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Tradition and Innovation: The Evolution of Revolution

Tradition and Innovation: The Evolution of Revolution. Pamela Hartmann, ELT Author, McGraw-Hill. Are we getting closer to finding the “holy grail”?. Influences on Our Teaching. S etting or purpose: informs choice of method(s) and textbook. EFL or ESL? Cramming for the TOEFL/other exam)?

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Tradition and Innovation: The Evolution of Revolution

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  1. Tradition and Innovation: The Evolution of Revolution Pamela Hartmann, ELT Author, McGraw-Hill

  2. Are we getting closer to finding the “holy grail”?

  3. Influences on Our Teaching

  4. Setting or purpose: informs choice of method(s) and textbook. • EFL or ESL? • Cramming for the TOEFL/other exam)? • Travel English? • Vocational English? • EAP? • TENOR?

  5. Influences on Our Teaching

  6. A Brief, Selective Overview of Approaches/Methods • GTM • AL • CLT (and some versions/variations) --TBLT --TPR --Silent Way --Natural Approach • CALLA/the teaching of strategies • the Lexical Approach/Corpus Linguistics

  7. Today’s Focus • CLT • Motivation • CALLA/Strategies (in EAP) • The Lexical Approach/Corpus Linguistics • The “postmethod” world

  8. CLTEvolution

  9. Communicative Teaching • Notional-Functional notion = context function = specific purpose • Activities (many the same as in other methods) Role plays Pair work Info gaps Group work Problem solving Learning-by-teaching Surveys “Flipping” the classroom Games

  10. Common sense, perhaps, but . . . . “Common sense ain’t so common.” --humorist Will Rogers

  11. CLT: Challenges and Obstacles • “one-size-fits-all” assumption—the “CLT attitude” (Bax) • teacher’s lack of confidence • conflict and demands of exams • “quantum leap” (Chow & Mok-Cheung) from T-centered to S-centered • students’ lack of motivation  Result: Teachers often skip over communicative activities in textbooks.

  12. CLT Direction Today • compromise: “expanding [the] repertoire rather than rejecting previous approaches” (Zheng & Anderson) • analytic + experiential language: complementary functions (Ellis) • student motivation (Wang; Grabe)

  13. Motivated Students Are encouraged to be: • interested • autonomous, to a degree • collaborative • confident, successful • clarity on goals; question/fact/anecdote; everyday English • vocabulary review/some choice of material • pairs, groups, class • accessible materials, spoken English; tests; “secrets”

  14. The Teaching of Strategies: Why? • Common sense/instinct: secrets of good language learners • Supported by research • Students “fail to invoke” strategies (Garner)

  15. Types of Strategies • Cognitive • Metacognitive • Social • Affective • Compensation • Memory

  16. But there are so many! How can I teach them all? • Weave them in. • Teach them in combinations. • Recycle them. • Encourage transfer. • Choose some to focus on.

  17. My Own, Subjective “Spotlight List” • Activating background knowledge/previewing • Using compensation strategies • Getting meaning from context • Building awareness of text structure/ graphic organizers • Using various strategies for the learning of new vocabulary

  18. A New Stage in the Evolution of LT/Innovations from Corpus Linguistics What do we know now? How can we make use of it?

  19. From corpus linguistics How? • Teach students to be good noticers. • Encourage use of a good dictionary. • Teach how to use it. What? Real-world language is often different from how itis presented in class.

  20. From Corpus Linguistics How? • Don’t just hand out these lists. • Use a textbook informed by these lists. • Beyond the text, use these lists to inform your teaching. ✓ What? Students need to learn most frequent words first (whether from general English or the AWL).

  21. From Corpus Linguistics How? 1. with a text that recycles a lot & has a lot of vocabulary work 2. discussion topics that lead to use of certain words 3. your own supplemental cloze exercises (run through lextutor.ca) ✓ What? Students must encounter/use a word multiple times.

  22. From Corpus Linguistics How? 4. extensive reading outside class 5. quick vocabulary list as a warm-up for each class (Folse) ✓ 6. “old-fashioned” rote memorization (but with a twist—suggested by Folse) (Continued) Multiple encounters with new words

  23. One Entry in a Word Journal

  24. From Corpus Linguistics  What? (from brain research) The brain retains chunks better than bits.

  25. From Corpus Linguistics How? 1. Explain to students whyyou emphasize collocations. 2. Encourage memorization of sentences in the Word Journal. 3. Encourage students to become good noticers + test on collocations. What? Focus on collocations.

  26. This Postmethod Era Are we getting closer to finding the “holy grail”? • The bad news: “There is no best method.” (Prabhu, in Kumaravadivelu) i.e., no holy grail • The good news: no longer chained to one method

  27. Postmethod Pedagogy • Framework: broad principles, theoretical convictions, macrostrategies • Microstrategies: classroom activities Our new “compass” (Kumaravadivelu):

  28. The Best of Various Approaches/Methods • GTM • AL • CLT (and some versions/variations) --TPR --Silent Way --Natural Approach • CALLA/the use of strategies • the Lexical Approach/Corpus Linguistics

  29. Conclusion Détente!

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