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Review - Learning Teaching

Title: Learning Teaching Third Edition (Macmillan Books for Teachers)

Publisher: MACMILLAN

Author: Jim Scrivener

Reviewer: Alex Warren, Academic Director from British Study Centres, Bournemouth

Overall rating: 

“... there is a kind of teaching that is also a kind of learning  - “learning teaching”. It is not just the students who do the learning, but you do as well. You teach and you learn – the two things are intertwined. Outside and inside the class, you live and you learn.” (p.380)

This quote succinctly sums up Scrivener’s thoughts on teaching and teachers’ learning as set out in Learning Teaching. And while it is essentially aimed principally at those who are embarking on their early years in EFL, it is also serves as a useful guide to those with more experience whose own learning and therefore development may have stalled. By no means does the book ‘tell’ us how to teach though – how could it? Rather it informs and provides ideas and options to allow teachers to find their own route, to discover what works for them within their teaching context. As Scrivener himself says, the book aims “to give a ‘toolkit’ of possibilities” (p.8) to the teacher, and it does so with great aplomb.

Divided into 16 Chapters, Learning Teaching takes the novice teacher on an intuitive step-by-step guide through the world of EFL, from Starting Out (Chapter 1) to Next Steps (Chapter 16). In between it deals with all the big areas, from classroom management (Chapter 4), planning lessons and courses (Chapter 6) to teaching grammar (7), lexis (8), productive (9) and receptive (10) skills, and phonology (11) with each step as insightful and helpful as the last.  Each chapter is sub-divided into easily digestible chunks, which means that while informed, the reader is importantly never overloaded. Take for example the chapter on teaching grammar (7), arguably the most daunting area facing a trainee teacher. First it tackles the question of what exactly grammar is before looking at a present-practise methodology, followed by different clarification techniques (teacher explanation, guided-discovery, self-directed discovery) and then finishing with ideas for restricted output, in other words the practice tasks. The result is that, hopefully, the job of teaching a grammar point isn’t such a worry once sound methodology has been gone through and explored. The latter chapters (12-15) are more practical in what they offer, most noticeably Chapter 15 (Tools, Techniques, Activities) which looks at using flashcards, storytelling, songs, fillers, games, dictation, drama, TV, DVD and video amongst others. Other areas covered for further down the career line include teaching different types of class (Chapter 13), which includes Business English, EAP, ESP, young learners and CLIL, and the use of technology in the classroom (Chapter 14). The point is that throughout it provides sound and reassuring tuition for the practicing pedagogue whilst simultaneously offering invaluable practical teaching advice. 

Where Learning Teaching differs from other teaching theory books is in the way in which it challenges teachers to think, to analyse and to assess at every stage, thus making it an interactive process – there is give and there is take. This is accomplished by the large numbers of tasks that accompany each section of the book, thus ensuring that you are not just reading but actually reflecting on it too. As such it is a learning process which this is far more effective for new teachers, allowing them to actually learn from their experiences and therefore develop. The tasks are complemented by commentaries that provide ideas and suggestions, which not only introduce new activities to trainee teachers but also guide them in the process of being able to look at content and think about how else to exploit or adapt it. Indeed, these commentaries are somewhat of a goldmine for the uninitiated teacher and worth their weight in gold.

This third edition also comes complete with a DVD-ROM filled with materials. On the one hand there is the video content which is split into two parts. The first part is a full lesson observation, showcasing lots of good technique. From a trainee point of view being able to observe a lesson like this is invaluable as it makes the classroom accessible and not as scary as it otherwise might be. Plus it comes with the lesson plan. The second section comprises a number of short video clips (26 in total) showcasing different teaching techniques, coupled with advice. These range from clips on monitoring, using gesture, concept checking questions and timelines to modelling intonation and connected speech, giving feedback after an exercise, using the phonemic chart as well as focussing on  syllables and stress and how to do a gapped dictation. Again, being able to see these techniques in action, rather than just as words on a page, is incredibly beneficial to new and practicing teachers alike. It also comes with a wealth of photocopiable resources, which is any new teacher’s best friend. As well as in-class activities, including various information exchange tasks and board games, there are also ten different observation tasks which can be used as part of a teacher training course or as part of a peer observation programme. Either way the idea is that by observing other teachers you are automatically learning, and these tasks help to focus that learning. Rounding off the resources are 15 additional photocopiable activities for each level, thus ensuring the teacher is well-armed before entering the classroom for the first time.

So, when Adrian Underhill says in the foreword that Learning Teaching is the “single-book-to-have for ELT professionals who want to become the best teacher that they can be” he isn’t far wrong. It’s like a comforting arm around the shoulder on the first day of school and as the sub-header states: it is the essential guide to English language teaching.

Overall rating

5

© Copyright BEBC REVIEW PANEL 2015 – this review may be reproduced but only with this acknowledgement