HUMANIST TECHNIQUE IN ELT

WHAT IS HUMANISM?
Humanism is originally a psychological term. It emphasizes the importance of the inner world of the human being and places the individuals thoughts, feelings and emotions at the forefront of all human developments.

WHAT IS HUMANISTIC APPROACH? Humanistic approach is a language teaching method which emphasize humanism as the most significiant element in the teaching process.

Principles of humaistic approach:

Development of human values Growth in self-awareness and in the understanding of others Sensitivity to human feelings and emotions Active student involvement in learning and in the way learning takes place

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE

Affective humaistic approach sees human being as a whole person. The content is decided by the student. The information and learning that takes place appeals to what the student hopes to gain and learn. It depends less on materials techniques and linguistic analyses, and more on what goes on inside and between people in the classroom.

WHY HUMANISTIC APPROACH EMERGED?

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Humanistic approach emerged to eliminate the limitations of audiolingual (behaviouristic) and cognitive approach (cognitivist). Humanistic approach view of the human being: made up of a house consisting of mind, body, emotion and spirit but traditional view of the student our educational system is generally focused on the first floor where we deal with observable data, information focused on skills and knowledge base so that young people can become good employees, workers, entrepreneurs and providers for their families what we might call a success in life

There are three most important figures in humanistic approach;

Eric Erikson sees that humans psychological development depends not only on the way in which individuals pass through predetermined maturational stages but on the challanges that are set by society at particular times in their lives. Abraham Maslow who proposes a famous hierarchy of needs deficiency needs and being needs. Carl Rogers who supports that human beings have a natural potential for learning but this will take place only when learning is relevant to individual. Although they have different ideas they all advocates humanistic approach.

WHAT ARE SOME IMPORTANT AFFECTIVE FACTORS IN HUMANISTIC APPROACH?

ANXIETY SELF ESTEEM : is a kind of self judgement of worth or value LANGUAGE EGO : it refers to the relation between people feelings of personal identity, individual uniquesness and value of their first language. EMPATHY: it means putting oneself into someone elses shoes of reaching beyond others feelings.

APPROACH
Theory of learning:

t is constructivist. According to AHA learning is conducive to personal change and growth and can facilitate learning provided that the student participates completely in the learning process and has control over its nature and direction. AHA sees individuals as different from each other in terms of psychological and social side.

Theory of language:

It is structural and functional. It includes structural functional activities.

It gives importance to forms and meaning.

Students learn only when language is meaningful fort them.

OBJECTIVES

Students will learn best what they want and need to know. Knowing how to learn is more important than acquiring a lot of knowledge Self-evaluation is the only meaningful evaluation of a student's work. Feelings are as important as facts. Students learn best in a nonthreatening environment

TEACHER ROLES

Allow the student to have a choice in the selection of tasks and activities whenever possible. Help students learn to set realistic goals. Have students participate in group work, especially cooperative learning, in order to develop social and affective skills. Act as a facilitator for group discussions when appropriate. Be a role model for the attitudes, beliefs and habits you wish to foster. Constantly work on becoming a better person and then share yourself with your students.

LEARNER ROLES
They are autonomous. They learn what they want..Also they are director as they shape their activities and group works.

SYLLABUS
Students are given the freedom to determine and assess their learning and they study language which they find meaningful and relevant to them. Therefore they learn whatever form of language that they see important for their

LEARNING TEACHING ACTIVITIES

Learning together: 4 to 6 students have a worksheet they must learn or complete together. encouraged to help each other. No competition among groups. Student Teams - Achievement Division (STAD)

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Bringing variety and creativity to the use of materials and activities used in class is the most facile and fun way of keeping the motivation level high in a language class. Visually attractive handouts, worksheets, flipchart, realia, newspapers, audiovisual aids

CHARACTERISTICS

The characteristics of this approach are as follows: There should be respect for both the teacher and students and their feelings. Meaningful communication is emphasized. Pair and group work are emphasized. It is important for students to support each other. Learning a foreign language is a self-realization experience. Teacher is like a counselor. Teacher should be proficient in the target language and students' native language. Translation can be used in initial stages to support positive feelings of the st

ADVANTAGES
It improves cooperativeness, creativity and independence. It increases positive attitudes towards teacher and school. It develops stres free environment. It reflects a holistic affective and student centered view of language learning. It promotes self confidence. Teachers can use music, art and action to make the class interesting and lively.

DISADVANTAGES
Humanistic teachers aim for good things but these are not clearly defined. Humanistic approach is highly dependent upon the capabilities of the teacher.. Teachers should be proficient in the foreign/second language and they should be viewed as facilitators and counselors It requires carefull preparation of materials. Some members dominate anothers are ignored.

CONCLUSION
Language teaching and learning is a complex process. In this process, what to learn and how to learn are influenced by the cognitive motivation, yet cognitive motivation is determined by individualsaffect. So in language teaching, teachers should always bear the affective factors in their minds and put students in the first place, then they may achieve the success in language teaching. The honeymoon of humanistic approaches was short lived. The problem was that humanism in ELT had become assciated with topics such as psycho drama, NLP or gestalt therapy.