Interview

Liz & John Soars

Liz & John Soars are co-authors of the 'New Headway' course of books, cassettes, videos and CR-ROMs, used in over 140 coutries around the world.

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On ELT

ELT: How has the ELT field changed since you started in the profession?
Liz: It has developed dramatically in many different ways. There are many more materials available to the teacher, not only a wide variety of books, but also new media such as videos and computers. You only have to look at a publisher's catalogue to marvel at the depth and range of their list. There are also many more models of the profession. Language teaching involves much more than teaching the grammar, although this is still a core element in our view.

John: ELT takes place in such diverse places and for such a variety of reasons that there cannot be a standard approach. Teachers adapt and evolve according to their circumstances and the needs of their students. English has established itself as the lingua franca of the world. Some commentators see this as a bad thing, blaming the dominance of English for the demise of other languages. Others see it as liberating influence, enabling the world to talk to each other with this shared second language. We belong to this second school of thought.

However, if some things have changed, then many things haven't. Teaching is still basically a matter of the interaction between human beings. It still involves the transfer of information from one person to another. The task that faces the language learner is no easier now than it was twenty years ago. The process of acquiring a foreign language still involves skill getting and skill using, lots of practice, lots of learning, lots of effort.

Liz: Of course, the biggest (and most over-used) word to arrive in our profession over the past few decades is the word 'communicative'. It collocates with all sorts of things - communicative syllabus, communicative games, communicative activities, communicative methodology, and the catch-all communicative approach. By and large, this is a good thing. Let us not forget that the reason our students are in class is to be able to do something at the end that they couldn't do at the beginning.

However, we have two caveats. Firstly, it is important to remember that many people successfully learned a language before the arrival of the communicative approach; and secondly, just because something is called communicative doesn't necessarily mean that it is.

What current themes or research topics in ELT do you find particularly interesting?
John: This is difficult to answer. There is always something 'new' on the horizon as we search for the 'best' way to teach foreign languages. We've observed many bandwagons roll in and out over the years and indeed discussed them at length with trainee teachers. We're always interested, and certain influences have been highly beneficial. However, we've developed a healthy scepticism whenever we hear extravagant claims being made for new ideas, especially when they seem pour scorn on everything that went before.

We believe that as much as teachers can sometimes benefit from new ideas, they can also become overwhelmed and feel guilty that they are not teaching in the 'correct' manner, rather than judging what works most effectively for them. It's good to work in a vibrant questioning profession, but it is also good to recognise that foreign languages have been taught successfully by many different means throughout time.

On Teaching

Do you remember the first class you taught?
Liz: I remember it very well indeed. It was a class of six to thirteen-year-olds in a junior school in Tanga, Tanzania. Nguvumali school. We had a huge wasps' nest full of huge wasps on the unused light bulb in the middle of the classroom, every time a wasp came home it sounded like a military helicopter! The children were of mixed nationality and I had to teach them all subjects (even Maths!) as well as EFL. I was 21, had just graduated and was clueless about teaching.

Fortunately, ignorance is bliss and they and I survived. I suspect (know), however, that it was a greater learning experience for me than it was for them! I learnt that despite my degree in English Literature and German, I knew precious little about the English language. Hence my interest began.

John: I first taught as an assistant in a French school in Corsica. The head of the English department taught the first half of the lesson. He conducted the class in English, and at one stage asked me a question. Unfortunately, his English was so bad that I couldn't understand, and I had to ask him to try again in French. I next taught in a language school in the UK, run, would you believe, by a lady called Mrs. English! The school had two classes, one with just one student studying for the first certificate, and the other class consisting of everybody else. I hadn't a clue what I was meant to do, but we played a lot of table tennis and had a lot of fun. Perhaps ignorance is sometimes a good thing.

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