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Introduction
“Nihil in intellectus quod nisi prius in sensu.” (There is nothing in the intellect that is not first in the senses.” (Cited in Scruton, 1995).
“Imagination” said Napoleon “rules the world” (Cited in Rose, 1985: 77)
For this project it is my intention:
a)
to give a
definition of terms, a short account of what lead me to the discovery of
Multi-Sensory Imaging and a discussion of why this project is important;
b)
to present an overview
of Accelerated Learning (the overall approach of which Multi-Sensory
Imaging can be said to form an extremely valuable part);
c)
to produce a
set of exemplary materials which utilise Multi-Sensory Imaging in order
to assist EFL students in the experiential reading of authentic texts and in so
doing to promote and deepen their emotive engagement with a view to expanding
their capacity for overall comprehension;
d) an account of the process of writing the materials and the reasoning behind it;
e) to use the materials during a lesson with the dual objective of increasing the student's capacity for global understanding of the chosen texts and of allowing the students to decide for themselves the value and usefulness of these techniques;
f)
to obtain valuable feedback
from the students on their views and opinions about the lesson, the materials
and the whole approach;
g)
an evaluation
of the materials in the light of the student's feedback;
Furthermore I would like to make it clear from the start that it is NOT my intention to do any of the following:
a) teach content;
b) "prove"
anything;
c) make empirical
claims;
d) claim
objectivity;
e)
quantify.
First of all teaching content is
precisely what we are trying to get away from with this type of lesson. Using
texts, even authentic ones, to provide examples of correct usage of language
items either after these items have been presented or in order to present them
takes the student right back into studial reading mode
(Tomlinson, 1998). This
is not to say that analysing language items in context is wrong but merely that
it should take its proper place in the order of things i.e. after the text has
been read experientially and all the various tasks that assist in this have been
completed.
It is to be noted as well that
the lesson is designed and conducted from a Humanistic perspective whereby we
are more concerned with teaching people than teaching language. (Rogers, 1983).
Secondly,
Accelerated
Learning (within which this project aims to fall) is about challenging
“...participants to break the traditional mind-set of ‘teacher as purveyor
of content’ and instead develop an attitude of ‘teacher as peer, resource
person, and facilitator’...” (
Learning Strategies Corporation,
1997).
Knowing that Tomlinson has just
finished his PhD on a very similar topic and been heavily criticised for not
having "proved" anything despite his large number of experiments and
years of research it would smack of both arrogance and ignorance to lay claim to
having "proved" anything at this level, with such a small sample and
so little time (comparatively). Besides which, as Wilson (1997) explains:
"What the thinker
thinks,
the prover proves".
My experiences of FL
learning,
my studies in the subject, my reading of it and my theoretical understanding of
it stand to convince me of the efficacy of my approach. As such I do not feel
under any obligation to "prove" anything to anyone. (Nor, indeed, is
it my objective.) However, even for those who remain sceptical, one can hope
that there will be at least some provocation of thought resulting from the
project.
After many painful months of
having huge quantities of empirical research into SLA inflicted upon me during
my studies the only thing that really struck me was this: how much room there is
for conflicting opinion. For instance, Tomlinson (1998: 5) cites Tarone and Yule
(1989):
"It seems clear that
researchers cannot agree at present upon a single view of the learning process
which can safely be applied wholesale to language teaching"
and Cook (1996):
"... no second language
acquisition research can provide a definitive answer to the real problems of
second language teaching at this point... There is no predetermined correct
theory of language teaching originating from second language acquisition
research."
Yet despite this it has consistently astounded me as to how little room is actually given to those who dare to express an opinion that contradicts with whichever opinion is held to be the most authoritative at that time and in that area by those who regard themselves as the authorities on the subject (and expect you to as well).
While not wishing to negate the
great deal of work that has gone before, nevertheless one does detect a certain
amount of pandering to the ‘authority of print’ and too much blind
acceptance of the sacred cow status of much ‘research’ simply because it
lays claim to being empirical. Obviously one cannot fail to recognise that there
is a necessity for empiricism and scientific rigour within our field but one
should also recognise its failings and drawbacks and that there should be a
greater realisation that it is not the be all and end all. Besides which there
remains, in my opinion, the important point that so much of it is just so DULL!
Beyond that one also comes across the rather narrow-minded notion that seems to
say,
"If you can't test for it
empirically, it doesn't exist".
Hmm.
Closely allied to the above two
paragraphs is the notion of objectivity. This is the great unobtainable. I refer
the reader to a description of Dr. Charles Garfinkle's "Ethnomethodology":
"...ethnomethodology shows
how every human perception, including the
perceptions of social scientists who think they can study society "objectively",
always contains the limits, the defects and the unconscious prejudices of
the emic reality (or social game) of
the observer." (Wilson, 1990).
and to Heisenberg’s
Principle:
“the observer alters the
observed by mere act of observing”
(cited by Turco, 1997: 13)
Finally we have
quantification.
Humanity's abiding obsession. Many years ago in an 'O' level Sociology class I
came upon the Disraeli quote:
"There are
lies, damn lies
and statistics".
In my opinion never a truer word
has been spoken. And yet, bizarrely, they remain insidiously ubiquitous in every
walk of life.
To my mind intuition and
personal observations and perceptions have become sorely undervalued in the face
of a mass of data obsessed with its own claims to superiority. Yet small-scale
action research projects have a part to play in the understanding of how
learning occurs.
The following quotes give an
idea of why this is so:
"Field (1997) claims two
important roles for action research. Firstly, it encourages teachers to reflect
on their practice, and therefore leads to potential change. It plays an
important part in reflective teaching, where personal and professional
development occur when teachers review their experience in a systematic way ...Secondly,
it is said to empower teachers, releasing them from dependence upon precepts
handed down by trainers and inspectors. By testing for themselves the methods
and materials they use in the classroom, they can establish which are the most
effective for them." (Cited in Tomlinson, 1998: 22).
But it should not just involve
the teachers. The students have an equal role to play and their views must be
included. After all it was as a student that I learnt so much about what DIDN”T
work in the classroom.
Beyond these reasons this
project is important because it is looking at ways in which to incorporate
techniques and principles derived from Suggestopedia
and Accelerated Learning into more traditional learning
environments. In
my opinion the ideal would be for all students to be taught within institutions
devoted to Accelerated Learning but sadly reality necessitates the recognition
that more frequently this will not be the case.
My interest in Accelerated
Learning stems from my long held view that traditional language teaching is
seriously flawed and woefully inadequate. I count myself fortunate in that I
have always believed that my inability to get to grips with either French or
German at school and later Spanish at college was due to the drawbacks of the
system rather than any lack of intellectual ability on my part. To the eternal
discredit of our education system(s) this is not true of many students who leave
with the view that they are somehow not suited to language learning or worse
that they are intellectually deficient in some way.
From the start of embarking upon
my studies in EFL I have been looking for ways to break free of conventional
pedagogy, to direct student centred lessons that didn't involve cumbersome
grammar terminology, complex rules that can be frequently shown to be
inapplicable and tiresome drills and exercises. All the time, despite receiving
little support in the early days from either peers or tutors, I was convinced
that there had to be some way of approaching language learning that could speed
up the process and could be so much easier and so much more FUN!
It is from this searching perspective that I finally came upon some alternative approaches and met with the realisation that I WAS NOT ALONE! (A very joyous revelation indeed). Chief among these new ideas was the notion of using "authentic texts" and the utilisation of visualisation techniques to assist in "global understanding" and promote emotive engagement and experiential reading as opposed to obsessing over tired old comprehension questions and grammar focus activities leading the students to concentrate only on studial reading. Multi-Sensory Imaging is the common sense expansion of visualisation to incorporate all the senses.
Furthermore an introductory lesson on Suggestopedia led to the discovery of its expanded modern equivalent, Accelerated Learning. Finally here was what I had been looking for. Although much work remains to be done and there are many valid criticisms, nonetheless, I firmly believe that we now have the ability to vastly improve education as a whole and language learning in particular.
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