ABSTRACT
A key behavioural principle that appears to be little appreciated and greatly under-utilized in classroom teaching is the principle that learning can be facilitated and inhibited by altering the stimulus conditions or "setting events" within the physical and social context of the classroom. The concept of setting events, their identification and use is of major importance in the behavioural approach to teaching. Within the classroom environment it is known that a wide range of stimulus conditions will influence behaviour. The presence or availability of an interacting adult is a major setting event exerting a powerful influence on children's learning in the classroom. Brief periods of individual attention within the classroom context set the occasion for an important type of teacher-child interaction which rarely occurs during class or small-group instruction. When a person moves to a new environment requiring the learning of a new language, local people are usually very supportive of hesitating first attempts and very tolerant of inaccuracies.
