Tomato-based language education

I love tomatoes. As a child, I loved tomato-based foods such as ketchup and pasta sauce, but I hated fresh tomatoes. I am not sure when that changed, but now I love fresh tomatoes. I am certainly not alone. Tomatoes are one of the most loved types of fresh produce in the world, but it wasn’t always that way. In the late 18th century in Europe, tomatoes were thought to be dangerous, even deadly, and were not considered safe to eat. There are a number of reasons, but one of the main culprits had little to do with the plant, but on how they were served. At that time, it was not the food that was the problem, but the dish on which it was eaten. The pewter plates on which they were being served were leaching lead into the food due to the acidity in the tomatoes. Of course, only the rich and powerful were being affected, but news of the dangers of tomatoes stuck around for two centuries. Why? Simple, it was what they had been told to do and they just kept on doing it.

This is an example of the difference between correlation and causation. Yes, people did get sick and die after eating tomatoes, but the tomato itself was completely safe. It was the lead in the pewter that was deadly, something that could easily have been fixed by simply replacing the plate. Correlations need to be viewed with a very critical eye. There are some situations where it is almost impossible to test a hypothesis directly, so we are reliant on correlations. In these situations, we need to carefully test as many variables as possible to make sure that the conclusions we are drawing are correct. In the case of the tomato, it could have been tested by simply eating the tomato raw, directly from the plant. The problem here of course was that the lead poisoning happened over a long period of time, so the testing would also need to have been done over a similar timeframe. Time, situation, and other variables all need to be taken into consideration.

1. How do people learn languages?

1. What role does memory and memorization play in language learning?

1. What role does motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic, play in language learning?

1. How much do personalities affect language learning?

1. How much should I as a teacher be taking personalities into account?

1. What kind of assessment works best in the various situations? Should all assessment be done by the teacher?

1. How important are levels in learning? Should we be using them?

1. What do I believe about homework? Is it necessary?

1. How often should I be using group work? Should I be leaving time for students to work on their own?

1. How much does culture affect language learning? Does it change expectations or is this more of a personal difference?

1. Textbooks and other published materials

1. Websites

1. Cell phones

1. Worksheets

1. Interactive whiteboards

1. Presentations

1. Games

About the author

Nathan teaches academic English for a college in Vancouver, BC, Canada and has taught in various countries around the world including a shipping company in Lithuania for four years. You can find out more about him here: http://info.nathanhall.ca