Gareth Davies

Mixed ability classes are a fact of life. We know as teachers that learning doesn’t take place in lockstep: some students learn faster, some slower, some gradually, some in spurts. Some can do the grammar but can’t speak, while some can speak nonstop but make loads of errors. Others know all the words but can’t spell. Similarly, some students learn what we teach them, and some learn what they hear while gaming or scrolling TikTok. As well as ability, we also have a range of backgrounds, previous learning experiences and expectations – from those who want games and projects...

I very much enjoyed Diana Bauducco’s article in MET 34.2 ‘Death by worksheet’, not least because I often find myself clearing away the worksheets left behind by my colleagues’ students before my class can start. This breaks my heart on two levels; one, I lament the damage we are doing to our planet, and two, I can see that by leaving the worksheets behind, the students hold this learning material in such little regard that it evidences the arguments that Diana was making about student engagement and personalisation. The kind of worksheets I often find in my classroom fall...

OK, I’m going to set a time limit, I want you to read the text quickly, don’t worry about any words you don’t know, just try to get a general understanding.’ If you have done an initial training course such as the Trinity CertTESOL or the CELTA, you will recognise these gist reading instructions, and you have probably uttered them yourself on many occasions. The idea of skim reading or reading for gist is considered to be a fundamental part of the reading process in ELT – coursebooks encourage it, initial training courses still insist on it, in-service observation...

All the talk in teaching over the last 10 years has been about global skills, especially the four ‘C’s: creativity; critical thinking; collaboration; and communication. These, apparently, are the skills that will prepare students for an ever-changing world. Recently, other skills like cultural awareness, digital competencies and emotional self-regulation have been added to the original four. Coursebooks claim they integrate them, courses claim to develop them, businesses say they want them, ergo they have found their way into our everyday teaching, alongside the language and skills. But for all this talk of four ‘C’s, I think there are two...

Dialogue building Gareth Davies, Wales, UK I did a controlled practice with a group of pre-intermediates recently. This was one of the gap-fill sentences. What do you think James _____ ______ me? I am sure it’ll be something nice. The answer was will get. So, during feedback I asked them what they thought James will buy. They looked at me blankly. They had filled in the gap from the options without fully understanding the sentence. I realised that the students weren’t concerned with the meaning, just with getting the right answer in the gap. I then caught myself doing exactly the...

Writing whispers Gareth Davies, Wales, UK Do you ever play a whispering game where you whisper a sentence to one student, then they pass it down a line and you see how accurate it is when the final student hears it? Well, this is a writing version of that game that encourages students to be creative and can be used with almost any language point and at any level. All you need are some pictures, some paper and your students’ imagination. Put the students into pairs or small groups and give each group a different picture and some paper or a mini...

Who wants to write a story? Gareth Davies shows how creative writing can boost your students’ confidence and ability and give you an idea of where they are.