| Are you guilty of any of these erroneous practices in | | | | needs, learning styles and characteristics of your |
| ELT or language teaching? Any one of them can | | | | learners. |
| easily derail the students' efforts in language | | | | 3. Don't encourage and promote language practice |
| acquisition and learning or cause them grave | | | | outside the class room |
| problems. So, review these areas, make any needed | | | | With an alarming number of schools and institutes |
| adjustments to your teaching practice. Don't you be | | | | decreasing student to teacher classroom contact |
| a stumbling block to your learners' progress. | | | | hours per week it is essential for learners to receive |
| 1. Don't adapt materials to the learning style and | | | | additional practice and input. There are requirements |
| characteristics of the students. | | | | of as little as four hours per week or even less in |
| Unfortunately, the learning style most reflected in the | | | | many publicly or government-funded educational |
| classroom is that of the teacher. It is paramount that | | | | centers. Can a student really learn a language in only |
| concepts and material be presented in a way most | | | | 45 hours? Or put it this way, is it reasonable to |
| suitable for the learners. Jack C. Richards, principal | | | | expect mastery of any sort in a language after six or |
| author of the widely popular Interchange textbook | | | | seven days in a foreign country where that language |
| series said, "Student learning styles may be an | | | | is spoken? Spread that contact intensity over a |
| important factor in the success of teaching and may | | | | six-month period; does that make language learning |
| not necessarily reflect those that teachers | | | | and acquisition better or worse? Now, throw in the |
| recommend." Why? Because teachers use their own | | | | learners using their first language half of each day of |
| preferences in the class room, not necessarily those | | | | language learning and you have a situation degraded |
| of the students. Do an analysis of your class group's | | | | to a nearly impossible state. |
| learning characteristics, then apply the results to your | | | | Finally, factor in class and semester breaks of several |
| teaching. | | | | weeks per year and it's certainly no wonder Jorge, |
| 2. Follow the course book | | | | Chen Shen or Efrosini can't hold even a basic |
| A course book is usually not intended to be a "bible", | | | | conversation after studying English (or another |
| but all too often teachers follow it "religiously". They | | | | foreign language) under these conditions for two, |
| do nothing else, nor include outside materials in their | | | | three or even more years. Encouragement and |
| teaching. If you read the teacher's notes that | | | | promotion of foreign language practice outside the |
| typically accompany an English or language text, you'll | | | | class room is absolutely vital to the success of the |
| most likely note that the course book is intended to | | | | learners. |
| be a guide for teaching with supplementary materials | | | | So again, don't you be a stumbling block to your |
| widely used to expand, deepen or reinforce | | | | learners' progress. If you are guilty of any of these |
| presented materials and themes. Use the course | | | | erroneous practices in ELT or language teaching, |
| book sequence as a guide. Freely supplement its | | | | make any needed adjustments to your teaching |
| exercises and course materials with your own | | | | practice ASAP. Then watch your learners grow, |
| creations or at the very least with materials adapted | | | | improve and practice their new language like never |
| from other sources. As mentioned in point number | | | | before. Please feel free to contact me with your |
| one, plan your lessons and materials to meet the | | | | questions, comments or requests. |