Welcome to my newly designed website. I look forward to sharing information about my activities here and hope you enjoy exploring the site.
Jack C. Richards
Teaching Tips from Practitioners
There is a new feature on the website – Teaching Tips from Practitioners. This is where Professor Richards invites teachers to share examples of innovative, creative and effective teaching practices.
If you’d like to share a tip, please click here.
Question feature returns to the Website
From time to time Dr. Richards will respond to questions posed to him here.
From time to time Dr. Richards will respond to questions posed to him here.Only general questions related to important issues in language teaching will be answered. Questions on other issues will not be acknowledged or answered.
In many instances the information you need can be found on the internet so please search there before contacting Dr. Richards with a question.
50 on 50!
The International TESOL organization as part of their 50th anniversary have honored Jack Richards as one of the 50 TESOL specialists worldwide to have made a significant impact on language teaching in the last 50 years.
Glowing review in ELT Journal
A book edited by David Nunan and Jack Richards, Language Learning Beyond the Classroom, has received an excellent write-up in ELT Journal. Reviewer Phil Benson concluded:
Nunan and Richards end their preface to the book by outlining several themes that emerge from it. Out-of-class activities, they argue, address some of the limitations of classroom-based learning, especially through opportunities for authentic language use and real communication. Benefits include, in addition to the development of language and communication skills, enhanced confidence and motivation, personal growth, and intercultural awareness. They also conclude that there is a need to integrate out-of-class and classroom learning, by setting clear goals for out-of-class activities, preparing students, and providing follow-up activities. These are sound conclusions to a book that deserves to be widely read and discussed.
The full review is available at the ELT Journal website.
Dr. Richards introduces 14 year old piano prodigy
See Lixin Zhang play on the Tiromoana Summer Concerts page…
New Video Interview
Professor Merrill Swain interviewed Dr. Richards in January 2016 about his new book: Key Issues in Language Teaching.
Dr. Richards becomes the patron of music competition
As long-time supporter of the Gisborne International Music Competition, Jack has been invited to become the patron of the event.
Curator for decorative arts collection
Ms. Jane Putnam has been appointed curator of the Jack C Richards decorative arts collection. In this capacity she will develop a data base for the several hundred items in the collection, monitor the condition of items, prepare documentation on pieces and liaise with galleries displaying items from the collection.
Jack’s new book published
Key Issues in Language Teaching – a major overview and discussion of the field of English language teaching, was published in September 2015, by Cambridge University Press. Jack has been working on this project for over 5 years. The final book is 826 pages and is available both as a print book and an e-book.
Joshua Han wins two prizes in Aarhus
Jack’s 12 year old piano protégé Joshua Han won his second international young pianist’s competition in less than a year, winning both the Category A 1st Prize as well as the Audience Prize at the prestigious Aarhus International Piano Competition for young pianists in Denmark in March 2015. In August 2014 Joshua won the first prize in the Ettlingen International Competition for Young Pianists, in Ettlingen, Germany.
Josh and his family were guests at Jack’s New Zealand summer house in January 2015, and Josh and his brother Oscar – a very talented violinist – performed at a charity concert in Gisborne.
Second performance of Farr piano concerto
The piano concerto commissioned by Jack from New Zealand composer Gareth Farr in 2014, had a repeat performance on April 1 2015.
Pianist Tony Lee returned to perform the concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London.
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.
Korean Book Translation
Two of Dr. Richards books will be published in Korean Translations: Curriculum Development in Language Teaching, and Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching.
Award for Patronage
Dr. Richards has been awarded the Award for Patronage 2014, by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand, acknowledging his support for music and the arts. Read more here.
Honorary Professor at the University of Auckland
Dr Richards has accepted an invitation to join the Faculty of Education at the University of Auckland as an honorary professor. In this role he will consult with research students and give guest lectures.