Theories of Teaching
in Language Teaching
INTRODUCTION
The field of TESOL is shaped in substantial ways by how the nature of language teaching
is conceptualized. As with teaching in general, language teaching can be conceived
in many different ways – for example, as a science, a technology, a craft, or an art.
Different views of language teaching lead to different views as to what the essential skills
of teaching are, and to different approaches to the preparation of teachers. The purpose of
this paper is to examine conceptualizations of teaching which are found in TESOL and
to consider the implications of different views of teaching for second language teacher
education.
In an important paper on the relationship between theories of teaching and teaching
skills, Zahorik (1986) classifies conceptions of teaching into three main categories: scienceresearch
conceptions, theory-philosophy conceptions, and art-craft conceptions. I will take
this classification as my starting point, illustrating it with examples from the field of language
teaching. I will then examine how each conception of teaching leads to differences in our
understanding of what the essential skills of teaching are.
SCIENCE-RESEARCH CONCEPTIONS
Science-research conceptions of language teaching are derived from research and are supported
by experimention and empirical investigation. Zahorik includes operationalizing
learning principles, following a tested model, and doing what effective teachers do, as
examples of science-research conceptions.
19
0521808294c02 CY011.cls January 18, 2002 1:3
20 Jack C. Richards
OPERATIONALIZING LEARNING PRINCIPLES
This approach involves developing teaching principles from research on memory, transfer,
motivation, and other factors believed to be important in learning. Mastery learning and
programmed learning are examples of science-research conceptions of teaching in general
education. In TESOL, Audiolingualism, Task-Based Language Teaching, and Learner
Training represent applications of learning research to language teaching.
Audiolingualism was derived from research on learning associated with behavioral
psychology. Laboratory studies had shown that learning could be successfully manipulated
if three elements were identified: a stimulus, which serves to elicit behavior; a response,
triggered by a stimulus; and reinforcement, which serves to mark the response
as being appropriate (or inappropriate) and encourages the repetition (or suppression) of
the response in the future. Translated into a teaching method this led to the Audiolingual
Method, in which language learning was seen as a process of habit formation and in which
target-language patterns were presented for memorization and learning through dialogs and
drills.
A more recent example of attempts to develop a teaching methodology from learning
research is referred to as Task-Based Language Teaching. Proponents of Task-Based Language
Teaching point out that second language acquisition research shows that successful
language learning involves learners in negotiation of meaning. In the process of negotiating
with a speaker of the target language, the learner receives the kind of input needed to
facilitate learning. It is proposed that classroom tasks which involve negotiation of meaning
should form the basis of the language teaching curriculum, and that tasks can be used
to facilitate practice of both of language forms and communicative functions. Research is
intended to enable designers to know what kinds of tasks can best facilitate acquisition of
specific target-language structures and functions. Prahbu (1983) initiated a large-scale application
of this approach in schools in India, developing a syllabus and associated teaching
materials around three major types of tasks: information-gap tasks, opinion-gap tasks, and
reasoning-gap tasks.
Learner Training is an approach which draws on research on the cognitive styles and
learning strategies used by learners in carrying out different classroom learning tasks. This
research may involve observing learners, asking them to introspect about their learning
strategies, or probing learners in other ways. Once successful learning strategies are identified,
these can be taught to other learners. This is referred to as Learner Training.
FOLLOWING A TESTED MODEL OF TEACHING
This approach involves applying the results of empirical or experimental research to teaching.
In this approach, “a view of good teaching is developed through logical reasoning
and previous research; good teaching is defined in terms of specific acts” (Zahorik, 1986,
p. 21). An example of research of this kind which has been used to develop theories of good
teaching across both regular and ESL classrooms is research on teachers’ question patterns
and wait time. Long (1984) argued that research had established the contribution of these
to the quality of classroom interaction in second language classrooms. In applying this
research to teacher preparation, a simple training model was developed in which teachers
were taught the differences between display questions (those for which answers are known
in advance) and referential questions (those for which answers are not known) and the
advantages of providing longer wait-time after questions. Teachers’ question use and wait
time before and after training were measured, and “it was found that the training modules
affected teaching behaviors, and that the new behaviors affected student participation patterns
in ways believed to be significant for these students’ language acquisition” (Long,
1984, p. vi).
0521808294c02 CY011.cls January 18, 2002 1:3
21 Theories of Teaching in Language Teaching
With approaches of this kind, if the specific teaching behaviors such as question patterns
and wait time are effective in bringing about second language acquisition, a conception of
good teaching will have been identified and validated.
DOING WHAT EFFECTIVE TEACHERS DO
Another approach to developing a theory of teaching is to derive teaching principles from
studies of the practices of effective teachers. This involves identifying effective teachers
and then studying their teaching practices. Effective teachers are typically defined as those
whose students perform better on standardized achievement tests.
In a study of effective teachers in bilingual education programs in California and Hawaii,
for example, Tikunoff (1985) observed teachers to find out how they organize instruction,
structure teaching activities, and enhance student performance on tasks. Teachers were
interviewed to determine their instructional philosophies and goals, and the demands they
structured into class tasks. An analysis of the classroom data revealed that there was a clear
linkage between the following:
1. teachers’ ability to clearly specify the intent of instruction, and a belief that students
could achieve accuracy in instructional tasks
2. the organization and delivery of instruction such that tasks and institutional demands
reflected this intent, requiring intended student responses
3. the fidelity of student consequences with intended outcomes
In a summary of research of this kind (Blum, 1984, p. 3–6), twelve characteristics of
effective teaching were identified:
1. Instruction is guided by a preplanned curriculum.
2. There are high expectations for student learning.
3. Students are carefully oriented to lessons.
4. Instruction is clear and focused.
5. Learning progress is monitored closely.
6. When students do not understand, they are retaught.
7. Class time is used for learning.
8. There are smooth and efficient classroom routines.
9. Instructional groups formed in the classroom fit instructional needs.
10. Standards for classroom behavior are high.
11. Personal interactions between teachers and students are positive.
12. Incentives and rewards for students are used to promote excellence.
Advocates of effective teaching use findings of this kind as guidelines to train teachers. An
approach to teaching which reflects these principles has been labeled Direct Instruction or
Active Teaching.
THEORY-PHILOSOPHY CONCEPTIONS
The next approach to theories of teaching Zahorik terms “theory-philosophy conceptions.”
“Their truth is not based on a posteriori conditions or on what works. Rather, their truth is
based on what ought to work or what is morally right” (Zahorik, 1986, p. 22). Teaching
0521808294c02 CY011.cls January 18, 2002 1:3
22 Jack C. Richards
conceptions which are derived from what ought to work are essentially theory-based or
rationalist in approach, whereas those which are derived from beliefs about what is viewed
as morally right are values-based approaches.
THEORY-BASED APPROACHES
The conceptions underlying many teaching methods or proposals can be characterized as
theory-based or rationalist in approach. This suggests that the theory underlying the method
is ascertained through the use of reason or rational thought. Systematic and principled thinking,
rather than empirical investigation, is used to support the method. These conceptions of
teaching tend not to draw support from classroom results as such (e.g., by showing pre- and
post-test gains resulting from the use of a method), but defend themselves through logical
argumentation.
Examples of theory-based or rationalist approaches in TESOL are Communicative
Language Teaching and the Silent Way. Each of these is based on a set of carefully elaborated
assumptions.
Communicative Language Teaching, for example, arose as a reaction to grammar-based
approaches to teaching realized in teaching materials, syllabuses, and teaching methods in
the 1960s. The proponents of Communicative Language Teaching established it through
convincing critiques of the inadequacy of the linguistic and pedagogical theory underlying
grammar-based approaches. It was often described as a “principled approach.” Communicative
Language Teaching was an attempt to operationalize the concept of c