Teacher Discussion Forums

There are many different classroom situations. When we move beyond teaching form and structure, and into actually speaking the language we can run into some problems. Some may have the idea that speaking is done in a "conversation course". A course that focuses on learning form and structure must also focus on speaking. People are learning how to speak. They are not learning grammar.

Some students are often very good at understanding and completing book work and doing grammar exercises. However, when it comes to actually speaking, they are lost.

I asked this question to a student at the upper intermediate level.

And have you ever taught anyone how to play the violin here?

The answer I received was:

Teaching a Korean boy to play.

Okay..... I thought. I gave an example of what a more suitable answer could be. I also explained the importance of speaking. It's one thing to practice form and structure and another thing to use form and structure. The real lessons in speaking another language do not come from a grammar book.

Of course some students are very shy about speaking in class, and this shyness is often rooted in a student's cultural background.

Here are a couple of articles that deal with student participation in the English language classroom.

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Lacina-Kickboxing.html

http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Zhenhui-Te ... tyles.html

Would anyone like to comment on this topic?

What have some of your experiences been in overcoming silence in the classroom?

How have you worked towards making classroom time more student centered rather than teacher centered?

I teach in Korea too right now, which may lead to a certain tendency for us to agree about things.

As you say, it's a bit fruitless to teach grammar and not give students a chance to use it. The student you mention is using the wrong tense and dropping the subject, because he/she has probably been taught these matters without being given a chance to practice them in an even vaguely creative context, which is the essence of a grammar class in Korea. He/She just isn't used to coming out with such things. They need to change that, I think. But not to a no teaching, no correction model!

As to overcoming silence, I find that one way in Korea is to put it half on the plate, for example make them reply to set questions in pairs, rather than have to do it all themselves. (the answers will therefore be freeform) Since creativity seems to scare people, you could call this "student centered".

woodcutter wrote:I teach in Korea too right now, which may lead to a certain tendency for us to agree about things.

As you say, it's a bit fruitless to teach grammar and not give students a chance to use it. The student you mention is using the wrong tense and dropping the subject, because he/she has probably been taught these matters without being given a chance to practice them in an even vaguely creative context, which is the essence of a grammar class in Korea. He/She just isn't used to coming out with such things. They need to change that, I think. But not to a no teaching, no correction model!

As to overcoming silence, I find that one way in Korea is to put it half on the plate, for example make them reply to set questions in pairs, rather than have to do it all themselves. (the answers will therefore be freeform) Since creativity seems to scare people, you could call this "student centered".

Hi,

Thanks for your comments. Yes, I think it's possible that creativity can be scary for some language learners. But speaking creatively and sponteneously is really a true measure of how successfully one has acquired the language.

Yes, I agree. This doesn't mean grammar should not be taught. A balanced approach is needed. Contextual examples and simple forms of realistic discourse are necessary. Learning grammar structures one at a time in isolation is not always the best idea, though sometimes it can be practical.

Thanks for your comments. They're good things to keep in mind for sure.

By the way, I'm not in Korea.

I believe the speaker was from Thailand. She was speaking about teaching a Korean boy to play the violin.