Humanising Language Teaching
Year 2; Issue 5; September 2000

"A rule stands there like a sign-post. - Does the sign-post leave no doubt open about the way I have to go? Does it show which direction I am to take when I have passed it …? But where is it said which way I am to follow it; whether in the direction of its finger or (e.g.) in the opposite one? - And if there were, not a single sign-post, but a chain of adjacent ones or of chalk marks on the ground - is there only one way of interpreting them? So I can say, the sign-post does after all leave room for doubt." Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations, § 85

For the teacher:

Rules are signposts that help us on our way. But we need to understand how rules work in order to follow them (e.g. we follow a signpost in the direction it's pointing, not off to the side; and we follow instructions by giving words their accepted meaning, not different ones). We can also choose whether we want to follow the rule or not. Following rules often leads us down a well-signposted path which many others have trodden. Deciding not to follow the rule - not to 'play by the rules of the game' - could lead us down an unmarked path, which might end up being better or worse for us. Without a signpost, it's a risk we can't know.

For the classroom:

1. Ask your students in groups to think of rules that exist in their societies. These might include 'don't spit in public', 'drive on the left of the road', 'boys must ask girls to dance, not vice versa'. Are there different versions of these rules in different countries? What are the rules they've noticed in the UK. Were all of these rules pointed out to them? If not, how do your students learn them? Write some of these rules on the white board.

2. Now ask your students to think of rules in the English language. These could be 'speak of yourself using the first person singular', 'you can add an 's' to some words to make a plural', 'I normally look at the person I'm talking to'. Some of these rules are set out in grammar books. But is that how your students learned all these rules? Which ones are the same in their own language? Which ones are only 'rules of thumb'? Write your students' rules on the white board.

3. Ask your students to look at both sets of rules in turn and ask two sets of questions. First, ask your students to think about the purpose of the rule. What is the rule good for? How are these rules helpful? [Are they useful for more than being just sign posts? Do they help to order society?] Do this for both the list of social rules and linguistic rules.

4. Then ask your students to imagine what would happen if they chose not to follow the rules. How would they break a rule? What would the effect be? What kind of people might want to break each rule? Would breaking the rule make your students' lives easier or more difficult? Ask them to pick one social rule and one linguistic rule and imagine themselves breaking these rules. How would they feel? What would happen?

5. Are there any circumstances when it is acceptable to break these rules? For example, when you've been shot, it's OK to spit (blood) in public. Or if you're the Queen, you are allowed to speak about yourself in the first person plural. Are there any rules for which you can't think of times when you can break them?