movements in poetry english brazil universidade de sao paulo
UNIVERSIDADE DE SÃO PAULO
FACULDADE DE FILOSOFIA, LETRAS E CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS
DEPARTAMENTO DE LETRAS MODERNAS
TÓPICOS DE PESQUISA EM LÍNGUA INGLESA
PROFª DRª WALKYRIA MONTEMÓR
JONAS COSTA SALDANHA
USP 6469060
Language teaching through the lenses of a Non-linear approach to learning
December, 2011
1. Introduction
This paper is a result of concerns that emerged from the contact I have had with the theories of non-linearity applied to education and, more particularly, to foreign language teaching. With the support of researchers on the topic, such as Edgar Morin (2003), David Mallows (2002) and Diane Larsen-Freeman (1996), I argue that the rationality underlying the approaches to teaching foreign languages should undergo an analysis in order to bring about discussion regarding the way language teachers behave in foreign language classroom. Such analysis should comprise the question: should teachers attempt to use a nonlinear approach when planning lessons, avoiding the conventional sequence from the easiest linguistic features to the most complex ones.
This paper has been organized and divided into four parts. By reviewing the literature in the field, the first one deals with the presentation of the nonlinear approach applied to language teaching. In the second section I present the methodology utilized to build and work on the corpus. Then I discuss some of the content regarding the issue found and detected from the responses to the questionnaire; I finally take the opportunity in the fourth section to put forward desirable changes in programs of second language teacher education.
2. Nonlinearity theory applied to language teaching
Through the whole of the chapter A Reforma de Pensamento (La Réforme da la Pensée), published in the book A Cabeça Bem-Feita (La Tête Bien Faite, 2003), Morin proposes alternative means to build knowledge in the general field of Education. The philosopher criticizes the conventional
FACULDADE DE FILOSOFIA, LETRAS E CIÊNCIAS HUMANAS
DEPARTAMENTO DE LETRAS MODERNAS
TÓPICOS DE PESQUISA EM LÍNGUA INGLESA
PROFª DRª WALKYRIA MONTEMÓR
JONAS COSTA SALDANHA
USP 6469060
Language teaching through the lenses of a Non-linear approach to learning
December, 2011
1. Introduction
This paper is a result of concerns that emerged from the contact I have had with the theories of non-linearity applied to education and, more particularly, to foreign language teaching. With the support of researchers on the topic, such as Edgar Morin (2003), David Mallows (2002) and Diane Larsen-Freeman (1996), I argue that the rationality underlying the approaches to teaching foreign languages should undergo an analysis in order to bring about discussion regarding the way language teachers behave in foreign language classroom. Such analysis should comprise the question: should teachers attempt to use a nonlinear approach when planning lessons, avoiding the conventional sequence from the easiest linguistic features to the most complex ones.
This paper has been organized and divided into four parts. By reviewing the literature in the field, the first one deals with the presentation of the nonlinear approach applied to language teaching. In the second section I present the methodology utilized to build and work on the corpus. Then I discuss some of the content regarding the issue found and detected from the responses to the questionnaire; I finally take the opportunity in the fourth section to put forward desirable changes in programs of second language teacher education.
2. Nonlinearity theory applied to language teaching
Through the whole of the chapter A Reforma de Pensamento (La Réforme da la Pensée), published in the book A Cabeça Bem-Feita (La Tête Bien Faite, 2003), Morin proposes alternative means to build knowledge in the general field of Education. The philosopher criticizes the conventional
References: LARSEN-FREEMAN, Diane. Oxford Journals. Applied Linguistics. June, 1996. Volume 18, Issue 2. http://applij.oxfordjournals.org/content/18/2/141.abstract MARLOWS, David. Non-linearity and the observed lesson. ELT Journal. January, 2002. Volume 56, Issue 1. MORIN, Edgar. A cabeça bem-feita: repensar a reforma, reformar o pensamento. Tradução Eloá Jacobina. 8ª edição. Rio de Janeiro: Bertrand Brasil, 2003. Source for the images Image 1 http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal Image 2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal