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1.5.TheReadingMethod
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naturally.Theapproachstressestheneedforthelearnertobeexposedtoauthen-
ticmaterialandtoreallylinktheformstotheirexactmeaning.Understandingthe
materialisthekeytolanguagelearning.
HaroldPalmer(1877–1947),aBritishappliedlinguist,hadanenormousimpacton
thefieldofforeignlanguageteaching,especiallyteachingEnglishasaforeignlan-
guage(Howatt,1984),inthathewasabletologicallyderivetheprinciplesofforeign
languageteachingfromlinguistics(phonetics,grammar,lexicology),psychology(the
lawsofmemory)andpedagogy(theroleofconcretizationinteaching)(Titone,1984).
PalmerbeganhiscareerasateacherofEnglishasaforeignlanguageinBelgium.He
alsocollaboratedwithDanielJonesandwasofferedajobasalectureronforeignlan-
guageteachingtoforeignlanguageteachers.Duringthattimehetookakeeninterest
inforeignlanguageteachingingeneralanddevelopedmanyinnovativeideasabout
hisfieldwhichwerepublishedinTheScientificStudyandTeachingofLanguages,
1917.Thisisthebookinwhichhe,unlikeBerlitz,takesabalancedviewtowardtrans-
lation,especiallyasanexactdevicetosemanticizethemeaningofunknownwords.
Consideringthecomplexityoflanguage,Palmerarguesforamultiplelineof
approachinlanguageteaching,tappingallourcapacities.Moreover,thekeyfigurein
thelearningprocessisthelearner,especiallyhislanguageproficiency,abilitiesand
incentivetolearn.Hisgeneralprinciplesinclude:‘earsbeforeeyes,,‘receptionbefore
production,,‘oralrepetitionbeforereading,,‘immediatememorybeforeprolonged
memory,,‘chorusworkbeforeindividualwork,,‘drillworkbeforefreework,,‘equal
attentiontothefourskills,,‘learningbyheart,,aswellastheemphasisonconcrete-
nessofthematerialandtheinterestfactor.Hisotherpublicationsfromthisperiod
includeTheOralMethodofTeachingLanguagesandThePrinciplesofLanguageStudy,
1921.Inthelatter,hemadeadistinctionbetweenthespontaneousandthestudial
capacitiesofthelearner,which,incurrentterms,correspondtothecommunicative
andcognitiveaspectsoflanguageprocesses.Practicallanguagelearningiscontingent
bothindirectcontactwiththelanguage,frequentlisteningpracticeandrepetition,
andconversationaswellasthepurelytheoreticalworkoftheintellect.In1923hewas
appointeddirectoroftheInstituteforResearchinEnglishTeachinginTokyo.The
InstitutewasanAnglo-Americanundertakingwiththeaimoforganizingannualcon-
ferencesaswellasdisseminatingprofessionalinformationamongteachersofEnglish
inJapan.DuringthattimehewasdevelopingandadvocatingtheOralMethodof
teachingEnglishasaforeignlanguage,which,unfortunately,didnotsuitthetradi-
tionalcultureofatypicalJapaneseclassroom.Atthesametime,hewasalsokeenly
interestedinthecriteriaoffrequencyforvocabularyselectionandproducedvarious
listsofmostfrequentlyusedwordsforteachingEnglishasaforeignlanguage.This
interestwasreflectedinhispublicationfrom1932calledTheGradingandSimplifying
ofLiteraryMaterial.Inadditiontotheabove,hewasabrilliantphoneticianastestified
byhis1922publicationofEnglishIntonation.In1924hewroteAGrammarofSpoken
English,onastrictlyphoneticbasis,aimedatadvancedlearnersandteachersofEnglish,
whichisconsideredtobethefirstlarge-scaledescriptionofstandardspokenEnglish
forpedagogicalpurposes(Howatt,1984).Ayearlater,in1925,heandhisdaughter
DorothéeproducedEnglishThroughActions,asetofclassroommaterials,especially
drills,whichsystematicallylinkedlanguagelearningtovariousactivities,often
likenedtoGouin,sideas.HereturnedtoBritainin1936tocollaboratewithMichael
WestaswellastoactasaBritishCouncilAdviseronmattersofteachingEnglish
oversees.AspointedoutbyHowatt(1984),Palmerwasinstrumentalinturningthe
fieldofforeignlanguageteachingintoafull-fledgedprofession,whichisnowcalled
appliedlinguistics.