New Series of Professional Books

Professor Richards has been invited to contribute to a new series of practical professional books for teachers of English in China. The series is being published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, the educational publishing division of Beijing University of Foreign Studies and the largest university press in China. The series editors for the books are Professor Guoxing Yu (Bristol University) and Professor Peter Gu (Victoria University, Wellington). The title and contents of Professor Richards’ book are:

Principles of Language Teaching.

Overview:

Language learning lessons take many different forms and it is often fascinating to observe how different they may be. Depending on the nature of the lesson, students may be studying from a textbook, working on assignments in pairs or groups, taking part in chorus repetition of sentences on the whiteboard, using their mobile phones to check the meaning of words in a reading passage, acting out role-plays in front of the class or completing different kinds of exercises, tasks, and assignments. However, no matter what activities we make use of from our repertoire of teaching techniques, they all share certain characteristics. Behind our choice of teaching procedures are principles that they are derived from. These may be principles such as “Provide as much student practice as possible”, “Build up learner’s confidence in their ability to speak English, or “Make language lessons something the students will enjoy”. And behind our principles are theories, beliefs, and understandings about language, about English, the nature of second language learning, and of ourselves and our learners. The principles that provide approaches to the teaching of English are the focus of this book.

This book is not an inventory of language teaching techniques, although there are many teaching suggestions throughout the book. My aim is to provide an accessible overview of key principles in language teaching and to explore the implications they have for classroom practice. The book explores 16 principles that influence one important dimension of language teaching. The principles are grouped into 8 categories:

The nature of teaching principles
Dimensions of teacher knowledge and skills
Learning in the classroom
Teaching language through communication
The learner-centered classroom
The practice of language teaching
Innovation and creativity in teaching
Planning your career as a language teacher

The 16 principles explored here illustrate the multidimensional nature of language teaching and the specialized knowledge, thinking and skills that provide the foundation for teachers’ classroom practice. The examples and discussion questions found throughout the book also provide opportunities for teachers to examine and reflect on their own teaching practices as well as the principles that they are based on.

CONTENTS

Part 1: The nature of teaching principles

1: METHODS AND TEACHING PRINCIPLES
2: UNDERSTAND YOUR TEACHING PRINCIPLES

Part 2: Dimensions of teacher knowledge and skills

3: USE YOUR PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
4: UNDERSTAND YOUR TEACHER IDENTITY

Part 3: Learning in the classroom

5: MANAGE YOUR CLASSROOM AS AN EFFECTIVE LEARNING SPACE
6: CREATE AN EMOTIONALLY SUPPORTIVE CLASSROOM

Part 4: Teaching language through communication

7: USE SKILL-GETTIING AND SKILL-USING EXERCISES
8: TEACH GRAMMAR AS A COMMUNICATIVE RESOURCE

Part 5: The learner-centered classroom

9: TEACH LEARNER-CENTERED LESSONS
10: FOCUS ON LEARNING OUTCOMES

Part 6: The practice of language teaching