Taking a Bottom-up Approach to Learning and Teaching English

There comes a point at which understanding and studying language from a top-down perspective is
just about impossible without a good understanding of the details. In this way, a bottom-up approach
to foreign language study is necessary. This is not easy, however. In some instances, it requires
looking closely at grammatical forms that are used less frequently and that might be more
complicated. It also requires learning and teaching vocabulary with a lexical approach. A bottom-up
approach to ESL/EFL learning is further complicated by reduced forms, or reductions, which occur
in the everyday speech of people whose first language is English. Students might feel that English is
quite mysterious and complex. I think it is not often enough that a bottom-up approach is used in the
ESL/EFL classroom. The opportunity for a bottom-up approach to learning and teaching English
might not present itself in all its forms in the first place. One has to allow bottom-up to present itself.
This will begin to assist students in unlocking the mystery. The ESL/EFL classroom can, at times,
shelter students from the reality of how English is used. Guidance from an ESL/EFL teacher with an
objective viewpoint and whose first language is English is, therefore, indispensable to the ESL/EFL
learner.

Taking a bottom-up approach to ESL/EFL learning and teaching can help unravel some of the
complexities involved in becoming a proficient speaker and listener of English as a second or
foreign language. In order to go beyond the high-intermediate level in ESL/EFL studies, a bottom-up
approach to learning and teaching is absolutely necessary. Still, one should take note that students at
lower levels can also become frustrated by not understanding everything in a given text. Ultimately,
it's the teacher's responsibility to show ESL/EFL students how they can take a bottom-up approach
to their independent study of English. Of course, students have to do their part as well. The student
who wants to progress will take on this responsibility. Part of teaching a language is showing how to
learn a language; part of learning a language is understanding that a great deal of learning occurs
outside of the classroom by means of independent study, speaking practice, and exposure to the
language.

One has to know where to begin and what to learn next. At a certain point, the secret of what to learn
next lies in a bottom-up approach to language study. There is a lot of focus on grammar, and that's
necessary. Grammatical accuracy is important to the student who aspires to reach a high level of
proficiency. However, language is complex, and grammar alone will not allow one to rise to the true
level of understanding that one might desire. ESL/EFL Grammar books present forms separately and
apart from one another. While this form of learning and teaching is practical and necessary, it is in
opposition to how language is really used and understood. Texts which show grammar in context
must be brought into the ESL/EFL classroom at all levels. At the beginner level, this is easier said
than done. At more advanced levels, formal language cannot be fully processed and understood
without showing it side by side with informal language. The distinction between formal language
and informal language is not always clear; the lines are sometimes blurred. It is not always easy to
say what formal language is and what informal language is. Authentic texts are necessary in order to
understand this.

While it may challenge and frustrate some learners, the introduction of texts which are more
complicated is necessary if one is to bring bottom-up learning and teaching to the ESL/EFL
classroom. One could say that more complicated texts are, in fact, authentic texts. It might be
impossible to understand a text using a top-down approach. The proficient speaker of English, or
speaker whose first language is English, more often employs a top-down approach to listening and
understanding in real-life circumstances, whereas the less proficient ESL/EFL learner might become
easily frustrated at what seems to be his or her lack of ability to do the same. The teacher should then
ask: what impedes understanding? Certainly, one's level of expression is limited by one's ability to
understand. However, a higher level of understanding does not guarantee a higher level of
expression. Automatic processing is necessary to achieve a higher level of expression. Automatic
processing becomes more accessible to one who aspires to reach a high level of proficiency as one
gets a handle on more of the details and intricacies of English. It is difficult to progress if one is
continually burdened by having to analyze the language in one's environment in order to understand
it and respond to it. Language can be complex and full of subtleties. Bottom-up is the way forward if
one is to reach a high level of proficiency as a speaker, listener, writer, and reader of English. The
teacher should not only be the students' guide to learning and understanding, but should also show
students how they can be their own guides to learning and understanding.