English Teaching and Learning

Technology; cold, relentless, and idolised by much of humanity, is here and doesn't look like it will lose its momentum any time soon. English-language teachers, on the other hand, are often light, whimsical, caring entities, prone to having a fondness for people over machines, and a tendency towards the 'real' over the 'virtual'. With this hyperbolic introduction, I wanted to set up a dichotomy, which in reality perhaps doesn't exist. Many teachers nowadays do indeed use technology to educate, many in fact rely upon it completely as they teach through Skype to learners the world over. Others though, we must have seen, are well, not too keen to move with the times and much prefer a handout to an attachment. Let's think briefly (technology has apparently rotted my ability to think about anything more than briefly) on the implications of technology in education in general, and then its affect on English-language teaching.  The O mnipresence of Technolo...

There are lots of blog posts, academic articles, and ongoing heated discussions in the actual and virtual ELT staff rooms all over the world about whether we should teach grammar at all. Those who argue for the teaching of grammar say that we need to know the rules of a language to be able to use it properly. They say grammar gives us the skeleton from which to hang the flesh.  Those against it argue that English in particular is not a grammar-based language and in fact, all a language-learner needs is access to level-appropriate, authentic 'input' and a thirst for learning. Having listened to both sides of this argument, and having applied both of them to my own teaching, I can make a couple of tentative observations: 1. Sometimes students want grammar like children want candy. But just because they want it, should we give it to them? Well, if the child is paying your wages, then yes, maybe you should. But is it good for them? It is not a meal in itself but will do no...

I've seen many different teaching styles, some more effective than others. I have my own opinions about what the habits and practices of good English teachers: what they do, what they don't do; what they say, what they don't say. What they wear, what they eat... OK, the last two we can leave up to the employers.. but all-in-all, I felt sure I knew what was 'good', when I saw it. Recently someone who works for once of the main English test conductors told me that one of the questions she asked the candidates was 'What makes a good teacher'? The answers, she said, were often surprising. Does a student know what's best for them? Does it matter of the student doesn't like the teacher? I always thought of a teacher as being like a doctor. Someone who knew best for the 'patient'. The expert, with specialised knowledge that could be called upon to 'treat' the subject, and make him or her better. I usually felt that it didn't re...

In a speech in 1996 by Hargreaves, he claimed (more or less) that for whatever reason teachers were a passive, unambitious group, and made a comparison between teaching and medical professionals, in particular doctors. He stated that doctors are constantly informed about developments in medicine, aware of recent research findings, and intrigued by possible future directions. He contrasted this with teaching, which he said is 'not a research-based profession'. Does he have a point, and of so, does it matter? There were many fierce opponents to Hargreaves' claim that teaching would be 'more effective and more satisfying' if it looked more to research in its field. Many claimed that it was ridiculous to compare being a doctor to being a teacher. And there were many other credible reasons why what is right for a medical doctor is not necessarily right for a teacher. However, let's indulge the idea for a while. It is difficult to talk about teaching as if it wer...

Coursebooks are the standard in ESL and EFL classrooms across the world. As a teacher, do they light your fire, or do you think they should they be used to start one? The use of course books for teaching English is a rather divisive issue. Some school insist upon their use while other educational organisations insist that teachers utilise only their wits and the students in front of them as the means to teach. Dogme language teaching famously advocated for ' teaching without published textbooks and focusing instead on conversational communication among learners and teacher '.  And yet, for someone who is new to ELT, or simply for a school or teacher who want to work from a tried-and-tested text book, they can offer guidance, inspiration, and a ready-made solution to the problem of what and how to teach.  It is worth thinking about what the purpose of learning materials is in the classroom, or to the independent learner. It is important to consider that learning ma...

Pronunciation is often a neglected area for English-language learners, both seemingly by the teacher and the learner. A kind of complicity takes place that both parties strike a deal that the teacher won't get hung up on the different ways to pronounce 'th', as long as the learner doesn't mention it either. Teachers can find pronunciation to be a difficult aspect of the language to deal with and consequently can avoid it altogether. The difficulty perhaps stems from hearing an 'error' but not being able to immediately isolate exactly what is happening to cause the mispronunciation and being able to correct it. If you are not familiar with the phonemic alphabet then it is a useful tool for both the teacher and learner. There is an online one here from the British Council. A colleague recently gave a fascinating training session on pronunciation. She went through the anatomical aspects of it  -- what goes where when we make each sound, and the differenc...

A lot of people might wonder what the secret to learning is, and I learnt it today. You can just jump to the end if you don’t want to wade through the drivel between these opening remarks and the ‘secret’. The drivel: I am often asked by English-language learners how they can improve their English. I recommend ways, as anyone does whose occupation it is to help people improve their English-language skills. I analyse their needs by speaking with her or him for a few minutes. It might be that she pauses, seemingly searching for a word mid-flow, or that he can’t create a grammatical construction he needs to express himself more precisely, as he would in his own language. It might be that her speaking is staccato or that individual sounds are mispronounced, causing a breakdown in coherence. Based on what I see or I hear, I can recommend speaking with a friend or family member in English, reading a blog or listening to a podcast on a subject she is interested in. I might tell...