Teaching English as a Second Language

LEARNING PREMISES OF BASIC APPROACHES AND OF SOME METHODS USED IN

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, p. 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 out

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ed communicative needs. With limited linguistic resources in the target-language, students learn how to operate communicatively. This is, in fact, how children learn their first language. A criticism of SWL which is often levelled against it is that SWL does not provide ready and practical competency to communicate in "real life" situations. SWL students do not acquire--initially--those linguistic paradigms and structures which are necessary for normal social interchange. SWL students' target-language acquisitions are "generic", though possibly accurate, fluent, and spontaneous. On the other hand, SWL learners soon get the "feel" for the melody, rhythm, and diction of the language. It is, as it were, as if they were living in the target-language environment without, however, participating socially in it. SWL students assimilate lexicon and grammar inductively, while developing self-confidence in expression. Contrary to the purely communicative approach, SWL builds linguistic competence before attempting communicative competence. "The Silent Way is built on a two-step learning theory. The first step is a conscious intellectual commitment to mental action. The second step, which may take place during the unconscious state

Category: Psychology - T