Richa Goyal works with the Banasthali Vidyapith.

This paper analyses the need for revamping the image of the traditional pedagogue in a language classroom. Language teaching is not related to imparting knowledge but is an art as well as a science of developing the skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking in a foreign language. A language instructor should not only be proficient in the language but also be able to empathize with the students in order to appreciate their needs, psychological barriers and cultural differences. This task is quite challenging for it requires that the instructor should be a researcher, constant learner and a need analyst as well. While giving importance to individual students they should also subordinate their teaching behavior to the learning needs of the students.

When we look at a traditional language class the setting is somewhat like this- the teacher is standing high and facing the students as the “knower”.  The discussion is generally on the metalinguistic rules and the learners are very well aware of their own state of ignorance.  Moreover, they know that everything they might say would be closely scrutinized.  They prefer to keep a “low profile” and speak nothing.  The result is that the communication training becomes a one way process in which the teacher always speaks and the learners respond only to the teacher’s initiation.

This traditional attitude of the teachers towards language pedagogy should change. According to Wilga M Rivers (1983) foreign  language teaching unlike teaching geography or history, is not only a sharing of knowledge but is also a development of the four basic skills of language i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing.  It is an appreciation of a foreign people; it is a readjustment of one’s attitude towards the world and towards oneself. (more…)