Some half baked ideas and others, carbonized...
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Sometimes the presentation phase of a lesson can take up most of a lesson. What percentage of an overall lesson do you spend in presenting particular language point and what percentage do the learners get to actually use the language? Half of the lesson, or just five percent of the lesson time?
Do the learners really need all of this input to get the language point?
Communicative language teaching (CLT) is a label that is often used to describe courses and it seems to be a label that has become so over-used and easily used that it has perhaps begun to lose its meaning. When asked in a recent seminar what the characteristics of community language were, there did seem to be a definite reticence to offer answers. I found this somewhat surprising given the widespread use of the term.
What would happen to your school if it did not describe the courses given there are communicative language courses? Would you lose business? Would people automatically think that your courses were of a lower quality? What would happen to me as a teacher if I told people that I did not believe in the principles of CLL? Would I be cast out of the people friendly language teaching community? A outcast, a pariah?
But, if I am not confidently sure of what the principles or characteristics of CLL are, how can I claim to believe in them? I would be doing nothing better than paying lip service. Here then, is an attemopt at a taxonomy of the characteristics of CLL to guide my own assessment of my courses and teaching.
I know that I am generalising, but so often workbooks are relegated to the ‘also ran’ or ‘lemon’ status of materials. Lacking vivid magazine-like colour and language (read grammar) input, workbook exercises are often given as a homework after thought… Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a very simple activity that is very useful to have in your toolbox as a no materials activity.
Aims: Fluency in speaking, listening and group negotiation. Giving advise and suggestions.
Skills: Speaking and listening.
Materials: A board and board pen.
Level: Elementary and above.
Preparation time: None, 
save a little time thinking… Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a very simple activity that is very useful to have in your toolbox as a no materials activity.
Aims: Question forms and demonstrative pronouns. Giving personal information/getting to know you.
Skills: Speaking and listening
Materials: A board and board pen.
Level: All but the most early beginners.
Preparation time: None save a little time thinking… Read the rest of this entry »
Here is a very simple activity that is very useful to have in your toolbox as a no materials (save a die) and no preparation required…
Aims: Question and answer forms, targeted vocabulary recycling.
Skills: Speaking and listening
Materials: Set of dice for learners - or, if you have internet and a large enough screen, why not try a virtual die. Here is one link for an online die.
Level: All but the most early beginngers.
Preparation time: None 
Read the rest of this entry »
Simon Mumford and Nesta Parry presented this week a short seminar on academic writing at IEU, Izmir. In the seminar they focussed on common mistakes of L2 academic writers thast they met as academic proof readers of academic work. They chose to focus on articles, prepositions and relative clauses. My interest was to see how my article flow chart actually works. I have used it several times as a poster stuck on the wall for learners to consult: Read the rest of this entry »
These notes are based on a presentation given by Theresa Doğuelli University. The presentation was after sales service from Oxford University Press on the Lecture Ready series of academic English text books.
The aim of the book is strategy training and this was where Teresa began her presentation. The differences between a strategy, skill, plan and tactic were explored. One of the ideas that came out of the discussion was that a strategy is more flexible than a plan - leaving the learner the chioce of how to tackle the task rather than a less flexible and less adaptable plan. Read the rest of this entry »
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