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Language , learning and teaching(taken from H.D. Brown (2005) Principles of language learning andteaching, Chapter I)

Learning a second language is a long and complex undertaking, in

which your whole person is affected as you struggle to reach a newlanguage, culture, new way of thinking, feeling. Total commitment isnecessary to succesfully communicate in a second language, whichinvolves a total physical, intellectual and emotional response. Languagelearning is not a set of easy steps that can be programmed in a quickdo-it-yourself kit. In this sense, teaching a second or foreign languageshould be looked as a process that facilitates learning, which can besuccessful if, among other things, you know something about the

intricate web of variables that affect how and why one learns a secondor foreign language. We must then first try to define and delimite threefundamental terms: language, learning and teaching.

LanguageSuppose you were stopped by a reporter on the street and, in thecourse of an interview, you were asked: Well, since youre interested insecond language acquisition, please define language in a sentence or

two. You could offer a typical dictionary-type definition, or anoversimplified answer such as systematic communication by vocalsymbols. Brown offers a composite definition of language whichinvolves a number of other definitions:Language is

systematic and generativea set of arbitrary vocal/ visual symbols, with conventionalizedmeanings

used for communication within a speech community or culturehuman, though not limited to humansacquired by all people in much the same way (universalcharacteristics)

The language teacher needs to know something about this system ofcommunication. Can foreign language teachers effectively teach alanguage if they do not know, even in general, something about the

relationship between language and the mind, writing systems, firstlanguage acquisition, and more? If the second language learner isbeing asked to be successful in acquiring such a complex system, isntit reasonable that the teacher have awareness of what the components

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of that system are? All in all, our understanding of the components oflanguage determines to a large extent how you teach language.

Learning and TeachingIf we consider traditional definitions of learning, we may find that

learning is acquiring or getting of knowledge of a subject or a skill bystudy, experience or instruction. Or a more specialized definition suchas learning is a relatively permanent change in a behavioural tendencyand is the result of reinforced practice. Similarly, teaching, which isimplied in the first definiton of learning, may be defined as showing orhelping someone to learn how to do something, giving instructions,guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge, causing toknow or understand. Yet, the following components can be extrated

from different definitions of learning:Learning isacquisition or gettingretention of information or skillsimplies storage systems, memoryactive, conscious focusrelatively permanent but subject to forgettinginvolves some form of practice, perhaps reinforced practice

a change in behaviour

Teaching, on the other hand, cannot be defined apart from learning.Teaching is

guiding and facilitating learningenabling learners to learnsetting the conditions for learning

Your understanding of how the learner learns will determine yourphilosophy of education, your teaching style, your approach, methods,and classroom techniques.If you look at learning as a process ofoperant conditioning and reinforcement, you will include lots ofrepetition and drills in your teaching. If you view learning as a deductiverather then inductive process, you will probably choose to present rulesand patterns to your students rather than let them discover those rulesby themselves.