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History
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Growing globalization today has created a huge need for individuals today to be able to communicate in several languages. One of the most popular languages in demand in India and many other countries is English.
The need to acquire a foreign language dates back to olden times. Latin was one of the dominant languages to be learned early on in Europe, but was displaced by English by the 16th century.
Advance in teaching a foreign language began in the 19th century and became very rapid in the 20th century. A few prominent names for early applied linguists were Jean Manes ca, Heinrich Gottfried Ollendorff (1803–1865), Henry Sweet (1845–1912), Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), and Harold Palmer(1877–1949). They carried out work around setting teaching language principles and approaches based on psychological and linguistic theories.
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Over time, language education has developed in schools and has become a part of the education curriculum around the world. Modern language education today follows three primary approaches.
- The structural view – This treats language as a system of structurally related elements to decipher meaning (e.g. grammar).
- The functional view – This approach views language as a medium to express a certain function or objective, such as asking for something.
- The interactive view – Thisviews language as a medium for the creation and maintenance of social relations, focusing on patterns of moves, acts, and interactions found in conversational exchanges. This approach has been more or less dominant since the 1980s.
Modern day techniques today include various supporting mediums for the learner today to achieve expertise. Some of the most widely used are audio recordings and books, internet and softwares and websites.
Today mostly a combination of these methodologies are used to provide an optimum environment for the learner.
