Language Learning

[Niko]

Lack of Quality Instruction for Students

Academic programs whose purpose is to train people in the fundamental skills of foreign languages generally yield a less satisfactory product then the public has a right to expect. The reasons for this failure are very complex, but a good part of the responsibility for imporvement rests on the profession.

If language departments and language teachers do not introduce changes necessary to improove the performance of average students in basic-level courses, the generally deplorable record of foreign language education will remain a threat to the credibility of our profession.

Part of the blame for the current inefficiency in language training must be laid at the door of a misguided faith that stimulus-response psychology, linked with sophisticated linguistic analysis, provides a scientific basis for language pedagogy. Conventional methods of language teaching, based on what must now be regarded as outmoded and unacceptable views of learning, may actually place formidable barriers in the path of learners.

Let's bring an end to the lack of quality training given to our students.

Arin Phillips
(Professor of English)