This week as I read the assigned readings for the Fundamentals of TESL class I was struck by two of the basic teaching principles. These principles include automaticity and interaction. Automaticity comprises fluency, attention, and processing language. Interaction pertains to communication with others, collaboration, and feedback from peers or teachers.
Automaticity speaks to the flow of speech. Any first language is usually spoken with automaticity.
This can be clearly seen in regards to children. Children learn a language and are not concerned about the form, grammar or structure of their speaking. Instead, children use language to be functional and speak meaning. They speak without a second thought to the formalities of the language. As a language learner, gaining automaticity means stepping away from control and paying attention to form and errors and moving towards fluid language. H. Douglas Brown in his book “Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy gives the example of an automaticity exercise. His example included having students participate in a “free write” in which they write down all they know or desire to say about a specific subject without any regard to grammar or structure.
Interestingly enough, it is argued that automaticity is more beneficial and should be emphasized more than form and grammar. Getting stuck in having perfect grammar defeats the purpose of communicating in a language. Although perfection is nice, almost no one speaks perfectly in any language. Fluency and flow aide in communication in a far greater way than grammar. Language, especially when first learning it, should be used for a purpose. Asking someone to pass the salt, talking to the doctor about an ailment, all these ways of communicating have a purpose. Learning grammar does not help you ask someone where to find the milk at the grocery store.
Interaction is another important principle to be used in teaching. Interaction with others, whether in class or outside of class engages in many, if not all skills of language. People were made for relationship and for a community. The best way to learn a language is to do it in relationship and community. Isolating yourself in a classroom learning grammar, vocabulary and sentence structure does not aide in the fluency of a language.
Children learn language by constantly interacting with their families. They listen, relate to and live amidst a language and before you know it they are speaking up a storm. This is a result of the interaction. In the same way, those learning a second language should listen, relate to and maybe even live amongst the language they are learning (although this is not always available). By doing so, they optimize their language learning. Using interaction as a way to learn a language is hugely effective.
In conclusion, I see these two principles, automaticity and interaction as principles that I want to incorporate into my classroom, whether a literal classroom or an incidental classroom. I want to be a teacher that encourages fluency and relationship in learning as a way to optimize the learning experience and to have students learn the most they can.
For more resources look these up:
. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.educ.ualberta.ca/staff/olenka.bilash/Best
of Bilash/automaticity.html
Developing Automaticity in Reading
Fluency - What is Reading and What Does It Involve? (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.coursera.org/lecture/esl-reading/developing-automaticity-in-reading-fluency-t1pZP
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