Tradition and innovation in foreign language teaching in Gran Canaria in the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

This paper focuses on foreign language teaching in Gran Canaria in the 19th century. Its purpose is to determine the foreign languages taught on the island at that time, the approaches and methods used to teach those languages and the reasons and needs of the students to learn a specific language. Section Two describes the influential presence of foreigners in the Canary Islands and their significant role in the development of the Canarian economy, culture and even the variety of Spanish language spoken in the islands. Section Three presents a brief review on the state of education in the islands in the 19th century. Section Four details the foreign languages taught in Gran Canaria in the 19th century while in the following five sections the methods used for the teaching of those foreign languages are explained briefly. Finally, the conclusions drawn from this study are offered.