TeachingEnglish
Alan Maley - video interview
Submitted by Alan Maley on 3 December, 2009 - 14:23
Earlier this year at IATEFL Cardiff, I was interviewed by Rob Lewis of the British Council.
Alan's now finished blogging on the site - check the Guest Writers page to see contributions from other guests.
Log in or register
Follow TeachingEnglish
 |
 |
 |
 |
Comments
Dear Alan,
I am unfortunate that I couldn't watch your interview because of buffering problems in my video. In this light I would request you to describe your cardiff experiences. As I was one of the moderators of the conference I am eager to listen from you.
regards
dr.mangay
I was so happy to have met you at the Malaysian ELT Conference in Melaka and then to hear your interview was so fulfilling.
It is nice to listen to your interview. I like the following things that you touched on: Language teaching is a process. Your basic discipline was not Language but with training and skill you have excelled. So what is important is a balance between language and content (context).
Your candid praise for Dr.N S Prabhu, who, as you were saying, saw language teaching as a kind of process, not linguistic. A valuable comment.
Training is important. Skill-mastering is all the more important. But other academic qualifications do little good or justice to this profession.
Dear Dr Mangay,
Sorry you had problems viewing the video. I hope you'll be able to fix the problem soon. In fact, I said rather little about the conference itself. It was simply that the interview took place while the conference was going on. If you were a moderator, then presumably, you know more about what went on at the conference than I do.
What I would say however is that IATEFL always leaves a lasting impression, whether because of the quality of (most !) of the Plenaries and workshops, or for the wonderful opportunities for networking in a truly international forum, or for the opportunities it offers to first-time speakers.
With best wishes
Alan
Dear Sudhachmai,
Thanks for your kind comments. I am glad you enjoyed the interview.
By the way, don't forget MICELT in Melaka in May 2101.
Best wishes,
Alan
Dear Anupkumarr,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments about the interview. Although I agree that the academic qualification treadmill may not be very useful in producing better teachers (arguably, the discipline of the MA or PhD nmay even de-skill teachers), there are programmes which manage to reconcile the academic agenda with the pragmatic needs of teachers. I have plenty more to say on this but it should wait till a bit later in the discussion perhaps.
Best wishes
Alan
Dear Alan,
I watched the interview it is really great and nice. I'm a Sudanese English teacher, doing my PhD which is entitled Using Literature for Enriching the Learning Process for the English Language. So, plz what advice will you kindly give to me. Many thanks.
Dear Wigdan,
Thank you for your kind comments.
It would be helpful to know where you are doing your PhD, and what kind of approach you are taking. For example, are you conducting a study based on a group of learners? What klinds of literary texts are you focussing on? Are you making use of works written in non-metropolitan countries? etc. There are a lot of questions I'd need answers to if I am to offer any meaningful advice.
Meantime, good luck.
Alan
dear alan,
in rural areas buffering is a major problem. let me try it next time.thanks for your earnest advice
regards
dr.mangay
Dear Dr Mangay,
Thanks for this but was it intended for me? What is 'buffering'?
Best
Alan