Changing Paradigms. The Project Approach.

Foreign Countries; *Instructional Effectiveness; *Instructional Innovation; Language Teachers; Models; Program Development; *Second Language Instruction; Teacher Education During the last 40 years, there has been a great number of innovations in English Language Teaching (ELT). The method by which these innovations have been diffused in many parts of the world has been through the project approach. This paper explores the suitability and effectiveness of this approach as a model for the diffusion of ELT innovation, using Havelock’s three models of innovation, Fullan’s process approach, and Henrichsen’s link model. It proposes a change of emphasis within project design, implementation, and evaluation to empower the insider, and suggests ways in which this might be achieved. The creation of insider-generated project documents should help to establish a databank for research and development into the diffusion of ELT innovation, which would hopefully lead to new innovation. A historical review of ELT since the 1950s is included. (Contains 14 references.) (Author/NAV) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made IC from the original document. * *********************************************************************** CHANGING PARADIGMS THE PROJECT APPROACH JOHN McGOVERN The Institute for English Language Education, Lancaster University Abstract During the last forty years there has been a great number of innovations in ELT. The method by which these innovations have been diffused in many parts of the world has been through the project approach. This paper sets out to explore the suitability and effectiveness of the approach as a model for the diffusion of ELT innovation. It proposes a change of emphasis within project design, implementation and evaluation in order to empower the ‘insider’ and suggests ways in which this might be achieved. Introduction Over the last twenty five years many of the attempts in ELT to diffuse innovation and to change the paradigms within which ELT teachers operate have made use of the project approach. It is only very recently though that we have seen much of a literature emerge about the evaluation of ELT projects and of the approach itself. The purpose of this paper is (1) to stimulate further debate about what has been learnt so far, (2) to propose paying greater attention to certain factors in the design, implementation and evaluation of ELT projects, and finally (3) to consider the kind of skills and training project personnel require. 1 . The pace and nature of change in ELT since the 1950s The pace of change in ELT over the last forty years has been quite remarkable. We have had, for example, the development of a series of major new approaches: structural; situational; functional/notional; humanistic; communicative; natural; task-based; lexical and now there is talk of post-communicative. This phenomenon has happened in parallel with an equally remarkable phenomenon, namely the increase in the use of English as an international language. This is obviously not a coincidence. Since the 1950s, and particularly since the invention of communication and information technology in the 1970s. the demand for English has outstripped all predictions. This demand created an ELT industry and, like any new industry, ELT needed a research and development capability. The sources of the research and development were mainly British and American departments of applied linguistics, a discipline which itself is also new. The result of this research and development has been radical changes. There have been changes in content; methods; techniques; technology; mode; testing and training. Indeed the number and nature of these changes has been such that we can say that the paradigm for foreign language education has shifted. But it has not been a paradigm shift of the Kuhnian type. We have not seen one world view suddenly replaced overnight by a different world view which immediately changes the thinking and the practices of everyone working in that particular field. Instead we have several competing, though some might say complementary, views of the most effectiveway to teach the language. The ambiguity in the title of this paper is deliberate. The project approach has been used to try to change paradigms as to how English should be taught and ELT teachers trained but the paradigm itself is still in a state of flux.