THE EVOLUTION OF
FOREIGN & SECOND LANGUAGE EDUCATION  

Jill Kerper Mora, Ed.D.
San Diego State University

 

CONTRIBUTIONS OF OTHER DISCIPLINES
TO FOREIGN AND SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING

 

LINGUISTICS

 Description of the components and structure of language

     Phonology

    Morphology

    Syntax

    Grammar

    Lexicon

Discourse analysis

Concept of language universals

Surface vs. deep structure of language

 PSYCHOLINGUISTICS

Understanding of the process of language acquisition in a first and second language

Competence vs. performance

Affective variables in language learning

Cognitive strategies of language learners

Effects of bilingualism on cognitive development

SOCIOLINGUISTICS

Perception of the total language environment:  Communication & the functions of language

Cultural factors that influence language learning

Social and interpersonal language learning variables

Studies of language variations, language prestige and bilingualism in social contexts

EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Understanding of self-esteem and motivation in students

Sequential nature of language learning

Theories of cognitive development and learning strategies

Elements of sound curriculum design

Characteristics of effective teaching

 

 

 

CLASSICAL PERIOD

EDUCATION AS AN ARM OF THE THEOCRACY
Purpose of education to teach religious orthodoxy and good moral character

EMPHASIS ON LEARNING TO READ & WRITE
Little importance placed on higher education

LATIN GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Latin and Greek learned to understand the Holy Scriptures

MODERN LANGUAGES
Learned by studying abroad or from private tutors

   

AMERICAN REVOLUTION TO THE CIVIL WAR

THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Expanding trade and commerce

CULTURAL NATIONALISM
Careers available in book-keeping and foreign trade for children of the upper-class

SECULAR CONTROL OF EDUCATION
Emergence of academies & high schools

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING
Begins in mid-eighteen century. Considered a "frill" subject; not enough of a "mental discipline"

   

THE "BOOM PERIOD"--CIVIL WAR TO WORLD WAR I

TAX-SUPPORTED PUBLIC EDUCATION
Decline of private academies

DECLINE IN LATIN & CLASSICAL STUDIES
German & French the most popular languages

DOMINANCE OF TRADITIONAL METHODS
Emphasis on memorization and grammar-translation methods; reading a foreign language

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (MLA) IN 1883
Stressed need for L2 study as intellectual discipline

EMERGENCE OF PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
Psychological theory and practice influence teaching methods and learning theory

INTRODUCTION OF THE "DIRECT METHOD"
Role of L1 in L2 learning reassessed

   

WORLD WAR I TO 1952

POST-WAR ISOLATIONISM
Disillusion with American omnipotence in world affairs, failure of the League of Nations

GOAL TO EDUCATE ALL AMERICA'S CHILDREN
Focus away from education of the elite; foreign language study only for the "college bound"
"Life-adjustment" and "progressive" education

THE "MELTING POT"
Assimilation or "Americanization" of immigrants stressed as the role of the public schools

EMERGENCE OF CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY & LINGUISTICS
Leonard Bloomfield criticizes L2 methodologies; declares "primacy of oral language"

BEHAVIORISM
B.F. Skinner and Verbal Behavior; stimulus-response learning theory; emphasis on scientific methods of observation
 
   

1950’s TRENDS THAT LAST INTO 1960'S

AGE OF MATERIAL COMFORT & PSYCHOLOGICAL DISCOMFORT
Era of bomb shelters, "hippies", rise of subcultures, the "Great Society"

EXPANDING ACADEMIC, VOCATIONAL & GENERAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Public schools see as the vehicle for progress and social change

NEW APPROACHES TO TEACHING
Team teaching; non-graded classes; open classrooms; individualized instruction; programmed instruction; flexible and "core curriculum" scheduling

THE AUDIOLINGUAL METHOD
A marriage of Stimulus-Response (B.F. Skinner) learning theory and linguistics

RISE AND FALL OF MEDIA AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY
Diffusion and later "abandonment" of the language laboratory; growing expansion of technology

 1952--William Riley Parker's THE NATIONAL INTEREST AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Expounds on how expanding global interests of the United States require people who are multilingual and multicultural for business, industry, foreign relations, education

1957--LAUNCH OF THE RUSSIAN SPUTNIK
Resulted in the National Defense Education Act in 1958

1957--CHOMSKY'S SYNTACTIC STRUCTURES
Emergence of generative-transformational grammar; the competence/performance distinction

 

 

The 1960’s WEDDING OF DISCIPLINES

1964--PENFIELD'S THE UNCOMMITTED CORTEX
Emergence of psycholinguistic theory and interest in childhood vs. adult bilingualism

EMERGENCE OF ECLECTICISM
The "great debate" over L2 methods resulting from disillusion with audiolingual method; impact of cognitive psychology; examination of L2 teaching "mythology"

COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION
Age of social engineering; emergence of the behavioral objective & Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive and affective objectives

RISE OF HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY
Student-centered classrooms; explorations in values education; cognitive styles; attitudes & motivation; group dynamics

"BACK-TO-THE-BASICS" MOVEMENT
Disassembling of "innovations"; emphasis on "accountability"; reforms in teacher education to emphasize knowledge of subject matter vs. pedagogy

ABOLITION OF LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
De-emphasis of grammar instruction; focus on pragmatic L2 instruction & communicative competence

INCORPORATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS IN L2 THEORY & TEACHING
Examination of the nature of language proficiency in varying contexts

   
 

LANGUAGE EDUCATION 1970 TO THE PRESENT

THE BILINGUAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1968 & 1974
(Title VII) & Lau v. Nichols. Emphasis on second vs. foreign language studies. Rise of Paolo Freire’s critical pedagogy; cultural pluralism; acculturation; multicultural education. Focus on teaching L2 culture in the classroom.

EMERGENCE OF NEW METHODOLOGIES & CURRICULUM MODELS
Innovative methods include the Natural or Communicative Approach; Social-therapeutic orientations such as Community Learning, Suggestopedia; the Notional-Functional Syllabus

"ICEBERGS" & "BALLOONS"
Theorists link cognitive and linguistic development and explain bilingual language development and competence

SHIFT IN EMPHASIS TO LITERACY AND CONTENT AREA INSTRUCTION
Constructivist theory leads to Whole Language Movement and renewed study of the role of language proficiency in reading & writing; Methods focus on integration of language and content area teaching such as Sheltered English, SDAIE, English Language Development; Integrated Thematic Instruction

ENGLISH-ONLY VERSUS ENGLISH PLUS MOVEMENTS
Heated debate in political arenas and the public sector over the role of foreign languages and bilingualism in American society; Emergence of Immersion vs. transitional and two-way bilingual education models. Rise of the English-only Movement; Proposition 227 in California virtually eliminates bilingual education programs; "Sheltered Immersion" becomes the state- mandated model of instruction; bilingual education preserved and expanded in Texas, New York and Florida.

   

Sources

Chastain, K. (1976). Developing Second-language Skills: Theory to Practice. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally College Publishing.

Brown, H.D. (1980). Principles of Language Learning & Teaching. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Diaz-Rico, L.T. & Weed, K.Z. (1995). The Cross-cultural Language and Academic Development Handbook. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

 

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This page was last updated on 07/26/02