My fair learner

Language learning is not about knowing how to pronounce certain words. It is all about loving the language and accepting it as it is. The intellectual bit of learning is easy because children speak it; what hinders adult-learning is the psychological aspect, something that resists learning. As long as you are laughing at the language, you are not learning it; when you start laughing with the language, you open the doors of twisting your tongue automatically, effortlessly and almost unconsciously plunge into learning the language.  Even neutralization of accents becomes automatic. If you have closely watched My Fair Lady, you will see Eliza Doolittle speaking like a duchess when Higgins, for the first time, maybe out of sheer fatigue, empathized with her... would advise all trainers and instructors to see the film again; you will see Higgins hoity-toity and high-handed treatment towards Elisa transforms into teacherlessness, his body language, his vocal clues do not have any arrogance, they urge Elisa to think, to help her understand what her aim is, what she has set out for.

"I know your head aches. I know you're tired. I know your nerves are as raw as meat in a butcher's window. But think what you're trying to accomplish.

Just think what you're dealing with. The majesty and grandeur of the English language....It's greatest possession we have. The noblest thoughts that ever flowed through the hearts of men... are contained in its extraordinary, imaginative... ... musical mixtures of sounds. And that's what you've set yourself out to conquer, Eliza.

And conquer it you will."

Epiphany or magic happens after this, the teacher and the taught could not believe what they heard; Eliza started speaking in a tongue which was not a disgrace to Milton and Shakespeare, and from then on, there was no looking back. Trainers and instructors, especially course designers cannot ignore this significant aspect, this turning point, this moment of transformation while creating and or delivering their respective modules.

Whenever one is preparing any language learning material, it is effective to factor this; the way in which we can inject empathy into the learning atmosphere. Though the success of Higgins was far too easy because of the ideal teacher student ratio (1:1), Elisa's 24/7 assiduity  and Pickering’s indulgent sponsoring of the whole affair; however, trainers who prepare training materials need to focus on elements that empower the learners; it’s a fascinating process and it works in all modules on training. The method which does not boast the knowledge of the trainers/ instructors/professors, but that which makes the process of learning easy, fearless, communicative, something that helps learners take off into an auto-learning mode, when the learner does not have to be told to do the homework, when they take the learning beyond the classrooms; it happens in any field.

O yes I have tried this a number of times with my learners and I had completely submitted to them, placed them as high as possible, not to show how learned I am, or how difficult the topic I am dealing with is, but to focus on how easy and fascinating the content is and what they can achieve if they learned; I urged them to teach the content to me and to their peers. Of course, I tried to polish the pebbles, but without dimming the diamonds in my class. It feels unkind using this metaphor but I kept my feet on the ground while understanding the ability of learners, tried and tested how a learner relatively weak on a given topic took off when they were asked to explain it to the whole class; it works with every group irrespective of age and career level.

By placing myself at the lowest, I made me almost disappear in class, as the most redundant subject, not required at all, especially during activities, to get the highest from the beautiful learners with whom I interacted.

The objective of this article is to underline the importance of developing methods keeping in view the psychological and emotional aspects of learning more than its elements; to enjoy the moments of class, moments of learning.