Historical Overview of Methodologies in ESL English 6010 Week 2

Key Terms

Approach a well informed set of assumptions and beliefs about the nature of teaching and learning

Method 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 specific activities manifested in the classroom consistent with a method and therefore in harmony with an approach as well

Curriculum/syllabus 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 New material is presented in dialogue form Memorization Set phrases Drills Tapes, language lab, visual aids Successful responses immediately reinforced

Cognitive code learning Deep structure of language Chomsky LAD (language acquisition device) Deductive Conscious awareness of rules Generative transformational grammar

“Designer” Methods of the Spirited 1970s 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 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 Language learning occurs under the right conditions Students are asked to be “child like” Business enterprise

The Silent Way 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 Commands are given Listening and acting No verbal response is necessary

Krashen 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 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 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… 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 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 mostly male linguists on the mostly female workforce of ESL teachers) and imperialistic (it assumes that Methods, developed in the West, are the best way to teach ESL across the world). Do you agree with Pennycook? Why or why not? What do you think is the relationship between method and what teachers actually are doing (and have been doing) in the classroom?

Prabhu Best method varies from context to context Still left with search to find the best method for a particular context. There is truth in every method But which parts are true? Objective method evaluation is impossible

Pennycook