A comment heard at a recent TEFL event: “You have to move students around in class in order to take them out of their comfort zones”. That may well be true, but pedagogy aside – why? ‘Aw! There’s always one who asks those ‘why, why, why’ questions’. Well, I may be that one and perhaps that’s a result of my anthropology studies. Anyway, if TEFL teachers expect students to leave their comfort zones, are TEFL teachers (or more importantly – is the TEFL profession) equally prepared to leave the ‘comfort zone?’ That is the challenge of Postmodern TEFL.
So, let’s just get this term ‘Postmodern TEFL’ straight – or as straight as can be. This is easier said than done since it’s dashed difficult to define postmodernism and postmodern theorists often disagree about definitions. But anyway, first let’s leave aside the notion that postmodernism relates to those bizarre works of art or music that bedazzle the eyes and contort the ears. These are related, but extraneous to any defining process. Let’s leave aside too the notion that postmodernism chronologically follows on from modernism as we enter the high-tech cyber-space world of the 21st century. Yes, the prefix ‘post’ does suggest that postmodernism comes after modernism, with some saying it comes as a radical break, and in a sense that’s all true. But the timeline is more juxtaposed than linear. “Postmodernism is not to be taken in the periodizing sense” (Lyotard & Thébaud. 1985). Confused? Welcome to Postmodernism!
OK? Still here? Good. We’ve got past the first step. We’ve dipped a toe into postmodernism’s mental gymnastics.
Actually, to fill in a blank (my writing’s not chronological either), the first mention I have of the word ‘postmodern’ is from 1870 by John Watkins Chapman to describe paintings of a more modern style than impressionism. There is also one mention from a German author (Rudolf Pannwitz. 1917) used in describing ‘The Crisis of European Culture’ – then the British historian Arnold Toynbee took up the term (1947) in describing a postmodern age which he said began in 1875. That was 20 years after French Auguste Compte (‘Father of Sociology’) published his works on ‘Positivism’. As an interesting side note, I mention here that in addition to promoting a rationalist approach to examining society (as science was examining the natural world) Auguste Compte’s ‘Positivism’ also promoted a new, ritualistic ‘religion of humanity’, termed ‘Catholicism without the Christianity’ by Thomas Huxley, which was promoted by French revolutionaries (see: ‘Cult of Reason’ and ‘Cult of Supreme Being’). But the early years of the 20th century saw positivism’ heavily critiqued by ‘anti-positivisits. In particular, these were German sociologists (e.g. Max Weber, Georg Simmel, Edmund Husserl) who brought in neo-Kantism, hermeneutics and phenomenology. This reaction to positivism corresponds to post-modernism’s critique of modernism. So the term, postmodernism, does go back a fair while. In fact, as previous postmodernist thinkers have pointed out, though modern times post modernism may be said to start with Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Nietzsche, postmodernism can be located two-and-a-half millennia ago with the Greek ‘pre-Socratics’ who were interested in the acquisition of non-rational knowledge. The ‘Eleatics‘ (Parminides et al) then introduced rational, deductive thought and the origin of Western philosophy was born. (Honderich, T. 1995).
Is ‘postmodernism’ positive or negative in outlook? Well, rather like a spinning coin – it’s both. The positive postmodernists see technology and modernity leading the world towards a liberated ‘affluent society’ (Galbraith. 1958) full of the joys of hedonistic pleasure, otherness and novelty. The negative postmodernists see decline, instability, decay of traditional values, and Western civilization in crisis.
There – the blank is filled in. Now to step back to where I was before. Damn, this must be confusing to read! In fact, I may well come back to this, make some amendments, and update the text. Why not? That seems to fit with the postmodern ‘esprit’.
So, simply put (getting back to the serious stuff), postmodernism is a critical reaction to modernism. And modernism? That’s the socio-economic paradigm that initially (17th/18th century) blended rational, technological innovation with commercialism to kick start the industrial revolution. Since, it has continued to dominate Western industrial growth, market forces and social structure. Postmodernism can thus be defined as being anti-rational, anti-commercial and anti-capitalist with roots virtually as old as modernism itself. Rationality was critiqued very early on in the history of modernism. But postmodernism is more. Postmodernism also seeks to reposition subjective human experience back onto the radar of philosophical deliberations – apart from Michel Foucault that is, who did the opposite and banished the subject right out of the picture. But more of him another time. I said it was confusing.
So, for others, postmodernism reconsiders intuitive thought, subsumed for centuries under the deductive. Postmodernism also examines the examiners, stripping away surface ephemera to illuminate sub-surface sub-texts and show what’s ‘really’ going on. “All that glitters is not gold”, say the postmodernists. ‘Deconstruction’ you might know this as if you’ve studied literary criticism. This is not to confuse postmodernism with structuralism which sees universal a priori mental structures beneath socio-cultural/ linguistic surfaces. On the contrary, postmodernism, in alliance with post-structuralism, sees fluctuating and multi-facetted knowledge/power relations laid upon the surface ephemera to which we are all a part of and subject to – especially in this kaleidoscopic, globalized, internet dominated, image bombarded world of today. And to examine this world, postmodernists declare, a radically new postmodern discourse is required.
There – we’ve jumped another step forward. I hope you’re still with it. As I said, postmodernism is murky and complex, especially as postmodernists don’t always entirely agree. All is not black and white.
So ( to continue) TEFL is doing the same, in small doses and from the side-lines, to examine the sub-text rationale, the powers and forces, overlaying the TEFL profession and TEFL institutions. As a result, established TEFL precepts are being challenged by TEFL teachers, writers, and professors.
Admittedly, within TEFL this challenge is minor and academic in leaning. TEFL is an industry which chugs along in response to student/client needs just as any marketable product responds to the supply/demand balance. But the world of TEFL is not an isolated entity. It’s tendrils spread out through education and communication, as English increasingly become the global language for trade and industry, to all areas of socio-professional life. This world is changing and hence such reflections are valid.
Postmodern TEFL is thus asking both teachers and the TEFL profession to challenge perceptions we hold dear; pedagogically or institutionally. It’s asking us to think about the changing world in which we live and the power relations within the world in which we teach. There is nothing permanent except change’, wrote Heraclitus 2, 500 years ago. The same is true today and Postmodern TEFL is going with the flow.
“What is there to challenge?” You may ask. From surface level practices to deep level epistemologies all is being challenged: The role of non-native English speakers; the dominance of the big publishers; the working conditions of English teachers; the role of English language teaching within the processes of globalization and neoliberalism; institutional policies; research methodologies; teaching practices; teaching content; teacher training and continuous teacher development…. Teachers are reflexive beings and these are all issues being reflected upon by many of them. Turning the mirror inward to examine our profession is Postmodern TEFL.
“But self-examination is not new”, you may respond, “neither is critical social analysis. Remember the 1960s? The hippies, flower power…the revolution songs of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez?’. Yes, I do. I’m a child of the 60s, and several postmodern philosophers, as young students, pro-actively whet their social change appetites in those days. But what defines this current introspective trend is that it is happening under a globalized world, flooded by consumer-driven marketing campaigns, and kaleidoscopically enmeshing cultural symbols in the age of ‘simulacra and simulation’ vastly different from the 1960s. They times, they certainly have a-changed. And one key element to this change is the multiplicity of voices exchanging opinions throughout cyber-space. This did not happen before. Previously, in the world of TEFL, we read the books by renowned TEFL authors, listened to their words at international conferences, and took our reflections from them. Now, ‘Multiperspectivism’ is adding teachers’ insights from across the globe. We learn not only from the ‘big names’ but also from daily-grind teachers. “Truth…is born between people collectively searching for truth in the process of dialogic interaction”, stated Mikhail Bakhtin. “Truth”, is this postmodern sense, is relativized. We all have something of value to say, from the grass-roots teachers to the university based TEFL professors. This is Postmodern TEFL.
In the spirit of multiperspectivism, through Facebook exchanges, webinars and the blogosphere, this exchange of ideas within TEFL is creeping outside the TEFL walls. Teachers are finding their voices and bringing new, grass-roots concepts inside the gates. As a result, social and corporate responsibility of the institutional world of TEFL is being challenged. Experienced teachers are pushing against the walls of the giant TEFL publishing houses to do-it-themselves; collaboratively too. Learned teachers are bringing in outside knowledge to apply to the TEFL practice. Conscientious teachers are pushing for subject matter to be more applicable to pressing issues of today. And, let it be said, several established authors are getting on board and providing authoritative voices to new perspectives. Hence we see both TEFL equity advocates, set up by Scott Thornbury and Luke Meddings, speaking out on parallel subjects to those of TaWSIG (Teacher Workers Special Interest Group), created by teacher – Phil Walsh; jointly challenging status quo perceptions.
Pedagogically, change is also afoot; not only in the “seismic shift” announced by David Graddol (2009) in promoting the move towards CLIL (content and language integrated learning) but also by the move towards more DOGME style lessons; the increasing emphasis on empathic communication; the growing acceptance of NNESTs (non-native English speaking teachers) as the English language increasingly becomes a lingua-franca. Institutionally, there is still much to challenge. The question is – are TEFL institutions prepared to be challenged?
Philip NEWMAN. 2016 _________________________________________________________________________
The Postmodern Guy 