1. Togetherness in ELT
But with Less Teacher Talk Time
and More Student Talk Time
Fenel Pierre
TESOL 2016

2. Task 1: True / False
# Statements True/False
1 Students’ opportunities to speak in class should be maximized to help
them develop speaking in English.
2 Students must be given ample opportunities to communicate, with as
much teacher intervention as possible.
3 Whenever a student can say something, the teacher should interfere or
intervene by talking.
4 Neither the teacher nor any one student should monopolize talking time
in class.
5 Teachers must give students sufficient time to formulate their ideas in
order for them to sufficiently elaborate.
6 The teacher should answer his or her own questions.
7 Classroom techniques like personalization and student-to-student
questions are not useful to maximize student STT.
From ICPNA’s Teachers’ Guide: Concepts, Practices &Techniques

3. Task 4: Here are 10 qualities of a great teacher.
Put them in order of importance, through group consensus (no voting!)
Order of
importance
Qualities
Set high expectations for all Ss to succeed
Challenge Ss’ abilities
Sense of humor
Leadership Skills
Passion for teaching and respect for students
Warm & enthusiastic
In-depth Content knowledge
Lack of clear learning objectives
Ability to make subject interesting
Creative

4. Behaviors/Techniques Conducive to Excessive Teacher Talk Time (TTT)
1 The T gives long and unnecessary explanations.
2 The T does not elicit enough from Ss when presenting new language.
3 The T asks follow-up questions instead of encouraging Ss to do so.
4 The T summarizes/paraphrases instead of giving Ss opportunities to do so.
5 The T gives opinions about facts and ideas that do not pertain to the class.
6 The T adds additional information to Ss’ responses.
7 The T poses questions and then answers them himself/herself.
8 The T paraphrases instructions more than necessary.
9 The T does the warm-up.
10 The T speaks most of the time.
11 The T leads the activities.
12 The T constantly passes judgement on Ss’ performance.
13 There is not enough wait time for Ss
14 The T unnecessary repeats what he/she or the Ss have said.
15 The T does not give Ss enough chances to guess and predict.
16
Copyright ICPNA 2011
Strategies to Reduce (TTT) and Increase Student Talk Time (STT)
DON’T’s Do’s
1 Long explanations Involve Ss, don’t explain
2 No elicitation Elicit
3 T asks follow-up questions Promote S-S questions
4 T paraphrases, summarizes, etc. Have Ss summarize
5 T talks about himself/herself Give Ss chances to talk about themselves using
group work, pair work
6 T adds additional information Have Ss ask follow-up questions
7 T answers his or her own questions Have SS answer / ask you questions
8 T paraphrases instructions more than
necessary
Use comprehension checks /have Ss repeat
instructions
9 T does wrap-up Have Ss do the wrap-up
10 Not enough wait time Give Ss prep time
11 T repeats what Ss say Have other SS paraphrase
12 No chance to guess Set tasks for Ss to develop guessing skills
13 Use the classroom as the only learning
environment
Promote learning beyond the classroom
14 Do not interfere with true communication Give SS proper scaffolding to enhance learning
and promote autonomous learning
15 Don’t be afraid of giving up some of the
control of the class
Play different T roles such as observer, guide,
facilitator, prompter, participant, etc.
T: Teacher Ss or S: Student

5. Example of Reader’s theater
(A group of friends are in Susan's home, trying to make holiday plans)
SUSAN: So where shall we go?
BILL: Well, how about the mountains? I want to do some climbing.
JANET: I want to spend two weeks on the beach doing absolutely nothing.
BILL: I don't mind the seaside if we can go to the mountains after that.
JOHN: I can't go to the seaside. I'm allergic to sand and salt.
AMY: If the rest of you want to go to the mountains, I'll go with you. But personally, I hate
mountains!
SUSAN: I don't mind where we go as long as I don't have to do any cooking.

9. References
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Caleb Gattegno, 1976. Freeing the Students, from The Common Sense of Teaching Foreign Languages. Pp.
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Caleb Gattegno, 1970. Excerpt from What We Owe Children: The Subordination of teaching to Learning.
Pp. 115-121
Cook, G. (2000). Language Play, Language Learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Ur, P. (forthcoming) Discussions and more. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press