differences of the methods presented in this book, and summarized on pages 222–3.
Similarities among Language Teaching Methods
In displaying the essential features of the language teaching methods in table form, it
is the salient differences that get highlighted. Not apparent from this display is the fact
that these methods overlap in significant ways as well. Despite there being continued
debate on what communication entails, and on the means to bring it about, it is
nevertheless true that one of the most important similarities in many of these methods
is that their goal has been to teach students to communicate in the target language.
Those who advocate content-based, task-based, and participatory approaches have
another thing in common. They rely on analytic syllabi, believing that the best way to
achieve communicative proficiency in a language is to use it, not learn it bit by bit. In
other words, students should learn to communicate by communicating.
Another similarity, which has only recently become obvious, is that all of the
language teaching methods described in this book are practiced in classrooms in
schools. With the increasing influence of technology, this may not be the case in the
future. Classroom instruction is already often supplemented with visits to the
computer lab. In certain situations, distance education may make classes, fixed
schedules, and learning in face-to-face groups obsolete.
Finally, it is interesting to note that most of these methods seem to treat culture
implicitly, having no clearly articulated view of it or its teaching. Certain methods,
such as Desuggestopedia, make use of the fine arts, but the arts themselves are not the
object of study; rather they are drawn upon to facilitate the acquisition of the target
language. Where culture is included, it may be seen as a ‘fifth’ skill, another skill to
teach in addition to reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Alternatively, as noted
earlier in this chapter, there may be a deliberate attempt, in the case of those who
teach international languages, to omit explicit teaching of culture, even though it is
known that culture values are transmitted through language (Kramsch 1993) and
language teaching methods.
Complementary and Contradictory Differences among Language
Teaching Methods
There are also differences among the methods, which get lost on a selective table such
as ours. There are two particular kinds of differences. The first is one we might call
complementary differences. While each method may emphasize a different
perspective on a learner, a teacher, or learning, taken together, they do not necessarily
contradict each other, but rather help us to construct a more complete view. For
instance, the language learner is not only a mimic, but is also a cognitive, affective,
social, and political being. The same applies to the role of the language teacher—not