December 2014

Gao Ping Trio Commission

Following the enthusiastic reception of the piece for bassoon and piano Jack commissioned from Chinese composer Gao Ping, Jack has commissioned a further piece – a trio for piano, flute and bassoon. You can hear the bassoon and piano piece played on Saturday Jan 10th 2015 during the Tiromoana Summer Concert Series here.

Sources for Teaching Adult Learners

Question:

Submitted by Farid Bozorgmehr, Iran

What sources can you recommend for teaching English to adult learners?

Professor Richards Responds:

Marshall, B. (2002) Preparing for Success: A guide for Teaching Adult English Language Learners, McHenry, IL: Delta Systems, Inc. and Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.
 Murray, D. E. (2005) ‘ESL in adult education’, In E. Hinkel (ed.), Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 65–84.
 Orem, R. A. (2012) ‘Teaching adults’, In A. Burns and J. C Richards (eds.), The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy and Practice in Language Teaching, New York: Cambridge University Press.

Direct & Indirect Approaches to Teaching Speaking

Question:

Submitted by Yanina Valdez, Argentina

What is the difference between direct and indirect approaches to speaking?

Professor Richards Responds:

An indirect approach to the teaching of speaking is one in which oral competence is acquired incidentally as a bi-product of engaging in communicative tasks. No specific aspects of speaking may be targeted. A direct approach is one in which specific aspects of speaking (e.g. turn taking, back-channeling) are targeted through focused instruction directed at these features.