Brown’s twelve principles

CHAPTER 4

TEACHING BY PRINCIPLES

54

So far in this book you have observed a classroom in action, examined a century of language-teaching history, and taken a look at major constructs that define current practices in language teaching. It is now appropriate to home in on the core of lan­ guage pedagogy: the foundational principles that make up our collective approach to language teaching.

In Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (Brown 2000), I note that the last two decades of research produced a complex storehouse of information on second language acquisition and teaching. We have discovered a great deaJ about how to best teach a second language in the classroom. And, while many mysteries still remain about why and how learners successfully acquire second languages, it Is appropriate for you to focus on what we do know, what we have learned, and what we can say with some certainty about second language acquisition. We can then dearly see that a great many of a teacher's choices are grounded in established prin­ ciples of language learning and teaching. By perceiving and internalizing connec­ tions between practice ( choices you make in the classroom) and theory (principles derived from research), your teaching is likely to be "enlightened." You will be better able to see why you have chosen to use a particular classroom technique (or set of techniques), to carry it out with confidence, and to evaluate its utility after the fact.

You may be thinking that such a principled approach to language teaching sounds only logical: How could one proceed otherwise? Well, I have seen many a novice language teacher gobble up teaching techniques without carefully consid­ ering the criteria that underlie their successful appliciition in the classroom. "Just give me 10 I recipes for Monday morning teaching," say some. "I just want to know what to do when I get into the classroom." Unfortunately, this son of quick-fix approach to teacher education will not jive you that all-important ability to com­ prehend when to use a technique, with whom it will work, how to adapt it for your audience, or how to judge its effectiveness.

We'll now take a broad, sweeping look at twelve overarching principles of second language learning that inter.act with sound practice and on which your teaching can be based. These principles form the core of an approach to language

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principle> 55

teaching, as discussed in the previous chapter. It may be helpful for you, as you are reading, to check referenced sections of PLLT (Brown 2000) to refresh your memory of certain terms and background information.

COGNITIVE PRINCIPLES

We will call the first set of principles "cognitive" because they relate mainly to mental and intellectual functions. It should be made dear, however, that all twelve of the principles outlined in this chapter spill across somewhat atbitrary cognitive, affective, and linguistic boundaries.

Principle 1: Automaticity

No one can dispute the widely observed success with which children learn foreign languages, especially when they are living in the cultural and linguistic milieu of the language (see PLLT, Chapter 3). We commonly attribute children's success to their widely observed tendency to acquire language subconsciously, that is, without overtly analyzing the forms of language themselves. Through an inductive process of exposure to language input and opportunity to experiment with output, they appear to learn languages without "thinkingn about them.

This childlike, subconscious processing is similar to what Barry McLaughlin (McLaughlin 1990; McLaughlin et al. 1983) called automatic processing with peripheral attention to language forms (PLLT, Chapter 10). That ls, in order to manage the incredible complexity and quantity of language-the vast numbers of bits of information-both adults and children must sooner or later move away from processing language unit by unit, piece by piece,focuslng dosely on each, and�grad­ uate" to a form of high-speed, automatic processing in which language forms (words, affixes, word order, mies, etc.) are only on the periphery of attention. Children usually make this transition faster than adults, who tend to linger in ana­ lytical, controlled modes, focusing on the bits and pieces of language before putting those bits and pieces into the "hard drive" of their minds.

We will call our first principle of language learning and teaching the Principle of Automaticity and include under tWs rubric the importance of

• subconscious absorption of language through meaningful use, efficient and rapid movement away from a focus on the forms of language to a focus on the purposes to which language is put, efficient and rapid movement away from a capacity-limited control of a few bits and pieces to a relatively unlimited automatic mode of processing lan­ guage forms, and

• resistance to the temptation to analyze language forms.

56 CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles

The Principle of Automaticity may be stated as follows:

Efficient second language learning involves a timely movement of the control of a few language forms into the automatic processing of a relatively unlimited number of language forms. Ovcranalyzing language, thinking too much about its forms, and consciously lingering on rules of language all tend to impede this graduation to automaticity

Notice that this principle does not say that focus on language forms is neces­ sarily harmful. In fact adu1ts, especially, can benefit greatly from certain focal pro­ cessing of rules, definitions, and other formal aspects of language. What the principle does say is that adults can take a lesson from children by speedily over­ coming our propensity to pay too much focal attention to the bits and pieces of lan­ guage and to move language forms quickly to the periphery by using language in authentic contexts for meaningful purposes. In so doing, automaticity is built more efficiently.

What does this principle, which ordinarily applies to adult instruction, mean to you as a teacher? Here are some possibilities:

1. Because classroom learning normally begins.with controlled, focal processing, there is no mandate to entirely avoid overt attention to language systems (grammar, phonology, discourse, etc.). That attention, however, should stop well short of blocking students from achieving a more automatic, fluent grasp of the language. Therefore, grammatical explanations or exercises dealing with what is sometimes called �usage have a place in the adult classroom (see Principle 12), but you could overwhelm your students with grammar. If they become too heavily centered on the formal aspects of language, such processes can block pathways to fluency.

2. Make sure that a large proportion of your lessons are focused on the "use" of language for purposes that are as genuine as a classroom context will permit. Students will gain more language competence in the long rwi if the func­ tional purposes of language are the focal point.

3, Automaticity isn't gained overnight; th�,refore, you need to exercise patience with students as you slowly help them�o achieve fluency.

Principle 2: Meaningful Learning

Closely related to the Principle of Automaticity are cognitive theories of learning (PLL1', Chapter 4), which convincingly argue the strength of meaningful as

new opposed to rote learning (Ausubel 1963). Meaningful learning "subsumes"

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 57

information into existing structures and memory systems, and the resulting associa­ tive links create stronger retention. Rote learning-taking in isolated bits and pieces of information that are not connected with one's existing cognitive struc­ tures-has little chance of creating long-term retention. Children are good mean­ ingful acquirers of language (s� Principle 1) because they associate sounds, words, structures, and discourse elei.ients with that which is relevant and important in their daily quest for knowledge and survival.

The Principle of Meaningful Learning is quite simply stated:

Meaningful learning will lead toward better long term retention than rote learning.

The language classroom has not always been the best place for meaningful learning. In the days when the Audiollngual Method (see PUT, Chapter 4) was pop­ ular, rote learning occupied too much of the class hour as students were drilled and drilled in an attempt to "overlearn" language forms. The Principle of Meaningful Learning tells us that some aural-0ral drilling is appropriate; selected phonological elements like phonemes, rhythm, stress, and intonation, for example, can indeed be taught effectively through pattern repetition. But drilUng ad nauseam easily lends itself to rote learning.

Some classroom implications of the Principle of Meaningful Learning:

1. Capitalize on the power of meaningful learning by appealing to students' interests, academic goals, and career goals.

2. Whenever a new topic or concept is introduced, attempt to anchor it in stu­ dents' existing knowledge and background so that it becomes associated with something they already know.

3, Avoid the pitfalls of rote learning: a. too much grammar explanation b. too many abstract principles and theories c. too much drilling and/or memorization d. activities whose purposes are not clear e. activities that do not contribute to accomplishing the goals of the

lesson, unit, or course f. techniques that are so mechanical or tricky that Ss focus on the

mechanics instead of on the language or meanings.

Principle 3: The Anticipation of Reward

B.E Skinner and others have clearly demonstrated the strength of rewards in both animal and human behavior (see PUT, Chapter 4). Virtually everything we do is

58 CHAPTfR 4 Teaching by Principles

inspired and driven by a sense of purpose or goal, and, according to Skin:..,er, the anticipation of reward iS the most powerful factor in directing one's behav:J'Jr. The principle behind Skinner's operant conditioning paradigm, which I term the Reward Principle, can be stated as follows:

Human beings are universally driven to act, or '"behave" by the anticipation of some sort of reward - tangible or intangible, short term or long term-that will ensue as a result of the behavior.

The implications for the classroom are obvious. At one end of the spectrum, you can perceive the importance of the immediate administration of such rewards as praise for correct responses (�Very good, Maria! '"'Nice john, appropriate grades or scores to indicate success, or other public recognition. At the other end, it behooves you to help students to see clearly why they are doing something and its relevance to their long-term goals in learning English. On the other hand, a reward­ driven, conditioning theory of learning has some shortcomings that ultimately have a high impact on classroom instruction. lbese shortcomings are summarized under Principle 4, but for the moment, keep in mind that conditioning by rewards can (a) lead learners to become dependent on short-term rewards, (b) coax them into a habit of looking to teachers and others for their onfy rewards, and therefore (c) fore­ stall the development of their own internally administered, intrinsic system of rewards.

Considering all sides of the Reward Principle, the following constructive class­ room implications may be drawn:

1. Provide an optimal degree of immediate verbal praise and encouragement to them as a form of short-term reward (just enough to keep them confident in their ability but not so much that your praise simply becomes verbal gush).

2. Encourage students to reward each other with compliments and supportive action.

3, In classes with very low motivation, short.term reminders of progress may help students to perceive their development. Gold stars and stickers (espe• cially for young learners), issuing certain �privileges" for good work, and progress charts and graphs may spark sothe interest.

4. Display enthusiasm and excitement yourself in the classroom. H you are dull, tire­ less, bored, and have low energy, you can be almost sure that it will be contagious.

5. Try to get learners to see the long-term rewards in learning English by pointing out whl;l,t they can do with English where they live and around the world, the prestige in being able to use English, the academic benefits of knowing English, jobs that require English, and so on.

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 59

Principle 4: Intrinsic Motivation

Tilis principle is elaborated upon in detail in the next chapter as an example of how certain complex principles underlie a surprising number of our teaching practices. Simply

.

stated, the Intrinsic Motivation Principle is: �

.,! L

The most powerful rewards those that are intrinsically motivated within the learner. Because the behavior stems from needs, wants, or desires within oneself, the behavior itself is self-rewarding; therefore, no externally administered reward is necessary at al1

If all learners were intrinsically motivated to perform all classroom tasks, we might not even need teachers! But you can perform a great service to learners and to the overall learning process by first considering carefully the intrinsic motives of your students and then by designing classroom tasks that feed into those intrinsic drives. Classroom techniques have a much greater chance for success If they are self-rewarding in the perception of the learner. The learners perform the task because it is fun, interesting, useful, or challenging, and not because they anticipate some cognitive or affective rewards from the teacher.

You may be wondering why such a principle is listed among "cognitive" prin­ ciples. The development of intrinsic motivation does indeed involve affective pro­ cessing, as most of these first five principles do, and so the argument is appropriate. But reward•directed behavior in all organisms is complex to the point that cognitive, physical, and affective processing are all involved. In the specific case of second language acquisition, mental functions may actually occupy a greater proportion of the whole than the other two domains, as we shall see in Chapter 5.

Principle 5: Strategic Investment

A few decades ago, the language-teaching profession largely concerned itself with the "delivery" of language to the student. Teaching methods, textbooks, or even grammatical paradigms were cited as the primary factors in successful learning. In more recent years, in the light of many studies of successful and unsuccessful learners, language teachers are focusing more intently on the role of the learner in the process. The "methods" that the learner employs to internalize and to perform in the language are as important as the teacher's methods-or more so. I call this the Principle ,::.,f Strategic Investment:

60 CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles

Successful mastery of the second language will be due to a large extent to a learner's own personal '"investment" of time, effort, and attention to the second language in the form of an individualized battery of strategics for comprehending and producing the language.

This principle is laid out in full detail in Chapter 14, where practical classroom applications are made. For the time being, however, ponder two major pedagogical implications of the principle: (a) the importance of recognizing and dealing with the wide variety of styles and strategies that learners successfully bring to the learning process and, therefore, (b) the need for attention to each separate individual in the classroom.

As research on successful language learners has dramatically shown, the varia­ tion among learners poses a thorny pedagogical dilemma. Learning styles alone signal numerous learner preferences that a teacher needs to attend to (see PUT,

Chapter 5). For example, visual vs. auditory pre,ference and individual vs. group work preference are highly significant factors in a classroom. In a related strain of research, we are• finding that learners also employ a multiplicity of strategies for sending and receiving language and that one learner's strategies for success may differ markedly from another's.

A variety of techniques in your lessons will at least partially ensure that you will "reach" a maximum number of students. So you will choose a mixture of group work and individual work, of visual and auditory techniques, of easy and difficult exercises. Beware, however, of variety at the expense of techniques that you know are essential for the learner! If, for example, you know that three-quarters of your class prefers individual work, that should not dictate the proportion of time you devote to activities that involve silem work at their desks. They may need to be nudged, if not pushed, into more face-to-face communicative activities than their preferences would indicate.

A teacher's greatest dilemma is how to attend to each individual student in a class while still reaching the class as a whole group. In relatively large classes of 30 to 50 students, individual attention becomes increasingly difficult; in e.xtra-large classes• it is virtually impossible. TI1e principle of strategic investment nevertheless is a reminder to provide as much attention as.J-'OU can to each individual student.

• In far too many language classrooms around the world, students number over 50; 60 to 75 students is not uncommon. For years I have tried to persuade administrators to lower those numbers and to understand that communicative acquisition of a language is almost impossible under such circumstances. Nevertheless, the reality of school budgets sometimes provides few alternatives. See Chapter 13 for some practical suggestions for dealing with large classes.

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 61

Some aspects of the dilemma surrounding variation and the need for individu­ alization can be solved through specific strategies.based instruction, the prin­ cipal topic of Chapter 14. Meanwhile, simply as a �sneak preview" to that chapter, you might consider these questions as more grist for your teacher education mill:

i'

• Am I seizing whatevcl opportunity I can to let learners in on the "secrets" to develop and use strategies for learning and communication?

• Do my lessons and impromptu feedback adequately sensitize students to the wisdom of their taking responsibility for their own learning?

• How can I ensure that my students will want to put forth the effort of trying out some strategies?

AFFECTIVE PRINCIPLES

-We now turn our attention to those principles that are characterized by a large pro­ portion of emotional involvement. Here we look at feelings about self, about rela­ tionships in a community of learners, and about the emotional ties between

· language and culture.

Principle 6: Language Ego

The Language Ego Principle can be summarized in a well-recognized claim:

As human beings learn to use a second language, they also develop a new mode of thinking, feeling, and acting- a second identity. The new "language ego," intertwined with the second language, can easily create within the learn a sense of fragility, a defensiveness, and a raising of inhibitions.

The Language Ego Principle might also be affectionately called the �warm and fuzzy� principle: all second language learners need to be treated with affective tender loving care. Remember when you were first learning a second language and how you sometimes felt silly, if not humiliated, when the lack of words or structure left you helpless in face-to-face communication? Otherwise highly intelligent adults can be reduced to babbling infants in a second language. Learners feel this fragility because the strategic arsenals of their native-language-based egos, which are nor­ mally well developed and resistant to at .. ack, are suddenly-in the perception of the learner-obsolete. Now they must fend for their emotional selves with a paltry lin­ guistic battery that leaves them with a feeling of total defenselessness.

62 CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles

How can you bring some relief to this situation and provide affective support? Here are some possibilities.

1. Overtly display a supportive attitude to your students. While some learners may feel quite stupid in this new language, remember that they are capable adults struggling with the acquisition of the most complex set of skills that any classroom has ever attempted to teach. Your "warm and fuzzy" patience and empathy need to be openly and clearly communicated, for fragile lan­ guage egos have a way of misinterpreting intended input.

2. On a more mechanical, lesson-planning level, your choice of techniques and sequences of techniques needs to be cognitively challenging but not over­ whelming at an affective level.

3, Considering learners' language ego states will probably help you to determine • who to call on • who to ask to volunteer information • when to correct a student's speech error • how much to explain something • how structured and planned an activity should be • who to place in which small groups or pairs • how "tough" you can be with a student.

4. If your students are learning English as a second language (in the cultural milieu of an English-speaking country), they are likely to experience a mod­ erate identity crisis as they develop a "second self." Help such students to understand that the confusion of developing that second self in the second culture is a normal and natural process (see PLLT, Chapter 7). Patience and understanding on your part will also ease the process.

Principle 7: Self-Confidence

Another way of phrasing this one is the "I can do it!" principle, or the self-esteem principle (see PLLT, Chapter 6, on self-esteem). At the heart of all learning is a person's belief in his or her ability to accomplish the task. W'hile self-confidence can be linked to the Language Ego Principle above, it goes a step further in empha­ sizing the importance of the learner's self-assessment, regardless of the degree of language-ego involvement. Simply put, we are saying:

The eventual success that learners attain in a task is at least partially a factor of their belief that they indeed are fully capable of accomplishing the task.

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 63

Some immediate classroom applications of this principle emerge. First, give ample verbal and nonverbal assurances to students. It helps a student to hear a teacher affirm a belief in the student's ability. Energy that the learner would other­ wise direct at avoidance or at erecting emotional walls of defense is thereby released to tackle the problem at hand.

Second, sequence tedhniques from easier to more difficult. As a teacher you are called on to sustain self-confidence where it already exists and to build it where it doesn't. Your activities in the classroom would therefore logically start with sim­ pler techniques and simpler concepts. Students then can establish a sense of accomplishment that catapults them to the next, more difficult, step. In the lesson described in Chapter 1, the culminating activity (items 27-29) would have been too overwhelming for most students, even if they had "known" the grammatical mate­ rial, had it occurred toward the beginning of class.

Principle 8: Risk-Taking

A third affective principle interrelated with the last two is the importance of getting learners to take calculated risks in attempting to use language-both productively and receptively. The previous two principles, if satisfied, lay the groundwork for risk-taking. If learners recognize their own ego fragility and develop the firm belief that, yes, they can indeed do it, then they are ready to take those necessary risks. They are ready to try out their newly acquired language, to use it for meaningful pur-

Successful language learners, in their realistic appraisal of themselves as vulnerable beings yet capable of accomplishing tasks, must be willing to become "gamblers" in the game of language, to attempt to produce and to interpret language that is a bit beyond their absolute certainty.

Titis principle strikes at the heart of educational philosophy. Many instruc­ tional contexts around the world do not encourage risk-taking; instead they encourage correctness, right answers, and withholding "guesses" until one is sure to be correct. Most educational research shows the opposite to be more conducive to long-term retention and intrinsic motivation. How can your classrooms reflect the Principle of Risk-Taking?

1. Create an atmosphere in the classroom that encourages students to try out language, to venture a response, and not to wait for someone else to volunteer language.

64 CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles

2. Provide reasonable challenges in your techniques-make them neither too easy nor too hard.

3. Help your students to understand what calculated risk-taking is, lest some feel that they must blurt out any old response.

4. Respond to students' risky attempts with positive afftrmation, praising them for trying while at the same time warmly but firmly attending to their language.

Principle 9: The Language-Culture Connection

Language and culture are intricately intertwined. Any time you successfully learn a lan­ guage, you will also learn something of the culture of the speakers of that language .

. Titis principle focuses on the complex interconnection of language and culture:

Whenever you teach a language, you also teach a complex system of cultural customs, values, and ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.

Classroom applications include the following:

1. Discuss cross-cultural differences with your students, emphasizing that no culture is" better" than another, but that cross-cultural understanding is an important facet of learning a language.

2. Include amung your techniques certain activities and materials that illustrate the connection between language and culture.

3. Teach your students the cultural connotations, especially the sociolinguistic aspects, of language.

4. Screen your techniques for material that may be culturally offensive. S. Make explicit to your students what you may take for granted in your own

culture.

A second aspect of the language-Culture Connection is the extent to which your students will themselves be affected by the process of acculturation, which will vary with the context and the goals of learning. In many second language learning con­ texts, such as FSL in the US,stooents are faced with tjte full-blown realities of adapting to life in a foreign country, complete with various emotions accompanying stages of acculturation (see Chapter 7 of PU1). In such cases, acculturation, social distance, and psychological adjustment are factors to be dealt with. This aspect of the principle may be summed up in this way:

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 65

Especia1ly in "second" language learning contexts, the success with which learners adapt to a new cultural milieu will affect their language acquisition success. and vice versa, in some possibly significant ways.

From the perspective of the classroom teacher, this principle is similar to the Language Ego and Self-Esteem principles, and all the concomitant classroom impli· cations apply here as well. An added dimension, however, lies in the interaction between culture learning and language learning. An opportunity is given to teachers to enhance, if not speed up, both developmental processes. Once student,;; become aware that. some of their discouragement may stem from cultural sources, they can more squarely address their state of mind and emotion and do something about it.

In the classroom, you can

1. help students to be aware of acculturation and its stages. 2. stress the importance of the second language as a powerful tool for adjust­

ment in the new culture. 3. be especially sensitive to any students who appear to he discouraged, then do

what you can to assist them.

UNGUISTIC PRINCIPLES

The last category of principles of language learning and teaching centers on Ian· guage itself and on how learners deal with these complex linguistic systems.

Principle 10: The Native Language Effect

It almost goes without saying that the native language of every learner is an extremely significant factor in the acqt1isition of a new language. Most of the time, we think of the native language as exercising an interf erlng effect on the target Ian· guage, and indeed the most salient, observable effect does appear to be one of inter· ference (see PLLT, Chapter 8). The majority of a learner's errors in producing the second language, especially in the beginning levels, stem from the learner's assump• tion that the target language operates like the native language.

But what we observe may, like an iceberg, be only part of the reality. The facil itatint; effects of the native language are surely as powerful in the process, or more

66 CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles

so, even though they are less observable. When the r:ative French speaker who is learning English says "I ani here since January," theft:. i_s one salient native language effect, a verb tense error stemming from French. But the learner's native French may also have facilitated the production of that sentence's subject-verb-complement word order, the placement of the locative (here), the one-to-one grammatical corre­ spondence of the other words in the sentence, rules governing prepositional phrases, and the cognate word (lanuary).

The Principle of the Native Language Effect stresses the importance of that native system in the linguistic attempts of the second language learner:

The native language of learners will be a highly significant system on which learners will rely to predict the target language system. While that native system will exercise both facilitating and interfering effects on the production and comprehension of the new language, the interfering effects are likely to be the most salient.

In your dealing with the Native Language Effect in the classroom, your feed­ back will most often focus on interference. That's perfectly sound pedagogy. Learners' errors stand out like the tips of icebergs, giving us salient signals of an underlying system at work. Errors are, in fact, windows to a learner's internalized understanding of the second language, and therefore they give teachers something observable to react to. Student non-errors-the facilitating effects-certainly do not need to be treated. Don't try to fix something that isn't broken.

Some classroom suggestions stemming from the Native Language Effect:

1. Regard learners' errors as important windows to their underlying system and provide appropriate feedback on them (see Principle 11 and Chapter 17 for more information on feedback). Errors of native language interference may be repaired by acquainting the learner with the native language cause of the error.

2. Ideally, every successful learner will hold on to the facilitating effects of the native language and discard the interference. Help your students to under­ stand that not everything about their native language system will cause error.

3. Thinking directly in the target language usu 1,

ally helps to mini.mize intetference errors. Try to coax students into thinking"in the second language instead of resorting to translation as they comprehend and produce language. An occa­ sional translation of a word or phrase can actually be helpful, especially for adults, but direct use of the second language will help to avoid the first lan­ guage Mcrutch" syndrome.

Principle 11: Interlanguage

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 67

Just as children develop their native language in gradual, systematic stages, adults, too, manifest a systematic progression of acquisition of sounds and words and structures and discourse features (see PUT, Chapter 8). The Interlanguage Principle tells us:

¢

Second language learners tend to go through a systematic or quasi­ systematic developmental process as they progress to full competence in the target language. Successful interlanguage language development is partially a factor of utilizing feedback from others.

While the interlanguage of second language learners varies considerably (see PLLT, Chapter 8, on variability) between systematic and unsystematic linguistic forms and underlying rules, one important concept for the teacher to bear in mind is that at least some of a learner's language may indeed be systematic. In other words, in the mind's eye of learners, a good deal of what they say or comprehend may be logically "correct"' even though, from the standpoint of a native speaker's competence, its use is incorrect. A learner who says �ooes John can sing?" may believe it to be a correct grammatical utterance because of an internalized system­ atk rule that requires a pre-posed do auxiliary for English question formation.

Allowing learners to progress through such systematic stages of acquisition poses a delicate challenge to teachers. Toe collective experience of language teachers and a respectable stockpile of second language research (Doughty & Williams 1998; Long 1996, 1988; Long & Sato 1983) indicates that classroom instnu.:­ tion makes a significant difference in the speed and success with which learners proceed through interlanguage stages of development. This highlights the tmpor­ cani:e of the feedback that you give co learners in the classroom. In many settings (especially in EFL contexts where few opportunities arise outside the classroom to use the language communicatively), you are the only person with whom the stu­ dents have real-live contact who speaks English. All eyes (and ears) are indeed upon you because you are the authority on the English language, whether you like it or not. Such responsibility means that virtually everything you say and do will be noticed (except when they're not paying attention)!

Much has been written and spoken about the role of feedback in second lan­ guage acquisition. In Vigil and Oiler's (1976) seminal study (see PLLT, Chapter 8), teachers were reminded of an imponant distinction between affective and cognitive feedback. The former is the exte!)t to which we value or encourage a student's attempt to communicate; the latter is the extent to which we indicate an under-

68 CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles

standing of the "message" itself. Teachers are epgaged in a never-ending process of making sure that we provide sufficient positive affective feedback to students and at the same time give appropriate feedback to ·Students about whether or not their actual language is clear and unambiguous. (Chapter 17 has for more information on error feedback)

How, then, do you know what kind of feedback to offer students? Are inter­ language errors simply to be tolerated as natural indications of systematic internal­ ization of a language? These important questions are to some extent answered in Chapter 17. For the moment, however, a number of general classroom implications deserve your attention:

1. Try to distinguish between a student's systematic interlanguage errors (stem­ ming from the native language or target language) and other errors; the former will probably have a logical source that the student can become aware of.

2. Teachers need to exercise some tolerance for certain interlanguage forms that may arise out of a student's logical developmental process.

3. Don't make a student feel stupid because of an interlanguage error; quietly point out the logic of the erroneous form ("I can understand why you said 'I go to the doctor yesterday,' but try to remember that in English we have to say the verb in the past tense. Okay?»).

4. Your classroom feedback to students should give them the message that mJs­ taJces are not "bad" but that most mistakes are good indicators that innate lan­ guage acquisition abilities are alive and well. Mistakes are often indicators of aspects of the new language that are still developing.

5. Try to get students to self-correct selected errors; the ability to self-correct may indicate readiness to use that form correctly and regularly.

6. In your feedback on students' linguistic output, make sure that you provide ample affective feedback-verbal or nonverbal-to encourage them to speak.

7. As you make judicious selection of which errors to treat (see Chapter 17), do so with kindness and empathy so that the student will not feel thwarted in future attempts to speaJc.

Principle 12: Communicative Competence

While communicative competence (CC) has come to capture a multiplicity of meanings depending on who you ask, it is nevertheless a useful phrase. In its skeletal form, CC consists of some combination

, of the following components

(Bachman 1990, Canale & Swain 1980):

• organizational competence (grammatical and discourse) • pragmatic competence (functional and sociolinguistic)

strategic competence psychomotor skills

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 69

The array of studies on CC provides what is perhaps the most important Jip - guistic principle of learning and teaching:

Given that communicative competence is the goal of a language classroom, then instruction needs to point toward all of its components: organizational, pragmatic, strategic, and psychomotor. Communicative �oals are best achieved by giving due attention to language use and not Just usage, to fluency and not just accuracy, to authentic language and contexts, and to students' eventual need to apply classroom learning to heretofore unrehearsed contexts in the real world.

It is important to note that the CC principle still has a bit of a reactionist flavor: reacting to other paradigms that emphasized attention to grammatical forms, to�cor­

. rect" language above all, to artificial, contrived language and techniques in the class­ room, and to a finite repertoire of language forms and functions that nught not have lent themselves to application in the world outside the classroom. But since most of our language-teacWng generalizations are, after all, at least partially conceived against the backdrop of previous practices, such a statement can stand as a reason-

- ably accurate description of our current understanding of CC. To attempt to list all the applications of such a principle to the language class­

room would be an exhaustive endeavor! Many such applications will become evi­ dent in later chapters of this book. But for the sake of closure and simplicity, consider the following six classroom teaching "ruks� that might emerge:

1. Remember that grammatical explanations or drills or exercises are only part of a lesson or curriculum; give grammar some attention, but don't neglect the other important components (e.g., functional, sociolinguistic, psychomotor, and strategic) of CC.

2. Some of the pragmatic (functional and sociolinguistic) aspects of language are very subtle and therefore very difficult. Make sure your lessons aim to teach such subtlety.

3. In your enthusiasm for teaching functional and sociolinguistic aspects of lan­ guage, don't forget that the psychomotor skills (pronunciation) are an impor­ tant component of both. Intonation alone conveys a great deal of pragmatic information.

4. Make sure that your students have opportunities to gain some fluency in English without having to be constantly wary of little mistakes. They can work un errors some other time.

70 CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles

5. Try to keep every technique that you use as a•�thentic as possible: use lan­ guage that students will actually encounter in the real world and provide gen­ uine, not rote, techniques for the actual conveyance of information of interest.

6. Some day your students will no longer be in your classroom. Make sure you are preparing them to be independent learners and manipulators of language �out there."

The twelve principles that have just been reviewed are some of the major foun­ dation stones for teaching practice. While they are not by any means exhaustive, they can act for you as major theoretical insights on which your techniques and lessons and curricula can he based.

I hope you have gained from this discussion the value of undergirding your teaching (and your teacher training process) wit11 sound principles that help you to understand why you choose to do something in the classroom: what kinds of ques­ tions to ask yourself before the fact about what you are doing, how to monitor your­ seif while you are teaching, how to as sess after the fact the effectiveness of what

• you did, and then how to modify what you will do the next time around.

TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION, ACTION, AND RESEARCH

[Note: (I) Individual work; (G) group or pair work; (C) whole-class discussion.]

1. (G) The twelve principles summarized in this chapter are all important. Direct small groups to prioritize them, placing three principles at the top of the list. Then, have the groups compare their top three with others in the class. All may discover how difficult it is to choose only three to be at the top of the Ust.

2. (G) Have any principles been left out that should have been included? Ask small groups to pool their thoughts, describe any such principles, and justify their inclusion in such a list. Groups will then compare their own conclu­ sions with those of others.

3. (G) Go back to Chapter 1. Notice that in the second part of the chapter, questions were raised regarding the ESL lesson that was de.scribed. Assign one or more of those 30 comments to pairs. The task of each pair is (a) to determine which principles in this chapter justified the teacher's choice in each case, and (b) to decide whether any aspe1s of that lesson should have been altered and which principles support thoSe alterations. Then, pairs can share their thoughts with t11e rest of the class.

4. (C) Look at Chapter 2, in which a number of methods were descriptive of a brief history of language teaching. A chalkboard list of methods should stimu­ late a class discussion of the extent to which each method can be justified by certain principles discussed in this chapter and criticized by other prindpks.

CHAPTER 4 Teaching by Principles 71 5. (I) As an exercise in articulating principles, write one or more sentences inyour own words to describe each of the twelve principles cited here. Try doing this without looking back at the chapter, then compare your responses

with what is written in the chapter. 6. (C) The twelve principlej given here form elements of a theory of second lan­

guage learning and teacliing (see PLLT, Chapter 10). Using these twelve prin­ciples as a backdrop, ask the class to formulate a possible theory of second language learning and teaching. Chalkboard notes will remind students of various ideas and suggestions. 7. (1/C) The next time you observe a foreign language class (this could be oneyou are taking yourself), take a list of the twelve principles with you and determine the extent to which the principles are being applied. In some cases a principle may explain why students are successfully achieving lesson objectives; in other cases a principle might articulate why objectives were notreached. Your insights might be reported back to the class.

FOR YOUR FURTIIER READING

Spolsky, Bernard. 1989. Condttions for Second Language Learntng. Oxford:Oxford University Press. Spotsky's book sets forth some seventy "principles, " or conditions, for suc­ cessful second languaRe acquisition. 1bey break down into quite :JfJecific

· conditions. His Jtst is worth comparing to the list of ttvelve in this chapter.

Brown, H. Douglas. 1991 �TESOL at twenty-five: What are the issues?" TESOL Quarterly 25: 245-60. This article examines major TE)OL issues in the early 1990s, motivation, empowerment, English as an international language, content-centered edu­ cation, whole language, task-based teaching, peace education, cooperative learning, and learner strategy training. It would be of interest to compare the issues in this article with issues now, a decade or so later.

Mitchell, Rosamond and Myles, Florence. 1998. Second Language Learning Theories. New York: Oxford University Press. This book provides a very accessible survey of current theories and issues in the field of second language acquisition (\"L4). Along with PI.LT, it seroes as a vantage point from which to view the backdrops to the twelve pn·nciples presented in this chapter,

Taken from H. Douglas Brown. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching Pearson Education Addison Wesley Longman 2000