THE MAIN DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TEACHING APPROACHES, METHODS, PROCEDURES, TECHNIQUES, STYLES, AND STRATEGIES

Abstract

Abstract: Language teacher education relies on a small set of terms approach, method, procedure, technique, style, and strategy that are frequently used as if they were synonyms, even though each occupies a distinct place in the hierarchy of instructional decision-making. This article draws on Hasanova et al. (2021) to clarify the conceptual boundaries between these six terms and illustrates each one with examples drawn from recent Uzbek EFL scholarship, including work on writing-skill activities (Absalamov & Khujakulov, 2024), the teaching of culturally specific lexical items such as folk-medicine terminology (Khujakulov, 2024), and the instructional needs of passive learners (Khujakulov, 2025c). The article argues that terminological precision is not a pedantic exercise but a practical necessity: teachers who conflate approach with method, or technique with strategy, are more likely to make inconsistent classroom decisions and to struggle when justifying those decisions in lesson planning, materials design, and professional reflection.