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Teaching English Communicatively -  ‘teacher talking’ and ‘student talking’in the classroom

This version was saved 13 years, 1 month ago View current version     Page history
Saved by Chris Moore
on February 6, 2011 at 8:55:06 am
 

The Communicative Approach in Practice

 

Who does the Talking – Teacher or Students?

In this module, we’re going to look at who does the talking in the classroom, so who is actually using English – is it the teacher, or the students?

Think about a lesson you have given recently. How much did you talk, and how much the students? 50:50? 80:20: 20:80?

There is a general theory on what the most effective ratio of ‘Teacher Talking Time’ (TTT) to ‘Student Talking Time’ (STT) is. However, before we come to that, let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of both teachers and students doing the talking.

1.    State 3 positive things about Teacher Talking





Some of our ideas here are:

  • The teacher can explain things to the whole class at once
  • Students can learn useful things from the language used by a teacher
  • The teacher can be a good model for pronunciation



2.    State 3 negative things about Teacher Talking







Some of our ideas here are:

  • The teacher knows the language – it’s the students who need to practise it!
  • Too much teacher talking means students only have one dominant source of listening
  • If a teacher talks to a classroom of students, it doesn’t mean the students are actually learning anything - in fact they may not be doing very much at all and may have switched off from the lesson.




Now, let’s look at Student Talking Time

3.    State 3 positive things about Student Talking






Some of our ideas here are:

  • Students learn by using the language
  • Students get to articulate ideas to themselves, and can see whether they can use a certain piece of language or not
  • Talking together is a great way of sharing ideas and learning from each other – it’s also fun and motivating
  • By listening to the students, a teacher can see which students can use the language, which areas of language are causing problems, and therefore what areas may need covering again



4.    State 3 negative things about Student Talking






Some of our ideas here are:

  • Classroom can get noisy
  • It’s difficult for a teacher to hear what everyone is saying
  • A teacher is a better model of language than another student



Conclusion
There are clear advantages and disadvantages to both ‘Teacher Talking Time’ (TTT) and Student Talking Time (STT). The teacher, for example, is obviously an important source of language for the class – as a model, to give instructions, to explain something, to correct mistakes, to make the occasional joke, etc.

However, in practice, many English teachers have found that by encouraging a high level of Student Talking, their classes are interesting, motivating and fun. Also, students seem to learn more and do it quickly. By actively practising English, they are internalizing it and therefore establishing it in their long-term memory.

In general – for English as well as many other subjects both in and out of school – whether it be mending a bicycle, cooking a new recipe, or learning how to use a new phone – it seems that people learn more by actively engaging with an activity - so actually doing it - rather than listening to someone tell them how to do it.

Most English teaching professionals now feel that the ideal ratio of Talking Time should be around 30% Teacher, 70% Student. This will vary depending on the type of lesson, so sometimes more, sometimes less, but is always worth bearing in mind, especially when you notice yourself talking a lot in class and your students not saying much.



Getting Your Students to talk – Activity Types

Question: What can you do to make sure your students have real opportunities to communicate in English in your classroom?

 


Here are some things you can do regularly:

  • use pairs and groups to do tasks and activities
  • when a student asks a question, ask him a question or give him a clue to help him think of the answer - don’t just give explanations
  • ask other students to give explanations or definitions rather than you – see what others know
  • ask open questions requiring longer answers, not just Yes/No answers
  • give your students time to think about an answer - don't be afraid of silence and jump in
  • don't finish student answers/sentences for them – allow them to think things through
  • listen to a student’s answers and ask the other students if they agree and why
  • if a student makes a mistake, ask the class if they know the correct answer – don’t give it until you are sure no-one else can
  • try and arrange seating so students can see and talk to each other – if this is not possible, ask students to turn round and talk to each other

Throughout  this course, you will look at how to get your students engaging with and using English. These ideas – group work, sharing ideas, asking questions rather than giving answers, etc - will come up again and in more detail. They are vital to the success of your English classroom.

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