The Tapestry of Language Learning is the cornerstone of a new series from Heinle and Heinle
that 'combine[s] communicative, thematic, task-based learning with a concern
for students' individual differences' (p. v). The text sets out the authors'
philosophy about language teaching and language learning in a classroom
setting. Although the tapestry metaphor is sometimes strained, the text
provides a solid overview of the communicative approach to ESL instruction as
it is often practiced in the United States and Canada.The text is divided into
three parts. Part I provides an overview of the Tapestry approach. Part II
summarizes the authors' positions on second language acquisition theories and
learner characteristics. Part III deals with language skills, including grammar
and culture.
The
Tapestry of Language Learning
does not focus on language acquisition theory or research. The authors focus on
classroom practice, particularly in the adult academic or pre-academic ESL
classroom. As an overview, it succeeds admirably, touching on most of the
issues that concern active ESL teachers. The authors present a consistent
viewpoint throughout, drawing heavily on Vygotsky's Zone of Proximate
Development (Vygotsky, 1978) and Canale and Swain's (1980) discussion of
communicative language teaching. The authors strongly advocate integrative
skills classes and content- based instruction (although the last half of the
book treats the traditional skills separately). Each chapter contains
pre-reading questions and post-reading activities that provide useful triggers
for discussion or learning log entries. My teacher trainees responded
especially well to the section on teacher roles.
The text,
however, has more breadth than depth. Chapters and sections alike are short.
Many sections are only two or three sentences long, giving the reader a rushed,
breathless feeling. In spite of the authors' impressive research records, they
provide few details on the research results that led them to develop this
approach. The skills chapters are particularly thin, with much material
repeated. Even the section on learning styles and strategies, which were
covered so admirably in Oxford (1990), only brushes the surface. I found the
chapter on language development particularly frustrating. The descriptions of
competing theories are not thorough enough to give readers a clear
understanding of the concepts involved. I used the text last year for an
undergraduate teacher training class. Most of the students were trainees; most
had not done a practicum. While the pre-reading questions stimulated many
thoughtful journal entries, the post-reading activities were often too general
or seemed to assume a basis of teaching experience that my students lacked. I
also felt the students were frustrated by the lack of concrete detail in some
chapters. Most of my students were planning to work with children in bilingual
situations, and the text dealt very little with their concerns. The book also
shows a strong US-Canada bias; teachers who must deal with the more structural
methods often prevalent in other countries will find little help in adapting
the Tapestry approach to their situations.
While I
admit to having a bias against 'name brand methods,' the Tapestry Approach is
sound overall. The insistence on meaningful interaction can never be strong
enough when it is so easy for teachers to fall back on more structural
approaches. Scarcella and Oxford also stress that communicative competence
includes grammatical competence, to the extent of including a chapter on
teaching grammar (but not other linguistic sub-skills). The textbooks that
Heinle & Heinle has published under the Tapestry imprint are interesting,
attractive books that won universally positive reviews from my teacher
trainees. If this is any indication, the approach will acquire followers
easily.However, as a teacher trainer, I wished for more heft in the weave. I
would like to see more depth in research support and classroom application. A
text that advocates a comprehensive approach to language teaching should give
more help to teachers who are just starting out. New teachers are the most open
to new ideas, but the least able to put them into practice. They often fall
prey to the habits learned when they were language students themselves. They
can't always imagine innovative ways to 'make writing fun' (p. 134) and they
often don't understand the political or administrative reasons for segregated
skills courses (p. 92). The book might be more profitably used for in-service
training, after teachers have some real-world experience to inform their
discussions. It should be required reading for the administrators who evaluate
language teachers, but who are not specialists in language teaching or
acquisition.I welcome the Tapestry series to the arsenal of ESL teaching
materials, and The Tapestry of Language Learning is a respectable
contribution to ESL teacher training. No text can be all things to every
audience, and Scarcella and Oxford have drawn together many threads to create a
picture of a language classroom that is communicative, productive, and caring.
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