Teaching methods in Germany in the 20th century include the Grammar Translation Method, the Direct Method, behavioristic methods, communicative language teaching and the orientation towards competences. What is the relationship between curricula and language teaching methods? The focus will be mainly on the impact of a selection of curricula on teaching languages.
Descriptions of how teaching methods developed in 20th-century Germany usually include a few standard methods in an idealized development. The starting point at the beginning of the century was primarily the Grammar Translation Method followed by the Direct Method that in turn led to the behavioristic methods, i.e. audiolingual and audiovisual methods. The communicative turn in the 1970s affected language policy and teaching methodology by focusing on learning languages in order to communicate with others. This concept of communication entails the orientation towards communicative competence. Since the 1990s intercultural education has increasingly been at the centre of discourse in language learning. Since the early 2000s, language policy no longer focuses on contents but on competences. The main triggers for this shift were the OECD PISA study, the publication of the CEFR 2001 and the decision to introduce educational standards in Germany in the following years. How and to what extent has this overall development been influenced by curricula? What is the relationship between curricula and language teaching methods? The analysis in this presentation focuses on interdependencies between these two sides and how they influence each other. The focus will be mainly on curricula chosen from different Bundesländer and their impact on teaching languages. The overview shows the development of language teaching methods since 1945.
