Tudor Capitulo
Tudor Capitulo
Tudor Capitulo
teaching
People have been learning languages other than their first language
throughout history. How they did this, however, is something which
remains shrouded in mystery as the long history of language learning is
largely unrecorded. It is likely that a very large part of this learning
occurred in a naturalistic manner by means of contact with speakers of
another language with the goal of interpersonal communication for
purposes of trade, social organisation or the conveyance of a belief
system. There have also been attempts to help language learners by
means of structured approaches to the presentation of the target
language (TL) or the practice of elements of this language. That is what
we would now call approaches or methodologies.
Neither the learning nor the teaching of languages, then, are novel
activities. The period of language teaching history which stretches from
the 196os to the present, however, is probably unique. To begin with,
the scale of the learning and teaching of languages is in all probability
greater than has ever been the case previously; this is as a consequence
of the expansion in international exchanges of all types which charac-
terises the modern world. This period has also witnessed an unprece-
dented intensity of reflection and experimentation in all fields of
language teaching. In this respect, it is useful to bear in mind that
language teaching is a social phenomenon and is therefore influenced by
the sociocultural context in which it occurs. It is therefore useful to look
at the reasons for the development of language teaching in recent
decades, and also at the general directions that thinking on language
teaching have adopted over the same period.
The period. around the r96os witnessed a number of significant
changes in the map of the world and in international relations. On the
international level, colonial empires were. disappearing, and a large
number of states which had recently obtained their independence were
investing heavily to provide their populations with improved standards
5
A changing perspective on language teaching
6
A new technology in language teaching
..-:-'
_
I
A changing perspective on language teaching
I but does not in itself guarantee that a given result will be obtained, not
in a complex human activity like teaching, at least. The real effective·
ness of educational technology lies not just in the inherent logic and
potentiality of the technology itself but in the appropriacy of its use,
and this involves consideration of a variety of 'soft' data relating to the
perceptions and attitudes of the people who will be using it and to the
type of context in which it will be used. This in turn calls for a different
perspective on language teaching, one which is complementary to but,
nonetheless, separate from the development of the 'technology' referred
to above.
8
Towards an ecological perspective on language teaching
9
A changing perspective on langnage teaching
IO
Learner identities
I
A significant part of the new technology of language teaching which
was developed in the r96os and 1970s reflected the demand for a
functionally oriented approach to teaching. The development of the
new technology of language teaching was thus strongly influenced by
pragmatic considerations wbich focused on 'hard', objectively obser-
vable phenomena. Within this framework, students were seen primarily
as social actors whose identity was defined in terms of the social role in
which they would have to use the language, e.g. a tourist needing to
organise travel and accommodation, a student needing to read a certain
type of specialist material, a businessperson needing to describe his or
her company's products or negotiate a contract, and so on. The main
emphasis was thus on students' objective needs, what they would have
to do in the language, and the translation of these needs into a coherent
pedagogical form. As far as it goes, this is a perfectly valid perspective
on the final goals of language teaching.
The functionally based approach to teaching had not been in use for
long before it became apparent that the objective relevance of learning
content is no guarantee in itself that effective learning will occur. The
latter depends on the willing and active involvement of students in the
learning process: students therefore need to perceive the relevance
of learning content and be willing to interact meaningfully with the i
learning activities in place. This, however, depends on factors of an
affective and attitudinal nature, which haye co~e to be studied under
the heading of subjective needs. This area of"CO(lCeJ;!l relates to the
identity of learners within the learning process itself,___rj~ust as future
language users, but as language learners who are involvetfin developing
a certain competence in interaction with a given set of teaching
procedures and learning activities.
This is clearly a complex area and has been investigated from a
number of angles. One of the first was the learning strategy research of
the 1970s (for an overview of the earlier work in the area, cf. Rubin,
r987; for subsequent developments, cf. Reid, 1995). Early work on
learning strategies arose out of the observation that some learners seem
to be more at ease with and achieve higher levels of success in language
study than others. It therefore seemed reasonable to investigate whether
it would be possible to identify those behaviours which were typical of
more and of .less successful learners. One motivation of this research 1'
was to assess whether the behaviours of successful learners could be
pinpointed as the basis for a sort of ideal learning strategy agenda
which could be used to provide guidance for less successful learners. It
did in fact emerge that more successful learners manifest a certain
II
A changing perspective on language teaching
I2
Learner identities
or she feels judged on his or her use of a language that has not as yet
been 'learned properly'. This means that what the teacher has in mind
when preparing a class may not be what students perceive or experience
during the class itself. The reality of teaching therefore arises out of the
meaning that methodological choices assume in the minds of students
and the dynamics that this generates within the learning group.
Research in individual differences has played a valuable role in
increasing our understanding of the factors that make language teaching
and learning what they are in the minds of our students. Nonetheless,
much of this research has focused on one specific aspect of learners'
perceptions of language study at a time. This is understandable in
research terms, but it leaves us with the unresolved problem of knowing
how to put the various elements together in the moment-to-moment
dynamics of classroom teaching.
Williams and Burden (1997: 89-95) make a number of pertinent
remarks in this respect about the variables which are studied under the
heading of individual differences. To begin with, they point out that
these variables are hypothetical constructs. In other words, researchers
agree to speak about factors such as intelligence, anxiety, or risk-taking
in order to gain insight into the psychocognitive reality of students'
interaction with language learning. However, these terms are not the
reality itself, nor can we be sure whether they are the best way of
encapsulating this reality. Williams and Burden also suggest that while
individual differences tend to be viewed as fixed or at least relatively
stable phenomena, most are better viewed as 'variable, context specific,
and amenable to change' (1997: 90). They point out, for example, that
anxiety is highly situation specific, that it is affected by a variety of
factors, and that a behaviour that would be seen as anxious in one
culture might be construed differently in another. Indeed, they suggest
that 'the whole area of individual differences is fraught with unan-
swered questions' and argue for an approach which focuses on 'the
unique contribution each individual brings to the learning situation'
(p. 95). For Williams and Burden, such an approach would involve a
change in the way in which the psychocognitive aspect of language
learning is considered:
/
A changing perspective on language teaching
IS
A changing perspective on language teaching
/~
L~
Teacher identities
I7
A changing perspective on language teaching
realisation has set our profession the challenge of working with teacher
individuality and teacher identity just as much as with the individuality
and identity of students. Indeed, we are coming to realise that we need
to be as aware of the 'unique contribution which each individual brings
to the learning situation' (Williams and Burden, I997' 9 5) with respect
to teachers just as much as learners.
I8
Identity and context
2.0
Emerging responses, emerging challenges
the way in which teachers and students interact with one another to
create classroom realities in response to various aspects of context
(Young, 1987; McCargar, 1993; Muchiri, 1996; Shamim, r996a),
including political or ideological factors (Adendorff, 1996; Chick,
r996; Duff, r996).
Interestingly, Cortazzi and Jin (1996) point to the way in which the
different expectations of students with respect to teachers from their
own and from a different cultural group interact with differences in the
behaviours of the two groups of teachers to create different classroom
dynamics. This study reminds us that, while both students and teachers
appear to· bring to the classroom perceptions and expectations that arise
out of their sociocultural backgrounds, these factors operate dynamic-
ally, i.e. they interact with and around the expectations and behaviours
of other participants and with aspects of context. Cortazzi and Jin also
point out that cultures evolve over time and thereby warn against a
stereotypical or static view of culture.
It emerges from these studies that the context, both JW!gmatic and
mental, in which students and teachers operate exerts a very real
innuence on what they do and how they evaluate the options that are
available to them. These factors contribute to the participants' identity
in the classroom and need to be taken into account both in under-
standing a situation as it is at a given point in time and in evaluating the
likely effects of change.
Select one situation that you are familiar with either as a teacher or
as a learner and try to identify the main contextual factors which
make this situation what it is.
• Initially, do this separately for the two categories of contextual
factors outlined above, viz. pragmatic and mental.
• Then try to evaluate the interaction of the two. For example,
how do participants react to poor resourcing or large class
numbers? Which strategies do they adopt, and what are their
attitudes to the pragmatic aspects of the situation? In which way
does the presence of an examination influence approaches to
teaching and students' motivation and study strategies?
2I
,,
I!'
A changing perspective on language teaching
\
~
']
cannot therefore be assumed that methodology operates in a linear,
deterministic manner: a given methodological option leading in a more
or less direct and predictable manner to a specifiable set of learning
outcomes. Methodological choices need to be made in the light of the
human and contextual factors which are specific to each teaching
situation. Decision-making therefore has to be local and situation-
specific; this clearly has a number of significant implications for educa- ·
tiona] planning.
This section begins with a survey of the pedagogical responses which
have emerged in recent years as part of the move towards a more
ecological perspective on language teaching. It then briefly surveys some
of the challenges which these responses have raised, not simply in a
strictly pedagogical sense, but with respect to the overall organisation of
learning programmes.
1.6.1 Responses . ..
Our recognition of the importance of learners' subjective interaction
with language study has made it clear that no one methodological
approach can be considered to be equally suitable for all learners. This
implies that a given activity or mode of learning is likely to assume quite
different meanings for the various learners who use it, and therefore it
cannot be assumed that it will lead to the same or perhaps even to
comparable learning outcomes. One response to this has been to cater
for variety in methodological approach and activity type so that most
students have the opportunity to find at least some aspects of their
learning programme which correspond to their own learning prefer-
ences; this represents a meaningful step towards the accommodation of
learner diversity. A teacher working from a coursebook or a range of
sources which offer a variety of activity types is clearly in a better
position to respond to different learning preferences than if the source
material caters for just one mode of learning. A varied and strategy-rich
(Tudor, I996: I97-2or) learning environment is therefore a real asset
in the goal of accommodating learner diversity. This having been said,
I, 22
Emerging responses, emerging challenges
23
A changing perspective on language teaching
l
Emerging responses, emerging challenges
1. 6. 2 . . . and challenges
Acknowledging the identity of participants both as individuals and as
members of a given community clearly offers a much more promising
path in educational terms than attempting to squash these many poles
of diversity into a single mode of teaching and learning. It does,
however, raise significant questions of both a pedagogical and an
organisational nature. One question relates to the locus of control in
language teaching. A learner-centred approach makes local decision-
making crucial and calls for teacher empowerment. This, however, has
implications both in terms of support for teachers and with respect to
the organisation of teaching programmes. It can, for example, be
difficult to obtain the time and resources needed for teacher develop-
ment, and there are powerful forces of a political and organisational
nature which emphasise control, accountability and standardisation.
There may therefore be resistances within educational hierarchies either
to the costs entailed by teacher empowerment or even to the very idea
itself. The pedagogical impetus towards localness of decision-making
can thus encounter significant obstacles of a social, organisational, or
ideological nature.
In more general terms, the research reviewed in this chapter involves
an acknowledgement of the complexity of language teaching in both
human and contextual terms. Should this be seen in positive or negative
terms? Is it an indication that our profession is suffering from post-
modernist confusion, or that language teaching has fallen victim to the
much discussed 'crisis of values' which is (apparently) threatening our
societies? This is one interpretation. Alternatively, it is equally plausible
to suggest that by acknowledging the complexity of language teaching
in a more open and constructive manner, we are simply showing that
our profession is coming of age and demonstrating the willingness to see
things as they really are. The trends reviewed in this chapter reflect a
growing awareness of the complex and dynamic nature of language
teaching which has parallels with developments in many other fields of
research. These are often discussed in terms of complexity theory or the
study of complex adaptive systems. Much of what is written on these
topics is specific to fields of research far removed from the direct
concerns of language teaching, but accessible and engaging accounts are
given in Waldrop (1992), Lewin (1993), and Kauffman (1995); Larsen-
Freeman (1997) is also well worth reading for a discussion of these
trends of thought with respect to aspects of language teaching. Our
profession is thus by no means alone in calling into question the general
framework of reference in which we have worked in the past.
In fact, one can seriously question whether it is reasonable to see
A changing perspective on language teaching
26
Emerging responses, emerging challenges
Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.
Alternative Proxies: