(i) Teaching Methodologies and Approaches: Background TEFL emerged as a discipline and profession in the first half of the

20th century, at a time when parallel developments in applied psychology and linguistics gave rise to a number of competing philosophies concerning learning, and in particular, language learning. Much contemporary language teaching was born out of the decline of Latin as a global lingua franca and its subsequent rebirth as a model - along with ancient Greek - of classical education and language learning. This classical 'grammar school' approach to language learning was based on the conception of language as a grammatical system (langue) which governed speech (parole). This structuralist or formalist approach as championed by De Sausseure came into ascendancy in the 19th and early 20th century. This method, where grammatical rules are learned piecemeal and utilised not to facilitate oral production but rather to translate banal sentences, which exemplify the rule, came to be known as the Grammar-Translation method, a method many of us will have experienced to some degree in our own schooling. This method which was dominated by deductive teaching of grammar, reading, writing, translation, dictation and drills achieved ascendancy from 1840-1940 (Richards & Rogers p.6). One benefit of this method was that it placed fewer demands on the teacher and facilitated larger class sizes. There was a reaction to this literary/translation-based approach to learning in response to the growing demand for oral linguistic proficiency. The French educational reformer Gouin developed a method, which focused on the way in which children learnt their mother tongue, an insight which presaged Chomsky's revolutionary competency-based linguistics decades later. The 'Reform Movement' as it came to be known propounded the primacy of spoken language, inductive learning of grammar, the importance of the new discipline of Phonetics, and the significance of meaning and context. Louis Saveur took up this baton and developed the 'Natural Method' (1860's) - and later the 'Direct Method/Berlitz -' which favoured second language immersion and elicitation - more of which later. However, the perceived lack of a theoretical basis led to the waning of the approach, although it is credited with the inception of 'The Methods Era', the proliferation of competing theories and methods in the 20th century. Approach, Method and Technique Let us firstly clarify then the difference between these two closely related terms: method and approach. A method is a system of teaching techniques or practices that is based on a theory of language acquisition; it is thus a clearly delineated set of procedures with a single theoretical foundation. On the other hand, an approach is more general; an approach may contain more than one method and subscribe to more than one theory without being governed or constrained by that theory/method. Many experienced teachers utilise an expanding palette of theories and methods during their career without necessarily holding contradictory positions. Teaching techniques, which we will be looking at in due course, are the systematic elements that make up a method and less systematically, an approach. The American Applied Linguist Edward Anthony posited the distinction between the three concepts of approach, method and technique in 1963. According to Anthony, approach is defined as...'a set of correlative assumptions dealing with the nature of language teaching and learning.' Method is defined as...'an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected approach. Finally, a technique is defined as...'that which actually takes place in the classroom...a particular trick, stratagem or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective.' (Anthony 1969 pp.63-67) Thus, an approach concerns the fundamental assumptions and principles, which underpin the methodology, which is an holistic system of procedures, procedures that are in turn populated by distinct techniques. Approach and method thus concern the area of design, where objectives, syllabus, content and the roles of teachers, learners and materials are all determined. (Richards & Rogers pp.20) Richard & Rogers identify three broad approaches in ELT. The first approach is the structural approach, which underpins the Audio-lingual Method, TPR and the Silent Way. This approach defines language as a 'system of structurally related elements for the coding of meaning.' (ibid pp.21) The second approach is the functional view, where language is seen as...'a vehicle for the expression of functional meaning.' (ibid pp.21). Exemplars of this approach are Notional Syllabi and ESP, which favour meaning and expression over structure. The third approach is the interactional view, which sees language as a vehicle for the realisation of interpersonal relations and social transactions. Exemplars of this approach are Task-based

Learning, Neurolinguistic Programming, Whole Language Learning etc. Situational Language Teaching (50's/60's) The first theory of language which still influences ELT today is SLT. SLT and its key theoretician Pittman propounded that the knowledge of linguistic structures should be linked to the situations in which are typically used. SLT significantly blended a formal view of language with an emphasis on the importance of meaning, context, situation and purpose. (ibid pp.41) It was an inductive approach where grammar and lexis were pre-taught and pronunciation drills, dictation, rote learning and the fervent correction of errors were important elements. Generally, classroom procedures moved from the controlled to freer practice of structures - PPP. SLT's PPP approach and grammatical syllabi were widely influential up until the early 90's. (ibid pp.47) Cognitivism: Acquisition & Learning (Chomsky & Krashen) Chomsky's 1959 response to Skinner's 'Verbal Behaviour' behaviourist approach to learning identified the competence and performance model of language learning. Chomskys key point here examines the process by which children acquire language. Chomsky questioned how if language is merely learnt behaviour children manage to produce 'novel' language. Children are clearly able to produce original utterances, which Chomsky could not be accounted for using the behaviourist imitative model of language acquisition. Chomsky propounded that children extrapolate from learnt language to facilitate the production of novel utterances. Thus, children appear to be able to internalise grammatical forms and use learnt lexis to produce unheard or unlearnt language/utterances. Chomsky posited that language was not a form of behaviour but rather a system with inherent and complex rules. On the basis of this finite set of rules and lexis, an infinite body of utterances can be produced. Language learners acquire the competence to employ a language's rules and components (words & phrases) to produce novel, creative and expressive utterances. Although this theory concerns the acquisition of a first or native language, it can be applied to second language learning to simulate 'natural language learning'. This approach posits that the internalisation of language rules (langue) facilitates the creation of original utterances (parole) which is itself the goal of communication - the expression of meaning. Stephen Krashen argued that the subconscious process of the acquisition of language competence is a longer lasting and more fundamental form of learning which leads to creative output. Krashen suggested that this more subconscious approach to language learning/teaching produces a more 'natural' learning experience. Thus, language teaching becomes more about simulating 'natural' acquisition than the conscious teaching of grammatical rules. Krashen pointed to language input - the language (parole) which learners are exposed to - as the key to simulating 'natural' learning. The important aspect of language input in a learning situation is that it should be understandable to the learner and that it should contain a certain amount of unknown language, thus input needs to be slightly above the learners level. This pitching of input language slightly above a learners level became known as 'rough tuning' and is akin to the manner in which adults speak to children or indeed the instinctive way one talks to foreigners. If the language is rough tuned to the appropriate level, the argument goes, the learner will be able to learn the new language by such means as context, gesture, intonation etc. This form of learning will be unconscious and more 'natural' than the rote learning of lexical lists and grammatical rules, and therefore more long lasting than the latter as it is based on usage and context. This latter form of rote learning is known as 'finely-tuned' input that is input, which is at the precise level of the learners competence. This finely tuned input, being consciously learned applies only to the specific and restricted context of the learning experience and does not lead to long-term linguistic competence. On the other hand, roughly tuned input as an unconscious process contributes to the language store, which the learner uses to communicate. Without detouring into an in-depth analysis of the plethora of approaches and concomitant methods that have arisen in the fertile area of language acquisition and learning theory much of which you will be familiar with from your own teacher training we can sift through some of the more penetrating insights of some of the more relevant theorists. Caleb Gattegno in his 1972 book 'Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools: The Silent Way' notes interestingly that...[l]earning is not seen as the means of accumulating knowledge but as the means of becoming a more proficient learner.' (Gattegno 1972 pp.89) Gattegno's insight here prefigures the currently significant area off learner autonomy, where the learner is not only taught a syllabus of material but also taught how to learn more efficiently in their own extracurricular time.

TPR (70's/80's) Total Physical Response is less an approach than a set of techniques for teaching lower level learners. Devised by James Asher, TPR was an approach where learners...'listen attentively and respond physically to commands given by the teacher.' (ibid pp.76) TPR is a textless approach where errors are sparsely corrected in the early stages so as not to inhibit the learners. Furthermore, the teacher acts more like a facilitator of learning than a teacher in the traditional sense. This approach although limited in its application and intended as a supplement to other forms of language learning contributed useful insights into learning and remains relevant today. The Silent Way (70's/80's) Much like TPR, Caleb Gattegno's Silent Way approach is significant more for its supplemental additions to ELT than as an approach in itself. Popular among the Peace Corps in the 60's it has few adherents today. The Silent Way focuses on learner discovery and autonomy, problem solving, mediating physical objects, minimal teacher modeling, learner cooperation, teacher elicitation, Cuisenaire rods, and a structural/lexical syllabus. The relevant aspects of this curious approach are the propensity to minimise TTT and maximise STT, learner autonomy/discovery and problem solving (task-based) student led activity all of which are valuable elements of current ELT practice. In effect The Silent Way's adherence to more traditional techniques of teacher modeling followed by accuracy driven learner repetition building towards freer communicative production and traditional structural/lexical syllabi meant that The Silent Way was not overly revolutionary in practice. Community Language Learning (70's/80's) Charles A, Curran developed this approach based on Karl Rogers Counseling theory. CLL is similar to the Humanistic Approach of Moskowitz. CLL's theoretical justification was developed considerably by Curran's student LaForge in his book 'Language as Social Process.' The approach itself utilised no textbooks, syllabus or typical lesson format, with an emphasis on fluency over accuracy. An initial lesson would usually begin with a circle of knowers sitting in silence initially waiting for awkwardness to influence someone to break the silence and begin the discussion as to how to proceed. Teachers must be proficient in both L1 and L2. (ibid. 90-98) Suggestopedia (70's/80's) Georgi Lozanov developed Suggestopedia from the 'science' of Suggestology, claiming that memorisation in this process is 25 times more effective than other forms of memorisation. Lozanov utilised and adapted techniques '...for altering states of consciousness and concentration, and the use of rhythmic breathing...' from raja-yoga. (ibid pp.100) In Suggestopedia, music has a central role of facilitating interpersonal relations, increasing self-esteem, and finally to motivate and structure activity via rhythm. The main technique involved is a form of trance-like suggestion by the teacher. Lozanov characterised his approach as a 'suggestive-desuggestive ritual placebo-system, where the air of authority/scientificity of the approach is more significant than any actual substantive techniques. (ibid pp106) Whole Language Learning (80's/90's) Whole Language Learning was developed in the states as a form of literacy teaching. Its approach is characterised primarily by taking language as an integrated holistic totality rather than segmenting language into component parts - grammar, lexis, skills - in order to structure teaching. As a corrollorary of this WLL eschews ELT materials, and the overt discussion and analysis of language - grammar. Similar in some respects to CLL, WLL prioritises meaning communication with a strong sense of respect for the creativity of learners and the professionalism of the teacher. Communication and the use of authentic literary and everyday materials/texts are central to this approach, as is learning by doing. WLL is a collaborative/non-directive form of learning where Students' needs, aspirations and experiences form the meat of the curriculum with the teacher as facilitator rather than leader. (ibid pp.108-113) Multiple Intelligences (90's onwards) Howard Gardener developed MI in response to the limitations of traditional IQ testing and the concomitant learning philosophies, which derive from the concept of IQ as a static, logico-linguistic capacity. MI is driven by the recognition of intelligence as a multifaceted and developmental capacity and the need for pedagogy to accommodate each learner as an individual with distinct learning needs. Gardner posits

eight 'native' types of intelligence, which are not culture specific: Linguistic, Logical/mathematical, Spatial, Musical, Bodily/kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, And Naturalist. It should be noted that language is more than linguistics and language learning. Although connected to all eight forms of intelligence, language learning has a close connection to linguistic and musical (tone, rhythm, pitch etc) intelligences. MI has no curriculum, rather it follows a four-stage syllabus design: (i) Awaken the intelligence through multi-sensory experiences; (ii) Amplify the intelligence through student interaction and input; (iii) Teach with/for the intelligence using projects, discussion, worksheets; Transfer the intelligence - students reflect on the preceding stages and relate it to their extra-curricular experience. Teachers play to the strengths/uniqueness of their students and allow them to choose their own paths/strengths, where overall personal development is the goal as opposed to language learning. Students and teachers alike are encouraged to reflect on their own strengths and weaknesses with a view to increasing self-awareness in itself and as a learner. (ibid. pp115-123) Neurolinguistic Programming (70's onwards) NLP was developed by John Grindler & Richard Bandler as an alternative type of therapy, which focused on analysing the behaviour of successful communicators and modeling that behaviour for clients. They found what they believed were patterns of successful communicative behaviour and developed psycholinguistic '...techniques, patterns, and strategies for assisting effective communication, personal growth and change, and learning.' (Revell & Norman 'In Your Hands: NLP in ELT' 1997 pp.14) NLP has been applied to many fields: business, sport...etc. NLP identified four key principles for effective communication. (i) Outcomes - one must identify what one wants to achieve and set targets accordingly. (ii) Rapport - one should minimise differences between oneself and one's interlocutor(s) and maximise the similarities in order to facilitate enhanced rapport. (iii) Sensory acuity - one should be sensitive to others and one's environment to heighten one's awareness of others. (iv) Flexibility - one needs to adapt one's communicative approach to others via (iii) towards (ii) until one achieves (i). (Richard & Rogers, 2001 pp.127) NLP offers us useful definition of rapport, which is a central technique in ELT: 'Rapport is meeting others in their world, trying to understand their needs, their values and culture and communicating in ways that are congruent with these values. You don't necessarily have to agree with their values, simply recognise that they have a right to them and work within their framework, not against it. (Rylatt & Lohan 'Creating Training Miracles' 1995 pp.121) The Lexical Approach (70's onwards) In The Lexical Approach, words and phrases are taken to be the fundamental components of language not grammar and functions. This was a significant shift in focus for ELT as prior to TLA words/lexis were seen as mere replaceable units within the grammatical and functional structures of language. As opposed to Chomsky's positing of 'novel' utterances as the exception, which disproves the structuralist concept of language as a grammatico-functional system, TLA posits that the greater part of language is comprised of repeatable 'every-day' phrases not 'novel' utterances. This is something we can all easily identify by considering typical commonplace conversational exchanges, where stock phrases are exchanged. Thus in TLA the acquisition of language is achieved neither through the conscious nor unconscious assimilation of grammatcio-functional structures but rather through lexical input and exchange in a communicative learning environment. TLA advocates the exploration of the similarities that exist between languages, thus common analogies; metaphors and sayings between different languages are highlighted. Substantial research undertaken by Cobuild and others using computer-based databases of language corpora found that the most commonly used seven hundred words accounted for 70% of all English text. (J.D. Willis 'The Lexical Syllabus' 1990 pp.vi) Thus, these 700 words became the syllabus content of the initial level of the Collins Cobuild ELT textbook series. In addition to a prioritisation of lexis, TLA follows other contemporary communicative approaches in terms of its teacher and learner roles. The learner is placed in a position of discoverer and the teacher is charged with facilitating an effective environment for guided learner discovery of language. TLA is very much to the forefront of syllabus design in ELT today.

Competency-Based Language Teaching (70's onwards) Traditionally, teaching approaches have been concerned with input to learners; that by improving syllabuses, materials, activities, etc learning will be enhanced. C-BLT is an approach where the focus is on learning outcomes, i.e. learner output in specific target areas that correlate with real life situations. (ibid pp.141) Given this focus on real-life transactional exchanges C-BLT as an approach has been widely applied in business and survival (TESOL) English since the late '70's to the point where it had become the state-of-the-art by the '90's. So what exactly is meant by the terms learner outcomes or competencies? 'Graded objectives mean the definition of a series of short-term goals, each building upon the one before, so that the learner advances in knowledge and skill.' (Page "Language Teaching" 1983, pp.292) 'Competencies consist of a description of the essential skills, knowledge, attitude, and behaviours required for effective performance of a real-world task or activity. (Richards & Rogers, 2001 pp.143) Thus, one can say that...'CBLT is based on a functional and interactional perspective on the nature of language. It seeks to teach language in relation to the social contexts in which it is used.'(ibid. pp.143) For CBLT practitioners...'Language always occurs as a medium of interaction and communication between people for the achievement of specific goals and purposes. (ibid. pp.143) CBLT entail a mosaic or incremental approach where the efficacy of the course/syllabus depends upon the designer's ability to predict the required language for any given real-life situation and herein lies the potential weakness of an approach to learning which depends on situation ally programmed responses rather than overall language proficiency. 'Here the function of education is to transmit the knowledge and to socialise learners according to the values of the dominant socio-economic group. (Auerbach, E.R. 1986 cited in ibid. pp148) It follows from this that assessment within such a course of study is predicated upon what the learner 'can do' in relation to specific tasks rather than subject knowledge. This notion of 'can do' statements has become a key term in ELT, yet one would do well to be aware of the undue emphasis on a narrow spectrum of behaviour and performance at the expense of the development of independent communication/expression skills. Does such an approach merely produce functionaries? Communicative Language Learning (70's onwards) Communicative Language Teaching which was inspired in part by Chomskys "Syntactic Structures" (1957) tipped the balance from the study of grammatical structures to communicative proficiency. (ibid. pp.153) Social factors, like growing European cohesion, also contributed to this shift leading the Council of Europe to form The International Association of Linguistics and play a more active role in education and language learning. At this time (70's) these experts explored the development of a communicative syllabus. D.A. Wilkins' "Notional Syllabuses" introduced 'notional' categories of meaning - time, location, quantity, etc - and 'functional' categories of meaning - request, denial, offer, complaint, etc -, which provided an alternative to traditional grammatical descriptions of language. These developments gave rise to the dual aims of teaching communicative competence and the four skills for the first time. Significantly, CLT was not a rejection of traditional grammatical methods but an amalgamation of the preceding grammatical approaches and the new 'notional' approach, where 'learning-by-doing', learner needs, and learner engagement became key concepts of learning theory and the perceived conditions for learning. 'Activities that involve real communication promote learning.' and 'Activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks promote learning.' and 'Language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process.' (ibid. pp.161) This new awareness of the conditions of learning and the involvement of the learner produced a further important consideration: cultural sensitivity. CLT acknowledged that learners bring a set of preconceptions as to how learning happens according to their cultural and educational background, and that failure to meet these expectations could cause problems in the learning environment. Hence the importance of explaining one's approach to learners at the outset of a course/class, which brings with it a new set of responsibilities for the teacher: the need to be needs analyst, class managers, and communicative facilitators. As a result of these shifts in approach, CLT required a shift in materials, and the introduction of taskbased materials and 'realia' in addition to newly developed text-books, which included adapted versions of more traditional materials to achieve a balance between fluency and accuracy.

Task-Based Language Teaching (90's onwards) TBLT is the most recent development of CLT which we will concern ourselves with here. Predicated on the lack of any evidence from second language acquisition that grammar-based instruction reflects the cognitive learning processes of native language learning an approach was developed in the 90's which attempted to simulate these cognitive processes. TBLT sought to engage learners in task work which could provide a more effective context for learning which blended immersion in comprehensible input with meaningful communicative output; a more enhanced form of unconscious learning-by-doing or 'teaching by stealth'. A...'communicative task [is] a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is principally focussed on meaning rather than form.' ("Designating Tasks for the Language Classroom" Nunan 1989 pp.10) TBLT takes cognisance of the competency-based, lexical, and communicative approaches to language learning by utilising specific tasks with specific and achievable goals, which require communicative collaboration on the part of the learners and some pre-taught lexical and structural components to complete the task. Thus, a communicative task entails both language input and output, aspects which are found in native language acquisition. 'Tasks are believed to foster processes of negotiation, modification, rephrasing, and experimentation that are at the heart of second language learning.' (Richards & Rogers pp.228) Tasks are considered to improve learner motivation and therefore promote learning as they require authentic language, are well defined, have closure, varied formats, physical activity, partnership, collaboration, and competition. (ibid. pp.229) Most of us can recall from our own educational experiences that variation of activity and pace coupled with a competitive element greatly enhances learner engagement, motivation and participation, which in turn produces more effective learning. There are two main categories of tasks: real-world tasks e.g. making a telephone inquiry or booking; pedagogical tasks eg. information-gap exercises. Instantly one can see the lineage from competencybased learning in the former, however it should be noted that 'real-world' tasks are taken here to be a means of language acquisition rather than specific ends in themselves. Within the two main categories of tasks we can identify five general task types: Jigsaw tasks, information-gap tasks, problem-solving tasks, decision-making/agreement-reaching tasks, and opinion exchange. (ibid. pp.234) We shall look at tasks in more detail and from a practical 'hands-on' perspective later. Today, TBLT is rarely used exclusively in the ELT classroom, rather it is typically used in tandem with traditional grammar-based approaches according to the specific needs and aspirations of learners. Obviously, tasks and teaching by stealth are highly effective tools when teaching juniors.