I will admit, I am not an experienced EAL teacher. The bulk of my experience came as an Academic Writing Tutor at the University of Manitoba. While my job was to work with all kinds of students, EAL and native speakers alike, a large percentage of the students who sought my services happened to be EAL and "what worked best" is something I had to build from observation and instinct without the formal education. Just like the methodologists before me, it is fascinating that my own observations and instincts brought me to some of the same conclusions that many formally educated EAL teachers have come to. Chong (2012)'s "I 🧡..." slides discuss the value of repetition, translation, and a relaxed environment in language learning, and interestingly all of these factors are things that I have found significant in my untrained experience. Let's take a look at these three factors and perhaps come near a conclusion as to why they seem to be fairly universal.
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| I love you painted in various languages from around the world. Photo captured by Hannah Wright in |
Translation: Chong (2012) makes the accurate observation that even if a teacher attempts to avoid translation, students will be doing it in their heads anyway. This is natural and obvious, and shows that EAL teachers' desire to pull students away from their L1 may be more detrimental than beneficial. Pressure to rip students away from their L1 the moment they enter the classroom can make the learning experience stressful, and as Chong (2012) said, they will still be using it in their heads even if they aren't using it out loud. Luca Lampariello (2016) writes a blog post on how language teachers living in a world that has grown past the Grammar Translation Method can utilize their students' instinct to translate to their advantage. Lampariello (2016) suggests that students and teachers can utilize a bidirectional translation method to help a learner notice gaps in their comprehension and to help them recognize the meaning of the words instead of simply the structure. This suggestion is complex, and may seem somewhat impossible to practice when the teacher is monolingual. However, I do appreciate the acknowledgement that student translation is inevitable and that instead of treating L1 usage as a detriment, we can instead find creative ways to use L1 to help instead of hinder.
Repetition: When Chong (2012) 🧡's The Direct Method she says it's because there is real validity to the practice of repetition in language learning even if we have grown past the practice of drilling students as the soldiers the method was invented with were. Indeed, we even have neuro-scientific evidence to suggest that repetition is critical in accurate L2 learning. Ghazi-Saidi & Ansaldo (2017)'s paper Second Language Word Learning through Repetition and Imitation: Functional Networks as a Function of Learning Phase and Language Distance demonstrates L2 acquisition and notable changes in fMRI scans after 4 weeks of L2 repetition learning (Ghazi-Saidi & Ansaldo, 2017). While repetition does not experience the same criticism that L1 translation usage does, it can be tempting for modern teachers to view repeating drilling as an outdated and boring method. A modern teacher may also be concerned that word repetition will teach a student the word and annunciation but not the meaning. Nevertheless, repetition is a necessary tedium and with the right dose of creativity a teacher can ensure that neither meaning nor student attention is lost.
Relaxation: Finally, Chong (2012)'s 🧡 for Suggestopedia is a result of its emphasis on the value of a safe and relaxed classroom. The famous Stephen Krashen supports this idea as he tells his audience that anxiety can be a very detrimental barrier to a learner's language usage (n.d). Of course, one must be careful not to make the classroom too relaxed, students are still there to work after all. A teacher must also be aware not to be too laid back when working with students who are of a culture that values teachers as authority figures. Ironically, being too laid back with students of this cultural background may cause them more anxiety instead of less. In cases like these, positive reinforcement and empathetic, constructive criticism are key. Perhaps, the original Suggestopedia ideas of a classroom with couches and Baroque music is unnecessary, but teachers today must not forget how much anxiety can affect a student's L2 learning. Positive reinforcement is a needed asset in any form of teaching, but in language teaching, it is not just a needed asset, it is critical.
Krashen's theory of second language acquisition emphasizes much of what I have observed and discussed in this blog. Krashen (n.d) highlights that in our collective hyperfocus on how we want to see everyone's differences, we lose sight of how we are all the same. Of course, we cannot ignore the uniqueness of each student nor can we forget about how personality and cultural idiosyncrasies can have a major impact on a student's learning. However, as we remember the differences we cannot forget the similarities, Krashen (n.d)'s talk and his observation with the young girl in his neighborhood show that perhaps there is a reason that so many diverse methodologies throughout EAL profession's history have come to so many similar conclusions.
Cherry-picking and designer methodologies appear to be the predominant approach of EAL teachers today. Observing the approaches throughout history, and the evidence that some facets of these methodologies "just work" makes it unsurprising that this is the predominant approach today.
