Nine Language-Teaching Myths
The following article sums up some key ideas that form the basis of TPRS, an approach to teaching second/foreign languages that is largely based on, and supported by, Stephen Krashen’s theories of language acquisition. It was written by Jack Taylor, an AET in Japan, and originally posted on the TPRS Japan Forum. It is reposted [...]
Lessons learned – how not to use movies in class, and other useful tips
Image via Wikipedia I learned a couple of lessons today. Don’t use the same movie and lesson-plan with both an advanced class and a dummies class. When playing a DVD in the classroom, don’t start up the projector until just 5 minutes before you plan to actually show the movie. The other lesson was more [...]
Planned lessons vs unplanned lessons
Quandary. Contradiction. Oxymoron. Storytelling vs. PQA. “Teaching children, not a curriculum.” I’m losing student interest. I’m using stories (Blaine Ray’s Look I Can Talk 1 & 2). Book 2 is more engaging for the university students I teach than book 1 (and I’m using the textbook, not the mini-stories or extended readings). My most difficult [...]
Teaching a foreign language at university level using TPRS
Image via Wikipedia Do you teach a foreign or second language at university? Is fluency a key goal of yours? Are you using TPRS, or some similar approach? If so, you might be interested in what I’ve written below, and I’d be interested in reading your comments. Every teacher who attempts to use TPRS must [...]
Introducing a great website on teaching English in Japan
Here is another resource site for people interested in TPRS in Japan: Beniko Mason’s website. Prof. Mason promotes, studies, researches and uses Krashen’s theories of language acquisition. On her website is listed some of her publications in this field, including papers on extensive reading, comprehensible input, and so on. Some of her papers are in [...]
TPRS.jp – a forum in English and Japanese for people interested in TPRS in Japan
TPRS.jp is a new forum that started up in time for the Susan Gross TPRS workshop last month in Shimabara, Kyushu, Japan. It is already very active. New forums are sprouting up almost daily! Check it out. Ask questions. Post answers. Introduce yourself. Forums exist in both English and Japanese.
TPRS Workshop in Shimabara, Kyushu – part deux
Had my first full day of Oral English university classes today (all non-English majors) and discovered some more benefits from the TPRS workshop I attended last weekend in Kyushu, Japan. Here’s the short version: no prep! Increased confidence. Sticking to the program of events. Didn’t circle every sentence. Insisting on absolute quiet and attention during [...]
TPRS Workshop in Shimabara, Kyushu
A TPRS workshop for language teachers was held in Shimabara, Kyushu, Sep. 18-20. The workshop leader was Susan Gross, a retired teacher of French and Spanish in Colorado high schools, and an experienced workshop leader. There was an interpreter, Yuki Watanabe, who translated everything into Japanese, and did an excellent job. How did I hear [...]
Dealing with different proficiency levels
Image by Getty Images via @daylife Classes were going well. I was asking stories and getting some interesting responses. I had students’ attention and interest. Then interest and attention began to wane. I knew from talking to individual students that a few of them were much more proficient in Egnlish than the others. I suspected [...]
More on using stories to teach fluency
While focusing on stories, I forgot about reading and writing. Well, I didn’t forget, I just put them on the back-burner. Time to resurrect those activities: they provide yet more ways to give comprehensible input; more ways to go over the same ground, but in different way.
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“moretprs” yahoo group (English only)
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