In the video below Diana Krall sets before us an example of good group dynamics, the kind of sharing that we will one day be doing in our classrooms when we finally get over the thought that teaching a language is only about making sure that our students learn the information.
Our work involves far more than transmitting information to our students. It is mostly about being aware of each other, of listening to each other during our own quiet internal never ending struggle to become more a part of the group.
Diana at 1:30 in the video turns her attention to the bass player. It is time for his moment in the creation of the story. This compares to the moments in class when our students try to say something.
What do we do then? Do we toss the student’s effort off and place it in the “nice try” category? Or do we look at the student with an admiring smile and then lovingly remind every student about Classroom Rule #2? Do we respond to our students with love or judgment?
Watch right at 2:00. Diana utters a sound from her heart that contains within it respect, love, admiration and happiness. It is what we also must do if TPRS is to work for us. If TPRS is to work for us, we must develop our capacity to share love with our students. This video conveys my deepest conception of what TPRS teaching can be about, what it can be when we get over worrying about thematic units.
Look at what happens at 3:00.
Language is more than about communicating information between minds – it is about communicating love between hearts. I would amend Krashen’s idea that language instruction should not be about the words but the message to say that language instruction should be about love. I’m not a researcher, so maybe I’m wrong on that.
That is what these musicians are doing. I hardly listened to the meaning of the song. Both the words and their meaning, as it, are mere vehicles for transmitting that all that love that we see going around on the stage. That is communication.
Here is Diana Krall, the TPRS teacher: