One step forward, two steps back - Teachers Discussion

Rheno, I agree with you that we need innovation in our profession, but what I mostly see in your posting is sweeping generalisations that don't make a particularly useful contributions to some of the real practical problems you refer to.

You start off by saying: "I'm tired of all the "peer-review" journals that spew the same old ideas, ideas that haven't changed since at least the 1970s"

Which "peer-review" journals are you referring to? "Applied Linguistics", "Studies in Second Language Acquisition" "English Language Teaching Journal"? Or some others? If so, why don't you let us know.

Let me stick to the ones I've mentioned above, which are pretty well-known in our field. I'm not saying that all the articles in these journals are earth-shattering, but I don't find them stuck in the kind of time-warp you claim. Last year, I looked through every issue of the ELTJ back to the 1960s and I think the type of research questions and methods have changed beyond recognition in that time. In fact, even over the last 10 years, there's been a considerable shift in focus. The latest issue of ELTJ (60/2), for instance, contains articles on mentoring, facilitator talk, accountable professional practice, grammatical accuracy and learner autonomy in advanced writing and a summary of the new(ish) 'Common European Framework" for languages.

You might not find all of that to your taste, but I don't think you can deny that it's up-to-date and the articles are based on actual research into potential teaching and learning problems and solutions. The same can be said about the other journals, even though they don't have a specifically classroom focus. Applied Linguistics recently carried a stinging attack on task-based learning by Michael Swan, for instance, while the current issue of SSLA has got a state-of-the-art review of research based on sociocultural theory by Latolf, which includes some pretty speculative discussion of recent advances in neurology. Again, not necessarily my cup of tea, but hardly stuck in the 1970's mud (or should that be "Mudd").

You say that you're also tired of the "quick-fixes" such as the "bozo technique". Well, if you reject research that's trying to establish an empirical basis for (or challenge) our classroom practice, I'm afraid that's what you're left with. That and your own individual prejudices.

I suggest you have another look at the "realities" you present and view them within the bigger picture of global language learning and use. You give the impression that the only TESOL students in the world are Asian, for instance. At least be clear about who you're actually talking about. The world, and even Asia itself, is a big place. Are you seriously suggesting that the following description applies equally to the Japanese, Indians, Chinese and Filipinos, for instance? "They see mortal life more as a "dress rehearsal", and hedonism as something that distracts them from their ultimate purpose--readying themselves for the next life". How many Japanese do you know who spend more time praying than shopping? And wouldn't a large number of Western practising Christians subscribe to the "readying themselves for the next life" point of view anyway? When you say the "Asian" view is different from "ours" - who is the "us" you're referring to? I'm sure there are useful generalisations to be made about Chinese EFL students, for instance, but these ain't them!

I don't think anyone would argue with you that most students have low motivation for learning languages and that this is a fundamental problem for teachers. That's not an Asian reality though. It's a global one. Look at the situation in the UK or USA. Only a tiny proportion of the population learns a foreign language even to a basic functional level in our own countries. But then again, this has been a key research and practical problem ever since language teaching began to be studied. It featured strongly in the opening addresses at the foundation of the TESOL organisation in 1960 - and ever since! The Canadian, Robert Gardner, has dedicated his whole life to the study of it - from the 1950's until the present!

And of course this low motivation - from students and teachers - is associated with a focus on just getting a grade - as it always has been. Consider this quote from Otto Jespersen (How to teach a foreign language, 1904):

"The worst canker in our school system is the examinations. Everything is arranged with a view to examinations; the parents, the children, and unfortunately also a number of the teachers care for nothing but the results attained in the examinations poor pay and long hours, too naturally lead to a teachers looking merely to examination results"

Does that seem at all familiar? Of course, he's talking about Denmark in the late 1800s, not China in the early 2000s, but it's the same old story.

But ours is not just a story of complaints and inertia, but one of research, imagination and action. Another famous book from long ago, "Teaching English in Difficult Circumstances" by Michael West (1960) discussed a possible methodology suited to large classes - in Asia etc. He'd also been responsible for the development of graded readers based on his PhD research in 1920's India - something that Krashen has championed since the 1990s, by the way.

And the early 1990's brought a plethora of books and proposals on the topic of context, including Holliday's "Appropriate Methodology". Two famous Indian academics, Prabhu (1979) and Kumaravidelu (2005) , have published their own books on methodology, drawing on their experience in India and elsewhere. And TESOL too has elected its first Asian president this year (Kevin Liu). The Asian context - and the importance of context in general - is hardly one that's escaped the attention of TESOL research over the years.

And even on the topic of testing, there's been an incredible amount of innovation over the last 10 years, including the use of new statistical procedures which make performance assessment far more reliable - see McNamara 1996 etc. These are hardly pie-in-the-sky approaches. For instance, these testing innovations have transformed TOEFL over the last couple of years and had a big influence on high-stakes tests in Hong Kong etc. The effects of these changes on teaching in China and Japan have been investigated by Cheng, Watanabe etc - and this is another pretty current area of research.

Anyway, as I've said, I think that the issues of low motivation, exam fixation, cultural values etc, which you've raised are genuine ones. But they're ones which have been at the heart of TESOL concerns since the beginning and are currently the subject of intensive research. Whether or not this means it's worth your while - or anyone else's - teaching in your particular school in China is a decision you'll have to take for yourself. Perhaps it isn't - but your discontent is no excuse to tar all Asians - and the whole TESOL community - with the same brush.