lOMoARcPSD|21902709

Eng Ed 24
Principles and Theories of Language Acquisition and
Learning

Approaches to Language Teaching

What is this lesson about?
Teaching a foreign language to pupils may be a difficult but rewarding task that provides
them with completely new avenues for communication. It is advantageous for teachers to be
aware of the many language teaching approaches so they can be adaptable in their approach to
instruction. In this module, you will learn about the most common techniques for teaching
foreign languages.
What will you learn?
At the end of this lesson, you are expected to:
• Discuss the varied approaches to language teaching
• Cite specific classroom practices wherein each approach is applied
• Relate the principles of interactive language teaching to classroom practices
What do you already know?
Brainstorming: Test your prior knowledge regarding the most common language teaching
approaches. Write at least three to five words separated by commas that you can think of that
exactly describe the learning theory in each item.
Let’s read!
Proficient language teachers can frequently be recognized for their creative and
innovative methods of instruction. To engage their pupils and enhance learning outcomes, they
are always experimenting with novel teaching techniques and tools.

PRESENT-DAY TEACHING METHODS

Language teachers understand that there’s no quick fix that they can deploy to help
students quickly become fluent in their target language. Instead there are some common,
evidence-based teaching approaches which can help make a difference. This module will
enumerate the present-day language teaching methods.

The most effective language teaching approach is often a mix of several strategies tailored to the
needs of individual learners.

1. Communicative language teaching (CLT)

This approach is probably now the most popular teaching model for English language teaching
globally. In part because it aims to put students in a variety of real-life situations, so that they can
learn how to use their language skills to communicate in the real world. Educators therefore tend

1
 lOMoARcPSD|21902709

to focus on fluency of communication rather than accuracy and lessons are more hands-on than
theoretical.

Interactive and relevant classroom activities characterize this approach along with the use of
authentic source materials. Teachers are encouraged to provide the students with as much
opportunity to give and receive meaningful communication as possible. The use of personal
experience is also common in CLT classrooms.
2. Task-based language teaching (TBLT)

The focus of TBLT teaching is solely on the completion of a detailed task which interests and
engages the learners. Learners use the language skills that they already have to complete the task
and work through three distinct phases – a pre-task, the task itself and post-task.

Students might, for example, be asked to deliver a presentation about an important

environmental issue. In order to complete it, they will need to read / listen to source material,
conduct internet research, as well as writing and delivering the presentation itself. Research
suggests that students in TBLT classes are empowered and motivated because they ‘own’ the
language and can control the nature of the task response.
3. Content and language integrated learning (CLIL)

The CLIL approach principally involves studying one subject (for example, biology, science or
history) and learning a language, such as English, at the same time — effectively integrating the
two subjects.

The language teaching is organized around the demands of the first subject rather than that of the
target language. So it’s critically important to make sure that the integration is clear and that
students are engaged. Having said that, the CLIL approach does create significant opportunities
for cross-curricular working; it opens up language learning to a wider context and can be used to
re-engage previously demotivated students.

To learn more about this approach see our dedicated blog posts here and here.
4. Cooperative Language Learning (CLL)

Cooperative Language Learning or CLL forms part of a wider teaching approach known as
Collaborative or Community Learning (CL). CLL seeks to make the maximum use of
cooperative activities involving pairs and small groups of learners in the classroom. As such, it is
a student-centered, rather than a teacher-centered, approach to language teaching.

In the CLL classroom, all of the language learning activities are deliberately designed to
maximise opportunities for social interactions. Students should accomplish tasks by interacting
between themselves and talking / working together. The teacher’s role is to act as a facilitator of
and a participant in the learning tasks.

2
 lOMoARcPSD|21902709

5. Grammar-Translation

This is a very traditional teaching approach which prioritises translation from the students’
mother tongue into the target language and vice versa. To succeed in this approach, students
need to memorize long lists of vocabulary and detailed grammar formats and rules.

The approach favours accuracy over fluency and tends to favour the development of reading and
writing skills instead of speaking skills. The downside of this approach is that it does not prepare
students with spontaneous communication skills. Classroom activities therefore usually include
grammar drills, vocab tests and encouraging students to incorporate new grammar concepts in
standardised writing tasks.
6. Total Physical Response

Total Physical Response or TPR is a way of language teaching in which the teacher presents
language objects as instructions and the students have to do exactly what the teacher tells them.
Students might therefore be asked to sit down, stand up, point to the clock or walk to the front of
the class.

As students improve, such instructions can become more detailed including additional elements
for language comprehension, including adverbs (e.g. talk quickly), adjectives (e.g put on your
red jumper) and prepositions (e.g stand in front of the teacher).
Total Physical Response or TPR is a way of language teaching in which the teacher
presents language objects as instructions and the students have to do exactly what the teacher
tells them. Students might therefore be asked to sit down, stand up, point to the clock or walk to
the front of the class.
As students improve, such instructions can become more detailed including additional
elements for language comprehension, including adverbs (e.g. talk quickly), adjectives (e.g put
on your red jumper) and prepositions (e.g stand in front of the teacher).
7. The Silent Way

It’s perhaps hard to imagine a language classroom where the teacher doesn’t actually say much,
but that’s the principle at the heart of this approach. As with CLL above, this approach
deliberately shifts the focus from the teacher’s teaching to the student’s learning.

Evidently, the Silent Way uses silence as a teaching tool. It encourages students to be more
independent and to discover the target language for themselves. Teachers need to employ the
widest possible range of gestures and facial expressions to communicate. Props might also be
useful and of course, make sure that you explain the whole process to the class first!

8. The Natural approach

Adherents of this approach characterise it as recognising and highlighting the difference between
learning and acquiring a language. For them, learning a language requires structure, textbooks,
resources and memorising grammar rules or vocabulary lists. Whereas acquiring a language only

3
 lOMoARcPSD|21902709

needs teachers to create an environment which immerses students in the repetition, correction
and recall of their target language.

Primarily intended to be used with beginner learners, teachers emphasize interesting,

comprehensible input (CI) and create low-anxiety situations. As such, lessons delivered using the
natural approach focus on understanding messages in the foreign language, and place little or no
importance on error correction, drilling or on conscious learning of grammar rules.
This approach aims to mimic natural language learning with a focus on communication
and instruction through exposure. It de-emphasizes formal grammar training. Instead, instructors
concentrate on creating a stress-free environment and avoiding forced language production from
students.
Teachers also do not explicitly correct student mistakes. The goal is to reduce student
anxiety and encourage them to engage with the second language spontaneously.
Classroom procedures commonly used in the natural approach are problemsolving
activities, learning games, affective-humanistic tasks that involve the students’ own ideas, and
content practices that synthesize various subject matter, like culture.

9. Audio-lingualism
This way of teaching was developed in response to some of the problems associated with
Grammar-Translation. As a result, classes are usually held in the target language as this approach
deliberately seeks to prioritize speaking and listening skills.
Activities typically involve students repeating the teacher’s words (either face-toface or
through headphones in a language lab) until they get the pronunciations and rhythm right. Good
work is rewarded by the educator and mistakes are quickly corrected.
The audio-lingual approach encourages students to develop habits that support language
learning. Students learn primarily through pattern drills, particularly dialogues, which the teacher
uses to help students practice and memorize the language. These dialogues follow standard
configurations of communication.

Audiolingualism was developed in response to some of the problems associated with Grammar-
Translation. As a result, classes are usually held in the target language as this approach
deliberately seeks to prioritise speaking and listening skills.

Activities typically involve students repeating the teacher’s words (either face-to-face or through
headphones in a language lab) until they get the pronunciations and rhythm right. Good work is
rewarded by the educator and mistakes are quickly corrected.

There are four types of dialogues utilized in this method:

• Repetition, in which the student repeats the teacher’s statement exactly
• Inflection, where one of the words appears in a different form from the previous
sentence (for example, a word may change from the singular to the plural)
• Replacement, which involves one word being replaced with another while the
sentence construction remains the same
• Restatement, where the learner rephrases the teacher’s statement

4
 lOMoARcPSD|21902709

This technique’s name comes from the order it uses to teach language skills. It starts with
listening and speaking, followed by reading and writing, meaning that it emphasizes hearing and
speaking the language before experiencing its written form. Because of this, teachers use only
the target language in the classroom with this TESOL method.
Many of the current online language learning apps and programs closely follow the
audio-lingual language teaching approach. It is a nice option for language learning remotely
and/or alone, even though it’s an older ESL teaching method.

10. Direct Method

In the direct method, all teaching occurs in the target language, encouraging the learner to
think in that language. The learner does not practice translation or use their native language in
the classroom. Practitioners of this method believe that learners should experience a second
language without any interference from their native tongue.
Instructors do not stress rigid grammar rules but teach it indirectly through induction.
This means that learners figure out grammar rules on their own by practicing the language. The
goal for students is to develop connections between experience and language. They do this by
concentrating on good pronunciation and the development of oral skills.
This method improves understanding, fluency, reading, and listening skills in our
students. Standard techniques are question and answer, conversation, reading aloud, writing, and
student self-correction for this language learning method.

11. Suggestopedia and Desuggestopedia

Suggestopedia is a method of foreign language teaching developed by Lozanov. It makes
use of dialogs, situations, and translation to present and practice language, and in particular,
makes use of music, visual images, and relaxation exercises to make learning more comfortable
and effective (Richards, et.al.,1990). It is a method of teaching a foreign language in which
students learn quickly by being made to feel relaxed, interested and positive (Hornby, 2005).
From these two definitions, it is clear that Suggestopedia uses techniques to make the students
feel relaxed, comfortable, interested in order to learn more quickly. In the late 70s, a Bulgarian
psychologist by the name of Georgi Lozano.
Desuggestopedia is an application of the study of suggestion to pedagogy. Desuggest is
the opposite of suggest. It is used to eliminate the negative feeling and Suggestopedia is used to
reinforce the positive feeling and to release the full mental power. This methodology has been
developed to help students eliminate the feeling that they cannot be successful or the negative
association they may have toward studying and thus help them overcome the barriers to learning.
This theory emphasizes the power of students’ feelings and puts the main focus on them. Though
Suggestopedia has been primarily been used for foreign language teaching, it can be used to
teach any subject. It is known in the western world as ‘Super-learning’ or ‘Suggestiveaccelerative
learning.’ This method has many uses from improving language learning, to favorable side
effects on health, social and psychological relations and the success in other subjects.

5
 lOMoARcPSD|21902709

Does it matter which language you are teaching?

While the core principles of effective language teaching apply to teaching any modern language,
including English, Spanish, French, Japanese or Mandarin, there may be some differences in
emphasis or approach depending on the specific language being taught. However, these
differences are generally minor, and the most effective teaching methods can be adapted to suit
any language.

For example, Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Task-Based Language Teaching

(TBLT), and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) are all highly effective for
teaching any language. These methods prioritize authentic communication, meaningful tasks,
and contextual learning, which are essential for successful language acquisition regardless of the
target language.

However, certain aspects of a language might require more specific attention or focus. For
instance, English has a more complex phonology and a larger vocabulary compared to some
other languages, which may require additional emphasis on pronunciation and vocabulary
building. Spanish and French have grammatical gender and more verb conjugations than
English, which may necessitate a more structured approach to teaching grammar.

How much have you learned?

Assessment
INSTRUCTION: PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONG IN A
MINIMUM OF 7 SENTENCES. USE A YELLOW PAD PAPER.

1. As a future educator, does it really matter which language you are teaching and which
approach you employing? Why?
2. Which teaching approach do you think is the most effective in teaching the English
Language?

3. Pick at least three (5) language teaching approaches. Define and design an appropriate
classroom activity for each to stimulate the students’ learning.

Learning Approach Definition Classroom

Activity/activities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

6
lOMoARcPSD|21902709