Error Analysis
Question: Submitted by Imane Begag, Algeria How does error analysis explain the foreign language learners’ errors? Dr Richards responds: Some features of learner language The language learners produce...
View ArticleAmerican or British accent?
QUESTION: Submitted by Majid Shojayee, Iran Do you think students should aim to master an American or British accent? Dr Richards responds: The role of English as an international language has...
View ArticleThe role of age in second language learning
QUESTION: Submitted from Iran What is the role of age in second or foreign language learning? Dr Richards responds: It is a common observation that children seem to learn new languages relatively...
View ArticleIntercultural Communicative Competence
QUESTION: Submitted by Symbat from Kazakhstan What do you think is the significance of Intercultural Communicative Competence? And why is it important in ELT? Dr Richards responds: From the viewpoint...
View ArticleWhat is CBLT?
QUESTION: Submitted by Luc Danon from Cote D’ivoire What is CBLT? What are its didactic implications? Dr Richards responds: Competency-based instruction is an approach to the planning and delivery of...
View ArticleInteraction in Learning a Second Language
QUESTION: Submitted by Benmenni Imene, Algeria What is the effect of interaction in learning a second language? DR RICHARDS RESPONDS: A learning theory that has had considerable influence on language...
View ArticleAutonomy
QUESTION: Submitted by Gethomil, Poland Is autonomy an approach or a method? DR RICHARDS RESPONDS: The notion of learner autonomy is neither an approach or a method but it really a philosophy or set of...
View ArticleDifference Between Task, Exercise, Activity
QUESTION: Submitted by Jayanta Das, India What is the difference between a task, an exercise and an activity? DR RICHARDS RESPONDS: These terms are understood differently depending on who defines them....
View ArticleTeaching a British Accent
QUESTION: Submitted by P.B.S.Krishnam Raju , India Could you please suggest procedures to teach a British Accent to Advanced Level students? DR RICHARDS RESPONDS: I assume the issue here is the wish...
View ArticleBottom-up, Top-down or Interactive Processing
QUESTION: Submitted by Hannah, Korea I wonder if the activity below makes use of to bottom-up processing, top-down processing or Interactive processing. Task: Read a sentence and then listen to a...
View ArticleObjective of Teaching English to 7-10 year olds
QUESTION: Submitted by Adriana Patrus, Brazil I teach English to primary schoolchildren in Brazil. The classes are monolingual and they range from 22 to 30 students. They speak Portuguese the whole...
View ArticleTeaching absolute beginners
QUESTION: Submitted by N. Kazemi, Iran How should we start teaching English to absolute beginners who neither know even a single word in English nor have any literacy skills even in terms of...
View ArticleUsing Authentic Materials
Question: Submitted by Weldehaweria Gebrekrstos, Ethiopia We teachers are required to use authentic materials to enrich learners’ use of the language. What advice can you give? Dr. Richards responds:...
View ArticleEnglish in the Classroom Compared to a Native-Speaker’s English
Question: Submitted by Ali Abdulhussain, Iraq What is the difference between the language we teach in schools, language institutions, coursebooks etc and the daily language spoken in an...
View ArticleStrategy Development for Better Listening
Question: Submitted by Muhammad Shujaat, Saudi Arabia In coursebooks, usually the sequence of a listening lesson proceeds from the general to the particular and then the students pair-check their...
View ArticleCollaborative & Cooperative Learning
Question: Submitted by Meriem, Algeria What is the difference between collaborative learning and cooperative learning? What is their relation with Competency Based Approach? Dr. Richards responds:...
View ArticleCuriosity in Students’ Learning
Question: Submitted by Juriah, Indonesia What is the role of curiosity in students’ learning and how to activate it? Dr. Richards responds: I am not aware of research on this topic specifically in...
View ArticleGrammatical Knowledge vs. Grammatical Competence
Question: Submitted by Deborah, Israel Dear Professor Richards, I am reading some of your excellent articles on grammar and have a question about terminology. Grammatical knowledge, grammatical...
View ArticleShould Learners Produce Whole Sentences?
Question: Submitted by Kemal, Turkey Should we ask learners to produce whole sentences when answering questions? For example, when I ask “Who is late for school?” they only say “James”. Dr. Richards...
View ArticleImproving Interview Skills
Question: Submitted by Dr. Sunil Sagar, India India has a large number of Engineering Colleges. Students graduating from these colleges need to face an interview at the end of their degree program for...
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