Why IS TTT IMPORTANT?

Supplies comprehensible input for the S.

Helps in the organization of the classroom + process of acquisition. Provides Ss with a good model for pronunciation and language use.

Classroom Management
Excessive TTT has a cost...

Who does most of the talking in class?

Dominant source of listening Ss become passive listeners and learners.

Some views on TTT, STT and the use of L1 in the EFL classroom Boredom Ss switch off from the lesson. Talking in the classroom is necessary , because it is one of the ways to foster communicative skills since the teacher becomes the Neither cooperative learning nor model of the process, but doing it excessively may affect the development interaction is fostered. of students competence..

Bla, Bla, Bla.

During TTT:

During STT:

Teachers role: dominant, controller.

Teachers role: guide, prompter, facilitator. Increased interaction opportunities among Ss relying on their skills. Different interaction patterns: GW, IW, PW.

IRT the dominant interactional pattern: Initiation, response, feedback.

Long and, many times, unnecessary explanations. Follow-up questions. (T) Not enough wait time for Ss.

Follow up questions. (Ss)

Chance to guess and predict. Shy Ss are encouraged to speak a lot of scaffolding: small steps. Students role: active. St- centred class. Ss autonomy is maximized.

Students role: receptive.

T- centred class.

T decides what and when Ss learn.

L1: Should it prevail in L2 class?

Pros:

It is a learners preferred strategy (Danchev).

L1 as Duff says should be used to provoke discussion and speculation, to develop clarity and
flexibility of thinking.

Cons:

Code switching the learners proportion of target L2 use also increases (Strong 1986; Zilm

1989).

Excessive use of L1 the teacher and/or students begin to feel that they have not really understood any item of the language until it has been translated (Atkinson 1987).
In the CL classroom , teachers should always promote the use of L2, even when giving instructions or clarifying points. If an appropriate balance is achieved, the use of L1 will enhance an L2 classroom.

The Teachers main task is to do a dynamic work involving several activities to obtain the goals he or she had traced in the lesson planning from the very beginning.

How to foster STT in class

Move from language control activities to communication activities from a T-centred class to a S centred class.

Use paralinguistic features of language (facial expressions, gestures, proximity, posture echoing and eye contact).

Apply different interaction patterns : GW, PW, IW, self-access. Design personalized, significant and meaningful activities and tasks. Promote cooperative learning and creativity. Try to avoid boredom and confusion over task through clear instructions. Keep in mind that activities need to be set up so all the students (strong as well as weak) are en couraged to speak.

Conclusions

A good teacher maximises STT and minimises TTT (Harmer 2007).

The best lessons are ones where STT is maximized, and provide volume of L2 practice and where teachers talk at the appropriate time.

Teachers should reduce TTT where and when it is necessary, taking into account the quality of their TTT and how it is used.

An ideal teacher would talk using clear and useful prompts to motivate an encourage students to get the most out of them, and promote the participation of all students.

In the classroom there must be a balance between TTT and STT, remember that both are important for enhancing the students input and output. There must also be a balance between the use of L1 and non linguistic forms of communication (gestures, images, videos, etc.)

The communicative approaches offer a multiple set of options to achieve meaningful learning by doing activities in which the students play an active role by talking talking. References and Bibliography instead of the teacher's

Darn Steve . 2004.

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/teacher-talking-time Harmer, Jeremy .2007. How to teach English. Pearson Education Ltd. England.

Teacher Talking Time. Izmir University of Economics, Turkey Teachingenglish.org.uk.