Why before What

Or Why Learner fulfillment is more important than learning itself: Reflections upon Four Finnish Lessons

When I began considering my four sessions of Finnish, and ESOL teaching in general, I was seeking to answer one core question, namely: What is the best way to teach English? I wanted to extract teaching methodologies from my experience as a language learner. But I soon realized that the answer to that question was contingent upon another issue: Why does the learner want to learn English? In other words, I saw that the merit of a methodology is determined by the motivation of the learner; that is, a methodology is only as meritorious as it is effective in meeting the learners needs and desires. This must be the case because the role of the teacher is causally dependent upon the neediness of the learner only the learners desire to learn legitimizes the role of the teacher. So, what does learner motivation consist of? Well, universally we might say this: learner motivation consists of the ever-present desire for fulfillment in every sphere of life. In other words, all learners, in every circumstance, are learning for their own fulfillment. If this is true and it is philosophical claim which we cannot explore here then we can posit this: a methodology has merit to the degree that it meets the learners desire for fulfillment (learner fulfillment can be evaluated over either a short or long term time period). This learner fulfillment, which has become the goal of language teaching, has many manifestations in individual lives for instance, instrumentally, language is the learners means of obtaining a fulfilling job; or, of obtaining fulfilling relationships, inside and outside of the class environment. Alternatively, it may consist in the learners sense of achievement upon gaining a qualification, or in the good that he or she may be able do within the local community, after being empowered with the locals language. Viewed in this light, the activities conducted within the ESOL classroom become imbued with power as a means of furthering the fulfillment of groups of individual people. Practically, this leads to one important principle, which I learned through a combination of positive and negative experiences during these Finnish lessons, namely: teaching methodologies must be enjoyable that is, fun - for the learners. This is because if the learning process is enjoyable, then it is intrinsically fulfilling; and so while it may be possible to subject learners to unpleasant teaching methodologies to achieve a greater occurrence of learning, and a long-term benefit (like passing an end of year exam), this is still a violation of the learners desire for fulfillment and a transgression of the teacher-learner relationship. Previously, I had thought that it was more important for the learners to achieve the lessons learning outcomes then it was for them to enjoy the lesson; and whilst this reasoning has an appearance of wisdom, it is counterproductive, and is the source of that familiar (but extreme) secondary school experience in which the learner is subjected to tedious and demeaning methodologies in the name of promoting learning. But if our foundational assertion is adhered to, and a methodology is deemed meritorious only to the degree that it fulfills the learner, then such practices will never be entertained. Indeed, we must go further and concede that, at least in the short-term, it is more important that the learner enjoys the lesson then that learning takes place. This proposition follows naturally from the principle that learner fulfillment is the goal of language teaching our desire being not simply that they should receive

linguistic knowledge, but that they should know fulfillment (both by enjoying the learning itself and by reaping the diverse and lifelong benefits of linguistic knowledge). The latter is a learner-centred methodology; the former is a teachercentred methodology.1 However, if we may be grateful that learner enjoyment and the occurrence of learning can in fact co-exist within a single ESOL activity, then we must still protect the learners by safeguarding the principle that learner enjoyment is more important than the occurrence of learning. Learner fulfillment must be upheld as the overarching goal of teaching, and the following corollary may be regarded as a statement of good practice: Learner enjoyment is centrally important. This is a rule of thumb that I shall seek to apply throughout my teaching career, because whatever else I learned through these four Finnish lessons, I learned that as a class of learners we wanted to enjoy the learning process. Therefore by prioritizing this principle as I plan my lessons, I hope to honour and sustain learner motivation - avoiding the pitfalls of the boring lesson, and creating a stimulating learning environment that will actually be a catalyst for the occurrence of learning.

This discussion cannot consider other constraining factors such as institutional demands, like government targets or the controlling influence of funders.