How Can Teachers Balance Talking, Grammar and Correction? – S04E19

How much should teachers and students talk during an English lesson?Gav and Em explore how conversation can become a genuine learning experience rather than simply an enjoyable chat. They discuss teacher talking time, encouraging quieter learners and helping students explain specialist subjects that the teacher may know little about.What should you do when a conversation wanders away from the lesson topic? Gav and Em consider when to follow an unexpected discussion, when to bring learners back and how to prevent dominant students from leaving others behind.They also look at correcting mistakes without destroying the flow of conversation. Should you interrupt immediately, write corrections on the board or return to errors afterwards? Drawing on their classroom experience, Gav and Em demonstrate how a recurring present perfect mistake can become a quick grammar and pronunciation activity.You will also discover how to:• warm learners up with simple, familiar questions• encourage students to speak to one another rather than only to the teacher• involve the whole class in specialist or unfamiliar topics• give learners enough time to think before speaking• build vocabulary through meaningful, detailed conversations• use discussion topics to generate particular grammar naturally• make sure every conversation lesson has a clear learning outcomeAnd what is “grammar broccoli”? It is the useful language hidden inside an appealing speaking activity. Picture descriptions can practise present tenses and prepositions, processes can generate passive forms and linking words, and memories can bring out a range of past tenses.Learn-A-Word concludes the episode with “mouthing” and “mouthy” — two related words with very different uses.If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpodVisit https://howtoenglishpod.com for practical teaching ideas and resources ready to use.Chapters00:00 Welcome and talking about talking01:15 Are teachers naturally good at talking?03:25 Discussing subjects the teacher does not understand06:10 Using learners as experts08:18 Keeping the whole class involved09:20 Encouraging quiet and reluctant students12:20 Correcting mistakes during a conversation15:15 Turning one error into a quick grammar activity17:30 Should teachers follow unexpected conversations?20:37 Going deeper instead of skimming topics24:00 Encouraging students to talk to each other26:47 Is talking enough for an English lesson?28:00 Hiding grammar broccoli inside conversation31:05 Learn-A-Word: mouthing and mouthy33:38 Closing the conversation