Scott Thornbury – What's the latest teaching method?

Watch Scott Thornbury's talk from our Better Learning Conference, where he discusses what he believes constitutes a 'good teaching method'.

The talk mentions various teaching tips which include authenticating language teaching by keeping it relevant, using the communicative approach and getting your students to 'experience' the language through immersion and more.

[CambridgeUPELT]

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[dhieghoferreira]

Scott remembered Paulo Freire, a remarkable educator known for his innovative methods. Freire was able to teach 300 people to read and write in just 40 hours and was later persecuted by Brazil's military dictatorship. In 1963, Freire first implemented his method with 300 sugarcane workers in Angicos, who had no prior access to formal education. These workers were successfully taught to read and write in just 45 days—a groundbreaking achievement that demonstrated the power of his pedagogical approach.

Freire's method emphasized critical thinking and dialogue, encouraging learners to question and understand their reality, rather than simply memorizing information. His work laid the foundation for modern educational practices that prioritize student engagement and empowerment.

[MarcosGazzana]

This is an essential video for every EFL teacher. A complete historical overview of methods, methodologies and views on how languages are learned. What a great video! Well done!

[lgojkbw]

Immensely grateful for the opportunity to acquire some knowledge from such a committed and passionate educator.

[Olia_inspiration]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

03:37 📚 The history of language teaching methods shows how far we've come, but we may be going in circles.
08:23 🔄 The concept of a single "best method" in language teaching has evolved into a more flexible "post-method" era.
15:09 💡 Good methodology in language teaching has consistent principles that remain relevant over time.
19:51 🗣 Encouraging students to speak before they have learned through imitation of the teacher may be a more effective approach.
22:57 📖 Language should not remain confined to the pages of a book but should be experienced and used in real-life contexts.
24:07 📚 Language teaching methods have a history of evolution and recycling, with basic parameters being reconfigured for each generation.
25:32 📖 Methods in language teaching encompass six dimensions, including views on language, language learning, goals, syllabus, roles of teachers and learners, activities, and procedures.
26:26 🔄 The history of language teaching methods has seen a pendulum swing between focusing on form (structure) and function (communication).
28:01 🎯 Goals in second language learning have fluctuated between accuracy-focused approaches and communication-focused approaches.
30:55 📜 Language teaching procedures can be categorized into deductive (teaching rules) and inductive (discovering rules) approaches, and the role of the first language in instruction varies between bilingual and monolingual approaches.

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[sugarfree]

Methods and approaches come and go, but in the end, teaching is a matter of talent. A great teacher can use any materials/method to bring the language to life.

On balance, I have come to believe that effective language acquisition is dependent on the confidence the student feels in themselves, and that this can be instilled with the help of the teacher. There are very confident L2 speakers who are all over the place in terms of accuracy and very limited in vocabulary, and yet their communication hits the mark. It's all about confidence. A great teacher can help the student forget that they are learning. That's when they really take it in. I'd be interested in learning about neuroplasticity and language learning. Any research you could point me towards?
Great topic and talk, thank you.

[YuliaKostyuk]

I had a chance to listen to this in Kyiv in person! It is an amazing experience!

[anabellademarchi]

Witty and brilliant as usual. Thanks, Scott.

[anasbenhaddou]

I just love this man. Knowledgeable, funny, simplifier. Thank you

[janakicavalcante]

It's a privilege listen to and learn from him! Thank you for sharing it!

[anasbenhaddou]

Wow, you can't imagine how much work this professor have summarized for me when he showed the "Dimensions of Methodology" in the shape of those spectrums or arrows. Thanks alot ❤

[Chapalia]

A great seminar by a great educator. I wish I could attend that conference. Always a pleasure to see such figures pushing for the development of the field of education.

[teacherdaviacioli]

It was a pleasure to sit and learn from Scott's lecture, a big fat thank you!

[ejalal]

Amazing and really fruitful talk by one of the greatest ELT gurus ! thank you

[GisleineTFF]

Relevant, fun, refreshing. A great talk.

[ruquiakhanrashanakhan]

I truly appreciate you and your time you spent helping us in many occasions. Thank you very much for the such an excellent conference. I enjoyed every minute of your lecture as well as your marvelous sense of humor. Thank you for bringing your research to us and for your interest in helping us to improve our work.

[olgalingvo]

Fun, genious, fun, informative, fun, love Scott!

[DrKhaleeqAhmad]

He's a brilliant and "awesome" writer..

[HavarNamar]

It was so great to listen to his talk! Thanks for the video upload.

[laylash.r]

I always teach with passion, love, and respect. My students have always been happy with what they learn and the ways they are practising with. However, when I came to the Czech Republic for my Doctoral studies, I found it hard to find a job as a teacher in a school. I mean schools want the teacher to teach based on their own methods and do not let any changes, mostly. They are not open to changes!