Tradition and Revolution in ESL Teaching

Revolutions in science, Thomas Kuhn argues, occur when the shared set of intellectual assumptions that form the tradition of a discipline (a paradigm ) breaks down and gives way to another, causing controversy and insecurity in the process. This article begins by exploring the development of language teaching in the light of Kuhn's theory. It summarizes the theory, points to analogies in the field of the teaching of writing, briefly defines our positivist tradition, and describes the signs of confusion and controversy that mark a paradigm shift. Then it proposes that the current emphasis on communication, far from marking the emergence of a new paradigm, still operates very much within the positivist tradition; the fact that scholars outside and within our discipline are asking more questions about the conceptual and creative function of language indicates that we are still firmly in the middle of a paradigm shift, engaged in philosophical debate. The article concludes by identifying a cluster of mentors who are raising challenging issues and by discussing possible directions for the future in research and method.