Language Teacher Toolkit: Steve Smith's blog

Image: pixabay.com I love a nice information gap task. Recall that these are designed to give students a reason to communicate while using language in a more or less structured way. Each student has different information which must be shared to complete the task. The less proficient the learner, the more structured the task needs to be. Students get to do a lot of listening and speaking, as well as, in many cases, some rteading and writing. A meaningful, multi-skill task which is often quite fun. The one below, Timeline, can be used at internediate and advanced level. I have peviously posted an example of an advanced one focused on the events of World War Two. The one below would suit a GCSE class (CEFR A2) or even a very good Year 9 class (two to three years of learning). The example is from my site. Feel free to copy and use or adapt. Instructions – scroll down for the student sheets. Students work in pairs. Each partner has a list of six things Astrid did during a week on holid...

In our new handbook for A-level language teachers we included a chapter, early in the book, focused on our chosen principles underlying A-level teaching. There is a very good question we should ask when formulating a syllabus or teaching approach: why do we do what we do? In the adapted extract below you'll find key notions that underly the whole book - sound principles of language teaching at A-level, and language teaching in general. 1. The role of comprehensible input This term from second language learning research refers simply to language, oral or written, which students understand. Common sense and research tell us that the main driver of progress in a language is exposure to comprehensible input. The mechanisms we use to acquire our first language(s) through input (and communication) are still active when we learn a language as teenagers or adults. This is why language teachers are so often urged to use the target language as much as possible, and to encourage contact wi...