The document explores the complexities of language teaching, emphasizing that language is not merely a tool but a dynamic, evolving phenomenon integral to human existence. It argues against the notion of a single best method for teaching language, highlighting the diversity among language learners and the importance of considering various elements like the environment, teachers, and students in the learning process. Ultimately, the document calls for a more nuanced understanding of what language is and how it can be taught and learned.

1. Aditya Kumar Panda
NTM, CIIL, Mysore

2.  I wonder
 Can a language be taught ?
 If yes, what is there to be taught ?

3.  Language Teachers:
 Language can be taught. A language can be
learned. Language has a structure and some
governing rules which can be taught and one
can learn it.
 Students: We learn a language. We memorize
its grammatical rules and usages.

4.  What is the fundamental problem here ?
 Language is reduced to be a tool. It is merely a
vehicle which one can ride on. There has been
no realization that language as a “becoming
phenomenon” which is very much a part of our
being. To teach a language, one needs to
change the stereotypical attitude towards
language.

5.  Why ? Why ? Why ?
 No method is the best method in language
teaching whether it is of structural or direct or
the series or the communicative method ?
 No method suffices in what we want to do ?

6.  Because
 There has been no realization that:
 1. Language is an open ended system. It is a
becoming phenomenon.
 2. No language speaker is as equal as other
language speakers of the same language. No
language learner is as competent as the other
language learners of the same language. Each
language learner differs and each language
speaker differs from one another.

7.  3. A teacher is not the all in all in a classroom
and only a classroom is not sufficient for
teaching or learning.
 4. A teacher, a student, a classroom, an
environment are dynamic elements in a process
called learning. Each of the element differs
from one another within the group and from
group to group.

8.  Consider before design any curriculum for
language teaching:
 Language as a tool and also a being like human
beings and their physical bodies. It is not a
static one but a dynamic open-ended
phenomenon. It can be learned and it cannot be
learned also. It can be taught and it cannot be
taught also.

9.  By uttering the following sentences, what am I
doing ?
 I speak. I listen. I write. I read.
 I am not merely uttering the English transitive
verbs with first person singular pronoun. Then
what am I doing ?

10.  I am doing something that goes beyond the
logical grammatical linguistic principles which
is to be understood before learning a language
or teaching a language.

11. Think
Thank you.