4.1 Language in theory 

Grammar translation:

Development

This method came to the fore as modern languages began to be taught alongside the classical languages of Greek and Latin. It was only when travel possibilities meant that more people needed English for conversational purposes that the method came under criticism.
The first phrase books started to appear toward the end of the last century and their publication continued and spread throughout the early decades of this century. Marcel, Prendergast and Gouin all influenced changing attitudes to Grammar Translation and as the IPA gained in prestige Sweet and others found a platform from which they could attack a method of teaching they saw as out-dated and failing to meet the needs of the times.

Language

The English language was viewed in the same way as the classical languages. Many of the problems we have in the classroom today with grammar try to undo age old grammatical myths which were caused by the imposition of a Latin style grammar on the Anglo-Saxon English language.

Teaching and learning

The grammar was taught deductively and the vocabulary introduced in long word lists which were memorised by rote learning. These lists of structure and vocabulary formed the basis of any syllabus. The methodology was restricted to grammar exercises, translation and dictation. The written essay was the most communicative activity. The theory of learning could be best summarised as 'what is taught is learnt.'

Examples

Despite the fact that Grammar Translation has received a century's worth of bad press it is notable how many of its techniques are still applicable to our classrooms today. It is the way we test what has been rote learned that needs to be communicative, not necessarily the learning.
Dictation is another example of an activity which has been handed down, although hopefully our dictations bear little resemblance to those of the Grammar Translation Method.

 

The Classical Method:

In the Western world foreign language learning was associated with the learning of Latin and Greek. At the time, it was of vital importance to focus on grammatical rules, syntactic structures, along with rote memorisation of vocabulary and translation of literary texts. There was no provision for the oral use of the languages under study; after all, both Latin and Greek were not being taught for oral communication but for the sake of their speakers' becoming "scholarly?" or creating an illusion of "erudition." Late in the nineteenth century, the Classical Method came to be known as the Grammar Translation Method. It is widely recognised that the Grammar Translation Method is still one of the most popular and favourite models of language teaching. With hindsight, we could say that its contribution to language learning has been lamentably limited.

 

The audiolingual method: 

 

The outbreak of World War II heightened the need for Americans to become orally proficient in the languages of their allies and enemies alike. To this end, bits and pieces of the Direct Method were appropriated in order to form and support this new method, the "Army Method," which came to be known in the 1950s as the Audiolingual Method. The Audiolingual Method was based on linguistic and psychological theory and one of its main premises was the scientific descriptive analysis of a wide assortment of languages. But its popularity waned after 1964. It fell short of promoting communicative ability as it paid undue attention to memorisation and drilling, while downgrading the role of context and world knowledge in language learning. After all, it was discovered that language was not acquired through a process of habit formation and errors were not necessarily bad or pernicious.

 

Cognitive code:

Development
This was a train of psychological and linguistic thought and did not actually lead to any one operational method, but it provided significant influences. The Cognitive Code rejected Behaviourism and put an emphasis on the learning of rules through meaningful practice and creativity. It came to the fore in the 1960's. Although it did not have an immediate effect in the classroom, it resulted in a liberation for teachers from the strait jackets of the Audio Lingualism and Structural Situational methods.
Language

It stated that there are universals which underlie all languages. These are rules which can generate any sentence from a universally common deep structure and each language may use different transformations to get to the surface structure. From a finite set of rules an infinite number of sentences can be created was Chomsky's claim.

Teaching and Learning
We should remember that Chomsky himself said that his work had nothing to offer to language teachers and we were fools if we took it on. Nevertheless, this did not discourage many and teachers jumped at his work on language and theories of learning even though it was not until Krashen that his principles of natural acquisition were applied to L2 learning. Chomsky's theories of learning were in line with the cognitive and mentalist approaches of the time and stressed the importance of learners making sense of things for themselves but with the guidance of a teacher.
Examples
There are no set examples as such from this period, as the methods which evolved over the next decade or so all drew on the Cognitive Code. Enough to say that we still hopefully guide students to discover rules for themselves and continue to use what was then called the guided inductive approach to teaching.

 

The nineties & into the 21st century:

Development
We are now in the enviable position of putting everything that has gone before into our own workable unit and combining it with the remarkable development in educational learning tools we have seen in the last few years. Combine this with the latest technology and, if we remain open-minded, we can move positively into a new century which could well see teachers becoming free agents and educational institutions becoming monoliths of the past.
Language
We now recognise that there are probably hundreds of grammars in the world. There is no right or wrong grammar, just different ones. Our job is to break the language down for our students in the way which we understand it and in such a way that they can grasp it. We can now accept that each student will construct their own grammar and it is for us to check this through their interlanguage and help them to adjust it accordingly.
Teaching and Learning
It is now widely accepted that each context and / or learner needs its own methodology. We have to be flexible and able to change to suit the needs of our students in whatever way necessary. This can be problematic as our role both in and out of the classroom is constantly being redefined. The modern EFL teacher has become a researcher, publisher and innovator. All teachers do is make students aware of something which the student will later learn if they want to. To this end it is the enjoyment of the process of learning and acquisition, and motivation which are paramount.
Examples
From a teacher's viewpoint I think the approach which has most influenced me in the last five years is Test - Teach - Test, as well as negotiating syllabus and materials with students and using long and high level texts in class.
Much of my own recent work has been on the importance of the classroom environment and creating a learning atmosphere which does not threaten students.

 

Sources: 

https://www.englishclub.com/tefl-articles/history-english-language-teaching.htm

http://www.philseflsupport.com/efl_history.htm