Will you take action against a broken system?

Hello everyone! Welcome to another Clive's English Corner post! 

Many notable revolutions have taken place throughout history, and they have affected how we go about life in several ways. Education is not an exception to this; in fact, it has been molded by these huge shifts in society. So, we will take a look at how educational processes have evolved, and how you can benefit from previous mistakes and the current practices in your language learning process.

Before the industrial revolution, people largely lived in the countryside, and there was little to no education or training for most people. Languages were passed on from generation to generation. Also, people used to learn the crafts of agriculture or others by trial and error, or they just learned it from their parents. Highly instructed people, musicians, thinkers, etc. were rare and usually related to royalty.

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During the industrial revolution, many things changed in the education system. In 1833, Children working in factories started receiving 2 compulsory hours of schooling, and a series of consequent acts until 1902 brought education to countless people to improve their living conditions. At the time, the priority was to be able to massively yield similar products; consequently, the education system approached instruction in the same way. Large groups of students learned a standardized curriculum, and it was expected that groups performed in a uniform way. If a student was a bit behind the rest, it was punished or forced to re-take the course until they were able to pass it. Fast forward to Henry Ford's assembly line around 1913, and this was even more evident in the education system. Groups were forced to read information, memorize it, and either recite it or write it down on quizzes. You could argue that this system worked in part, but it was not the best for learning languages. 

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As the process of globalization started to gain steam, English became the "universal language", and it was an essential part of school curriculums worldwide. However, this instructional system inspired in serial production was largely unsuccessful. There was an excessive emphasis on teaching grammar structures, vocabulary, and reading. This resulted in people who learned how to read English relatively well, yet the lack of usage as a communicational tool caused that most people eventually forgot this limited skill due to the very little verbal practice they performed. Unfortunately, it is safe to say that even to this day, this persists largely in our education system.

Nowadays, thanks to the continued process of globalization and easy access to information through the internet, more and more language self-learners have emerged. This is because it has become more and more common to acquire a language in a similar process of what a child goes through. Children learn their native tongue mainly through exposure, and trial and error. With the large spread of music, TV shows, movies, etc. Exposure to the English language has grown exponentially, and practicing with others has never been easier thanks to the internet.

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The bottom line is that if you are embarking on the task of learning or improving your English, you must try to leave the probable trauma caused to you by the assembly line system behind. Face this process without punishing yourself for not knowing the language at this point, instead start simple. Ask yourself, are able to perform simple tasks such as introducing yourself or spelling your name? If not, without any shame on it, start from there. If you are able to, then take it from there and think about what you want to be able to do next instead of worrying about grammar or big words. Do not try memorizing them! try practicing with others without worrying about making mistakes. Actually, making mistakes is good for you because you will be able to learn even more!

There you have it guys! It is not entirely your fault that you finished high school without being able to speak English. It is mostly due to a broken system which we are still suffering from today. However, are you going to stay still and not starting from scratch like a child would? Will you rebel against this system and overcome this obstacle? Are you letting others take opportunities that might be there for you if you took action?

Reflect on those questions, and I will see you guys on the next one!

Sources:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/1833-factory-act/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_line 

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