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Psychological Principles of Teaching English

It will not be out of place to list down certain principles which have been derived from the
science of psychology.
Principle 1 Motivation
Motivation is an important factor in language learning, particularly in learning a second
language. It creates interest as well as the need to learn the language in hand. If the need for the
language we use is felt, it is learnt easily. Pupils interest can be aroused in a number of ways, and
language learning can be made increasingly interesting and attractive. It can be done with the help
of pictures, charts, models, flash cards, black board sketches and similar other visual devices. The
use of tape-recorder can be most effective in the teaching of pronunciation. The aim is to have the
students maximally exposed to the target language in variety of contexts and situations, not in
isolation. The teacher should prompt connections, feedback and correct errors, if any. The rule
is teach, test, re-teach, retest. The teacher should make continual and significant use of language
material in class-room situations. Palmer suggests the following six factors which lead to motivate
and create interest among children:
(i) The limitation of bewilderment, that is, minimum of confusion;
(ii) The sense of progress achieved;
(iii) Competitions;
(iv) Game-like exercises;
(v) The right relation between teacher and student; and
(vi) Variety.
Principle 2 - Immediate Correction
Do make corrections. Corrections make all the difference. They help in improving pupils
responses. But remember, when corrections are made, they should be made immediately.
Moreover, the corrections should be made in such a way as will bring about learning and not
frustration or discouragement.
Principle 3 - Reinforcement
Immediate reinforcement is an important principle. It has been experimentally proved that
reinforcement of correct responses helps in better learning. The student should be told his response
is correct immediately after it is given by him.
Principle 4 - Frequent Review

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An important psychological principle is the principle of frequent review. Frequent review

and re-entry of the same material is necessary for retention. During the process of reviewing,
variations in material should be essentially be introduced and practiced.
Principle 5 - Correct Responses
It is an important psychological principle that classroom activities should strengthen the
language skills. The techniques used by the teacher of English should encourage the maximum
rate of correct responses. This will give children the feeling of success, achievement and assured
progress.
Principle 6 - Practice in Everyday Situations.
A language is best learnt when its need is felt in everyday situations. So, English should be
practiced in everyday situations with which children can easily identify.
In short, the children, their environment and their experiences, should be the starting point.
Let them recall (and, they should be helped, if they fail) something familiar which is related to or
contrasts with a new language item to be learnt.
These are, then, some of the basic principles of language learning and teaching. These
principles are in no way dictative: they are only suggestive.
(i)

Teach the language, not about the language.

(ii) Teach the language, not its written system (at the start).
(iii) Teach the language, as it is, not as anyone thinks it to be.
(iv) Teach the language, not its literature.
(v)

Teach the language as it is now, not in term of its history.

(vi) Teach the language as a skill, not as an intellectual task.

(vii) Teach the language in varied, interesting situations.
(viii) Give maximum exposure.
(ix) Give vocabulary its due place.
(x)

Use mother-tongue as a tool, not a medium.

(xi) Immediately reinforce correct response.

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BEHAVIORISM
Behaviorism is a learning theory which considers anything an organism do as a behavior.
According to the behaviorist, these behaviors can be scientifically studied regardless of what
happens in the mind (psychological constructs such as thoughts, feelings) As a theory
behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors and contends that there are no philosophical
differences between publicly observable processes (such as actions) and privately observable
processes (such as thinking and feeling.)
Behaviorism main figures were:

Ivan Pavlov, who investigated classical conditioning,

Edward Lee Thorndike,

John B. Watson who rejected introspective methods and sought to restrict psychology to
experimental methods,

and B.F. Skinner who conducted research on operant conditioning

Behaviorists believe in three basic assumptions:

1. Learning is manifested by a change in behavior.
2. The environment shapes behavior.
3. The principles of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a bond to be
formed) and reinforcement (any means of increasing the likelihood that an event will be
repeated) are central to explaining the learning process.
For behaviorists, learning is the acquisition of new behavior through conditioning.
Classical Conditioning
J. B Watson, the father of Behaviorism, defined learning as a sequence of stimulus and
response actions in observable cause and effect relationships. For example in the case of Pavlovs
conditioning experiments on dogs, behavior becomes a reflex response to stimulus. In conducting
the experiment, Pavlov noticed that the dog would salivate (response), upon hearing the ringing of
a bell. This occurred because the dog had learned to associate its unconditional stimuli (normally
feeding), with the neutral stimuli of the bell ringing simultaneously with the feeding process.
Watson, believed that the stimuli that humans receive may be generated internally (for example
hunger), or externally (for example, a loud noise).
Operant Conditioning (Radical Behaviorism)

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B.F. Skinner expanded on the foundation of Behaviorism, established by Watson, and on

the work of Edward Thorndike, by focusing on operant conditioning. According to Skinner,
voluntary or automatic behavior is either strengthened or weakened by the immediate presence of
reinforcement or punishment. New learning occurs as a result of positive reinforcement and
undesirable behavior is discarded through negative reinforcement.
Teaching and Behaviorism
When applying the tenets of Behaviorism to education, Skinner contends that teaching is
the arrangement of contingencies of reinforcement under which students learn. Of course students
learn without being taught in their natural environments, but when teachers arrange special
contingencies, this accelerates learning. That is these contingencies will speed up the emergence
of behavior which would otherwise be acquired slowly or make sure the desired behavior would
appear, which otherwise would never occur. (Skinner, 1968, p.64)
Examples of the applications in teaching
Here some of the applications of behaviorism in education:

Directed instruction (a teacher is provides the knowledge to the students either directly or
through the set up of contingencies)

The use of exams to measure observable behavior of learning.

The use of rewards and punishments in our school systems.

The audio-lingual approach to language teaching.

and the breaking down of the instruction process into conditions of learning (as
developed by Robert Gagne)