Grammar – translation
Exactly as it sounds, students learnt English through their L1, learning by translating from L1 to L2. Its focus was on sentences in isolation.
Direct method
The direct method was, in a way, a response to the rigidity of the grammar translation method. It was of the belief that learners would gain more from language lessons if no L1 was spoken in the classroom.
Audio-lingual method
Habit formation through repetition and drilling were employed with the audio-lingual method, as it was believed that constant practice would enable the learning of a language. Students would be given little opportunity to expand on their abilities with any freedom. Shortcomings were too much focus on accuracy and not enough independent fluency.
PPP
Presentation – practice – production. Argued to be too linear, PPP remains a popular method of teaching. Beginning by introducing a language feature, students then practice that feature before going on to produce it more freely. Emphasis, perhaps should be on the freer production to allow students to use the language independently.
TBL
Central to task based learning is the understanding that learners learn best when a specific task needs to be completed and a language needs to be spoken to complete that task.
Still to come-
The lexical approach
Communicative language teaching
The Silent way
Dogme