How to Create an English Teaching Method: A Professional and Scientific Perspective

Have you ever asked yourself how to create an English teaching method?

Not in the superficial sense that has become common online—where anyone who records a few grammar tips suddenly claims to have invented a “revolutionary method” that promises fluency in three months.

That is not what this article is about.

This text addresses the professional, technical, and scientific side of method creation in English language teaching. It is written specifically for language teachers, teacher trainers, and professionals in applied linguistics.

Everything presented here can be questioned, expanded, refined, or even disagreed with—and that is precisely the beauty of our field. Language education evolves through debate, research, and shared reflection. All professional discussion is welcome.

Paradigms, Approaches, and Methods: Understanding the Foundations

Creating a teaching method begins with a fundamental—yet often misunderstood—distinction:
paradigms, approaches, and methods are not the same thing.

Let’s simplify without oversimplifying.

Paradigms: The Philosophical and Scientific Foundations

Paradigms are widely accepted theoretical assumptions that guide how we understand language, learning, and human cognition at a given point in time. They are not eternal truths, but they are considered stable until challenged by stronger evidence.

In language education, paradigms may come from different disciplines, such as:

• Linguistics: Universal Grammar (Noam Chomsky), discourse and genre theory (Mikhail Bakhtin), Second Language Acquisition theories (Stephen Krashen)
• Pedagogy: socio-cultural theory (Lev Vygotsky), constructivism (Jean Piaget)
• Psychology: behaviorism (B. F. Skinner; John B. Watson; Ivan Pavlov), humanistic psychology (Carl Rogers), multiple intelligences (Howard Gardner)
• Neuroscience: declarative/procedural memory model (Michael Ullman)

These paradigms form the philosophical backbone of any teaching method. However, paradigms alone are not enough. They must be articulated through an approach.

Approaches: Explaining What Language Is and Why We Teach It

An approach answers the why and the what behind language teaching and learning. It addresses questions such as:

• What is language?
• Why is language central to human interaction and society?
• Why do people want or need to learn another language?
• What conditions facilitate language learning or acquisition?
• What should be taught—and why?
• In what sequence should content be presented?
• Why do learners respond better to certain instructional principles than others?

At this stage, paradigms begin to interact and form what can be called a theory of teaching and learning.

Paradigms + Approach = Teaching/Learning Theory

When this theory is well researched, tested, discussed, and refined, we are halfway toward creating a method.

Methods: Turning Theory into Classroom Practice

A method is where theory becomes action.

Methods answer the how:

• How should language be taught effectively?
• How should content be sequenced pedagogically?
• How should a syllabus be structured so learners progress meaningfully?
• How do teachers implement the syllabus in real classrooms?
• How is learner progress assessed?
• Which strategies, activities, tasks, and interaction patterns should be used?

In short, a method operationalizes a teaching/learning theory.

Importantly, methods are not static. They evolve. Classroom practice constantly tests theory, revealing what needs to be adjusted, refined, or abandoned. This is why method creators must have deep theoretical knowledge—to know what to change, why to change it, and what must remain intact.

A Historical Example: From Audiolingualism to CLT

Between the 1930s and 1950s, Audiolingualism dominated language classrooms. Rooted in behaviorist paradigms, language was viewed as a set of habits formed through repetition.

Drills, pattern practice, and reinforcement—positive (“Very good!”) and negative (“No, try again”)—were the core techniques used to implement this theory.

From the 1970s onward, scholars such as Michael Halliday and Dell Hymes challenged this view. Influenced by new linguistic paradigms, they emphasized meaning, use, and communicative competence, giving rise to Communicative Language Teaching (CLT).

One well-known way of implementing CLT is the PPP model (Present–Practice–Produce)—a method, not an approach. Another example is ESA (Engage–Study–Activate), also derived from CLT.

This illustrates a key point: one teaching theory can generate multiple methods.

So, How Do You Create an English Teaching Method?

By now, it should be clear that creating a method is a long-term professional endeavor, not a marketing shortcut.

It requires:

• Extensive reading and research
• Classroom experimentation
• Continuous evaluation and revision
• Dialogue with other professionals
• Respect for teachers and learners

After establishing a solid theoretical foundation (paradigms and approach), two major areas must be addressed: teaching practice and content design.

Teaching Practice: Designing the Learning Experience

Key questions include:

• What is the step-by-step structure of a lesson?
• How are speaking, listening, reading, and writing integrated?
• How are vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation conceptualized and taught?
• How is content presented and recycled?
• How do learners interact with the material?
• What types of tasks, activities, projects, and assessments are used?
• How is learner autonomy encouraged?

These questions are only the beginning. Over time, they must be revisited and refined.

Content Design: The Syllabus

In professional terms, content organization is known as the syllabus (or curriculum). Important considerations include:

• Will the content be authentic or pedagogically adapted?
• What are the main sources of input?
• Will the syllabus be grammatical, lexical, functional, or hybrid?
• How will proficiency levels be defined?
• How will content be distributed over time?
• How will each language skill be developed?

Each decision must be made carefully and professionally.

Conclusion: Creating a Method Is Serious Work

As you can see, creating an English teaching method is anything but simple.

It demands experience, theoretical knowledge, ethical responsibility, and constant professional dialogue. A true method is scrutinized by the academic community, tested by teachers, evaluated by learners, and refined over time.

So now that you understand what it really takes to create an English teaching method, here is the final question:

How long do you think it would take to create yours?

Take care—and yes, let’s keep learning.

This article was first published in Portuguese on June 19, 2020.