Classroom behaviours of the outstanding teacher

1. He or she speaks less. Students speak and question in L2 most of the time.
2. The target language dominates class activities, inviting in students initiatives.
3. Has an excellent command of L2 and varieties of valid methods.
4. Uses verbal and nonverbal communication.
5. Gives more immediate feedback.
6. Allows students to laugh and think freely by smiling, praising and joking.
7. Students speak to him in, before and after class.
8. Integrates language skills with full awareness of the problematic areas.
9. Controls the classroom nicely with no threatening tones.
10. Accepts criticism and criticizes others less harshly.
11. Democratic, kind and nice, showing a lot of care about time people and ideas.
12. Moves around and screens all students in a given class.
13. Fair, punctual, frank and honest all the time.
14. Maintains standards of excellence and does things with style.

Theories of learning

Despite the fact that theories of learning explain how people learn and what is common to them, every individual learns in a unique way. Some complex tasks, however, are only explainable in light of more than one theory; and through more than one type of learning. Language is a good example of such a task.

Prior to getting in some theories of learning, we will spare a moment to look into what Robert Gane labelled as types of learning.

1- Signal learning – a response to a signal.

2- Stimulus- response learning: A precise response to a certain signal.

3- Chaining: Two or more stimulus – responses.

4- Verbal association: Verbal chaining selection.

5- Multiple discrimination: Different responses to different stimuli.

6- Concept learning: An advanced conceptual response drawn from varieties of different objects or events.

7- Principle learning: A chain of two or more concepts – a cluster of related concepts.

8- Problem solving: The process of thinking which is employed to consciously join concepts and principles in order to solve a puzzling problem or an ambiguous events.

The first five types of learning fit easily into the behaviourist/behaviourism framework. The last three types belong to some other theories, such as cognitivism or humanism. However, since all eight types are used in learning a language the implication is clear; apply behaviourist approaches to lower – levels of language and cognitivistic or humanistic approaches to higher levels.

Of relevance to theories of language learning is a coherent definition of what it means to know a language. Lado defines second language learning as "acquiring the ability to use its structure within a general vocabulary under essentially the conditions of normal communication among native speakers at conversational speed".

It has been pinpointed above, that language learning ranges from acquisition of simple automatic skills to an understanding of abstract conceptual meanings occurring at the same time in a given sentence. In this event, no single theory is going to give enough explanations and their hearing and speaking devices. The complexity of language stems from the reality that it encompasses so many varying elements on hand, and on the other, it touches upon some other variables which create more difficulties; age, attitudes, aptitude, motivation, backgrounds of learners, socio and economical variables …etc. Even silence is part of language in some instance.

There is no way to cover all theories of learning in one undergraduate course. Yet, they all are of importance to those who will go in the field of TEL. What we do in this case is to have a vivid grasp of various theories, know several applicable methods that go in line with these theories and try to relate our practice and explain it in light of such reality. After all, there is no point of knowing a theory and vouching for a practice that does not harmonize with it.

It is about time now to introduce a theory or two and look into its implication for teachers of a foreign language; English in our case.

Behaviourism

To the behaviourists language is a set of habits. Thus, the process of learning a language follows this principle:

Stimulus Response Reinforcement

According to Skinner's experiments on animals he and his followers generalised their finding to include human verbal behaviour (which is language).

By reinforcing or rewarding the learner, he or she will maintain the correct responses and increase them in strength and frequency. However, such reward/feedback or reinforcement has to immediately follow the response or it will loose its validity.

For a while, behaviourism dominated most of the educational practices due to massive effort in the direction of inventing teaching machines, tokens, laboratories …etc. The most striking results of behavioural psychology, however, are the efforts to specify the outcome of teaching. Behavioural objectives are undeniable significant land-marks for this school. Skinner - himself – said, "there is no way to pick up education from its missy world unless we define objectives behaviouristically". The learner under such climate will pursue his/her objectives gradually and unmistakingly. Any behavioural objective is clearly defined according to its three dimensions:

i. Content What the learner will do.

ii. Condition under what condition.

iii. Criterion to what level of mastery.

Among foreign language teaching specialist, proponents of the audio-lingual methods aim to duplicate first language habits into second or foreign language situation. The influence of descriptive linguistics and behaviouristic psychology is undoubtedly interwoven altogether to make up most of the slogans behind such a method. The basic principles of audio lingual methods are as follows:

1. Language is speech, not writing. Listening and speaking are to be taught prior to reading or writing.
2. A language is a set of habits:

Furnishing a linguistic base, establishing a framework, patterns or phrases automatically mastered with no chance for errors must be accomplished during listening and speaking stages. This background is the platform for whatever activities that follow during advanced stages. Students should come up with aura-oral answers with no thinking employed.

1. Teach the language and not about the language:

Discussion of grammatical or lexical rules are to be avoided. Active aural-oral practice is suffice at this stage.

The dialogue techniques, pattern drills, minimal pairs repetition and memory are the best activities at this stage. The aim is to have students respond automatically and communicate verbally.

1. A language is what its native speakers say, not what someone thinks they ought to say:

Structures in common use, clichés in conversations and dialogue ought to be taught. What native speaks find acceptable should be dealt with, despite traditional grammarians' insistence on rules. I wonna… I am gonna, are O.K.

1. Languages are different:

Grammatical and pronunciation problems are not universal. For each language or each learner there are internal and external problems. Practice should be directed toward, specific problems certain people face when studying a certain language. Contrasting L1, first language with L2, target or second or foreign language will reveal such problems. Drilling and intensified practicing of the problematic/haphazardous areas, with no attempt to translate, will help learners a lot.

The implication of the proceeding slogans indicate that language is communication; so have students just do that using L2. When controlling the conditions students should learn the same at the same time. The language laboratory and audio and visual aids are very helpful. Simple-dull drills, repetition practices, easy tasks, imitation and insistence are ideal procedures for adoption.

In sum, language skills are taught in this order: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Materials are presented in accordance to the sequence of language skills with emphasis on primary stages. Highly frequenced everyday expressions are taught by means of mimicry and memorisation. When dialogues and certain graded pattern are fully mastered or at least very familiarised to learners, they move on to more complex activities with only few mistakes allowed, if allowed at all.

2.2.2 Cognitivism = Mentalism

In the early sixties, many psychologists were turning away from habit-formation studies into perception. The encoding and expression of meaning, information processing, memory and perception all indicate the validity of the mind. The biological side of language as well as the mental processes all are but indication of developed view about language learning and teaching.

Man is equipped by language acquisition device (LAD); an innate ability that only humans have. They don't share with Watson or Pavlov or Skinner's animals. The mind is capable of assimilating information accommodating yet more information which all, when processed will come up with creative things that never existed before. Man is the most complicated organism on earth excelling other species by his experience, abstraction and brain.

The maturational stages and experience that accompany these stages enable humans to do so difficult tasks others cannot do. Cognitive refers to internal, mental operations which are obviously affected by the individual age, attitude background, feelings and so on.

In Piaget's model of cognitive development there are five stages as learners learn, grow and mature. They are:

1. Sensor-motor: From birth – 2 years. Children learn objects and organise their small world.
2. Symbolic thought: From 2 years – 4 years. Children use language and participate in symbolic plays.
3. Intuitive thought: From 4 years – 7 years. Children can reason and reconcile differing beliefs.
4. Concrete operations: From 7 years – 12 years. Children mental and perceptual processes are organised into a logical system. They are not adapting simple trial-and-error learning system which they used to before.
5. Formal Operations: At this stage an individual could hypothesise, deduct and handle abstract conceptual thoughts without reference to concrete objects and examples. As the competence of the individual increases his/her performance gets influenced. He or she digs in deep structures of the language in a very meaningful way. He/she can come up with things, structures, expressions phrases etc. that never heard before.

Creativity of language indicates a sacred place for it within man-mind. It is not just a habit developed by nature and nurture. The relationship between language and thought poses thorny issues and questions.

It has been said that the second time around on something is always easier. This is not true in the case of learning a second language. Our role –as learners- however, is not to refute any theory with another but to pinpoint and find out those points of compromise which will best fulfil our needs and justify our deeds, as well. After all, absoluteness and definiteness do not exist when it comes to our earthy matters.

Cognitivism or mentalism will recommend rules learning, natural language practices and meaningful contextualised texts as the basis for teaching a foreign language. Moreover, they will emphasise the role of learners as selective persons with dignity, freedom and choice. Learners' motivational variables are not to be ignored if we are going to invest time, effort and money; we better make a sense of it. Make use of other theories suggestions and procedures, but always remember that if man is not willing to learn he or she will not learn – the cognitivist will say. They will add that maturation, age and fatigueness have to be taken into consideration if we want to turn schools into human lives and vice-versa. Humans are not machines or animals. That is on one hand, and on the other, language is not only a habit. It is deeper than that. Accordingly, an individual learns and acquires things that are of relevance to him. Any thing else, even if it has been learned, will be kept at the level of shot-term memory and the validity of such a thing will soon evade.

Humanism

Behaviourism fails to satisfy or fulfil some human needs and aspirations. The effective domain and the hierarchy of needs (see Maslow, Carl Rogers and Brown) are hardly creeping in nowadays education. The old wisdom, "what is good for one is good for all", does not hold true any more.

A fully functioning person has to be taken as a 'whole'. That is his/her physical, cognitive and emotional aspects make up his/her being. The sequence of needs is yet another reality.

Maslow (1970), Heirarchy of needs.

1. The physiological needs.
2. Needs for security.
3. Needs for belonging.
4. Esteem for self and others.
5. Self-realisation.
6. Needs for understanding and knowledge.
7. Of (6) + (5) comes the need for beauty.

All over the world, educational systems deny persons both freedom and dignity. Humanism tries to recognise students as worthy, valuable and respectable humans – and so are teachers. If the context for learning is properly created, then human beings will learn everything they need to.

Indoctornation, imposing and stepping in on behalf of youngsters spoils the image of schools and education as a whole. Lay down the meal on the table and let people eat according to each individual taste.

In conclusion, current language learning theories are incomplete, tending to focus on only a few aspects of the learning process. When similar approaches are grouped together under a common name such as "Cognitive", "Communicative", the implications become clearer. No single theory or method could account for explaining how learning a foreign language takes place. Eclectic view is just as valid when dealing with theories as it is with methods. The views about language as: habit formation, or rule formation or social interaction or mental processes are all valid. They become more valid when put together to help enable second language learner to communicate fluently, read and write coherently and fulfil his/her arising needs through his/her newly acquired skills. Neurological studies and further research in human behaviour may help enlarge our knowledge in days to come; and for the moment, it seems applicable that at the primary stage, we make use of the behaviourists' approaches, and other approaches as learning stages grow bigger.

Language Teaching

3.1 The Scientific Approach to Foreign Language Teaching

3.2 An Outline of Language Teaching Methods and Approaches

3.2.1 Grammar-Translation Approach

3.2.2 Direct Method

3.2.3 Reading Approach

3.2.4 Audio Lingual Approach

3.2.5 Cognitive Approach

3.2.6 Total Physical Response

3.2.7 The Natural Approach

3.2.8 Communicative Language Teaching

3.2.9 Task-based Language Teaching