Oral skills versus structural knowledge: the Reform Movement and the Grammar-Translation Method

Klippel, Friederike and Kemmler, Rolf (2021): Oral skills versus structural knowledge: the Reform Movement and the Grammar-Translation Method. In: Language & History, Vol. 64, No. 3: pp. 137-150

Abstract

Considering the most significant international historical research on the history of language learning and teaching since the 1850s as a starting point, this paper builds on the four contributions to this special issue of Language & History to situate the two historical language teaching methods known as the Reform Method and the Grammar-Translation Method in more detail. Before introducing the origins of the Reform Method, the aims and approaches of these two methods are first considered. Then, based on the secondary literature, a brief investigation is made into the possible origins of the German term 'Grammatik-ubersetzungsmethode' and the English equivalent 'Grammar-TranslationMethod', respectively. Finally, the question of whether the Reform Movement can be considered a success or a failure with respect to the dissemination of oral competencies is addressed.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Languages and Literatures > Department 3
• Subjects: 400 Language > 400 Language
• ISSN: 1759-7536
• Language: English