tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5714045366168902489.post7392628469623898560..comments2024-02-06T07:49:22.830-08:00Comments on Evidence Based EFL: Thought terminating clichesmallingualhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13278408615407649532noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5714045366168902489.post-76139978326380911872017-08-24T01:53:52.594-07:002017-08-24T01:53:52.594-07:00Great article, thought provoking!Great article, thought provoking!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5714045366168902489.post-29440354855424965672015-09-15T14:16:34.124-07:002015-09-15T14:16:34.124-07:00Yes, except I'm about 2 years behind ☺Yes, except I'm about 2 years behind ☺EAP Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10062119777629083644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5714045366168902489.post-77060248376015159132015-09-15T13:31:55.269-07:002015-09-15T13:31:55.269-07:00Thanks for reading and commenting. It seems we hav...Thanks for reading and commenting. It seems we have similar thoughts on this topic.mallingualhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13278408615407649532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5714045366168902489.post-81429099709786892282015-09-15T04:31:48.146-07:002015-09-15T04:31:48.146-07:00This is a very interesting post. I very much enjoy...This is a very interesting post. I very much enjoyed the link between (moral) relativism and the classroom. In terms of moral relativism, I believe, a good way of looking at is through the end result. This article (Exposure to moral relativism compromises moral behavior - Rai, 2013) is one indication that the results aren't great. Another more philosophical basis for questionning moral relativism would seem to be that in the end, it leads to an inability to make culturally independent moral judgements - and making moral judgements seems to me to be the basis for a lot of decision making. The moral relativist might say that they are not espousing a particular moral theory but rather a view of the way things are - fair enough, but where does that leave people. Relativism can have a draining, almost paralysing effect as it doesn't offer anything beyond "do what is ethically right in your culture" as a basis for making decisions. But how then do we progress? How do we perceive of a better way of doing things - simply by looking at cultures that are better than our own? So was slavery abolished simply because we saw other cultures that weren't doing it and thought, let's try that. This can be a motivator for changing positions of right and wrong but I would say that change can also come from looking at what exists now and imagining something better. I don't know that moral relativism allows for that (again, they might just say that people can see change but that it is not necessarily better or worse - just a change! It goes on and on)<br /><br />But to link back to teaching - I think that this influence of relativism in the classroom can be an endless list of caveats that can almost get in the way of some of the key simple things that all learners of a language do - e.g. memorise words, practise them, see them again, practise them some more. These seem like basic, immutable elements of language learning from which to base one's approach to teaching; much like there are basic moral positions (don't murder, steal etc.) upon which to approach decisions of morality. <br /><br />Thanks again - really interesting post. EAP Stephenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10062119777629083644noreply@blogger.com