Education Forum

Speech-fronted program to teach English

The aim of the Speech-fronted Program is to build student confidence through speech activities. Keeping this in mind, I selected a teaching method that branched out from the so called communicative approach. The method is Cooperative Language Learning (CLL). The most striking feature of this is that CLL is 100 percent compatible with the overall aim of the program. It involves a lot of group and pair work that create an active and safe zone for our students to use speech.

Cooperative Language Learning is part of Collaborative Learning (CL). CLL has been defined by Olsen and Kagan (1992) as follows:

Cooperative learning is group learning activity organized so that learning is dependent on the socially structured exchange of information between learners in groups and in which each learner is held accountable for his or her own learning and is motivated to increase the learning of others. Cooperative learning is grounded in the theory of interactive/cooperative nature of language and language learning and there are some premises on which it has been built upon:

* Communication is the primary purpose of language

* Most speech is organized as conversation

* Conversation operates according to certain agreed upon set of cooperative rules or ‘maxims’ (Grice, 1975)

* One learns how these ‘maxims’ are realized in one’s native language through casual, everyday conversational interaction.

* One learns how the maxims are realized in a second language through participation in cooperatively structured interactive activities.

CLL is supportive of both structural and functional models as well as interactive model of language.

CLL is based on the theories of developmental psychology, especially of Jean Piaget (1965) and Lev Vygotsky (1962) who emphasize social interaction as central to learning. CLL advocates the activities based on Bloom’s Taxonomy for developing critical thinking of the learner. Another important aspect of the CLL is its emphasis on the cooperation in learning rather than competition.

To achieve these goals, the CLL emphasizes maximum use of cooperative activities through pair and group works. Some of the key concepts related to the CLL are, positive interdependence, group formation, individual accountability, social skills, structuring and structures.

Characteristics

* Student work together in groups to reach common goals

* Students benefit from sharing ideas rather than working alone

* Students help one another so that all can reach some measure of success

How does this (CLL) differ from traditional methods? In traditional methods, students work individually and they may work competitively. Students are generally concerned with improving their own grade. Goals are individualistic rather than group-centred. Thus, CLL is completely contrasting to traditional methods in nature.

Theoretical perspectives of Cooperative learning and achievement underscore three major aspects: motivational perspectives, social cohesion perspectives and cognitive perspectives that involve cognitive developmental aspects and cognitive elaboration. If we further elaborate each of these, in relation to motivational perspectives, individual goals can be achieved only if the group is successful.

Therefore, students help each other partly because it benefits the individual. However, the individualistic element of this is compensated by the next perspective, i.e., social cohesion which brings out one of the inherent characteristics of the mankind, i.e. team spirit.

Therein, individuals help each other because they want others also to win. This is because they care about the group. Cognitive perspectives involve developmental aspects whereby learners discuss, argue and hear others’ views, on a matter order to complete a given task. Cognitive elaboration takes place as learners have to engage in restructuring, explaining concepts ideas and tasks to others since the achievement depends on such activities.

The critical variables

Kagan (1995) states that language acquisition is determined by a “complex, interaction of a number of critical input, output and context variables”. He also states cooperative learning has a dramatic positive impact on these critical variables.

The main disadvantage of such an input over other learners is that it may lack accuracy as students use the language structures and vocabulary, they have already acquired in the target language which may not be always accurate. Herein, the remedial measure we can suggest is that controlled use of language structures with teacher intervention.

Teacher as a facilitator can intervene where correction of pronunciation, vocabulary and sentence structures are required. Error correction needs to be carried out in general terms since pointing to the individual to correct may result in causing embarrassment to the learner which may lead to feeling of threat that hinders the confidence building process.

According to Kagan (1995), “language acquisition is fostered by output that is functional and communicative, frequent, redundant, and consistent with the identity of the speaker”. Cooperative learning is the ideal situation for communicative output.

The context in which students are made to learn the language is conducive to the language learning-acquisition process: they need to communicate to accomplish goals; there is peer support on the basis of sameness; cooperative structures of the activities demand speech; to praise and encourage others is embedded in the process; and interdependency requires others’ views.

Implications

Students find it much easier to talk to a peer in a small group than to the whole class. They have more opportunities to communicate at the level developmentally appropriate for them.

The immediate feedback that students give to one another in cooperative group settings leads to easier acquisition of vocabulary and forms. There is less chance of the self-consciousness and anxiety of the traditional classroom.

All such lead to confidence building which will ultimately results in students acquiring the language in an environment of the classroom which is designed mainly for language acquisition. Such an environment inevitably will bond second language acquisition and cooperative learning by the ‘natural marriage’ as Kagan (1995) phrases it.

As we observe it now, the materials prepared under the theoretical perspectives discussed in the previous articles with necessary adaptations (localization and personalization), the main aim (i.e. building student confidence via speech activities) of the Intensive Program in the Arts Faculty, Colombo University is being achieved with the compatibility between the main aim of the program and the major objectives embedded in the CLL as it promotes cooperation than competition, aims at developing critical thinking and designed to develop communicative competence through socially structured interactive activities. With two weeks of complete immersion in the speech program, students are now at ease with the speech activities given to them, helping each other in their groups to accomplish the tasks assigned to them.

The writer is Lecturer in English Language, ELTU, University of Colombo

Reversal of legal education into English

W.T.A. Leslie Fernando

Chairman of the Legal Aid Commission S.S. Wijeratne deserves all the praise for his forthright leader article National Legal Education that appeared in the Legal Aid Commission page in the Daily News on October 09, 2009.

He laments that since last year, the Law students, whether they came from Sinhala or Tamil medium schools were compelled to sit their Law College Examinations in English.

S.S. Wijeratne correctly emphasizes it is a primary requisite of equal access to justice for the people that as stakeholder they should understand what is happening to them in Courts. When the whole of Sri Lanka came under the British domination they set up Courts to administer Justice in the English language.

The bulk of the litigants had no clue as to what was going on in their cases in Courts. Leonard Wolfe in his celebrated novel Village in the Jungle draws attention to the plight of the villager who could not understand the proceedings conducted in English in Courts. As far back as 1936 a resolution moved by Philip Gunawardena that the proceedings in original Courts should be in the national languages was adopted in the State Council. However it was not implemented as there were so many obstacles to make Courts function in Sinhala and in Tamil.

Sri Lanka gained independence in 1948. But the native rulers continued the British system of administration to the letter. It was said the country changed hands from white sahibs to brown sahibs. Accordingly, there was no significant change in the administration of justice as well from 1948 to 1956.

From 1956 to 1959, under the MEP regime, like in so many other fields winds of change became evident in the administration of Justice. In 1956 Sinhala was made the official language in Sri Lanka.

As such the proceedings in Courts had to be conducted in Sinhala. However due to technical problems and lack of facilities it was enacted that for the time being the Courts should continue to function in English. Nevertheless it was written on the wall that the administration of Justice would sooner or later be performed in national languages.

In 1958 the MEP Government set up Conciliation Boards to amicably settle disputes among parties without resorting to litigation. The Conciliation Boards functioned in national languages. Another significant achievement of the MEP regime was the establishment of Labour Tribunals. The proceedings in the Labour Tribunals were conducted in the national languages.

From 1956 to 1970 conducting proceedings in Courts in the national languages had been getting postponed due to opposition from the vested interest. It was only in 1970 a genuine attempt was made to conduct cases in Sinhala and Tamil. The then Justice Minister Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike made a concerted effort in this direction.

With a view to facilitate administration of justice in national languages steps were taken to make the legal education at the Law College gradually to be administered in Sinhala and Tamil. S.S. Wijeratne discloses that there was parochial resistance from the brown sahib members of the Legal Education Council with vested interests for this move.

The obstinate attitude of the Council could only be corrected by adopting an amendment to the Council law to expand the membership of the Council.

One of the first Courts to work in Sinhala on a trial basis was Gampaha. The Gampaha District Judge at that time was Parinda Ranasinghe, who later became Chief Justice and the Magistrate was W.P.N. de Silva. They cleared many misgivings and showed that original Courts could function in Sinhala without difficulty. In fact Felix R. Dias Bandaranaike the Justice Minister was present on the first day to watch proceedings conducted in Sinhala.

Subsequently in 1974, under the administration of Justice Law all the original Courts in the country began to function in Sinhala and in Tamil. Today all the Primary Courts, Magistrates Courts, District Courts and High Courts function in the national languages.

This is a great relief to the litigants as they could understand the proceedings of their cases in Courts. During the past 40 years or so Sinhala and Tamil had been the medium of instruction not only in the Law College but of the Law faculties of the Universities as well.

The products of those institutions facilitated the smooth functioning of Courts in Sinhala and in Tamil. They have also presented legal literature in the national languages to enlighten commoners on our Laws.

The decision of the Legal Education Council to revert to English as the medium of instruction at the Law College would prevent lawyers to be proficient to conduct cases in the national languages. Ultimately this would be a stepping stone to bring back English as the langauge of Courts so as to traverse justice to commoners by denying them to understand the proceedings of their cases.

Besides the Law graduates who complete their Law studies in national languages would be placed in a difficult position to qualify for the legal profession by studying in English for their examinations at the Law College. It is also an injustice perpetrated on those students who seek to enter the legal profession through free education at the Universities.

It is true that the knowledge of English is vital to widen the knowledge of Law. Nevertheless the medium of instruction for legal studies should be Sinhala and Tamil to produce lawyers capable of conducting their cases in national languages. We hope that the present Council of Legal Education headed by the Chief Justice would bring back national languages as the medium of education in the Law College.

The writer is a former High Court Judge

As we see it

The burden of learning

Last week we heard that the Health Ministry is introducing a new school bag for children. It is intended to relieve the poor children of the heavy loads they carry on their back to and from school. We hope it would succeed. The adverse effects of such load carrying was much discussed for long with no concrete steps taken to take off the load from the backs of children. We hope the Health Ministry will succeed in its effort and words will be translated into action, at least with the beginning of the school year 2010.

It is not only the physical load that has to be taken off. It is much more important to relieve them of the mental load they are burdened with. With noisy and overcrowded classrooms, uninteresting and drab teaching, forced cramming and a hotchpotch of diverse knowledge data being forced on the young ones from tender ages it does not make learning interesting. The entire approach is either too pedantic that leads to incomprehensibility or facts are drilled into the little brains with mechanical regularity and regimentation that no iota of creativity is left in them.

Isn’t it a fact that many a personality who achieved distinction later in life was either a school dropout or was considered weak or backward by their mentors.

Those who were too inquisitive and were asking too many questions, including awkward and embarassing ones, were often punished by the teachers for trying to be too smart or for being disrespectful.

The spirit of enquiry and creativity is more discouraged than encouraged.

Education does not mean mere book-learning. Nor is it spoon-feeding as done by tuition masters preparing students for examinations, including the Grade Five Scholarship examination.

Scope for the child to learn through practice and experimenting is scarce in our school system. Even the practical classes for science subjects were discontinued or made optional.

Learning becomes dull and boring when the child is not emotionally drawn into the subject, especially in the primary stage.

The syllabuses are so large that teachers rush through leaving no time for the students to comprehend, pause and understand the subject.

It is mechanical learning without understanding the principles of knowledge. For example, no amount of repetition or learning by-heart will help a student to understand the Principle of Archimedes than a practical experiment to see that when a body is immersed in water the mass of the water displaced is equal to the mass of the body immersed.

Hence it is very necessary to trim the existing syllabi. Add more extra-curricular activities. Make learning enjoyable. Remove unnecessary crap and teach basic principles with practical examples.

Without such mental off loading mere taking off the physical loads from the backs of students would not suffice.

Let the authorities begin a project of mental off loading too.

Also it must not be forgotten that education is much more than book learning. It is character building and development of the personality of the child.

- The Guru