Professor Jack C. Richards

The official website of educator Jack C Richards

Advice on developing a new teaching unit

Question:

Submitted by Zainab Jaafar, Iran

I’m working in a scientific research centre in which the majority of the staff have very limited capacity in English language. This is due to receiving their undergraduates syllabus in the mother language (i.e. Arabic).

I am planning to start a unit for developing their English qualifications. I would like to have your advice in where & how to start, taking in consideration their different specializations such as chemistry, physics, invertebrates, geology, and biology. 

Professor Richards Responds:

I would suggest starting with a general English course to bring up their proficiency to at least a B1 on CEF. Then you could move to more of an ESP approach. A very good resource to use would be Helen Basturkmen’s book, Developing Courses in English For Specific Purposes.

Developing courses, Questions & Answers, Teaching

Teacher Training

Question:

Submitted by Paresh Kumar Bhoi, India

1.What goes into the pre-service training of a language teacher at the elementary level?

2. What skills and knowledge-bases are required to be a part of a pre-service teacher training programme at the elementary level?

Professor Richards Responds:

Teacher training normally involves providing novice teachers with the practical skills and knowledge needed to prepare them for their initial teaching experience. Teacher training involves processes of the following kind:

  • Understanding basic concepts and principles as a prerequisite for applying them to teaching.
  • Developing a repertoire of classroom techniques, routines, skills and strategies.
  • Having opportunities to try out different strategies in the classroom.
  • Developing ability to teach using a textbook and classroom technology.
  • Monitoring oneself and getting feedback from others on one’s practice.

Training involves the development of basic concepts, theories and principles and a repertoire of teaching skills, acquired through observing experienced teachers and engaging in practice-teaching in a controlled setting, e.g. through micro-teaching or peer teaching. Taking this perspective, good teaching is seen as the mastery of a body of basic knowledge and a set of skills or competencies. Qualifications in teacher training such as the CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) are typically offered by teacher-training colleges or by organizations such as the British Council, and provide novice teachers with a recognized entry-level qualification as an ESL/ELT teacher. The worldwide demand for qualifications of this kind has led to the development of many courses, available both in face-to-face formats or online. For example, the Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) is a test developed by Cambridge English Language Assessment for teachers of English to speakers of other languages. The TKT tests knowledge of concepts related to language, language use and the background to and practice of language teaching and learning. TKT consists of three core modules: language and background to language learning and teaching; lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching; and managing the teaching and learning process. There is also a practical module and a further three specialist modules (Knowledge About Language, CLIL, Young Learners).

Teacher development serves a longer-term goal and seeks to facilitate growth of the teacher’s general understanding of teaching, of the teaching context and of his or her performance as a teacher. It is often the focus of in-service education. It thus builds on the initial knowledge and skill base acquired through teacher training. One aspect of teacher development involves developing a deeper understanding of the knowledge base of language teaching. This has typically meant mastering the discipline of applied linguistics and developing a more advanced and theory- based body of knowledge, not linked to a specific teaching context. Applied linguistics encompasses the language-based subjects (e.g. grammar, phonology, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis), the learning-based subjects (e.g. second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, learning strategies), the teaching-based subjects (e.g. methodology, teaching the four skills) and the curriculum-based subjects (e.g. course design, materials design, assessment). 
Another dimension of teacher development, however, deals with the examination of different dimensions of one’s own practice as a basis for reflective review, and that can hence be seen as practitioner-driven. Qualifications in teacher development such as the DELTA course or an MA degree, are offered by training organizations and universities and are intended for teachers who have already developed their practical teaching skills and now wish to acquire the theory and knowledge base that supports these skills. Many such courses today are also available online or in distance mode, to suit the circumstances of the many practising teachers who are unable to take time off for full-time study.

Questions & Answers, Teacher education

CBLT – Is the focus of this approach on process or product?

Question:

Submitted by Nawal Amerioui, Algeria

It is said that CBLT is out-come oriented, yet they say that it is process-driven. Is really the focus of this approach on process or product?

Professor Richards Responds:

Competency-based language teaching is an example of an out-come based approach, or an example of backward design. See the article Curriculum Approaches in Language Teaching for more information.

Questions & Answers, Teaching

Constrastive Analysis

Question:

Submitted by Eliana Santos de Souza, Brazil

How do you do contrastive analysis of the written texts ( first draft, second draft or revising, and editing) produced by students in the process writing in EFL?

Professor Richards Responds:

Contrastive analysis has no role to play here.  If you wish to see how a student has modified a piece of wiritng during the different stages of the composition process, then you should look at the different aspects of writing that are involved. The different kinds of knowledge and skills learners need to acquire to become effective writers are summarised by Ken Hyland (Second Language Writing: Cambridge University Press 2003) as follows:

  • Content knowledge: How can topics for writing activities be chosen? Can students be involved in selecting topics to write about? And do students have the necessary background knowledge to write about topics they may choose or be asked to write about?
  • System knowledge: How will grammar be used to support their writing needs? What areas of grammar will be most useful to them?
  • Process knowledge: How will students get ideas and information to use in writing? Will they make use of the internet, group discussion, library research, etc.?
  • Genre and text knowledge: What kinds of texts will students learn to write? Do they need to improve their skill in composing particular kinds of texts, such as essays, business letters or reports? How will students become aware of the principle of organization underlying different types of writing, such as recounts, descriptions or business letters?
  • Context knowledge: How will students develop awareness of the influences on the writing context for the type of writing they engage in, as well as awareness of cultural factors that affect expectations about the nature of appropriate written texts?
Assessment, Questions & Answers, Teaching

How important is the teacher’s book in teaching?

Question:

Submitted by Jamal Zakeri, Iran

How important is the teacher’s book in teaching?

Professor Richards Responds:

A good teacher’s book lays out the basic principles of the coursebook and the recommended procedures for using the book. As such is it a guide for teachers, particulalry novice teachers who may have little teacher training or classroom experience.  It is like the instruction manual that comes with a new car. Once you are familiar with the car you won’t need to consult the manual very often. However with a course book the situation is a little different, since books are used in many different contexts and the information in the teacher’s book is likely to be very general and may need to be adapted to match the specific school context. It should be regarded as a springboard  to support creative teaching rather than a straight-jacket.

In the classroom, Questions & Answers, Teaching

Teaching a British Accent

Question:

Submitted by P.B.S.Krishnam Raju , India

Could you please suggest procedures to teach a British Accent to Advanced Level students?

Professor Richards Responds:

I assume the issue here is the wish for learners to modify the “Indianness” of their accent in English?  Not everyone would agree that this is a necessary goal in language learning, since one’s accent is a marker of one’s cultural identity. However sometimes a strong regional or national accent my impede understanding in some contexts,  hence the basis for your question. In order to address this isse the starting point is a diagnostic profile of the chracteristicss of the  learners’ current pronunciation. This is often done with a combination of measures, such as reading aloud, an interview, and participation in communication tasks. This will enable identification of core aspects of pronunciation that may need to be modified, whether these be vowels, consonants, or suprasegmentals. Then speciifc features need to be addressed one at a time, over a period of time, using the usual procedures found in pronunciation manuals. It is important to realize that in addressing difficulties with pronunciation, learners first need to notice the problem, they then need to understand how the sound feature is produced, and then need practice activities that move from controlled to freer practice.

Language learning, Questions & Answers, Teaching

Modern American English School in Antigua, Guatemala

Jack Richards provides a grant to enable young people in economic difficulty take English courses at the Modern American English School in Antigua, Guatemala. The pictures show some of the recipients of recent grants, together with school director Patricia Ruiz (in pink!) and one of the MAES teachers.

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Patronage

Difference Between Task, Exercise, Activity

Question:

Submitted by Jayanta Das, India

What is the difference between a task, an exercise and an activity?

Professor Richards Responds:

These terms are understood differently depending on who defines them. I use them as follows:

An exercise is a teaching procedure that involves controlled, guided or open ended practice of some aspect of language. A drill, a cloze activity, a reading comprehension passage can all be regarded as exercises.

The term activity is more general and refers to any kind of purposeful classroom procedure that involves learners doing something that relates to the goals of the course. For example singing a song, playing a game, taking part in a debate, having a group discussion, are all different kinds of teaching activities.

A task is normally defined as follows:

  • It is something that learners do, or carry out, using their existing language resources or those that have been provided in pre-task work.
  • It has an outcome which is not simply linked to learning language, though language acquisition may occur as the learner carries out the task.
  • It is relevant to learners’ needs.
  • It involves a focus on meaning.
  • In the case of tasks involving two or more learners, it calls upon the learners’
  • use of communication strategies and interactional skills.
  • It provides opportunities for reflection on language use.
Language learning, Questions & Answers

Autonomy

Question:

Submitted by Gethomil, Poland

Is autonomy an approach or a method?

Professor Richards Responds:

The notion of learner autonomy is neither an approach or a method but it really a philosophy or set of principles that can be used in association with different approaches and methods, and may influence how they are implemented in the classroom. The notion of learner autonomy means shifting the focus from the teacher to the learners. This means involving learners in decisions concerning setting objectives for learning, determining ways and means of learning, and reflecting on and evaluating what they have learned.Autonomous learning is said to make learning more personal and focused and consequently to achieve better learning outcomes since learning is based on learners’ needs and preferences . Benson has suggested five principles for achieving autonomous learning:

  1. Active involvement by students in their own learning
  2. Providing options and resources
  3. Offering choices and decision-making opportunities
  4. Supporting learners
  5. Encouraging reflection

In classes that encourage autonomous learning:

  • The teacher becomes less of an instructor and more of a facilitator.
  • Students are discouraged from relying on the teacher as the main source of knowledge.
  • Students’ capacity to learn for themselves is encouraged.
  • Students are encouraged to make decisions about what they learn.
  • Students’ awareness of their own learning styles is encouraged.
  • Students are encouraged to develop their own learning strategies.
Language learning, Questions & Answers, Teaching

Error Analysis

Question:

Submitted by Chiara Bauer, Italy

What concrete and specific advice would you give me, an EFL teacher, which is based on the findings of error analysis?

Professor Richards Responds:

I don’t think there are any specific suggestions that result directly from error analysis. Error analysis has largely been replaced by other kinds of research in the field of Second Language Acquisition. However one of the general conclusions that developed out of early work in error analysis was that errors are not necessarily signs of faulty learning, but are indication of a creative- construction process at work as learners test out hypotheses and abstract the underlying rules and principles that accounted for language knowledge. Teachers were encouraged to spend less time on correcting errors and trying to elicit error-free production, and more time on providing rich, meaningful input for learning. However there is a stage when persistent errors need attention in case they lead to fossilisation. Here error analysis may be useful, providing information on which kinds of errors are transitional and which may require attention in teaching.

Questions & Answers, Teaching

What are the stages of a speaking lesson?

Question:

Submitted by Tourya Saada, Morocco

What are the stages of a speaking lesson?

Professor Richards Responds:

It depends of what kind of speaking activity it is and what the demands are of that activity. For example in their Book Teaching Speaking, Goh and Burns recommend a seven-stage cycle of activities in a speaking lesson:

    1.     Focus learners’attention on speaking: Students think about a speaking activity, what it involves and what they can anticipate.

    2.     Provide input and/or guide planning: This may involve pre-teaching vocabulary, expressions or discourse features and planning for an activity they will carry out in class (e.g. a presentation or a transaction).

    3.     Conduct speaking task: Students practise a communicative speaking task with a focus on fluency.

    4.     Focus on language/skills/strategies: Students examine their performance or look at other performances of the task, as well as transcripts of how the task can be carried out, and review different features of the task.

    5.     Repeat speaking task: The activity is performed a second time.

    6.     Direct learners’reflection on learning: Students review and reflect on what they have learned and difficulties they encountered.

    7.     Facilitate feedback on learning: Teacher provides feedback on their performance.

In the classroom, Questions & Answers, Teaching

New Zealand Composers

nz-school-musicDr. Richards is an enthusiastic art and music lover and supporter of activities such as the Tiromoana Summer Concerts and the New Zealand School of Music Composer in Residence.

“Composers are often dependent upon commissions to enable them to devote time to full-time work on significant pieces. Many famous works in the musical repertoire resulted from private commissions, and in recent years I have begun sponsoring a range of both small-scale as well as larger-scale works by New Zealand (or New Zealand-based) composers, in order to help them enrich the New Zealand musical landscape.”

Music, Patronage

Jack C Richards Decorative Art Gallery opens

20-DSC_2614The new Jack C Richards Decorative Art Gallery, part of the Tairawhiti Museum in Gisborne, New Zealand, opened on 16th May, 2014.

See here for more about the gallery and the collections in it.

See here for a video about the new gallery.

News

Kiri Te Kanawa’s birthday

Patronage

Jack Richards and Kiri Te Kanawa at a function at the Royal Opera House, London, in March, to celebrate Dame Kiri’s birthday and long association with the Royal Opera House

News

Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation

Since 2011 Jack has become a patron of the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation, and provides an annual grant to the foundation to support Dame Kiri’s work with young opera singers.

Dr. Richards appears in this promotional video for the Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation…

Patronage

Gareth Farr

gareth-farr-composerJack commissioned a piano concerto by leading New Zealand composer Gareth Farr. The first performance of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra was performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra on March 28, 2014, with pianist Tony Lee. Read a review of the concerto here.

Music, Patronage

Gareth Farr Concerto

Orchestra-Review_IPThe first performance of Gareth Farr’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, commissioned by Jack Richards, was performed with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and pianist Tony Lee  on March 28, 2014. The concerto has received rave reviews on its first performance. Read the reviews here, here and here.

Music, News