English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
English Language Teaching in its Social Context
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140 MICHAEL P. BREEN9IO11121314Lewis’s <strong>in</strong>vestigations of family life <strong>in</strong> Mexico (1 959) but with a particular focus upon therelationships between classroom life and language dcvclopment.“Interactive” is becom<strong>in</strong>g a much-used term <strong>in</strong> language teach<strong>in</strong>g circles and is, thereby,expanded to encompass many assumptions and diverse mean<strong>in</strong>gs (as has been the fate of“functional,” “communicative,” “negotiation ,” and, when applied to pedagogy, “natural”).Ambiguity resides <strong>in</strong> the fact that human <strong>in</strong>teraction can be both <strong>in</strong>terpersonal and <strong>in</strong>trapersonal;both overtly social and covertly mental. Allwright’s (1 982, 1984a) fruitfulidentification of <strong>in</strong>teractive work as a def<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g feature of classrooms clearly relates to the<strong>in</strong>terpersonal. However, <strong>in</strong>teractive work also occurs <strong>in</strong> the recreative relat<strong>in</strong>g of m<strong>in</strong>dto external phenomena (Neisser, 1976). Rut <strong>in</strong>teraction is more comprehensive than(1) overt behaviour between people and (2) covert perception and reconstructionof perceptions and experiences. We also need to regard social <strong>in</strong>teraction as hav<strong>in</strong>gpsychological roots and outcomes (Rommetveit 198 1) and mental <strong>in</strong>teraction as be<strong>in</strong>gsubject to social forces (Gauld and Shotter, 1977; Harrk, 1978; Shotter, 1978). Thus,<strong>in</strong>teraction is also (3) a socio-cognitive process which cont<strong>in</strong>ually relates social actionand experience to the content and capabilities of the m<strong>in</strong>d, and vice versa.Over the past twenty years there have been a number of <strong>in</strong>terest<strong>in</strong>g studies of classroomrelationships and roles with<strong>in</strong> the school system. Jackson’s (1 968) sem<strong>in</strong>al <strong>in</strong>vestigationis complemented by Hargreaves (1972) and Woods (1979) - the more recent worksecho<strong>in</strong>g Goffman’s (1 96 1 ) revelations of the effects upon the perceptions and activitiesof people <strong>in</strong> situations which ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong> asymmetrical relationships. Learner experiencesand judgements have been studied by Taylor (1 962), Nash (1 974), Meighan (1 977), andHargreaves (1 977), whilst teacher perspectives are considered by Morrison andMacIntyre (1 969).A well-established tradition with<strong>in</strong> the sociology of knowledge argues that most of ourlearn<strong>in</strong>g is socially constructed. Berger and Luckmann’s (1 966) justification of such aview is based upon a phenomenological approach to human experience. (Douglas, 1973,and Luckmann, 1978, offer a range of studies whilst Filmcr, Phillipson, Silverman, andWalsh, 1972, provide an overview.) Perhaps the two major <strong>in</strong>fluences upon recentendeavours to relate social experience and knowledge have been Schultz (1 962-66,1967) and Husserl (1 965, 1967). Investigations directly concerned with the jo<strong>in</strong>tconstruction of classroom life arc exemplified with<strong>in</strong> Hargreaves (1977), Nash (1 973),Stubbs and Delamont (1 976), Woods and Hammcrslcy (1 977), and Woods (1 980a, b).The eight essential features which I describe are based on my own experience as ateacher and the shared experiences of many teachers from most countries of the worldwith whom I have worked. The features are also <strong>in</strong>fluenced by my <strong>in</strong>terpretation of anumber of scholars. Willard Waller’s (1 932) evaluation of the teach<strong>in</strong>g process is still themost comprehensive, whilst the studies of teach<strong>in</strong>g and learn<strong>in</strong>g referred to <strong>in</strong> notes 10and 1 1 provide strong justification for see<strong>in</strong>g the classroom group as a special culture. (Ahelpful overview of classroom research with<strong>in</strong> general education is provided by Cohenand Manion 198 1 .)Garf<strong>in</strong>kel asserts the need for methods of understand<strong>in</strong>g the everyday life of the groupwe may be <strong>in</strong>vestigat<strong>in</strong>g through an cthnomcthodological approach. (Douglas, 1971,Turner 1974, and Douglas, 1973 provide examples of this approach, whilst Hughes,1980, offers a humanistic <strong>in</strong>terpretation of cthnomethodology.) For a broader criticalconsideration of methods of <strong>in</strong>vestigation, see Taylor (1 971). Interest<strong>in</strong>g examples ofcurrent research <strong>in</strong> classroom language learn<strong>in</strong>g which adopt various methods ofUnderstand<strong>in</strong>g are found <strong>in</strong> D<strong>in</strong>gwall (1 982), Wenden (1 983), Murphy-O’Dwycr(1 983), Allwright (1 984b), and Bonamy, Cherchalli, Johnson, Kubrusly, Schwerdtfeger,Soule-Susbielles (all 1984):In Brccn (l982), I exam<strong>in</strong>e the practical realities of classroom language and procedures.