When theory meets practice: a teaching dilemma

Or: Teachers at crossroads:

A teaching dilemma

Lic. Pablo J LabandeiraItuzaingó, October 28th 2014

“I hereby solemnly make apledge of believing everysingle word I am going toread in the pages thatfollow. Should I not, maythe sternest punishment of

•Ambitious?•Daring?

Language acquisition: This term is most often used

interchangeably with language learning. However, for

some researchers, most notably Stephen Krashen,

acquisition is contrasted with learning. According to

Krashen, acquisition represents “unconscious”

learning, which takes place when attention is

focused on meaning rather than on language form.

“the learning of English for use in a setting where English is the

principal language (e.g., immigrants learning English in

the UK) [Cf. with Second language: any language other

than the first language learned. (P. 178)]

•Language learning, “a learner’s developing knowledge of the target language (...) contrasted

with ‘acquisition’, and (...) described as a ‘conscious’ process.”

•Foreign language learning: “the learning of a (...) language in a context where the target language is

not widely used in the community”

“pedagogy should be refashioned in order to accommodate the modes of communication and acquisition seen outside the classroom”

“students have to understand communication as performative, not just constitutive”“all our students speak Spanish as their first language and they have very few contact situations outside”

we now have to train students to shuttle between communities by negotiating

the relevant codes. To this end, we have to focus more on communicative

strategies, rather than on forms of communication.”[i]

[i] Lingua Franca English, Multilingual Communities, and Language Acquisition, The Modern Language Journal 91 (2007)

FIG. 9.1. The pedagogic wheel (from Kumaravadivelu, 2003a, p. 41).

“teachers have to develop in students a readiness to engage with a repertoire of codes in transnational contact situations. Although enabling students to join a new speech community was the objective of traditional pedagogy, we now have to train students to shuttle between communities by negotiating the relevant codes. To this end, we have to focus more on communicative strategies, rather than on forms of communication.”

State or condition of an individual that makes it possible for him or her to engage profitably in a given learning activity -- learning readiness depends on such factors as past experiences, cognitive development, affective factors, and motivation as well as on the instructional methods and materials to be used

“teachers have to develop in students a readiness to engage with a repertoire of codes in transnational contact situations. Although enabling students to join a new speech community was the objective of traditional pedagogy, we now have to train students to shuttle between communities by negotiating the relevant codes. To this end, we have to focus more on communicative strategies, rather than on forms of communication.”

a repertoire

of strategies in intercultural situations.

human communication is marked by indeterminacy, multimodality

and heterogeneity

But…

“Mainstream linguistics (…) fails to give importance to attitudinal, psychological, and perceptual factors that mold the intersubjective processes of communication. This failing is partly due to the primacy of cognition and reason in communication within the mainstream paradigm.”

What brings people together in communities is not

what they share—language, discourse, or values—

but interests to be accomplished.

oThese mutual interests would permit individuals to move in andout of multiple communities to accomplish their goals, withoutconsidering prior traits that are innate or that are exclusivelyshared with others. (…)This view would redefine communities aslacking boundedness and a center; they are, rather, contact zoneswhere people from diverse backgrounds meet .

oWhat enables them to work together on their interests arenegotiation practices they bring to various tasks (not commonlanguage, discourse, or values).oWhat enables them to develop expertise in the workings of eachcommunity is also practice— that is, engaging actively inpurposive activities of that community (not accumulatingknowledge and information theoretically without involvement),and acquiring a repertoire of strategies (not information, rules, orcognitive schemata). (…) Identities would then be based onaffiliation and expertise rather than those ascribed by birth,family, race, or blood

As we realize that norms are heterogeneous, variable, changing, and, therefore, interactively established in each context, we have to move away from a reliance on discrete-item tests on formal grammatical competence and develop instruments that are more sensitive to performance and pragmatics. Assessment would focus on one’s strategies of negotiation, situated performance, communicative repertoire, and language awareness. To this end, we must develop new instruments with imagination and creativity (Canagarajah, 2006c)

Who? Me?You kidding?

Models of…?

Pedagogicalflexibility

Critical analysis of reality

Thoughtfulreflection Opening to

possibilitiespresented byEFL teaching

Clear assessment of needs and goals

Critical analysis of particular teachingcontexts

easesolution

Paul