SOME HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF METHODOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

SOME HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF METHODOLOGICAL
FOUNDATIONS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE


Discussing various scholarly issues in view of their historical development is certainly, of crucial importance for any branch of science. Without thorough knowledge of historical background and origins, it is practically impossible to explore various matters within the realm of our interest. All those questions that are currently remarkable, stem from previous periods and correspondingly possess their own history. Certainly, language teaching and especially foreign language teaching can not be considered as an exception. In general, foreign language teaching, and in particular, teaching English language, as a foreign language (EFL) has rather lengthy, quite substantial and extremely interesting historical past. We believe that any discussion on modern problems and challenges of teaching EFL would be impossible without probing into historical origins of the indicated discipline. We assume that for thorough investigation of the subject as well as proper formulation of an issue and hence, for provision of adequate solutions, it is crucial to get familiarized with the experience that preceded modern stage of EFL practices. This is beneficial due to the fact that it will enable us to draw parallels between present approaches, methodologies and their historical analogues and precursors. Practically all EFL modern methods and approaches have their origins in the works and activities of prominent educators, pedagogues and scholars of previous centuries. Historical analogues viewed in modern context of EFL methodologies are of paramount importance in determining efficiency of their application in present day reality.