LECTURE 8

Lecture 9
Educational Psychology. Major approaches in FLT:
1. Humanism in Foreign Language Teaching.
2. Behaviorism in Foreign Language Teaching
Humanistic approach :
The importance of the inner world of the
learner.

The place of individual’s thoughts, feelings

emotions at the forefront of all human
development.
The only man who is educated is the man
- Who has learned how to adapt and change

- Who has realized that no knowledge is

secure
- Who has realized that only the process of

seeking knowledge gives

- a basis for security.
- С.Rogers
Teachers’ best preparation for

a) an evolving society is helping children face

the future with confidence in their own
abilities and with a faith that they are
worthwhile and important members of
whatever culture they might find themselves
in.
b) Humanistic education starts with the idea
that students are different, and it strikes to
help students become more like themselves
and less like each other.
CASE STUDY: How can you make
your lessons more humanistic?
VIDEO EPISODE
Explain 5 tips which the teacher offers:
1.Reward effort not outcome

2.Knowing the type of learner

3.Chat to the children

4.Reward personality traits

5.Children as carers
Erikson’s Psychosocial Development
Chart
Early school years
a sense of industry as basic
educational skills
cooperative learning ( +)

a sense of inferiority if learning

experience is connected with
failure ( - )
Competitive situations

Rule: If you teach a language to younger

learners  foster a spirit of cooperation and
develop desire to work.
Adolescence
Search for identity
(+) the key to challenge

(-) Role of confusion, aimlessness, anti-social

behavior.
Rule: for secondary school teacher 
Foster the sense of personal identity by
encouraging learners to make decisions for
themselves and helping to express their own
individuality.
Carl Rogers.
Suggested that significant learning will only take place when:
1. Subject matter is perceived to be of personal relevance to
the learner
2. It involves active participation by the learner
3. It involves self-initiation and feelings as well as cognition
4. It involves creativity, independence, self-reliance and self
evaluation.
5. External criticism is kept to a minimum
6. There’s an atmosphere of ‘unconditional positive regard’
(see the learners as clients with specific needs to be met)
Unconditional Positive Regard
Implications OF THE HUMANIST
APPROACH to education
Implications of Humanistic Approach in
FLT: messages for a language teacher.
1. Create a sense of belonging
2. Make the subject relevant to the learner
3. Involve the whole person
4. Encourage a knowledge of self
5. Develop personal identity
6. Encourage self-esteem
7. Involve the feelings and emotions
8. Minimize criticism
9. Develop a knowledge of the process of learning
10. Encourage self-initiation
11. Allow for choice
12. Encourage self-evaluation
create a sense of belonging

STUDENT –
TEACHER
B ON D
Educational Video Episode
Use Behaviorism in the classroom
 Case-study : teacher Tony has a problem with
classroom management
 How does he improve students’ behavior?
 Which reinforcers does he use?
Behaviorism is the theory that states that people can be taught through the use of
reward and/or punishment.

It often involves the use of drill-and-practice as the main form of instruction.

In behaviorism the teacher is the main focus of the class and all the students must
often follow the directions exactly as they are given.
Behaviorism
Audiolingual Approach
How to reinforce
Learning is broken down into small steps so that the
person can be successful. The teacher provides
reinforcement at each step of the process.
For example, when a student is learning how to show
presentation, the teacher looks for a positive behavior
and then gives the student immediate reinforcement
by saying, “I liked the way you make the eye contact”
or “You did an excellent presentation”.
REINFORCEMENT(Behavior
Increases)
Positive Reinforcement
Something is added to increase desired behavior
Ex: Smile and compliment student on good
performance
Ex: a teacher might give a child a sticker when the
child answers a question correctly. Positive
reinforcement increases the likelihood of
repeated behavior. This type of reinforcement
also motivates students.
Negative reinforcement
Something is removed to increase desired behavior
Ex: Give a free homework pass for turning in all
assignments

Negative reinforcement might include:

Obtaining a score of 80% or higher makes the final

exam optional.
Submitting all assignments on time results in the lowest

grade being dropped.

Perfect attendance is rewarded with a "homework pass."
Punishment
Punishment involves presenting a strong stimulus that
decreases the frequency of a particular response. Punishment is
effective in quickly eliminating undesirable behaviors.
Examples of punishment include:
Students who fight are immediately referred to the principal.

Late assignments are given a grade of "0".

Three tardies to class results in a call to the parents.

Failure to do homework results in after-school detention

(privilege of going home is removed).

Advantages
 benefit children with learning disabilities, by approaching
not only learning issues, but behavioral issues as well.
 work best on subjects that require students to memorize
facts, such as history, social studies and mathematics.
 involves breaking down large skill sets into smaller, more
manageable skills. This allows students to master
concepts before moving to the next skill set.
 For example, teachers break down phonics into individual
letter sounds before moving to more advanced concepts.
Disadvantages
 Sometimes positive reinforcement backfires. Children
might become reliant on rewards for desired
behaviors. Teachers can counteract this by reducing
rewards when the child begins to display the desired
behavior.
 Behaviorism also doesn't work well for all subjects.
Concepts such as writing, which requires students to
analyze and interpret information, might not benefit
from the behaviorist approach.