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Mindfulness and communicative language teaching.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

In the present paper we juxtapose the principles of Mindful Learning with the tenets of Communicative Language Teaching. We demonstrate how traditional instruction teaches to mere intelligence--not to mindfulness--in much the same way that traditional language instruction favors explicit learning over the development of an implicit linguistic system. Then, we demonstrate the connection between competence and performance from a mindful perspective.

Introduction

Mindful Learning theory has a number of implications for Second Language Acquisition theory and foreign language teaching practice. The present paper demonstrates several connections between the principles of Mindful Learning and the tenets of Communicative Language Teaching and proposes a model of learner production from a mindful learning perspective. Although it is important to understand the theory that motivates the pedagogy, the primary focus of the present paper is to treat the pedagogical implications in depth.

Mindful Learning and Second Language Acquisition

Before discussing the relationship of Mindful Learning to Communicative Language Teaching, it is important to understand the relationship of Mindful Learning to Second Language Acquisition theory. Mindful learning is perhaps best understood by contrasting the myths of teaching with mindful alternatives. In this section we briefly summarize these parallels as they relate to Second Language Acquisition theory. We have focused upon Langer's (1997) work "The Power of Mindful Learning" for its strong heuristic value for understanding the choices made during second language instruction (see also Carson, Shih, & Langer, 2001; Langer, 1989; Langer, Hatem, Joss, & Howell, 1989; Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000).

The first myth of learning is that "the basics" need to be learned so well that they become second nature. Langer's (1997) mindful alternative is that there are general truths about how something should be performed. Teachers use repetitive exercises to ensure students learn the basics. In second language classrooms, these repetitive exercises manifest themselves as drills. Drills are not an effective use of class time because they do not promote tacit form-meaning connections.

The second myth of learning is that paying attention means staying focused on one thing at a time. Langer's mindful alternative is that students can use "soft vigilance." Traditional language teaching practice is centered on paradigms. These paradigms are charts that contain, for example, every conjugation of a particular verb in a particular tense. Langer's notion of soft vigilance applies to the way that the learner processes language for meaning...

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