Job Discussion Forums

[senorfay]

My boss asked me if I knew anything about the Callan Method. I told him no, but then did a little research on other sites and google.

From what other people say it's pretty boring and can more or less be done by a computer.

I've read several threads on other sites and one on this site about the Callan Method in different countries (Poland, Brazil, Spain) but nothing about it in China.

Some opinions said it was better to use this method in a multi-lingual/nationality class rather than a uni-ligual Chinese class.

I think my boss wants to use the snazzy slogan, 'English in a quarter of the Time' to bring in more students without much thought about the actual method or logistics in training teachers to use it.

Also it seems like something easy for under-qualified teachers, but maybe a little strange for experienced teachers.

What do you think?

[youlan77]

I haven't heard of that method been used in China, but I have wondered whether it could be more effective in large classes? I know of a language school in Australia that uses it. It probably does work better when you have students from different countries in the one class.
To me it seemed like a strange concept. Talking fast, giving the students the questions and answers...but I think it could work with beginners or lower intermediate students. It could build their confidence and allow them the chance to not have to think so much. As native speakers we rarely think about the grammar or the words but as a second language it's all you do! I've thought about using it as an experiment on my highschool students because getting them to say anything is like drawing blood from a stone.

[Zero]

You have come to the right place. I happen to know quite a bit about the Callan method -- several of them, actually.

I live in America, so the callan method I prefer when contacting people in China is a phone card, which I purchase online. It costs only a few cents per minute. You just call the local access code, and it prompts you for the PIN. You enter that, and it prompts you for the phone number you want to reach. You dial 011 86, then the area code and number.

An older callan method I used to use involved a special plan on my home phone, no phone card needed. It was a little more expensive but very convenient. But I no longer have a home phone.

A lot of people use Skype and similar services. My good friend calls me from China a lot and I believe he uses Yahoo. It seems to be a pretty good callan method -- quite clear and very cheap.

Hope this helps.

[mat chen]

Very simple method. You callan their names at the start of the class. You callan them to turn off their cellphones. You callan them to stop talking while others are talking. You callan them to not call you bad names in Chinese.

[mat chen]

skype is good. My best students use it. It lets them see peoples faces when they talk. This is the delema in China in teaching English or any language. They don't see the faces of people because their heads are buried in books. The don't know how to show expression in their faces when communicating. They need to know how the lips or tongue should be when talking. The most important thing they learn is that everyone has a different way of using English and people in the rest of the world need to know things like " Your mother he's OK now" so that they too can understand how Chinese use English.

[senorfay]

although witty derailments are much appreciated, does anyone have any experience with this teaching style with Chinese students where L1 is the same for everyone?

[Plan B]

I taught the Callan Method in the Czech Republic 7 years ago.

It is actually better for very small classes, because it is essentially a teacher -> student approach. The teacher asks questions quickly, and expects a student to respond immediately. If the student doesn't respond in time, the teacher completes the answer. This is designed to build up fluency by not allowing time to translate into L1.

Some students might well benefit from this approach, especially the ones who have a foundation in English, but need to break through the confidence barrier. However, real progress would need a more integrated approach.

It is, as you thought, suitable for inexperienced teachers - other teachers would probably find it very repetitive.

[mat chen]

Plan B. I have also heard them call this the shot gun approach, where teachers have every student think about 100 responses to every question asked to class period. They call it the shot gun approach because no one knows who will be asked the question.
And there are other posters who say that is a telephone approach where the teacher interacts via telephone.
I don't know, please enlighten us about Callan.
I like the idea because it requires the student to turn off their native language brains and think in the target language.

[senorfay]

Thanks Matt for your attempts, a simple google or baidu search will help you with the basics of this method.

Plan B- I appreciate your input. Although the official method requires an hour or more of the drilling, it might be a good warm up for ten or fifteen minutes.