ANM-ANG-113 - ELTE BTK/PPK MA in ELT Methodology Lectures – Margit Szesztay

The Teacher as Preacher – The Teacher as Facilitator

Historical background

1 John Dewey and the primacy of experience

Dewey believed that education is not fundamentally the transmission of knowledge, but
rather it is the …’ intelligently directed discovery of the meanings inherent in ordinary
experience’ (Dewey 1938:35).

Implications for the teacher: intelligent direction giver - works with students’ experience

2 Abraham Maslow and humanistic psychology

Humanistic psychologists believe that in every person there is a strong desire to realize
his or her full potential, to reach a level of self-actualization. Abraham Maslow (1908-
1970) was one of the founders of humanistic psychology.

Implications for the teacher: needs to create opportunities for learning, remove ‘learning
blocks’ - the desire to learn, develop is innate.

3 Carl Rogers and humanistic education

“When I have been able to transform a group … into a community of learners, then the
excitement has been almost beyond belief. To free curiosity, to permit individuals to go
charging off in new directions dictated by their own interest, to unleash the sense of
inquiry, to open everything to questioning and exploration … - here is an experience I
can never forget.” (Rogers 1983:120)

Core qualities of a facilitator according to Rogers:

a) genuineness: means being yourself, not playing a role in front of your learners;
Rogers sometimes referred to this quality as authenticity, and yet other times as
congruence.
b) acceptance: means prizing the learner, prizing her feelings, her opinions her
person Rogers sometimes referred to this quality as unconditional positive
regard. It implies a basic trust, a belief that this other person is fundamentally
trustworthy.
c) empathy, or empathic understanding: being able to put yourself into someone else’s shoes
“This kind of understanding is sharply different from the usual evaluative understanding
which follows the pattern of ‘I understand what is wrong with you.’ (ibid, p. 125)

Facilitation in the classroom context

1 Adrian Underhill’s framework of lecturer, teacher, facilitator (Underhill 1996):

presence: The unique psychological climate or atmosphere that a teacher creates in the classroom
(Underhill 1997). It is influenced by
 personal qualities (patience, warmth, confidence or spontaneity)
 voice, posture, gestures and other forms of body language
 teaching methods used
 ANM-ANG-113 - ELTE BTK/PPK MA in ELT Methodology Lectures – Margit Szesztay

Two types of professional development

 horizontal development : refers to a kind of teacher development which means ’more of the
same’, e.g. more subject knowledge or expertise. It doesn’t challenge your underlying
values and assumptions.

 vertical development: consists of a shift in underlying values and assumptions of the

process of learning, e.g. e.g. expanded or new methodology based on a deeper
understanding of learning

2 Earl Stevick: relationships in the classroom and group dynamics

"Success depends less on materials, techniques and linguistic analysis,

and more on what goes on inside and between people in the classroom.“

“... a language class is an arena in which a number of private universes intersect one another.
Each person is at the center of his or her own universe of perceptions and values, and each is
affected by what the others do ...”

Implications for teacher:

“The trick for the teacher is … to provide just the right amount of learning space. If there
is too little, the students will be stifled. If there is too much, the students will feel that
the teacher has abandoned him.”
Stevick (1980)

The teacher as facilitator: skills, beliefs and qualities

A facilitating teacher
 is good at classroom management
• uses a variety of work modes
• is a good listener and a keen observer
• believes in learner autonomy
• trusts the potential of the group
• sees group interaction as a way of learning
• is sensitive to group dynamics
• unlocks the power of questions
• works with a process-sensitive methodology

Sources:
Dewey, J. (1938) Experience and Education). Kappa Delta.
Maslow, A. (1954) Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.
Rogers, C. (1983) Freedom to Learn for the 80s.Columbus Merrill.
Stevick, E. (1980) Teaching Languages: A way and ways. Newbury House.
Underhill, A. (1997). The psychological atmosphere we create in our classrooms.
The Language Teacher, 21(9), JALT Tokyo.

Compulsory reading:
Underhill, A. (1996). Facilitation in language teaching. In J. Arnold (Ed.),
Affect in language learning (pp.125-141). Cambridge: CUP.