The table in the appendix, “Comparison of Approaches and Methods” (pages

388-399) offers a detailed side-by-side comparison of the key characteristics

of 16 different language teaching approaches and methods. Here's a
summary of the content, highlighting key points for each:

**Grammar-Translation Method**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is primarily a system of grammar

rules.

* **Theory of Learning:** Learning involves memorizing rules and applying

them through translation.

* **Objectives:** To develop reading and writing skills and grammatical

knowledge.

* **Syllabus:** Organized around grammar structures, progressing from

simple to complex.

* **Activities:** Translation exercises, grammar drills, memorization of

rules.

* **Teacher Roles:** Authority figure, presenting and explaining rules.

* **Learner Roles:** Passive recipients of knowledge, practicing grammar

and translation.

* **Materials:** Textbooks, grammar reference books, dictionaries.

**The Direct Method**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is learned through direct association

with meaning, without translation.

* **Theory of Learning:** Learning is facilitated through demonstration,

association, and inductive reasoning.

* **Objectives:** To develop oral communication skills and spontaneous use

of the target language.
* **Syllabus:** Organized around topics and situations, using the target
language exclusively.

* **Activities:** Demonstrations, questions and answers, conversations,

role-plays.

* **Teacher Roles:** Active demonstrator, using gestures, realia, and visual

aids.

* **Learner Roles:** Active participants, using the target language from the
beginning.

* **Materials:** Visual aids, realia, pictures, charts.

**The Oral Approach/Situational Language Teaching**

* **Theory of Language:** Spoken language is primary, with vocabulary as

a key element.

* **Theory of Learning:** Learning is based on habit formation through

repetition and practice in meaningful contexts.

* **Objectives:** To develop oral fluency and accuracy in everyday

situations.

* **Syllabus:** Graded presentation of grammar and vocabulary, often

within situational contexts.

* **Activities:** Dialogues, drills, role-plays, situational practice.

* **Teacher Roles:** Model and guide, presenting and practicing language in

context.

* **Learner Roles:** Active imitators and participants in structured oral

activities.

* **Materials:** Textbooks with dialogues, pictures, and situational prompts.

**Audiolingualism**
* **Theory of Language:** Language is a system of habits, learned through
pattern drills.

* **Theory of Learning:** Based on behaviorist principles of stimulus-

response and reinforcement.

* **Objectives:** To develop automatic, accurate use of grammatical

structures and pronunciation.

* **Syllabus:** Organized around grammatical patterns, presented in a

linear sequence.

* **Activities:** Repetition drills, pattern practice, minimal pair work.

* **Teacher Roles:** Controller of the learning process, providing drills and

feedback.

* **Learner Roles:** Performers of drills, focusing on accuracy.

* **Materials:** Audio tapes, language labs, drill-based textbooks.

**Communicative Language Teaching**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is a tool for communication,

emphasizing functions and meanings.

* **Theory of Learning:** Learning is facilitated through authentic

communication and interaction.

* **Objectives:** To develop communicative competence for real-world use.

* **Syllabus:** Organized around communicative functions, notions, and

tasks.

* **Activities:** Role-plays, discussions, information gaps, problem-solving

tasks.

* **Teacher Roles:** Facilitator of communication, providing opportunities

for interaction.

* **Learner Roles:** Active communicators, negotiating meaning and using

strategies.

* **Materials:** Authentic texts, realia, task-based activities.

**The Natural Approach**

* **Theory of Language:** Language acquisition is a natural process, similar

to first language learning.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasis on comprehensible input, low anxiety,

and a focus on meaning.

* **Objectives:** To develop communicative ability in everyday situations.

* **Syllabus:** May be loosely structured or based on topics of interest.

* **Activities:** Listening comprehension, TPR (Total Physical Response),

games, real-world tasks.

* **Teacher Roles:** Provider of comprehensible input, creating a relaxed

atmosphere.

* **Learner Roles:** Listeners and performers, gradually moving toward

production.

* **Materials:** Realia, pictures, visuals, authentic language samples.

**Community Language Learning**

* **Theory of Language:** Language learning is facilitated through a

supportive and collaborative environment.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasis on building trust, reducing anxiety, and

fostering learner autonomy.

* **Objectives:** To develop communicative confidence and fluency in a

non-threatening setting.

* **Syllabus:** Emerges from learner needs and interests, often through

teacher-student interaction.

* **Activities:** Small-group discussions, translation, transcription,

reflection, role-plays.
* **Teacher Roles:** Counselor and facilitator, providing support and
guidance.

* **Learner Roles:** Collaborators, sharing experiences and contributing to

the learning process.

* **Materials:** Recording devices, transcripts, learner-generated materials.

**Suggestopedia**

* **Theory of Language:** Learning is enhanced through relaxation,

suggestion, and a positive emotional state.

* **Theory of Learning:** Utilizes techniques from psychotherapy and

accelerated learning.

* **Objectives:** To promote rapid and enjoyable language learning,

reducing anxiety.

* **Syllabus:** May be structured around dialogues and texts, presented

with music and drama.

* **Activities:** Listening to music, dramatic presentations, relaxation

exercises, games.

* **Teacher Roles:** Authority figure, creating a suggestive and stimulating

environment.

* **Learner Roles:** Receptive participants, absorbing language through a

relaxed state.

* **Materials:** Comfortable surroundings, music, colorful posters, dramatic

props.

**The Silent Way**

* **Theory of Language:** Language learning is a problem-solving process,

emphasizing learner discovery.

* **Theory of Learning:** Focus on learner autonomy, self-correction, and

the use of visual aids and gestures.
* **Objectives:** To develop independent language learners, able to use the
language creatively.

* **Syllabus:** May be structured around grammatical structures or

functions, presented with color-coded charts.

* **Activities:** Teacher silence, use of Cuisenaire rods, charts, gestures,

learner-led interactions.

* **Teacher Roles:** Facilitator and observer, providing minimal verbal

input.

* **Learner Roles:** Active problem-solvers, using visual aids and

collaborating to construct language.

* **Materials:** Cuisenaire rods, color-coded charts, sound charts, visual

aids.

**Whole Language**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is learned as a whole, not through

isolated parts.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasis on meaningful, authentic language use

in real-world contexts.

* **Objectives:** To develop integrated language skills and literacy through

authentic activities.

* **Syllabus:** May be theme-based or organized around authentic texts

and tasks.

* **Activities:** Reading aloud, shared reading, writing workshops, projects,

collaborative learning.

* **Teacher Roles:** Facilitator and co-learner, creating a literacy-rich

environment.

* **Learner Roles:** Active readers, writers, and communicators, engaging

in meaningful tasks.

* **Materials:** Authentic texts, children’s literature, real-world writing

samples.
**Content-Based Instruction and CLIL**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is acquired through meaningful

content, integrating language and subject matter learning.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasizes contextualized language use, making

content the driving force for learning.

* **Objectives:** To develop language skills while learning content from

other subjects.

* **Syllabus:** Organized around subject matter content, with language

integrated into the curriculum.

* **Activities:** Content-based tasks, projects, research, presentations,

discussions.

* **Teacher Roles:** Content expert and language facilitator, providing

scaffolding and support.

* **Learner Roles:** Active learners, engaging with content and using

language for authentic purposes.

* **Materials:** Content-rich texts, subject matter resources, authentic

materials.

**Task-Based Language Teaching**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is learned through meaningful tasks

with real-world outcomes.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasis on communicative tasks, problem-

solving, and collaborative learning.

* **Objectives:** To develop fluency, accuracy, and communicative

strategies for task completion.

* **Syllabus:** Organized around a sequence of tasks, graded in complexity.

* **Activities:** Task planning, execution, reporting, analysis, and language

focus.
* **Teacher Roles:** Task designer, observer, and language provider,
offering support and feedback.

* **Learner Roles:** Active participants in completing tasks, negotiating

meaning, and using language strategically.

* **Materials:** Task instructions, realia, visual aids, authentic materials.

**Text-Based Instruction**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is best learned through exposure to

and analysis of authentic texts.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasizes the social and cultural contexts of

language use, focusing on genre and discourse.

* **Objectives:** To develop language skills and awareness of how language

is used in different text types.

* **Syllabus:** Organized around different text types, genres, and

communicative purposes.

* **Activities:** Text analysis, deconstruction, joint construction, modeling,

simulations.

* **Teacher Roles:** Discourse analyst, providing models and scaffolding for

text comprehension and production.

* **Learner Roles:** Active readers and writers, analyzing and creating

texts.

* **Materials:** Authentic texts (spoken and written), representing a variety

of genres and purposes.

**The Lexical Approach**

* **Theory of Language:** Language is primarily composed of lexical units,

including chunks and collocations.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasis on noticing, retrieving, and using lexical

chunks for fluent communication.
* **Objectives:** To develop fluency and accuracy by acquiring and using a
large repertoire of lexical units.

* **Syllabus:** May be organized around frequent lexical chunks, presented

in meaningful contexts.

* **Activities:** Awareness-raising tasks, corpus-based activities, text

chunking, memory-enhancing techniques.

* **Teacher Roles:** Language analyst, facilitating data-driven learning and

discovery.

* **Learner Roles:** Data analysts and discoverers, noticing and using

lexical chunks.

* **Materials:** Corpora, concordance lines, authentic texts, vocabulary

notebooks.

**Multiple Intelligences**

* **Theory of Language:** Recognizes and caters to individual learning

styles and intelligences.

* **Theory of Learning:** Emphasizes learner-centered activities that

engage diverse intelligences.

* **Objectives:** To develop language skills through activities that cater to

individual strengths.

* **Syllabus:** May be flexible and adaptable, allowing for a variety of

activities.

* **Activities:** Music, art, movement, games, logic puzzles, interpersonal

tasks.

* **Teacher Roles:** Differentiator of instruction, providing a range of

activities to engage learners.

* **Learner Roles:** Active participants in choosing and engaging in

activities that match their intelligences.

* **Materials:** Varied, including music, art supplies, games, puzzles, realia.

**Cooperative Language Learning**

* **Theory of Language:** Language learning is enhanced through

collaboration and interaction.

* **Theory of Learning:** Focuses on social interaction, interdependence,

and group dynamics for learning.

* **Objectives:** To develop communicative skills and social skills through

cooperative activities.

* **Syllabus:** May be task-based or project-based, promoting group work

and interaction.

* **Activities:** Pair work, small-group tasks, jigsaw activities, problem-

solving, projects.

* **Teacher Roles:** Facilitator and monitor, structuring group work and

providing support.

* **Learner Roles:** Collaborators, working interdependently to achieve

common goals.

* **Materials:** Task instructions, collaborative projects, group work

resources.

This summary reveals the key features and principles of each approach. As
our conversation history shows, there has been a notable evolution in
language teaching methodologies from those centered on grammatical
accuracy to those that embrace communicative fluency and cater to diverse
learners.