This paper will focus on the evolution of English as a foreign language (EFL) programs in France from the mid-20th century up to the present day. Our purpose is to trace this evolution both upstream and downstream, that is, in theories of reference and in secondary school textbooks.
To what extent was the EFL curriculum influenced by the emergence of applied linguistics and major learning theories? Are the leading EFL textbooks illustrative of such an influence across different periods? Finally, Is there a French specificity in the interpretation of the founding theories and their implementation?
Methodologically, a specific set of English textbooks for secondary education representative of different periods and curricula will be examined in the light of:
-the underlying theories
-the corresponding curriculum
-individual features
A triangulation will be carried out occasionally with certain German or Spanish textbooks from the same periods.
This research should lead us to find out whether there is a French way of apprehending the audio-oral method, the communicative approach and more recently the task-based approach and thus contribute to the collective project of elaborating a European vision of EFL over the past 70 years.
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Tardieu, C. 2014. « Résurgence et rémanence des méthodes au fil du temps : réflexion sur les méthodologies de l'enseignement de l'anglais en France ». Pratiques émergentes et recherches en didactique de l'anglais : jalons, interrogations et perspectives, Cahiers de l'APLIUT, Vol. 23, n° 2, juin 2014, p. 12-33.
