chronicle

[Kristina Efimenko]

Ah, Prof. Maxwell has caused some very interesting discussion, responses,
etc. to his edict for Drake University. There are many things I would like to
say on the subject, having been a student of Russian in 1959 with the
grammar-Translation method as a 4th grader, having experienced private
tutoring for a year and a 3 week immersion language camp and a Berlitz
yearlong course, more grammar- vocab and literature methods in high school
and university level Russian classes, and then to end my experience with
student teaching in a high school - using mostly the Communicative Approach.
I have also had the opportunity to use my Russian language and knowledge of
culture ability in travels to Yugoslavia and Ukraine, in addition to dinner
parties where we have entertained Russian speaking quests, toured Russian
speaking guests, and housed and conversed with children and adults visiting
here for medical care and helped them communicate with their doctors. I used
"we" because my husband is Ukrainian and yet he and I do not speak together
in Russian or Ukrainian.
    Anyway, one point I am trying to make is that learning( or aquiring a
language, as Krashen termed it) requires all of the above methods. People who
aspire only to the merits of the Communicative Approach don't take into
account that we are all different in how we best learn a language. Professor
Maxwell has "missed the boat" on this understanding also. However, he has
stirred up the foreign language teaching community and it needs stirring up,
maybe even enraged, if out of this new ways of thinking about the teaching of
and the purpose of foreign language learning are discussed and posible
solutions tried to rectify the problem - the problem being that many students
choose not to study a foreign language. The problem is not only that we are
not producing students who can speak that language.
    I would say that there exists a divergent approach to how foreign
languages are taught at the university level and how the university education
departments are requiring foreign languages to be taught. That is the
emphasis on how to teach foreign language is currently stressing that
students should learn to use the language  in everyday life : ordering a
meal, talking on the phone, getting directions, etc. - the functional,
Communicative Approach. With this method, understanding grammar is still
important, but it is taught haphazardly as it is encountered in use, unlike
the Traditional Grammar-Translation method. At the University level, students
suddenly encounter a Grammar driven, high Vocabulary-Translation method type
of instruction - at least this is the case at ASU where I graduated from in
1972 and where these methods still go on today. In fact, as I stated earlier
ALL methods are needed to learn a foreign language. Why not tap into the
foreign speakers in attendance on university campuses or living in nearby
communities and experience "using" the language right here in this country?
And stop education departments from stressing that only the Communicative
Approach will allow students to aquire the language.
    Professor Maxwell, as well as many others, have also overlooked the
primary importance of "studying" a foreign language : It is not to "learn",
or even "to aquire" the language, but to acquaint the student with another
way of life and of thinking, to gain another perspective, to help us all get
along better in the world and in our own community. However, in all fairness
to Professor Maxwell, he may have felt extremely frustrated regarding some of
the teaching methods of some of his language teachers and the only way to
revamp the program was perhaps to fire all of them.
    Students in overwhelming numbers are choosing not to study the
"difficult" languages, such as Russian, and the ones who do choose to study
Russian become frustrated when after four years they still cannot communicate
on even a rudimentary level because of having no opportunity to practice, or
use the language. With all the recent Russian immigrants, we do have an
unpresidented opportunity to utilize their presense and make learning Russian
easier while learning the even more important aspect of learning a language -
which is  : understanding another culture. Perhaps, what teachers need is
instruction in how to fascilitate conversation about various important
topics. Also, mistakes need to be not only tolerated, but understood as a
necessary transition to being able to learn a language.
    Furthermore, during the high school years, and all grades beforehand,
students should be encouraged to study many languages in order to learn a
little about a different culture and improve understanding. This should be
the main goal, along with having fun while "studying" the language, not
conversation ability.
    An aside ( which does relate), regarding English instruction to new
immigrants, most students have trouble learning English because they are
being taught with a conversational approach, told to fill in workbook pages
with what "sounds right" and they don't know what sounds right. Many people
do not learn aurally, but need to see the language explained on paper in a
logical grammar driven manner. It is often not until the students encounter
the Advanced Level ESL classroom that they finally are expected to know how
to write grammatically and it is then the the teacher discovers that they
don't know grammatical reasons for writing anything. They de-emphasize using
a dictionary and grammar book for beginners and then wonder a couple of years
later why they don't know those things. My belief is that students need a
firm foundation of grammar and vocabulary, with many opportunities to listen,
read, speak in that language - at a BICS level, and that little by little
using all methods they will acquirre the CALPS level. Foreign language
teachers at the high school and college levels expect way too much ability
from their students. ESL students learning English here in the U.S. do not
learn ( to native speaker ability) English in 4 years, except at a basic
level for communicating needs; for academic pursuits, their English language
ability takes many years more. And these are students who live here.
Therefore, since students here who are studying a foreign language are not
even living in the land where that language is spoken, no wonder that they
cannot converse in the language, let alone consider themselves "fluent" in
that language.
    Regarding foreigners who come here to the U.S. to study : If they had not
had English instruction from a grammar -Translation approach, I doubt that
they could have passed the TOEFL or been successful studying any courses at
an American university. If they had only had instruction from a
conversational approach, or as Professor Maxwell is currently advocating,
with no instruction, then I am sure they could not have leaped in at the
university level and participated in any worthwhile fashion. Yes, they ( many
from Taiwan or mainland China) come not speaking very well, but they quickly
catch on to that since many have been studying English for many years.
    Enough for now. I could go on and on. Thanks for listening. Kristina in
Arizona

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