Claim OwnershipEnglish Out There - Exploding the Myth of ELT
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English Out There explodes the myth of English language teaching (ELT) that the global education industry would rather you didn't know about. English Out There is a hugely effective way to learn to speak English. Listen to me, Jason West, and top EOT teacher Caroline Swinton based in Italy (see her on Facebook) talk about how EOT works and why it is so effective.
Listen to EOT teachers working with learners like you from around the world...can you recognise and hear that it is a completely different kind of process compared to the usual type of English lessons that most of the world is sold and has been for decades? Listen to me talking with other educators about English language learning in the 21st century. EOT involves using some unique learning content before having focused and effective learning conversations .
EOT gets you using new language with fluent and native speakers...and it works and is a lot of fun!
WARNING: Occasional contextually appropriate profanity :-)
141 Episodes
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That's rather a challening title isn't it? Well, Judy, Caroline and myself all really don't like to call ourselves "teachers" because, as you will hear if you listen, we feel the word doesn't describe what we do and is sort of obsolete in today's world. Are you wedded to the notion that "teaching" is (still) the right word to slap onto the role of someone who supposedly helps others to acquire usable skills and knowledge? If you are we three would, respectfully, invite you to listen to our rationale and give it some thought in the context of your day-to-day activities with other people's brains and the learning outcomes you are hoping to achieve with them. If you are on LinkedIn you might even like to go and contribute to the discussion below a post Judy put up a week ago about education in Finland versus education in North America. You can read it HERE To learn more about the contributors to this podcast visit:Caroline Swinton - https://www.facebook.com/madrelinguadilondraJudy Thompson - https://thompsonlanguagecenter.com/#aboutjudythompsonJason West - https://englishoutthere.com/about-us/about-us
This week Caroline and I talk with our special guest Caprice Jackson, the director of the English Out There summer school. Caprice has been running it every year since 2009 and has a wealth of knowledge about languages, language learning, teaching English (in a London further education college) and the summer school style of English Out There...carried out without classrooms and on the streets of London for real speaking practice with Londoners in every session!Listen to Jason and Caroline discuss with Caprice how EOT stopped using classrooms completely years ago and how Caprice has adapted her teaching style from the classroom to the public realm with huge success in terms of learner speaking improvement in just the ten lessons (2 weeks) with each separate group. The conversation starts with the EOT summer school and then moves into how both Caroline and Caprice see the method or process of EOT to be completely different from conventional ELT and much more inherently personalised and contextually meaningful for each and every individual learner.There were a few surprises along the way! Have a listen.To learn more about the contributors to this podcast visit:Caprice Jackson - https://www.linkedin.com/in/caprice-jackson-84951911Caroline Swinton - https://www.facebook.com/madrelinguadilondraJason West - https://englishoutthere.com/about-us/about-usIf you are a learner and wish to buy some EOT learning materials click HEREIf you are someone who wishes to use EOT to help learners to speak English and want some materials click HERE
This week Caroline wanted to say a bit more on formal learning outcomes in mainstream education leading into ELT and how we both find it perpetually surprising that the billions of English learners are, in our view, being not only let down but, worse, blamed for their failure to speak by the ELT status quo. It is changing and new ways of working have developed but no hugely profitable hegemony gives up without a scrap and Jason talks about innovating and the backlash that he experienced by just doing something differently and proving it. And proof, real proof of efficacy, should we both think be a mainstay of marketing in such an important and (potentially) life-changing practice, but it isn't. Look around! Or have a listen :-)To learn more about the contributors to this podcast visit:Caroline Swinton - https://www.facebook.com/madrelinguadilondraJason West - https://englishoutthere.com/about-us/about-us
We've got Judy back! Yay! This one is fairly broad ranging. At the start Judy responds to Caroline and Jason's discussion in episode 7 about context in learning English and other topics then the three discuss teaching and global systemic educational outcomes and how learners are actually constrained by the prevailing orthodoxy in the opinion of the participants which segways into a discussion on difference and autism. The episode ends with some background on the educational backgrounds and experiences of all three and how they relate to how they learnt at school and how they all learn and work in education now.To learn more about the contributors to this podcast visit:Caroline Swinton - https://www.facebook.com/madrelinguadilondraJudy Thompson - https://thompsonlanguagecenter.com/#aboutjudythompsonJason West - https://englishoutthere.com/about-us/about-us
So, after a week away due to some 'field activities' by Jason, Caroline and Jason discuss learners conventional perceptions of what an English language course is and what they perceive as the level of indoctrination suffered by many many learners around the world and how this affects their progress. This then leads into a discussion of the importance of "context" in the learning process (originally meant to be the sole focus but listen to find out why it got shoved down the order). Caroline and Jason both explain what "context" means to them in their work helping people to speak English comfortably, finally. Have a listen, let them know what you think in the comments and do please share this with anyone you think it might be of interest to!To learn more about the contributors to this podcast visit:Caroline Swinton - https://www.facebook.com/madrelinguadilondraJason West - https://englishoutthere.com/about-us/about-us
"Pattern Transfer = Language" - Listen to Caroline Swinton, Judy Thompson and Jason West discuss patterns in English language teaching and learning and how you can use the human brain's natural language acquisition ability to dramatically improve the speaking and writing ability of your students. There really aren't many teaching guides and course materials that exploit this very well researched but little applied phenomenon for the benefit of English language learners worldwide. Have a listen!To learn more about the contributors to this podcast visit:Caroline Swinton - https://www.facebook.com/madrelinguadilondraJudy Thompson - https://thompsonlanguagecenter.com/#aboutjudythompsonJason West - https://englishoutthere.com/about-us/about-us
International educational truth-monger Judy Thompson, author of English is Crazy and The Backpacker's Guide to Teaching English, joins Caroline and me on the podcast...yay! We do the intros and then get stuck into the general malaise of teaching (including teaching English) as we know it. It is a truly massive topic and one that has energised Judy and me very vociferously for a long time now. Caroline comes at this from a sligtly different angle, which is great, because it teases out stuff that is good to air and might have been missed. We collectively refuse to moderate our views and, in some instances, our language, so be warned, the 'F word', i.e. FAILURE is used (amongst other F words,...so be warned!).
In this episode Caroline brings up the big issue of English learners not understanding language during speaking practice and how she, Judy Thompson and her "English is Crazy" book, and others, approach it and try to fix it. Jason has his own slightly different slant on the problem and, in the context of how he and the English Out There method and learning materials work, explains how he thinks it happens and how he sets about trying to help learners to learn to cope with a lack of comprehension, to get over it fast, and then to flourish. Don't think these problems aren't linked to the conventional ELT system and how it prevents progress in learners' speaking....that's the corporatisation bit at the end...of course! :-) Have a listen!To engage with and possibly work with Caroline to improve your English visit her Facebook profile and message her.To learn more about Jason's 20+ years of work on helping learners to finally speak and to buy his unique learning content which support the method visit his English Out There website
Is there (or has there been) a post-colonial cash cow maintaining the ELT status quo? Listen to Jason West and Caroline Swinton discuss teacher/student ratios, relationship based personalisation, how the two affect speaking practice and their impact upon English course effectiveness and, ultimately, why they seem to have been ignored to enable commercial control and exploitation of the global desire to learn to speak English.
Millions upon millions of dedicated English learners around the world are spending hours and hours of their lives desperately trying to practise speaking English and failing to do it in an effective way. This is not some glib off-the-cuff remark it is a fact. Look at this Facebook group, specifically for speaking practice, and see that the 2.2m members are merely sharing jpegs and screenshots of freely available English language learning exercises they have found online. Sometimes they form WhatsApp groups and try to actually speak but that doesn't work either. So they are stuck in a 'doom loop' and all of the time and effort put in doesn't help them to finally become comfortable English speakers. Conventional ELT has conditioned them to think that hammering the grammar is going to help them to speak. It isn't and doesn't, the evidence is all around us.In this episode Caroline asks Jason about the way English Out There guides and supports effective English speaking practice from the first lesson and achieves transformational results after just a few sessions. Have a listen and do please share the link to your social media and peers if you think it is interesting and helpful. The learn more about Caroline's work and how she can help you go to her Facebook page.To learn more about Jason and EOT and the unique learning materials go to his website.This is what happens when learners try to practise speaking without preparing properly beforehand. Listen to Amy who called me on Skype years ago.If you want to hear how effective EOT is at getting learners speaking comfortably explore the other recordings with real learners on this podcast.
NEW PROGRAMME - Listen to Caroline Swinton (experienced English teacher and professional interpreter and translator of Italian) and Jason West (creator of EOT) begin their discussion around what they feel is the myth of ELT which has been prompted by their considerable experience of using the English Out There learning content and method to help English learners. Learners who'd thought they would never speak English comfortably, to finally achieve their goal after years of study on the type of English courses that around 1.5 billion people in the world every year put their faith in.To learn more about Caroline's work with learners go HERE.To learn more about Jason's work with learners go HERE.
I have a lot of great English conversations with Bernd. He is German but lives in Brazil. He wanted to become more fluent and natural with his English speaking. This is us talking in our second lesson and then in our twelfth. Can you hear a difference? :-) Bernd used the English Out There learning content and we talked and recorded our sessions on Skype.
So, this was my last session with Anthony, which was a shame as we get on really well but he doesn't need me any more, he knows what to do, has already improved and will go on improving.Today we started with me talking about the psychology of acquiring English speaking skills which Anthony seemed to appreciate and then as part of the lesson discussion we both talked about some rather unsettling memories from our childhoods.I also noticed that he was habitually using the present tense when he should have been using the past tense...listen for his reaction when I point it out. Interesting...it bamboozled his brain for a bit but he got there and if he listens to this clip a few times he will probably adjust naturally.Finally, at the end he told me an Australian work colleague of his told him recently that he thought Anthony had been born in Australia!
This was a fun conversation as usual. Stereotypes and specifically English stereotypes...so it was an amazing coincidence that I'd just shared a very provocative image of Prince William that a friend posted on Facebook in outrage (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10202462627269992&set=a.2676258948723.2147806.1323703051&type=1&relevant_count=1)Anthony didn't react the way I thought he would and I am going to let my Facebook friends hear what he had to say about the image. Let's keep this education thing going!I think I detected that Anthony's English has improved in the way he wanted it to and he'd had a conversation with someone I'd introduced him to via my volunteer group. He'd also been recording his meetings at work and listening to them again later...which is a fantastic idea...not just for work but also for your language skills. Listen out for my question about his reaction to hearing himself speak and how he explains what is does for him when he hears himself. Fascinating stuff. Well done Anthony!
This was a fun chat with Anthony, a self-confessed geek. He did well and tailored the questions to me specifically because he knows I do a lot of online work. We discussed big data, bitcoin and android apps as well as his work in Australia for local government.I think he's pretty busy so finding people to talk to online is tricky and he is a bit lazy because he is in Australia, an English speaking country and has English speaking friends :-)He said he practises with them, but I want him to record and listen to those conversations using his mobile phone (the Soundcloud app is great). The reason he wanted me to help him was to iron-out the things in his speech that caused slight misunderstanding with less sympathetic listeners at work. if he records conversations at work and listens again he will start to hear what he is doing that confuses people and should naturally correct.
This was Anton's first proper EOT session. He will do it with me each time first and then speak to a two or three other practice partners. Record everything and listen again...he's pretty good so I will try to pick up on things and be a bit tough. He just wants a polish! :-)
Anthony found me via the English Out There Facebook page (http://Facebook.com/EnglishOutThere) and he'd listened to some of my recordings with other learners.This is our first (before) conversation. We are going to use the SS5 upper-int course.
Here's Noemi before and after her short English Out There course in central London...again the product of ten classes that were conducted completely without the use of a classroom! Have a listen, can you hear a difference in the way Noemi speaks?
This is the first time since we started English Out There eleven years ago that we have taught it in London using no classrooms whatsoever.On the last day of a group's two week course (10 lesson/30 hours), as they were getting ready to say goodbye, I had a brief chat with Angelina one of the group leaders. She is an English teacher in a French secondary school.I was curious to hear what she and the students thought about our course, especially since we had done everything outside of the classroom.What Angelina told me made me ask her if I could interview her and put the clip online for others to hear. She very kindly said I could.Have a listen as Angelina, a veteran of seven study trips with teenage English learners, describes the differences between what all of the other English schools do and what we do. It made me a very happy man last Friday :-)
Charles is a lovely bloke and although his English wasn't great he volunteered to be recorded at the start and end of his EOT course in London.This year we decided not to use any classrooms at all to teach EOT. We wanted to stimulate the students' minds a bit more in the input stage (at the start of the lesson) by not asking them to go into a classroom (like they do all year at home).It seemed to work as, in anonymous written feedback, 78% gave the English Out There course 4 or 5 out of 5 (60.8% gave it 4, 17% gave it 5).Have a listen to see if you can hear a difference in the way Charles speaks English after just ten lessons over two weeks in London?
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