LdL for Adult Learner Groups

Yesterday I gave a presentation of LdL at the vhs of Constance.  In the discussion, I realized that LdL has still a lot to offer for adult learner groups. Adult learner groups play only a marginal in research on learning and teaching. Since adults pay for courses, many of them actually expect the teacher to choose a method where the teacher gives input, input, input. The effect of such a method is not really discussed or doubted.

Joachim Grzega

Interview: LdL and Other Interactive Methods

Yesterday Jean-Pol Martin and I were interviewed on LdL by someone from the Goethe-Institut in Frankfurt. He wants to write an article on LdL for the Goethe-Institut’s website.

One of the questions was whether LdL wouldn’t only help the student-experts (or “mini-teacher”, as I call them in elementary school), but not the rest of the class, who would more profit from an interactive model with the teacher in the center. Actually, I did a little experiment on exactly this question in my 2 International Business English classes last year. The results haven’t been published yet, but the essence is that the performances of “LdL classes” in spontaneous, unannounced written tests is not lower than those of other “interactive classes”. (And we always have to keep in mind that many of the target competences of LdL lessons cannot be checked with written tests).

Joachim Grzega

Christian Spannagel

We have a new staunch supporter and disseminator of LdL: Christian Spannagel, Professor for Teaching Computer Science at the College of Education in Ludwigsburg. You can see his blog here.

Joachim Grzega

LdL already in kindergarten? Yes.

A few days ago, I visited two groups of a Montessori kindergarten. Although, I didn’t exactly see LdL, I am now firmly convinced that you can also use LdL with little children. Children were working in pairs. Kids aged 5 taught kids aged 3 or 4: one girl taught another one the figures 2, 4 and 6; one girl taught a boy the letters e, l and s; one girl taught another one how to tie; and one boy taught a girl how to wash her hands. For games, there were elements that allowed the kids to check by themselves whether their solution was right. Very interesting and inspiring.

Joachim Grzega

LdL in DIE ZEIT

An article on LdL was published in the German quality weekly DIE ZEIT:
here

The first commentator even suggests to award Jean-Pol Martin and his “disciples” with the Nobel Peace Prize…

Joachim Grzega

New JPM videos on YouTube

There are two new YouTube videos on Jean-Pol Martin’s anthropological model with JPM himself:

Part 1:

Part 2:

Joachim Grzega

Websites for Teaching Intercultural Communication

I have found two interesting links for teaching ICC:

• a bibliography of ICC websites
• the intercultural film database

Joachim Grzega

Using the mothertongue in foreign language teaching

Peter McKenzie-Brown has written an article on Wolfgang Butzkamm’s concept of functional monolingualism in the classroom here.

Joachim Grzega

Talks on LdL at conferences in Heilbronn and Bregenz

Last Saturday I gave a one-hour talk on Lernen durch Lehren (LdL), with video clips from the 4th and the 2nd class, at the 6th Heilbronner Bildungskongress—in front of an audience of 600 people. There were also people in the audience who told very positively from their own experiences with LdL. Jean-Pol Martin, too, talked in front of a large audience (300 people) at Bregenz recently. These events are proofs for the growing acceptance and use of LdL and also for the dissemination and promotion of LdL.

Joachim Grzega

BGE at a conference in Freiburg

Last Friday I gave a talk on Basic Global English at a linguistic conference in Freiburg in front of about 40 people. Several colleagues gave me positive feedback and it seems that more colleagues are interested and willing in cooperating with me.

Joachim Grzega