Overview of teaching methods

[mhagedon]

While preparing to teach my first class, I found this overview of different EFL teaching methods, which helped me relate the various approaches. It doesn't mention some of the methods I've heard about here (like TPRS and SIOP), but the timeline was especially enlightening.

http://blog.tjtaylor.net/teaching-methods/

[Paul-Nitz]

the timeline was especially enlightening.

http://blog.tjtaylor.net/teaching-methods/

Thanks for this. It's a nice simple article. There seems to be a debate out there about terminology for the various language learning approaches, but this article largely meshes with the other things I've read.

Here is a nice little "prezi" that deals only with the more modern approaches:
https://prezi.com/utzcpanfkkrf/the-natu ... -teaching/

The "Comprehension Based Approach" seems to be the most accurate label for an approach some contributors here employ (Buth, Rico, Nitz, Sorenson, Halcolm, ktl). Its main methods are TPR and TPRS. Over on Ancient Greek Best Practices group, we had a long discussion about he best name for the approach. No conclusion was made. Here were some of the contenders:

• Options for a label include (alphabetical order):
  
  Comprehensible I nput – This is used by the Latin Best Practices group (usually as an acronym, “CI”). Its vagueness as a label is both an advantage and disadvantage. It puts focus on a core concept common to best practices.
  Comprehension-Based Approach – Its description, as used by living languge teachers, mostly fits what we consider best practices.
  Direct Approach – This calls back to Rouse and others. Direct could be a good descriptor that includes what we would consider best practices. But the term is somewhat opaque and dated.
  Immersion – This is most immediately understandable to the intended audience. But properly speaking, “Immersion” recalls a living language pedagogy that does not entirely fit what we consider best practices, especially in that it does not require comprehensible input.
  Living Language – Or, “Living Approach” (see D. Miller’s blogs). The label communicates the general idea fairly well. It calls to mind Buth’s “Living Koine” books. Some might object that a Living Language Approach would not necessarily lead to learning to read a difficult text.

https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en& ... SGuHxD2yU8
PD Nitz