Methods and Materials: Grammar-Translation to Task-Based Teaching, Textbooks and Language Games

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Approach, method and technique

Edward Anthony (1963) separated three levels. An approach is a set of beliefs about the nature of language and how it is learnt; a method is an overall plan for presenting language, based on an approach; a technique is a particular classroom activity, such as a drill or a role play. Methods have changed as views of language and learning changed: from language as rules to be learnt, to habits to be formed, to communication to be practised.

Grammar-translation and direct methods

The grammar-translation method, also called the classical method because it was used to teach Latin and Greek, teaches grammar rules deductively, uses bilingual word lists, and has learners translate sentences and passages between the mother tongue and the target language. The mother tongue is the medium, reading and writing are the focus and accuracy matters most. It is easy to use in large classes, but learners rarely learn to speak. The direct method arose in the late 19th century as a reaction; Maximilian Berlitz opened his first school in 1878. It uses only the target language, conveys meaning through objects, pictures and demonstration, teaches grammar inductively, and puts speaking and everyday vocabulary first. It needs fluent teachers and struggles with abstract words.

Audio-lingual and structural methods

The audio-lingual method grew out of the US Army's language programme of the Second World War and drew on structural linguistics and Skinner's behaviourism. It treats language as habit: learners memorise dialogues and practise pattern drills (repetition, substitution, transformation, chain drills), minimal pairs train pronunciation, and errors are prevented because they are thought to form bad habits. The structural approach, long used for English in Indian schools, selects and grades sentence structures and vocabulary and presents them in situations. These methods build accuracy and pronunciation but tend to produce mechanical learners who cannot use language creatively.

Communicative and task-based teaching

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), which grew in Britain and Europe in the 1970s, aims at communicative competence. D.A. Wilkins's Notional Syllabuses (1976) organised teaching around notions such as time and quantity and functions such as requesting, apologising and inviting, rather than structures. CLT uses authentic materials, pair and group work, information gaps, role plays and problem solving; the teacher is a facilitator, fluency is valued alongside accuracy, and errors are tolerated as part of learning. Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) organises lessons around tasks with a clear outcome, such as planning a class trip or finding the differences between two pictures, in which meaning is primary. In India, N.S. Prabhu's Bangalore Project (1979 to 84) taught English through problem-solving tasks without a grammar syllabus. Jane Willis (1996) set out the task cycle: pre-task, task, planning, report, then a language focus.

Other methods in brief

Total Physical Response (James Asher) links commands to actions and suits young beginners; the Silent Way (Caleb Gattegno) keeps the teacher largely silent and uses coloured rods; Suggestopedia (Georgi Lozanov) uses relaxation and music to lower anxiety; Community Language Learning (Charles Curran) treats the teacher as a counsellor; the natural approach (Krashen and Terrell) stresses comprehensible input; and the bilingual method (C.J. Dodson) uses the mother tongue to convey meaning. No single method suits every class; teachers combine methods, and the constructivist view of NCF 2005 favours learner-centred, meaning-focused practice that uses children's languages.

Textbooks and multimedia

The textbook is a useful resource but not the whole curriculum; NCF 2005 asks teachers to go beyond it, link lessons to children's lives and use other materials. Supplementary readers, newspapers, magazines, posters, advertisements, menus and timetables bring authentic language into the room. Realia, flash cards, picture cards, charts and puppets support young learners. Audio and video recordings, radio, films and digital resources give exposure to varied voices and accents, and recording children's own speech lets them listen to themselves. Materials should suit learners' age, interests, language background and culture, and should be inclusive in how they show gender, region and disability.

Children's literature and language games

Stories, poems, folk tales, picture books and big books give rich language in memorable contexts, build imagination and empathy, and are the basis of extensive reading; a class library is one of the best investments a school can make. Poems are taught for enjoyment, rhythm and imagery. Language games such as word chains, antakshari, bingo, Simon says, dumb charades, twenty questions, crosswords and Chinese whispers give meaningful practice in a relaxed setting, which lowers the affective filter. A game should have a clear language purpose and involve every child, not only the quickest.

Key facts

Edward Anthony (1963): approach (beliefs about language and learning), method (overall plan), technique (classroom activity).
Grammar-translation (classical method): deductive rules, translation, bilingual word lists, reading and writing, accuracy; neglects speaking.
Direct method: target language only, meaning through objects and pictures, inductive grammar, speaking first; Berlitz's first school opened in 1878.
Audio-lingual method: grew from the US Army programme of the Second World War; structural linguistics plus behaviourism; dialogues, pattern drills, habit formation, errors prevented.
CLT: communicative competence; notions and functions (Wilkins, Notional Syllabuses, 1976); authentic materials, information gap, role play; the teacher as facilitator.
Task-based teaching: meaning-focused tasks with an outcome; N.S. Prabhu's Bangalore Project (1979 to 84); Jane Willis's task cycle (1996).
Method and name pairs: Silent Way - Caleb Gattegno; Suggestopedia - Georgi Lozanov; Community Language Learning - Charles Curran; TPR - James Asher; Bilingual method - C.J. Dodson.
The textbook is one resource, not the curriculum: add authentic materials, realia, flash cards, audio and video, and children's literature.
Language games give purposeful practice in a low-anxiety setting and should involve every child.

Quick revision

Anthony 1963: approach, method, technique; grammar-translation: classical, deductive, translation, speaking neglected; direct method: target language only, inductive, Berlitz 1878; audio-lingual: Army method, behaviourism, pattern drills; structural approach; CLT: 1970s, Wilkins 1976, information gap, facilitator; TBLT: Prabhu's Bangalore Project 1979-84, Willis 1996; Silent Way (Gattegno), Suggestopedia (Lozanov), CLL (Curran); textbook one resource; children's literature; language games.

Practise this topic

All 8 lessons on Language Pedagogy (Language I and Language II)