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Weighing the Ways of the Flow: Twentieth Century Language Instruction
Author(s) -
Mitchell Cheryl Brown,
Vidal Kari Ellington
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the modern language journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.486
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1540-4781
pISSN - 0026-7902
DOI - 10.1111/0026-7902.00095
Subject(s) - metaphor , mainstream , work (physics) , pendulum , computer science , history , sociology , linguistics , political science , engineering , philosophy , law , mechanical engineering
A traditional metaphor for changes in language teaching methodologies has been that of a pendulum swinging back or forth. However, this historical review of methodology articles in the MLJ suggests a new, more dynamic, metaphor‐that of a river flowing. We examine first the major mainstream methods discussed in the Journal, showing how they came into being and what caused them, as opposed to other methods, to become so strong. Then we examine other historical and academic factors that caused the methods to divert and divide into several channels. Finally, we suggest potential areas of exploration that might lead to the development of new water sources or the diversion of the current stream into new channels. The new metaphor and historical review of MLJ methodology articles allow us to see how our work has progressed over the years and how it has not just swung like a pendulum between two opposing positions.