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Applied Linguistics 1989 10(2):231-243; doi:10.1093/applin/10.2.231
© 1989 by Oxford University Press
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Nodes and Networks: Choosing for Real

KEITH RICHARDS and JOHN SKELTON

Aston University

This paper examines certain aspects of the communicative approach which give cause for concern and suggests a way of coming to terms with some of the problems raised. It argues that ‘manifesto thinking’ has meant that fundamental problems have been swept under the carpet and local opportunity has been sacrificed to correct form. An examination of classroom data from a formal grammar lesson indicates that the potential of the accidental moment in student/teacher interaction is considerable. In order to exploit this, what is needed is a fresh perspective on language teaching rather than a new ‘movement’ or ‘approach’. Connectionist models of cognitive processes provide a powerful metaphor for such a standpoint. A consideration of central features of the connectionist position indicates how attention might be shifted to choice points, or ‘nodes’, within a network of linguistic and pedagogic opportunity in the language classroom.


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