Combining teaching approaches : a review of the literature and an example of possible combinations to encourage cooperative learning

Abstract EN

Generally, there are two main tendencies in modern language teaching methodologies: Methods that are centered on the teacher and give him/her the most important role in the class, as opposed to methods that focus on the students by giving them more responsibilities in their own learning, allowing the teacher to meet the individual needs of each studentAs a result of these differences in beliefs, principles and practice, language teachers find themselves in a dilemma while they try to decide on which method to put into action inside their classrooms.

This decision is to be based on knowledge about the existing approaches, the needs of the learners and the objectives of the teaching act.

Since no approach fits all the teaching contexts and no single approach can be used alone, it is essential to combine different teaching approachesthat can help generate a teaching method able to develop the learners’ four skills.