NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
ERIC Number: ED154632
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1977
Pages: 6
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Situational Reinforcement: The New Old Way to Learn Languages.
Petrucelli, Gerald J.
Bulletin (Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association), v56 n2 p22-26 Spr 1978)
Situational Reinforcement, a teaching methodology developed out of the cognitive-field theory of learning, is described. It combines many techniques and methods developed over the years. This discussion of it considers common learning problems: (1) boredom, apathy and passivity on the part of the student, (2) the teacher's preoccupation with mistakes and the concomitant inhibition of the student, and (3) the inability of the student to communicate in the target language. The source of these three difficulties is seen as the tendency in our society to divorce learning from real-life experiences. "Situational Reinforcement" is a method of learning various skills by reinforcing ideas and concepts through actually doing those things in real-life situations. It could be called a psycho-motor or kinesthetic approach to learning languages. The disadvantage of the methodology is in the area of testing. However, the method, which is geared to results, attacks the problems outlined above. There is progressive movement from a teacher-centered class toward a student-centered one. There is also progression in the format of the material to be learned in the course of a chapter from the American to the foreign milieu, from one language skill to another, with the emphasis always on personalizing communication. (AMH)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A