Grammar is central to the teaching and learning of languages. It is also one of the more difficult aspects of language to teach well. Many people, including language teachers, hear the word “grammar” and think of a fixed set of word forms and rules of usage. They associate “good” grammar with the prestige forms of…
Listening is the language modality that is used most frequently. It has been estimated that adults spend almost half their communication time listening, and students may receive as much as 90% of their in-school information through listening to instructors and to one another. Often, however, language learners do not recognize the level of effort that…
TBL is a natural extension of communicative language teaching. In TBL, the emphasis is on the task rather than the language. For example, students perform real-life tasks such as getting information about bus timetables, or making a presentation on a certain topic. Later, after the task has been completed, they can look at the language…
READING TECHNIQUES “SQ3R” 5 Techniques for Improving Your Reading and Studying Skills “SQ3R” A Reading and Study System Reading a chapter correctly takes a lot more time than you probably spend now, but try this SQ3R method for just one class. Slowly add this system into your other classes too. Be patient and give this…
COLLABORATIVE LANGUAGE LEARNING Collaborative learning is a situation in which two or more people learn or attempt to learn something together. More specifically, collaborative learning is based on the model that knowledge can be created within a population where members actively interact by sharing experiences and take on asymmetry roles. Put differently, collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in…
Introduction In recent years, the purely “structural” approach to language teaching has been criticized, as it tends to produce students who, despite having the ability to produce structurally accurate language, are generally deficient in their ability to use the language and understand its use in real communication. What is the “structural” approach to language teaching? …
Pairwork and Working in Small Groups Most speaking practice in the classroom should be done in pairs and small groups with students talking to each other. It is a common mistake of the untrained teacher to think that students must or need to talk to the teacher. While talking to the teacher is certainly useful,…
ROLE PLAY There are several reasons for using role-play in the classroom and some tips for getting the most out of role-play. Introduction What is role-play? Why use role-play? Tips on successful classroom role-play Bibliography Introduction Incorporating role-play into the classroom adds variety, a change of pace and opportunities for a lot of language production…
MIMICRY – MEMORIZATION Mimicry – Memorization method was developed firstly for military personnel during the Second World War. This method was successful because of high motivation, intensive practice, small classes and good models. Some basic sentences are memorized by imitation. When the basic sentences have been over-learned, the students can practice the dialogue. Then they…
A substitution drill is a classroom technique used to practice new language. It involves the teacher first modeling a word or a sentence and the learners repeating it. The teacher then substitutes one or more key words, or changes the prompt, and the learners say the new structure. Substitution drills work best…