The impact of activity sequencing on the differences between ELT methods: A critical analysis of sample units

Abstract

One of the methodological variables frequently forgotten by most ELT methods is activity sequencing. However, this is not a secondary variable and it should be intrinsically related to the cognitive built-in process governing knowledge acquisition. Consequently, activity sequencing fully affects the pedagogically based organisation of the teaching materials and the cognitive processes of language acquisition. The aim of this paper is to perform an analysis of the activity sequencing in three different textbooks representative of three main methods in the history of ELT: the Direct Method, the Audiolingual Method and the Communicative Method. The analysis will be undertaken from pedagogical and cognitive perspectives. The results will illustrate a) the degree of agreement or non-agreement detected in each method and textbook; b) that the activity sequencing variable is crucial to determine the nature of such differences or similarities. Since the activity sequencing is similar across the three textbooks, it could be assumed that methodological differences may be of less consequence than usually considered.