Washback is an important concept in education because it describes the effect that testing has on teaching and learning in the classroom. Washback is generally perceived as being either negative (harmful) or positive (beneficial). Negative washback is said to occur when a test’s content or format is based on a narrow definition of language ability, and...
Learning a foreign language like English, which is based on the alphabetic system, is easy for students whose mother tongue is also an alphabetic one like Greek. Since words of Greek origin are widely used in English, things are even better for Greek students.Moreover, both English and Greek are considered SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) languages, which, in...
Grammar and Vocabulary are deemed by many as the cornerstones of language learning. Although this claim does have merit, as these two elements will establish a sound foundation to build upon, both educators and students alike must also acknowledge the fact that there is a broader picture to examine. What about productive skills like writing or speaking...
B1 level has been characterized as the pillar in the acquisition process concerning the L2 language. This can be easily justified if we take into account the fact that at this level, students are asked to live up to the expectations of a more demanding learning procedure. No matter what the skill is (reading, writing, listening, or speaking), the topics...
Welcome to this teaser of grammar nonsense. It contains three new chapters that are a taste of what we cover in our more extended collection of rants and reflections on how the ELT industry views grammar and how it should be learnt and taught.
Grammar nonsense is a collective, industry-wide problem where each individual part of the ‘family’ -education...
Young learners have a long time ahead of them with the language. There is no need to rush into technical rules and labels that will confuse. It seems likely to be far better to give children a sound basis in using the language while encouraging curiosity and talk about patterns and contrasts in and between languages and introducing grammatical...
The differential factor of B1+ B2 is the word autonomy:
The official level descriptor is “upper intermediate”. At this level, students can function independently in a variety of academic and professional environments in English, although with a limited range of nuance and precision. Independence is a massively significant factor and one underlying all...
Do we need grammar?
My first thought when somebody asks the question do we need grammar? is “of course we do, what are you talking about?” Still, bitter experience has taught me that easy answers are not necessarily, or even usually, correct, especially when the question itself is ambiguous, so I then go on to consider the question more...
Mention the word “grammar” and students will cringe. In fact, most teachers will cringe, too. Of course, teachers know correct grammar rules, but it’s one thing to know them, and another thing to effectively teach them, and transmit them so that students not only understand the rules, but also apply them correctly. Many experienced teachers say that...
