Diane Larsen-Freeman

6 Introduction
[0 what's wrong and rarely to ask what is right or good .. . ' (Rinpcc hc
1993: 123-4). Many of us arc ver y good at pla ying the doubting gam e
then, bur we do so at a COSt. We ma y find fault with a new idea before giving
it a proper chance.
What docs playing the believing ga me require, the n? The believing
game 'emphasizes a model of knowing as an act of constructing, a n act of
invesrmenr, an act o f involvement' (Elbow 1973: 163). It is nor just the
withholding of doubt. Rather, u asks us to put on the eyeglasses of
another person-e-re adopt his or her perspecrive-c-ro sec the method as
the originator sees it. Further, it req uires a willingn ess to explore what is
new.
While it ma y a ppea r that the traits amibured to the believing game a rc
more desirabl e to possess, Elbow is not arguing that we should allow the
doubting muscle to atrophy, no r am 1. I am not advocating an abandonment
of the doubting game, bur ra ther that you attempt to understand
first before you judge. Therefore, do not be qu ick to dismiss a principle or
technique simply beca use, at first glance, it a ppea rs to be at odds with
yo ur own beliefs or impossible to apply in your own situation. For
instance, in on e o f the methods we will conside r, the st udents themselves
decide what they wa nt to say and rhe reacher then translates it into the
ta rget language (the language rhat rhey are studyi ng). If yon reject rhis
technique as impractical becau se you do not know you r students' native
langua ge or because yo ur students speak a number of different nat ive languages,
then yOll ma y be missing out on something valuable. You should
first ask what the pu rpose of translat ing is: Is there a pr inciple behind its
use in which you believe?If so, ca n you a pply it another way, say by inviting
a bilingual spea ker to come to your class now and again or by having
your students act om or paraphrase what they want to be able to say in
the language they are studying?
LAYOUT OF CHAPTERS
We will learn ab out the meth od s by entering a classroom where eac h
met hod is being pra cticed. In most chapters in this book, on e language
teaching method is presen ted. However, in a few cha pters. a more general
approac h to langua ge teachin g is described. and w hat arc depicted in th e
chapter a rc one or mort' method s that a re exa mples of the a pproac h. j I
ha ve assumed that observing a class will give you a grea ter und erstan ding
J FolI"wing Anth nn,,'. (1'h',l) uSC' of the' term oJppro..lch To m...m a \.('1 "f a~.umplion ~ de.lling
with The'nature of lanjl.uoljl.C'. lear ning, and l..a.'hing.
Introduction 7
of a particular method and will give you more of an opportunity to reflect
on your own practice than if )'O U were to simply read a description of it. It
sho uld be acknowledged, however. that these cla ssroom encounters arc
idealized. Anyone wh o is or has been, a language teacher or student. wilt
immediately recognize that lesso ns seldom go so smo othly as the ones
yo u will sec hen,', In rhe real wo rld students do not always catch on
quick ly and teachers ha ve to contend wit h many ot her social and classroom
man agem ent matters than wha t arc depicted here. As Ihave already
ack nowledged, a met hod docs not reflect everything th at is transpirin g in
the classroom.
We will observe the techniqu es the teacher is using a nd his or her
behav ior. In the even-numbered chapters, the teacher is fema le; in the
odd-numbered cha pters, the teacher is ma le. After observing a lesson, we
will infer the principles on which the teacher's behavior and techniques
a re based. Although in most cases, we will observe only the one beginning
or intermediate-level class for each method, once the principles are clea r.
they can he applied to other situa tions. To illustrate the application ofthe
principlcs ar mo re tha n one level of proficiency, in two instances, with the
Silent Way a nd Desuggcsropcdia, we will first visit a beginning- level class
and then later briefly visit a class at a high-inter media te level. It should he
noted that when learners arc at the ad vanced level, the distinctive techniques
associated wit h a method may be less visible becau se advanced
lea rne rs ma y ha ve special, well-defin ed needs, such as learning how to
read and write academic texts. 1iowcvcr; as we have seen with Stevick's
exa mple of teach ing a dialog, the way teachers think a bout language
teachin g and learning will st ill shape how they work at alllevels.
After we have identified the principles, we will an swer the followi ng
ten questions:
1 Wha t arc the goals of teachers wh o use this method?
2 Wha t is the role of the teacher ? What is the ro le of the stude nts?
3 What a re so me chcracrerisrics of the reaching/learning process?
4 Whar is the nature of student-reacher interacti on ? What is the natu re
of srudcn t-s tudcnr intera ct ion?
S How arc rill' feelings of the studen ts dealt wirh?
6 How is language viewed? How is culture viewed?
7 What a rea s o f language are emphasized? \X'hat language skills arc
emphasized?
8 Wha t is the role of the students' native language?