Keith Morrow

J uly 2014
Authenticity and autonomy for learners and teachers
The death of the method
Prabhu, N.S. 1990.
There is no best method why? TESOL
Quarterly, 24/2: 161176.
The enemy of good teaching is not a bad
method, but over-routinisation.
Prabhu p. 174
When we encounter an instance of really
bad teaching, it is most often not a case
of the teacher following a method with
which we disagree, but rather of the
teacher merely going through the
motions of teaching, with no sense of
involvement.
Prabhu p.171.
At the breakfast table
Mr Brown: What is this, Mary?
Mrs Brown: That is a knife, J ohn. And this is a
fork.
At the breakfast table
Mr Brown: Am I a man, Mary?
Mrs Brown: Yes, J ohn. You are a man and I am
a woman.
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materials
topics
learning processes
Engagement through authenticity
Authentic text
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Manners matter
Corporate culture
Tomorrows world
PARSNIP
politics, alcohol, religion, sex, narcotics, isms (such as fascism or atheism), and
pork.
Topics
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Reformulation
Reconstruction
Learning process
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I want you to write three sentences to tell me three things you
did at the weekend.
Reformulation
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Saturday I go market with mother. Later visit aunt to her
house. Sunday study and do homework.
Reformulation
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Teacher: OK now listen and write this in your book
On Saturday I went to the market with my mother. Later we
visited my aunt at her house. On Sunday I studied and did
my homework.
Reformulation
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Now look at your book. What are the differences between
what you said and what you wrote down?
Reformulation
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The starting point for reconstruction activities is the teacher's
text (or, at least, a text provided by the teacher) which the
learner first reads (or listens to) and then reconstructs.
Dictogloss
Reconstruction
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So here we go.
Reconstruction
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Four friends went on a journey. After walking they found a
place to rest and eat. Each said they would do something.
One said "I've prepared a meal". Another said "I'll start a fire".
The third said "I'll build a shelter", while the fourth said "I am
ready to eat."
Reconstruction
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Awareness
Autonomy
Authenticity
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What is authentic for a teacher?
Authenticity, awareness & autonomy
for teachers
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What is authentic for a teacher?
Her work with her learners in her classroom.
Authenticity, awareness & autonomy
for teachers
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Record what you do
Awareness
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Record what you do
Listen to what you do
Watch what you do
Awareness
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Record what you do
Listen to what you do
Watch what you do
What do you notice?
Awareness
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Record what you do.
Listen to what you do.
Watch what you do.
What do you notice?
Analyse what you do.
Awareness
Feature of teacher talk Description
A Scaffolding
B Direct repair
C Content feedback
D Extended wait-time
E Referential questions
F Seeking clarification
Feature of teacher talk Description
A Scaffolding 1 Reformulation (rephrasing a learners contribution)
2 Extension (extending a learners contribution)
3 Modelling (providing an example for learner(s))
B Direct repair Correcting an error quickly and directly.
C Content feedback Giving feedback to the message rather than the
words used.
D Extended wait-time Allowing sufficient time (several seconds) for
students to respond or formulate a response.
E Referential questions Genuine questions to which the teacher does not
know the answer.
F Seeking clarification 1 Teacher asks a student to clarify something the
student has said.
2 Student asks teacher to clarify something the
teacher has said.
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Authenticity
Awareness
Autonomy
Review
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Prabhu, N.S. There is no best method why? TESOL Quarterly, April 1990.
Thornbury, S. Tasks that promote noticing ELT Journal October 1997
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/51/4/326.full.pdf+html
Walsh, S. Talking the talk of the TESOL Classroom ELT Journal April 2006
http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/60/2/133.full.pdf+html
Follow up
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