The Principles of Language-Study

by Harold E. Palmer

(2) The Sense of Progress Achieved.—All work becomes more interesting when we are conscious that we have made and are making progress in that work. That sense of discouragement which is so inimical to interest arises when, in spite of our efforts, we seem to be no nearer to our goal. Statistics compiled by those who have made a special study of the psychology of learning show us that periods frequently occur in which there is no apparent progress and during which, as a necessary consequence, the interest of the student diminishes. It is generally during such periods (technically called plateaux) that the adult student gives up his study as a bad job and retires from the contest.

The cause of such plateaux would appear to be a defective system of gradation; the student has overreached himself and has temporarily absorbed more material than he can retain permanently; he has worked too fast for his habit-forming capacities and has to mark time until the previously acquired material has been properly assimilated.

Novelty always gives a certain amount of interest to a new subject, and during the first period students often gain the idea that they are making more progress than is warranted by the facts; when the novelty wears off the reaction occurs, and a period of depression follows.

In order, therefore, to make it possible for the student always to feel he is making progress, and thus to maintain interest and zest, it is necessary to see that the course is properly graded, that the repetitions are kept up regularly and systematically, and that the rate of progression is consistently increased.

(3) Competition.—The spirit of emulation gives zest to a study. The fear of being outdistanced by one’s fellow-students or rivals, the satisfaction of gaining ground on them, and the hope of becoming or remaining the best student in the class is a stimulus not to be despised. This is really one of the chief raisons d’être for examinations, tests, and registers of progress.

(4) Game-like Exercises.—In the case of young students a considerable amount of interest can be induced by making certain forms of exercise so resemble games that the pupils do not quite know whether they are playing or working. Games of skill such as chess are almost indistinguishable from many subjects of scholastic study, and many types of puzzles and problem-games are practically identical with mathematical problems. The only danger here is that language-games may not further the student sufficiently in the habit-forming process; some types certainly will not; indeed, we can imagine types of exercise-games which would tend to inhibit it. If, however, the necessity for habit-forming is constantly present to the teacher’s mind, it is permissible to introduce at appropriate moments forms of exercise such as ‘action drill,’ ‘living grammar,’ or ‘sorting exercises,’ possessing real educative value and an interest-giving value at the same time.

(5) The Relation between Teacher and Student.—“No, I don’t take French lessons now. M. Untel used to be my teacher, but he went away, and I didn’t much like the man who took his place, and so I lost interest and stopped. The new man was all right in his way, but it wasn’t at all the same thing as with M. Untel; he didn’t have the same way of giving the lessons, and somehow or other I didn’t seem to get on with him.”

“I like the French lesson; M. Untel makes it so interesting; he’s got a nice way of explaining things, and we are never afraid of asking him questions. He doesn’t laugh at you if you say something that sounds silly; he understands what you’re trying to drive at, and always knows what the trouble is. I didn’t use to like French lessons at all. We had another master then; he always seemed to be telling you things that you didn’t feel you wanted to know, and yet when you did want to know something he never understood what it was you wanted to know.”

These expressions of opinion (written in colloquial English) give us a good idea of why two students (one an adult and the other a schoolchild) are interested in learning French when M. Untel gives the lesson.

(6) Variety.—A monotonous type of drill-work is performed during an entire lesson. In the next lesson a second and different type of monotonous drill-work is performed. The third lesson is devoted to a third type of drill-work. A fourth lesson consists of sixty minutes of another sort of grind. A fifth and a sixth lesson are similarly devoted to two other sorts of mechanical work. The net result is six dull and monotonous lessons.