Being more “meta” : The value of explicit instruction on pedagogical approaches and language-learning strategies

By Melissa J. Enns Recently, I have been busy interviewing teacher colleagues for my thesis. Among the insights they have graciously shared, I have found much to reflect on and inspiration for today’s post. I will discuss the value of offering students explicit metacognitive instruction about the pedagogical approaches we employ in our classrooms and …

What role does group work actually play in language learning?

By Melissa J. Enns Spoken language production has been a recurring theme in recent posts on oral corrective feedback and in guest contributor Jihoon Kim's examination of off-task behaviour. Each of these posts has touched on the topic of pair or group work. Perhaps many of us have never stopped to consider why we use pair/group work or …

Is off-task behaviour in the language classroom bad?

Guest contributor: Jihoon Kim Jihoon is a master's student in Second Language Education through McGill University's Department of Integrated Studies in Education. Jihoon's research interests include peer interaction in the language classroom. In North America, communicative approaches to language teaching prevail in most second language instructional settings. Go and check a second language textbook made …