John DANIELS - Theories informing French language teaching in an English middle school; an autobiographical account.

This paper draws on the author’s experience as French language teacher and researcher in an English middle school from 1971-2007. Particular attention is given to the ‘revolutionary’ (Stern, 1983), audio-visual period with its promotion of a natural learning environment and immersion in the foreign language with the prohibition of English. A methodology that was itself a reaction to the formal language learning procedures associated with the traditional grammar translation process. The paper extends the author’s previous examination of language teaching over this period (Daniels, 2000; 2018; 2019) by looking specifically at the demands made on young pupils, introduced to a foreign language for the first time through the audio-visual method. Research on the benefits of an audio-visual approach (Stern, 1967; Guberina, 1964), suggested this would enable young children to successfully learn a foreign language. While this methodology proved ultimately unsuccessful in English classrooms, it is argued that the influence of this approach remained, with the target for language learning seen as developing
communicative competence and productive language skills (Burstall, 1974; Rapaport & Westgate, 1974; Northumberland County Council, 1983). The introduction of the National Curriculum in England (1990) with its emphasis on monitoring and focus on the assessment of the four language skill areas: listening, speaking, reading and writing led to a reduction in the importance of spoken language, a failure reflected in more recent reports (Ofsted, 2008).
An historiographical and autobiographical approach can be criticised due to its specific perspective and focus (Smith, 2016). However, a practising language teacher is in a position to research language learning in the classroom, based on their own practice and experience and responding to identified problem areas through the introduction of specific measures and learning initiatives. In this case drawing on the audio-visual immersion experience in order to create short intensive French language learning programmes These can in turn become the focus for research and potentially make a contribution to the literature on language learning and the history of language teaching research and theorisation.