From: Snapshot-Content-Location: http://www.didascalia.be/mortality.htm Subject: mortality Date: Sat, 30 Mar 2018 05:21:33 -0000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----MultipartBoundary--GXpd0Wowj5zibEDYK8hgQxsbhjm9LuH2BAgezXLysL----" ------MultipartBoundary--GXpd0Wowj5zibEDYK8hgQxsbhjm9LuH2BAgezXLysL---- Content-Type: text/html Content-ID: Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.didascalia.be/mortality.htm mortality <= table border=3D"0" width=3D"95%">

On the mortality of language learning methods

&nbs= p;

= xXxxxxxx

Wilfried Decoo

Dept. of French & Italian

Brigham Young University

On the mortality of language learning methods

given as the James L. Barker lecture on November 8^th 2001 at Brigham Young University.

= This text is more detailed than the actual lecture, which did not allo= w, because of time constraints, to mention many nuances and citation= s.

= Corrections, comments, or criticisms are very welcome.

= Please respond to Wilfried Decoo at JKHB 4018 - BYU (e-mail: Wilfrie= d_Decoo@byu.edu).

1. Introduction

1.1. A sweeping change

1.2. Definition of method.

= 2. Main trends in the 20^th century.

3. Variables that make the success of a new method<= /p>

3.1. A "new" idea

3.2. Denigration of others.

3.3. Success guaranteed.

3.4. Scientific "proofs"

3.5. The ultimate medium.

3.6. Official endorsement.

3.7. Commercial push.

3.8. Grasp on teacher training..

<= span style=3D"mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt">4. Reasons for the decline and death of a method..

4.1. Disappointment.

4.2. Inappropriate for other situations

4.3. Inappropriate for other languages.

4.4. Shift in the main educational trend..

4.5. On the gravestone: the neglected component(s)

<= span style=3D"mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt">5. Conclusions.

5.1. The swing of the pendulum..

5.2. The ignorance about the past.

5.3. The function of scientific research.

5.4. The great illusion..

5.5. The next method?.

<= span style=3D"mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt">6. References & related readings.

Abstract:

Considerations on the rise and decline of methods to learn foreign languages. An assessm= ent of why methods are born, bloom,

disappear and... resurrect or reincarnate.

I am honored to give the Barker Lecture today. I pay tribute to the persona= lity and work of James L. Barker, whom BYU remembers as an internationally ren= owned scholar in linguistics and a major contributor to the actual strength of = our language programs.

My topic is "mortality of language learning methods". In the interest of time I will often say "methods", meaning "foreign language learning methods".

1. Introduction

1.1. A sweeping change

A number of years ago, our methods experienced a sweeping change. Up to the= n, more grammatical approaches had been used, with word-lists and translatio= n, and an emphasis on writing. The critique against this approach started in= the sixties when the communicative nature of language was stressed. Since the= n the movement became all encompassing, but few people here know the names and publications of the Europeans who did the groundwork for this sweeping ch= ange. To cite a few:

- Already in the sixties the German Gottlieb Heness stressed in his = Der Leitfaden f=C3=BCr den Unterricht in der Deutschen Sprache, natural communication as the core activit= y of language learning.

- Also in the sixties the Frenchman Claude Marcel stressed in L'a= rt de penser dans une langue =C3=A9trang=C3=A8re the need to connect direct= ly to the foreign language, thus avoiding the discursive detours of grammar and mot= her tongue.

In the seventies the ideas of these and other pioneers caught on and we saw = an international maturing of the conviction that something fundamentally different had to be done to improve language learning. In many countries, methods based on direct communication and on authentic input sprang up. Word-lists, grammar, and translation were ousted.

- In France Fran=C3=A7ois Gouin next produced his L'art d'enseign= er et d'=C3=A9tudier les langues, proposing methods that use enactment and physical respon= se to integrate lively language around "centres d'int=C3=A9r=C3=AAt", without grammar and translation, and which met with immense success.

- In Germany, Wilhelm Vi=C3=ABtor embodied the principles of the new= movement in his famous Der Sprachunterricht muss umkehren - a plea for the spoken language as basis for instruction.

During the eighties and nineties, this vast movement took further shape, with hundreds of studies and new textbooks published and appropriate media developed to back this direct way to teach languages.

As Schweitzer and Simmonot wrote at the turn of the century in their M=C3= =A9thodologie des langues vivantes: "No period in the history of living languages has shown as noticeable progress as the last few years. Everywhere, under= the impetus of the necessities of modern life, the teaching of foreign langua= ges has undergone profound reforms, whose happy results can now be seen".

Indeed, what a movement of change and reform it was!

I should add the dates of the works I have mentioned: Heness: 1867, Marcel: 1867, Gouin: 1880, Vi=C3=ABtor: 1882, and the period summary by Schweitze= r & Simmonot: 1903:1, cited and translated in Kelly 1969:382.

I described what happened in the last quarter of the 19^th centur= y. This vast movement of change was called the Reform movement with the Dire= ct Method as its main approach. Overall the principles were: immediate conta= ct with the target language, lively interaction, no translation, no word-lis= ts, inductive rule-formation for grammar, emphasis on oral use. All over the Western world ministries of education and professional organizations adop= ted these principles under various names and variants: reformed method, phone= tic method, intuitive method, natural method=E2=80=A6 .

And then, in the early years of the 20^th century, came the decline= and death of the Direct Method, in spite of all the enthusiasm that it had engendered in many countries.

There were two main reasons for it:

1. The growing disappointment by teachers when the promises were not fulfill= ed: even after several years of direct language learning, large numbers of students remained at a level of frustrating inadequacy. In 1909 Breymann = and Steinmuller, who had thoroughly documented the movement, summarized its downfall as follows: "The Reform has fulfilled its mission. It has laid the ghosts of the grammatical method, which made a fetish of the study of grammar with excessive attention to translation=E2=80=A6 But what the gra= mmatical method neglected, practical and correct use of the spoken language, the r= eform movement has pushed to extremes. In making mastery of the spoken language= the chief objective, the nature and function of secondary schools was overloo= ked, because such an objective under normal conditions of mass instruction is = only attainable in a modest degree=E2=80=A6 . Average pupils, not to ment= ion weaker ones=E2=80=A6 soon weary, are overburdened and revolt. Early adherents of= the new method, after their enthusiasm has been dashed by stern realities, have gradually broken away" (cited in Titone 1968:39).

The next year, 1910, the Direct Method received its coup de gr=C3=A2ce in Par= is: an international conference of language teachers voted overwhelmingly to abo= lish it.

2. The second reason for the decline was thorough linguistic, psychological = and pedagogical analysis, conducted since the end of the 19^th cent= ury, which indicted the one-sidedness of the Direct Method and reevaluated the place of all the components. The times, indeed, were highly scientific, l= aying the foundation for many modern disciplines and leading to major discoveri= es and inventions - think of Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, Sigmund Freud, and Thomas Edison. There were also brilliant language learning researchers su= ch as

- F. Franke, Die praktische Spracherlernung auf Grund der Psychol= ogie und der Physiologie der Sprache, 1896.

- Otto Jespersen, How to teach a foreign language, 1904.

- Paul Passy, De la m=C3=A9thode directe dans l'enseignement des = langues vivantes. Cambridge 1899.

- Henry Sweet, The practical study of languages, 1899.=

These researchers took into account aspects such as the peculiar learning situa= tion in school environments, the psychological profile of the learner, the imp= act of grammatical insight, the value of contrastive analysis and of the moth= er tongue, the application of frequency norms to ensure better progression, = the dynamic relations between the skills, and so on. Though communication and functionality were kept as the main goals of language learning, the resea= rch led to a new era of well thought-out, balanced methods, which are often c= alled the eclectic methods, and which would last through the first half of the = 20^th century.

This introduction has set the tone for my lecture: a strong language learning methodology that dominated Europe and the America's for about 30 years, f= rom 1880 till 1910, finally died, to be replaced by a successor.

I will structure the rest of my presentation as follows:

- a quick overview of trends in the 20^th century

- variables that make the success of a method

- reasons for the decline and death of a method

But first I must define what I understand by this key word - "a method".

1.2. Definition of method

A method is a teaching-learning model that emphasizes a core concept as the= key solution to successful language learning.

It can be viewed on three levels:

- normal level: a specific method as a descriptive framework with it= s own name, such as Suggestopedia, Community Language Learning or Total Physica= l Response,

- smaller level: a specific textbook of such a method, which is more concrete as application, but may deviate more or less from the method it claims to follow;

- broader level: a grouping of specific methods that have a common emphasis or core idea, such as, in fact, the Direct Method which I mentio= ned in the introduction. The so-called communicative approach of the past 25 = years is also a conglomerate of various specific methods. In that sense the wor= d "approach" is better suited as it suggests a broader front in which specific methods can exist. Sometimes the term "methodology" is suggested as a grouping of similar methods.

In this presentation I look essentially at methods in high school and colleg= e environments, not at peculiar situations, such as natural immersion for younger children.

2. Main trends in the 20^th century3. Variables that make the success of a new method

3.1. A "new" idea

A new method draws its originality and its force from a concept that is str= essed above all others. Usually it is an easy to understand concept that speaks= to the imagination.

- During the Reform Movement, the key word was "direct", in contrast to the detour of indirect theory.

- The Reading Method claimed that intensive reading was the obvious activity that language learners could constantly practice on their own, t= o better integrate language and strengthen the basis for the other skills.<= /font>

- The audio movement stressed habit-formation, "like a child learns his mother tongue".

- The communicative approach used the key-words "functional", "real-world", "authentic", "proficiency", and the easy slogan: "Teach the language, not about the language."

- In the present, post-communicative approach, key concepts are "learner-centered", "content-based", "collaborative".

Typical is that such a single idea, which only represents a component, becomes th= e focal point as if being the total method. This publicity-rhetoric gives t= he impression of total reform, while often all that happens is a shift in accentuation, or the viewing from a different angle, because many common components remain included in each method.

I put "new" between quotation marks, because many "new" ideas are rediscoveries of ideas that have blossomed in decades or even centuries past. The package and the jargon are, of course, different.

"The language teaching field is more beset by fads than perhaps any other area of education. The 'best' methodology changes at incredibly frequent intervals, depending on which charismatic 'scholar' happens to have drawn attention to him or herself lately." (Kaplan 2000:ix).

3.2. Denigration of others

To succeed, a new method must proclaim that current methods are a failure. T= hat is not difficult to do, because language learning is a disappointing ende= avor. For every successful language student, a dozen others have stopped along = the road or find the end mark unsatisfactory. Only a small group finally brea= ks through and becomes fluent. It is therefore easy to claim that previous methods have failed, that the mastery of foreign languages is a national disaster, that students study a language for years and are still unable t= o order a meal or purchase bread.

The fact that methods are often identified with a single concept (cf. 3.1) makes it easy to focus criticism on that concept. The audio-methods accus= ed the former methods of being only grammatical or only concerned with readi= ng, not speaking. The communicative approach hammered the audio-methods for b= eing purely behaviorist and for training only lower-order skills. The present post-communicative trend reproves the communicative approach for being on= ly functional and for neglecting the unique personality of each student.

Such critiques are often unfair, because methods are complex and quite often contain nearly all components. But each method pays the price for having publicized its uniqueness as a single concept, which in turn will be atta= cked by the following method.

3.3. Success guaranteed

The promises for success could be the topic of a study of educational rhetori= c. Methods and textbooks do not hesitate to claim that students will soon be= able to converse freely with natives, read books and articles fluently, listen without frustration to the media, etc. In a textbook, in the objectives p= er chapter or unit, one can read statements such as: "This Unit will enable you to conduct conversations at work". The unit then contains one or two standard dialogues in an office. The user is led to believe that those dialogues are sufficient to be able to function in all circumstances.

3.4. Scientific "proofs"

A new method likes to claim it is scientifically proven. It refers to resea= rch to support its principles. The publicity and the introduction to a textbo= ok will carry the familiar phrase: "Recent developments in foreign language research have shown that=E2=80=A6 " or something to the same effect. Ther= e is, of course, a great deal of valid language learning research going on, not= only in Second Language Acquisition, but also in the many related linguistic f= ields -- pragmatics, socio-linguistics, ethnography. However, it is most remark= able that true researchers rarely get involved in developing a method, while t= hose who did not do the research claim research results to back their method.<= /font>

Such use of scientific "proofs" for a method is, quite often, a delusive art, based on the selective citation of statements and on quick generalizations. Terms are often used without clear definitions, and cert= ainly without an understanding of their ambiguities and complexities -- terms s= uch as "inductive", "deductive", "functions", "speech acts", "proficiency", "lower-order", "higher-order", thus exploiting a slippery jargon that impresses the uninitiated.

The researchers themselves sometimes suffer to see their names and work misus= ed to back a method they did not invent. Sometimes they will protest it, but th= eir voices are only heard in the limited professional circle of their special= ty, not on the larger market where the method is being commercialized. For example, Daniel Coste, the author of Un Niveau-Seuil, which was us= ed as the basis for the notional-functional methods, lamented the way in which = these methods totally neglected the grammatical component of his research (Cost= e 1980, 1982). Lozanov, the Bulgarian theoretician behind suggestopedia, ha= s been bewildered by the misuse of his name and theories in American superlearning approaches.

A common form of falsification is citing research that does not really prov= e what is being claimed. I take the examples below from the field of langua= ge learning, but virtually any field could produce similar examples:<= /span>

- "The advantages of this strategy are supported by the findings of so-and-so (year) who reported significant effects on the reading skill."<= /font>

- "The importance of this psycholinguistic approach has been demonstrated by so-and so (year)."

- "Psychologists have long since discovered that language learning happens outside conscious rule-formation."

Without checking what so-and-so really said, or whether that person=E2=80=99s "discovery" is actually supported by convincing evidence, or without worrying about the identity of the "psychologists," new authors reuse such references in citations and quotations, even reinforcing the absolute character of the "discovery." It leads to the uncritical acceptance of generalizations that can be passed on for decades. Under th= e telling title "Future Schlock," Lawrence Baines (1997) analyzes such "mythologizing data" as they are applied to educational reform. (The preceding paragraph is taken from Decoo 2002:38).

3.5. The ultimate medium

Since the end of the 19^th century, technological media have been clo= sely connected to a number of new methods. If I may paraphrase Marshall McLuha= n's famous statement "the medium is the message", I would say that quite often "the medium makes the method". I mean by this that the possibilities and limitations of the medium determine the boundaries of t= he method, because the method can handily use the medium to promote itself, = while the normal way would be that the method evaluates to what extent the medi= um could be useful. Examples are easy to find.

The most recent is the Internet. We are being bombarded by statements that th= e new information age will radically change education. Our methods, we are led = to believe, are to become web-based interactive programs allowing the studen= t lively and authentic contact with the target language and culture. Some post-communicative methods mold themselves into that framework by adoptin= g as their core concept task-based activities on the web, while existing metho= ds jump on the bandwagon by including similar activities.

Thus, to heighten its own raison d'=C3=AAtre and its impact, a method will stat= e that the new medium is radically changing the perspective on education, implyi= ng that methods without that medium have become obsolete. An atmosphere of h= igh expectations is created. If you don't follow, you're hopelessly out of fashion.

But this line of reasoning has been going on for more than a century. At the = end of the 19^th century, the Phonetic method hails Edison's phonog= raph as the ultimate revolution for language learning. In 1902 the Internation= al Correspondence Schools adopts it as their core instrument. The American A= rmy introduces it in 1906 for language learning. The famous Linguaphone follo= ws in 1920. In My Fair Lady it is the method used by professor Higgins t= o teach Eliza Doolittle -- and the miracle happens.

In the 1930s the radio is discovered as the miracle means to bring education= to the millions. The Modern Language Journal hails it as the system by which "high school classes everywhere may learn French, German or Spanish given by a native speaking his own language" (Monroe 1931:213, cited in Kelly 248). The existing phonographs already did the same, but the fact that it would now come from a magic distance made it into a hype. And indeed, one= must concede that at least till the eighties, the radio, and especially the overseas services of the BBC and the Voice of America, have provided an enormous amount of language courses, especially ESL.

Then there is the invention of the tape recorder. In the 1950s "Hear your own voice" becomes the slogan of new methods. Around this medium the language lab is developed. The audio-methods mold their drill and practice to it, = while hailing the medium as the new ultimate method. In the sixties, under grea= t pressure to be in, all schools install language labs and proudly display = them in open houses to attract students.

But then television breaks through. School television is soon hailed as the n= ew miracle in education. The medium makes the method, for suddenly the keywo= rds become "visual contact", "real-life experiences". In fact, in the 1950s and 60s school television triggered the same hype as now wit= h the Internet, with exactly the same words. Language courses flourished on television since the early 1950s and a whole pedagogy was developed to ha= ve the students take active part in the lessons.

Then follows the computer. The promotional articles of 20 years ago promised u= s that within a few years language learning would have become a totally individualized interactive experience, with only marginal need for teache= rs or classrooms. It is also interesting to see that in the middle of the communicative movement, early computer assisted language learning veered = back to a lot of lexical and grammatical drill & practice and that this wa= s accepted without murmuring. The medium made the method.

And now Internet. The irony of Internet as the new panacea is that it has les= s functionality compared to a well-designed CD-rom for language learning. E= ven so, it is newer and thus creates a momentum on which new methods jump to enhance their own credibility.

To avoid misunderstandings, I have not said that media cannot have a signifi= cant impact on language learning. I only pointed at the use of the medium as a variable in making a method succeed and at the tendency of some to inflat= e the potential impact of a new medium.

3.6. Official endorsement

Essential for the broad implementation of a method is official endorsement by minis= tries of education, school boards, and professional organizations. Schools and teachers come under great pressure to adopt the method, if officially endorsed.

However, official bodies are usually slow to recognize a new method, because of bureaucratic procedures, or caution, or because of the financial implicat= ions of the change. For example, the Direct Method, which started in the 1880s= and had already spread all over the Western world by 1900, was only officiall= y adopted in 1901 by the French ministry of education. The irony was that t= he official adoption came at the time when the method was already dying. In = 1910 the international conference of language teachers voted to abolish the Di= rect method, but it would taken until 1925 for the French ministry of educatio= n to do the same.

On the other hand, ministries may sometimes be quick to impose a new method.= Such was the case with the audio-methods of the 1960s, under pressure of polit= ical circumstances and of the hype with language labs.

The relation between a method and official endorsement raises questions as to= the collusion of power and interests in the introduction of methods. Who are = the actors in the decision-making process? When the same people have ties wit= h publishers, media-producers, professional organizations, testing services= , school boards, consultancy positions, and ministries of education, we can= not speak any more of a "clean" situation. It brings us to the next variable.

3.7. Commercial push

Methods represent money, huge amounts of money. Language business is a billion-do= llar business. New methods generate new money. Publishers like to see a trend = die and a new powerful one stand up, especially if it matches their timing to bring out new series. Textbook authors become commercial representatives, touting the merits of their method and the weaknesses of the competition.=

3.7.1. An ethical issue

However, if the author is also a researcher or university professor, we may have a problem of academic ethics. In medicine and pharmacology, society has bec= ome very sensitive to the absolute neutrality and objectivity of research. St= rict rules, under the control of official bodies like the Office of Research Integrity, govern these disciplines. Such scrupulousness is not surprisin= g since false data in the health sciences have the potential to affect peop= le's lives directly. It is misconduct to assert unproven scientific statements= to promote a medical technique or a certain medication, or to manipulate res= earch data to prove their excellence. The motivation for such misconduct is mon= ey and academic recognition. Nowadays the system punishes such practices severely.

However, in language methods, it is not uncommon to see academic authors of textbo= oks or of software make unproven statements or refer to non-existant experime= ntal research to promote their product, in ways that would be totally unaccept= able in the health sciences.

I do not mean to say that professors cannot be involved in the production o= f educational material, but such requires from them a lot of probity and self-control.

The ethical problem also extends to the choice of a textbook at the author's = own institution. In some European schools, there is a rule that if a teacher writes a textbook, that textbook will not be used in at his or her institution, so as to avoid manipulations and ill feelings. If that rule = does not exist, then the minimal agreement is that the author will totally wit= hdraw from the choice-making process.

3.7.2. Commercial reincarnation

Another aspect of commercialization is the ability of existing textbooks to adapt= to new trends, for a publisher does not want to loose his piece of the marke= t. For example, during the audio-revolution of the 1960s, eclectic textbooks= were quick to add audio-tapes, eliminate translation exercises and grammar overviews, keep all the rest, and call themselves audio-lingual. A simila= r movement happened with traditional methods of the 1970s that transformed themselves into communicative ones. The same is happening now with communicative textbooks of the 1990s. As the post-communicative movement = is emerging with new keywords, "revised" editions of the communicative textbooks are quick to integrate fashionable jargon in their introduction= , even if the authors have only a fuzzy idea of what it means - terms such = as process-oriented, holistic, higher-order, constructivism=E2=80=A6 . = The original method dies quietly, but the same content is reborn with some sl= ight adaptations. Since we talk in terms of mortality, this procedure might be called the reincarnation of methods.

3.8. Grasp on teacher training

Up to the 18^th century teachers became teachers solely because of their knowledge. Their function was to pass on content. The strategies to= do so were mainly left to the personality and creativity of the teacher.

With the development of more specific methods in the 19^th century, strategies in presenting and training materials became very precise. The inventors of these methods wanted teachers to conform to their views and follow their techniques, taught in training sessions, usually in summer schools. We see the founding of private language schools, such as Berlitz= in 1878, with specific class procedures.

In the 20^th century, teacher training in the educational system started to impose specific techniques inasmuch as ministries of education= or school systems adopted methods officially. This was the case with the Dir= ect Method in the early 20^th century. In the 1960s a very strict obedience to specific classroom strategies was required of teachers to implement audio-lingual and audio-visual approaches. Lesson plans and activities were laid out per minute. Teachers were made to believe that a= ny diversion from that order would endanger the efficacy of the method.

Nowadays much depends on the viewpoint of the teacher trainer, whether in pre-serv= ice or in-service. The one trainer will give a balanced overview of methods a= nd a sense of complexity and variables, entrusting more responsibility to the individual teacher in making classroom decisions. Another trainer, convin= ced there is only one best method, will impose it. This is particularly the c= ase if the teacher trainer is also the author of a method. This leads to mono-methodological indoctrination and strict guidelines to follow set procedures.

Teacher organizations may also have a similar impact according to who is calling = the shots at the top. Pluralism and variety may be replaced by narrow-mindedn= ess and fanaticism if board members are selected because of their adherence t= o one method.

Publishers like to cooperate with those who are involved in teacher training or in teacher organizations because of the impact this can have on the sale of = their textbooks, especially if one "best method" is the cement that binds them. However, this raises ethical questions because of the collusion of interests when the leaders of a teacher organization push one method in c= lose collaboration with publishers, or if a person is paid to train teachers a= nd at the same time imposes on them the method that brings in royalties.=

4. Reasons for the decline and death of a method

4.1. Disappointment

Methods often make promises they cannot keep. Even if some methods succeed in bei= ng more effective for certain skills, language learning as a whole does not become easier. In drawers and in attics all over the world one can find t= he textbooks, cassettes, tapes or software programs that people once bought = to learn a foreign language, enticed by the publicity that promised them flu= ency in a few months or even weeks. And they abandoned it.

The next items give more precise reasons for the disappointments.

4.2. Inappropriate for other situations=

New methods always work well as they are being launched by skilled and enthusiastic personalities, and presented in experimental or commercially prepared situations, with brilliant teachers, well behaved and responsive students, and small classes. Many of us have seen such convincing demonstrations with methods such as the Silent Way, Total Physical Respon= se, and Suggestopedia.

Problems arise when such methods are transferred to less ideal situations, where classes are large, 30 or more students, motivation is low, and discipline difficult. Experimental findings cannot easily be generalized to other situations. Methods die in such places because of a growing dissatisfacti= on over the promises made, often also because teachers do not have the personality or the energy to act as the method demands. However, in privi= leged circumstances with motivated teachers such methods may continue to thrive= . Such is the case with the Silent Way or Suggestopedia, which continue to = find supporters throughout the world.

Inappropriateness can also be the consequence of a major breach between learning situations= as such. The most spectacular one of the past two decades is no doubt the transfer of the original communicative approach to school situations. The approach of the 1970s was meant to provide motivated adults with quick survival contact-skills, usually through a short and intensive training, = and with immediate application in the real world. However, in high schools an= d in colleges, the situation is usually different: younger students, broader objectives, a non-intensive program, and often no urgent need for contact= with natives. Original communicative methods may not fit this different environment.

4.3. Inappropriate for other languages<= /h2>

A new method is usually developed from the perspective of a specific langua= ge. But next the principles are applied to any language as if language learni= ng is the same for all. This is not the case. Each language has its variables -= like the amount of elements to be mastered to come to a certain level of communication, the syntactic complexity, the linguistic distance between mother tongue and foreign language, the degree of cultural dissociation, = etc. These variables require methodological adaptations.<= /p>

The communicative approach, for example, was mainly developed in the context = of ESL, but in its initial years ESL is an easy language enabling to quickly reach a fair level of communication. If you compare ESL to French, French requires six times more elements to be mastered to reach a similar first = year communicative level. Already in the first year of study, French requires = a student to learn some 20 different articles in front of a substantive (definite, indefinite, contracted, partitive, each in combination with masculine, feminine, singular, plural, and tied to negation and place of = the adjective); it requires a staggering amount of verbal forms, agreements o= f adjectives and pronouns, etc. To neglect this complexity in a so-called authentic language approach is fatal for the not-so bright student: integration of the elements falters, frustration grows and motivation plummets. German, Norwegian, Russian, Japanese -- each of these languages requires more or less adapted methods. If a so-called universal method is imposed, it may lead to disappointment and to its decline.<= /p>

4.4. Shift in the main educational trend

Language learning methods are nearly always the reflection of a broader educationa= l movement. When the trend changes, methods follow.

The grammar-translation method of the 18^th and 19^th centuries was part of a school system that greatly valued training in men= tal discipline, in reasoning, in grammatical and literary analysis. But aroun= d 1870, a profound educational reform, rooted in the industrialization of society, opened the windows to the world and wanted students to become ac= tive, modern, and engaged. Creative and experimental work was requested in the = arts, sciences and mathematics. The Direct Method in foreign languages was simp= ly part of that movement.

Next, the return to more traditional, eclectic methods in the first half of the= 20^th century was rooted in a movement of protection or restoration of values, against leftist and unconventional forces that attacked traditions and undermined power and stability.

The communicative approach was part of the vast educational reform of the 197= 0s, which again stressed real-world experience, authentic encounter with life= , with the industry, and with applications.

We should also note that specific educational movements lay at the root of specific language methods. Caleb Gattegno's The Silent Way or Lozanov's Suggestopedia actually encompass all disciplines. Language learning is on= ly one of them.

The post-communicative movement is part of the educational trends of the past years, which turns the school into a house of personal learning and disco= very, task-based, collaborative, with process-input, the teacher as guide, and = the like.

It will be interesting to see to what extent the September 11^th s= hock may feed the next educational reform, just like the Sputnik-shock of 1957= . When society has to become protective and strictly controlled for its own safety, it may also infuse into education more rigid norms, more discipli= ne and a tighter grip on knowledge. Within that spirit, language teaching ma= y also return to the stressing of grammatical rules for correctness. Langua= ge methods are seldom independent islands: they are deeply embedded in the broader spectrum.

At the same time, the controversies that rock language learning methods are = part of the general battles that oppose modernists versus traditionalists, cognitivists versus mentalists, proponents of standardized tests versus t= hose who favor portfolio assessment, etc.

But the bottom-line is: when the overarching educational trend dies, the rela= ted language methods die too.

4.5. On the gravestone: the neglected component(s)

Although the decline and death of a method is due to various factors, as described above, there is usually only one factor that history identifies and remem= bers as the cause of death, namely the (perceived) missing, or neglected component(s). We can read in introductions to new methods that

-    the grammatical approach failed because it missed lively communica= tion;

-    the direct method failed because it neglected the backing of insig= ht;

-    the audio-methods failed because they neglected cognitive learning= ;

-    the communicative methods are failing because they neglect careful progression and lower-order automatization.

One could even define a method as follows: "A language teaching method is an approach that neglects at least one important component." That deficiency is its Achilles heel, which will ultimately cause its death because criti= cism concentrates on that one neglected aspect.

5. Conclusions

5.1. The swing of the pendulum

The traditional image of the pendulum is appropriate, because major trends do= not shift overnight. A new idea usually starts slowly, not as an extreme, but= as a corrective emphasis. However, some fundamentalists may jump on the key wo= rd, overemphasize its importance, publishers will smell the money and, given = the right circumstances, the movement is launched. Then it takes the pendulum= a few years to undermine existing methods as obsolete and to gain momentum.=

After years of such emphasis there follows the growing disappointment, the criticism, and slowly the pendulum is set in reverse towards variety and eclecticism. Traditional components are restored and methods return to re= vered values, which, after a number of years, will be sensed as antiquated and = the cycle starts again.

How long does one swing of the pendulum take? If one looks at the more recent past, for main trends 20 to 30 years seem an average. Direct methods roug= hly from 1880 to 1910, eclectic methods from 1910 to 1940, audio-lingualism f= rom 1940 to 1970, with a short cognitive-code reaction in the decade around 1= 970, communicative methods from the early seventies to the mid-nineties, post-communicative methods since then. Such a period of twenty to thirty = years corresponds logically with the professional lifespan of the advocates. Yo= ung fundamentalists, in their thirties, may tie their careers to a new trend = and keep it alive until their retirement. Meanwhile a new group of young advo= cates will try to make their original mark by criticizing their predecessors, w= hile the overall rhythm is controlled by commercial interests: publishers and related organizations will only support a new trend if it suits the cash register. The success of a main trend is thus dependent on the combinatio= n of all the variables I mentioned under part 3 of this presentation.

The 30 year cycle has a witty side to it. If someone accuses you of being 20 = years behind in your methods, just answer: "That's wonderful. It means I'm 10 years ahead of you."

Of course, this is a very generalizing and somewhat simplistic view of histo= ry, just like any categorization of periods. Although we present history in periods with a dominant methodology, the reality is that in all ages past= , a vast array of differing methods have existed in the shadow of the main tr= ends. Many other medium- or mini-trends may live their own shorter or longer li= fe. For example, in the heydays of the so called grammar-translation method o= f the major part of the19^th century, there were many practical communicative textbooks on the market, to help the millions of emigrants,= who went from European countries to America, to learn English. Similarly, dur= ing the second half of the 20^th century, when the audio-methods or= the communicative approach were forbidding translation and grammar, a number = of textbooks or individual teachers kept working with those elements.=

It would be wrong to view the swing of the pendulum as a futile exercise. Basically, it is a dynamic thing, obliging us to question our principles,= to foster research, to adjust where needed, to modernize content, and to revitalize language learning. In that sense I do not wish this presentati= on to leave a negative or cynical impression. We need the swing of the pendulum= , for at every full movement some things will be improved. The negative side is when, within the swing, some particular method is so gripping that it act= ually undermines the progression students could have made.

5.2. The ignorance about the past

Of all disciplines, language learning is one that is the most ignorant of it= s own past. Theories and techniques are presented as new, while in truth they h= ad already been invented decades before, had blossomed and then died. Propon= ents of new methods are often convinced that theirs is the first sweeping chan= ge and that the past was either a dreary picture of students obliged to cram wordlists and grammar rules, or drilled with rote memorization.

The reasons for this ignorance seem twofold:

-    First, a lack of academic courses in the history of methods: very = few universities offer such content to applied linguists or future teachers, = while in nearly all other disciplines a knowledge of the major historical advancements belongs to the core material. Even worse, if a short histori= cal overview is given, it is often the limited and false picture of a past of inefficient grammatical and behaviorist methods, which preceded the prese= nt, much more effective new age.

-    Second, the fact that it is rather easy to become an "instant expert" in language learning. In other disciplines, ignorance about past achievements would immediately and painfully show: an astronomer cannot a= fford now to announce that he has discovered a new planet called Pluto; or an engineer that he has invented a better way to fly than the hot-air balloo= n, namely an airplane. But in conversations, and even in papers and publicat= ions on language learning, we run into such blatant statements by self-proclai= med "specialists". This situation is also reinforced by the common view that teaching a language does not require specialization, that a school c= an hire any "native speaker" to do the job, or that a one-day training makes a T.A. competent to teach a 101 or 102 language course. True, he or= she may perform well within the strict framework that a method provides, but = it is a far cry from knowing about and understanding even a small part of secon= d language acquisition research. However, such persons sometimes start to m= ake authoritative statements about the best way to learn a foreign language.<= /font>

5.3. The function of scientific research

What I just said does not of course apply to the scores of well-qualified researchers who study language learning. I have already stated that it is= most remarkable that true researchers rarely get involved in developing a meth= od, probably because they are so conscious of the enormous complexity of the variables. However, there are noteworthy exceptions -- and their methods = are always characterized by balance and variety.

In her book Approaches to research in second language learning, Donna Johnson states: "The importance of research is not so much that it supplies definitive answers to questions such as 'What is the best way to learn a language?' or 'What is the most effective method of L2 teaching?" It does not. Rather, research can help us gain a richer understanding of = the many interrelated factors involved in learning" (1992:5).

Since the end of the 19^th century this research =E2=80=93 even if so= metimes repetitive =E2=80=93 has provided us with a tremendous amount of fascinat= ing analyses and explanations, from various interdisciplinary domains. I woul= d be amiss if I did not stress this positive side of our profession, and thus counter the negative image that the very topic of this lecture may evoke. Thousands of studies have improved and are still improving our insights i= n aspects such as motivational variables, aptitude valuation, curriculum construction, development of forms of bilingualism, acquisition orders, transfer modalities, fossilization, taxonomies of practice forms, efficie= ncy criteria for media implementation, evaluation procedures, testing validat= ion, and scores of others. Major books, peer-reviewed journals and edited volu= mes provide us with an incredible wealth of research data and refined insight= s.

Still, many unresolved questions remain, especially in pioneering domains such a= s neurolinguistics and SLA, for example:

-    Insofar as we can identify various kinds of cognitive input, which input is automated to what kind of proficiency?

-    To what extent is automatization an acceleration process of neural connections?

-    If UG - Universal Grammar - is still working at a certain age for automatization of a foreign language, how does it relate to the original development of the mother tongue?

-    How does the interaction work between automatization and "still cognitive reflexes" which an L2-learner evidently uses?

But how do we assess the function of all this research as it relates to metho= ds? The disappointing aspect is that it is quite easy to launch, as part of a method, an unproven idea or a biased accentuation which may spread all ov= er the profession as an easy slogan, while it may take years of experimental research to disprove it and the results of that research may only reach a handful of people. For example:

-    A recurring viewpoint is that translation is totally forbidden. "Students should never translate, or they will never be able to think in the foreign language". Already in 1910 H. B=C3=BCttner undercut this myth= in his major work, Die Muttersprache im Neusprachlichen Unterricht. I= n the 1960s and 1970s several major experimental studies, such as those by Dods= on (1967), Butzkamm (1973), Olsson (1973), Meijer (1974) further demonstrate= d the usefulness of translation for certain aspects. Though there remain many complex questions as to the ideal place of translation in the learning process, at least we have learned that we should "never say never".

-    Another example of an unproven statement, part of the educational = trend in favor of self-discovery, and that has spread in communicative methods,= is: "Students who, through guessing techniques, infer the meaning of new words, will remember those words longer". The painstaking, longitudinal research of Mondria (1996) not only disproved this statement, but also calculated the time-efficiency gains in the "direct teaching of meaning".

-    One more example: Some post-communicative methods like to oppose "lower-order thinking", which they equate to rote memorization, to "higher-order" skills. The former are to be avoided, the latter are the core objective. Recent experimental research by Hulstijn and his team= at the Kohnstamm Institute (University of Amsterdam) indicates that higher-o= rder skills cannot function properly in the foreign language without well deve= loped levels of lower-order automatization (Hulstijn 1999).

This rift between unproven statements or biased accentuations on the one hand,= and serious research findings on the other hand, creates in our profession tw= o realms, one of easy-slogan-users and the other of in-depth researchers. T= his rift has plagued us for many decades. As the easy-slogan-users are the mo= st vocal and the most visible, language learning as a subdiscipline is often suffering from a lack of esteem from the side of other portions of the language profession -- linguists and literary analysts. The in-depth rese= arch in the many facets of language learning, confined to its realm of special= ized publications and expert conferences, is hardly known outside those circle= s.

On the other hand, we should also concede that methods give practical guidel= ines within a total concept, while some research has a tendency to remain at t= he level of theoretical models or to focus on refined topics from a limited disciplinary angle, without bothering about practical solutions. The rese= arch most useful to the profession is of course geared to pedagogical applicat= ions. It is interesting to note that this kind of research is much more develop= ed in certain countries and for certain languages, for example ESL-research in = the Anglo-Saxon world.

5.4. The great illusion

Behaviorism, cognitivism, structuralism, audio-lingualism, functionalism, constructivi= sm=E2=80=A6 In our overviews, we like to make categorical contrasts as a way to struc= ture our grip on reality. We stress certain characteristics in order to clearl= y differentiate between things. We work with -isms. I do not deny that this= is often helpful and that main trends and even specific methods can be ident= ified by these -isms.

However, what strikes one when analyzing textbooks, is, in many cases, their final close resemblance even if they pretend to come from differing -isms.

When one looks at a present-day so-called communicative textbook, one basicall= y finds the same elements as in textbooks of the Renaissance, or any other = past century.

A present-day method may claim to reject translation, but students will translate, and the teacher will use translation when helpful and effectiv= e. The method may be against explicit grammar, but somehow it will make sure= that students grasp the rule and train it. It may claim to only use authentic material, but it will present the simplest authentic material first and cleverly manipulate texts and situations so as to ensure a needed progres= sion. It may claim to be against word-lists, but will select within the authent= ic material the words to be learned as "active vocabulary" and present them in=E2=80=A6 word-lists, with translation. Without publicizing it, a = smart textbook tries to rectify the most obvious glitches of its own methodolog= y, so teachers and students would not be too frustrated over certain features.<= /font>

Similarly, a more traditional method, with a prominent use of grammar and vocabulary= , will tend to also add more authentic input, so as to respond to the press= ures of "real-world experience".

On the other hand, a fanatical method, with intolerant viewpoints, could sev= erely hamper a student in his potential to progress. If a student wants to translate, let him translate; if he hankers after insight, give him gramm= ar.

And all wise methods must concede that the final key to successful language learning is tied to two variables that the method does not have in hand: = the motivation of the students and the intensity of their personal work. Moti= vated people nowadays learn a foreign language just as successfully as 2000 yea= rs ago. Successful language learning comes only partially from the method; i= t depends so much on the student.

5.5. The next method?

The following is fiction, to be situated somewhere in coming years. I quote f= rom a book someone will write some day.

"The decline of the prevailing methods around 2010 was due to the following:

-    There was too much dependence on personal initiative and learning attitudes of the individual student, whereby only the very best became successful. Scores of students were left drowning without buoys.

-    The method totally misjudged the mental expectations of students w= ho view school-bound learning within a framework of cognitive grip and clear progression.

-    The method worked with a "real-world approach with authentic texts" to avoid translation and grammar. However, many of the better students were actually, after each lesson, spending excessive time and ef= fort in deciphering these authentic texts through translation in the mother to= ngue and figuring out the grammar. The method thus encouraged doing what it strongly pretended to avoid.

-    On the other hand, by telling students not to worry about detail o= r precise comprehension or production, but to be satisfied with approximati= on, the method fostered slovenliness among many other students.=

-    Though the method had valid final objectives, it wanted to reach t= hose objectives much too quickly in non-intensive programs. It neglected grada= tion and careful content-selection.

The new approach stresses the following:

-    A deflation of the importance of oral skills: if students are not needing immediate contact with natives, there is no reason to give absolu= te priority to oral skills, which they can hardly practice outside class. Moreover, a stronger receptive basis at first will facilitate the develop= ment of oral skills at a later stage.

-    Therefore, since reading is the skill they can practice most outsi= de class, this skill must be stressed, starting from graded texts to ensure fluency and contentment, to selected books, magazines and the Internet.

-    The writing skill has also gained in importance, because it allows quick electronic communication with pen palls, chat groups and classes ab= road. Moreover, on the college level, the language curriculum requires many wri= tten tasks at the upper level. Therefore, renewed attention is given to "disembedded" language skills, i.e. grammatical analysis, especially in those languages that require strong analytical reflexes to write corre= ctly because of agreements and various syntactical spellings for the same soun= d.

-    While for several decades language learning has been viewed as onl= y functional, its complementary value for intellectual development has been partly restored: as a core subject on the curriculum, language lends itse= lf admirably to analysis and insight, to mental training, just like mathemat= ics. The famous slogan of the new approach is: 'It is an insult to civilizatio= n to despise grammar'."

An interesting exercise for students would be: jump 30 years further and des= cribe why this new approach failed around 2040.

A final thought: the constant change in methods is a fascinating phenomenon= . It reveals how complex language learning really is and how much further rese= arch is needed to better understand the intricate mecanisms and the many varia= bles that play their role. But above all, the history of language learning met= hods teaches us academic humility: to recognize complexity and to avoid extrem= e and simplistic standpoints.

6. References & related readings<= /h1>

(I) =3D accessed on the Internet. I do not give the URL because it ma= y no longer be valid by the time the reader consults it. Sometimes the reference points to well-known journals that can be consulted onl= ine. In other cases, an Internet search using key words from the reference's title should lead to the new URL if the material is s= till available online. In any case, the citation provides sufficient information about the original publication.

Angolill= io, P.F. 1947. Armed Forces' foreign language teaching: Critical evaluatio= n and implications. New York: Vanni.

Baines, Lawrence. 1997. Future schlock: Using fabricated data and politically cor= rect platitudes in the name of education reform. Phi Delta Kappan: The Professional Journal for Education 78, no. 7 (March). (I)

Barker, James L. 1925. Effective French for Beginners. New York: Scribner.=

Blair, Robert. 1982. Innovative approaches to language teaching. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House Publ.

Breymann & Steinm=C3=BCller. 1895-1909. Die neusprachlichen Reformliteratur= von 1876-1909: Eine bibliographish-kritische =C3=9Cbersicht, 4 vols., Lei= pzig.

Butzkamm, W. 1973. Das Prinzip der Einsprachigkeit: Aufriss eines fremd=C2=ADsprachendidaktischen Problems.<= /i> Dortmund.

Coste, Daniel. 1979. "Analyse de discours et pragmatique de la parole dans quelques usages d'une didactique des langues", cit. in P. Riley, Topic= s in communicative methodology, M=C3=A9langes p=C3=A9dagogiques CRAPEL,= 1982, 93-109.

Coste, Daniel. 1980. "Communicatif, fonctionnel, notionnel et quelques autres", Le fran=C3=A7ais dans le monde, n=C2=B0 153, 25-34.

Decoo, Wilfried. 2002. Crisis on campus: Confronting academic misconduct. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.

Dodson, C. 1967. Language teaching and t= he bilingual method. London: Pitman.

Gattegno, Caleb. 1972. Teaching foreign languages in school: The Silent Way. New York: Educational Solutions.

Gattegno, Caleb. 1976. The common sense of teaching foreign languages. New Y= ork: Educational Solutions.

Hulstijn, Jan. 1999. Vaardigheid zonder kennis: De rol van grammaticakennis en automatisering in de verwerving van een vreemde taal. Amsterdam: Vossiuspers AUP.

Johnson, Donna M. 1992. Approaches to research in second language learning. New York: Longman.

Kaplan, Robert B. 2000. "Foreword". In Jian Kelly Hall and William G. Eggington, The sociopolitics of English language teaching. Clevedo= n: Multilingual Matters.

Kelly, Louis G. 1969. 25 Centuries of language teaching. Rowley, Massachusetts: Newbury House Publishers.

Krashen, Stephen. 1985. Inquiries and Insights: Second Language Teaching, Immer= sion, and Bilingual Education. Hayward, CA: Almany Press.

Macht, Konrad. 1986, 1987, 1990. Methodengeschichte des Englischunterrichts. Vol. 1-3. Augsburg: Universit=C3=A4t Augsburg.

Macht, Konrad. 1994. "Practical skills or mental training? The historical dilemma of foreign language methodology in nineteenth and twentieth centu= ry Germany." Paradigm, No. 14 (September). (I)

Marcel, Claude. 1867. L'=C3=A9tude des langues ramen=C3=A9e =C3=A0 ses v=C3=A9= ritables principes, ou l'Art de penser dans une langue =C3=A9trang=C3=A8re. Paris: C. Bor= rani.

Meijer, T.T. 1974. De globaal-bilinguale= en de visualiserende procedure voor de betekenisover=C2=ADdracht.Amsterdam.=

Mondria, J.A. 1996. Vocabulaireverwerving in het vreemde-talenonderwijs: De eff= ecten van context en raden op de retentie, Groningen: Rijksuniversiteit Groningen.

Monroe, R.E. 1931. "Radio instruction in languages". Modern Language Journal, XVI, 212-217.

Moulton, William G. 1961. "Linguistics and language teaching in the United States 1940-1960." in Mohrmann, Sommerfelt, and Whatmough, Trends in European and American linguistics 1930-1960. Antwerp: Spectrum.<= /p>
Mueller, T. 1970. "Could the new key be a wrong key?", French Review, XLIV, 1085-1093.

Olsson, S. 1973. A learning experiment i= n English with monolingual and bilingual word-lists, GUME-project. Gothenburg.

Passy, Paul. 1899. De la m=C3=A9thode directe dans l'enseignement des langues vivantes. Cambridge.

Puren, Christian. 1988. Histoire des m=C3=A9thodologies de l'enseignement des= langues. Paris: Cl=C3=A9 International.

Roberts, J.T. 1999. Two French language teaching reformers reassessed: Claude M= arcel and Fran=C3=A7ois Gouin. Lewinston: Edwin Mellen Press.=

Schweitz= er, C. & E. Simmonot. 1903. M=C3=A9thodologie des langues vivantes. Paris.

Smith, Philip. 1970. A comparison of th= e cognitive and audiolingual approaches to foreign language instruction. Th= e Pennsylvania foreign language project. Philadelphia: CCD.

Stevick, Earl W. 1980. Teaching languages: A way and ways. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury = House Publishers.

Strevens= , Peter. 1977. New orientations in the teaching of English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Titone, Renzo. 1968. Teaching foreign languages: An historical sketch. Was= hington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.

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