It is, of course, impossible to contemplate teaching in isolation from learning. The question of what makes a good teacher must ultimately be concerned with what and how and how much learners learn and what exactly that learning is for. This is just as true for the language teacher as it is for any other. We can only be really effective teachers if we are clear in our minds what we mean by learning because only then can we know what kinds of learning outcomes we want our learners to achieve. If our aim is to teach enough language items to pass an examination, then this will have significant implications for the way in which we teach. If, on the other hand, we see learning a new language as a lifelong process with much broader social, cultural and educational implications, then we will take a very different approach to teaching it.
As a result of their comprehensive review of the literature on conceptions of learning, Gow and Kember (1993) suggest that most approaches to learning can be subsumed under one of the following headings:

• a quantitative increase in knowledge;
• memorisation;
• the acquisition of facts, procedures etc. which can be retained ; and/or used in practice;
• the abstraction of meaning;
• an interpretative process aimed at the understanding of reality;
• some form of personal change.
The first three of these conceptions can be conveniently subsumed under the heading of reproductive approaches while the subsequent three can be seen as meaning-based. It would, of course, be unwise to view such approaches as mutually exclusive. Most methods used in language teaching appear to belong to several overlapping categories, and most teachers' views would incorporate a mixture of these. However, a few examples can usefully be given to illustrate these categories. 'The quantitative increase in knowledge' might lead to transmission of knowledge about how the language operates or explanation of grammar rules. The learning of vocabulary or verb tenses might belong more to 'memorisation'. Teaching learners skills such as guessing meanings of words from their context are more concerned with the 'learning of procedures which can be used in practice'.

'The abstraction of meaning' is a particularly interesting category, which appears to belong more to communicative approaches to teaching a language and techniques such as task-based listening, reading with information transfer, or tasks requiring meaningful interaction. These particular techniques would also belong to the fifth category, 'an interpretative process aimed at the understanding of reality', provided the language used conveys reality. This issue of 'purposefulness' of language is taken up in Chapter 8.
The final category, 'some form of personal change' will have particular implications for the way in which a language is taught. A belief in this form of learning would lead to the selection of activities that have personal significance or relevance to the learners leading to some personal benefit such as learning to think, learning some social skill or learning about the world. These are all issues that are taken up in future chapters.
We are now in a position to make our own statement as to what we believe learning involves, and which we consider represents central aspects of our own espoused theory.