Any experiences with Pimsleur in the classroom?

[english-test.net]

Hello everybody,

Have you ever used the Pimsleur Method or Pimsleur language learning materials in the classroom? Have your students told you about their experiences in using Pimsleur for self-study?
I'm just curious to know how effective the Pimsleur method really is.
Many thanks in advance.
Torsten

[woodcutter]

Don't mention 'methods' Torsten. We must not say the 'M' word. Anything with the 'M' word is very bad indeed.

[woodcutter]

Funnily enough though, "Fluffy Hamster" (it's a long story) has provided some info on the "ode to rigidity" thread about the Pimsleur thingy.

[english-test.net]

Don't mention 'methods' Torsten. We must not say the 'M' word. Anything with the 'M' word is very bad indeed.

Hi Wordcutter,

Thanks for your thoughts. Could you please clarify who we is? I take it you belong to this we-group? Who told you that you mustn't use the word method? What word does this person suggest should be used instead of method?

Regards
Torsten

[fluffyhamster]

Yes, woodcutter, explain yourself and your "amusing" English! If explaining is beyond you or not your thing , then at least direct Torsten to those threads where the method men have gotten a damn good kicking.

[woodcutter]

I'm sorry Torsten, I was only joking. I am interested in methods of all kinds, but most people are not. I think it is hard to find balanced information about them - you won't find it on the link to the advert posted by Fluffy Hamster.

By the way, Fluff, can you direct me to one of the fantastic overviews of method teaching you claim are so common?

[english-test.net]

Hi Woodcutter,

Thank you for getting back to us with more details on language learning methods. I think there are a lot of interesting ideas and principles such as the Lexical Approach or the Callan Method and if you examine all of them and make the best of every suggested idea and through in some of your own, you actually will speed up your learning process.
How long have you been teaching English and to whom? What are your experiences with teaching/learning? Talk to you soon. Torsten

[woodcutter]

Torsten, I've been teaching for around five years, and done a couple of stints with the Avalon method, which is similar to the Callan. I think you are right that learning about them, and better, trying to use them, is a very valuable thing, and can develop a teacher, especially a beginner.

I feel that a method school, and the opportunity it gives to be focused and clear on the methodology in question, cannot be easily replicated by one individual. They are not great to work for, such places treat their staff pretty badly, but it needn't be that way.

[english-test.net]

Hi Woodcutter,

Thanks for sharing your experiences with me. What type of schools are you referring to when you say they treat their staff badly and how do you think this could be changed? Also, what are your career goals for the next few years?

Talk to you soon,
Torsten

[woodcutter]

I'm not sure what the future holds for me, but it is unlikely to involve working in a method school. I am no expert about what they do in general, and indeed I've never met anyone who had a clear overview of what goes on in various contemporary method schools, or seen any serious writing on that subject. However, I'll make a few comments.

Method schools, you see, operate as something like cults working outside the mainstream, which they sometimes deride, and which in turn refuses to see them as completely valid. Therefore training is often provided in house, perhaps unpaid. Few qualifications are required, and pay is therefore low. Facilities are poor, staff are not valued. Experience from other contexts is suspicious. It may mean that somebody will be stubborn and not apply the method as they are bidden. And you must do as you are bidden - to a degree which may border on the fanatical.

Method schools have some great and successful students, like any schools, but anyway, that's pretty much the situation for the teachers!

So why I am interested? Well, for one thing, nobody ever said a factory was a barrel of laughs, and a method school is a kind of language factory. The job does get done quickly though. For other reasons, check out the 'ode to rigidity' thread I mentioned.

[english-test.net]

Hi Woodcutter,

Your description of method schools reminded my of an experience I had a few months ago when I visited the first and only language school in Germany that applies the Callan Method. On the one hand I was quite impressed by the results of this system and I read most of the Callan handbook. On the other hand though I agree with your comments - a method school indeed can be a language factory with little or no room for creativity. Teachers and students are forced to follow predefined procedures and that can be a drudgery. However, a lot of the information in the Callan handbook is very useful and I agree with many points. For example, in many conventional language schools the teacher uses their personality to establish rapport with their students and control the classroom. This leads to a lot of negative effects. Some students will like the personal traits of the teacher, especially their type of humour, while other students might not be fond of listening to jokes and trying to make sense of them. So, many teachers end up entertaining part of their class instead of them getting them to learn the language. That's why it's probably a good idea to anlayze so called method schools and use the good things they no doubt offer.

[woodcutter]

Yes. In fact, since academia is so little concerned with what happens at the actual chalk face around the globe, the end result of "the communicative approach" pushed by universities is not necessarily very communicative at all. The end result is often inexperienced or unmotivated people fumbling and mumbling their way through a textbook like "Headway", with a typical lesson perhaps being, ok, right, today we are doing page 43, articles, so, er, so, articles, what are they?........(waffles, involves class big mouth in small discussion)....now, do that exercise in the book...oh, sarina you did it at home?...oh. Then the teacher will go on to do something which will be 'fun', and as you say, fundamentally aimed at entertaining the students.

[english-test.net]

Woodcutter,

You are describing the typical classroom situation very precisely and in a rather amusing way. Now, I'm honest - I haven't read all your previous postings so maybe you have already given the answer to my following question: What do you think is the solution to this malady?

[woodcutter]

To my "Ode to rigidity" thread I once more direct you, which is somewhere quite close below on the same forum.

I feel that academia ought to sanction a variety of teaching styles in schools and teachers since there is a lot of writing about the different needs of students, but very little practical effort to cope with this. Method schools should be part of the mainstream. Teachers are currently expected to juggle many balls at once, and provide fluctuating variety within the same old model.