2021

TEMARIO OPOSICIONES

EVOLUTION OF DIDACTICS.
CURRENT TRENDS IN ENGLISH AS
SECOND LANGUAGE.
TOPIC 1
TOPIC 1: EVOLUTION OF DIDACTICS. CURRENT TRENDS IN
ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE.

1. INTRODUCTION
2. EVOLUTION OF DIDACTICS: CLASSIFICATION OF THE DIFFERENT
METHODOLOGICAL TRENDS
2.1. FROM ANCIENT TIMES UP TO THE 18TH CENTURY
2.2. 19TH CENTURY
2.3. 20TH CENTURY
2.4. 20TH-21ST CENTURIES
3. CONCLUSION
4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. INTRODUCTION

It seems worthwhile, fist of all, to clarity briefly the concepts of approach or

principles, method and technique.

An approach or strategy is the most 'abstract concept and it refers to the

linguistic, psycho- and sociolinguistic principles underlying methods and
techniques. A technique is, on the other hand, the narrowest of all three; it is just
one single procedure to use in the classroom. Methods are placed between
approaches and techniques, as the mediator between theory (the approach) and
classroom practice. Some methods can share a number of techniques and,
though some techniques have developed autonomously, the most important ones
start from the main methods.

From another point of view, Larsen-Freeman and Richards and Rodgers have
a more comprehensive conception for method, as they consider it to be
composed of approach or principles, design and procedure, as an interrelated
system. Design refers here to objectives, linguistic content and its selection, the
types of learning tasks and teaching activities, the roles of teachers and learners
and the role of instructional materials. Finally, procedure includes techniques
and classroom management.

Now that these conceptual aspects have been considered and before presenting
the main methods, it seems appropriate to mention the three major language
learning problems that language pedagogy and ELT(English Language
Teaching) have dealt with through the 20th and 21st centuries. H.H. Stern labels
them as follows:

a) The L1-L2 connection, that is, the disparity in the learner´s mind between the
inevitable dominance of the mother tongue and the weaknesses of his/her second
language knowledge.

b) The explicit-implicit option, that is, the choice between more conscious ways
of learning a foreign language and more subconscious or automatic ways of
learning 1t. This issue remains to a great extent unresolved.

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c) The code-communication dilemma has become a major issue recently. It
refers to the problems that learners have to cope with when learning a new
language, as they have to pay attention on the one hand to linguistic forms (the
code) and on the other to real communication.

Each of the FLT methods that I present here-following the chronological order of
their appearance- was not superseded by a subsequent one as soon as it
appeared but rather went on living, the new one being superimposed on the
former. We can even say that the appearance of a new method corresponds with
a loss of expectation of the former one along with the progressions of theory,
research and the experience of school practice. There is, broadly speaking, no
marked line between different methods, but often an eclectic mixture or a
borrowing between methods is present.

2. EVOLUTION OF DIDACTICS: CLASSIFICATION OF THE DIFFERENT

METHODOLOGICAL TRENDS
2.1. FROM ANCIENT TIMES UP TO THE 18TH CENTURY

It is difficult at times not to get the impression that our ancestors had some magic
formula for the learning of foreign languages. A second language has, at various
points in history, been a prerequisite if not the proof of an educated man.
Unfortunately the methodology by which they learnt these languages has not
been recorded, we can only guess some points with the information we have.

A. The Ancient Times

It was around the fifth century BC that in ancient India the early stages of
language were written down as a set of rules. This was, in fact, a grammar of
Sanskrit whose effects went far beyond the original intentions of the authors. In
the Old Testament, one of the aims and methods of education among the ancient
Jewish traditions was to teach their children a foreign language. The Egyptian,
Babylonian and Assyrian Kings sent bilingual representatives in their
delegations to foreign countries. We do know that Cato the Elder is supposed to
have learnt Greek aged 84 through conversation, grammar learning, reading and
writing. In Institutio Oratoria, Quintilian defends a practical way of teaching
Greek and the idea of teaching language in context.

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B. The Middle Ages

Teaching was centered on grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry,

astronomy and music. The first Christian missionaries are thought to have learnt
the native tongue of the people they were trying to convert to communicate with
them.

C. The Renaissance

Latin was the language used in most schools. But in the 16th century French,
Italian and English gained in importance as a result of political changes in Europe,
and Latin gradually became displaced as a language of spoken and written
communication. But until the 17th century, the study of Latin grammar remained
an end in itself. However, Erasmus considered grammar as a means to an end
and believed that it should be learnt inductively in a context. Martin Luther and
Michel de Montaigne followed a similar line, adding that it was convenient to
learn through native speakers and/or visit the country to assimilate the culture.
Jan Amos Komensky (commonly known as Comenius) is often said to be the
founder of the Didactics of language.

D. The 18th Century

It was not until this century that the study of modern languages was first
introduced officially in the USA. The first American professorship of modern
languages was established in 1779. French substituted Hebrew at Harvard.

2.2. 19TH CENTURY

A. Grammar-Translation or Traditional Method (known in the USA as the

Prussian Method)

This method was applied to the study of Latin and Greek from the 17th to the 19th
centuries. In the 19th century it was rather widespread by the German textbook
writer Karl Plotz for learning foreign languages, though by the end of the century
moves towards the Direct Method were noticed. Even today, in spite of its
obsolescence, this method has not entirely died out as some textbooks are still
in use.

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PRINCIPLES OF THE GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION METHOD:

1.- It emphasizes the study and translation of the written language, as it is

considered superior to spoken language.

2.- Successful learners are those who translate each language into another,
though they cannot communicate orally.

3.- Reading and writing are the main skills.

4.- Teachers play an authoritarian role in the classroom.

5.- Students must learn grammatical rules and long lists of vocabulary by heart.

6.- The student’s native language is the medium of instruction and used as well
to compare with the language studied.

7.- The basic unit of teaching is the sentence.

THE MAIN TECHNIQUES USED BY THE GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION

METHOD:

The grammar-translation method focuses on the teaching of the foreign language

grammar through the presentation of rules and lists of vocabulary translated into
the mother tongue. Translation is considered its most important classroom
activity. The main of a lesson follows this plan: a presentation of a grammar rule,
followed by a list of vocabulary and finally, translation exercises from selected
texts.

THE MAJOR DISADVANTAGES OF THE GRAMMAR-TRANSLATION

METHOD:

l.- Latin and Greek precepts often did not apply to the study of modern languages,
particularly English. English students could not see why English had a
subjunctive or dative case.

2. Norms are imposed from the great literary authors, being sometimes far from
the present use of languages.

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3.- The learning of many rules and exceptions is confusing for students,
especially in early stages.

4.- It gives an exaggerated importance to faults to be avoided by the learner and

to exceptions.

5.- Translations are often unsatisfactory and done word by word.

6.- Too much weight falls on students memories.

7.- A student can read Shakespeare perfectly, but not speak a word in English.

8.-A native teacher was not required and the teacher did not need to be
particularly good.

Despite all these disadvantages, its results were often better in the long run that
it is normally given credit for. A thorough grounding in grammar can easily be
converted into conversational facility.

B. The Direct Method (It is sometimes called ‘natural method’ but actually it
is a mixture of a natural and a phonetic method)

In the second half of the 19 century a set of circumstances contributed to the

criticism of the Grammar Method. First, a number of interesting suggestions came
from some FLT reformers, like Marcel and Gouin in France and Prendergast in
Britain. But the most important move was the appearance of the Reform
Movement from the 1880s, the work of linguistics and teachers, who related
school needs to linguistics (Viëtor in Germany, Passey in France and Jespersen
in Denmark had been schoolteachers; Sweet was a well-known British scholar.
The International Phonetic Association was created and one of its goals was to
improve the teaching of modern languages.

THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DIRECT METHOD

1.- The spoken language is primary (Viëtor, Sayce and Sweet) and that should
be reflected in an oral-based methodology.

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2.- The findings of phonetics should be applied to teaching and to teacher
training.

3.- Learners should hear the language first, like children (Gouin).

4.- Words should be presented in sentences in context.

5.- The rules of grammar should be avoided or taught only after students have
practised the grammar points in context, that is, grammar should be taught
inductively.

6.- Translation should be avoided. Meanings of words were to be learnt as far as

possible by the direct association of the new word with the thing or concept that
is designated.

7.- The Reading Book was very important in the lesson.

These principles imply the beginning of applied linguistics -the application of a

linguistic approach to FLT-, which led to the appearance of natural methods and
subsequently to the most widely known, the Direct Method. Berlitz promoted this
method in America and called it ‘The Berlitz method’. L. Sauveur applied also
these principles to teaching in America, and he called it ‘natural method’.

THE MAIN TECHNIQUES OF THE DIRECT METHOD:

The usual procedure of this method is the presentation of a text from the textbook
by the teacher, explaining difficult expressions in the foreign language with the
help of paraphrases; synonyms...

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE DIRECT METHOD:

With respect to the Grammar-translation Method, the Direct Method

presents some advantages:

1.- Exposure of the learner to the spoken language

2.- The language used is more realistic and meaningful.

3.- Errors and mistakes can be corrected immediately.

4.- The approach to language is more descriptive and modern.

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But there were also some disadvantages:

l.- It was difficult to implement in state education.

2.- There were disciplinary problems by letting students out of the formal
education, teachers often lost control of their classes.

3.-It overemphasized the similarity of learning the L1 and L2.

4.- It depended very much on the teacher’s skills, rather than on a textbook, but
not all teachers had a good command of the principle of the method.

5.- Sometimes the teachers had to do a lot of paraphrasing in the foreign

language when it would had been much easier to use the first language.

6.- It lacked a rigorous foundation in applied linguistics and methodology.

7.- The principle of selection, grading and controlled presentation of items

(first vocabulary; then structure) was missing.

H.E. Palmer tried to modify the method; he suggested that a set of regular
sentences should be assimilated in the early stages in order to serve as modal
sentences. He was also more open-minded when it came to the use of the
mother tongue. He became the forerunner of those who advocated the ‘oral or
compromise method’

2.3. 20TH CENTURY

PSYCHOLOGICAL TRADITION

A. Structuralist Methods: Audio-Lingualism or Pattern-drill Method.

The Audiolingual Method developed within the North American structuralist

tradition of FLT (Sapir, Bloomfield), which became the dominant orthodoxy after
World WarII. Its origin goes back to the seminal work by Bloomfield, who set up
the bases of structural linguistics, segmenting and classifying utterances into their
phonological and grammatical constituents. Fries, Brooks, Rivers and Lado
went on applying these principles up to the 1970s with a close relationship with
behaviourism.

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The forerunner of the audiolingual method is the Army Method, which was a
response to the need of army personnel to learn European Languages in the 2nd
World War. Since there was no time to train soldiers, a new programme was
devised. It gave considerable emphasis to the spoken language and it was made
intensively. Eight to nine hours a day over a nine-month period were required.
Phrase books and recordings were prepared to be studied when not in the
classroom while in the classroom all conversational skills were taught by native
speakers. Grammar was explained separately by trained teachers with some
knowledge of linguistics, and technical aids such as recordings, radio broadcast,
films, etc were used extensively.

The results were strikingly successful and well publicized. Few of the soldiers
who went through the course came out of it without some degree of fluency; but
the programme had some considerable advantages. Those selected were
required to have at least some previous knowledge of linguistics and a high level
of intelligence. For the most part they were highly motivated and the conditions
under which the learning took place were nearly ideal.

After the war such conditions were unrepeatable and though the results were
good, they did not match those achieved between 1941-45. The students had a
lot of difficulties in communicating outside the classroom and sometimes found
the learning experience boring and discouraging.

a) The main concepts of Audiolingualism:

l.-Learning is the result of experience and is evident in changes in behaviour.

2.- Foreign language learning is different to first language learning.

3.- Foreign language learning is a process of habit formation.

4.- Errors are the result of Ll interference and are to be avoided.

The main procedures put into practice place primary emphasis on an oral
approach to FLT and focus on an accurate speech, but grammatical explanations
do not have an important role.

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b) The main criticism were the following;

l.- The description of the grammar is rather incomplete

2.- It gives no importance to syntactic relations .

3.- It does not provide appropriate criteria for error treatment.

4.- It leads teachers to neglect the problems of language teaching and learning

5.- It leaves teachers and learners without a creative approach.

However structuralist methods made some positive contributions to FLT,

according to Widdowson:

1.- They were the first methods to recommend FLT based on linguistic and
psychological theories.

2.- They tried to extend language learning to a great deal of people.

3.- They emphasized syntactic progression, while the preceding methods were
more concerned with vocabulary and morphology.

4.- There was a development of the different skills.

5.- They promoted the use of simple techniques.

B. Cognitive-Code learning

Chomsky’s Transformational Grammar and Ausubel’s Cognitive Psychology

gave rise to their own method: Cognitive-Code Learning. It was developed by
Carroll and it is also known as the "Cognitive Code Learning". It was the first
reaction against Behaviorism. It considers learning as a mental process not as a
habit formation.

It was a strong principle of audio-lingualism that grammar should be learned

unconsciously, and-as we have seen-this view was defended by reference to
Skinners theory of learning. In 1959 Chomsky savagely attacked that view of the
nature of language learning, and in the years that followed he set out to produce
a linguistic theory, which would supersede the structuralist model of Bloomfield
and his followers. The resulting development of transformational—generative
grammar (did not have a direct impact on language teaching on any large scale,

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but an alternative learning theory, cognitive-code, was developed that placed
emphasis more on the conscious understanding of the rules which lead to the
production of linguistic patterns than on unconscious learning of the patterns
themselves. Once again, as earlier with grammar-translation, rules would be
learned and then applied to the elements of the language, and the use of the
intellect again became respectable.

THE HUMANISTIC TRADITION

Proponents of these methods believe that if learners can be encouraged to adopt

the right attitudes, interests and motivation in the target language and culture, as
well as in the learning environment in which they find themselves, then successful
learning will occur. It is crucial, not only to take into account this factor, but to give
it a central place in the selection of content, materials and learning activities. In
this view of language development, the emphasis should be on learners, not the
teacher.

A. Community Language Learning (Charles A. Curran)

Its primary aim is to create a warm and supportive community among the learners
and gradually to move them from complete dependence on the teacher to
complete autonomy. The teacher becomes a language counselor, he
understands and leads them to overcome their fears. It follows Krashen´s
Monitor Theory (Affective Filter Hypothesis) and the Cognitive theory where
the human mind is active.

Learning takes place in a communicative situation where the teachers and

learners are involved , so their relationship is central.

Criticism of CLL has been centered on the heavy demands on language teachers
who need special training and have to work without conventional material.
Another concern is about the lack of syllabus, which makes objectives and
evaluation rather unclear. But, on the contrary, it fosters student-centered lessons
and a whole-person view of education.

B. The Silent Way

It was developed in the early 70s by Caleb Gattegno. Its main features are:

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1.- The learner discovers or creates rather than remembers and repeats what is
to be learnt.

2.- Learning is eased by mediating physical objects.

3.- Learning is facilitated by problem solving involving the material to be learnt.

This method subordinates teaching to learning. One of the main ideas is that
silence is considered to be the best vehicle to learn and for mental organization.

The silent way is more in the tradition of audiolingualism that it seems, as it

focuses on repetition of words and sentences. However, some interesting
aspects can be derived from it: the organization and activities of the lessons, the
indirect role of the teacher and the active role played by students.

C. Suggestopedia

It is an extremely esoteric method developed in the seventies by the psychiatrist

Lozanov. It pays a lot of attention to classroom climate created with the furniture
and setting, music and a specific way of teaching .

Lozanov bases this method on yoga and Soviet psychology. From yoga he
borrows some techniques of relaxation and concentration, as well as the use of
voice, intonation and rhythmic breathing. From Soviet psychology he takes the
idea that all students are able to learn a subject matter at the same level if the
learning environment is given adequate attention. He does not have a theory of
language as such, but he pays a lot of attention to memorization of vocabulary
pairs, instead of a meaningful and contextualized learning. His theory is based
on suggestion.

Suggestopedia has received both, criticisms and enthusiastic support. A negative

aspect is the lack of a theory of language and learning. A special teacher training
is also necessary. On the other hand, enthusiasm comes from the results of
relaxation and concentration and the confidence they create in learners.

D. Total Physical Response

It attempts to coordinate speech and action; that is, its aim is teaching language
through physical actions. It was developed by James Asher who parallels FLL
to first language acquisition. He argues that very young children learn their

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mother tongue through commands and react to them physically before producing
verbal responses. Adult learners, according to him, can learn a foreign language
the same way. He adds a concern with affective factors in language learning,
which reduce stress and at the same time creates a positive mood in the learner.

Lessons are not based on textbooks or materials for beginners, but on the
teacher´s voice, actions and gestures. Later on, materials and realia are used.
This method is updated with references to more recent psychological theories
and supported by theorists as Krashen. However, Asher himself, points out the
need for this method to be used in association with other methods to be fully
successful.

LANGUAGE ACQUISITION TRADITION:

A. Natural Approach

The most pervasive advocate of the acquisitionists’ tradition is Krashen. Along

with Terrell, he has developed a method based on these principles called the
Natural Approach.

Of the various principles set out by Krashen, the best known and most
controversial is the suggestion that there are two distinct mental processes
operating in L2 development. The first is the acquisition process, while the
second is the learning process. Acquisition is the "natural" way, paralleling first
language development in children. Acquisition refers to an unconscious process
that involves the naturalistic development of language proficiency through
understanding language and through using language for meaningful
communication. Learning, by contrast, refers to a process in which conscious
rules about a language are developed. It results in explicit knowledge about the
forms of a language and the ability to verbalize this knowledge. Formal teaching
is necessary for "learning" to occur, and correction of errors helps with the
developments of learned rules. Learning, according to the theory, cannot lead to
acquisition. Therefore, activities which promote subconscious acquisition rather
than conscious learning are central.

Krashen thought that if second language acquisition operated in exactly the same
way as first language acquisition, then, all second language learners should

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develop bilingual competence in the language. This does not occur due to what
he calls the affective filter, which affects positively or negatively the learning.
Therefore, the affective filter must be lowered.

In this approach, there is an emphasis on input or exposure, rather than practice;

a prolonged period of attention to what the language learners hear before they
try to produce language; and a willingness to use written or other materials as a
source of comprehensive input. The main goal is communication skills, but
comprehension always precedes production. Production must emerge
spontaneously, that is, learners must not be forced to respond.

2.4. 20TH-21ST CENTURIES

COMMUNICATIVE APPROACHES:

A. Communicative or Functional-Notional Approach

The learner, tries to acquire the language from the beginning understanding and
producing their own messages in L2, expressing his own meanings and ideas.
Some important features are:

1.- Grammar is to be inferred from the text, with the minimum number of rules.

2.- Contextualization is a basic premise.

3.- Language learning is learning to communicate.

4.- Any device that helps the learner is accepted, even translation.

5.- Reading and writing can start from the first day.

6.- Sequencing is determined by any consideration of content, function or

meaning that maintain interest.

7.- The language is created through trial and error.

8.- Students are expected to interact with other people.

The results were, apparently, very successful. In a considerable short period of

time, students were able to handle a number of situations in English, with a
reasonable good production at an oral stage. Classes were very lively and
students enjoyed the process of learning.

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But the cons were soon to come:

1.- Student´s could not deepen their knowledge or transfer it to different

situations.

2.- The classroom was felt to be insufficient for students and they had no
possibility outside to practise those situations.

3.- Too much emphasis was placed on oral skills.

4.- The criteria for selecting and grading the chosen functions and grammatical
exponents to be taught are not clear.

5.- Not all teachers whose mother tongue is not English are confident enough to
work with this approach.

It was obvious that this system was very good for the teaching of a language for
specific purposes, but not in general.

B. New Trends on Language teaching. The Project-based approach.

The last years have seen a startling proliferation in teaching methods. London, in
particular, has been a centre for this, largely because it is where probably a
majority of students come at one time or another to learn English.

We can say that at the moment two major paradigms coexist: the propositional
(structural and functional approaches) and the procedural (task/project-based
and process approaches).

The tendency has moved in the last years towards integrating grammar, function,
lexis, etc everything into a real situational context. The project-based learning
is the central axis: emphasis is put on the learning in order to accomplish a task.
In doing so, our students see the usefulness of language in a short term and they
get involved in the process. The whole unit of work is designed in this sense. The
idea is to design a syllabus together with our pupils according to their level
(attention to differentiation), interests, environment, etc. This way our students
should be more motivated, since they are dealing with something close to them,
and, on top of that, they will not have to learn a grammar point in isolation and for
once, but it will be recurrent (spiral approach); the idea is to work in a sort of

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cycles, so that if a student misses some information, he may be able to connect
with the following one.

Nowadays The Europe Commission homogenizes the teaching and learning of

any foreign language. The Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR) plays a central role in language and education policy.

It provides a common basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses, curriculum

guidelines, examinations, textbooks, etc. across Europe. It describes in a
comprehensive way what language learners have to learn to do in order to use a
language for communication and what knowledge and skills they have to develop
so as to be able to act effectively. The description also covers the cultural context
in which a language is set. The Framework also defines levels of proficiency
which allow learners’progress to be measured at each stage of learning and on
a life-long basis regardless the country they learn.

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is a personal language-learning tool

containing three parts: a Language Passport, a Language Biography and a
Dossier.

1) The Language Passport gives an overview of the holder’s current level of

language

proficiency and summarizes their learning and intercultural experiences. It has a

reporting function.

2) The Language Biography documents the holder’s personal language learning

history and intercultural experiences. It also contains instruments for self-
assessment of language competence.

3) The Dossier is a collection of work that illustrates what the learner has done
and is able to do in different languages.

One of the latest trends in teaching is cooperative learning. Cooperative

learning is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and
social learning experiences. It differs from group work, and it has been described
as "structuring positive interdependence." Students must work in groups to
complete tasks collectively toward academic goals. Unlike individual learning,

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which can be competitive in nature, students learning cooperatively capitalize on
one another’s resources and skills (asking one another for information, evaluating
one another’s ideas, monitoring one another’s work, etc.). Furthermore, the
teacher's role changes from giving information to facilitating students'
learning. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. Ross and Smyth
(1995) describe successful cooperative learning tasks as intellectually
demanding, creative, open-ended, and involve higher order thinking. E-twinning
is a useful platform which enables schools across Europe to link online and
engage in ICT-based partnerships to promote cooperative learning.

The European Commission also works with EU Member States, including Spain,
to develop the concept of 'key competences' – the knowledge, skills and
attitudes that help people gain personal fulfillment, employability and enable them
to take part in society. These include the 'traditional' competences like Linguistic,
competences in Maths and Science, and digital competence, but also the more
'transversal' ones such as learning to learn, social and civic competence and
cultural awareness and expression. English language teaching must contribute
to the development of the key competences, so we must take it into account when
designing our syllabus.

Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) follows this philosophy of

integral education. It involves teaching a curricular subject through the medium
of a language other than that normally used. The subject can be entirely unrelated
to language learning, such as history lessons being taught in English in a school
in Spain. CLIL is taking place and has been found to be effective in all sectors of
education from primary through to adult and higher education. Its success has
been growing over the past 10 years and continues to do so.

Teachers working with CLIL are specialists in their own discipline rather than
traditional language teachers. They are usually fluent speakers of the target
language, bilingual or native speakers. In many institutions language teachers
work in partnership with other departments to offer CLIL in various subjects. The
key issue is that the learner is gaining new knowledge about the 'non-language'
subject while encountering, using and learning the foreign language. The
methodologies and approaches used are often linked to the subject area with the
content leading the activities.

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c. Second language learning as a chaotic/complex system

We shouldn´t deny any of the methods explained through the last lines, but we
should admit that none of them has achieved completely definition of the
acquisition of a second language.

All of them are considered useful and can be used together in our daily teaching.
But we also cannot forget the ideas of Thomson and Lamber who suggested that
second language learning can be defined as dynamic and opened to be changed
at any time.

3. CONCLUSION

In this topic we have dealt with the most important language learning methods
and especially the ultimate trends in 2LA. This overview is essential for any
foreign language teacher in order to have a sound foundation when approaching
language teaching and language learning. So far there seems to be no perfect
neither best approach to teaching languages. There are so many variables
included (age, culture, motivation, etc) that it appears almost impossible to have
in the future the ideal method. However, as long as humans need to speak other
languages, apart from the mother tongue, there will be foreign language learning
methods.

Although our teaching should be based essentially in project-based, cooperative

learning and the latest trends established by the European Commission and our
education legislation, we should take advantages of the best aspect of other
approaches at different moments. For instance, total physical response is perfect
to teach students in early stages the parts of the body or to teach them how to
give instructions. Suggestopedia can be a nice experience for a listening exercise
with music. Using new trends like flipped classroom, gamification or design
thinking will enrich our teaching.

Finally, I shall remark that the best methodological device is 'common sense' and
to have an open mind to incorporate whatever means we can use to achieve our
goals following the legal framework established. It is important also to be updated

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in the latest methodological approaches and to participate in the training courses
every year our CEP offers regarding the newest trends.

4. BIBLIOGRAPHY

-Brumht & Johnson (1979) The communicative Approach to Language Teaching.

Oxford: OUP.

- Ellis, R. (1994) The Study of L2. Oxford: OUP.

-Howatt, A. (1994) A History of English Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP.

-Krashen, s. (1981) 2L Acquisition and 2L Learning. London: Pergamon.

- Larsen-Freeman, Diane, (2011) Techniques and Principles in Language

Teaching. Oxford: OUP.

-Littlewood, W. (1981) Communicative Language Teaching. An Introduction.

Cambridge: CUP.

- Plews, John L.; Zhao, Kangxian (2010).Tinkering with tasks knows no bounds:
ESL Teachers’ Adaptations of Task-Based Language-Teaching, TESL Canada
Journal.

- Richards & Rogers(2003) Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching,

C.U.P.

-Stern, H.H. (1991) Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching, Oxford: OUP

- http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/elp/elp-reg/cefr_EN.asp (CEFR and

portfolio)

- http://www.etwinning.net/es/pub/index.htm (E-TWINNING)

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