Talented exam-focused teachers often teach deductively by using memorable ways of presenting explanations and then getting students to practice mechanical drills. This approach increases students declarative knowledge about language, especially in the short-term.
Nonetheless, practice is a necessary precondition to learn how to use language as a “tool” of communication. Unlike other subjects studied in school, language is a skill that is only meaningful in social interaction: Speaking requires a listener, writing requires a reader.
To achieve this, teachers need to create in-class opportunities for students to perform tasks that require a meaningful exchange of information.
Recent research also notes that inductive teaching, in which students have to do guesswork and derive rules about language use, is more effective for raising awareness of language usage and is retained longer.
Teachers need to persuade students of the rationale and value of in-class practice. This should not be a hard-sell because it is commonly known that a large population of the world — including many in international trade-centered Taiwan — increasingly require a proficiency in English for daily affairs like e-mailing and telephone calls, not to mention that managerial skills like writing reports and giving presentations are often necessary for career advancement.
A short-term view of tests needs to be balanced by long-term skill-building.
In other words, current methods of teaching and learning and testing should not compete, but be integrated with learner-centered CLT practice.
Although details need to be worked out depending on the teacher, class and institution, this is the challenge to all English language teachers in Taiwan: to glocalize ELT by balancing CLT-approaches and exam preparation.
Only then will teachers be able to motivate their students to learn how to use language for their own purposes.
Nigel Daly is the academic director at Kojen Adult Department (Gongguan branch).
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