss. The same method failed when, after the war, it was used in schools. The reasons for this failure
were that there were only a few hours per week, too many ss in each classroom and the high motivation
had vanished.
The main criticisms received by the structural approach to language teaching are that language is
communication and not a mere repetition of structures, it doesn’t care for the creative use of the
language and structural exercises, out of context, are boring and demotivating.
3.4.2.3. Audio-lingual Method (1940 – army conditioning/behaviorism).
The aim of this approach was the student´s memorization of dialogs given by the teacher. The class work
consisted of memorizing dialogs, drills, substitution of elements and performance of the dialog. It was
speech based and focused on the mastering of language blocks: morphology, syntax, phonology... In the
text books it appeared the dialog and the pattern drills to be followed by students. The learning process
is described in terms of conditioning by behaviorists.

3.4.2.4. TGG (TRANSFORMATIONAL GENERATIVE GRAMMAR)

TGG appeared as a reaction against structural grammar. It emerged with Chomsky’s Syntactic Structures
(1957), where the main concepts of this grammar were explained: the difference between deep and
surface structures, competence and performance, and the transformational rules used to generate
sentences. The aim of TGG was to create a grammar which could predict the linguistic features of a
language, and then look for linguistic universals.
Chomsky also talked about the LAD (language acquisition device), which allows us to learn a language by
means of making hypotheses. The described this device in relation to children’s language acquisition,
but considered that it could also apply to foreign language learning.
The application of TGG to language teaching is called ‘cognitive approach’. The most important changes
brought about by this method are:
1. Priority must be given to free expression and creativity.
2. Mistakes are to be considered normal, and prove that ss are making hypothesis about the FL.
 3. Grammatical explanation and ungrammatical examples can also be valuable.
4. Students are not mere recipients of knowledge, but active elements who can and should
express themselves actively and creatively.
In the field of cognitivism we find one of the most influential men in the area of language learning over
the last years: Steve Krashen. He thinks that learning a FL can be compared to the way babies learn their
mother tongue, and has deepened the studies on the LAD. One of his key concepts is the affective filter.
Krashen believes that many things, such as motivation of ss can act as filters that come between the
learner and the comprehensible input necessary for language acquisition. He also made an important
distinction among acquisition (unconscious mechanism of internalising language that we pick up in
communicative situations) and learning (which comes from processing rules and grammar information,
being thus conscious).
Many criticisms arise against these theories, especially regarding the abstract terminology and a rather
superficial application of the theory. However, TGG has made great contributions to language teaching
such as a complete and systematic conception of language and the defence of a solid linguistic basis on
L1 in order to progress in L2.

3.4.2.5. Total Physical Response (Asher) :Modern adaptation of the Direct Method
By using the imperative students do what is called Stimulus-response with oral commands. So the
teacher says orders aloud and then he/she performs them him/herself, so students see what to do.
Then the teacher tells the students to do what he orders. Finally, the students give the teachers orders
that they perform. Finally students write what learnt in their notebooks. Class work focused on 3 rules:
1.Innate Bioprogram: Listening comes before speaking like in the natural way we learn our native lg.
2.Brain Laterialization: When we learn something it first comes in the right hemisphere of the brain,
then it´s processed and finally goes to the left hemisphere.
3.The lower the stress the better the learning.

3.4.2.6. Natural Approach (Krashen´s and Terrel´s theories)

The main principles are based on Krashen`s theory and the principle of communicative competence
(learn the second language as you learn the first, since acquire is better than learn. According to Krashen
there are 5 hypothesis:
1.Acquisition and learning (diffe acq/learn)
2. Monitor hypothesis (monitor ourselves)
3.Imput hypothesis (Receive excess from teacher)
4.Natural order (listen/speaK)
5.affective filter hyp.(no stress, bettter learning)

3.4.2.7. Humanistic approaches: Suggestopedia, Silent Way, Total Physical response.

Charles Currant (1976) – language learning process is carried out in community. The learning process is
divided in 5 stages: 1.Ss staments 2.Self-assertive stage 3.Birth Stage 4.Adolescent 5.Independent stage.

Silent way (1976 – Gategno) The aim of this approach was to make students learnt in a silent
way. Teachers motion students to be silent and construct their own criteria from the environment (set
of coloured rods was used to teach colors)Then the teacher was silent, once the students have learnt
and it was them who talked all the time.

Suggestiopedia: (1978 – Lozanov)

The aim of this approach is to use suggestion in a way that students learn in a free and warm
background by using relaxation techniques and concentration methods to memorize dialogs. Class work
consisted on a stage where the teacher played baroque music, put soft lights and cheerful decoration
and read a text for the students. Then the students, after having listened carefully, had to perform the
same actions as their teacher. Other activity consisted on giving each student a name with phonological
difficulties and making students introduce themselves to use them.

Communicative approach: A functional approach CLT +TBA + CLIL+CALL

Purpose: Ss must reach the communicative competence and teachers must use different techniques.
Chomsky defined lg a set of sentences and innate LAD and Universal Grammar; Compe/performa.
Hymes defined lg as a tool to communicate in accordance with interaction and discourse and the
mastering of all codes: gestures, espressions, sociolinguistics... He defined lg with occurrence, feasibility,
appropiacy and systematic potential. Canal defined communicative competence as grammar(rules)
discourse (context-situation) sociolinguistic (context-community) Strategic (correction,negotiation...)

CLT: It is a functional approach that was first invented in England and then established by the
CEF. The Council of Europe incorporated it into a set of specifications or frames. These threshold level
specifications -designed by van Ek & Alexander in 1980- have had a strong influence on the design of
communicative language programs and textbooks in Europe. It consists on 3 principles performed
through
3 Principles:
1.Communicative principle:Activities that involve real communication promote learning (REALIA).
2.Task principle that includes Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks to
promote learning. (TASK-based ACTIVITIES)
3.Meaningfulness principle to use Language that is meaningful. (TEXT-based ACTIVITIES)
Characteristics
-PPP: Presentation, Practice and Production is the Methodology to be followed.
-Teachers are communicators, facilitators, monitors and organizers.
-Error tolerance: now it is essential to make mistakes to learn.
-Group interaction: cooperative learning among Ss.
-Class activities: role-plays, simulations, gap filling, spot the difference, picture identification.
TBA: Task-based activities: To give students fluency and confidence. They focus on the use of
authentic learning and have to speak L2 at all times. They have different tasks to sort out like going to
the doctor, conducting an interview, buying plane tickets...
CLIL: Content and language integrated learning, which involves teaching a subject (Science,
history, arts and crafts, religion...) in the target language. In this type of learning language is seen as a
tool for acquiring knowledge about other things, instantly proving its usefulness. Grammar is not the key
element so students learn effortlessly the L2. It is motivating for students and reinforces the 4 skills:
listening, speaking, reading and writing.
CALL:Computer assisted Lg Learning (Tic)

4. CONCLUSION

Throughout this topic, we have analysed the evolution of the different methods used to teach and learn
a foreign language, using as a starting point the classical times and the didactic methodology used for
Latin and Greek, following with the first approaches aimed at the teaching of modern languages ( such
as the grammar translation method), some of the most important 20 th century innovations (such as
structuralism and transformational generative grammar), and finally the most influential present day
trends: the functional-notional grammar, the communicative approach and the NLP.
Nowadays the most common methods used for the teaching of a FL and the ones that can be found in
the majority of textbooks are those based on communicative theories, since the attention is focused on
everything related to communication and language, about real speakers or listeners and the concept of
context. Ss, thus, are considered as active elements who must know the different communicative
functions and dominate the four skills. So that, key terms for this present day trend are motivation and
interaction.
However, we should try to be as eclectic as possible and be able to select among the wide range of
options we’ve got regarding the methods used to teach a FL. Even though the communicative approach
seems to be the most appropriate one we must not neglect other methods which might also be valid
depending on the needs and specific characteristics of our ss.

Bibliography and webgraphy.

- Canale and Swain. 1980. Communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Ontario
ministry of education.
- David Crystal, The Encyclopaedia of the English Languagee.
- Keneth Rose & Gabriele Kasper. 2001. Pragmatics in Language Teaching. CUP.
- Littlewood, William. Communicative Language teaching: An Introduction. Cambridge Lg teaching
library. Cambridge CUP. 2005.
-http:// teachingenglish.co.uk