MAES7001

ELT Methodology
Session 1

Nicole J. Tavares
Faculty of Education
The University of Hong Kong
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 From this course, we hope …
 “… to gain a deep insight into diverse English language
teaching approaches, methods, and techniques, especially
Communicative Language Teaching, which is gaining popularity
across mainland China these days. I have been quite interested
in CLT since it is an approach to language teaching that focuses
on developing communicative competence, which helps
students enhance their English communication abilities
through both receptive and productive skills, rather than
teaching lexis or grammar discretely, as opposed to the
Grammar-translation method. I sometimes wonder what the
theories and principles are underlying them, in what ways they
help students improve their English, why they are more
effective than other kinds of techniques. Apart from those
merits, I also hope to know if they are
of some inappropriacy, especially in the context of teaching
English to Chinese students who have to prepare for Gaokao.
And if so, how could I adapt them or integrate them with other
techniques properly to teach both English language systems
and skills? Besides those questions,
I am also into material development. For example, I am keen
on adapting ESL/EFL textbooks, trying to make them more 2
 From this course, we hope …
 “… to obtain knowledge about various teaching methods
regarding different types of classes, and more
importantly, natural, effective and simple ways of
interacting with students… you can share with us some
excellent real-class videos and give us more chances to
stand upon the stage to practice, which would be a lot of
fun :)” (Yuki)
 “… to learn how to write teaching plans, analyse
teaching problems and evaluate teaching syllabus.”
(Yellen)
 “… to have a deeper understanding of language
teaching theories and to apply them correctly. Besides, I
am eager to be confident as a teacher, as I can then
transfer energy and confidence to my students. I also
wish all of us in this course can get along well and
discuss some interesting and meaningful educational
issues together.” (Rae)
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 What makes a
good ESL/EFL
teacher?

Log in to www.menti.com, key in the code

XX XX XX XX, and rank …
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5
M odel
A daptable
Thinking (Be reflective/critical)
Excellent
Sensitive
O riginal
L earner-centred 6
 CLT as an Approach
and Implications for
the Learning and Teaching
of Speaking

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 What is
a ‘communicative’
approach?

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 How effective
is Mary’s
speaking lesson ?

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I think Mary’s lesson
is a(n) _____ one.
(1)great
(2)fairly good
(3)okay but…
(4)pretty weak
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Trouble-shooting

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What went wrong with
Mary’s
speaking lesson ?

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The COST Framework
Objective-Setting,
Task & Activity
Design, Scaffolding
and Lesson
Coherence

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Group Group
C T
HOME
SHARING
GROUP

Group Group

O S

1
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 C C
GROUP GROUP
O 1 T O T
4
S S
Jigsaw Approach

C C
GROUP GROUP
O 2 T O 3 T
S S
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‘If you fail to plan,
are you planning to
fail?’

(Ledeman & Niess, 2000)

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 Major Limitations
in Mary’s Lesson
 Weak Articulation of Objectives
 Objective-Task Incongruity
 Insufficient & Ineffective Scaffolding
 Lack of Task Authenticity
 De-contextualisation (Tasks/Lesson)
 ‘Task Dependency’ Principle not met
 Lack of Rationale behind Stages
 Overall Incoherence + Problematic
Staging
 Very Limited STT
 Should this be a unit/module and not a 17
One practical suggestion
we have for Mary is…

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 What makes a
good speaking lesson?
Ample STT
Target language use
Equal participation
High level of
motivation
Low anxiety levels
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 More Food for Thought
 Scott Thornbury’s Theory of
Economy
 Input ≤ Output

 Variety or No Variety?
 Learner Roles in Cooperative
Learning
 Situational vs Operational Roles

 Realistic and Do-able Learning 20

Let’s now pause…

Let’s do
some personal
reflections…

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 How do I now see myself as a
teacher of English? Where do I go
from here?

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 Before Session 2…
Reflect even more deeply on your
personal
learning (and teaching) experiences
– Harmer (2003)
Let’s reflect on the design of Session
One
Why did Nicole do what she did in
class?
Share with me your expectations,
aspirations, wishes, dreams …
Do the suggested follow-up
readings for consolidation
- Harmer (2015): CLT
- CDC (1999): What is CLT?
- Hedge (2000): The Communicative Classroom 23
 We are all
Weekly
Perusall Managers (PMs)

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