Literature review

II. Literature Review

In the middle ages,the Grammar Translation Method was initially used to teach modern languages such as French,German and English in European countries. The Grammar Translation Method was one of foreign or second language teaching which made use of translation and grammar studies in the classroom. In other words,it was a way of studying a language through detailed analysis of its grammar rules,followed by the application of this knowledge to the task of translating sentences and texts in and out of the target language(Jack C Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers,2000.3-4).

A typical lesson consist of the presentation of grammatical rules,a study of lists of vocabulary, as well as translation exercises. It has the dominant position in China until the Communicative Approach has been introduced in China.

Since the traditional Grammar Translational method could not meet the needs of training oral talents,the Direct Method emerged as required. The Direct Method was also called Natural Method,Oral Method,Psychological Method or Reformed Method. ‘Direct’,here had three meanings: direct leaning,direct understanding learning and direct application. Sauveur and other believers of the Direct Method argued that a foreign language could be taught without translation or the use of the learner’s native tongue if meanings were conveyed directly through demonstration and action. To some extent,the Direct Method simplified the process of understanding and memorizing English in contrast to Grammar Translation Method. For instance,a student can easily understand what ‘smile’ means when the teacher points to his or her smiling face. By contrast,it is more difficult or time-consuming for learners to understand the definition of ‘smile’,namely ‘an expression on your face in which your mouth curves upwards to show that you are happy,amused,friendly,etc’. Obviously Direct Method is conducive to master English as a tool because learners are studying and using English directly without the interference of mother language. It stresses spoken language and phonetic teaching which does good to favorable lingual habits. It also results in a livelier classroom and accordingly more efficient teaching with the assistance of visual aids.

After the Second World War broke out,the Audio-Lingual Method came into effect,which was also named Sentential Form Method. It focuses on listening and speaking. American structuralists sponsored by Leonard Bloomfield regarded language as a structural system and a set of habits. Particular emphasis was laid on mastering the building blokes of language and learning the rules for combining them. The father of American behavior Psychology B. F. Skinner, held the view that language was a process of frequent stimulus from outer environment and response from inner organs. These two viewpoints became the theoretical basis of Audio-Lingual Method. The Audio-Lingual Method was orally-centered and programmed by sentences or structures, which stressed imitation, set phrases, phonetic correctness and elegance,as well as frequent practice. It’s commented by experts that the Audio-Lingual Method contributed enormously to the development of foreign language teaching both theoretically and practically for its scientific foundation. So the Audio-Lingual Method was also regarded as an epoch-making teaching method.

In1970’s the Communicative Approach, sprung up in European Economic Community (EEC) with England in the center. To promote the communication and cooperation among EEC,there was a surge of language learning. Functionalists insisted that language was a communicative tool that served all society and human beings. There was 1ittle chance or necessity for a Person to grasp all the vocabulary. It was wise enough for students to choose what they would need to learn, and in this way they could save their time and energy. The basic teaching unit of the Communicative Approach was discourse. Students could correct their own mistakes self-consciously without teacher’s interruption and rectification. It abandoned the formalism contained in the past teaching methods and paid much attention to the contents of a language. Functionalists figured out the multi-intention and multi-function of learning foreign languages, and advocated teaching students in accordance of their special need,which was prone to better effect. Most scholars had it in common that communication was the starting point and final aim of English

teaching. For the first time,the ability to use English was placed on the agenda. So we can come to the conclusion that the Communicative Approach came into line with the requirements and trend of the society. While it is still not perfect. Some principles, such as focus on receptive skills, deemphasize the importance of error correction and strengthen the learners' autonomy do not reflect in English Teaching and Learning.

The lexical approach is a new theory of language teaching. It appears when the vocabulary arouses people’s attention. Michael Lewis first came up with the idea in 1993 in his The Lexical Approach. Michael Lewis makes a strong and convincing case in the book for the primacy of meaning in language teaching. This approach should and will be welcomed by many teachers who emphasize lexico-semantic knowledge in their teaching and whose goal is successful communication over grammatical drilling and the ambiguous notion of correctness. These and other teachers and scholars will find in this book a lot of knowledge and common sense on language learning and the way language works, with carefully drawn distinctions, clear terminology, and valuable theoretical and practical ideas all towards building a tight argument for a switch from the present-practice-produce paradigm to an observe-hypothesize-experiment paradigm, with the lexicon and the generative power of words at its core. Maybe the most important value of the lexical approach is that it tells us a lesson that there is always a theory to support a kind of teaching method. We should focus on ‘approach’ not ‘method’ when we do the reform of language teaching.

Lexis,grammar and speech sound make up the three major elements of a language. In the discussion of the relationship between vocabulary and grammar, D. A. Wilkins, a famous British linguist, once quoted that, ‘without grammar,very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed.’ The lexicologist Mc Carty (1990) also said ‘No matter how well a student learns grammar, no matter how successfully he or she masters the sounds of a language,without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in that language cannot happen in any meaningful way.’ Obviously,they all spoke highly of lexis and regarded it as the basic material and the most important component of a language.

The Lexical Approach is based on the idea that an important Part of language

acquisition is the ability to comprehend and produce lexical phrases as unanalyzed wholes, or ’chunks’ and that these chunks become the raw data by which learners perceive patterns of language traditionally thought of as grammar (Lewis,1993,P.95).The Lexical Approach can be summarized in a few words: language consists not of traditional grammar and vocabulary but often of multi-word prefabricated chunks. Only when these significant chunks are connected with each other can discourse come into effect. Lexicalists also view that language consists of grammatiealised lexis, not lexicalized grammar. Grammar is subject to lexis rather than lexis subject to grammar.