Oral skills versus structural knowledge: the Reform Movement and the Grammar-Translation Method

ABSTRACT Considering the most significant international historical research on the history of language learning and teaching since the 1850s as a starting point, this paper builds on the four contributions to this special issue of Language & History to situate the two historical language teaching methods known as the Reform Method and the Grammar-Translation Method in more detail. Before introducing the origins of the Reform Method, the aims and approaches of these two methods are first considered. Then, based on the secondary literature, a brief investigation is made into the possible origins of the German term ‘Grammatik-Übersetzungsmethode’ and the English equivalent ’Grammar-TranslationMethod’, respectively. Finally, the question of whether the Reform Movement can be considered a success or a failure with respect to the dissemination of oral competencies is addressed.