Invitado/ Guest writer

Herbert Puchta holds a Ph.D. in ELT Pedagogy from the University of Graz, Austria and is currently Professor of English at the Teacher Training University (Pädagogische Academy) in Graz. He has been a plenary speaker at various international conferences. He has conducted workshops and given seminars in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Paraguay, and Uruguay. He has also worked as a speaker for the British Council and has contributed to various British Council Specialist Seminars.

Herbert is a Master Practitioner in Neuro Linguistic Programming. For almost two decades, he has done research into the practical application of findings from cognitive psychology to the teaching of English as a foreign language. Herbert has co-authored numerous textbooks for the teaching of English as a foreign language, as well as articles and resource books. 

His latest coursebooks, co-authored with Günter Gerngross, are PLAYWAY TO ENGLISH and JOIN IN, both published by Cambridge University Press.

The following article is an interview given by Herbert Puchta to Natalia, on behalf of APAC , the English Teachers Association of Catalunya. Here at Atlantic Forum, we would like to thank APAC, Natalia, and Herbert for their kind permission to reprint the article, which first appeared in APAC’s own magazine. Thanks also to Steve M., without whom etc.................. 

N. Teaching a foreign language at an early age is nowadays common practice in our schools. Which is in your opinion the right age to start to learn a foreign language?

Which are the best conditions for the early learning of a foreign language in terms of: 

• number of pupils per class

• number of sessions per week

• teacher’s profile

HP Language learning is a very sophisticated process, with a lot of factors that influence the outcomes of our work. We have to think of the whole process rather than individual factors. If a teacher can create an atmosphere where learning is fun, where children for example really want to understand a story the teacher is telling them, or later want to act out the same story in a role-play activity, and they do that with great enthusiasm, then the key factor here is the students’ motivation to learn. Another factor that I regard as very important is the development of the students’ positive beliefs about their own language learning capabilities. The more they develop the feeling of what it is like to really be able to successfully communicate in the target language, the better for their language learning process. 

Factors like the number of pupils are of course not insignificant, however, they are of secondary importance. You can have a very small group with a lot of discipline problems, and then a small group is already too big. And you can have a relatively big group of children who are very motivated, and then the size of the group is not really a problem. As far as number of hours per week are concerned, we would of course want to have as many as possible. But we also have to be realistic. Children have to learn other things too, and not just foreign languages. I think in 3 hours a week, as is the case in  most Spanish schools, we can achieve quite a lot. 

As far as the teacher’s profile is concerned, the ideal description would be a perfect primary teacher whose English is excellent, and who loves teaching English as a foreign language. Of course in the real world we hardly ever find ideal situations. So my answer to this would be a teacher who is interested in what she is doing, and who herself is willing to learn. 

N. What should for you be the aims of early foreign language teaching? 

HP. Of course we want to develop language skills. First listening, then speaking, and gradually (once reading and writing are in place in the child’s mother tongue)  also reading and writing. But early foreign language learning is also an ideal opportunity to achieve other objectives. Foster children’s cognitive capabilities, for example, or help them to gradually develop an awareness of other cultures. 

N. You have developed the so-called SMILE approach. Can you tell us about it? 

HP. First of all SMILE is a metaphor. It stresses the importance of creating a classroom culture to which pupils want to belong. If children can learn the foreign language in an anxiety-free way, chances are that they will develop positive beliefs about their own foreign language learning capabilities. We want to create a classroom culture in which pupils see linguistic errors as natural learning phenomena rather than as terrible mistakes.

Secondly, SMILE is an acronym, where each of the letters stands for an important aspect of early foreign language learning: Skill-oriented learning, Multi-sensory learner motivation, Intelligence-building activities, Long term memory storage through music, movement, rhythm and rhyme, and last but not least Exciting stories, sketches and games.  

N. How is diversity foreseen within this approach?

HP. In various ways. First of all of course there is space for the teacher’s individuality in choosing the right method or methods in order to realise the key principles in her daily work. Secondly, The SMILE approach takes into careful consideration the fact that children are different. The I in SMILE is about Intelligence building activities, a way of respecting the fact that intelligence is not one unitary mental capability, but there are various such capabilities – intelligences – that can all be developed at the same time as the children are learning English as a foreign language.  

N. How should the assessment of the children’s progress be done?

HP. Basically, there are more formal assessment procedures (as often stated in national curricula), and more process-oriented ways of evaluating the student’s performances. I think both can be valuable, if done properly. And then of course there is a growing tendency towards portfolio assessment that helps the students to develop an awareness of their own learning progress and makes it possible for them to assess more appropriately than any kind of formal evaluation what they have achieved.  

We also should not forget that in a number of counties international exams, even for young learners, are becoming popular. This is certainly a very significant sign that early foreign language learning is seen as increasingly important by school authorities, educators and parents alike. 

N. Can you make comments to these statements: 

• The only way to learn a language is through an immersion process.

HP. This is certainly not true. Many people have learnt a foreign language very well without going abroad. Of course staying abroad for some time will always make significant contributions to one’s performance in a foreign language. 

• The younger the better

HP. It is true that in general certain aspects of the foreign language – like pronunciation - can be acquired best when we start very young. Which does not mean we should start language courses for two-year-olds. On the other hand, why not start when the mother tongue is firmly in place, which for most children would be around the age of four. 

• The more the better

HP. As long as learning is fun, and children do not experience any kind of pressure. 

• Young children learn easily but also forget easily

HP. This is why when it comes to the teaching of young learners learner training is so important. It is also the reason why teachers of young learners have to give children mnemonic support at the same time as they are teaching them the foreign language. This can be done in a variety of ways, e.g. through multi-sensory teaching methods, songs, rhymes, intelligence-building activities and the like. 

• Very young learners can only learn some vocabulary and very easy structures

HP. Very young learners can learn a lot if they are really motivated. This is why the content of what we teach is so important. 

• Young children follow the same patterns when learning a foreign language as those used for their mother tongue.

HP. Young children have one big advantage over learners who start learning a foreign language as adults. They have very recently successfully gone through the process of acquiring their mother tongue. Of course learning a foreign language is a different thing, but children can draw on the capabilities they have gained in the process of acquiring their mother tongue. 

• The goal of teaching a foreign language to very young learners is to help them develop their receptive skills

HP. It is the first, and most important objective, but experience shows that many children love imitating the sounds of the foreign language. They want to learn the words of the foreign language, and they are proud of anything they can learn to say. Why not take advantage of that? 

• The target language has to be the language of communication in the class and the mother tongue should be avoided

HP. There are of course limits to this. I would say that we should use the target language as much as possible, and it is fascinating to watch how much children can actually learn to understand within a relatively short period of time. There are moments, however, when it is advisable to use the children’s mother tongue, e.g. in order to avoid confusion. 

• It is not a good idea to try to force young learners to speak in the target language as this can create a lot of emotional stress

HP. It is probably not good to force children to do anything. Force does not work, as we know. We have to accept the fact that with some children the development of speaking skills takes a bit longer. This is a very natural phenomenon. Not all children start speaking at the same time in their mother tongue.  

• The younger the children are the more important TPR is.

HP. Any kind of multi-sensory activation of the child is extremely helpful in learning anything, and especially a foreign language. There are numerous examples that children remember best what they learn by being involved visually, auditorily and kinaesthetically at the same time. This is how we learn nursery rhymes, and we learn them when we are three, and we still remember them when we are a hundred and three! 

N. Can you suggest some reference books for further reading?

HP. How about some books on the development of the child’s thinking skills? Here are three suggestions:

Robert Fisher, Teaching Children to Think, Stanley Thornes, Cheltenham 1992

Howard Gardner, Multiple Intelligences. The Theory in Practice. Harper Collins, New York 1993.

Eric Jensen, Brain-based Learning and Teaching, Turning Point Publishing, Del Mar 1995.

We would be interested to know if you try out any of these activities, and, if so, what the results are. Drop us a line at forum@atlanticls.com
   

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