Who adopted the substitution table method?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 3:

**The correct option is 3 (H. E. Palmer):**

Students, let's look closely at the question of who adopted the Substitution Table Method. The correct answer is undoubtedly H. E. Palmer. Harold E. Palmer (1877–1949) was a hugely influential English linguist and phonetician who served as Linguistic Adviser to the Japanese Ministry of Education in the early 20th century. Palmer is renowned for his systematic approach to language teaching, often associated with the Oral Method or the Situational Language Teaching approach, which prioritized the practical mastery of English structure. The Substitution Table Method, one of his significant contributions, is essentially a technique designed to help students master sentence patterns and grammar through repetitive practice and controlled variation.

The method involves using a table where a sentence structure is provided, and key words or phrases are listed in columns. Students are instructed to substitute different items from the columns into the main sentence pattern to generate numerous grammatically correct sentences. This systematic practice ensures the accurate memorization and automatic use of sentence structures without demanding a deep understanding of complex grammatical rules initially. Palmer adopted this method as a precise, scientific way to inculcate correct English habits, believing that fluency is achieved through the mechanical mastery of essential patterns, thus making Option 3 the correct originator and popularizer of this technique in language pedagogy.

**The incorrect option is 1 (Dr. West):**

Dr. Michael West is best known for the West Method or the New Method, which focused heavily on reading skills, particularly in contexts where English was taught as a foreign language (EFL). While Dr. West contributed significantly to language teaching, his primary innovation was developing simplified readers and emphasizing extensive silent reading, rather than the structural drills inherent in the Substitution Table Method.

**The incorrect option is 2 (D. J. Dodson):**

D. J. Dodson is associated with the Bilingual Method of language teaching. This method utilizes the student’s mother tongue sparingly to explain the meaning of new words or structures, often contrasting the two languages. Dodson's work focuses on balancing the use of the L1 and L2, which is distinct from the pattern-based structural practice central to the Substitution Table Method.

**The incorrect option is 4 (Piaget):**

Jean Piaget was a highly influential Swiss psychologist known for his theory of cognitive development. His work focuses on how children construct knowledge over time through stages of intellectual growth, such as assimilation and accommodation. Piaget's contributions lie in developmental psychology and educational philosophy, not in the direct adoption or invention of specific language teaching techniques like the Substitution Table Method.