Humanising Language Teaching
Year 4; Issue 3; May 02

The Heart of the Matter 2

Lou Spaventa

"Truth is what stands the test of experience."
Albert Einstein

In my first column, I wrote a little about the who that teaches: a question that Parker Palmer says is not often asked when we discuss teaching, but a question that to some, myself included, is the key question. The who that teaches must, of course, teach something, and thus comes before us for examination the issue of curriculum. What do we teach?

In the heyday of methodology, which I believe was the 1970s, when Lozanov's Suggestopedia, Krashen and Terrell's Natural Approach, Johnson and Johnson's Cooperative Learning, Gattegno's Silent Way, Asher's Total Physical Response, and Curran's Community Language Learning were competing for attention with the more orthodox methodologies of audiolingualism, situational instruction, grammar translation, and the miscellaneous communicative methodologies, there was a clearer boundary separating curriculum appropriate for a particular methodology. One only need recall Gattegno's words in color charts and the pronunciation charts (Fidels) or Asher's suggested progression for embedding of language in commands. We should recall that before that in the 50's and 60's, when audiolingualism was the orthodox methodology, curriculum was built upon the primacy of the spoken language. In the 80's we see the connection of language and content with so-called Content Based Instruction, where specialized content is the vehicle for learning language, presumably appealing to both student interest and school curricular requirements. Moreover, developing parallel to the aforementioned methodologies over the course of the last half century are many versions of English for Specific Purposes (ESP). Among ESP course content, probably the one that has developed most is the Business English course, for the obvious reason that English is the language of international business. Finally, a contemporary step in the direction of tying curriculum to method is the Lexical Approach of Michael Lewis. In so far as these various methodologies survive through practitioners around the world, the issue of curriculum is often moot.

However, for many of us who teach English, the issue of what to teach is one we must decide for ourselves, at least in part. Furthermore, quite often in practice, despite working for schools that prescribe what is to be taught at what level, we choose to follow our own muses. So to the Einstein quotation at the beginning of this column, "Truth is what stands the test of experience." For me this connects directly to the emphasis on understanding the who that teaches. It is through my understanding of the human condition and through my experience as a teacher that I construct a philosophy of teaching. When I am in touch with this philosophy, I begin to teach from my truth. Yet, I would claim this truth is not relative. It is not the case that each of us has a truth, and all of them are okay, beyond challenge, and thus, there's nothing to say. This, unfortunately, has been the weakness of many student-centered methods, and leads to indifference to the subject matter and a lack of engagement in the classroom. The polar opposite of a student-centered method is a teacher-centered one, and most of us know from rueful experience that a teacher who acts as judge and jury about his subject matter, and as such delivers a set of conclusions to be consumed by students – what Paulo Freire described as the " banking method" applies here – provides a very impoverished educational experience.

What do I mean that truth is not relative? For the answer, I turn to Parker Palmer's notion of a subject-centered curriculum, which resonates with the earlier problematizing methodology of Paulo Freire (1970). Palmer (1998: 101) says "…truth does not reside primarily in propositions…knowing and teaching and learning look less like General Motors and more like a town meeting." He says that we learn in community around a common subject-matter that compels us to discuss it. "The many are made one by the fact that they gather around a common subject and are guided by shared rules of observation and interpretation that require them to approach the subject in the same way"
(1998:102).
The community in the classroom is composed of the teacher and the students.

But just what is the subject matter? Palmer's answer, which I embrace, is that the subject matter is composed of great things, a term he takes from Rilke. "Great things are the subjects around which the circle of seekers has always gathered" (1998:107). He further specifies by saying, "I mean the genes and ecosystems of biology, the symbols and referents of philosophy and theology, the archetypes of betrayal and forgiveness and loving and loss that are the stuff of literature…" (1998:107). He continues to specify the great things of other subject areas. At this point, one might ask, "What are the great things of the ESOL classroom?" Well, surely the answer must be language itself. Language: what it is, what it means, what it does, and what it doesn't do. And the language in the case of ESOL is English. English stands for all languages in its beauty, complexity, inadequacy, humor, freedom, and strength. When I am in touch with my truth, I am teaching the language as I know it to be. I get in touch with this truth through my understanding of the who that teaches. I work on knowing who I am so that I can teach the language. Thus I make a claim both about the need for human knowledge and subject knowledge. I must "…fathom the mystery of self in order to fathom the mystery of the world" (Palmer, 1998: 106). Finally, I am saying that learning works best when students have the freedom to encounter the subject matter with a teacher who has a deep knowledge of that subject matter, but who also has as a fundamental concern, the need to build a community in the classroom so that the great things may enter.

Friere, Paulo (1993) Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Continuum, New York.

Palmer, Parker (1998) The Courage to Teach, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.