Have we lost our way in ELT?

1. Have we lost our way in ELT? Bogotá, Colombia, April 2010

2. A personal EFL story • School – studied English language and literature ..... and then • University degree in history. • Holiday job teaching English to children.

3. A personal EFL story • Studied Law • 4-week course to teach EFL to adults. • 3 years’ experience teaching in Italy and England. • Diptefla: a one year course, 2 observations and 2 written examinations. • 20+ years in Mexico in ELT and formal education. • Masters in Business Administration 2002.

4. Teaching English as a foreign language • English is not an easy language to learn or teach. • About 200,000 words are in common use today. • An educated person has a vocabulary of about 20,000 words and uses about 2,000 in a week’s conversation.

5. C2(Mastery) CPE Level 5 C1 (Effective proficiency) CAE Level 4 B2Vantage FCE Level 3 B1Threshold PET Level 2 KET & Flyers Level 1 A2Waystage A1(Break through) Movers Starters LEVELS OF LANGUAGE COMPETENCY

6. Training teachers of English • You need a good level of English to teach the language: minimum B2 on the Common European Framework. • You need a solid formal education to teach, preferably a university degree. • You need to be trained to teach English and have a good level of general education – one month is a minimum of training but not enough except to get you started in the profession. • Native and non –native teachers need a career path which for non-native teachers includes language and methodology.

7. Teaching competency-what is ‘good teaching?’ • The teacher understands basic TEFL principles and practice, and is able to work competently with adolescents and adults up to intermediate level. • Evaluating criteria • Activities in the lesson have a clear learning objective • Instructions are suitably handled • Effective use of didactic material • Appropriate error correction • Variety of activities and dynamics • Use of target language • T. provides learners with opportunities to use English for communicative purposes • Objectives of the class are achieved • All students actively participate in the class using language communicatively • Clear evidence of learning

8. Is there any evidence that well trained teachers and good teaching work? • The example of Finland. • Children start school when they are 7. • They spend the fewest number of hours in the classroom in the developed world. • In 2006 they scored the highest average results in science and reading in the whole of the developed world. • In the OECD’s exams for 15 year-olds (PISA) they came second in maths only beaten by South Korea. • Children also develop a good command of English.

9. Is there any evidence that well trained teachers and good teaching work? • How do they achieve this? • Teaching is a highly respected profession and teachers are well trained and qualified. • Students stay together regardless of ability and additional teachers help students who have difficulties with any subject. • Primary and secondary schooling is combined. • Teachers stay with the same group of children for several years.

10. Learning English - fiction

11. Learning English - fiction

12. Learning a foreign language - fiction

13. Learning English - fiction

14. Learning English – fiction • ‘Se logra de la mismamaneraqueaprendimosnuestralenguamaterna.’ • ‘¡Vuélvetebilingüe en un año!’ • ‘Enseñamos a pensar y hablar en inglés, sin ver nada escrito, sin reglas gramaticales y sin tareas en casa.’ • ‘Aprenderás viendo la televisión.’ • ‘Aprendes inglés hablando con la computadora.’ • ‘100% conversación.’

15. Learning English – fact • You cannot learn English in the same way you learned your mother tongue. • You cannot ‘master’ English in 6 months. • You cannot be bilingual in 12 months. • You cannot become proficient in English talking to a computer or listening to cassettes while you are asleep.

16. Learning English – fact • Learning any language involves exposure to the target language, opportunities to use it, motivation to learn and, if possible, proficient instruction. • Like anything you study, learning a foreign language requires time, work, and commitment on the part of the learner. • You need linguistic and generic competencies in order to learn a language .

17. Methodology • CLT is not necessarily the only or best way to teach English. • Accuracy and fluency are equally important in learning a language. • You need a knowledge of grammar and vocabulary in order to communicate in any language. • Affective elements are as important as questions of methodology. • In monolingual classes, the teacher’s role as a model for the language and motivator is extremely important.

18. Materials • Published materials are much better now that they ever have been and teachers have more choice than ever before. • But, there are more components than ever before: SB, TB, WB, RP, CD Rom, website etc. • It is impossible to use so much material in the time available on most courses. • An experienced, professional teacher will probably want to use some material he or she prepares for the group.

19. Tecnology • Technology can provide opportunities for independent language learning. • Technology should not just add another layer of content but provide a balance with other types of material. • There is no hard evidence that it is possible to learn a foreign language with 100% online courses. • The best option in this case is probably a blend of face to face classes and DL using the right kind of content.

20. What competencies need to be considered in teaching a foreign language? • Four Pillars of Teaching • Learning to know-knowledge • Learning to do-skills • Learning to live together - values & attitudes • Learning to be

21. What competencies need to be considered in teaching a foreign language? • Linguistic competencies. - Skills related directly to the language e.g. reading comprehension. • Generic competencies. - Problem solving, time management, using technology, effective study habits etc.

22. Is it worth trying to provide students with competencies in a foreign language? • The bilingual approach. The evidence suggests that it is. • Recent research in Spain shows that students studying Spanish and English in a bilingual system obtain better results in tests of L1. • These results are similar in studies by the OECD of bilingual groups in 15 countries.

23. In bilingual contexts it is important that there is a common approach to how English is handled-Content and Language Integrated Learning can play a key role in this process. • Linguistic and generic competencies have more chance of being successfully implemented in this context.

24. A few hours of English a week. The evidence suggests this is much harder to achieve competency in a foreign language. • Insufficient time is provided to learn English although many countries now provide English from primary level. • Teachers in general do not have the support and training to teach English effectively. • As a result, the vast majority of students studying English in in this way do not learn English well.

25. Linguistic and generic competencies can be taught but need careful thought because of the limited time students are studying English and the time between classes. • With YLs it makes sense to concentrate on encouraging reading outside class, linked to dictionary work and listening to audio CDs. • Electronic links to programmes and tapping into students familiarity with technology are other avenues worth exploring.

26. Creating a competenceforreading in EFL YL students in non-bilingualcontexts • Creating ‘deep-end’ readers. • Motivate children to read by: - setting aside time in class for silent reading - avoid subvocalising. - valuing any reading material. - working with parents to create a reading culture at home e.g. reading to children, letting children see adults with books . - effective use reading strategies and graded readers. - making use of technology to encourage reading e.g. Flips on Nintendo DS Consoles.

27. Conclusions • Language teachers need minimum B2 level of English proficiency. • All language teachers need a pre-service course plus in-service training within 2 years. • Help should be given to teachers to reach these levels of proficiency. • Language teaching institutions should not be allowed to make impossible and dishonest claims.

28. Conclusions • Students need orientation about how long it will take to get them to the level of language they need. • Methodology should vary according to age and level but in an EFL context the teacher still has a key role to play. • Linguistic and generic competencies are important in ELT but need to be adapted to different scenarios. • Reading competence can be a linguistic competence which can be successfully developed in scenarios where learners have fewer contact hours.

29. Conclusions • Technology will be a useful tool to complement classroom based courses and increase exposure and practice opportunities. • Course material should be designed to fit the number of hours available as well as encouraging learning outside class. There is no point in producing so much published material that much of it is never used. • Technology will make it possible to put components online and reduce the amount and cost of printed materials.

30. Finally ..... • If we are part of a profession, we have to be professional in the fullest sense of the word. • Thank you for your interest • sbrewster@tamf.org.mx