Early on in Chapter 7, McKay and Bokhorst-Heng discuss how EIL educators must consider the wishes of the student in the way they structure their instruction. The goal of many bilingual programs, for example, is to foster perfect fluency of both languages in every student. This makes the assumption, however, that the student indeed wants to achieve native-like fluency in English (or the L2), when it’s actually possible they might not.
There are other ways, too, in which the instructor must consider the individual needs of his or her students, many of which have not been discussed. As an example, later in the chapter, the authors discuss the potential problems of using CLT as a teaching strategy. CLT is viewed as the L2 instruction strategy that most meets global needs, but some schools and/or instructors still prefer to use the grammar-translation method of teaching. McKay and Bokhorst-Heng (and others) acknowledge that some cultures, such as the specific example in Pakinstan, may not be immediately prepared to use a student-centered model like CLT. However, they do not acknowledge that even some individuals within even Western cultures might not be well-suited for a CLT atmosphere, either.
Some individuals, like myself, vastly prefer the grammar-translation method of learning a language for one reason or another. One reason I prefer it because I enjoy learning about grammar as it is. Also, I am very organized person who likes to know the underlying structure of things before I can feel comfortable. For there’s a comfort issue, too, in a language-learning classroom, and I think that comfort must be a key consideration. For example, every society has Introverts, and most Introverts would be as uncomfortable with the small-group interactions required of CLT as the Pakinstani students were. I know because I’m one of them!
Not that I don’t use small groups in my own classes, of course. But it is important for teachers of every discipline to be prepared to learn their students’ preferences, and then offer their students choices for learning based on those preferences. For example, I assign my students into small, flexible reading groups based on the results of their pre-test, but they are only required to interact with these small groups for a limited amount of time. For the rest of the lesson, students may choose how they want to receive the learning. For example, when it’s time to read the story, they can choose to read it on their own, with a partner, or in a small group listening to me or a recording. When it’s time to answer comprehension questions, they may work on their own or with a partner. Then, they have to share their comprehension answers with their small groups, but it’s a very structured situation in which, aside from reading their pre-written answers, students have to interact with their peers only as much as they are comfortable with.
I go into such detail with this here because I think it’s a really important consideration for language learning. Learning a new language is for many a very vulnerable situation. One feels personally exposed in such a situation, and the comfort of the student has a great impact on how effectively they learn. Putting thought and consideration into how to make one’s classroom a welcoming environment for every kind of learner is more than just acknowledging and appreciating their cultural differences and goals for learning – it’s also valuing what kind of learner they are and enabling them to use that to their advantage.
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