Testing some current assumptions

Abstract

Although the concept of ‘method’ has become increasingly discredited, the implications of current methodological assumptions for practical classroom procedures have hardened into a well-defined set of prescriptions and prohibitions which are believed to have universal validity. As a result, students' specific needs and attitudes are ignored and the effectiveness of particular techniques is either deduced from theoretical principles or based on subjective impressions. A survey of students' attitudes was conducted at the Pius Font i Quer Secondary School in Manresa (Spain). This was followed by three simple tests on the interaction of first and target languages in the learning both of isolated words and of words and idioms in context and on the effectiveness of ‘motivating’ materials and ‘creative’ techniques, as opposed to more traditional exercises.