Meaningful Action: Earl Stevick's Influence on Language Teaching

Earl Stevick (1923–2013) had a pivotal role in the way we think about teaching in general, and second language acquisition and teaching languages in particular. His books among others include Memory, Meaning and Method (1976), Teaching Languages, A Way and Ways (1980), Teaching and Learning Languages (1982), Humanism in Language Teaching (1990), and Working with Teaching Methods (1998). He was in opposition to the teacher-centred approaches which emphasized the role of the teacher, materials, and language analysis in the learning process. Instead he emphasized the role of memory, cognition, emotions, and ‘harmony’ in the learning process (Stevick 1980: 5); his ideas were deeply rooted in psychology especially in affect and humanism. He summed up his ideas when saying ‘success depends less on materials, techniques, and linguistic analysis, and more on what goes on inside and between the people in the classroom’ (Stevick 1980: 4). Hence his interest in learner-centred methods like the Silent Way, Community Language Learning, Suggestopaedia, and Humanism; also his ideas paved the way for the Communicative Approach. What all these methods had in common for him was recognizing what the learners want and need, addressing these needs, and allowing the learners to contribute to the learning process and take control. In a nutshell, he looked at and developed ways of making the learning process more meaningful to the learners. However, he did not discredit teaching grammar and language analysis, and he compared teaching grammar to ‘switching on and off a spotlight, so as not to blind the students’ (Stevick 1980: 251). Many teachers and educators are indebted to his great mind and ideas, hence the book Meaningful Action is very much in place; few philosophers of language teaching have received such recognition and tribute.