Job Discussion Forums

[expatben]

I was just wondering what people thought of the Callan method.

[deezy]

[Nauczyciel]

[XXX]

I taught in a school that used it and the more traditional method. It depended on the level of the student. For new learners, it worked rather well. After a while they would move up to the more advanced methods. The teachers of the Callan method were mostly locals who spoke english as opposed to native speakers. I would not want to use it, but it did work.

[lumber Jack]

I have taught the similar "Avalon" method, and been involved in a number of arguments on the teacher's applied linguistics forum about this.

XXX has taught it, and found that it works OK, and so do most people who try it, in my opinion. Teachers don't enjoy it all that much, it's true.

Plenty of people, however, seem to think it is the work of Satan, never ever works and is taught exclusively by cretins. As opposed to Headway, etc, which is always taught by educational super-people.

The boasts of the Callan adverts are rubbish. So what? That's adverts. If they were true, we should all be teaching Callan methodology.

[fluffyhamster]

The problem, as I recall it, 'lumber_Jack', was that you kept on advocating elsewhere that teachers and especially learners everywhere (that is, not just those in Callan/Avalon schools) stood to gain from using very tightly controlled and often quite unrealistic language practice/activities. I could see your point that an intelligent student can extrapolate from the input, put spins on things and fill in some of the holes (and which course is ever perfect, and how much discussion on Dave's ever deals with stuff more sophisticated than the basics of basics), but never once did you acknowledge that there wasn't enough thinking going on on the teacher's part (to say nothing of the student who continues being "taught" by such a method for long)...but whaddya know, here we have somebody telling us that substantial portions of the method and materials just aren't up to scratch, meaning it will not help a poor teacher much and could well hinder a more capable one (does using such methods really satisfy you that much?!).

(By the way, I've noted XXX's comments, and they're hardly a ringing endorsement and somewhat confusing actually - 'I wouldn't want to use it even though it works'?! I suppose that means, 'Works to a degree/as well as can be expected' - but then, we could say that about most methods. We had a few discussions about "efficiency", but now I'm, feeling that what's needed in this debate is a long-term, rather than short-term view, in which we might exchange "efficiency" - producing just what amount of intellectual steampower for a given amount of work? - for a more probing term such as "(long-term) effectiveness").

Of course, that doesn't mean I'll be smugly returning to my copy of Headway now...in fact, I (and most other regulars on the Teacher Forums) have never said we are great fans of any particular coursebook series. The point is, however, that the many more champions and users of courses such as Headway must have more reason to use it than the syllabuses of these strict method schools (even if the likes of Headway etc may be a bit slack with the drilling etc - but surely a reasonable teacher could sense and give extra practice where it's needed, though?!).

Anyway, let's not hijack this thread entirely, eh!

[lumber Jack]

Well, I never did say, I did most of my method stuff under a nice old boss in China, and since I was therefore unsackable, I could do more or less what I wanted.

In such a situation, that kind of methodology can be highly creative. You can ask what you want (using the target language), and you pick up on the interesting answers when you want to. With the right people, it's the best and most productive ESL fun you can have.

If you want, you can even stuff the method and play blockbusters for a bit. Then, you look like a laid back hero, and yet the students still mostly get predictable lessons with useful structure.

And you don't ever have to follow the antics of Pedro and Olga on a homestay in the U.S.A, or any such mind numbing stuff.

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

I've been using Callan on and off for the past 3 years.

imo - It can be a useful tool, especially for beginners, and especially if taught by someone who knows what he's doing. On the plus side; The Callan Method gives students a predictable routine & structure, encourages long answers in both the negative and the positive, teaches a lot of vocab in a very short time, and is one of the few methods I know of that actually requires each student to write in every lesson. (in the form of a one paragraph dictation beginning at the end of Stage 1 onwards)

As other posters have mentioned above, it's generally too rigid for upper level students, but even then, it can be a good 'additional resource' when it comes to the goal of increasing a student's vocabulary.



For me, a teacher walking into the classroom is a bit like

a warrior going into battle.




Just as the warrior must choose the best weapon to defeat the enemy, so must a good teacher choose the best resource and/or method to reach & motivate his/her students to learn. The enemies in the classroom are boredom & apathy. To combat these mortal foes, most teachers (I think?) will agree that experimentation with slightly different approaches, texts & methods is the best medicine.

Whether it's Headway, New Interchange, The Callan Method, your own lesson plan, listening to the Beetles, or Hangman & Bingo --- they all have a place & useful purpose in the classroom, imo.

Callan is most definitely not the answer to every student's needs, but it can be a useful tool in the arsenal. In the hands of an experienced teacher who knows how to 'tweak' the method for maximum effect, it can even be fun.

I've had some very positive results with it in Stages 1 to 4. To be more specific; students of mine who successfully complete any 2 stages of Callan can generally expect an increase of roughly 100 points on their TOEIC scores.

That's nothing to sneeze at; these TOEIC results have been documented by an HR manager at one of the hotels where we use it. Having said that, I would not want to rely strictly on Callan (or on any single method or text) for the reasons already discussed above.

In the OP's poll, for the record, I'm one of 3 people who voted "OK".

[jimmybutton39]

have taught the Callan method for about 2 years in london. The post by that guy with the gun in his text is very accurate.

And by the way, it is much better than that bloody headway book for teaching beginners; the reason most people refuse to teach direct methods like this is that for teachers who base their self esteem on being a "great teacher" it undermines their whole existence and self worth. For those of us who have other things in life, we don't mind using a method students are paying to have taught. Glad I got that off my chest....

Whats more I really enjoyed most of the lessons and most of the students who were studying enjoyed the lessons and wanted to study with the Callan method, i.e. they had chosen it against other methods. I often had a whale of a time, and it was a much better way to make friends with ALL the students in the class than normal esl style, as every student msut answer questions. I would even say that I enjoy teaching the callan method more than normal lessons, as it requires no preparation and you are always involved.

Some of the questions are laughably out of date or wierd (lots of emphasis on death!) but I enjoyed that too (e.g. Would you prefer to be shot or poisoned? ... What is the difference between a beautiful and an attractive woman?). The content is not as full of holes as most people say, but at a higher level, beyond stage 8 most students in my school began an IELTS class where they learnt the other bits (e.g. different types of conditional, phrasal verbs).

As you might guess, whether you enjoy teaching callan or not depends mostly on your personality; if you are easy going and get satisfaction from getting to know your students it is fun, but if you really rely on professionalism to make you feel good and are not up to making a fool of yourself from time to time then you will probably hate it.

Yes, it is repetetive, but it works for many people and you will enjoy teaching it if you relax. Also teaching it for 2 years does not drive you mad, though you do tend to repeat yourself, repeat yourself. YES OR NO??

[spidey]

Good

OK

Bad

My choice would be number 4...

What the hell is CALLAN?

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

^ This one's for you, spidey:

http://www.callan.co.uk/

[spidey]

[Kent F. Kruhoeffer]

Yeah; advertising!


In a nutshell, Callan is just a teaching method

developed by a British guy named ... Callan,

sometimes called The Direct Method.


Instead of the typical 'open your books to page 143 and fall asleep' -

Callan students are told to close their books during the lesson.

The entire learning process takes place through a series

of questions & answers, with each individual student

encouraged to answer in long form,

in both the negative & positive.


If the student hesitates too long in his answer,

the teacher 'feeds' him the next word or two,

and then 'pulls' the long answer out of him.


It should be noted that the teacher does not wait

for a student to raise his or her hand to answer,

but instead points randomly at a student,

which keeps the class lively.


For example:


The teacher holds up a pen and says,

"Is this a table?" and points to a student.

The student replies,

"No, it isn't a table, but it's a pen."


The teacher then picks up a book and says,

"Is this a box?" and points to a different student,

who replies, "No, it isn't a box, but it's a book."

and so on ...


The above excerpt, by the way, takes place

by the end of Day 1, Lesson 1 in Level 1.

[Sweetsee]

What do you think, Spidey?

[ls650]