2
SELECTED READINGS IN ELT METHODOLOGY
AND CLASSROOM STUDIES
PREFACE
This anthology of articles and excerpts is intended to give you an overview of the main issues of teaching English as a foreign language. It is divided into two parts, A and B.
Most of the articles in Part A are practical in nature; they offer suggestions and ideas for dealing with day-to-day classroom concerns. Some of them have more of a theoretical orientation; they probe and question basic teaching principles, or describe and evaluate different approaches to teaching.
With very few exceptions the authors are practising teachers with many years of primary / secondary school experience behind them. They come from a variety of backgrounds including places as far apart as Italy, Turkey, China and Japan.
The excerpts in Part B are more concerned with questions such as "How do people actually become teachers?" " Can someone tell me or show me what to do, or must I find my own way?" " Once I have graduated from university, how can I continue my professional development?" " How much can I learn by observing other teachers at work?" " What is the best way to 'observe'?"
Although you may be considering classroom questions from the teacher's perspective for the first time, you too have many years of valuable school experience behind you. You will need to draw on this experience and relate what you read in this book to the classrooms, teachers and learners that you have known.
PART A
SECTION 1: Introduction
The excerpt given here invites you to take a fresh look at classrooms, this time from the teacher's angle, and think about some basic concepts of teaching and learning.
SECTION 2: Textbooks and syllabuses
Choosing the right materials for a group of learners, understanding the role of coursebooks, working out or adapting a course syllabus are all part and parcel of what a teacher does. The three articles in this section will offer slightly different views on these issues.
SECTION 3: Working with young learners
What do young learners bring with them to the classroom? How can the teacher build on their skills, talents and interests? These are the main questions addressed here.
SECTION 4: Presenting new language
The article which makes up this section is to complement your reading/thinking about language learning as process, with various stages leading towards mastery.
The author's focus is on the first stage, that of presenting new language to learners.
SECTION 5: Preparing for the reality of real classrooms
The five articles here all focus on the main protagonists of classrooms: the learners. They call attention to the great variety of learner types in terms of ability, interest, attitude to learning etc. Two of the articles focus on 'difficult' students, and suggest several strategies for working with them.
SECTION 6: Pair work, group work
These two articles deal with the practicalities of pair- and group-work. The first one focuses on the benefits of working in pairs, while the second one lists a variety of ideas for grouping students.
SECTION 7: Learning words
The excerpt in this section concentrates on the way our memory works, and draws some practical implications for the teaching and learning of vocabulary.
The article describes a specific approach to designing a syllabus with a strong focus on vocabulary development.
SECTION 8: Interesting and meaningful language practice
What can make exercises interesting and meaningful to learners?
The authors suggest that e.g. a visual focus, open-endedness, or working within the context of a story can increase learner involvement.
This section can supplement your reading on some basic principles of grammar teaching.
SECTION 9: Listening, reading, speaking and integrating skills
This series of articles looks at classroom activities with a skills development focus. Many ideas are presented for making skills development a meaningful and interactive experience for learners.
SECTION 10: Planning and monitoring learning
The first article in the section outlines some key ideas relating to the cycle of planning - teaching - evaluating that teachers go through in their day-to-day practice. The other articles offer some ideas on homework tasks and grading students' work.
SECTION 11: The 'Communicative' Approach
What is the Communicative Approach? What kind of teacher does it take to put its main principles into practice? How does it compare to more traditional approaches?
The two articles in the section offer slightly contrasting viewpoints.
SECTION 12: Working with inner resources
The message of this series of articles is that the greatest resources for teachers to build on are found in the learners: their creativity, imagination, urge for self-expression etc.
The last article of the section stands as a reminder that the teacher, too, has got inner resources to nurture and develop.
PART B
SECTION 13: Learning to Teach
This excerpt focuses on the importance of personal development in teacher education, as distinct from other types of undergraduate course. The writer argues that we must first become aware of the attitudes and preconceptions that we bring with us to the course, before developing our own personal teaching philosophy or "mini-theory", which will eventually be refined and consolidated by actual experience in the classroom.
SECTION 14: Why Observe?
In this excerpt, which is the introduction to a collection of "classroom observation instruments" the author explains what classroom observation is, and how it can help both student-teachers in pre-service teacher education programmes and qualified, experienced teachers. At the same time, she discusses the importance of individual development and implications of this for the relationship between "student teachers" and "teacher educators".
SECTION 15: Planning Classroom Research Projects
In this excerpt the writer discusses the problems of "how to get started on classroom research" and gives useful advice on how to choose suitable topics and questions to investigate. He also discusses the value of classroom research in teacher education and development. The section continues with two more chapters from the same book, which describe the possible uses, advantages and disadvantages of various research techniques.
Table of Contents
PART A page
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
Between the people in the classroom 8
by Earl Stevick
SECTION 2: TEXTBOOKS AND SYLLABUSES
Are textbooks symptoms of a disease? 14
by Robert O'Neill
Throwing out the textbook 1 18
by Ana Coll and Luis Fernandez
Teacher or syllabus designer? 22
by Pilar Romera
SECTION 3: WORKING WITH YOUNG LEARNERS
Working with young language learners 25
by Susan Halliwell
Identifying priorities and their implications 30
SECTION 4: PRESENTING NEW LANGUAGE
Presenting new language 39
by Deri Hughes
SECTION 5: PREPARING FOR THE REALITY OF REAL CLASSROOMS
Strategies for a mixed ability group 41
by Mario Rinvolucri
More thoughts on heterogeneous classes 44
by Pnina Linder
The quandary of negative class participation 47
by Paul Wadden and Sean McGovern
Coping with difficult students 55
by Brenda Townsend
Teaching for attention 58
by Tim Hahn
SECTION 6: PAIR WORK, GROUP WORK
Pair work - some practical hints 60
by Laura Kerr
Getting them into groups 65
by Tim Hahn and Leslie Bobb
SECTION 7: LEARNING WORDS
Memory and written storage 67
by Ruth Gairns and Stuart Redman
Don't forget vocabulary 74
Pat McLaughlin and Sezin Barlas
SECTION 8: INTERESTING AND MEANINGFUL LANGUAGE PRACTICE
Making language exercises interesting 77
by Penny Ur
Filling in gaps in context 81
by Ho-Peng Lim
SECTION 9: LISTENING, READING, SPEAKING
AND INTEGRATING SKILLS
Rewind, then pause 84
by Alison Ridley
To read or not to read 87
by Julia Leigh
Aloud applause 89
by Terry Tomscha
Encouraging the reticent reader 93
by Clayton MacKenzie
Integrated skills: talking about housing 97
by Mercedes Bernaus
Telling tales ...
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