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a useful book to expand your teaching repertoire

 
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sasha



Joined: 06 Mar 2003
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 8:53 am    Post subject: a useful book to expand your teaching repertoire Reply with quote
Hi everyone,

I've just read a very interesting book that I think would be of interest to many EFL/ESL teachers out there. Before I describe it, I'll set the scene by describing my own situation. I am a 26 year old Australian. I have a BA (Linguistics) and a CELTA. I am currently studying for a MA in Applied Linguistics. I have taught since 1999, mostly in Australia, but also a little in South America. I take my job seriously and intend to move up the career ladder to the DOS level.

I come from a family that is heavily involved in this industry so i have been fortunate to have access to a wealth of resouces both before, during and after my pre-service training (CELTA).

I found my CELTA to be a very rewarding and challenging experience. It gave me the tools to enter the classroom and not make a complete fool of myself (as well as facilitate some learning!).

However, as I began teaching, and was able to read more widely and speak to a variety of very experienced teachers, I soon discovered that there were a lot more teaching techniques that could be used in the classroom.

I would recommend that any teachers who have completed a CELTA (or similar course) and would like to expand their range of teaching techniques have a look at a book called "Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching" by Diane Larsen-Freeman. It has got 12 easy to read chapters that describe a variety of teaching styles. It really opened my eyes and helped me to realise that the PPP style is not the only way to teach. The more methods that we as teachers are able to utilise, the better we can serve our students.
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struelle



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 9:12 am    Post subject: Re: a useful book to expand your teaching repertoire Reply with quote
Quote:
It really opened my eyes and helped me to realise that the PPP style is not the only way to teach.


Good stuff. Yes, the PPP focus was, shall we say, a bit overkill in CELTA. I came into the course with previous experienced that heavily emphasized task-based learning and lexical models. It took awhile to get the hang of PPP, but in hindsight, such a model is very effective for low-level classes.

Steve
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lagerlout2006



Joined: 17 Sep 2003
Posts: 985
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 2:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Sorry I have not done a CELTA as yet but what is PPP??? Something about practice. Thanks for the book suggestion I will check my contact who orders books onliune.
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dreadnought



Joined: 10 Oct 2003
Posts: 82
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
A couple of other books that people may find useful and don't necessarily straitjacket teachers into the PPP framework are:

"Planning Lessons and Courses" by Tessa Woodward
"How to teach Grammar" by Scott Thornbury

Both are very practical and accessible. The first one especially is a model of common sense and takes a much broader view of lesson planning than is normally found on preservice teacher training courses.
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dreadnought



Joined: 10 Oct 2003
Posts: 82
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 2:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
Sorry I have not done a CELTA as yet but what is PPP???


PPP stands for Presentation Practice Production. It's a basic lesson framework for introducing new language (especially grammar).

The three stages often involve:

Building up a contextualised situation where an example of the structure you are teaching can be naturally got from or given to the students (presentation). Then, giving them controlled open class or pairwork practice of some other examples, which are normally provided by the teacher (practice). Finally, students are normally given some freer discussion/role play activity where they have a chance to use the new language in a natural and meaningful context (production).

Over the last few years it's come in for some real stick from various writers and academics (see the anthology "Challenge and Change in Language Teaching" for an all out attack on its basic inadequacy as a learning tool), but many people still find it very useful for introducing new language, especially at lower levels. Probably best to read about it first and make up your own mind!!
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Dr.J



Joined: 09 May 2003
Posts: 304
Location: usually Japan
PostPosted: Wed Nov 26, 2003 11:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
What's so bad about PPP anyway? Isn't it how people acquire language anyway (hear it, then try it, then use it)?

And the OP seems like s/he has some financial interest in the aforementioned book..."12 easy to read chapters..." do I get a free clock?
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struelle



Joined: 16 May 2003
Posts: 2372
Location: Shanghai
PostPosted: Thu Nov 27, 2003 2:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Quote:
What's so bad about PPP anyway? Isn't it how people acquire language anyway (hear it, then try it, then use it)?


PPP is great for structured contexts and new language, what you might expect when teaching basic or elementary students. In short, the PPP is a great too for *conscious* language learning.

But when you move up the levels of language ability, the usefulness of PPP breaks down. At higher levels, say intermediate, students begin assimilating their Engilsh knowledge and background in more unconscious ways. The PPP model is too rigid for the unconscious and non-linear learning in this case.

It's a lot like learning to play basketball. 'PPP' is great for teaching the basic skills - dribbling, shooting, passing, etc. But once those are mastered, you want to learn more fancy stuff and play the games more freestyle.

When learning becomes more 'freestyle', you will need more flexible language models that allow for this.

Steve
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sasha



Joined: 06 Mar 2003
Posts: 6
PostPosted: Thu Nov 27, 2003 8:36 am    Post subject: OP here Reply with quote
nice to see some people responding and suggesting other useful books. just wanted to add that I have absolutely no connection with the author of that book. I just found it very interesting. As a matter of fact, my mother is a writer in this field, I have not suggested any of her books as I wouldn't want there to be the suggestion of a conflict of interest.