Grow with the Field, But Don’t Lose Sight of the Basics

The English-language teaching field is burgeoning with new developments. We English teachers can boast of being among the most well-informed, pedagogically innovative instructors in any school or university. But, we’re also faced with logistical limitations that crimp our abilities to be as effective as we can be, such as large classes, hyper-heterogeneous groups, rigid seating arrangements, time constraints, and compulsively talkative students. So, it’s good to frequently step back, take a look at what we are doing from a wider perspective, and make sure we’re at least covering the basics.

Are we overcoming problems in the classroom, or are they overcoming us? Nothing can get done if there are discipline problems. So, in that case, we have to temporarily set aside concern for “affective filters” and lay down the law. A good source of ideas is the book Dealing with Difficulties by Lindsay Clandfield and Luke Podromou.

Once the classroom routine is established and order reigns, we are often daunted at the prospect of doing pair and small-group work with thirty or more students. In theory, it’s possible, and, in fact, it’s quite necessary. So, we have to establish clear routines for getting the students into tasks and bringing them back out again, and we have to circulate among them to make sure they’re on task. Here, bravery, eyes and ears all over our body, and a firm hand at the helm will usually steer us successfully through these dire straits.

Interaction in the target language is crucial for students. But so are other aspects of our lessons. We have to monitor ourselves at least a few times a month and make sure we’re maintaining balance: meaning vs. form; fluency vs. accuracy; development of all the communicative competences, not just grammatical competence; improvement of all of the four skills; stimulation of critical thinking; and consolidation of students’ affective selves and respect for the feelings and views of others.

Of course, we all know this; like we said above, we know quite a bit about pedagogy. But, sometimes we can get distracted by computer technology, project work, exam preparation, games, Halloween and Christmas parties and other activities and materials we incorporate into our classes. So, we have to remember that these are means to an end: language learning. And, as Christopher Brumfit (1991: 140)¹, says, the keys to successful language learning are:

(i) exposure (possibly systematic) to the target language;

(ii) opportunities to use the language (either actively or passively);

(iii) motivation to respond to the two previous requirements.

We’ve got to keep pushing our students along these lines, making sure they’re progressing in their English and in their whole persons, and that they’re not foundering on the shoals of modern-day distraction, adolescent apathy or downright disruptiveness!

¹ Brumfit, C. 1991. “Problems in Defining Instructional Methodologies.” In K. De Bot, R. B. Ginsber, C. Kramsch (Eds.), Foreign Language Research in Cross-Cultural Perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, pp. 133-144.