Beliefs emanating from the social norms and cultural values of individuals have a profound influence on how people carry out their activities and how often they do them. For instance, people’s beliefs on health and wellness inspire what they eat and drink and their behaviors. Consequently, language practitioners, under the guidelines of teaching practice rely on their opinions, which influences the selection of delivery materials, development of course outcomes, assessment of learner competency, and the relevant factors that aid the teaching and learning experience of the stakeholders involved. Stern's framework presents four essential categories for articulating teaching beliefs that have a fundamental role in classroom pedagogy and understanding of a language (Graves & Xu, 2000). While teaching languages tries to harmonize the attitudes of the teachers and learners, I believe that teaching and learning operate according to the guidelines of the status quo set in learning institutions which try to implement Stern’s framework.
Stern’s framework outlines one of the approaches that address all the issues of learning and teaching. The concepts include beliefs about language, society, learning, and teaching. The framework unearths the elements of learning and teaching language that most approaches of content delivery tend to ignore. Learning begins with an understanding between the teacher and the students, where understanding emanates from the sharing of a language. When the teacher uses a language that the learner comprehends, it becomes easy to achieve the objectives of learning. Stern’s framework explains the context of understanding under the sub-facet of language. Here, language manifests in different forms. For instance, peoples’ perception of proficiency affects how they teach it. Its definition traverses through the elements of grammar, lexis, and pronunciation (Graves & Xu, 2000). However, in some cases, it includes meaning-based beliefs constructed by the communities associated with the specific dialects. Languages have rules that define the means of expression that allow individuals to convey their ideologies to the world. The definitions under this category depict how people use language as a vessel of getting things done. Therefore, when teaching, tutors have to determine what they want to communicate in line with the view of language requiring emphasis. These include rule-governed, socially constructed, and meaning-based aspects of language.
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Consequently, comprehending a language moves beyond the elements of tenses, grammar, lexis, and pronunciation as it requires awareness of the reaction that words can stir between people involved in a conversation. Native speakers tend to have a refined understanding of English, which grants them an upper hand in the usage of the language in all contexts. For instance, they enjoy an extensive relationship between their social norms and values and the words used in the English language, thereby aiding their fluency in conveying ideas. People using English as a second language may have a comprehensive understanding of the language, but they may have wrong choices of words which may stir an unintended reaction from the audience. Therefore, when constructing the classroom content for delivery to the learners, the teachers must include the elements of sociopolitical, sociocultural, and sociolinguistic issues revolving around language use (Graves & Xu, 2000). For instance, the concepts of beliefs about the social context of language creates a conducive environment for the co-existence of the cultures involved.
Under the beliefs about learning and the learner, the learning environment must cater to the needs of the learners by developing a detailed process of content delivery that has both the roles and focus of learning. Learners must have a positive attitude towards the new language and the cultures associated with it for them to master every detail of the language. The classroom must have an interactive approach that promotes the acquisition of new knowledge, irons out unhealthy attitudes, and encourages the development of metacognitive thinking skills. All these specifications require learner-centered approaches (Graves & Xu, 2000). Therefore, the learning sessions must have ways of determining the competency of the learners, their attitudes, learning styles, perception about the culture, and the interaction of their culture with that of the language presented in the learning content.
The universal perception about schooling and teachers depicts a system with trained individuals operating through a hierarchical system developed by the political decision-makers who influence the essential elements of learning. However, the definition does not expand on the training of teachers and the organization of the institutions. The role of teachers or the beliefs about teaching includes the transmission of knowledge to the learners, negotiation involved in learning, activities involved in problem-solving, and the determination of the problems worth solving with the teachers serving as the essential cultural learning resources (Graves & Xu, 2000). Perceptions about teachers must also include their fluency and broad understanding of the language, which makes it easy for the learner to follow and comprehend the content.
However, in as much as the highlighted concepts promotes the development of classroom pedagogy. The framework requires the support of other systems to help it break the attempts to maintain the status quo of the learning institutions (Ariatna, 2014). When learning a language, the teacher and the learner must identify the structures and patterns of content delivery system by questioning the authority and evaluating their opinions in line with the beliefs enumerated in the framework. I believe the beliefs of the teachers alongside the content delivery principles have a profound influence on the choices they make when determining the content and organizing the course of the language learning process for the learners. Moreover, having the best content and course organization requires the support of a transformative and flexible learning environment.
In summary, when designing a language learning course, the teachers must understand the factors enumerated under Stern’s framework and how they work to inspire the outcome of learning processes. Treating language as an independent factor before linking it with other beliefs aids the development of the different teacher’s beliefs, which addresses the needs of learners with different capabilities and the views of the language. Through these factors for articulating beliefs, teachers can understand their role as the transmitters, providers, collaborators, and the learning structures of information for the learners, thereby developing the experience to address the challenges learners encounter as they undergo the process of learning a language.
References
- Ariatna, A. (2014). Framework for Articulating Beliefs: Reflections on Teaching and Learning Experiences. Jurnal Bahas Unimed, 25(4).
- Graves, K., & Xu, S. (2000). Designing language courses: A guide for teachers (No. 428 G7.). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle.
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