Teaching Language for Communication and Accuracy

Teaching Languages is a clear and practical handbook that describes and illustrates 20 techniques and 17 tactics for teaching and learning any spoken language.

The techniques are classroom practices that may take a full 50-minute class. There is typically a beginning (presentation), middle (practice), and end (production) to the full lesson. A sampling of the techniques includes:

• • Rhythmic Rhymes

 

• • Line Ups

 

• • Valuations

 

• • Surveys

 

• • Information Gaps

 

• • Reader’s Theater

 

• • Story Telling

 

• • Role Plays

 

• • Impromptus

 

Tactics usually focus on practice, and often require only a few minutes of class time. Frequently they are used spontaneously, as an error or question occurs in a lesson. They usually focus on a pronunciation, vocabulary, or grammar problem. They include:

• • Stress and Intonation Practice

 

• • Transformation Practice

 

• • Scrambled Sentences

 

• • Spontaneous Pattern Practice

 

• • Chain Practice

 

• • Pictograms

 

Although designed for the teacher in training, experienced teachers will often find a new tool for their “toolbox” – a new way to do something or a format they can use and adapt to create their own material.