2.2.3 Humanism

Behaviourism fails to satisfy or fulfil some human needs and aspirations. The effective domain and the hierarchy of needs (see Maslow, Carl Rogers and Brown) are hardly creeping in nowadays education. The old wisdom, "what is good for one is good for all", does not hold true any more.

A fully functioning person has to be taken as a 'whole'. That is his/her physical, cognitive and emotional aspects make up his/her being. The sequence of needs is yet another reality.

Maslow (1970), Heirarchy of needs.

1. The physiological needs.

2. Needs for security.

3. Needs for belonging.

4. Esteem for self and others.

5. Self-realisation.

6. Needs for understanding and knowledge.

7. Of (6) + (5) comes the need for beauty.

All over the world, educational systems deny persons both freedom and dignity. Humanism tries to recognise students as worthy, valuable and respectable humans – and so are teachers. If the context for learning is properly created, then human beings will learn everything they need to.

Indoctornation, imposing and stepping in on behalf of youngsters spoils the image of schools and education as a whole. Lay down the meal on the table and let people eat according to each individual taste.

In conclusion, current language learning theories are incomplete, tending to focus on only a few aspects of the learning process. When similar approaches are grouped together under a common name such as "Cognitive", "Communicative", the implications become clearer. No single theory or method could account for explaining how learning a foreign language takes place. Eclectic view is just as valid when dealing with theories as it is with methods. The views about language as: habit formation, or rule formation or social interaction or mental processes are all valid. They become more valid when put together to help enable second language learner to communicate fluently, read and write coherently and fulfil his/her arising needs through his/her newly acquired skills. Neurological studies and further research in human behaviour may help enlarge our knowledge in days to come; and for the moment, it seems applicable that at the primary stage, we make use of the behaviourists' approaches, and other approaches as learning stages grow bigger.

Language Teaching

3.1 The Scientific Approach to Foreign Language Teaching

3.2 An Outline of Language Teaching Methods and Approaches

3.2.1 Grammar-Translation Approach

3.2.2 Direct Method

3.2.3 Reading Approach

3.2.4 Audio Lingual Approach

3.2.5 Cognitive Approach

3.2.6 Total Physical Response

3.2.7 The Natural Approach

3.2.8 Communicative Language Teaching

3.2.9 Task-based Language Teaching

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