The Plateau; or the Case for Comprehension: the “Concept” Approach

Belasco, Simon

doi:10.1111/j.1540-4781.1967.tb06703.x

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Nor could critiques, such as the following one by Belasco (1967), do much to redirect the full-throated chorus of those practitioners who were singing in unison as a result of the kind of professionalization efforts from which they had clearly benefitted, particularly through the many activities associated with the NDEA. Belasco's judgment that "the practical assumption that dialogue memorization and intensive pattern practice will ultimately lead to conversation is as naive as the 'natural assumption' that acquiring a second language should ideally approximate that of a child acquiring a first language" (p. 86) is almost a wistful counter-statement to prevailing ways of doing things.…”

Section: Contesting the Conversational Floor: Themes And Variationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Shaping the Discourse of a Practice: The Role of Linguistics and Psychology in Language Teaching and Learning

Byrnes

2000

The Modern Language Journal

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This article treats the Modern Language Journal (MLJ) as a site for observing how a particular community, foreign language teachers, over an 85-year period shaped its practices discursively, gradually developing a particular kind of professional identity. Instead of treating the current situation as the result of a straight-line sequence of rational choices, this article points to various dynamics external and internal to the field whose influence was by no means preordained nor even necessarily beneficial. Focusing on the relationship between language teaching and disciplinary inquiry in linguistics and psychology, it identifies (a) a period in which the Journal and its readership circumscribed their interest in teaching modern, as opposed to classical languages; (b) a period in which both linguistics and psychology offered important insights, with linguistics, ultimately, dominating practice; (c) the rise of psycholinguistic models that, alongside existing understandings, led to enormously varied beliefs and approaches; and (d) a time for renegotiating our professional identity in light of a multiplicity of voices, interests, and models of research and practice. It concludes that the advantages of professionalization through disciplinary inquiry and the power it conveys to certain voices need to be balanced against the gains made possible with a kind of professional multilingualism.

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Section: Contesting the Conversational Floor: Themes And Variationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Shaping the Discourse of a Practice: The Role of Linguistics and Psychology in Language Teaching and Learning

Byrnes

2000

The Modern Language Journal

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“…While clearly critical of the Guidelines, Valdman's analysis nonetheless, together with the spectrum of research studies that follows, examines alternatives as well as concerns about ACTFL's testing practice and the validation of proficiency testing in theory and research. 8 Interim guidelines, although premature from a research standpoint, despite disputes about their validity, represent our best hope for implementation of an adult language acquisition paradigm: the Guidelines account for the learner's functional abilities in a consistent way. However, the strength of consistency is vulnerable on two counts mentioned above: 1) the concern that the Guidelines are inaccurate because they are insufficiently sensitive in assessing multiple factors; 2) the fact that the Guidelines are necessarily too broad for daily applications in the classroom.…”

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confidence: 99%