Approaches to language teaching

Differences between techniques, approaches, and methods in ELT 
Brainstorming: 
a) With a partner, brainstorm for a few minutes and draw up a list of five methods according to which you 
think foreign languages can be taught.
b) Which particular method has predominated in your own experience as a student? Did it work for you?
c) Are you familiar with any recent approaches to language teaching? Can you briefly characterize them?

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d) Which approach to language teaching do you think is predominant at present in general foreign 
language classrooms? And in Spanish schools?
e) Are there good teachers or good methods? Are there good learners or good methods?
f) The most expensive textbook is the guarantee for a method to work. Do you agree with this statement? 
Are there other materials as effective as textbooks?
Handout 1. 
• 
APPROACH: an approach describes how we acquire language knowledge and gives us guidelines 
about the conditions in which language learning will be successful. 
• 
METHOD: putting approach to practice. Includes various procedures and techniques to support the 
approach. 
• 
PROCEDURES: an ordered sequence of techniques. EX: First you do this…then you do that…. 
• 
TECHNIQUE: a type of activity, designed to support a procedure. EX: fill in te blanks.