English Language Teaching in its Social Context

SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 61Innovation can be conceived of in two different ways ~ a distinction that is importantwhere SLA is concerned. First, we can talk about absolute innovation in the sense that aproposal represents a completely new idea, not previously evident in practice anywhere.There are probably very few instances of absolute innovation in language teaching, although,arguably Wilkins’ ( 1976) proposal for constructing syllabuses around notions constitutedsuch an innovation. Second, there are perceived innovations.That is, the change is perceivedas innovatory by the practitioners who adopt it. Most innovations arc probably of thiskind and, indeed, most definitions of innovation make particular reference to adopters’perceptions.As Lightbown (1985) has observed, SLA has not produced much in the way of newpedagogic proposals.Thus, proposals derived from SLA typically lead to perccivcd rather thanabsolute innovations. For example, Krashen andTerrell(l983) view their Natural Approachas a reinstitution of the principles and techniques of earlier methods rather than as original.However, they clearly believe that their proposals will be new to many practitioners. SLAmay also serve to provide a rationale for innovations that have originated elsewhere. Forexample, the idea of the information-gap task (Johnson 1982) originated from a theory ofcommunicative language teaching, but it has undoubtedly received support and, arguably,been refined through SLA research (see, for example, Long 1981 and Skehan 1996).Innovation is inherently threatening, as Prabhu (1987: 105) has pointed out in thecontext of discussing his proposal for a procedural syllabus in India:A new perception in pedagogy, implying a different pattern of classroom activity, is anintruder into teachers’ mental framcs ~ an unsettling one, because there is a conflictof mismatch between old and new perceptions and, more seriously, a threat toprevailing routines and to the sense of security dependent on them.What then determines whether and to what extent teachers cope with these threats?Theanswer to this question involves a consideration of four sets of factors:the sociocultural context of the innovationthe personality and skills of individual teachersthe method of implementationattributes ofthe proposals themselves.First, as Kennedy (1 988) notes, there is a hierarchy of interrelating sub-systems in which anyinnovation has to operate.Thus, the success of any proposal emanating from SLA (or any othersource) regarding classroom practices may be determined by institutional, educational,administrative, political, or cultural factors. Kennedy comments: ‘the cultural system isassumed to be the most powerful as it will influence both political and administrativestructures and behaviour’ (zbzd. : 332).This is apoint thatWiddowson (1 993) also emphasizes.He cites an unpublished paper by Scollon and Scollon to the effect that ‘conversationalmethods’ may fail to take root in China because they may appear incompatible with theConfucian emphasis on benevolence and respect between teacher and students.Second, the success of an innovation will also depend on the personality and qualitiesof individual teachers. Some teachers (e.g. those who are well-educated and upwardlymobile) may be more inclined to adopt new practices than others. Rogcrs (1 983) distinguishesfive categories of adopters: innovators, early adopters, early majority adopters, latemajority adopters, and laggards. Personal factors arc likcly to play a major part in determiningwhich category a teacher belongs to.