If you are in or near Athens, don’t miss the 2023 Foreign Languages Forum at the Royal Olympic Hotel next weekend, 2-3 September. Please visit this page to register and download the programme.
The ACE TEFL team will be there. Visit our stand and find out about our forthcoming courses and workshops.
George will also be giving a keynote presentation at the Forum on Saturday, September 2nd
BuzzWords, Myths and Realities in ELT
Saturday, 2 September 2023, 14:35-15:20
Don’t use the learners’ native language in class! Don’t correct mistakes during learner interaction!Limit teacher talk – teacher talk is bad! Don’t explain, demonstrate!M ake your activities communicative!
Most teachers wouldn’t even dream of questioning suggestions like the above. In the last thirty years or so they have become doctrines of ELT practice, which every teacher feels they should follow if they want their lessons to be effective. And yet, in reality it is still not clear how these recommendations affect learning and there is little evidence that doing these things will, indeed, benefit the learners. Perhaps it is time to re-examine these beliefs and their consequences, so that we can make informed decisions about teaching and learning procedures rather than allow our teaching practice to be shaped merely by doctrine and prejudice?