Teaching English effectively is not easy as there are many factors involved. People usually think that starting at an early age, having qualified and dedicated instructors, a sound and practical curriculum and a host of other factors are keys to teaching the language successfully in Taiwan.
I agree that all of these factors play an important role in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language. But based on my research and classroom observation, there is an often neglected aspect that can contribute to a more effective way to teach and learn the language -- seating arrangements in class.
Picture this: Walk into any classroom in the country and you'll find that the majority have the desks all lined up so that students face the teacher, a platform and a blackboard. This military-like seating arrangement looks neat and disciplined, but it's quite inappropriate, according to many specialists in the field of foreign language education such as H. Douglas Brown.
The majority of research on foreign language learning shows that interaction and communication are critical to learning. If that is the case, the seating arrangement described above has some drawbacks.
First, this traditional seating arrangement makes students think and feel that English is just another academic subject instead of a practical tool for daily communication. It is also conducive to lecturing instead of interaction -- with teachers, instead of students, doing most of the talking.
According to the National Training Laboratories in the state of Maine, lecture-style teaching results in a learning retention -- or how much students can still remember two weeks after class -- of only about 5 percent. The reason is simple: Students don't initiate the talking and actively take part in learning; on the contrary, they are just passive learners, taking in knowledge by listening to the teacher.
Second, the classroom atmosphere in this kind of orderly seating pattern often fails to stimulate and motivate students, making them feel that learning English is boring and mechanical.
Third, with this type of seating arrangement, it is hard for students to work as a team as they cannot readily see and talk to each other in English. Rearranging seats to allow more interaction and communication will not only motivate students more, but also stimulate class participation.
Sadly, despite their disadvantages, this traditional set-up can still be seen in most classrooms around Taiwan. English teachers would do well to use other classroom seating patterns recommended by Brown, such as circles, semi-circles, U-shapes, concentric circles -- all of which are designed to facilitate student communication and interaction.
Kao Shih-fan is an assistant professor at the National Taipei College of Business
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