Blended learning, English language teaching and the use of technology - the MEC blog - Debates

MEC clinic 3: A grammar confession

Steph — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 14:05:08 GMT

ELT author and teacher trainer, Jim Scrivener, writes: >

Jim Scrivener

My confession is ... I don't know how to teach grammar. (Which is a bit worrying as I've written more than one book that claims to tell you how to teach grammar!)

Worse still, I'm not really sure that anyone knows - whether they are a new teacher, an experienced teacher, a trainer, a coursebook writer, an academic researcher or a random person in the street.

I'm not saying that I don't know how to teach an interesting lesson that contains something about grammar as part of its content, perhaps using a coursebook or some exciting online material. But does it all make any substantial difference? Do the students really learn the grammar being taught - or is the learning mostly illusory? Do both learners and teacher leave the room thinking 'we've had a grammar lesson?' whereas the truth is that they have mostly just been passing the time? When they return after one day for their next lesson, will they be able to use any of the features I have worked on with them? Is what I do teaching grammar - or just 'entertainment'?

The real learning of grammar comes slowly and in much more uncertain ways over months and years. It requires, I think, (1) a lot of exposure to spoken and written language (2) an enquiring mind to notice and pick out things that are going on within this language (3) help - of various kinds - to draw attention, summarise, explain and clarify (4) a good memory (5) lots and lots of practice (6) ... until slowly a new item becomes integrated with all the other language that the learner knows and becomes something that the learner can use fluently and freely at will to express meanings they want to convey.

All of this takes time - and it doesn't seem possible to speed it up very much. I think that students learn the items they need to learn when they are ready to learn them - and that outside interventions make relatively little difference to this process - if they don't come at appropriate moments.

Yet - somewhere in the middle of my students' long-term learning process, I stroll in and give a 50 minute presentation on 'used to'. What are the chances that this will be the piece of grammar that my students need right then? What are the chances that my students will be able to learn a language item in one meeting? Can I possibly squash that whole exposure - noticing etc process down to 50 minutes? Clearly hopeless!

So - is it really possible to teach grammar at all?

I’d say 'Yes-ish' - but only in passing! We do it best by providing an environment that exposes students to lots of language and encourages them to engage with it and helps them to use it. And around Pre-Int and Int levels, I suspect, we do that least when we have those very lessons that we think of as 'grammar lessons'.

Jim Scrivener

MEC debate 2: Managing your classroom

Steph — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:49:01 GMT

ELT author and teacher trainer, Adrian Tennant, writes:

Adrian Tennant

Classroom Management is a topic that many teachers feel is important. It usually includes things such as discipline; motivation (or lack of); a wide range of knowledge; covering all the material and getting the students to do the tasks set.

When dealing with such issues I think part of the problem is the way we look at them. They are often seen as problems rather than being seen as part and parcel of the teaching process. In reality they are often things that most teachers have to deal with. We need to see these things as issues that can be solved. Challenges that will, in the end, make us better teachers.

It's vital to have a clearer picture of what the problem (or issue) is. Often the main problem is a lack of understanding. Categorising the problem doesn't actually help us deal with it. What we need to do is dissect the problem and try and find out exactly why it's happening. It's also useful to look at what we are currently doing. Clearly, if what we were doing was working then we wouldn't still have the problem.

Asking questions that look at the cause will help.

What is the problem?
How does it affect the class?
What are the underlying reasons for the problem?
What do I do about these at the moment?
Are any of the things I do effective?
Why (not)?>> >

It's quite likely that you will find that there is more than one contributing factor or reason for a particular problem. This might at first appear unhelpful, but in reality we are more likely to be able to address these small issues than the overall problem. By tackling each of the underlying causes we will eventually solve the original issue (or at least make it less of a problem). >>

One problem that teachers have asked me about recently is how to motivate their students to read. Teachers claim that their students don't read at home and that this means they are not interested in reading in class, nor are they particularly good at this skill. After discussing the issue with these teachers we discovered that their students do read, but not novels, or newspapers. What they read is emails, blogs and online news. Once this was established an obvious answer presented itself - get the students to read the texts on a computer rather than in a printed book. Of course, you can only do this if you have enough computers for your students. However, this is an example of how to find a solution rather than focus on the problem.

Sharing- A problem shared is a problem halved, or so the saying goes.

§ Have you had any classroom management issues?

§ How did you deal with them?

§ Do you currently have any classroom management issues you would like to share?

§ Do you have any useful suggestions or tips?

MEC debate 1: ICT in the classroom

Steph — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:07:55 GMT

Teacher-trainer/author, Lindsay Clandfield, writes:

Lindsay Clandfield

I'd like to enter this debate by making a comment and asking a couple of questions. First of all, I feel that in the past having some knowledge of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) meant that you were the person asked to come and fix the director of studies' computer. In the present, knowledge of ICT will get you a better job. In the future, I wonder if it could mean the difference between having a job or not.

Here, then, are my questions. Firstly, what are essential technological skills for teachers to know to survive and thrive in this environment? Is it enough to know how to send emails or use a word processor? These seem pretty easy now, as does installing new software on a computer (Windows does it almost all for you!). What about setting up a wiki page for your class? Or a blog? Or downloading podcasts? What about using a virtual learning environment (like Moodle, or Blackboard)? Interactive whiteboards?

Secondly, are teachers the problem? Are we all as backward technologically as is made out sometimes? Some argue that it is not so much teachers, as lack of resources at the institution which hinder the integration of technology in the classroom. Is this the case for you? Would you like to be more blended, but just aren't able to?

I look forward to reading your comments!