Sage on a Stage?

The traditional style of transmitting knowledge was the professor who lectured in front of awed disciples who copied his wisdom down in notes that were preserved religiously.  It was a style that preceded the invention of the printing press, the mimeograph, the photocopier, the recording machine, videos, etc.,etc.

It was only in the last century that teachers began questioning the traditional model, arguing that students should be more active, should be encouraged to seek their own answers, find their own resources, that they should animate the class while the teacher simply proposed questions and guided them to keep them on the rails.  All the manuals began to talk about “student-centered” learning.

There were many slogans designed to promote the new style of learning.  One of them was “Kill the teacher”.  Another was “sage on the stage versus guide on the side.” When I first heard these expressions I welcomed them as a breath of fresh air, something that could empower students and make classes more dynamic and interactive. There is no question in my mind that the lecturer model of transmitting knowledge is the most ineffective way of teaching a foreign language known to man.

Some observers of a TPRS class notice that the teacher talks throughout much of the class.  So they come to the superficial judgment that the teacher is being too directive, monopolizing the discourse and following the medieval tradition of “sage on a stage”.

I would ask such observers to look again.  Throughout a TPRS class we are constantly interacting with students.  We are not spouting wisdom but asking them questions about themselves, something they know a lot about.  They are the experts. They are the subject of the class. If TPRS teachers were to simply speak in the target language without the constant interaction that comes from PQA and circling, they would soon lose their "audience". On the contrary, students are fully engaged during a TPRS lesson, engaged in a conversation with the teacher about themselves, a conversation which uses their input to build a story.  We are modeling the language, but giving them every opportunity to express themselves as much as they can.  

I think dancing partner would be a better description of what we do.  The better dancer “leads” so that their partner can follow. It’s the interaction that is magic.  The best way to learn to waltz is to have a partner that knows what they're doing.