Elementary my dear Watson...

In teaching grammar, we have been asked to identify which of two strategies we would feel more inclined to implement - inductive or deductive teaching. This made me think of the stories I used to read and watch on TV about Sherlock Holmes and his eternal best friend, Doctor Watson. During the investigations of the various crimes in which the pair would become involved, Holmes would often deduce the perpetrator of the crime based on the actions of the criminal and the evidence left behind. However, what for me provided a twist to the stories, was Holmes' ability to infer the personality of the criminal without ever having met them. This was provided through inductive theory, and using a huge background of knowledge of the type of criminal that would commit such a crime. I was enthralled by the story lines, and engrossed in the mystery. Was I experiencing flow? Absolutely.

I believe that a learner who is involved in any kind of activity, whether learning for the sake of learning or learning for need, uses both inductive and deductive strategies regardless of how the material is presented. As an experienced instructor, I start presenting a new topic by investigating prior knowledge. This gets the class set up into inductive mode. By applying the principles of the learner's previous knowledge, we move back and forth between inductive to deductive and back again with relative ease. I am thrilled every time I see my learners experience that "Aha!" moment of discovery.

I am not uncomfortable with either of these strategies, and try to remain flexible in the use of them. There have been times when I have prepared a deductive presentation of material for what I have seen as a topic with which my learners are totally unfamiliar, only to have a comment or question move me into an inductive mode and lay the prepared material to one side.

My preference is an inductive learning strategy. For example, whenever I am asked "Teacher, how do I...?", my first response is to ask, "What have you tried?" Excessive deductive teaching, I have found, creates a dependency on the teacher's knowledge, and the learner becomes less likely to attempt the (subject) on their own for fear of failure.

I like the material in the course we are presently taking that addresses moving the learner to independent use of the learned material. This provides a happy medium for me between the deductive strategy of "This is how you do it." to the inductive strategy of "Is this how you do it?"

Fly fishing and lesson planning...

We've been asked to apply the principles of flow to lesson planning. Anytime I think of 'flow' in a classroom, I think of the learner wrapped in a timeless absorption of the material, where the sound of a pin drop could be heard, or the chatter is so loud that no conversation is clear but to the participants. There are some specific points that we've been asked to consider, so here they are. I really enjoyed writing this blog, as it took me back to a time when I was amazingly happy, and very alone.


Clear goals in a lesson plan allow for a sense of direction and purpose. Having a sense of purpose is what humans live for... it is what drives us to continue our pursuit of life. On a smaller philosophical scale, clear planning allows us to understand the road we are walking, and that it will lead us somewhere - just enjoy the scenery along the way.

Being given immediate feedback is important to knowing we're walking down the right road, and haven't taken any wrong turns or, if we have taken a wrong turn, it guides us back to the correct path. We would never dream of setting out to a new location without some way of mapping our progress, and knowing where we are and where we need to be. Immediate feedback does this for us in our lessons and learning. It allows us to focus more on the task, and keeps us on track.

Using a balance of challenges and skills allows our senses to focus on the actions that need to be completed, without external distractions or frustrations leading us from where we are going. As in the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy and her companions get distracted by the Field of Poppies, insufficient interest in our subject can take us away easily from our intended destination.

Focusing on the task, with a clear idea of the point for departure, a point of arrival, and which turns to take along the way... well, it's like having a GPS guide you in the car. You can concentrate on driving, wothout needing to consult the map or stop and ask for directions. You know exactly where to go, and there is no fear that the GPS will lead you astray. The GPS only communicates what you need to know, at the time you need to know it. A well laid-out plan instills trust.

If you're involved in a lesson that totally swallows you up... you disappear into a total focus of the task, with no distractions and no awareness of any other concious existence... that's when time has no meaning. Time is a human invention, and doesn't exist outside the realms of consciousness and science. So, if we can remove all conscious distractions and provide a clear and determined goal with the steps for achieving that goal, then time ceases to exist. Our mind uses all of its processing power to deal with the challenge in front of us, without the need for measuring the speed at which we are processing information.

When I was a young man, I used to distract myself from the life I disliked by going fishing. As I reflect on how I spent my time while I was fishing, I have come to realise that it was autotelic... fishing for the sake of fishing. I wasn't disappointed if I didn't catch a fish, nor was I ecstatic when I did, in fact I often would return the fish to the water. I was fishing in order to teach myself how to fish. Catching a fish was an indication that I was succeeding in my lessons; not catching a fish was an indication that I needed to change my strategy.

I remember watching a man downstream from me one day, while he was fly fishing. The graceful moevment of the line as he cast and retrieved, then cast and retrieved it again, until he was able to make the fly land in the perfect spot on the water. The skill and accuracy, and the grace with which they were combined, was what I wanted to learn. I taught myself how to do what he did, through observation and practice. I don't know how long it took me to do that, but I perfected casting a line onto the surface of the water until it would land exactly where I wanted it to, every time. I recall being so absorbed in the learning process that, once I did get a distraction and notice the time, I was often late for supper and received a scolding from my mother that I was so air-headed not to keep track of time. That is 'flow'... that is learning.

I'm bored!

In the current module of our course, we've been asked to address the following issue, which I’m sure has arisen in more than one English class, and will continue to be brought up. It goes something like this:

Learner: I’m very bored with the grammar lessons. I feel  that I can learn English without learning grammar separately.

Teacher: I understand that you might be feeling frustrated. I sometimes get frustrated as well, when I’m trying to learn something new. For example, when I was learning German as a second language, I used to get confused and embarrassed when people laughed at me if I got something wrong. In German, the article (the, that...) changes depending on the gender of the noun. That’s really confusing, and I almost gave up trying. Then one day, a friend of mine explained that as long as I knew the noun gender, it was easy to apply a few simple rules. It took me a few tries, but I got it eventually. I learned the rules well enough to be able to hold a conversation, and try making new sentences of my own. It even helped me when I took German as a course at university.
 
Why do you feel that you don’t need grammar?

Learner: I don’t talk to my family in English much, and when I’m at work, I have friends from back home who can talk to me in my own language.

Teacher: OK, so in some situations for you it’s easier to speak in your own language. But, what about when you want to talk to the Cable service company? Or, maybe you want to order food in a restaurant? Do you ever have English-speaking friends visit you and have conversations with them? Have you ever needed to explain something to a Doctor, Government Agency, or had a conversation over the phone with a market research company? There are lots of everyday reasons for needing to be accurate as well as fluent in English. If you can master just a few simple rules, and see the patterns of how these rules work to make sentences, you’ll feel so much more empowered and independent. You’ll be able to help your friends and family, and maybe socialise with your English speaking coworkers.
 
But let me know what you think I can do to help you enjoy the grammar lessons more. I’d be more than happy to listen to your suggestions.

As a change to the lessons, I would want to include the learner more in the activities, by perhaps making them an assistant in the classroom, where they feel motivated to learn the grammar and to encourage others as well.


There are so many reasons why a learner might feel that they are bored in your class. The above script touches on only one such possibility. However, in order to deal effectively with such a situation, it's imperative that you be a good listener. Discover from the learner the true (either spoken or unspoken) reason for their dissatisfaction with your classes, and address the immediate problem. We can't satisfy every learner all of the time, but we should at least give it our best shot :)

Risky learning

Talk in my ESL course has turned to Flow and the joy of learning. The concept inspired me to look at the flip side, and consider what are the risks involved in learning. "Learning...", I hear you say, "shouldn't be risky. We choose to learn, and we only learn what we want, so... what's the risk?"

Well, I'm glad you asked, because it gives me reason to continue writing this particular blog.

The risk(s) in learning can be many-fold, especially when the learning takes place in a group or pair-work setting. I have no fear or concern in learning on my own, in a secluded setting such as through an online course. However, put me in a classroom and I appear to go through a personality change. I sit quietly, listening to the instructor's words, following the text, and observing my classmates. Put me on the spot, and I become a stammering, stuttering fool without a brain. Does this mean I have no brain? Certainly not... I have a very good brain, and it serves me well in most situations. Perhaps I suffer from nerves, or a condition such as Classroom Phobia (yes, it really exists!). Well, actually, no to both of those premises as well. I do, however, suffer from a fear of being wrong. Arrogant? OK, but it is a fear that has been with me since childhood, and I am far too old to change my ways now :)

Many learners suffer the same or similar anxieties in learning situations. Particularly when placed in group settings, or learning teams. They won't raise their hand or ask questions in the classroom, for fear of creating the impression that they are uneducated or ignorant. When this fear is placed firmly in a situation of different cultures, where the fearful one cannot even gauge what the other learner's reactions might be, this fear increases in intensity. If they ask for help, they run the risk of appearing incompetent. If they make mistakes, they may seem to be lacking in ability.

The learner group that I instruct comprises largely professionals. These young people have - for the most part - had significant careers in their short lifespans. These youth have an image to maintain, and even more so now that they are in a country where they need to make an excellent impression just to get an entry level position in a career where they were already supervisors and managers. Damaging their reputations through group learning, even when the topic is not field-specific, is a high risk maneuver for most.

So, what should we do as teachers to reduce these perceived risks and encourage the Flow and joy of timeless learning? How can we develop in our learners the confidence they once had before they came to this country?

I try to let my learners know that nothing has changed in them as a person. The only thing that has really changed in their lives is the view from their window when they wake up in the morning. They are still those knowledgeable individuals that stepped off the plane, with their education and career backgrounds. They still possess all of their skills and abilities, just at another time in another place. I tell them that, if they open their learning up to listening to others, they will become richer for the experience. I tell them that there is no risk in my classroom, and that we all feel that fear... even me. I cannot fail my learners. For if I do, I doom them also to failure, and I will not allow that to happen as long as it is within my power to prevent it.

To encourage Flow and joy, mitigate risk and fear. Be strong, confident, and a leader as well as a guide, and your learner's will follow your example.

Instilling confidence

So what have we learned so far? We know how adults learn; how to manage a classroom; how to establish a learner/teacher relationship; how to create a guided learning environment. We have learned that communicative competence is a tenuous thing, dependent upon a seemingly unending set of variables.

We may have learned that teaching is not a simple task, and that the desired learning may not take place as we intended. We've learned that what a learner needs may not always be what a learner gets, with the involvement of external stakeholders having such an impact on the direction in which learners are steered on the rocky waves across this ocean of learning. We've learned how to find out what our learners need, and then how to give it to them. We've learned that speaking, reading, writing and listening may be approached in separate ways for learning, but are never really separated while learning.

As if that isn't enough, let me throw one more variable into the midst of this collage of educational creation. Confidence... plain and simple, confidence.

I was recently a participant in a week long series of seminars. These meetings were designed to bring together a group of people responsible for helping L2 learners in Canada find, obtain, and keep a job... successfully. The learner group comes from a variety of CLB levels, from CLB1 to CLB8, with and without literacy needs.

During one of the presentations, my ears perked up at one particular comment from an experienced ESL teacher. She has been teaching for 15 years, been in charge of designing and implementing a variety of programs, and demonstrated her skills in a variety of employer and classroom settings. I trust her experience. During her presentation, she talked about the things that impact her learners, and the one thing that she found most affected her learners' ability to learn. It was simply... confidence. I'm not necessarily talking about confidence in the way that you may imagine... you know, the kind of confidence where there's the archetypical father telling one of his children to "...pull up your bootstraps, look it square in the eye, and just do it!".

My colleagues, who were the presentation participants, were given a demonstration that I doubt many will forget. The presenter spoke to us all in low German. I speak German, and so was at a greater advantage than the other participants. First came a short explanation of the 'lesson', in low German. Next, the group was asked to take out a piece of paper and a pencil. This was followed by a request to draw a Sun in the middle of the paper. Then, draw some grass and a tree. All the time the instructions were in low German. The class was asked some questions about the exercise, also in low German.

I watched the faces of my colleagues as the 'lesson' progressed. There were looks of confusion, alarm, embarrassment, despair, and even humor. The one emotion that was missing throughout the entire exercise was... confidence.

Imagine leaving the countryside, community, language, culture, beliefs and values that you have grown up with all your life, to be confronted by someone who speaks a language you don't understand, and seems to be needing you to do something you can't comprehend. You can't get help from your peers, because they don't understand either, and each of you feeds emotionally off the other. Find your confidence, you know, the confidence you have to speak in your own language about things that affect your life, that you have such clear thoughts about in your own language. Find that confidence in the middle of a group of confused, embarrassed, desperate and nervous people.

It is our responsibility, as teachers - yours and mine - to let the learner find that inner confidence again as quickly as possible, using all of the tools we have been provided. But, for me, the most important tool is understanding. All of us should go through the experience that my colleagues went through. They have a whole new respect for our learners... all of them. They will approach helping the clients from a new perspective, with renewed and altered understanding.

Not understanding has provided all of my colleagues with truly clear understanding. So please, next time you don't understand, understand with confidence :)

The complex nature of Register in L2 Listening

Listening might seem like a natural thing to do, for most of us. We listen for a multitude of things, and do so naturally and subliminally. That is, we don't (always) consciously concentrate on listening. Sounds are around us all the time... sometimes recognisable, sometimes not. But we still hear them and try to place our interpretation on them. Remember the old adage, "If a tree falls in a forest when no one is around, does it still make a sound?". The answer here of course is Yes. There is even a theory that sound from hundreds of years ago is still travelling in our air waves, just so quietly that it is inaudible to the human ear.

So what is Register, and why is it important to listening? Register in language learning deals with the level of complexity and formality at which conversation occurs. "What's up mate?" may be considered very informal, whereas "May I inquire as to your well being?" may being considered of a high level of formality.

When teaching L2, particularly in countries such as Canada, Register is impacted by social constructs. By this I mean, the nature of the diverse society and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms cause challenges to Register in the Canadian classroom. I have personally experienced, as I'm sure you have, moments in my instruction where I have wanted to say something and done a mind check, changing the words I have chosen or the context of what I was about to say. In L2 instruction, the impact of these mind checks can be to change the register of what was about to be taught.

An example of this might be, "How do East Indians do this?" becomes "How to people in East India do this?". The change seems minor, and the implication may be negligible, but the Register has changed, therefore changing the learning, if ever so slightly, in the learners mind. The first question may appear to be discriminatory, as it targets an ethnic group. The second question, which primarily asks for the same information, asks at a non-targeted, population level, and is perceived as a less discriminatory level of inquiry. By changing the subject of the question, we have changed its political and ethnic impact. But, if our goal is to teach the subject of a sentence, we have now altered that target learning.

So, does learning L2 in a politically sensitive country alter the depth to which the learning can occur? Or, does this factor innately incorporate political targets to language learning?

Linguistic Darwinism - IYKWIM

With the advent of texting and SMS (Short Message Service) in 1992, a new breed of linguistics was born. Based on abbreviations of common expressions (IYKWIM = if you know what I mean), communication using technology became simplified and the sender of the message didn't need to type the full sentence, expression or statement in order to be understood.

Coded language for communication using technology has been around for decades - Morse Code in 1835, Signalese in 1914, ICAO phonetic alphabet in 1932, Police 10-code in the 1940s,  and so on.

During the evolution of these early forms of 'shortspeak', only the chosen few - those who needed to know - were able to understand what was being said. The codification of messages served multiple purposes - for example, it shortened transmission time, reduced resources, encrypted messages, and so on. The code was only available to and used by those who needed it in their everyday communications. Today's SMS or texting code, however, has changed the way we use language when we communicate using today's devices. The availability of communication tools such as cell phones, chat rooms, instant messaging, and email has increased the volume of messages being transmitted by the average person, the desire for faster communication methods, and a standardization of language coding. It has also increased our tolerance for errors in written communication, while helping to reduce the errors created between intended and received message. (OMC instead of OMG makes no sense, and is an obvious error in this code.)

In most countries, using LOL or OMG is recognised by anyone who has access to communication devices. Some countries have developed their own versions of common expressions (here are some German examples). Regardless of your opinion of the contributions this style of communication has for language use, it has been developed by today's technology users and, as such, is the realia of the generation. The language is now so extensively used that business has developed its own version of the language (click here to view).

Teaching this language style in a classroom is difficult, as it is founded upon a deeper understanding of the language it is abbreviating. It requires the user being able to model expressions into abbreviated versions using the rules of the shorthand style. The teacher needs to understand explicitly how these rules are applied - as complex as they may be. However, today's language learners must have an understanding of this language in order to survive the development and implementation of technology in their world, just as previous generations have accepted changes in their 'language for the everyday' ('rad' for something exciting, 'phat' for something awesome, and 'sick' for something that is extremely good, for example).

These are generational evolutionary changes to a language that is being adapted to new uses on a daily basis. The rules that once applied to language learning are changing, both through the introduction of technology, and in the use of technology. Language instruction needs to move with the times, rather than mourn the times lost. Teaching approaches and strategies have to be modified to include this new language strategy.

For an extensive list of text message short hand, click here.

Being knowledgeable about teaching does not a good teacher make...

I've recently had cause to revisit the idea of what makes a good teacher.

Here I am, studying a program of courses that provide me with all the knowledge I need to teach EAL learners. What is my expected outcome for this program? To become a good EAL teacher, of course. But does the knowledge I am gaining in this program make me a good teacher? Can it? Should it?

It's a bit of a paradox, being a learner in a program that's supposed to teach me how to be a good teacher. One of my colleagues in the course used a perfect and valuable perspective in the explanation of one of the discussions (of many! LOL) that we've had throughout the program so far. The perspective they took was to place themselves in the position of the learner, and ask what they would expect from a 'good' teacher.

Caine and Caine (1991) note:

"Teachers need to understand that students' feelings and attitudes will be involved and will determine future learning. Because it is impossible to isolate the cognitive from the affective domain, the emotional climate in the school and classroom must be monitored on a consistent basis, using effective communication strategies and allowing for student and teacher reflection and metacognitive processes." (p. 82)

How do you succeed in this emotional circus in the online approach of delivery? I suggest that there are few who are skilled in this, and fewer who have mastered it. It takes only one small error to affect the emotions of an online student, and this error can be as simple as, for example, suggesting to a student that their desired goals may be unachievable.

The teacher may have all the qualifications in the world, but such a comment can turn them in to a student's worst nightmare, leading to a desire to finish the course as quickly as possible, or even to exit the course early.

Teachers today, particularly in the electronic learning arena, have to be familiar with, and guarded against, such fallacies and demonstrate expert caution in not exposing their learners, either deliberately or accidentally, to affective situations that can have adverse effects on the success of the learner.

Needs Assessment - advertising in reverse...

Thinking about Needs Assessment, I came to realise that it is a very necessary function for every teacher to learn well and implement even better.

Learners have a variety of needs... some obvious, some not so obvious. Sometimes, EAL learners have needs they don't even know they have. Imagine an IT person who is fluent in multiple (spoken) languages, but doesn't have the soft skills to be able to talk to people! Ever met someone like that? I hear there's at least one in every IT department! So, if there's first language speakers who don't have the interpersonal soft skills needed for Customer Service, what hope is there for an L2 language learner in the workplace?

Teachers of todays languages have to be sensitive to so many non-language acquisition issues for their learners, to be able to create a learning-effective environment. We need to practice advertising in reverse.

Advertisers know (or think they know) everything about us and our needs. They throw stuff out there about how useless we would be in society if we didn't have the latest wine bottle opener, or how ugly we are because we're using the wrong hair color, and so on... How do they know what we want? They are experts at Needs Assessment, that's how.

Corporations bring them a product, and they go ahead and start analysing Joe Public, and who would need such a widget. Then, they start designing their advertising material to target that group of needy individuals. Just like teaching, they may not reach all of us, but when they manage to reach even a small proportion of us, they can celebrate their successes.

So what do you think... would Advertisers make the best teachers? Or should they stick to their night jobs?

Thinking about CLT

In my previous blog post, I mentioned the increasing integration of technology into the world of language learning. For the next course in the ESLTCP program of study, and as a refresher to the previous course, we've been asked to revisit the topic of CLT and its purpose.

This review caused me to think long and hard about how what is currently taking place in the world is impacting language learning, and the roles that technology and social constructivism play in those activities. Immigration is becoming a primary reason for L2 language learning, and my comments stem from this perspective.

The review article by Sandra Savignon - Communicative Language Teaching for the Twenty-First Century - brought a couple of ideas to the fore. In my work, I deal with immigrant youth who are seeking a new life in Canada. For them, language learning is multi-faceted, but still motivated by similar factors that have existed over the past 30 years of language learning methodology development: work and social life.

I try to put myself in the shoes of my students when interacting with them, whether formally or informally. After all, I have been in their shoes in an earlier part of my life.

Here they are in a new country, speaking a language that is the language of everyday, but not always the language of thought. In Savignon's article (p.22), she quotes Chenny Lai, a graduate MATESL candidate, which reads, in part, "The native language should be the one in which the speaker feels most comfortable or natural when making daily communication, or more abstractly, the one in which the speaker does all his(sic) thinking." I read this comment a couple of times, and considered my own experience when learning German as a second language.

At first, I found myself trying to see similarities in the constructive patterns of German and English, so that I could apply those patterns when forming new phrases or sentences in German. It didn't take long before I found this practice to be getting in the way of my learning. There were too many nuances and exceptions to the rules in German that didn't match English grammar rules, and the process became confusing. I found myself getting lost in conversations that were moving at a natural pace for German speakers, but seemed to fly past me. I decided that the only way for me to learn to speak German as a German was to think as a German speaker. This process, and learning German to a fluency that was desirable for me, took approximately 18 months of what would be considered immersion learning. The learning has stayed with me, and whenever I get the opportunity to speak in German today, I find my thought process automatically switching into German mode.

A comment in the Savignon article with which I tend to disagree is, "What matters is the teacher's conception of what learning a language is and how it happens." From my studies, prior knowledge, and experience as an L2 speaker in Germany I believe this to be incorrect. For me, it is far more important to understand what the learner's conception of what learning a lanuage is and how it happens. Viewing learning from a teacher's conception provides only a single vision of the language learning process. Viewing learning from a learner's conception provides a far clearer understanding of what and how language learning is and takes place.

Let me go back to an earlier comment I made for just a second. I suggested that my brain kicks in to 'German' mode when I am speaking German. By this, I don't simply mean that I am focused on the German language and the form of German grammar structure - I become German in my mind. All of the social and cultural specifics I learned while living there, how the Germans that i learned from see the world around them, the traditional and cultural norms as they are understood by a born German... all of these things form a part of how I think when I am speaking German.

It is important for any language teacher to see that language is a vehicle that allows the learner to participate in society, in whatever chosen manner the learner sees fit. Teaching English is not enough for an L2 speaker to become integrated in the language. They need to be aculturated to the norms of the language as well, using authentic language in authentic situations; using artifacts that represent situations and circumstances that they may encounter in their daily lives; interacting with each other using meaning negotiation and conflict resolution, etc. This is no longer a simple task. With the speed of language development and adaptation today, facilitated by the use of technology and modified discourse tools (SMS, phonetic linguistics, etc.); cultural language being popularised through song, and so on, it is difficult for language instruction to keep up with the changes in authentic language usage.

Finally, learner dependency needs to be recognised as an issue in language learning. Learners may come to depend on the setting, peer group, and even teacher for reinforcement that they are 'doing well' in their language learning. This dependency needs to be turned toward an ability to self-evaluate to a level where external reinforcement is diluted and internal reinforcement becomes the tool by which the learner measures their abilities.

Nothing too complicated here, eh?

The emerging role of Technology in Language Learning

"What?"... you may think, "Technology has long been a part of language learning. How can it be emerging?"

I'm glad you asked, 'cause here's my opinion, love it or leave it.

Traditional technology use in language learning has focused on technology as a tool to complement the learning process. Mobile computer lab carts in language schools; language labs (yes, with or without state-of-the-art headphones), CDs and tape decks. We've all been there, done that. However, that traditional role is transitioning with the emerging technologies of thin-client, MALL and Cloud computing.

Classroom management software is increasing in popularity, and the number of available online learning environments has exploded to include over 100 languages, including dialects, and offering a buffet of approach and method flavours that would make the hungriest of language planners drool.

With all of this, of course, comes the modern language 'diner'... the computer savvy, tech smart, mobile young employee ready for a change of country in order to improve the lot of his (or her!) family. Flash and Shockwave media make viewing real-language speakers and listening to authentic spoken language a breeze. The ability to pick-and-choose the learning environment, time of day of study, duration of the learning moment... who could ask for anything more?

Will you be ready for this new breed of learner in the new classroom? Will you be able to adapt your traditional, classroom-bound teaching approach to the needs of this ethernet educational morph? How will your knowledge of language learning fit with the knowledge of a technology that IS the language being learned?

Please leave your comments after the beep...

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