Humanism and English Language Teaching

 

A.    Definition of Humanism

According to Oxford English Dictionary humanism means devotion to human interests. Whereas Longman American Dictionary stated that humanism is a system of beliefs that tries to solve human problems through science rather than religion. In this case, humanism is sometimes associated with the rejection of religion because humanism asserts that knowledge of right and wrong is based on one's best understanding of one's individual and joint interests, rather than stemming from a transcendental truth or an arbitrarily local source. While according to Dorrel (2002), humanism is a rational philosophy based on belief in the dignity of human beings, informed by science and motivated by human hope and human compassion.

 

B.   History of Humanism

Humanism is closely associates to the Italian Renaissance in the 15th-century. These early humanists created a philosophical movement based on what they discovered in ancient Roman and Greek manuscripts. During the Renaissance period in Western Europe, humanist movements attempted to demonstrate the benefit of gaining learning from classical, pre-Christian sources, which had previously been frowned upon by the Roman Catholic Church. At that time, many scientists were sentenced to death because their inventions were against the church belief. In the 1930s, humanism was identified with secularism because it contributes  reason, ethics, and justice, while rejects supernatural and religious ideas as a basis of morality and decision-making. 

In modern times, many humanist movements have become strongly aligned with atheism or non-religious beliefs. However, in the recent development, there is a new term called religious humanism as a unique integration of humanist ethical philosophy with the rituals and beliefs of some religions, although religious humanism still centers on human needs, interests, and abilities. Religious humanism  developed into more liberal religious organizations evolved in more humanistic directions.

 

C.    Theory of Humanism

 The most prominent figures in the theory of humanism are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.

1.      Abraham Maslow

Maslow in McLeod (1997) stated that humanistic psychologists believe that an individual's behavior is connected to their inner feelings and self concept. Based on his research, in 1943, Abraham Maslow set out five fundamental human needs and their hierarchical nature. Below is the original five stages of Maslow’s  hierarchy of need.

                  

                                                         (Picture was taken from en.Wikipedia.org)

                                                  Figure 1. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need

According to Maslow, we cannot reach the higher needs if we have not satisfied the need from the bottom level. One must satisfy lower level basic needs before progressing on to meet higher level growth needs.  In 1970, two more needs were added by splitting two of the above five needs. Between esteem and self-actualization needs was added:

1.      Cognitive needs: knowledge, meaning, etc.

2.       Aesthetic needs: appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc

In 1990s, Self-actualization was divided into two concepts:

1.       Self-actualization, which is realizing one's own potential.

2.       Transcendence, which is helping others to achieve their potential.

However, the seven and eight level 'hierarchy of needs' models are later adaptations by others, based on the criticism of Maslow's work, not Maslow’s own work.

2. Carl Rogers 

In 1946, Rogers published Significant aspects of client-centered therapy (also called person centered therapy) that promotes counseling . The idea of counseling intends to perceive and help people to meet the needs on which they currently focused and also encourage them to reach higher needs and the greater things in life.

The basic concepts of humanism theory believe that human has free will so not all behavior is determined.  Second, All individuals are unique and have an innate (inborn) drive to achieve their maximum potential therefore a proper understanding of human behavior can only be achieved by studying humans - not animals.

Humanism shifted the focus of behavior to the individual / whole person rather than the unconscious mind, genes, observable behavior etc. Therefore, humanistic psychology satisfies most people's idea of what being human means because it values personal ideals and self-fulfillment. However, humanism seems to ignore biology and unconscious mind, unscientific or subjective concepts so that it reduces the validity of any data obtained, ethnocentric (biased towards Western culture) and the belief in free will is in opposition to the deterministic laws of science. Moreover, it is extremely difficult to empirically test Maslow's causal relationships so that in some aspects has been falsified. 

 

D.   Humanism in English Language Teaching

Humanistic language teaching brings a new view of the language teaching which includes recognition of the importance of his or her personal development. Humanistic language teachers and theorists never talk about substituting the cognitive for the affective, but rather about adding the affective, both to facilitate the cognitive in language learning and to encourage the development of the whole person.

Stevick (1990) stated that the most well-known forerunners of humanism in ELT are Curran (1976) and Gattegno (1972). Curran advocated the use of Counselling-Learning  which later known as Community Language Learning (CLL). CLL seeks to encourage teachers to consider the learners as whole persons where their feelings, intellect, protective reactions, interpersonal relationships, and desire to learn are considered with empathy and balance.  In this practice, teachers sit outside a circle of learners and help them to talk about their personal and linguistic problems. The students decide the material, while the teacher is more of a facilitator, who fosters an emotionally secure environment. Curran believed that by this method, the anxiety or fear of making a fool of oneself will be lowered. Meanwhile, Gattegno advocated the Silent Way approach. He presented challenges for learners. These challenges developed the students' awareness and encouraged their independence.

Vashuhi (2011) suggest  five important components in humanistic language teaching. First is feeling. In a humanistic language classroom, the learners’ feelings are respected. Second is social relation. This encourages friendship and cooperation by developing interpersonal skills to accelerate language learning.  Third is responsibility.  This aspect accepts the need for criticism and correction.

Fourth is intellect which includes knowledge, reason and understanding. The last is self-actualization.

In line with the previous theorist, Bress (2007) stated that humanistic classroom activities should demonstrate deep thinking, creativity, empathy, communication and theorizing.

 

Humanistic Teachers

Bress (2005) suggested that humanistic teacher should have a good grasp of language learning theories as well as  be aware of the individual learners' 'developmental readiness' , which will determine when and how to teach each student. If necessary, they offer to solve their students’ problem. Humanistic teacher also needs to be aware of what motivates their students. Some will probably want to learn English because they think they need it for their future career (extrinsic motivation), while others want to study for the sake of it (intrinsic motivation).  Above all, the successful humanistic teachers  allow a combination of language learning theories and their own experience to interact with each others and understanding students’ affection to produce effective language lessons.

Teacher plays a different role from that of his/her students. They have a particular job but it does not mean that they have higher status. They try to provide students with learning opportunities, which the students are free to take or not. In this case, flexibility is really needed. Teacher needs to make a point of observing students very carefully so that they know when to introduce certain tasks, according to the progress the students are making. If teachers do not regard how students are responding, some students will be lost forever and lose confidence to learn English.

 

Humanism in Practice 

a.       Teaching language items

Every new language item is taught at the optimum time of readiness for the class and by fostering a sense of co-operation between the students and teacher. Such work on the concept of the target language needs to be repeated in a way that is appropriate to the abilities and progress of the group. After enough practice, through both teacher-centered and student-centered phases, the student should gradually learn the target language. 

b.      Teaching skills
Before the class able to understand the gist of a material, teacher should make sure that the students are mentally prepared for it. This means that the 'text’ is not too hard for them, arousing interest and setting a problem for the students to solve. Teacher need to enable learners to become more successful by carrying out certain situation. 

 

Humanistic Element in Other Approaches

            As we know that Humanism is a tenet or value so it can be applied in the other approaches but in different degree. Stevick (1990) gave three questions as a guideline to check the degree of humanism in the other approach such as Grammar-Translation, the Direct Method, Total Physical Response, the Natural Approach, Suggestopedia, and the Communicative Approach. The three questions are:

1.   Which uniquely human attributes of the learner does this approach emphasize?

2.   What sort of freedom does this approach offer to the learner?

3.   How does this method contribute to human dignity?

While Vashuhi (2011) stated that Total Physical Response, the Silent Way, Community Language Learning and Suggestopedia are kind of humanism methodologies.

 

E. The Future Perspective of Humanistic Language Teaching

            Bress (2007) try to ensure that the development of today’s technology suggest  HLT into a higher profile where  professionals interest about what HLT means  became clearer. Vashuhi (2011) stated that humanism adds to the effectiveness in the learning process because it provides interesting process for the students.  A humanistic approach in teaching not only helps learners easily learn things but also develops their personality in various ways. They easily solve problems in life situations, have good reasoning capabilities and are self-developed with free-will and co-operation. Hongladarom (2012) suggest that humanistic education is necessary for equipping human beings for the future because it enables the young to cope best with the world. The teacher can only inspire, and learning really occurs when students embark on their own journey toward understanding themselves and their surroundings. Remembering what Socrates said, the teacher can only bring forth what is already in the students. The greatest joy of a teacher is to see students grow up intellectually and emotionally to be independent, sensitive and imaginative thinkers and doers. In sum, humanistic language teaching gets a good appreciation from practitioners ad educators. However, the practice in the classroom still needs more investigation and effort to find the best recipe of humanistic language teaching.

 

References

Bress, Paul. 2007. Humanistic Language Teaching in the  21^st Century. (Online),     (http://www.usingenglish.com/speaking-out, retrieved on  September 25^th  2012).

 

Bress, Paul. 2005. Humanistic Language Teaching. (Online),     (http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/humanistic-language-teaching, retrieved on  September 25^th  2012).

 

Brown,H.D. Teaching By Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (3^rd ed). White Plains, NY: Pearson,Inc.

 

Cline, Austin. 2012. What is Humanism? History of Humanism, Humanist Philosophy, Philosophers. Online), (http://atheism.about.com/od/philosophyschoolssystems/p/humanism.htm, retrieved on  September 25^th  2012).

 

Curran, C.A. 1968. Counseling and Psychotherapy: The Pursuit of Values. New York: Sheed and Ward.

 

Dorrel, Heather.2002. What is Humanism?. (Online),  (http://www.humanistsofutah.org/what.html retrieved on  September 22^nd 2012).

 

Gattegno, C. 1972. Teaching Foreign Languages in Schools: The Silent Way. New York: Educational Solutions Inc.

 

Hongladarom.2012. Humanistic Education in Today's and Tomorrow's World. (http://pioneer.chula.ac.th/~hsoraj/web/Humanist.html, retrieved on  September 25^th  2012).

Longman American Dictionary.

 

McLeod, S. 2007. Humanism, (Online), (http://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html, retrieved on  September 23^th  2012).

 

Oxford English Dictionary .2006. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Riley, Jim. 2012. Motivation Theory Maslow, (Online), (http://www.simplypsychology.org/humanistic.html retrieved on  September 27^th  2012).

 

Stevick, E.W. 1990. Humanism in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Vashuhi, r. 2011. Humanism: a human perspective in  English language teaching. (Online),     (,http://www.tjells.com/article/76_HUMANISM.pdf ,  retrieved on  September 25^th  2012).