The fluidity of foreign language instruction; an intersection of personal teaching pedagogy and proposed second language teaching (SLT) principles
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2019
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Swarthmore College. Dept. of Linguistics
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Abstract
The number of second language teaching methods is increasing fast enough that some
theories risk becoming obsolete before being practiced. However, a number of second language
researchers have noted that the road from such theories to their practice is barely travelled.
In the first chapter of his book, Principles and Practices in second language Acquisition,
Krashen (1982) notes that there is a lack of interaction between second language theorists, applied
linguistics researchers and teachers. He argues that the failure of researchers to communicate with
teachers has resulted in the latter using their own intuition and experience to inform their teaching
practice. In part, he suggests that theorists both in theoretical and applied linguistics could benefit
from learning and teaching languages in order to gain a deeper understanding of language learning
and instructors would benefit from results of the research done by the theorists.
Krashen (1982)'s proposal, which is not uncommon, implies that there is a need for such
an interaction between second language theorists, applied linguistics researchers and teachers, and
that the teacher relying on their intuition is insufficient. In an attempt to find out whether such an
interaction is crucial to language pedagogy, I first look at principles shared by three language
teaching methods. From these shared principles, I then draw potential applications that I would
expect an instructor informed by one or more of these methods to practice in their language
classroom.
I then present my research, which consists of an interview with a foreign language
professor, analysis of his course materials and an observation of his class. I then compare the
findings of my research to the potential applications of the methods discussed in this paper with
the aim to answer my research question.
From my research, I conclude that the shared goal of the second language theorists and
second language instructors of maximizing opportunities for the learner's language development
leads them to more or less similar conclusions about what practices to pursue. As such, this
interaction might not be imperative to second language pedagogy. It seems to be effectively
replaced by the experience of instructors.