LEARNING PREMISES OF BASIC APPROACHES
TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
"Language teaching is a field where fads and heroes have come and gone in a manner fairly consistent with the kinds of changes that occur in youth culture" (Celce-Murcia, 1991:3). Yet, to try and understand the processes of language learning and language teaching, learning and acquisition methodologies--however eclectic--need theoretical underpinnings. Today, many linguists--whether concerned with theoretical or applied research--tend to categorize teaching/learning approaches into the behavioral approach and the humanistic approach.
Behaviorism (Pavlov-the-Precursor, Watson-the-Originator, Skinner-the-Popularizer, Bloomfield, and others) considers behavior as the product of heredity and environment, and, more specifically, of conditioning, a process whereby certain stimuli promote certain responses. In EFL, the school is associated with structural linguistics, behavioral psychology, and language teaching. It has led to a number of audio-lingual methods, in which language is seen as a process of habit formation. Pedagogically, behaviorism stresses two concepts: incremental learning and mastery learning. Behaviorism is essentially analytical in approach, focusing on discrete item mastery.
Humanism places especial value on individualistic, critical, and secular perspective (in the tradition of the Humanists of the Renaissance). Humanistic psychology is "an outgrowth of existentialism and phenomenology that focuses on the individual's capacity to make his own choices, create his own style of life, and actualize himself in his own way... Its emphasis is on spontaneity and the development of the human potential through experiential means rather than analysis of the unconscious or behavior modification" (Goldenson, 1984:351). Humanism is essentially holistic in approach; the perspective is existentialist, evidencing a deep concern for the real-life s...