English Language Teaching in its Social Context

BEYOND METHODS 177learner are approached on the terms of the method promoter, educational theorist, orapplied linguist. The assumptions or theory underlying the method provide the startingpoint for an instructional design that is subsequently imposed on teachers and learners. Anattempt is then made to make the teacher’s and learner’s classroom behaviors match thespecifications of the method. This can be contrasted with an approach that starts with theobservable processes of classroom teaching and learning, from which methodologicalprinciples and practices in language teaching are derived. Observation can yield twocategories of information:1 The study of effective teaching provides information about how effective teachersorganize and deliver instruction. This relates to classroom management skills, and tothe strategies teachers use to present instructional goals, structure learning tasks andactivities, monitor learning, and provide feedback on it.2 The study of effective learning provides information about the learning strategieseffective learners apply to the process of using and learning a second and foreignlanguage.However, a word of caution is in order, since the goal of ths approach is not simply to arriveat a set of general principles that can be taught to teachers and 1earners.This of course wouldbe to come full circle, and would simply replace one “method” with another. The approachadvocated here starts with the assumption that the investigation of effective teaching andlearning strategies is a central and ongoing component of the process of teaching.This is thecore of a process-oriented methodology of teaching.This approach implies a redefinition of the role of the teacher. Teachers are not viewedmerely as “performers,” who carry out the role prescribed by the method or apply anexternally derived set of principles to their teaching.Teachers are seen rather as investigatorsof both their own classroom practices and those of the learners. Much of the effort todetermine what constitutes effcctive teaching and learning is initiated by the teacher.Through regular observation of their own classes and through analysis and reflection,teachers can obtain valuable feedback about the effectiveness of their own teaching. At thesame time they can develop a better understanding of the principlcs that account for effectiveteaching and learning in their own classrooms. In the domain of learning strategies, thcteacher also has an important role to play.The teacher is initially an observer and investigatorof the learners’ learning behaviors and subsequently provides feedback on the kind ofstrategies that are most successful for carrying out specific learning tasks. Relevant concernsfor the teacher thus focus not on the search for the best method, but rather on thecircumstances and conditions under which more effective teaching and learning areaccomplished.ReferencesBerliner, D.C. (1984) ‘The half-full glass: a review of research on teaching’, in P.L. Hosford(ed.) Using What We Know about Teaching, pp. 51-77, Alexandria, Va.: Association forSupervision and Curriculum Development.Blum, R.E. (1 984) Efcctive Schooling Practices: A Research Synthesis. Portland, Ore. : NorthwestRegional Educational LaboratoryChall, J. (1967) Learning to Read:The Great Debate. NewYork: McGraw-Hill.Chamot, A.U., and O’Mallcy, J.M. (1986) A Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach:AnESL Content-Rased Curriculum. Rosslyn,Va. : National Clearinghouse for Bilingual Education.