Edward T. Hall was born on May 16, 1914 in Webster Groves, Missouri. He received his A.B. degree at the University of Denver in 1936. He then went to the University of Arizona in 1938 and got his Masters of Arts Degree. Then he went to Columbia University where he received his Ph.D. in 1942. From 1942 until 1946, Hall served in the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers in Europe and the Pacific. In 1946, he married Mildred Ellis Reed. They’ve lived happily ever after in Santa Fe, New Mexico ever since. Ernest T. Hall made many discoveries in how people learn language. He analyzes the levels of learning. He found that there were three levels of learning, the Informal level, the Formal level, and the Technical level.
The Informal level is defined as the level with the most affect. Informal learning is learning by example, by modeling, often out of awareness. It takes no conscious focus on learning. An example would be concerns about grades that might include a general sense that you work hard and that that should earn good grades for you. There would also be a sense that grades are important for later work promotion, and that C’s no longer represent “average” to many people.
The Formal level of learning is the middle level of affect. Formal learning is learned by rules. For a general student a formal level of learning could include, being on time, looking attentive, reading all assignments, and passing tests with high grades. These rules aren’t usually exclusive. They depend on what the person has learned as to what the rule means to them. For example it could be much more important to one person to be to class on time than another. This us because of what they have formally learned.
The other level is the Technical level. This is the level with the least affect. Technical learning is learning by discussion of the reasons for the rules. This is where you learn most of your opinions. An example would be discussing the theory that manners provide the glue for society’s rough spots in interpersonal relationships, so that our policy is to rely on manners to keep those relationships smooth. Edward T. Hall did most of his work on Silent Languages. He used these theories as well as many others to explain how people would communicate without the use of an elaborate language. He has made many discoveries in the Anthropology field dealing with the language of prehistoric people. He has written the books; The Silent Language, Beyond Culture, The Dance of Life, and Hidden Differences.
“Synchrony and Group Cohesion” (Fri 21 Oct. 1994) http://www.ratical.org/many_worlds/SynRyth.html 2 May 2000.
“Intercultural Communication” Former Link, http://www2.soc.hawaii.edu/css/dept/com/resources/intercultural/Hall.html 2 May 2000. (October 2006)
Written by: Jake Wischmeier