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Since the publication of the “Lexical Approach” by Michael Lewis in 1993, Language teaching practices have been widely reviewed and discussed. So what are the features of the  Lexical Approach? Is it a revolution in the profession of language teaching or just an evolution? What are its claims?  How can it be implemented in the classroom?

As the language theories underlying the Audiolingual method and the Sitiuational Language Teaching method were questioned by prominent linguists like Chomsky (1957) during the 1960s, a new trend of language teaching paved its way into classrooms. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) Which is an approach to the teaching of second and foreign languages, emphasizes interaction as both the means and the ultimate goal of learning a language. It is also referred to as “Communicative Approach”. Historically, CLT has been seen as a response to the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM), and as …

Content based instruction (CBI) is a teaching approach that focuses on learning languge through learning about something. Although CBI is not new, there has been an increased interest in it because  it has proven very effective in ESL and EFL  programs around the world.

The Oral Approach or Situational Language Teaching is  an approach developed by British applied linguists in the 1930s to the 1960s. It is little known by many language teachers although it had an impact on language courses and was still used in the design of many widely used EF/ESL  textbooks in the 1980s such as Streamline English (Hartley and Viney 1979).

Total Physical Response is a language teaching method which is based on the assumption that the coordination of speech and action will boost language learning. It was developed by  James Asher in the 70s He drew from a variety of areas,  including psychology, learning theory and humanistic pedagogy.

The origin of Suggestopedia
Suggestopedia is a language teaching method developed by the Bulgarian psychologist, Georgi Lozanov (see picture on the right.) Like Community Language Learning and the Silent Way Method, Suggestopedia is an innovative method that promises great effective language learning results. Lozanov claimed that by using this method one can teach languages approximately three to five times as quickly as conventional methods.

The Silent Way
The Chomskyan criticism of the theories upon which the audiolingual method was founded led to an interest in  not only the affective factors but also on the cognitive factors.  While Community Language Learning, drawing from Carl Roger’s philosophy, focused on the importance of the affect, new methods were developed in the 70s to highlight the cognitive domain in language learning. The Silent Way is one of these innovative methods. In Fact, Caleb Gattegno, the founder of the Silent Way,devoted his thinking to the importance of problem solving approach …

The following definitions are mainly based on works by H. Douglas Brown (1987) and Richards and Rodgers (1986)
Methodology
The word “methodology” is frequently used when “method” would be more accurate. Methodology refers to more than a simple set of methods. It is the rationale and the philosophical assumptions that underlie a particular study. In language teaching, methodology means the study of pedagogical practices in general, including theoretical implications and related research.  It includes what is involved in how to teach.

Background of the CLL
As the Chomskyan linguistic revolution turned linguists and language teachers away from the audiolingual method which focused on surface structure and on rote practice of scientifically produced patterns to a new era where the deep structure is paramount,  psychologists began to see the fundamental importance of the affectvie domain. So innovative methods of language teaching were developed during the 70s to redress the shortcomings of the audiolingual method. One of these methods came to be known as Community Language Learning.

Audiolingual Method
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The Audio-Lingual method of teaching  had its origins during World War II when it became known as the Army method.  It is also called the Aural oral approach. Itis based on the structural view of  language and the behaviorist theory of language learning.
The audiolingual approach to language teaching  has a lot of similarities with the direct method. Both were considered as a reaction against the shortcomings of the Grammar Translation method, both reject the use of the mother tongue and both stress that speaking …