1. English 625: Intro to TESOL
Session # 2

2. Agenda
Questions about Blogs?
Free writing and discussion
Review of Firth and Wanger
Presenters: Seonmi, Ann, Molly
Developing critical awareness in language
education
Pennycook’s concept of Method & TESOL
Quarterly Dialogues
Postmethod condition
Kuma, Chapter 1 AND Hall, Chapter 1(as time

3. Writing and Discussion
Write about one big idea that you learned
that you did not know before about
Teaching English to the Speakers of Other
Languages.
Discuss what strike you the most in your
readings. What questions do you still have
for the class to consider?

4. Review of Firth and Wanger (1997)
A critical examination of SLA. What are
the three major changes that the authors
call far in SLA?
Traditional SLA: LEARNER AS A
DEFECTIVE COMMUNICATOR
the key words such as “difficulties” and
“problems” dominated the scholarship for
a long time.
NS-NNS divide, ascendancy of NS, NNS
as defective communicator

5. Reflective discussion
Reflect the method of teaching followed
by your teacher when you learned an L2
in a formal, classroom context. Was it
language centered, teacher-centered,
learning-centered? Alternatively, if you
have been recently teaching an L2, this
about how your classroom practices do or
do not fit with these categories?

6. Alanstair Pennycook
Professor of Language in
Education, University of
Technology, Sydney
Alastair Pennycook has
published widely on
cultural and political
implications of the global
spread of English,
colonialism and language
policy, plagiarism and
intertextuality, and critical
applied linguistics.

7. A critical look at the Concept of Method
Method is a prescriptive concept that
articulates positivist, progressivist, and
patriarchal understanding of teaching and
plays an important role in maintaining
inequalities between, on the one hand,
predominantly male academics, and on
the other hand, female teachers and
language classrooms on the international
power periphery.

8. Key ideas:
Second Language education is involved in a
complex nexus of social, cultural. Economic and
political relationships that involve students,
teachers, and theorists in different positions of
power.
Schools as reproduction of social and cultural
inequalities—How can schools act as agents of
social and cultural reproduction? How do
schools question the status quo?
Language and language teaching as inscribed in
relations of power and therefore political isues.

9. Fundamental weaknesses of the concept
of Method
Imposition of technique over theory
Language teaching cannot be defined in
terms of teaching methods alone.
Each method being succeeded by a
better one? The promise of even better
techniques?

10. Pennycook’s historical survey of language
teaching
In history, the procedures of language teaching
has always reflected the political and social
changes
See the example of preserving Latin as the
language of religion (p. 598-599)
French teaching England : rule based versus
practice based/ formal versus informal
Caravolas’ pleasure principle in language
teaching.
Richards and Rogerts (1986)—Influencial book
on Methods----- reflects a positivist applied
linguisitcs.

11. Overview of Methods in ELT
GTM
ALM
CLL
Silent Way
Suggestopedia
TPR

12. Pennycook’s attack on the concept of
Method
Krashen’s week empirical research study (p.
607)
K claims that his study is objective, Claims that
his method is superior than the earlier ones.
Methods have little conceptual validity. Offers
reductionist perspectives on the teaching and
learning contexts
Methods have played a major role in
maintaining: the gendered division in workforce.
Methods presents serious problems when
exported from developed to developing
countries.

13. Methods as interested
Knowledge is socially constructed.
Knowledge represent particular was of
understanding and explaining the world.
Knowledge is inscribed in relationships of
power.
Read Pennycook’s critique of his own
article: TQ Dialogues pg. 32-25

14. Critical Perspectives on Methods in ELT
How does Pennycook define Method?What is
his criticism towards the concept of Method?
What is interested knowledge?
How can we as teachers steer away from the
concept of method?
What can we do to become transformative
intellectuals?
How did your understanding of teaching English
changed after reading this article?

15. B. Kumaravadivelu
Professor
Department of
Linguistics &
Language
Development
1, Washington
Square
San Jose State
University

16. Postmethod Pedagogy: Define the
concepts (morning class)
A pedagogy of Particularity
Local, context-sensitive, should be based on particular
social and political , particular time, particular place to
particulate students taught by a particular teacher.
A pedagogy of Practicality
Teacher generated theory as opposed to expert generated
theory
A pedagogy of Possibility
self- identity as related to social transformations , how we
can battle with social and political inequalities.
Recognizing the subject positioning, lived experience of
the students

17. Define the characteristics of the
followings.
 The postmethod learner
 Learner who is autonomous, who develops academic responsibility
and sensitivity towards others. Academic autonomy vs social
autonomy, liberator autonomy.
 The postmethod teacher
Autonomous teacher, self developing, reflective, someone who can
break away from the concept of method. Academic knowledge,
personal knowledge.
 The postmethod teacher educator
Focuses on the teachers’ voice, and the teachers’ lived experiences----
legitimize their experiences and their knowledge.

18. The goal of teacher research and teacher
autonomy is “ not the easy production of
any ready-made package of knowledge
but, rather, the continued recreation of
personal meaning” (Diamond, 1995 p. 59)

19. Discussion Questions about Pedagogic
Exploration
Based on your readings of Pennycook and
Kuma’s articles on Methods and Pedagogy in
Language Education, design a course that
includes tasks and activities that follow the
premises of postmethod pedagogy.
Guiding Questions: How would your classroom
look like? What would your role be as a
language educator? How would you view your
students? What type of language tasks and
activities would you bring to the class? How
would your relationships be with other teachers?

20. Key words from this week’s readings
Interested knowledge
Knowledge as a social construction
Politics of language education
Postmethod condition
Paticularizability
See your handout for the rest.

21. Assignments
Post your blog responses before the class
on Monday.
Readings about language and culture
(Morning)Presenters: Sbu, Soo ok,
Anthony
(Afternoon) Presenters: Ashley R., Ashley
B., Carmella