Topic

Books


Authors

Approach vs. Method

Richards, J & Rodgers. (2001). Approaches and methods in language teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chapter 2 ‘The nature of approaches and methods in language teaching’ p. 18-35.

JACK C. RICHARDS

Professor Jack C. Richards is an internationally recognized authority on English-language acquisition, teacher training, and materials design. A well-known lecturer and consultant, he has taught at universities in the United States, China, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Indonesia, and Brazil. Professor Richards' many successful publications include the Interchange series, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, and Curriculum Development in Language Teaching.

THEODORE S. ROGERS

Dr. Theodore Rodgers has been a faculty member at the University of Hawaii since 1968 and has been Professor of Psycholinguistics since 1976. In Hawaii, he has served on the faculties of Education, English, English as a Second Language, Information Sciences and Psychology. For fifteen years he directed the Hawaii English Program, the largest venture in language education curriculum development as yet undertaken in the U.S. He has authored some sixty books and articles and is co-author (with Jack Richards) of a text on language teaching methodology, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching (Cambridge University Press, Second edition 2001).

Topic

Books


Authors

Teaching across age levels and teaching across proficiency levels

Tomlinson, B. (1986). ‘Using poetry with mixed ability language classes’ in ELT Journal 40(1): 33-41

BRIAN TOMLISON, Ph.D

Dr Brian Tomlinson is considered to be one of the world's leading experts on materials development for language learning. In 1993 he established the world's first MA dedicated to the study of materials development for language learning (at the University of Luton in the UK) and he founded MATSDA (the internationally renowned Materials Development Association). He launched the journal Folio and ran a number of materials writing workshops in the UK and in Botswana, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, the Seychelles, Singapore, Turkey and Vietnam. In addition he has given plenary presentations on materials development in over sixty countries.

His many books on materials development are considered to be the leaders in the field. They include Materials Development in Language Teaching (Cambridge University Press (1998, 2011), Developing Materials for Language Teaching (Continuum: 2003), English Language Learning Materials: A Critical Review (Continuum: 2008), Research for Materials Development in Language Learning - with Hitomi Masuhara (Continuum: 2010) and Applied Linguistics and Materials Development - with Hitomi Masuhara (Continuum: 2012). He has also just finished a state of the art survey of the literature on materials development published in the Cambridge University Press journal Language Teaching. Dr Tomlinson has also published books on language teaching methodology (Teaching Secondary English - with Rod Ellis: Longman 1980), on language through literature (Openings: Penguin: 1994) and on language awareness (Discover English - with Rod Bolitho: Macmillan 1995), as well as contributing to textbooks for Bulgaria, for China, for Ethiopia, for Japan, for Malaysia, for Morocco, for Nigeria, for Turkey, for Namibia, for Singapore and for Zambia. He is currently a Visiting Professor at Leeds Metropolitan University, and an Advisor for the British Council English Language Advisory Group.

Topic

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Authors

The grammar-translation method and the direct method

Larsen-Freeman, D. (1986). Techniques and principles in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 2 ‘The Grammar Translation Method’ p. 11-22 Chapter 3 ‘The direct method’ p. 23-34

DIANE LARSEN-FREEMAN

Diane Larsen-Freeman received her PhD in linguistics from the University of Michigan. Following appointments at UCLA and the Graduate SIT Institute, she returned to the University of Michigan in January 2002 to direct the English Language Institute for six years. She is currently a research scientist emerita at the English Language Institute, as well as a professor of education emerita, a professor of linguistics emerita, and a faculty associate of the Center for the Study of Complex Systems at Michigan. Larsen-Freeman has made presentations in sixty-five countries around the world and is the author of eight books. She was the editor of the journal Language Learning for five years.

Larsen-Freeman focuses her research and interests on attempting to understand the process of second language acquisition. She also researches English grammar. She regards English grammar not only as a set of structural patterns, but also as an important resource for making meaning and for adapting language appropriately to the communicative context. In addition, she has found that chaos/complexity theory provides new insights into language, its acquisition, and its use. She sees all three as complex, non-linear, dynamic processes. Such a perspective has contributed to her dynamic view of language, which she has applied to teaching grammar, or “grammaring” as she calls it. The approach also acknowledges the individual paths that students chart to second language success and views teaching as fundamentally a process of managing learning.

Diane-Larsen Freeman retired as of December 31, 2012.