The Grammar translation method, or classical method emerged when people of the western world wanted to learn "foreign" languages such as Latin and Greek. Its focus was on grammatical rules, the memorization of vocabulary and of various declensions and conjugations, translations of texts, doing written exercises.
A class working with the Grammar translation Method would look like that:
1. Classes are taught in the mother tongue, with little active use of the target language.
2. Much vocabulary is taught in the form of lists of isolated words.
3. Long elaborate explanations of the intricacies of grammar are given
4. Grammar provides the rule for putting words together, and instruction often focuses on the form and inflection of words.
5. Reading of difficult classical texts is begun early.
6. Little attention is paid to the content of texts, which are treated as exercises in grammatical analysis.
The advantages of the Grammar-Translation Method:
(1). In Grammar-Translation Method, the first language is maintained as the reference system in the learning of the second language. Translation from one language to another plays a certain part in language learning. in the Grammar-Translation Method, comparison between two languages helps students to have a better understanding of the meaning of abstract words and complicated sentences.
(2). Systematic study of grammatical rules plays an important role in fostering students’ ability of reading comprehension and producing grammatically correct sentences. It has special importance for students in teachers’ colleges for whom a good mastery of the grammar system of the target language. Understanding and manipulating the morphology and syntax will develop students’ ability of analyzing and solving problems.
(3). The focus on understanding literary texts provides the situation in which reading and writing abilities are well trained.
(4). The Grammar-Translation makes few demands on teachers although it often creates frustration for students.
Disadvantages：
First, overemphasis on translation can never emancipate the learners from dependence on the first language.
Second, The Grammar-Translation puts too much emphasis on reading and writing and neglects listening and speaking. Knowing a large number of grammatical rules can not ensure that students can use them appropriately in real communicative situation.
Third, in the Grammar-Translation Method, the texts are mostly taken form literary works. The language learned often doesn’t meet the practical needs of the learners.
Last, memorizing grammar rules and bilingual word lists does not motivate students to actively communicate in the target language.
The basic premise of the Direct Method was that second language learning should be more like first language learning. The method would include lots of oral interaction, spontaneous use of language, no translation between first and second languages, and little or no analysis of grammar rules.
The advantages of the Direct Method:
(1). The use of the target language as a means of instruction and communication in the classroom contributes greatly to forming the habit of thinking in the target language, which is necessary in efficient real communication.
(2). The emphasis on practice with new language items and on language skills, rather than on language knowledge, is important in achieving automaticity of using the target language.
(3). The emphasis on spoken language conforms to the objectives of modern language teaching. Special attention paid to pronunciation and intonation is desirable in teaching spoken language.
(4). Regarding listening and speaking as the basis of reading and writing is strategic in fostering the four skills.
(5). Using full sentences as teaching units makes foreign language learning more natural and efficient for students to understand a new text and acquire a language.
The disadvantages of the Direct Method
(1). Overemphasizing the similarities between naturalistic first language acquisition and classroom foreign language learning results in the exclusive use of the target language. The absolute avoidance of the native tongue occasionally troubles the Direct Method in teaching the meaning of abstract concepts.
(2). Without explicit grammar explanation, students lack a necessary knowledge of the target language. As a result, they tend to produce utterances with a lot of grammatical mistakes in them. It is difficult for them to safeguard against mistakes and self-correct them without the guidance of the rules of the target language.
(3). The Direct Method places a high demand on the teacher. It requires native-speaker teachers or teachers who have native-speaker-like fluency in the target language.
The Audiolingual Method is a method of foreign or second Language teaching which emphasizes the teaching of speaking and listening before reading and writing. In the Audiolingual Method, mother tongue is discouraged in the classroom. The Audiolingual Method uses dialogues as the main form of language presentation and drills as the main training techniques.
Disadvantages of the Audiolingual Method:
①The theoretical basis of the Audiolingual Method was found to be weak. The behaviourist theory could not possibly serve as a model of how humans learn language, since much of human language is not imitated behaviour, but is created a new from underlying knowledge of abstract rules.
②Techniques such as pattern practice, drilling, memorization, etc. might lead to language like behaviour, but they are not resulting in competence. Teachers complain about the lack of effectiveness of the techniques in the long run, and students complain about the boredom caused by endless pattern drills.
③ Learners play a reactive role by responding to stimuli, and thus have little control over the content, pace or style of learning. They are not encouraged to initiate interaction, because this may lead to mistakes.
④The teacher’s role is central and active in the Audiolingual Method. It is the teacher who always dominates the class. The teacher models the target language, controls the direction and pace of learning, and monitors and corrects the learner’s performance.
⑤ Materials in the Audiolingual Method are primarily teacher-oriented. The teacher’s book contains the structured sequence of lessons to be followed, an the dialogues, drills, and other practice activities. The audiolingual here ignores the fact that learning can be facilitated if all the channels are open to students.
Advantages of the Audiolingual Method:
①The audiolingual theory is probably the first language teaching theory that openly claims to be derived from linguistics and psychology.
②The Audiolingual Method attempts to make language learning accessible to large group of ordinary learners. With large classes, drills are of particular use in that they maximize student participation.
③ While previous methods tended to be preoccupied with vocabulary and morphology, the Audiolingual Method stresses syntactical progression and uses pattern drills to help the students gain control over grammatical structures, which is a much more interesting way of learning grammar than working through written exercises. What’s more, drilling can be positively beneficial in helping a student to develop his oral ability.
④ The Audiolingual Method leads to the development of simple techniques of varied, graded, and intensive practice of specific features of the language, and more scientifically selected and systematically arranged materials and structural patterns to go with. Moreover, the teaching techniques with tape recording and language lab drills offer practice in speaking and listening which are considered of primary importance in language learning. The technique of mim-mem and pattern drills gives students more thorough practice in using grammar pattern.
⑤The Audiolingual Method develops the separation of the language skills into a pedagogical device, that is listening, speaking, reading and writing. The Audiolingual Method introduces specifically designed techniques of auditory and oral practice. It lays emphasis on listening and speaking which did not gain so much importance from Grammar-Translation Method. It achieves noticeable success in developing aural comprehension and oral fluency.
There is little or no grammatical explanation. Grammar is taught by inductive analogy rather than deductive explanation.
Fluency. Fluent speech involves the ability to talk with normal levels of continuity, rate, rhythm and effort. Fluency involves the smoothness with which units of speech (sounds, syllables, words, phrases) flow together. Fluent speech flows easily and is usually made without effort. Abnormally broken, slow, or effortful speech is not fluent.
The Notional Functional Syllabus is distinguished by its attention to "functions" as the organizing elements of English language. The NFS focused strongly and exclusively on the pragmatic purposes to which we put language. It is neither a method, nor an approach to language pedagogy for it does not tell how to teach a second language. What it does is to give what second language learners should focus on.
A typical unit of such a textbook would include presentation of dialogues, conversation practice with classmate, situations in which the student figures out "what would I say," role plays, etc..
The Notional Functional Syllabus was a precursor of Communicative Language Teaching, but it did not teach communicative competence as such.
The goal of clt is to have students become communicatively competent. Communicative comppetence involves being able to use the language apropriately in a given social context. They need to know that many different forms can be used to perform a funciton and that a single form can often serve a variety of functions. They must be able to choose from among these the most appropriate form, given the social context and the roles of the interlocutors. They must also be able to manage the process of negotiating meaning with their interlocutors.
