Page 20 - ELG1601 Apr Issue 435

ELpeople
Page 20 April 2016
EFL for championing The thinking revolution could now apply my convictions

ou’re most known in
Ythe role of psychology to something that would be of
practical use to teachers.
in the language classroom and Basically the approach inte-
have recently won the Ben Melanie Butler asks author Marion Williams about the psychology grates the teaching of language and
Warren Prize for a book you thinking. This means the children
co-authored on the subject, of learning and how it can be applied to teaching a foreign language are engaged in using language for
Exploring Psychology in Lan- a real purpose, to solve problems,
guage Learning and Teaching to compare and contrast things, to
(OUP, 2015). How did you first out the implications for language thinking in young learners, the make decisions and so on, which
become interested in the psy- teaching. As we worked, we Thinking Train, in which you is entirely in keeping with commu-
chology of learning in general began to take a social constructiv- worked with the author team nicative approaches to teaching.
and language learning, and ist approach to psychology, one Herbert Puchta and Günter They are also encouraged to
what is the most important that sees learners taking control Gerngross? What is the meth- think together, thereby creating
thing it has taught you? of their learning, which was quite odological principle behind a community of enquiry in the
These are huge questions, a departure from many of the pre- this approach? classroom. And, importantly, the
Melanie, and involve the last 45 vailing approaches in university I have been looking at the children are cognitively engaged
years of my professional career. psychology courses. Over the teaching of thinking for twenty in the activities. Children are
In 1988 I took up a position next ten years or so we developed years or so and I believe pas- capable of high levels of thinking.
at Exeter University running the our ideas and models about vari- sionately that children need to There is a danger in foreign lan-
MEd and doctoral programmes ous aspects of psychology from a develop a range of problem-solv- guage classrooms of simplifying
in Tesol. As a qualified primary social constructivist stance until ing and decision-making skills in language so much that any cogni-
teacher and teacher trainer, I had they culminated in the book Psy- order to face an unknown future tive challenge is removed leading
become increasingly concerned chology for Language Teachers and navigate their way through to disengagement and boredom.
that, while the Tesol field had a in 1997 with CUP. Courtesy Richard Cullen life. When Herbert invited me to And the activities are fun.
vibrant literature on methodol- I was encouraged by the posi- write a book with him the obvi- You are best known as an
ogy, it did not draw sufficiently tive response to this to delve ous topic was thinking, and this academic and a trainer – not
on insights from psychology. further into psychology, and led to the book Teaching Young as a textbook writer. How did
I became particularly curious became particularly interested THINKING AHEAD Marion Williams believes that ‘children need Learners to Think with Helbling. you become involved in what
about what educational psy- in the teaching of thinking, to develop a range of problem-solving and decision-making skills’ I was then very taken by Hel- we might call the thinking rev-
chology might have to offer among other things. In 1998 bling’s Thinking Train stories olution on introducing critical
language teachers. Surely, if Bob Burden and I published our when I was staying with Sarah ing Psychology in Language written by Herbert and Günter as thinking in language learning
we knew something about how book Thinking through the Cur- in her lovely house in the Aus- Learning and Teaching for OUP, they were interesting stories with in early years?
learners learn, we would be in a riculum with Routledge, which trian hills I told her that I had a which was published in 2015. a playful element, with plenty I’m a primary teacher and I
better position to figure out how argued that thinking should be dream of writing a sequel to Psy- We wanted to bring psychology of food for thought, that would enjoy working with children.
to help them to learn a language. taught through all subjects in the chology for Language Teachers to teachers in a clear, straightfor- engage young readers. Story is In the 1970s and ’80s I wrote
So one day I went to talk to an curriculum, including foreign before I finally retired. As ward way to help them in their a powerful vehicle for develop- two series of coursebooks for
educational psychologist work- languages. always, Sarah responded enthu- busy lives and to generate some ing thinking and lends itself to children – one was a task-based
ing in the department about these Recently I had the great expe- siastically. Encouraged by this, I excitement about the topic. And activities that encourage chil- listening course for OUP and the
concerns, which actually proved rience of working with Sarah asked Stephen if he might con- needless to say, we were over- dren to think between the lines other a course based on story for
to be a momentous day in my life Mercer and Stephen Ryan to sider joining us, and received the joyed to receive the Ben Warren and beyond the lines, important Longman. So you might say I’ve
as Bob Burden was really inter- write Psychology for Language quickest ever response from him Prize for this book. skills that they will need in the gone full circle. And as a teacher
ested in this question. The upshot Learning for Palgrave Macmil- saying yes. We had the perfect How has psychology future, and also develop dif- I love applying my theoretical
was that we decided to develop lan, and with Sarah on Multiple team in place and couldn’t wait informed the work you have ferent thinking skills. When understandings to the classroom.
and teach a psychology course for Perspectives on the Self with to get started. done on Helbling’s new series Helbling invited me to write the And am I going to finally hang
the MEd Tesol students and tease Multilingual Matters. One day Together we wrote Explor- of readers designed to develop activities I was delighted as I my boots up? I don’t think so. n