an interview with paul nation (podcast)
the lives of teachers
This is an audio version of the video interview I did with Paul Nation last November. Please head over to iTunes and subscribe to catch future podcasts.
Archive for the ‘interviews’ Category.
an interview with miles craven
An Interview with Miles Craven from darren elliott on Vimeo.
I first saw Miles speak a couple of years ago at another JALT event, and at the time was very impressed with his fair but candid assessment of writing and publishing in ELT. When I started this series he was one of the people I was hoping to talk to, so I was delighted to see his name as a featured speaker at this years JALT conference in Shizuoka. Amongst other things, we talked about how a book is put together, design, the pain of writing, the needs of students and teachers and the future of the publishing industry.
The edit point is for me to politely ask a couple of blokes to pipe down, not for Miles to dish any major dirt on well-known authors, so don’t get too excited. Once again, the worms-eye view is in operation. We do what we can with the equipment…..
an interview with scott thornbury
An Interview with Scott Thornbury from darren elliott on Vimeo.
Scott was giving a plenary at the Japan Association of Language Teachers national conference in Shizuoka this weekend, as well as a couple of presentations, but was kind enough to spare me half an hour or so for a chat. We talked a grammar, Vygotsky and socio-linguistics (inspired by James Lantolf, who was also speaking at the conference), technology, textbooks, testing and, of course, dogme. Like his fellow Kiwi Paul Nation, he is a thoroughly nice chap. If you want to pick up some of Scott’s books (and I really recommend that you do – he has a great talent for bringing complex concepts to life) you can get them through my store and contribute a few pennies towards the running of this site at the same time….
LINKS
Window-dressing vs. Cross-dressing in the EFL Sub-culture. (The article I referred to in the interview… revived by the magic of twitter)
The New School- Online MA programme which Scott Thornbury (amongst others) is teaching on.
Scott’s own website, where you can see his edited plenary slides and plenty more.
Apologies, as usual, for the racket in the background and the occasional cropping of vital body parts.
an interview with angela buckingham
An Interview with Angela Buckingham from darren elliott on Vimeo.
Today I talked to textbook writer, teacher and teacher trainer Angela Buckingham about how she got into textbook writing, why the characters in her books are non-native speakers, the differences between certificate and diploma trainee teachers and working with asylum seekers in the UK Further Education context. She was great company and didn’t even mind too much when I asked her to hold up two of her textbooks to camera, and she had plenty more of interest to add after the cut. Charles, by the way, is our local OUP rep who is busy guiding her around the area. He’s a pretty good sport too!
an interview with paul nation
Paul Nation Interview from darren elliott on Vimeo.
Paul Nation is a researcher, teacher and teacher trainer best known for his research into vocabulary learning and acquisition. This interview was conducted by Darren Elliott for www.livesofteachers.com
He presented twice at the ETJ Chubu Expo on Sunday, and between presentations was kind enough to answer a few questions. As you would expect we discussed vocabulary, and Paul’s answers were thoughtful and optimistic for the directions that language teaching is taking. The book we refer to in the interview is Michael West’s “A General Service List of English Words“, a hand counted and analysed list of high-frequency words, published more than fifty years ago and in many ways not yet bettered.
I also attended the first of Paul’s presentations, in which he emphasised the importance of a balanced curriculum of four strands. Teachers need to ensure that students participate in meaning focused input and output, in language focused learning (deliberate study) and in fluency development activities in equal measures. Although Paul is primarily a researcher, he is a great communicator of serious ideas with humour and clarity (a point I was trying to make in the interview, but listening back it sounds like I told him he needs to buck up a bit…. sorry!). If you get a chance to see him present, then please do so!
an interview with barbara hoskins-sakamoto
Barbara Hoskins-Sakamoto Interview from darren elliott on Vimeo.
Barbara is an EFL materials writer, teacher and teacher trainer working mainly with children in Japan. This interview was conducted for the lives of teachers website at http://www.livesofteachers.com/
If you have ever taught children, you may well have come across the ‘Let’s Go!‘ series, now on the third edition and a multimedia behemoth! I met with Barbara, one of the authors, today at the ETJ Chubu Expo, and she was kind enough to give this interview. As you can see, she is delightful company and I wish I’d left the camera running because we talked for as long again after I turned it off. She has a lot to say about teaching children and professional development in particular, but we also touched on a few other topics. If you haven’t already, you should check out Barbara’s blog and have a look for her on twitter. Thanks Barbara, I hope to see you again soon!
