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Jul 2024
1h 36m

ELT has the WRONG input: Learners can't ...

teachertalkingtime
About this episode

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ELT provides the wrong input: language as it should be spoken not as it is spoken. This is wrong and Sheila Thorn gives us another way. 

Sheila Thorn is a teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer whose niche focuses on teaching listening. She founded The Listening Business in 1998 and is the author of countless seminal books that have moved our industry forward. She has recently embarked on a new career as an artist, specialising in portraits of people and animals.

Her latest publication, "Integrating Authentic Listening into the Language Classroom" is a must-read. 

In this episode, Sheila discusses: 

  • ELT having the wrong input 
  • coursebooks as impoverished language
  • learners being scared of real language 
  • how teacher training fails teachers as much as coursebooks fail students
  • the 5 listening goals every learner should have
  • a 3-pronged approach to teaching listening
  • the problem she is trying to solve in ELT

For more from Sheila:

1. The Listening Business

2. Connect on LinkedIn

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