In blog entry
27, I described an awful episode where one of my students at Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding (MES) tried to bluff his way through a
contract negotiation in English, nodding his consent while understanding
practically nothing. As a result, he ended up trapped between an irate foreign
agent and his furious boss – and got me thinking that learners should study more than just language. I was
convinced that they also needed behavioral training with clear models to help
them negotiate breakdowns in communication.
I came up with a “Control” model for attacking the problem head on when you do not
understand. It consisted of three stages: STOP the other speaker; clarify until
you do UNDERSTAND, for example, by asking for repetition or meaning; and,
finally, CHECK to confirm that you have understood correctly.
The “Control”
model seemed an easy one for my students to wrap their heads around; however,
the approach was radical at the time. None of the major textbooks on the market
approached language training in such an aggressive manner. As a result, I spent
considerable energy preparing my own materials to introduce then reinforce the
“Control” model in my
lessons. Students were
encouraged to interrupt and clarify me, as well as each other, when they had trouble comprehending. After some
initial hesitance, many began to do so with a vengeance.
After three
years, I moved from MES
to teach part-time at several institutions, including a national university. I
continued to train my students in “Control” and other behavioral models
resulting in complaints from some university professors. It seems that learners
trained in my classes were considered “rude” since they kept interrupting and
asking questions when they didn’t understand. I said that I would talk with my
students. I did telling them that they should always clarify when they did not
comprehend the droning of their professors planted at the blackboard (referred to hereabouts as
“chalk-and-talk”)
Soon I was
seriously analyzing my attempts to communicate in Japanese and most of the
training models I came up with were derived from my own speech behavior. As my
files of classroom materials grew, I began sharing ideas with other teachers, particularly
at meetings of the Japan Association of Language Teachers (JALT), giving
numerous workshops on training learners in communication strategies. Sometimes
I would come up against skeptics who complained that my approach wasn’t
“legitimate” since it was not based on existing methodologies and/or research. Others argued that I was
turning my students into clarifying “monsters”.
At times it was
frustrating to watch colleagues with questionable teaching skills being offered
fulltime positions because
they had advanced degrees. Some would stand at the front of the classroom and
pontificate while their students read comic books or slept at the back of the
room, yet they got on with their careers. Without a Masters degree, I was
relegated to part-time teaching limbo. Finally, I decided to bite the bullet
and headed to the UK
to
work on a MA in Applied
Linguistics.
Why the UK?
Frankly, as a Canadian I fell between the cracks in the Japanese job market.
Some universities wanted British professors since they were “traditional”,
which apparently was prestigious; others chose Americans who were considered
more contemporary in sound and style. Canucks were stereotyped as friendly
barbarians who took canoes to class and cooked on campfires. At least this was
the impression I got when I looked into positions at universities in the area where I lived. I suspected that, armed with a degree from the UK, I could get a foot in the door with the
“British” schools, while my accent was Yankee enough to satisfy the
institutions fixated with the United States.
In 1986, I headed off to Essex University intending to research the potential for
changing the behavior of non-natives as they tried to communicate in English.
After some groveling to find a professor to act as my advisor, I succeeded in
receiving approval for my research. I turned out to be the only student to do original
research among my classmates.
For my research subjects, I used twenty Japanese
students studying at Essex
University and for my
training model I used “Control” since both were familiar territory. I set up three stages for my
experiments. In the first stage, all of the students were asked to listen to a
story and put a series of graphics in order. The visuals were impossible to
arrange logically without clarifying. Most of the students listened, looked confused then arranged the
photos in what they hoped was the correct sequence. None succeeded.
In the second
phase, half of the students received an hour of “Control” training, while the
other half did not, then everyone performed a variation of the original exercise. As suspected,
those with training clarified and put the visuals in the correct order, while
those without training continued to fumble about, guessing or giving up.
The third and
final stage was much more interesting. I waited three months then had my flatmate, Jeremy, who was majoring in Law, assist me in conducting a second series
of interviews. Ten of the original participants were selected at random, five trained in “Control”,
five without training. Jeremy
contacted them to ask if they would be willing to participate
in a survey to determine how much the average Japanese knew about their legal
system. All agreed, each
choosing a time and place to meet for the interview.
The results
were fascinating. Those with “Control” training were more assertive, clarifying
and answering Jeremy’s questions logically once they understood. Furthermore,
they had “mutated” and
were asking questions not contained in the original model, as well as using
more sophisticated strategies, such as paraphrasing what they thought questions
meant. They had become more assertive in their efforts to understand and be
understood.
As for the
group without “Control” training, they were stuck in the same rut they had been
in three months earlier, pretending to understand questions then hazarding an
answer, often with amusing results. One young woman with a British boyfriend would “contemplate” each
of Jeremy’s questions by saying “Yeah, that’s a cool question. Gee, it’s hard
to say. I guess so…” She said this for every question, including those which
required more than a “yes” or “no” answer! Listening to her bluff, I wondered how in the
world she communicated with her boyfriend.
Another subject
had graduated with a Law degree from a prestigious Japanese university and was doing
a second degree in Law at Essex. In theory, he
should have had no problem with Jeremy’s questions but turned out to be the
most challenged. For example, when asked
if prostitution was legal in Japan,
he paused for several seconds then stated emphatically, “Yes, we have a
constitution.” Ouch!
After completing my research, I was approached not only by the Japanese students who had not
received training, but also by other foreign students who were in their
classes. The grapevine was alive and well, and everyone wanted to learn “that
Control stuff”. As a result, I gave an
open demonstration attended by about sixty students and professors which I
recorded, edited and submitted with my graduation thesis. I hope to upload
it on my blog soon.
I left Essex University
with my MA in hand, satisfied that I had done solid research and could now
respond to critics of my training approach with empirical evidence. I was also
completely broke, the fate of many scholars who go overseas and pay substantially more for the
privilege of studying at a foreign institution. Thus, I boarded a plane back to
Japan literally hours after being notified that I would receive my degree, ready to go to
work and pay off my debts.
Subsequently, I published academic papers about the “Control” model and my research at Essex.
For those who are seriously
into academic jargon and references, check out these links: Measuring Receptive Communication Strategies
and Control An Independent Learning Model. For language teachers who want to try
“Control” training in their
own classes, check these
links for handouts to use in your classes Control Classroom Handout and The Active Learner. As for
everyone else, suffice to say that you can change your behavior and communicate
more effectively in a foreign language with “Control”. The concepts have been built into my website, www.sulantra.com, to help you do this. Definitely check it out, too!
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