Historical background of methods and approaches in FLT

The need to learn foreign languages is almost as old as human history itself. The field of foreign language teaching has undergone many fluctuations and dramatic

shifts over the years. This is the field where fads and heroes have come and gone together with the changes in youth culture. So the sphere feels a great impact of time and society. The requirements of time and society dictate how to teach foreign languages as throughout history foreign language learning has always been an important practical concern. If a foreign language is so important for practical purposes the most favourable teaching approaches are those which encourage students using language in order to acquire it. If the society is not interested in practical implementation of language, then comes the time of analyzing it. Over the centuries, language teaching methodology has been vacillating between these two types of approaches:

•one which focuses on using a language;

•the other which focuses on analyzing it.

At the beginning of the 20th century, this distinctive pattern was observable in the shift from the analytical Grammar Translation Approach to the use-oriented Direct Method. Later the shift was connected with the rise of popularity of communicative approaches which emphasize language use over rules of language usage. Labeling this or that approach as good or bad is not fruitful. Success and effectiveness of different approaches or methods depend on whether they meet the requirements of time and society or not.

Historically the origin of modern language education has its roots in the study and teaching of Latin. 500 years ago Latin was the dominant language of education, commerce, religion and government in much of the Western world. But later, during the Renaissance period, Latin abandoned its role as a lingua franca, gradually becoming displaced as a language of spoken and written communication. Since that time Latin together with ancient Greek has become the formal object of instruction in schools and universities rather than the language of everyday communication. Otherwise the influence of the method of presentation of the dead language has been great. Actually from the 17th up to 20th century the study of classical Latin and analysis of its grammar was the model for foreign language study. We feel the influence even now in the practices of Grammar- Translation Method, which became firmly entrenched as a method of teaching aimed at analyzing a language rather than using it.

However, the swinging of the pendulum continued and by the end of the 19-th century the focus in language study shifted back to utility rather than analysis.

An alternative method to propose was the Direct Method, other labels of which are Natural/ Conversational /Anti-grammatical method as its proponents (F. Gouin, E.B. de Sauze) were strongly opposed to teaching formal grammar, learning rules and translation practice. They advocated development of oral skills and the primary role of a spoken word. At the beginning of the 20th century, given the lack of teachers who were fluent in the target language, their endeavor was not quite successful and this led to the endorsement of the Reading approach to language teaching. It was the reaction to the impracticality of the Direct approach as at that period of time reading, not speaking was viewed as the most usable skill in foreign language. Reading comprehension is the only language skill emphasized within the Reading approach. Translation becomes once more a respectful classroom procedure, only the grammar useful for reading comprehension is taught, vocabulary is controlled first, then expanded.

In the middle of the 20th century new challenges and pressures of historical situation made imperative to teach people to speak and understand the target language quickly and efficiently. That helped to erect the Audio-Lingual approach, which advocated departure from the traditional reading and translating procedures and stressed maximum opportunity to practice the target language.

It is evident that nowadays a foreign language is used for communicative purposes, and the acquisition of communicative competence is the main aim of teaching. In this connection we are speaking about the Communicative Approach, an umbrella term which covers a wide range of classroom practices and which focuses on language as a medium of communication. This time again the next cycle in foreign language learning has been shifted from language analysis to language use, from linguistic focus to communicative, practical view of a foreign language.

All the shifts and changes are historically approved as, being extremely practically-oriented science, studying foreign languages reflects the needs and demands of society.

Points for discussion

•Shifts and changes in the history of teaching foreign languages.

•Peculiarities of traditional approaches to language teaching.

Дата добавления: 2017-01-13