My name is Raimo Junnikkala and my articles mostly deal with communicative language teaching (CLT). I want to help language teachers who wish to modernize their teaching and apply CLT principles more efficiently.
I am a recently retired teacher of English who also ran the IB Section of Turku Teacher Training School for nearly 30 years. I have worked as a teacher trainer for 42 years in Finland and recently in Oman as well.
Depending on the feedback I will get on my articles I am considering having them in Podcasts as well to elaborate the ideas. These articles are actually a story of how I gradually came to realize how one can learn all aspects of a foreign language if the teacher knows what to do. There are lots of acticles on CLT in the internet but my ideas are directly linked to the work in class. Teachers need practical advice more than theory.
When I started my career I hated the idea of my students spending more than 10 years without learning to master English, without learning to speak and communicate in English. As a result I decided I would not let it happen to my students. Still, it took me many years to learn the tricks of the trade.
I used to hate my lessons but I at first did not have a clue how to change them. Not until I learnt to apply CLT in full.
The aims of my articles are very practical:
- to give PRACTICAL ideas on communicative language teaching principles (CLT) to those who feel their teaching is still too traditional or who are taking their first steps as language teachers
- most of my examples are from teaching English but the ideas themselves apply to any language, or even to other subjects
- to encourage those who know CLT principles but still need practical tips how to apply them
- to convince those who do not believe that students can learn effectively if the teacher is in the background
- to give practical tips on how to change a traditional text-based lesson towards a CLT one, I will present a basic textbook- based model lesson with a flexible strucuture that I have been using for three decades because it is easy and safe for everybody
- to give practical advice and tips on how to teach vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, speaking, reading, writing and listening, the additional articles open up from the menu on the left
- to discuss vital questions on assessment, class management and control, instructions/phrases to be used in class and modern approaches to CLT group work
- to mirror the changes I have gone through in language teaching in 40 years, and I also discuss the reasons for the changes I have made in my career
I was inspired by two things to write these articles:
- In my IB years I learnt that far too many students, especially in Central Europe and the Middle East, do not learn to speak and use English properly. With 42 years of experience I know how it can be done.
- Working in Oman as a language teaching expert a few years ago I realized it is practical tips on how to apply CLT principles that the teachers need. I will keep theory to minimum.
At present I am living in Sauvo, southern Finland, close to the sea with my wife. My four children and their five grand children are living on their own in Oulu and Turku. My favourite hobbies include going on singing gigs with a dance band, playing icehockey with my friends, renovating my house and picking up blueberries in July.
MOTTO: Learning starts when the teacher stops talking.
Don’t worry! This argument is a bit provocative but there is a lot of truth in it. It took me a couple of years before I really understood what Rogers meant by this argument. These articles are about the application of this and other CLT principles.
My second article under this heading is about my own history as a language learner and teacher. It will give you some perspective to how language teaching has changed over the last 50 years, and how and why I completely changed my ways of teaching English in 1986.
Rolling stones gather no moss!