Month: January 2021

Visual representations of information are by no means an innovation in education. The use of graphs and charts to represent statistical information and time-lines showing the sequence of historical events have long been accepted tools, while in language teaching, the...

(with Funda Çetin) DefinitionsEliciting (elicitation) is term which describes a range of techniques which enable the teacher to get learners to provide information rather than giving it to them. Commonly, eliciting is used to ask learners to come up with...

(with Nick Baguley) The term feedback can apply to a number of classroom situations and procedures, but here it refers to a range of techniques employed by the teacher to facilitate responses from the students to an exercise or task....

IntroductionHere is a fairly typical classroom exchange: Teacher:        and what’s the answer to number 3?Whole class:        He bought a sandwich.Teacher:        and number 4?Whole class:        He drank orange juice. This teacher-whole class exchange is a common way...

Music, music, music Music is very much part of our lives. We are often unaware that we are surrounded by music which has been selected to relax us, change our moods, or condition our consumer behaviour. We may choose to...

There are many anecdotes and jokes about the confusion caused by the difference between the English spoken in modern multi-cultural Britain and the text-book counterpart taught by native and non-native speakers all over the world. Here is my anecdote from...

The Lexical Approach is with us. It is not something which has arrived suddenly overnight, having rather crept up a number of avenues to gradually assemble as a whole at the market place. It is welcomed by many, particularly those...

(with Simon Mumford) Methodology Challenge Prizewinner I want to know. What’s the best way to correct students when they make a mistake, especially when they are speaking? IntroductionEveryone makes mistakes, even speakers using their own language when they are hurried,...

(with Funda Çetin) Asking questions is a natural feature of communication, but also one of the most important tools which teachers have at their disposal. Questioning is crucial to the way teachers manage the class, engage students with content, encourage...

Homework seems to be an accepted part of teachers� and students� routines, but there is little mention of it in ELT literature. The role of homework is hardly mentioned in the majority of general ELT texts or training courses, suggesting...