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THE PROBLEM

Text books are written and then read! Yes, there are some "conversations" in them, but even these tend to be read rather than memorised. Either you are a child and "acquire" naturally in your real setting or you are at school! It is however true that the mother focuses her language. In school, even more must the teacher focus. We have learnt to focus on both grammar and speaking by using grammar focused plays which the pupils write variants of. What is important is the first step into "from your head" speaking!

Despite the hopes, there is very little autonomous speaking going on in class. That is why we have seen over the years in Middlesmoor, that knowledge of English is so thin and fragile. Unless pupils move the language in their mouths, they won't even learn it, let alone speak it.

"Memorised". Odd that one needs to emphasise that to speak a language, we have to remember it! We can't carry books about!

Modern text books are too "beautiful". They are very unfocused. They are almost made to be forgotten. What on those pages is expected to be remembered, or can be remembered?

Pupils at all levels need to carry about in their heads simple and modifiable structures. These should be grammar structures since their nature is that they are infinitely recyclable. Phrase books are petrified. The best way to start to build up remembered grammar is through learning by heart the parts of "grammar plays".  and supporting this with games using that same material. These actiities are then reinforced through reference to simple grammar explanations. These must be much simpler presentation than I have seen anywhere. They are more visualisations of grammar  rather than rule explainations.

Pupils will not ever speak without vocabulary and verbs. The text books do not presume that anything will be LEARNT! but rather acquired. (seee my talk at the British Council for an extended attack on  the conventional wisdom of language teaching.) return to flags or to Teachers' homepage