Educators Share Best and Worst (EL)Teaching Practices

In the first week of January, this year, Ross Thornburn celebrated the 200th episode of his podcast by asking two, in my opinion, pivotal questions to eight easily recognisable names in the ELT world.

 

1. What common practices would you like to see less (in a language classroom)? 

2. Which less common teaching practices would you like to see more?

 

Although each of them shares their profound wisdom, it was Rod Bolitho and Tessa Woodward’s thoughts that truly struck a chord.    

Following are excerpts from their responses.

LESS COMMON – MORE OF THIS 

Teachers to be more reflective…then go talk to different people, get different perspectives…’

COMMON – LESS OF THIS 

A test-prep teacher who only believes that the students don’t know what to do, the teacher, in the precious time of preparation, needs to give the students as much as possible by lecturing them.  

Karen Xie 
Academic Manager 

LESS COMMON – MORE OF THIS 

One thing I found students really enjoy is translating a sentence or looking at the translation of a particular word or phrase within a context and….there is a lot going on, it’s fun, it increases awareness of language….

COMMON – LESS OF THIS 

…teachers stop asking students to read (aloud) a new text, cite reading, a reading aloud round the class…there is a place for reading aloud after the student know the meaning of the text, know what they are saying… 

Penny Ur 
Teacher Educator/Author 

 

LESS COMMON – MORE OF THIS 

…so assuming that the learning outcomes can be formulated in a way which makes them assessable you also need to have some initial diagnosis of their existing knowledge or skill and plan it in the lesson some form of evaluation…

COMMON – LESS OF THIS 

…choral drilling when it stays at the whole class level…who are all chanting discordantly in rugged fashion whatever it is the teacher wants them to do again. What purpose does that serve?…

Ian McGrath 
Teacher Educator/Author 

LESS COMMON – MORE OF THIS 

… I believe…it can be useful for teachers to admit their own uncertainty. I feel that it’s important  at times, as it might be useful for me, to share my own experiences of  being a language learner

COMMON – LESS OF THIS 

Over the years I have learnt to tone down my own tendency to try to ‘correct’ students’ errors …Years ago, De Wright and I decided, in a 1991 publication, to talk about treating students’ errors instead of correcting students’ errors because only students can correct their errors, its only the learners who can do the learning.

Kathleen Bailey 
Professor/Chairperson IRF for ELE

LESS COMMON – MORE OF THIS 

I’d like to see teachers, myself included, ask the question, ‘How could I be wrong?’ …’What does it mean for me to say this is working?’….this idea of working and not working is really not a frozen, static idea, but it’s one that moves with our understanding of learners and learning.

COMMON – LESS OF THIS 

I like to see teachers do less of the things they think work…  

Donald Freeman
Professor/Author


LESS COMMON - MORE OF THIS 










COMMON - LESS OF THIS 

Rod Bolitho 
Teacher Educator/Author

 

LESS COMMON – MORE OF THIS 

…including the learners …focus more on what learners want to learn.

COMMON – LESS OF THIS 

…to stop talking too much…it sucks the time away from learners to process things. 

Anne Burns
Professor/Author

LESS COMMON - MORE OF THIS 
 

 

COMMON – LESS OF THIS 

Tessa Woodward
Author

 

Reference 

https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/tefl-training-institute-podcast/id1080240840?i=1000593065222 (podcast episode)

Girish M