Teach English
Adrian Doff
Cambridge University Press 2004
1
Introduction
 This book is a training course for teachers of English as a
foreign language.
 It can be used on refresher courses or on in-service/ preservice courses.
 It contains practical instructions
 It handles a wide array of teaching situations
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How the book is built
It contains 24 units.
It caters for all levels (elementary through advanced)
Each unit is built around a topic and stands as a training
session.
Each training session is made up of an introduction,
workbook activities, lesson preparation and further
readings.
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Content
 Presenting Vocabulary;
 Eliciting;
 Asking Questions;
 Teaching Basic Reading
 Presenting Structures;
 Reading Activities;
 Using the Board;
 Correcting Errors;
 Using a Reading Text;
 Listening Activities;
 Using Visual Aids;
 Communicative Activities;
 Planning a Lesson;
 Using English in Class;
 Teaching Basic Reading;
 Role play;
 Teaching Pronunciation;
 Using Worksheets;
 Teaching Handwriting;
 Classroom Tests;
 Pairwork and Groupwork;
 Planning a Week’s Teaching;
 Writing Activities;
 Self-Evaluation
4
Who the Course Is For
This book is designed to met the needs of teachers who:
 Teach in large classes with few resources
 Follow a set syllabus and textbooks, and have little control
over content or choice of material
 Are not native speakers of English
 Have little time available for lesson planning
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Stucture of the Course
 The course contains 24 units, each focusing on a different
area of methodology and provides material for about four
hours’ training.
 The units can be tackled independently as they are selfcontained.
 The course comprises a Trainer’s Handbook and a
Teacher’s Workbook.
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Using the Course
 To be effective, this course should be used with groups of
not more than 30 teachers.
 Every teacher should have a copy of the workbook
 Using the course involves three main kinds of activity:
demonstrations, discussions and pair and group activities
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Demonstrations
 When a new technique is introduced, itis usually
demonstrated.
 The demonstration is sometimes at the teachers’own
language level; sometimes it is at the language level of
their students.
 The trainer’s handbook gives notes onhow to conduct each
demonstration.
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Discussions
 New ideas are presented in the form of disussions, in
which the teachers participate and contribute their own
ideas
 This involves the teachers and allows them to bring their
own experiencesto bear on the topic under discussion
 It also helps the trainers to see how well the teachers have
understood the new ideas
 For a successful discussion, it is important for the trainer
not to impose his ideas and to accept different points of
view.
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Pair and Group activities
Pair or group activities have three stages:
1. Introduction to the activity
2. The activity itself: teachers work independently in pairs
or in groups
3. A round-up stage where the pairs or groups share their
answers or conclusions.
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Lesson preparation
 It is the final activity in each unit. Teachers plan a lesson
incorporating ideas and techniques that have been
introduced in the training session.
 The preparation can be done under the trainer’s guidance
or in the teacher’s own time, in pairs or in groups. The
Workbok provides detailed instruction for ‘Lesson
Preparation’.
 Teachers should try out their preparation soon after the
training session in their classes.
 They can also practice peer teaching or write detailed
lesson plans
11
Self-Evaluation Sheets
These sheets aim to:
Develop teachers’ own self-awareness, so that they can
improve their own teaching independently.
Encourage teachers to think of their lessons from the
learners’ point of view, and shift the focus of attention
from teaching to learning.
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These sheets can be used in several ways:
Teachers complete the sheet privately after they have tried
new ideas or techniques
The sheet can be used for informal discussion sessions
organized by groups of teachers in case they are attending
the same training program.
It can be completed by both teacher and supervisor
observing the lesson, and then used for discussion and
comment.
It can be used by as an observation sheet by other teachers
in the case of peer teaching
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Adapting the Course
 Examples, vocabulary and situation can be replaced by
equivalent ones from the teachers’ own textbook.
 Where necessary, situations can be adapted to make them
locally relevant
 Where texts are intended as examples for use in class, they
can be substituted by equivalent texts from the teachers’
own textbook.
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English Teaching methodology
 The book does not preach one single method or approach,
but draws on what is of value both in traditional and in
more recent approaches.
 The book also follows the recent trend in methodology
and shifts the the emphasis from the teacher to the learner.
Teachers are asked to experience and evaluate techniques
from the learner’s point of view.
 Although the subject of the book is teaching English, the
course aims to make teachers more aware of their role as
helpers in the learning process.
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1. Presenting Vocabulary
Vocabulary can be presented in different ways:
 pictures, visuals, gestures, drawings, and facial
expression
 Giving an example, using the word in context. This works
well with abstract words.
 Translating the word into the students’ mother tongue
 A combination of different techniques. For example, the
word ‘smile’.
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Which words to present?
 Active vocabulary: words that students need to understand
and also use themselves.
 Passive vocabulary: words we want the students to
understand, but which they will not need to use
themselves.
It is worth emphasizing that students should understand
far more words than they can produce, so we should not
treat all new words as active vocabulary.
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2.Asking Questions
Why do teachers ask questions?
 To check that students understand.
 To give the students practice
 To find out what students really think or know.
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Types of Questions
 There are different types of questions:
 Yes/no questions used mainly to check comprehension
 “Or” question, sometimes called alternative questions and
the reply is usually a word or phrase. From the question
itself.
 Wh- questions, also called information questions and the
natural answer is usually short.
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Questioning Strategies
 The teacher asks the question and simply lets students call
out the answer,
 He asks the question and pauses to give the whole class a
chance to think of the answer,
 He may first choose a student, and then asks him a
question,
 He may ask a question and let students raise their hands if
they think they know the answer.
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 This strategy encourages bright students and makes the
class seem to be successful because students are
volunteering answers.
 If it is the only strategy used, it allows the class to be
dominated by the best students while weaker and shy
students tend to be excluded.
 It also makes it easy for students to avoid answering
questions.
 it is a good strategy to use for difficult questions that only
some students will be able to answer.
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3. Blackboard Use
 Presenting new words
 Showing spelling
 Giving a model for handwriting
 Writing prompts for practice
 Drawing a picture
 Presenting structures
 Drawing tables, diagrams
 Eliciting
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Writing on the Board
 Write clearly
 Write in a straight line
 Stand in a way that does not hide the board
 Talk as you write.
 The most important item should be written in the centre.
 Key vocabulary should be written down the side of the
board.
 Drawing should be simple (stick figures)
 Draw quickly to keep the interest of the class.
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4.Using a Reading Text
The purpose defines the way a text is used:
 To develop reading comprehension skills?
 To present new words and structures?
 To practice language?
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Silent Reading
 Students need to develop the skill of reading silently as
this is the case in the real world.
 In silent reading, students concentrate on the text and
think about meaning.
 Students read at their own speed, and if they donot
understand a sentence, they can always go back and read it
again.
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Reading Aloud
 Reading a text aloud while students are following in their

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books means that they are compelled to follow the speed
of the teacher.
Can be useful at the earliest stages of reading
Is not a very useful technique because only one student is
reading at a time;
Students’ attention is focused on pronunciation.
It is not only unnatural, but also time-consuming
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Activities before Reading
 Presenting new vocabulary. Only the words which make it
very difficult to understand the text need to be presented.
 Introducing the text (theme).
 Guiding questions: give the students a reason to read the
text and to lead them towards the main points of the texts.
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Checking Comprehension
 Short-answer questions to break down the meaning of the
text
 Teacher asks his/ her own questions and leaves the
questions in the textbook to be answered in pairs or as
homework.
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Follow-up Activities
 Texts can be used as a basis for language practice
 Discussion questions
 Reproducing the text
 Role-playing
 Gap-filling
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5.Practising Structures
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The presentation of a
structure is followed by
different ways of
practising it:
Repetition
Substitution
Single-word prompts
Picture prompts
Free substitution
 A single lesson would not
of course include all these
stages.
 The stages are in no fixed
order; some of them
overlap.
 Students practise in
meaningful situations
 They say real things about
themselves
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6. Using Visual Aids
 Visual aids include: the teacher, the board, real objects,
flashcards, charts, flannel boards, magnet board, slides,
film strips, colored rods etc…
 They focus attention on meaning, making the language
used in class more real and alive
 They keep the students’ attention, making the class more
interesting
 They can be used at any stage of the lesson
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Flashcards
Flashcards can be used for a multitude of purposes:
 To present a new word
 To imagine a situation
 To use a particular structure
When we use a picture, students see what meaning to
express but have to find the words themselves. This
focuses their attention on meaning and prevents the
activity from being completely mechanical.
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7. Planning a Lesson
Four main things a teacher needs to know before going into
the class to teach a lesson:
 The aim of the lesson
 What new language the lesson contains.
 The main stages of the lesson (the different activities)
 What to do at each stage
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The Stages of a Lesson:
 Presentation
 Practice
 Production
 Reading
 Listening
 Review
The students need to know the aim of the lesson as a
whole and the purpose of each stage.
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Writing a Lesson Plan
 Helps the teacher to decide exactly what he will do and
how he will do it.
 Boosts the teacher’s self confidence.
 Allows the teacher to look at it after the lesson and use it
to evaluate what happened
 It can be kept and used later.
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8. Writing Activities
A/Controlled writing
Activities:
 Gap-filling exercises: Students listen then write out the
complete sentence.
 Re-ordering words to write the sentences correctly.
 Substitution: Students write a true sentence about
themselves
 Correcting the facts: Students rewrite the sentences so that
they match the picture.
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Dictation
Advantages:
 An intensive activity
which makes the students
concentrate
 The teacher can keep good
control of the class.
 It develops listening as
well as writing.
Disadvantages:
 Time-consuming
 It develops spelling more
than writing
 It is unrealistic. Listening
is word by word and at an
unnaturally slow speed.
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Guided Writing
This can be done in two ways:
 By giving the students a short text as model. For example,
A Student’s Day and the students will write about their
day.
 By doing oral preparation for the writing: the students
make suggestions and the teacher builds an outline or a
list of key expressions on the board. The ideas come from
the students themselves, and it does not require specially
prepared texts.
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Correcting Written Work
 Correcting work orally in class is a good idea for a large class.
 Correcting work immediately in class means the teacher can
draw students’ attention to problems while they are still fresh in
their minds.
 Getting students to correct either their own or each other’s
work takes time in the lesson; but it gives students useful
practice in reading through what they have written and in
noticing mistakes. It is also a good way of keeping the class
involved.
 Correcting in class works best with fairly controlled writing
activities, where there are not too many possible answers
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9. Correcting Errors
 Teachers are afraid of their students making errors and so
they feel they must make sure everything the students say
is correct
 Making errors is a natural and unavoidable part of the
process of language learning.
 Students’ errors are a very useful way of showing what
they have and have not learnt.
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 Most teachers would agree that we need to correct some
errors, to help students learn the correct form of the
language. But this does not mean that we have to correct
students all the time.
 As far as possible, teachers encourage the students,
focusing on what they have got right, not on what they
have got wrong.
 Teachers should praise students for correct answers so that
they feel they’re making progress
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 Teachers should praise students for correct answers so that
they feel they’re making progress
 Teachers should avoid humiliating students.
 Errors should be corrected quickly so as not to hold up the
lesson.
 In written work, the teacher could correct only the errors
that seem most important, or only errors of a certain kind.
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10. Listening Activities
 We cannot develop listening skills unless we develop
speaking skills.
 Later, the ability to understand spoken language may
become very important (listening to the radio,
understanding foreign visitors, etc.)
 To develop this ability, learners need plenty of practice in
listening to English spoken to them at normal speed.
 Listening to spoken English, especially for learners with
little or no exposure to the language, is an important way
of acquiring it.
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Types of Listening in Real Life
 Casual listening: Sometimes we listen with no particular
purpose as when listening to the radio while doing
homework.
 Focused listening: At other times, we listen for a particular
purpose, to find out information we need to know.
(listening to a piece of important news on the radio,
listening to instructions) Here we listen much more
closely and for particular information.
In class, it’s this type of listening that we are usually
concerned with.
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Helping Students to listen
 Introduce the topic and give one or two guiding questions
 Play the cassette once without stopping, and discuss the
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
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guiding questions
Play the cassette again focusing on important points.
Replay particular parts to make sure the students pick up
certain phrases.
Divide the listening text into parts
Ask student to follow the text in their books while
listening to it on tape.
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Getting Students to Predict
 An important part of the listening skill is being able to
predict what the speaker is going to say next.
 Asking the students to guess what will happen next helps
them develop their listening skills and a way of keeping
the class actively involved in listening.
 This is specially useful in telling stories to the class;
a natural part of listening to an interesting story is to
wonder what will happen next.
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11. Communicative Activities
 In real life, we communicate because we have
communicative needs. Although this is not the only
reason why people communicate, very often, we talk in
order to tell people things they do not know, or to find
things out from other people.
 Classroom communication is effective when there is a real
need for it. We can do this by hiding the information,
either from all the students or from one student.
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Guessing games: The students ask questions they
want to ask, not ones that the teacher wants them to ask.
It is a good idea for the teacher to stand aside and let the
student take over the activity.
 Information gap: Two students are given different
information. One student has the information and the other
student has to find out by asking questions.
 Exchanging personal information: students
tell each other about their own lives, interests,
experiences.
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Thank you
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