Sara Durango de la Peña

Verónica Castaño Aguilera

SUMMARY CHART

SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING METHODOLOGIES

Originally used to teach Latin and Greek, this method was

Psychological
applied to the teaching of modern languages in the late 19th
basis
and early 20th centuries.
The Grammar-Translation Method is based on teaching the
second language through grammar rules. It is taught using
Linguistic basis
a lists of vocabulary translated into the mother tongue. It
focuses on accuracy and not fluency.
It is a good method when you have to teach to a large
GRAMMAR
Advantages group of students, which have different levels in the
TRANSLATION
language.
METHOD
Students tend to translate word by word without paying
attention to the context or communicative situation.
Drawbacks Language is seen as a collection of words, not as a whole
communication system. Too much attention is given to
reading and written and oral skills are not developed.
Students translating sentences from their mother tongue to
Activity sample the second language or the other way round.
Fill in the blanks exercises.
It was born during World War II. It’s based on earlier
Psychological
experiences of the USA army programmes, structural
basis
approaches and behaviourist psychology.
The main aim in the early stages is oral proficiency, which
means accurate pronunciation and grammar and the ability
to react and answer quickly. Language structures are learnt
Linguistic basis through imitation, repetitions and memorization. Accuracy
in pronunciation, stress, rhythm and intonation is
AUDIOLINGUAL emphasized. Translation and grammatical explanation are
METHOD avoided. The use of the mother tongue is not allowed.
It provides the learner with considerable conversational
Advantages fluency due to language is practised orally before being
seen and used in the written form.
The method consists of mechanical drills, with the danger
of uttering patterns without realizing what they are saying
Drawbacks
and students are unable to use the language for real
communication outside the classroom.
Activity sample Repetition exercises, drills, mechanical dialogues.

1
 Sara Durango de la Peña
Verónica Castaño Aguilera

This method was developed by James Asher, a professor

of physiology, as a result of his experiences observing
young children learning their first language. Asher sees
Psychological foreign language learning as a parallel process to child
basis first-language acquisition. He argues that children respond
physically to adults’ commands before they produce verbal
responses. Therefore, second-language learners should
imitate this first-language acquisition process.
The emphasis is placed on the actions that learners have to
make. It attempts to teach language through physical
activity. Comprehension abilities precede productive
skills. Listening comprehension must be developed before
speaking. Speaking is delayed until oral comprehension is
TOTAL Linguistic basis
established.
PHYSICAL
Teaching should focus on meaning rather than form.
RESPONSE
Understanding and retention is best achieved through
(TPR)
movement of the students’ bodies in response to
commands.
It is fun for the students and it helps them to understand
the target language easily. It reduces learner stress
Advantages fostering the creation of a positive mood in the learner by
delaying oral production and by promoting game-like
movements.
It is limited due to everything cannot be explained using
this method and it can be challenging for shy students. We
Drawbacks
must use it in association with other methods and
techniques and it is useful for beginner’s levels.
Simon says, to tell a story in which students have to do all
Activity sample
what it is said.
Advocates of this method believed that students learn to
understand a language by listening to it in large quantities
Psychological and they learn to speak by speaking, especially if speech is
basis associated simultaneously with appropriate action. Its
methodology was based essentially on the way children
DIRECT learn their native language.
METHOD Oral communication is its main objective, therefore, the
skills of listening comprehension and speaking are taught
gradually and systematically, while reading and writing
Linguistic basis
can be developed later.
New items are taught orally through demonstrations and
pictures. Translation is not necessary.

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 Sara Durango de la Peña
Verónica Castaño Aguilera

Correct pronunciation is emphasized and grammar is

taught inductively.
Since translation is avoided, learners are encouraged from
the beginning to think in the foreign language while
Advantages
priority is given to oral skills, what could be a clear
advantage.
This method overemphasizes the similarities between first
language acquisition and foreign language learning,
ignoring the fact that the classroom is an artificial
environment where it is difficult to generate natural
Drawbacks learning situations. Besides, the fact that this method
requires native teachers or speakers with native-like
fluency in the foreign language is a rather unrealistic
objective.
The skills of reading and written are in a second place.
Activity sample Questions and answers activities, recreation of daily life
conversations.
The term natural emphasizes that the principles underlying
the method conform to the principles of how children learn
their first language. Stephen Krashen was who proposed
this approach.
He distinguishes between acquisition and learning. The
former is a subconscious process, parallel to L1
acquisition, whereas the latter refers to a process in which
Psychological conscious rules about language are developed. According
basis to this theory, acquiring a language is more successful and
longer-lasting than learning.
Krashen considered successful acquisition to be achieved
NATURAL if learners are exposed to input which is at a slightly higher
APPROACH level than their current level of competence, that is how
much they are able to understand, not how much the
students are able to use. Krashen referred to it as
comprehensible input.
As much comprehensible input as possible must be
presented. Teachers should afford students the opportunity
to acquire language rather than force them to learn it.
Whatever helps comprehension is important: visual,
Linguistic basis auditory aids, gestures, context, repetitions, etc.
Focus on listening and reading; speaking should be
allowed to emerge.
Learners’ silent periods should be respected. Speech from
students can wait until they are ready for it.

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 Sara Durango de la Peña
Verónica Castaño Aguilera

A relaxed classroom atmosphere, in order to lower the

affective filter, should be promoted.
The Natural Approach emphasizes comprehension and
meaningful communication, as well as the importance of
Advantages
emotional rather than cognitive factors in learning. These
principles have influenced current syllabus designs.
Some authors point out problems in the
learning/acquisition hypothesis. One problem is that
acquisition takes a long time. L2 learners have less time
and opportunities for language exposure than children
Drawbacks
acquiring their mother tongue. Another problem is that it
doesn’t make sense that learnt language doesn’t lead to
acquisition. It has been shown that learnt language, which
is practised, does become part of the acquired store.
Activity sample Listening games like bingo.
The Communicative Language Teaching is described as an
approach rather than a method which is based on
Psychological communicative language use. It emphasizes notional-
basis functional concepts and communicative competence,
rather than grammatical structures as central to language
teaching
The goal of language teaching is for the learner to develop
communicative competence. Language is learning to
communicate in that language.
Contextualization of language items is a basic premise:
teaching items are introduced in a meaningful context. The
items are separated for controlled practice first, and later
COMMUNICATIVE for freer practice.
APPROACH Linguistic basis Translation and grammar explanations may be used where
and when students benefit from them.
Fluency is prior to accuracy. Errors are seen as normal in
the teaching-learning process.
Materials have a very important role in promoting
communicative language use. Variation is essential: audio-
visual materials, task-based communication activities,
games, role-plays, realia.
Among its advantages is the fact that its teaching focuses
on real world language use. The learners’ perceptions,
Advantages feelings and attitudes are taken into account. The learner is
also encouraged to work independently from the teacher,
through pair and group work.

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 Sara Durango de la Peña
Verónica Castaño Aguilera

The functional syllabus is more suitable for intermediate

students, who have already learnt the basic grammatical
items. It is argued that students must inevitably learn the
Drawbacks
grammar of the language: They’ll still have to drill
structures and organize grammatical items into a suitable
form of grading.
Activity sample Role-plays, dramatization.