Language of Teaching

Abstract

Based on the presumption that language games found in educational texts reflect teaching practices, we discuss formality, precision and rigidity as characteristics of the teaching language and as an underlying problem of the scientific method. These questions lead us to reflections on the nature of teaching, its role and mission. Investigation of terms, memes, concepts and ideologemes of the teaching language allows us to draw conclusions about language impermeability and to turn to social motives of the phenomenon. Analysis of the problem helps us find out how highly bureaucratized (affected by the “managerism paradigm”) methodology, language, social structures and relationships that prevail in teaching build a field where profound ideas of education are promoted with great difficulty. Our belief is that teaching is most efficient when perceived as an art, and the teaching profession should be regarded as an artistic one. In this case, teacher education model should include mainly training and artistic practices. The clue to finding identity of contemporary teaching is to make a fundamental distinction between theory (science) and practice, redistributing their boundaries and roles. There are few understanding problems in teaching that require scientific conceptualization, but much more of those that require efficient solutions, or practical strategies.