Teacher Talking Time (TTT)
статья по английскому языку по теме

Assignment 5

The problem I would like to tell you is Teacher talking time (TTT). Teacher talking time (TTT) is the time that teachers spend talking in class, rather than learners. It can be compared with, student-talking time. I quite agree that one key element of many modern approaches is to reduce the amount of TTT as much as possible, to allow learners opportunities to speak, and learn from speaking. I have this problem with the 4th form. Frankly speaking, the problem is always appearing in the course of teaching the children. I’ve had this problem before with other classes. It started maybe several years ago and it has always been a problem area for me. On the one hand, the teacher has no time to make YL speak a lot, but from the other hand it’s a must.

Of course the course itself gave me a lot, many ideas, solutions and issues to think about. I took the plunge and found my way. I found the solution from the following points on the course: time management tips( prioritizing my work and working together with my colleges), building rapport( it acts quite motivating for the pupils to speak English, using a child’s name), instructions short, clear, simple and checked; teacher should control classroom rules. Learners need to produce language in real time conversation; to give them a chance to notice their own mistakes, and for the class to be student-centred. I  can start exploring this area by taping and finding out when, why and how much they and their students talk.

Once I made an activity that could develop pupils’ speaking skills. It is called “Holidays”. Firstly, in order to revise some words( and introducing the new vocabulary). It’s a kind of project, children themselves find facts about holidays. They drill the words, look at the screen and answer the questions. Then, the teacher sets the task to tell about your holiday( each group of three gets the card with the holiday). Everybody works in groups and they speak. The teacher monitors. ( each of the students should tell one or two sentences, presentation).

        Learner reaction was good as all the children were involved in the activity and the teacher monitored them all. The learners were interested in the task as it was very actual and pleasant for them all. It was also simple and they felt confident. He class was very weak so it was very important for me not to demotivate them and to simplify the activity. I guess it was successful. I provided language model. My speech was meaningful, purposeful.

I would definitely use this technique again but I would add something new to the activity. Maybe to find proper words correlating to the topic, more exercises and tasks.  As the teacher speaks less, students have added opportunity for interest and challenge. The class greatly benefits from limited talking by the teacher. I feel that my students got the most, they began to make up sentences without my help, they began to speak without my help, simple words, but words. It worked because students get to speak more. When students speak more, they have increased opportunities to become familiar with the new material. Students have more chances to experiment with and personalize the language. They can mix previous vocabulary and grammar structures with the target language of the lesson, as well as steer conversations towards their individual interests.

As students speak more, they must also rely on their skills. For example, if two students fail to understand one another, they must work together to repair the miscomprehension. This better prepares the class for the real world, where they can't rely on the teacher for help.