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Paola Dalmonech
ELN-120 Foundations of American Education
Prof.Fan
May 13, 2009
Term Paper
We are all aware that teaching foreign languages is a complex and demanding
profession. All over the world, societies are required to change according to the new
demands, in the sense of new knowledge gained, technological developments and a need
of a more refined and educated population. Teachers have to adapt to the social changes
with speed and confidence. In other words, teachers ought to have the ability to respond
flexibly to the swiftly changing modern environment. Thus, teaching foreign languages
is, without doubt, a challenging and rewarding professional career. However, isn’t
English enough in children’s intellectual development? Why teach foreign languages
when practically everything in the world is conducted largely in English? What
experiences, opportunities, rewards, recognition, and personal satisfaction come to the
children as a result of their foreign language proficiency and cultural understanding? I
believe that knowing another language is equal to gaining another soul in the richness and
depth it adds to people’s lives. Language skills are very valuable and will become only
more so. Moreover, the knowledge of another language greatly enhances one person’s
intelligence because it is a unique accomplishment. Hence, what is the best way to
motivate students? Foreign Language Methodology is engaged in developing the most
“effective” way to teach foreign languages to young learners. Clearly, different
methodologies have been approached by the teachers to make the learning of a language
at the most accurate and effective way, and all of them are considered valid and correct.
Woods claimed, “In the past 20 years or so, language teaching methodologies have
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evolved and examinations have reflected these changes” (2005, p.1). Thus, this paper’s
aim is to explore three different ways of teaching and learning foreign languages in a
nation that appears to be an international resurgence of ethnic and linguistic selfidentification. The United States is a country that had the chance of becoming a melting
pot of cultures and languages.
The Silent Way, as a method for teaching languages, is one of the reliable criteria
used for this purpose. It is characterized by three identified qualities that remind me of
two philosophies of education, idealism and existentialism. The first quality of this
method is “Independence”, which stands for the recognition of ideas that are deep in our
minds even before we are conscious of them, and that we can make use of whatever we
have already inside us. This could be linked to the concept of “priori ideas” emphasized
by the father of idealism, Plato. The second of these three qualities is “Autonomy”, the
making of choices, the will and the exercise of creating our own purposes for existence.
This is tightly connected to philosophers like Sartre who believed that classroom dialogue
stimulated awareness and that each person created a self-concept through significant
choices. The third quality is “Responsibility” because we are free to choose what we
want to learn and what we want to assimilate in our existence. This method foresees the
teacher being almost always silent; interestingly, she makes use of a metal pointer to
guide the students’ attention to the set of charts hang on the wall. These charts contain
pictures of syllables, colors, numbers, and shapes that the students have to identify and
pronounce, first in chorus and then individually. The teacher is supposed to give the
appropriate time that is necessary to her/his alumni; they don’t have to feel any rush or
pressure. Students can help each other as well; they know that they are expected to work
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only by using whatever resources they already have at their disposal. For this reason,
Stevick pointed out that, “there is no memorization, no translation, and no repetition for
its own sake in the absence of meaning” (1980, p.45). The principles of meeting the
criteria of this type of methodology are based on learning how to work independently.
Students are human beings and the teacher is supposed to show them that they are
allowed to make mistakes; it is acceptable and totally natural, although it is the students’
responsibility to correct their own errors. The teacher is very useful, yet she/he is not
necessary. Therefore, the student has to control his/her process of learning by working
consciously and being focused and concentrated all the time. The teacher never corrects
the student when a mistake occurs, because it is the student’s task to recognize it. The
Silent Way certainly provides clear, firm, and continuous control and order of the
learning process. These were the most frequent and characteristic practical manifestations
and related them to principles derived from the theory. I strongly believe that this is a
very successful way of teaching and learning foreign languages, as it offers the
possibility, especially for teachers, to maintain discipline and a good level of attention
within the class and the students themselves.
A different position is taken by some language specialists who don’t support the
Silent Way, as a method of teaching languages, but instead they believe in the Repetitio
Mater Studiorum, recognized by the Elementary Schools as a remarkable way of teaching
foreign languages. Repetitio Mater Studiorum is a Latin expression, which concept
indicates that the same word, the same expression, must be practiced many times before it
becomes automatic. The author of the book How to Teach Foreign Languages Effectively
stated, “With younger children the amount of repetition must be increased” (Huebener,
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1959, p.199), although the continued repetition can express monotony and boringness.
Therefore, the teacher has to find various ways and strategies that avoid the killing of
interest of a student. For instance, the teacher can involve the students in different games;
in this way, the children enjoy both the activities and the learning of the language. She/he
can vary the questions, illustrated visual material, employs new devices… This
methodology also suggests the idea of imitation as a basic principle in language learning.
Since not everyone will perform as expected, it is important for the teacher not to praise
the bright students, yet to show interest towards everyone because an unpleasant
comment may discourage and deeply disappoint the student.
Furthermore, since young learners are always physically active and constantly
energetic, it is suggestible to propose activities that require moving. Interestingly, songs
play also a very important role in learning languages, especially for children.
Conversations, dialogues, and small acting performances are very effective too. Most of
the times, it is hard for a teacher to keep a class in the most organized and neat way
because children get tired and bored immediately if they are not motivated and
stimulated. Consequently, the teaching of a foreign language is done informally; formal
instruction is avoided. Overall, these are the objectives that a teacher aims to be attained
when using the methodology of Repetitio Mater Studiorum, which I believe clearly helps
to develop adequate principles of language learning that can support such instruction.
Next, the third way of teaching a foreign language is defined as the Audio-Lingual
Approach, which consists of talk between two or more persons. It can also be called
conversation. The subject used in the dialogues is not relevant because the goal consists
in making the speaker feel at his/her ease. The student has to feel comfortable expressing
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his/her thoughts freely, without thinking of verb forms, idioms, or syntax. According to
Hueneber, “The spoken language is purely an instrument of communication used in given
situations. Hence the dialogue should form the basis of every language lesson” (1959,
p.13). I think that the most effective way to motivate students and make them practice the
language they are learning is through speech, as the basic underlying code. Writing is
considered secondary, a “derivative system”, as Cooper said (1970, p.305). He also
pointed out that the primacy of speech is best justified as an assumption when spoken
skills are the primary goals of instruction. As a matter of fact, when teaching a foreign
language the initial emphasis is primarily given on listening and speaking, followed by
reading and writing. Particularly to young language learners, the teacher tells students
several times not to worry if they are not able to provide an accurate or truthful answer to
her/his questions because the most important thing is that they can remember simple
phrases or expressions that are usually part of the lesson routine. Teachers also work on
pattern drills, whereas the teacher produces simple sentences and the pupil repeats what
he/she hears. The repetition drill is the basic drill for the presentation of new vocabulary
and verb endings, and this is one of the pattern drills used by the teachers in the audiolingual approach.
Vast numbers of people engage in the foreign language learning every day, For
example, Rampon’s article focuses on adolescents at an inner-London secondary school
who are learning German, and apparently, these students were taking full advantage of
their learning by using the language during break time or in corridors; basically, through
simple performances the students were exercising the language at every possible moment.
This central concept “used to theorize the connection between teaching and
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improvisation” is called RITUAL (Rampton, 2002, p. 492). Undoubtedly, in terms of
organization, the lessons had a clear structure because the teacher tried to lead students
step by step through the content, continuously rearranging the participation structured,
and doing her best to ensure that the central business of the lesson remained undisturbed
by particular students.
Personally, I feel that language and cultural studies significantly enriches one’s
knowledge as well as personally and spiritually. The learning of another language and
culture helps people to communicate with people of various cultures, nationalities, and
even disparate disciplines in a workplace too. Fundamentally, language is man’s unique
accomplishment. It is the vehicle of communication and speech; it makes possible the
keeping of records and the creation of a store of knowledge. Without language there
would be no progress, no culture, no tradition, no civilization. As Huebener said, “The
cultural heritage of mankind resides in language”; moreover, “Thorough the learning of s
foreign tongue we gain a better insight into human relations and a deeper appreciation of
man’s struggles and achievements” (1959, p.1).
Among the three methodologies presented in this paper, I feel that each one
benefits students while learning a foreign language. However, I strongly believe that the
best, if not the most effective way and method to learn a foreign language, would be to go
to the country where that particular language is spoken. I directly experienced it when
deciding to come to New York, and I can confirm the fact that I have learned much more
by being among Americans and people speaking English than studying it intensively in
school. I think that this is quite obvious, in the sense that everyone that has the chance to
learn something, independently by the subject matter, would learn and apprehend better
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in the place of origin. In this case, the presence of people, objects, newspapers,
magazines, video cassettes and food depict a picture of something concrete that in a
classroom can only be created with minimal results and a hint of realism. This is what a
group of twenty American students experienced during an intensive course of Italian.
They had the great opportunity to experiment and challenge their Italian skills by going to
Italy. The truth of matter is that the classroom, as the traditional place in which every
form of knowledge is instructed, is the least suitable place for the acquisition of a foreign
language, as Marchegiani Jones claimed in her essay (1998, p.495). I completely support
this type of learning because I see it as a strong and powerful way of practice, although I
am also aware of the fact that it wouldn’t be doable for young language learners. It is
very complicated and quite improbable that an Elementary School arranges and plans this
kind of trip; it would be literally an “adventure”. The study of foreign languages should
begin early for all students and should continue for a longer period for those who show
talent and predisposition. Thompson once said, “No one currently knows how many
elementary schools in the United States offer foreign language instruction or how many
students are enrolled” (1980, p.49). Toward the end of his article, he proposed that every
elementary and secondary school in the nation should add the study of one foreign
language to its curriculum (Thompson, 1980). I believe that this would be an excellent
proposal if brought to the end.
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Bibliography
Cooper, R. L. (December 1970). What Do We Learn When We Learn a Language?
TESOL Quarterly. 4 (4), 303-314. Retrieved April 26, 2009, from JSTOR
LaGuardia Community College Library, Long Island City, NY.
Huebener, T. (1959). How to Teach Foreign Languages Effectively. New York: New
York University Press.
Marchegiani Jones, I. (Winter 1998). Fuori di classe! Una proposta didattica per
l’insegnamento dell’italiano come lingua straniera fuori dall’aula tradizionale.
Italica, Linguistics and Pedagogy. 75 (4), 495-516. Retrieved April 26, 2009,
from JSTOR LaGuardia Community College Library, Long Island City, NY.
Rampton, B. (September 2002). Ritual and Foreign Language Practices at School.
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