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Message FIVE CRITICAL MISTAKES LANGUAGE TEACHERSMAKE AND HOW TO FIX THEMOXFORD HOUSE, BARCELONA, 21 MARCH 2025Email barnaby@bglc.esWebsite www.bglc.es
www.bglc.es1995-2025: 30 YEARS!
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 1Discuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 1Discuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?T: “Why can’t they send it to you?” S: “Because they delete it” /di-li:t/T: “deleted /di-li:-tid/. Everyone deleted” /di-li:-tid/Ss: “deleted” /di-li:-tid/T: “OK”
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 1What’s the critical mistake?What happens when you add “it”? “They deleted it” /di-li:-ti-dit/
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 1What’s the critical mistake?What happens when you add “it”? “They deleted it” /di-li:-ti-dit/ Will a S naturally say this without it being highlighted and drilled?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 1What’s the critical mistake?What happens when you add “it”? “They deleted it” /di-li:-ti-dit/ Will a S naturally say this without it being highlighted and drilled?No. So always explore what happens when you consider co-text, i.e.words that naturally surround other words
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 2Discuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?S: “I have not asked them yet” /ai hav not askət ðem jet/ T: “Good”
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 2What’s the critical mistake?Compare S’s production: “I have not asked them yet”/ai hav not askət ðem jet/ to the more natural: “I haven’t asked them yet” /ai-(j)av-ən ast-əm jet/
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 2What’s the critical mistake?Compare S’s production: “I have not asked them yet”/ai hav not askət ðem jet/ to the more natural: “I haven’t asked them yet” /ai-(j)av-ən ast-əm jet/Very different. What’s the natural consequence of this approach?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 2What’s the critical mistake?Compare S’s production: “I have not asked them yet”/ai hav not askət ðem jet/ to the more natural: “I haven’t asked them yet” /ai-(j)av-ən ast-əm jet/Very different. What’s the natural consequence of this approach?Ss come to fear contractions and natural speech:
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 2What’s the critical mistake?Compare S’s production: “I have not asked them yet”/ai hav not askət ðem jet/ to the more natural: “I haven’t asked them yet” /ai-(j)av-ən ast-əm jet/Very different. What’s the natural consequence of this approach?Ss come to fear contractions and natural speech:1) speaking: they will sound stilted and unnatural
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATION. EXAMPLE 2What’s the critical mistake?Compare S’s production: “I have not asked them yet”/ai hav not askət ðem jet/ to the more natural: “I haven’t asked them yet” /ai-(j)av-ən ast-əm jet/Very different. What’s the natural consequence of this approach?Ss come to fear contractions and natural speech:1) speaking: they will sound stilted and unnatural 2) listening: they will not understand spoken English
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATIONWhat’s the critical mistake?Ignoring vital elements of connected speech, such as the influence ofliaison and weak sounds
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 1:TEACHING PRONUNCIATIONWhat’s the critical mistake?Ignoring vital elements of connected speech, such as the influence ofliaison and weak soundsWhat’s the solution?Explore what happens when co-text is taken into account
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR CLARIFICATIONDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICEDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?T: “Now we’re going to practise the present continuous for future plans.Repeat after me: I’m playing tennis with my brother on Tuesday”
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICEDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?T: “Now we’re going to practise the present continuous for future plans.Repeat after me: I’m playing tennis with my brother on Tuesday”Are you?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICEDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?T: “Now we’re going to practise the present continuous for future plans.Repeat after me: I’m playing tennis with my brother on Tuesday”Are you? Does anyone in the class have a brother?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICEDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?T: “Now we’re going to practise the present continuous for future plans.Repeat after me: I’m playing tennis with my brother on Tuesday”Are you? Does anyone in the class have a brother?Does anyone in the class play tennis?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICEDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?T: “Now we’re going to practise the present continuous for future plans.Repeat after me: I’m playing tennis with my brother on Tuesday”Are you? Does anyone in the class have a brother?Does anyone in the class play tennis?Does anyone in the class have a brother who plays tennis?
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICEWhy does it matter?Because impersonal, irrelevant, uncontextualized examples are notmemorable
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICEWhy does it matter?Because impersonal, irrelevant, uncontextualized examples are notmemorableAlways use personalised relevant examples:“I’m meeting a friend for coffee on Tuesday”And get Ss to do the same
www.bglc.esWhat’s the critical mistake?Using impersonal, irrelevant, uncontextualized examplesCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICE
www.bglc.esWhat’s the critical mistake?Using impersonal, irrelevant, uncontextualized examplesWhat’s the solution?Always use personalised relevant examples in context...and get Ss to do the sameCRITICAL MISTAKE 2:GRAMMAR PRACTICE
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Get in(to) the car = subirGet on the bus = subirGet out of the car = bajarGet off the bus = bajarCRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Presenting words in lists with pictures or translationsCRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Presenting words in lists with pictures or translationsExample: phrasal verbsDue to their particular form, it’s tempting to present phrasal verbs in lists,but it’s always better to present them in a meaningful contextCRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esTravelMaria catches the bus near her house to go to work. She always tries toget on first because there’s more room at the back. She gets off the busabout 100 metres from her work, often when her boss is just getting outof a taxiCRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esTravelMaria catches the bus near her house to go to work. She always tries toget on first because there’s more room at the back. She gets off the busabout 100 metres from her work, often when her boss is just getting outof a taxiThis is so much richer in terms of language than a list of items CRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esInstructionsTake it out of the box and put it on a level surface. Plug it in to a powersupply and turn it on…Can you think of other contexts where phrasal verbs thrive?CRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esRelationshipsAlan hooked up with Joel at a party and they started going out, butafter a short while they fell out because Alan didn’t get on with Joel’sfamily…CRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esWhat’s the critical mistake?Teaching lexical items in lists instead of in contextWhat’s the solution?Teach vocabulary at the text levelCRITICAL MISTAKE 3:PRESENTING VOCABULARY
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?S1: “My cat dead last weekend”T: “My cat died last weekend”S2: “Your cat too? Oh no!”CRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTION. EXAMPLE 1
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Ss understood T was responding to CONTENT, when actually T wasresponding to FORM. Ha ha!CRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTION. EXAMPLE 1
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what happens here?T: “When was the last time you changed your look?”S: “All of my life I have a long hair… when I was 16 I cut /ku:t/ my hairand I make curly, I did a radical change”T: “How long did it last?”S: “Few time because I didn’t like”CRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTION. EXAMPLE 2
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what happens here?What would happen if T intervened and corrected FORM after the firstmistake?CRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTION. EXAMPLE 2
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what happens here?What would happen if T intervened and corrected FORM after the firstmistake?It would halt the conversation and fail to achieve the communicative aim oftalking about a change of look.CRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTION. EXAMPLE 2
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what happens here?By responding to CONTENT and noting down FORM to correct later, T isable to achieve communicative aim by gathering all of the necessaryinformation before improving the accuracy of the message.CRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTION. EXAMPLE 2
www.bglc.esCRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTIONWhat’s the critical mistake?Responding to FORM before CONTENT
www.bglc.esWhat’s the critical mistake?Responding to FORM before CONTENTWhat’s the solution?Respond to CONTENT first and then FORM (or note it down to correct later) Above all, make sure Ss are aware which you are responding to at anygiven time. CRITICAL MISTAKE 4:ERROR CORRECTION
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?S: “I bought Amazon Prime”T: “It’s a subscription service, so we don’t buy it, we sign up for it… I signed up for Amazon Prime.Everyone repeat”. Ss: “I signed up for Amazon Prime.”T: “Good, now look at this next task”Next class:S: “I signed up for a subscription with a new website”T: “We don’t sign up for a subscription, we take out a subscription”S: “But last class you said we sign up for a subscription service”T: “Erm…”CRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Language use is usually more complex than we try to make it > CRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Language use is usually more complex than we try to make it > investigate furtherCRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Language use is usually more complex than we try to make it > investigate furtherSs often take the first thing we tell them to be the whole story > CRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Language use is usually more complex than we try to make it > investigate furtherSs often take the first thing we tell them to be the whole story > extrapolate and encourageSs to test their hypotheses every time we encounter new language CRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esDiscuss with a partner... what’s the critical mistake?Language use is usually more complex than we try to make it > investigate furtherSs often take the first thing we tell them to be the whole story > extrapolate and encourageSs to test their hypotheses every time we encounter new language This develops their instincts as a language learner and prevents them thinking thatlearning a language can be contained to simple discrete item points, as coursebooks wouldhave us believeCRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esWhat’s the critical mistake?Not telling the full story about a lexical itemCRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esWhat’s the critical mistake?Not telling the full story about a lexical itemWhat’s the solution?Take time to extrapolate and encourage Ss to test their hypotheses CRITICAL MISTAKE 5:CLARIFYING MEANING
www.bglc.esTAKEAWAYS
www.bglc.esTAKEAWAYSExplore what happens to pronunciation when you consider co-text, such asthe influence of liaison and weak sounds
www.bglc.esTAKEAWAYSExplore what happens to pronunciation when you consider co-text, such asthe influence of liaison and weak soundsUse personalised relevant examples in context... and get Ss to do the same
www.bglc.esTAKEAWAYSExplore what happens to pronunciation when you consider co-text, such asthe influence of liaison and weak soundsUse personalised relevant examples in context... and get Ss to do the sameTeach vocabulary at the text level
www.bglc.esTAKEAWAYSExplore what happens to pronunciation when you consider co-text, such asthe influence of liaison and weak soundsUse personalised relevant examples in context... and get Ss to do the sameTeach vocabulary at the text levelRespond to content first and then form (or note it down to correct later)
www.bglc.esTAKEAWAYSExplore what happens to pronunciation when you consider co-text, such asthe influence of liaison and weak soundsUse personalised relevant examples in context... and get Ss to do the sameTeach vocabulary at the text levelRespond to content first and then form (or note it down to correct later)Take time to extrapolate and encourage Ss to test their hypotheses
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