59 - Microwave ready meals
The way we teach listening is not effective.
We have recipes and ingredients. But what we do in listening activities is akin to being at a cookery school where pupils are eager to learn how to cook exciting things.
But they are disappointed to find that the course consists only of smelling and tasting pre-cooked oven-ready or microwave meals.
They are dismayed that they cannot cook for themselves, and blame themselves for being poor students.
In class they are asked to guess what the ingredients are, who might eat this meal, at what time of day, and what those who eat it might think of it.
Nothing on the choice and shaping of ingredients, and how they interrelate. No teaching about the key components and how they might occur again in other dishes.
Yuk.
Image from here.
One Response to 59 - Microwave ready meals
Leave a Reply
Yes. Well spoken. But solutions? You have provided vast resources in your publications. But what penetrates the hold that traditional linguistics has on the teachers of pronunciation? There seems little acknowledgement of the lively fun filled (challengefilled!) real live language and the unveiling of its contents through work such as yours and others like Hancock. (And mine, tho not published means not accessible). Where is the neuroscience in the pudding? Not even a part of the ingredients usually.
Agree. Your latest blog is a good reality check.