8.1.2.2.3 Productivity
Productivity has to do with the relationship between adaptation and participation:
who I am within the context and the rules I have agreed to follow. According to Thelen
productivity is related to several aspects of learning:
the amount and quality of product or output...; the quality of the process
through which the product was produced or the conclusion reached; and the
growth of capability to produce more effectively (1981,90)
As I see it, productivity is the most salient element from the learner’s perspective
for several reasons. First, there are aspects of productivity which are tangible, which
means that they can be translated into behaviour. In the case of language learning, a
written letter, or an utterance pronounced are tangible examples of productivity. Second,
although sometimes the product of learning is not observable behaviour, like the
understanding of a conversation or the comprehension of written text, the learner is very
aware of the degree of understanding or comprehension she has achieved. In other
words, she is aware of that element of her productivity. Third, from her experience in
formal learning, the learner is used to thinking about production in relation to assessment
and evaluation. Results in exams and final grades are the most common, although not
always reliable, way the learners sense their productivity. In fact, it can be said that
productivity, mostly in terms of outcomes, is the only condition the learners are
conscious of, and certainly the one they are most worried about.
In relation to the self-directed scheme in question, the amount and quality of the
product refers to how much one has learned in terms of linguistic outcomes. The amount
and quality of process and the conclusion reached implies how well one has learned, that
is, metacognitive outcomes. And the capability to produce more effectively falls in the
realm of decision-making processes, that is, to what extent one can make decisions
concerning one’s own learning processes.
8.2 THE ETHNOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE
As I see it, authenticity, legitimacy and productivity (ALP) seem to be universal
values for learning. All formal and informal educational schemes would always have
some elements that correspond to these values. The reason ALP are universal lies in the
fact that they are relative. That is to say, their meaning is different in different learning
258