Interview

Liz & John Soars

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On Teaching (cont'd)

Any classes in particular that stood out during your teaching years?
John: I remember the highest level class I have ever taught. There was a Russian girl in the class who knew the English language better than me. I was terrified of her. She would challenge my knowledge and ability within seconds of the beginning of the lesson. I had to reassure myself that I was a native speaker and she wasn't, but I swear I taught her nothing in sixty hours of being together. Of course, there are many classes that stand out, usually because one particular student made it all come together.

Andrea, an Italian boy with a girl's name, who was so kind and funny that everyone fell in love with him. Annick, a French lady who mothered the whole class, who told me as she arrived ten minutes late 'Sorry I'm late, I should have gone to the post office.' (What she meant was I had to go to the post office.) Fuji, a Japanese boy who studied at International House, London, for over a year. He had every teacher at every level - he knew the school better than anyone else. His hobby was collecting idioms, which he wrote down in a big A4 folder. His English was very good, in fact, but he kept trying to use idioms that were inappropriate or old-fashioned - "Today, John, is a lovely day, I am in the pink!"

Liz: In my first year at IH London, I was given a specially constructed 'problem' class of students with 'attitude'. This was because an IH luminary was doing research into badly motivated students and presenting a paper at the IATEFL conference on the subject. She observed the class daily. Pressure! The inevitable happened, when you expect the worst it can only be better, and the students turned out to be the most enjoyable, entertaining, volatile class ever. I loved them dearly.

Also, a truly advanced, advanced class one hot July. There were some strong personalities and some warring nationalities, but the peacemaking skills of the delightfully down-to-earth Sister Sofia, a nun from Poland, meant that discussions/arguments always ended on a harmonious note. This class informed me one day that they would all be absent the next day as they were camping out all night for tickets for Wimbledon. And indeed next day the room was almost empty, just Sister Sofia and myself, so we watched Wimbledon on TV, and there were the rest of the class, in the front row of Centre Court. We weren't at all surprised.

Do you think qualifications such as the RSA and Trinity, adequately prepare a teacher to the world of ELT?
John: Yes and no is the answer. Yes - because they give vital practical and theoretical guidance. Considering the relatively short duration of the courses a great deal is accomplished. The teaching practice is probably the best preparation. No - because a training course will never prepare you for every teaching situation and the day-to-day reality of lesson preparation and five(?) hours teaching. Inevitably, on courses, an unrealistic amount of time is spent planning individual lessons. A false sense of what the nature of teaching can result.

Also as the years have passed the content of courses has become ever fuller, as so many different approaches and ideas have hit the profession. It becomes increasingly difficult to cover the syllabus and at the same time develop in trainee teachers the ability to make informed judgements about it all. Sometimes they leave courses feeling like experts because they have covered so much, when they still need above all the daily grind of experience.

The use of the Internet and multimedia in the classroom and for private study is becoming increasingly popular - to what extent do you think technology will play a role in ELT in the near future?
Liz: Technology will undoubtedly play a bigger role in the future, near and distant. However, the history of technological advances so far is peppered with predictions of teachers becoming redundant as machines take over their jobs. This hasn't happened yet and we don't believe that it ever will. The machine will only ever be another resource for teacher and learner. Interacting with a machine, especially in language learning, can never replace the vitality and reality of classroom interaction.

When you go to a self-access centre with computers and videos etc. they are largely silent rooms, with electronic beeps being the predominant sound. This environment can have a certain usefulness and enjoyment, especially for revision purposes or simply as a change from the classroom, but languages are used to interact with people, so we feel that the teacher and the classroom will never be replaced.

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