ELT: The Basics

ELT: The Basics offers a clear, non-jargonistic introduction to English language teaching for EFL/ESL teachers in training, early career teachers, those considering taking up ELT, and experienced teachers who may want to read about the way the profession has developed and continues to evolve. Key features of this book include: Real classroom data and data from ELT training programmes Discussion of a wide range of learning contexts and different types of learners (young learners, adults, third age, academic, refugees and immigrants, etc.) Comparisons of different types of syllabuses and methods, and discussion of current technologies An emphasis on classroom interaction as the key to maximising learning Featuring a glossary of key terms, cartoons and illustrations, further reading, personal reflection points, and discussion of the most important and relevant research, this book is a clear and accessible introduction to the complex field of ELT. Cover Endorsements Half Title Series Title Copyright Dedication Contents Acknowledgements Introduction to the reader 1 The raw material: language knowledge The EL in ELT Substance The stuff of language Sounds Intonation Writing Form Words Grammar Lexicogrammar Meaning Health, safety, and dinosaurs What do you mean? Completing the language puzzle The discourse process Discourse in the classroom Templates and genres Writing, speaking, or both at once? English in the world From variation to varieties Accents and dialects Then what? Further reading 2 Language skills Knowledge and skill The communication matrix Listening A stream of sound Before, during, and after Talking back Box-ticking The two-sided coin Whose voice? Speaking Go with the flow Tell me Who’s listening? Mind the gap Things to consider Reading Why read? Strategies Texts: easy or hard? Texts: keep it simple? Writing Pens and keyboards Time delay Audience design Product and process The fifth skill Further reading 3 The main actors: learners and learning Who are our learners? An early start Natalia the communicator School and peers In at the deep end Growing up CLIL The teens Adult learners Pathways A busy life Natalia’s mother The third age Levels and labels EFL? ESL? More pathways Moving through ABC Can-do and corpora How does it happen? Acquisition All in the mind? SLA: happening or doing? Language out there A socio-cultural angle Conclusion Further reading 4 Syllabuses, materials, methods Organising learning Curriculum and syllabus Organising a syllabus Grammar at the centre Vocabulary The lexical syllabus Taken to task Tasks to the fore A mixed grill Materials Material issues Are they real? Do they work? Methodology Fashions come and go What lies beyond? Further reading 5 Being a teacher Organising your work The classroom Planning the lesson Classroom management You and your colleagues Native and expert users Observation You and your students The human factor Intelligence Power, roles, relationships Identities We are what we say Just you and me Doing language teaching So far PPP? III? TBL? Please notice Error correction Grammar in the classroom Simplicity to complexity Power of the -ing form Vocabulary: in the mind and in use Getting to the core Realistic goals All in the mind Pronunciation Whose pronunciation? Intonation plus pronunciation Conclusion Further reading 6 Classroom interaction Interacting Talking the talk Easy as 1, 2, 3 SETT: self evaluation of teacher talk Managerial mode Materials mode Skills and systems mode Classroom context mode Could do better (CIC) Conclusion Further reading 7 Learning how to do it: teacher education ELTE pathways What teachers say Getting started: PRESET CELTA By degrees: BA and MA Gaining entry Keeping going: INSET DELTA Professional development ‘in the wild’ Thinking it through A way forward? Where’s the evidence? It’s good to talk The right tools for the job Stimulated recall Enhancing SETT: SETTVEO Further reading 8 Technology in and out of the classroom Out with the old, in with the new Corpora Looking at language Corpora, teachers, and learners ELT online Technological competencies Management competencies Teacher interactional competencies Taming the wilderness Mobile learning Screening materials Let the machine decide? Automated assessment Interaction and the bot The journey ahead Further reading Glossary of key terms References Index