Important features of eight second language teaching methods--grammar-translation, direct, audiolingual, the Silent Way, Suggestopedia, community language learning, Total Physical Response, and the communicative approach--are summarized . A chart outlines characteristics of these aspects of the methods: goals, teacher and student roles, the…

Language, considered as a liberal art, is examined in the light of other philosophical viewpoints concerning the nature of language in relation to second language instruction in this paper. Critical of an earlier mechanistic audio-lingual learning theory, translation approaches to language learning, vocabulary list-oriented courses, graduate…