All posts by Raimo J

I am a 66-year-old retired teacher of English who wishes to share some of the key ideas on communicative teaching of languages with you. I taught English in a teacher training school in Finland over 40 years, 30 years of it as an IB coordinator.

Yleinen

ASSESSMENT

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

Let’s be honest. Nobody likes exams. Teachers do not like to write or mark them and students don’t like to study for them. The whole exam situation is full of stress and you feel miserable if you get a bad grade. But …

OK, I admit it. I am being a bit provocative. Evaluation and assessment of students has always been there and will never disappear. So we had better accept it and see how communicative language teaching has drastically changed our views in this area of teaching.

Six things about assessment are vital for CLT teachers:

To understand the difference between Assessment of Learning (AoL) = official exams and test and Assessment for Learning (AfL) = all measures that enhance learning (See the next article ‘Assessment of and for learning’)
To know how to use the tools for Assessment for Learning in class. (See AfL Tools 1 – 4 and AfL Tools 5 – 6 in the next two articles for more information)
Due to practical reasons summative testing (AoL) will never disappear but we can make these situations less stressful.
We need to find and use easy and quick ways to test all language skills reliably. In many countries some language skills are not tested at all. ‘Not tested’ often means ‘not taught’ either.
In CLT we spend some time in analysing and applying the official national criteria for each language skill area. The students need to understand what is required from them and it is best learnt if they assess themselves and the work of others and get feedback on how when they succeed in doing it.
Studying for exams is a skill of its own and how it is done depends on the students’ style of learning. In the 1990s CLT teachers started using practice exams to reduce exam stress among their students. Over the last 15 years we have also paid attention to exam strategies: what the students ought to do in exam situations if they face a problem and how the teachers can make the returning of the exams a learning situation.

N.B. Exam strategies are dealt with in separate articles under the skill headings. Direct links are provided here for you.

The other articles in this unit, under heading ‘Assessment’ are:

Assessment	Assessment of and for learning
	How to apply AfL in class, Tools 1-4
	AfL, observation with criteria, self-assessment, Tools 5-6
	AfL, giving constructive feedback, traps and samples
	Development discussions, feedback forms
	Positive feedback – comments and phrases

The main point in AfL is that the student realize they can and should affect their own learning and results. And that the teachers are there to assist them.

An example of an AfL style discussion at school

Me: “Which grade do you want in scale 4 – 10?”

” Student: “Which grade? What do you mean? 10, of course.”

Me: “But your grade is 7 at present. Is 10 a realistic goal?”

St: “Well, maybe not. But I’d like to have 9 out of ten. I have not tried very hard but I think I can do it.”

Me: “Ok, if that is what you want, I can help you. What are your strongest skill areas? Listening, writing or what?”

St: “Listening, definitely, and vocabulary. But I always get lousy points for my essays and grammar tests.”

Me: “Ok, let’s think about them first. What do you think you should do to improve in them?”

St: “I have no idea. Last week you talked about learning styles and strategies but I had a headache and I did not get it really. Do you have the handout with you? Maybe I should try out something in it.”

It is important the answers come from the students themselves. This way they become committed to solving the issues themselves.

If the purpose of school is to develop the students’ personalities as a whole, not just fill them with knowledge, traditional assessment (AoL) is not very effective. That is why AfL and CLT methods are needed even if they may never show in school reports.

It may be interesting and vital to note at this point that … we teachers need to change the way we think about student evaluation and assessment: CLT principles recommend reducing drastically the time we talk to the whole class and use most of the lesson in observing and guiding indivuduals, pairs or groups.

The ideas above should remind us that our job is mainly to facilitate learning, not to focus on exam results.

Even if I think we teachers are assisting our students more than assessing them in lessons, I decided to stick to the term ‘Assessment for Learning’ because it is so established. The original term could have beeen ‘Assistance for Learning’ …

The point in the articles under ‘Assessment’ is to show

that applying AfL principles does not mean extra work for the teacher but are a natural part of any CLT lesson
that traditional exams cannot be totally avoided but the focus should be turned to the learning process in an encouraging atmosphere
that it is not really the grades achieved that matter in life but what is truly learnt: we are looking for the ability to apply language skills and knowledge
that continuous follow-up of learning with appropriate feedback is often more important than final grades in learning; not by stalking and harrassing the students but by boosting their self-esteem genuinely
that the most important tool for Assessment for Learning is getting to know each individual by observing them and talking to them: knowing which string to pull with each person
that observations lead to teachers having individual discussions with their students and thus the relationships become much more emphatic
that it is not only the teacher who can assess the students since it can be done by their peers and by themselves as long as they know the criteria and what to observe in each other’s activities
that we need to take off the pressure from testing; a thing that can be done by offering individual help, teaching how to learn more effectively, practising for the exams and getting feedback from them as well as doing evaluation by other means than summative exams
that the students have to realize all our AfL efforts aim at them learning more and that we are on their side and truly try to help them
that many of the important things we learn at school are not actually tested at all but are skills needed in life later on: e.g. social skills such as group/pair work and emotional intelligence, skill to learn new things independently, critical thinking and presentation skills (= 21st century skills)
that using AfL and continuous assessment does not mean one exam after another but it means letting the student know where he/she stands at the moment and supporting their growth and self-esteem

So why do we have to assess or evaluate pupils and students?

For four reasons + the latest CLT one, number 5: to enhance learning

1 Firstly, we are human and we often do not try our best if we are not forced to do something useful. In an ideal situation the motivation to learn is internal, not set by an outsider psychological reason
2 Secondly, parents are accustomed to exam results and grades being good indicators on how well their kids are doing at school. parents’ role
3 Thirdly, school administrators and authorities are tied by law to follow up the progress of the students. requirements set by law
4 Fourthly, the admission of students to other schools and higher education is often based partially or totally on the grades given at school and/or the final examination. admissions to further education
5 Fifthly, the CLT reason: The students, teachers and all people involved need to know how the students are making progress from the very beginning of a course and how the students’ learning process can be improved.

A photo of Finnish students taking a senior high ‘matriculation’ exam, which corresponds to the English A-level exams taken at the at of 18 or 19. More and more exams are done on a computer with no access to the internet or any other sources. The questions often force the students to apply their knowledge rather than test merely knowledge as such.

Model text-based lesson

PRE-TASK, LISTENING and CLARIFYING CONTENT

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

PRE-TASK: THE CHAPTER VOCABULARY

So far I have argued in favour of the students getting to know the chapter content at home and checking the written homework in a time-saving manner. Checking homework should preferrably take place in groups the right answers being on the screen or on a handout. This way the students can help each other with their explanations.

Many teachers are in the habit of having ‘warmers’ or ‘icebreakers’ when the homework has been checked. It is a good idea if there is a real language learning point in doing so.

As a language teacher I am extremely jealous of time. I tend to measure the outcome in my mind compared with the time we spend on the warmer. Therefore I often allow my students to work on the new vocabulary for a few minutes.

We have dealt with 1 and 2 already and now we will have a look at stages 3, 4 and 5.

1 Studying the chapter at home in advance
2 Checking written or oral homework exercises
3 Working orally on the new words of the next chapter
4 Listening to the chapter on a CD, DVD, via the internet or read by the teacher
5 Checking if the content was understood, clarifications
6 Reading the text aloud
7 Questions on the text, or multiple choice, true-false, black hole tasks
8 Doing oral activities or written exercises in class

Having dealt with 1 and 2 the next stage in my lessons is to work on the vocabulary of the next text even before we do anything else. Why?

First, working on the vocabulary of the chapter reminds the students of the content of the text.
Secondly, the pronunciation of the new words is learnt if the words are repeated after the teacher. Looking at the words in the list helps students to memorize how the words are written.
Linguists argue that on average something must be done with a new word 20 times before it is learnt. The students have seen and done things with the words maybe 5 times at home and now we must intensify the learning more in class.
After repeating the words after the teacher, student pairs have options: a) ask each other the words (mother tongue – English OR vice versa), b) give definitions or descriptions of the words and the pair finds the words in the lists, c) orally, students use the words in sentences of their own, d) the best students take turns in making up a story where they use as many of the words from the word list as possible.
This stage of the lesson usually takes only 5 – 6 minutes and those minutes are certainly not the worst minutes of the lesson.
When students start forming their own sentences, the others automatically practise listening skills and give feedback if the sentences do not make sense. After one minute you can see smiles on the faces of the students who tend to make up humorous and mysterious stories.
When feelings are involved in learning, things are learnt more effectively. Humour and laughter are good medicines!

LISTENING TO THE CHAPTER RECORDING

Great listening skills are a result of a lot of input during the lessons: teacher talking, playing recordings or students talking and listening to others.

The next step is to listen to the recorded version of the Chapter. Why? Firstly, because it gives the students a chance to check one more time if there is something in the text they do not understand. Secondly, listening provides a model for pronounciation and intonation of the text. Thirdly, ears need to be trained for the characteristics of the foreign language.

Why listening at this point? Why before reading aloud? Simply because there is no point in reading a text that you do not fully understand. In addition a model is needed for pronunciation. Neither is there a point in doing exercises on a chapter if it is not understood. The text is in almost every case listened to everyone together.

Listening is an important skill and it does not develop unless we keep on practising it at school as well. That is why listening should be part of nearly all lessons.
In most countries we are lucky to have native speakers who speak authentic English for us to listen to in the textbook recordings. Sometimes the recordings are even produced abroad. It does not really matter which accent is used since students need to get used to different versions of English anyway.
Difficulties in listening may be due to a variety of reasons but I will deal with them in more detail under title ‘Listening’.
If there is a lot of speaking in class, it means a lot of listening. Even if the speakers are students still learning the language, one should not underestimate the importance of the practice between students.
Under title ‘Pronunciation’ I argue that good pronunciation is best learnt by mimicking / copying what the students hear. Still, some sounds, weak forms and intonation may require explaining and special training. Listening to native speakers as a model for speaking is a must.
Beginners need a lot of support from the teacher who may be the most significant source of English they hear and listen to.
Publishers recordings are mostly excellent in quality and they should be made use of in lessons. Junior high texts are usually rather short and can be listened to as a whole. Senior high chapters may be up to two pages long and my advice is to divide them into at least two parts.
In my junior high lessons we listen to the text, check if we understand it and then listen to it again sentence by sentence and repeat the sentence mimicking the recording.
Senior high students listen to the text in parts only once and read some part, usually about 20 lines anywhere in the text, without a model.
Having listened to the text the student have a good understanding of the text and they can move on to talk about the text.

CHECKING UNDERSTANDING OF THE TEXT AND ASKING FOR CLARIFICATIONS

In short, at this stage of the lesson it should be quite clear to the students how well they understand the text. They have studied the text at home, done oral vocab exercises on it and listened to the text.

Still, we need to give the students one more time to ask us to explain any unclear parts of the text or let them present something they wonder about the text.

Teacher: “Is there anything in the text you still do not understand or wonder about? Words, phrases, grammar, anything?“

Usually we people are unwilling to admit that we do not understand something and therefore it is vital that we present the idea of asking for clarifications in a positive light not to embarrass the students. No-one is to be humiliated no matter what they ask. Sometimes the teachers have to keep up a real poker-face: “Thank you, Jim. That was an interesting question.”

When I try to ‘sell’ the idea above to my students I say:

There are no stupid questions. If you are wondering about something, there are certainly others who are wondering about the same thing. And it is my job to give you an answer. If I don’t have one, I will find out.

In fact there are three options how to deal with clarifications / translations. This is the moment differentiation steps in during the lesson.

Ask the students to translate the whole text into their mother tongue, with the teacher or in groups where a good student is checking the work. This is advisable with beginners no matter what age they are.
Only the difficult parts are translated with the teacher or in groups. The rest of the text is supposed to be a piece of cake as for understanding. This is the case with intermediate students whose level the teacher knows well.
No translation at all, unless the students ask some part of the text to be clarified.

The principle: The final aim is to have as little translation into the mother tongue as possible since it tends to eat up too much time.

Model text-based lesson

DEEPENING UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENTIATION, Part 1

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

Answering questions about a text is not a true CLT activity because the answers can be found in the text. Communivative use of language requires that the language is produced by the students themselves.

Still, ‘question – answer’ approach can be very useful. For some students it is as far as they can get – but I have witnessed a lot of miracles among students. They stop worrying about mistakes and throw in words and make a real effort to get their message through.

Let’s move on in our list of ‘Things to do in class’. I will first expand the ‘question-answer’ technique and show at the end of the article how to replace it, at least occasionally, with differentiation tasks.

The students have studied the chapter at home in advance
We have checked homework exercises
We have worked orally on the new words of the next chapter
We have listened to the chapter and checked understanding of the text
We have read the text or a part of it aloud
NOW we have to deepen our understanding of the text, and use differentiation
Doing oral activities, written exercises or underlining text in class

First of all, up to this point there have been many stages where the teacher has been the organizer and initiator of class activities. In my opinion this is the way it should be: time is saved, the students are active and the teacher is as much as possible in the role of a CLT teacher, an organizer and facilitator of learning
Linguists sometimes call this kind of text-based lesson ‘a closed system’ because the students are tied to the texts. However, in CLT activities we aim at using ‘an open system’ which ideally means that the students use language and ideas of their own.
In my logic this is the only way that makes sense because I do not want to throw my students into water until I know they can swim. In other words, the students must master the vocabulary, structures, phrases and some basic ideas about a new topic before they are able and can be allowed to talk freely.
One thing we teachers need to realize is that we do not make the questions about the text because we need information. No, since we already know the answers. This realization leads to the idea that we should use question – answer or any other approach as a way towards free talking. Asking questions from one student at a time does not make sense here. Everyone should be made talk and be active.
After reading the text aloud the students can be permitted to talk about the text freely. But can they all do it? The answer is NO, not all. So what are we teachers supposed to do? Use differentiation; i.e. every one of the students chooses one of the 3 tasks and works with others who took the same level task.
If you want to make the questions on the text yourself (since you have no time for differentiation) you can

A) usually we simply ask the questions and they are not visible, BUT now have the questions on the screen and read them from there (serving auditive and visual learners, developing reading and listening at the same time)
B) the funny option: ask all the students to answer the questions aloud at the same time (sounds crazy but 100 % activity level) You, poker-faced!
C) ask the students to work in pairs, (50 % of the class is active), the best option

Differentiation in ‘question-answer technique’

I assume just about all teachers use ‘question – answer technique’ but I hope not in the traditional manner. In Finland we used to have student streaming up to the mid 1980s, i.e. dividing the students into three proficiency levels with different goals. When the system was abolished, we only had mixed-ability classes and teachers were obliged to use differentiation in their lessons. Nevertheless, I kept the idea of three levels of streaming when I was trying to differentiate my teaching in class. But I let the students choose the level and change it as they pleased.

This is what I started to do in the mid-1980s at this stage of the lesson.

I gave three options to my students, they choose one task and find other who chose the same task and start working according to my instructions on the screen or in a handout.

They were completely free to choose A, B or C, even make a mixture of them if they wanted. They were only limited by time, 10 – 15 minutes.

Holiday resorts appeal to people everywhere, Shangri La close to Muscat, Oman.

For example, having dealt with the basics with a text (not here) the students would choose A, B or C. If you have a weak class, you may tell them to start with A and move to B and C if they have time.

A Look at the text about the summer holiday trip of the Hills, work in pairs and answer the questions orally taking turns.

When did the Hills start their holiday? (Lines 1 – 3) How did they get to Greece? (Lines 4 – 7) What kind of plans did they have for the holiday? (Lines 8 – 13) etc. Simple questions for beginners and weak students, answers can be found in the text, if encouraged the students can give answers in their own words. Why- and How do we know that -questions make the task a bit more demanding. Who, when, where, how, what … like, whose -questions are the easy ones since you can answer

B Look at the text about the summer holiday trip of the Hills, work in pairs and explain in your own words what happened in their holiday. You can make up things that are not mentioned in the text at all. Your story does not have to be true. Here are some key words: holiday, plan, London, train, flight, airport, hotel

C If you are not very interested in the Hill family’s holiday, explain about the best holiday trip your family has made. The foundation for the free talk is laid at the beginning of the lesson and the best students can easily do C.

The teacher remains in the background and does not interfere with the tasks unless the students ask him/her something. Neither do we correct any of the mistakes publicly even if we hear them. If we start doing that, the students become hesitant and finally stop talking in the fear of making a fool of themselves. The students do not make mistakes on purpose and besides, we can take notes on the mistakes and come back to them later on without pointing at any individuals.

You may think “Well, sounds reasonable enough but I do not have time to write the instructions.” But believe me, it only takes a few minutes and it is all worth the trouble when you see the smiles on the students faces. Besides, you can ask good students to take turns making up similar exercises for you. You will be surprised!

If you never or rarely get beyond the ‘traditional ‘questions – answers’ stage, you do not give your students a chance to speak freely, which is one of our final aims in CLT classes.

The next article deals with alternative ways of checking the level of understanding the text and how to turn the focus to talking in class.

Class management

I- and YOU-messages

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

YOU-messages judge the behaviour of a student. As a result they feel hurt and may disobey because of that.

In Gordon’s terminology YOU-messages refer to utterances which involve a problematic situation where the teacher is not pleased with the students’ behaviour or the way they work in class.

N.B. You-messages do not refer to situations where we are satisfied with our students and genuinely want to advise, thank, praise or guide them.

Situation in class: Malcolm has difficulties in getting started with his essay writing. He cannot get started and it clearly annoys him and he also shows it clearly.

Can you imagine saying the following things to him? Yes / No / Depends How effective are these utterances in solving Malcolm’s’s problem?

If you already answered ‘Yes / No / Depends’ in an earlier article , you may want to move on to look at my comments on the utterance below.

Stop complaining and start working!
You had better get started if you wish to get a good grade for this course.
Solve your own problems at home. When you are at school you have to study and not daydream.
You have to stop wasting your time and then you will be able to finish the work.
We only have one more week of school and this essay has to be ready by Tuesday morning.
You are pigheaded.
Grow up. You behave like this was a daycare centre.
It’s hard to believe you have planned to start senior high next year.
You are just finding excuses not to finish the assignment on time.
This task is a piece of cake for you. It has never caused you any difficulties.
Listen, essay writing use to be a challenge for me too. You are not the only one who thinks so.
Was this assignment too difficult for you?
Why did you not tell me earlier you did not understand the theory?
Come on, stop talking about the bad grade and let’s do something nice.
You are feeling guilty about not being able to return the essay today. I can see it in your face.

Miltary discipline in classes? No thank you. CLT teachers prepare the students for ordinary life and situations.

The point in thinking about these utterances is to consider their effect on the students and how they interpret them. Of course, the tone of voice and intonation are decisive how the messages are understood. How would you react if any of the things were said to you?

The potential interpretations below illustrate the harmfulness of some of these ‘innocent, benevolent’ utterances that we all are guilty of. So, let’s be careful in being too judgemental.

Stop complaining and start working! ORDER
You had better get started if you wish to get a good grade for this course. WARNING/THREAT
Solve your own problems at home. When you are at school you have to study and not daydream. MORALIZING
You have to stop wasting your time and then you will be able to finish the work. CRITICAL ADVISING
We only have one more week of school and this essay has to be ready by Tuesday morning. GUIDANCE
You are pigheaded. INSULT / BELITTLING JUDGEMENT
Grow up. You behave like this was a daycare centre. SCORN / REDICULING
It’s hard to believe you have planned to start senior high next year. INSULT / SHAMING
You are just finding excuses not to finish the assignment on time. UNJUSTIFIED INTERPRETATION
This task is a piece of cake for you. It has never caused you any difficulties. COMFORTING
Listen, essay writing use to be a challenge for me too. You are not the only one who thinks so. BEING EMPATHIC
Was this assignment too difficult for you? QUESTIONING
Why did you not tell me earlier you did not understand the theory? INTERROGATION
Come on, stop talking about the bad grade and let’s do something nice. HUMOUR with DIVERTING ATTENTION
You are feeling guilty about not being able to return the essay today. I can see it in your face. PSYCHO ANALYSIS

If the relationship is open and free from problems, the teacher can, of course, genuinely thank, praise as well as guide the student with questions and reasoning. Numbers 5, 10, 11, 12 and even 15 might be quite harmless. It all depends on how you say them.

Why do YOU-messages NOT work?

The other utterances above are so-called ‘YOU’-statements that we have to be careful with. Let’s see why and look at examples 1 and 7.

YOU-messages

1 Stop complaining and start working! ORDER

7 Grow up! You behave like this was a daycare centre, SCORN / RIDICULING

Message:

This is what Malcolm hears:

Malcolm, you are a failure and I don’t like you.

Another disappointment for the student. See the examples below how to use I-messages to soften the message in a positive way.

YOU-messages easily block communication between the student and the teacher. Let’s have another example why YOU-messages are not effective.

Situation: The teacher is getting nervous.

His/Her YOU-message: “Stop it! You are disturbing the class!”

The student’s interpretation: ‘He/She doesn’t like me. I don’t want to obey or co-operate with him/her.

‘He/She doesn’t care about me. Why should I care about him/her?’

And as a result the communication is blocked.

I myself have a very black sense of humour and I am easily very sarcastic. poker-faced. I have learnt to warn my students about it because in many cases the students have thought I was serious and they felt offended. Luckily my students told about it to me and I have learnt to be more careful and apologize for it if I still mess around.

Ok, maybe you agree with Gordon’s way of thinking. Let’s take a couple of more examples to hammer in the difference between ‘I- andYOU-messages’.

Can you feel the difference and grasp the effect of the YOU- and I-messages below? Roughly the same message but a different effect!

YOU-message	I-message
You are wrong.	I disagree.
Start helping me now!	I could use a hand, please!
You drive me mad.	I feel annoyed when you do that.
That’s just an excuse to leave the class without a reason.	I feel disappointed now. Am I right in assuming that is just an excuse?

I stumbled for a long time in getting rid of YOU-messages and learning to use I-messages.

Why do I-messages work?

The students are willing to do things for us and respect us

if they feel we accept them unconditionally as they are
if they feel we are on their side, helping them even if they have misbehaved
if we treat them fairly regardless of their skills
if we take their feelings into account

This is how you can start the I-message: I think …, I feel …, I believe …, I need …, I want …, I wish …, I’d like to …

I-messages don’t damage the student’s self-esteem because he/she does not feel he/she is judged or criticized.
I-messages do not directly tell the student what to do or stop doing. That is why he is more willing to change his behavior.
I-messages imply that the teacher is an ordinary human being with his/her feelings and needs, and requests for some respect for his/her work.

You-messages mostly carry a negative tone and the student is unwilling to co-operate after hearing and interpreting them (The teacher does not like me. Why should I obey?) You-messages solve the problem only from the point of view of the teacher, often at the expense of the student’s self-esteem.

If you send you-messages, you will hurt your listener’s feelings and the person will think:

‘You don’t seem to care how bad I am feeling so why should I try to please or obey you.’

Communicative teaching (CLT), Historical perspectives

COMMUNICATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHING

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

I felt something was wrong in my lessons. Deep inside I was ashamed of my methods of teaching English. But I was scared to death of the reactions of my students, their parents and my colleagues if I decided to try out the CLT principles. That was in the 1980s. I’m glad I did it anyway.

Communicative language teaching (CLT) is not a unified method but rather a collection principles and beliefs on how foreign languages should be taught.

What else is meant by CLT, communicative language teaching?

Communicative language teaching (CLT) methology actually consists of a set of principles and beliefs on

how foreign languages should be taught and are learnt
how languages are used in real life and
which skills/what kind of knowledge the learners of a foreign language should be aiming at

The other articles in this unit are:

Communicative language teaching – CLT	Cognitive approach to learning
	Constructive approach to learning
	CLT – 10 skill areas
	Methods, learning styles, strategies and profiles
	Four types of learners
	Differentiation, introduction
	Differentiation, how to apply
	Using the mother tongue in teaching English
	Behaviouristic approach to learning
	N.B. CLT ideas are discussed in nearly all articles

The articles above clarify the history of CLT, the ideas that CLT was based on. The behaviouristic approach is included out of interest and it is contrasted with the CLT philosophy.

See the summary of the differences between the traditional and CLT methods below.

The CLT ideas have been developed since mid-1970s and it is still the most widely approved approach to language teaching even if new ideas are still added to it. However, it seems to me that in many countries teachers are not successfully applying CLT principles and that is the very reason I am writing these articles.

Linguists and teachers in favour of CLT emphasize the students’ ability to communicate orally in versatile and appropriate ways in many situations in contrast to mastering partially only language-related skills such as reading and writing.

In CLT there is a tendency away from teacher-oriented grammar-based lessons with a lot of controlled exercises towards learner-oriented situations where the students can be more creative in their language use working mainly orally in pairs or groups without being afraid of making mistakes.

How does CLT differ from traditional methods?

In CLT lessons students work mostly orally in pairs and groups learning all language skills without any fear of making mistakes. The teacher organizes the lessons and remains in the background.

TRADITIONAL APPROACH

Are these your principles?

Teacher-oriented lessons, strict control on everything, little freedom in class
No belief that students can learn on their own without a teacher
Learning by listening quietly to the teacher and taking notes
Focus on grammar, reading and vocabulary
Focus on one or two skill areas, teacher controls every stage of the lesson, no differentiation
Teachers make all decisions and remain an authoritative figure, little feedback to students
Teachers teach, control, correct mistakes and evaluate
Drills, gap-filling and memorization, little thinking required
Students sit quietly at their desks raising hands
Teachers talk most of the lesson and interrupt learning, speaking is not favoured
Mistakes are corrected in speech, even in public
Teaching is based on following the official syllabus and textbooks, seldom any extra materials
Little attention is paid on how learning can be effective, new ideas are not tried out
Assessment is based on exams at the end of course, only some skill areas are tested

CLT APPROACH

Or are these principles yours?

Learner-oriented lessons, teachers help students and organize classes
Students learn well and enjoy learning in pairs and groups
Learning by doing, students are responsible for their own learning
Focus on messages getting through and fluency
Focus on all aspects of language and development of oral skills, differentiation is made use of
Students take responsibility too, have a say in how things get done and expect constant feedback
Teachers become organizers and facilitators of learning
Task- and inquiry-based collaborative activities, role play, work stations, intensive thinking
Pair and group work involving talk between students
The students talk a lot in lessons using the target language, the teacher is in the background
Students are not afraid of making mistakes, it is natural
Teaching is based on students’ needs/the purpose of the tasks, textbook + lots of other materials
Students are also taught study skills and learning strategies, student profiles are observed
Continuous follow-up of learning with positive feedback, all language skills are tested and evaluated, self- and peer-assessment

The first time I took students to London and Oxford was in 1986 and I cannot find a better ‘carrot’ or incentive than a trip like that to make the students talk in English a lot.

Something must be wrong when the language skills of so many students remain so modest! Are the teachers truly applying CLT ideas?

My own priorities at the early stage of my CLT application

1. Learning to apply CLT principles takes quite a while and both the teacher and the students have to be patient. With beginners and mixed-ability classes the best approach is to have learner-oriented lessons based on textbook chapters first and then gradually introduce new techniques. See my detailed introduction to textbook-based approach.
2. In a mini-scale CLT principles can be applied from the very beginning but demanding CLT activities require a few years of learning the language.
3. WORDS are vital in sending messages. More important than grammar. It is possible to communicate without grammar but hardly without words. Still, CLT is about teaching all language skills.
4. The priority order of language skills should be based on what is needed in real life. Oral skills can be combined with all other skills!
5. Speaking is a vital skill in real life. So we should practise real-life situations in role-plays and express our opinions and ideas even if our language may not be accurate. Never mind the mistakes!
6. Speaking is by far the quickest way in practising writing thanks to transfer effects.
7. There is a logical order in developing the skills when a new language is taught and learned by beginners.
8. The importance of the language skills change when the students start to master the language so we have to tailor our courses according to the needs of the students.
9. Grammar is only a tool and should be linked to speaking exercises and games, not only have traditional written tasks.
10. The pupils and students can take responsibility from the very beginning by working hard in pairs and groups We teachers tend to do too much of the work for them.
11 . ALL THE LANGUAGE SKILLS SHOULD BE INTERWOVEN IN THE LESSONS, the proportion in each lesson is to be decided by the teacher. Of course occasionally we focus on one particular skill area (grammar, listening or cultural knowledge, for instance).

Is there a way to combine the traditional methods with CLT methods?

Yes, definitely there is. It is just what I did during the transition period. I kept all the good things but simply made them student-oriented.

The best way for school authorities to change the methods teachers use

is to make publishers write textbooks where the CLT principles are already applied and the teacher guide books and additional materials are easily available
is to change the structure of the final exams so that the exam tasks and scope follow the CLT principles

Don’t throw the student away with the bath water. In other words, make sure the change is for the better for the students.

So when we started to apply the communicative approach in the 1980s in Finland we got superb materials which made the transition smooth and in-service training effective.

I myself never gave up some of the old methods that I had found useful with low-achievers and in some mixed-ability classes. In practice one of my biggest discoveries was to let the students do all the things I myself used to do. As a result nearly all my previous activities were run by students. For example …

The students checked the homework exercises in groups.
Checking the understanding of a new text was done in groups, not by me. In weakest groups it meant translating parts of the text into the mother tongue.
The weakest student was using the gadget (tape recorder) when the class read the text aloud after the tape or CD.
My ready-made questions about the textbook chapter were answered in pairs without raising hands.
Workbook exercises were checked in pairs or groups. etc

The lessons turned much more enjoyable for everyone and I was free to help anyone who needed assistance. In CLT terms having analyzed the needs of the students and set goals for the lesson at home, I became the organizer of the class and facilitator of learning at school.

I am quite sure nearly all teachers agree on the benefits of communicative language teaching but the problem has been how to apply the principles. Another reason is fear of creating chaos in class. However, do not let these reasons stop you trying. Study my step-by-step articles under the heading ‘The structure of a text-cased lesson’, tell your students what you are going to do and why. And hit the road! Personally I have never had any regrets!

So there is a way how to combine the ’safe’ teacher-oriented method with student-oriented approach with CLT principles. In these articles I try to justify my applications of CLT practices in plain terms without the theoretical linguistic jargon where the message is lost.

Old habits die hard … but changing over to CLT methods is something your students will thank you for.

Yleinen

HOW TO APPLY AfL IN CLASS, tools 1 – 4

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

No matter how brilliantly we explain new ideas it does not guarantee learning. Learning takes place in everybody’s own mind and it takes time.

The aim of using Assessment for Learning (AfL) is to improve the quality of the process of learning.

Let’s look at the first four tools of AfL.

The final or end-of-course exams verify if we have reached the goals of the course and that is what ‘Assessment of Learning’ mostly consists of. This type of testing is discussed at the end of each skill area under the menu topics ‘Vocabulary’, ‘Speaking’, ‘Pronunciation’, ‘Listening’, Reading comprehension’ and ‘Grammar’.

However, here we will focus mainly on AfL and how it can be done in lessons.

AfL, Assessment for Learning refers to all the continuous measures taken and feedback given by the teacher, student peers or anyone else involved in order to enhance learning.

AfL is an excellent a motivation tool in a relaxed CLT class:

The students realize

that the teacher is really interested in their learning and how they apply learning strategies.
what kind of learners they are and have the guts to find their own way of learning.
that they can really affect their own learning and grades and set their own goals.
that they may raise their grade by one upwards by working well in class and at home (AfL effort 9/10, final exam 7/10 > school report grade 8). (The principle works at least in Finnish schools.)
that they often learn best when one of the classmates explains the matter to them AND the best students learn social skills, for example, while teaching others.

9 ways how to apply AfL in class

The first 4 tools have been briefly dealt with earlier and most teachers are accustomed to using them. The main points are revised in this article below.

Formative tests and ‘Quizzes
Questioning techniques
Differentiation= Mixed-ability class techniques
Discussing learning styles and strategies
Class observation and self-assessment (This is the most important AfL tool!)
Assessment rubric /criteria opened up
Development discussion / (Performance appraisal)
AfL, Giving constructive feedback – tips, traps and phrases
Positive feedback comments

Points 5 – 9 will be discussed in the next article since they may include many ideas that teachers do not frequently use.

Formative tests and quizzes

Teachers have been using formative tests for many decades. They are short 5 to10-minute tests to check if the new content was learnt well enough. This kind of information is essential for the teacher and students as well. These mini-exams reduce exam stress, are fair and the focus is narrow and clear.

Some teachers use diagnostic tests when they get a new group and they know nothing about the students’ proficiency level. This may scare the students but they will calm down if you tell them that the results will not affect their grades at all. The test simply helps you to tailor the course better. Diagnostic tests can, therefore, be regarded as a special kind of AfL tool and formative tests.

I have been using formative tests in two ways:

1) The traditional formative test: To get information if the points of the current lesson or the previous lesson were learnt. So the tests took place in the same lesson or the next lesson after the points were taught. The student did not write their names on the test but drew a symbol of their own to be able to get their own paper back.

The tests were collected and distributed randomly in class (no-one marking their own paper). Then we marked the tests according to my marking scheme on the screen. The students marked the answer with a question mark if they were not sure how to mark it. I glanced at everyone’s results at home but they were not written down or collected. Vocabulary and grammar were my most popular topics to be tested.

The point in letting the students mark each other’s papers is that they have to think harder and they automatically compare their own answers with the ones in front of them: this way the feedback process is more active.

I hear you thinking: “But they will cheat, if I let them do it.” Some may try but I always mark the 1st test myself to get and idea of the students true level. Another option is to have a diagnostic test at the beginning of the course,

The issue of cheating also has to be discussed openly in class. If the students respect you and appreciate what you are doing, cheating is not a problem. Minimize the use of pencil in marking: only mistakes are underlined and question marks added.

2) Over the last few years I have replaced extensive summative exams with a collection of short formative exams. The only important thing is that the students agree with you on the idea and you teach and practise the content well before testing.

All the tests were checked by peers right after the tests after the papers were exchanged. I revealed the answers slowly and made sure there was no cheating. If the students could not judge the answer they marked it with a question mark.

I always checked the answers afterwards anyway but the marking took very little time. Retake of the test was possible on a particular day during breaks but turned out to be unpopular. If we had 6 formative tests during the course, the weakest result was left out.

This is the case when AfL and AoL are intertwined / mixed and there is peer-assessment involved. The students actually preferred this type of testing because there was less stress involved, the focus was narrow enough and the possibility to retake the test took off the pressure.

Quizzes

Electronic quizzes, like Kahoot, which is my favourite quiz, are a highly motivative way to have a formative test either individually, in pairs or in groups. It gives immediate feedback to the teacher and the class how well certain ideas are mastered. The students do not seem to get tired of Kahoot and think critically about their choices and are very competitive in a constructive way. There is no need to collect the results.

There are also other free programmes available in the internet.

Questioning technique (using differentiation the easy way)

Making the right kind of questions in class is a skill of its own. In nearly all cases we teachers know the answers to our questions so we do not make the questions to get information but to check if something was understood correctly or to ask the students to use the language to express their opinion.

Whether we are using textbooks or not, the problem of mixed-ability classes is there: the weakest students can barely find the answers to our chapter-based questions and the best ones get bored since they find them too easy.

I suggested an overall solution to this problem in my article ‘Deepening understanding differentiation. Part 1’: Letting the students choose freely one of the three options. For example:

When did the Hills start their holiday? (Lines 1 – 3) How did they get to Greece? (Lines 4 – 6) etc.
Look at the text about the summer holiday trip of the Hills, work in pairs and explain in your own words what happened in their holiday. You may use the pictures and the following key words …
If you are not very interested in the Hill family’s holiday, explain about the best holiday trip your family has made. (a high-order question which requires a lot from the students)

Don’t be alarmed! 1. 2. 3. above does not really cause you extra work and the same trick works in every lesson. However, there is no shortcut from 1. to 3. but it is up to the students to work for this goal if they find it reasonable. Still, I would personally be pleased in being in group 1. if it corresponds my non-existent knowledge of Japanese, for instance. So, all levels are to be appreciated.

Making questions forces the students to think and learning is directly connected to the amount of brain activities in the learners’ minds. The quality and level of the answers vary but it is always at least a little step forwards.

No matter how brilliantly we explain new ideas it does not guarantee learning. Learning takes place in everybody’s own mind and it takes time.

If the students are accustomed only to the teacher asking the questions aloud and one student answering it, the transition to the 3-step model takes time. The best way, in my opinion, is to start the process by having the questions on a screen and by letting the students answer the questions in pairs.

We teachers have to make the students think and ponder on the possible answers and by doing so we lead the students to work at their own pace. The transition from teacher-oriented method to pair and group work may be a very delicate one and the feedback we give has to be encouraging and not embarrass the students.

By now you must have realized that my method is a practical solution to an essential part of my English lessons: using differentiation in class.

Differentiation and teaching mixed-ability classes

We already discussed using ‘differentation’ in mixed-ability classes when we discussed the recommended order of doing things in a textbook-based lesson, when checking reading comprehension, the history of using differentation in Finland and finally how to apply the differentiation ideas in class.

However, it may be worth repeating some of the main ideas on differentiation and they run as follows:

Differentiation should not cause the teacher any extra work. My way of differentiation minimizes the workload AND allows me to help students individually while the others are working in pairs or groups.

Success in differentiation and applying AfL principles in class require the use of student-oriented methods as much as possible. It is the only way to have time to observe and help individual students.
The old ideas of having ‘streaming’ (having 3 classes in separate clssrooms based on proficiency level in English) is still lurking in the background. Nevertheless, ‘streaming’ approach was abolished in most countries decades ago by CLT teachers. In my system the students can choose if they take 1) an easy (recognition) task, 2) an average task requiring some more memorization and application or 3) a task based very much on free production.
I love to talk about INVISIBLE DIFFERENTIATION which means that I do not talk about differentiation at all but make it happen by using pair and group work. I constantly change the composition of the pairs and groups and the composition of the pairs or groups is never permanent.

Discussing learning styles and strategies

Teaching learning styles and learning strategies have been extensively discussed earlier on and I think it is enough here to provide you with the introductory article link to the discussions. You will find discussion about learning style and strategies in particular in most articles.

On the whole, this is one of the most fascinating areas in CLT research and if the teachers are able to apply the ideas suggested, the learning outcome among the students will rise to a new level. So does the students’ awareness of themselves as a learner.

There are five more tools for AfL and they will be discussed in the next articles.

Communicative teaching (CLT)

SPEAKING

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

I never learnt to speak English at school. I swore to myself early in my teaching career I would never allow this to happen to my students.

Basically learning to speak a foreign language boils down to four things: There has to be a lot of INPUT, ORAL PRACTICE, REPETITION and TIME.

There is no excuse for teachers, if their students dare not speak English when they leave school.

If the use of the target language is not activated orally with quality materials and methods, if it is not done over and over again and if there is not enough time for it, learning is not possible or it is desperately slow. And still, it seems everybody wants to learn to speak English.

Three possible ways to learn to speak a foreign language

It is taught and learnt in a systematic manner, like we do it in CLT lessons at school.
It is learnt intuitively in an authentic environment over a long period of time, very much like we learn our mother tongue.
It is partially learnt at school and activated in free time by talking to English-speaking people or playing interactive games headsets on, for example.

If we have a look at these three ways, we realize that Option 2 is not possible for many of us and the success of Option 3 is too random and dependent on the efforts of the individual.

The only option left is Option 1 and if the majority of students are not given a chance to learn to speak English, for example, at school, they will not learn it properly at all. Unfortunately this is exactly what happened to me and this is why I am writing these articles.

The only language I learnt to speak at school was German even if we never had any speaking tests and studied the language only for 2,5 years. We had six lessons a week, spent two lof them in a language laboratory working on a variety of exercises. And I can still speak German even if I have not studied it since 1973.

The vital lesson I learnt from my German teacher was simple: allow the students to talk between themselves with the language they master and have faith in them learning the spoken language.

Use it or lose it! How can the students learn to speak English if the teacher talks most of the time or makes them work silently on written tasks? NO WAY, spoken language is learnt by speaking a lot.

In this article i will answer the following three questions:

How does one learn to speak a foreign language?
What is the best method in teaching the students to speak a foreign language?
What modern techniques enhancing speaking skills are there to bring variation to foreign language lessons?

Many of the ideas related to teaching speaking have already been discussed under heading ‘The structure of a textbook-based lesson’, ‘Pronunciation’ and ‘Modern CLT group work methods’. Still, Latin ‘Repetition est mater studiorum’ = ‘Repetition is the mother of studies’.

The students start learning to speak English when the teacher stops talking – and gets them working in pairs or groups in English.

How does one learn to speak a foreign language?

by being exposed to the language not only at school but elsewhere too
by taking the trouble of learning words, phrases and expressions
by listening to others speak the language trying to understand the messages
by learning pronunciation by imitating native level speakers
by gradually internalizing grammar and social functions of the language

In short, by listening, practising and speaking a lot.

There is no one-way street in language learning. We are different and learn languages in different ways using our senses in our own style.

What all effective language learning methods share is the idea of doing a lot of things with the language. What really goes on in our brains in that process is still a bit of a mystery. Still, practice does it!

We learn to speak ...

by being brave and by enjoying speaking the target language with other students
by not being afraid that we are laughed at even if we do not always get our message through or if our pronunciation is not perfect
by not being afraid of making mistakes
by challenging ourselves and taking linguistic risks in new situations
by making utterances of our own and learning from others

The Tower of London, a must among London tourist attractions.

What is the best method in teaching the students to speak a foreign language?

The answer depends on the proficiency level of the students and the teacher is the best judge in choosing the method. Provided the teacher is aware of all the possibilities and can apply them well.

Any method that maximizes the time the students use the language and speak in class is good. The most popular approach these days is ‘Communicative Language Learning’ (= CLT) and most of the ideas presented in my articles are based on CLT principles. Speaking can be part of just about anything we do in class, even in learning vocabulary and cultural matters.

In CLT lessons we favour student-centred methods, principles and activities. In practice it means pair and group work in English and the teacher’s job is to organize and facilitate the tasks and assignments so that the teacher remains in the background and it is the students who talk.

If the students speak English 70 – 80 % of the time in lessons, things start happening. I have explained in detail how to do it in my articles under the horizontal main menu heading ‘THE STRUCTURE OF A TEXTBOOK-BASED LESSON’. The articles demonstrate how a teacher can easily turn teacher-oriented lessons to student-oriented ones.

What modern techniques enhancing speaking skills are there to bring variation to foreign language lessons?

First of all, it is vital in language lessons that the students do not always stay with the same people. In addition to regular changing of the composition or pairs and groups, there are methods such as station work, co-operative learning, task- based learning (TBL) and inquiry-based learning (IBL) which bring a lot of variation to the lessons.

All of the techniques have been explained in more detail with examples under heading ‘Modern CLT group methods’. In these lessons English often becomes a tool that is used to find information or solve problems. Learning to speak English becomes an enjoyable BYPRODUCT!

How can the students learn to speak English if the teacher talks most of the time or makes them work silently on written tasks? NO WAY, MOST TASKS HAVE TO BE ORAL!

My next articles in this unit deal with the following questions:

Speaking	Speaking, teaching beginners
	Testing speaking skills
	How to use speaking criteria in evaluation
	N.B. The topic is touched upon in most articles

Luckily the importance of speaking skills has been recognized in most countries and official speaking tests or exams with clear criteria are becoming part of the final examinations.

Communicative teaching (CLT), Modern group work

MODERN CLT GROUP WORK METHODS

31.10.2025 Raimo J 1 Comment

Student-centered lessons are vital in communicative language learning. I have earlier introduced my ideal model for dealing with textbook chapters. However, there are some special group work techniques or methods that are extremely effective and increase student motivation by offering another kind of approaches to the learning process.

They are typically practical extensions to what we do in class, roads leading to deep-level learning. Teaching the students not only linguistic skills but other skills needed in life, too.

‘Work stations’ lessons, Task-based and Inquiry-based lessons and Co-operative group work are ideal types of lessons if you need to introduce new effective and motivating methods in class.

I will introduce these techniques here by giving a general definition and deal with them in the following articles separately. In the long run I hope to be able to present a practical video on each of these techniques.

Any of these techniques is effective and ideal as a CLT lesson since the students are using English actively in groups and the teacher is in the role of a facilitator of learning. Learning takes place in a relaxed atmosphere without pressure and many other skills are enhanced in addition to learning English.

N.B. I have added lots of phrases to be used when you are giving instructions to the students on these techniques. See ‘Class instructions in pair and group work’ .

Work station technique

The teacher organizes the students in 4-5 groups that have different kind of tasks. Each group works for 8 -10 minutes at their table, checks the answers and moves on to the next table with different tasks. (Times depend on the length of lessons, of course). I recommend the use of work station approach in ordinary textbook lessons and in exam revisions, 10 minute bursts with a change in tasks.

Task-based learning

Task-based learning (TBL) is typically a group or pair activity where the target language is used in roleplay type of ‘real-life’ situations or to enhance the learning of some grammatical structure to achieve some communicative purpose. TBL is an excellent method in teaching everyday situations such as ‘at the airport’ and ‘at a restaurant’ but also when the focus is on some grammatical structure.

Inquiry-based learning

In principle inquiry-based learning (IBL) means that student groups use critical thinking and try to answer a question or solve a problem by using the target language every step of the way. For example: Which fruit and vegetables do you eat in your family and why? What does a healthy diet look like?

Co-operative learning

Co-operative learning is the most demanding form of group work for the teacher to arrange. It means first having an inquiry based group work followed by mixing the groups.

These new groups will have one member from each previous groups. Then each student explains the others what they learnt in their old group. In the end if time allows, everyone will go back to their first group to summarize what they have learnt.

This method may seem daunting but trust me. When you have done it once, it is ok. Just a little more planning and organizing. For example: What are the benefits and dangers with various sources of energy? What should you take into account if you are applying for a summer job?

I can hear you asking ‘Where do I find time to use any of these techniques? Yes, I used to think that way too. The reality is that most of our lessons are spent on dealing with textbook chapters. Nevertheless, if you follow my advice on how to speed up the process with the chapters or even skip some of them, you will find time for these techniques too. Any of these lessons are appreciated by the students.

Class management, Listening

Very basic PHRASES for beginners

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

Unless we are telling a story the number of phrases we teachers use in class is fairly limited. We can start with a small number of phrases and expand the vocabulary and number of phrases little by little.

Let’s read and learn some more basic phrases for beginners in English.

First say the instructions in English and then give the translations in the mother tongue during the first lessons. You can also show with your hands what the students are supposed to do; show the page, point at the screen, place your hand on your ear etc.

There is no point the teacher would be giving these instructions in the mother tongue all the time since these are simple but useful phrases in everyday life as well and the students will learn them quickly.

The teacher should maximise the use of the target language all the time in lessons.

The list below is not meant to be a coherent text but can be used at the beginning of the course with beginners of English. Let’s learn some more basic phrases during the lesson

Ask your students to repeat all of them. This is not meant to be a coherent text. Just a list of phrases. PRESS the BUTTON!

Basic phrases during the lesson

https://raimoenglish.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Beginners-phrases-during-lesson-5112-2.mp3

Everyone, can you hear me now? Yes, we can. / No, sorry I can’t. Ok, l’ll try to speak a bit louder. / OK, I’ll speak up. / Sorry, I didn’t hear that! / I’m sorry. Too much noise here. / What did you say? / Can you repeat what you said? I didn’t catch it. Can you see the photo on the screen? Yes, it’s fine. / No, it’s a bit unclear. Ok, any better now? How about now?

Look at exercise 4 on page 9, starting on line 3. Page 9, line 3. One sentence at a time. Who wants to start? It’s your turn, Jane and Peter, you’re next.

https://raimoenglish.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Thank-you-Colin-onwards-5113-2.mp3

Thank you, Colin. You have been very active today. / Let’s give the others and someone else a chance now, shall we!

Any volunteers? Sally, I think you know the answer, right? Would you like to try? Awesome! / Great! Marvellous! / Wonderful! / Terrific!

Alison, could I borrow your book for a while, please. /Thanks. Look at page 29. Page 26, not 29. Sorry, my mistake. / My apologies. / Sorry about that. /That’s alright. It doesn’t matter. / No harm done. No problem.

https://raimoenglish.blog/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Work-alone-5115-2.mp3

Sir, can I work alone? Ms Hill, can I work on my own today? Sorry, I’m afraid no, not today.

Here is a handout for each of you. / Here is a copy with the task for you./ Could you pass the handout to the boys at the back, please! / And this one to the girls, please! /That’s very kind of you. /Here you are. / There you are. / One for you and this one is for you.

Thank you./ You’re welcome. / That’s all right. / No problem. / Be my guest.

TIPS for the teacher

Having read the boxes the teacher says any of the phrases in the box in the mother tongue and the students respond everyone at the same time saying the same thing in English.
Pair work: Student A reads one of the phrases abd student B says the idea in the mother tongue.

Communicative teaching (CLT), Historical perspectives

ASSESSMENT OF and FOR LEARNING

31.10.2025 Raimo J Leave a comment

The quality of the student-centred learning process (AfL) is actually more important than the final results of the exams (AoL).

If you test and use the results to give grades, it is AoL. If you test and use the result to help the students, it is AfL. But AfL is much more …

Assessment for learning (AfL) consists of all the measures that the teacher and the students take while learning in order to make learning more pleasant, relaxing and effective. The best teachers have always done it automatically using formative tests, continuous assessment and personal feedback as a tool.

What the CLT researchers have done is that they have laid the scientific foundation for AfL to balance the over-rated importance of constant grading and exams (AoL).

Assessment of learning (AoL) refers to the traditional ways of evaluating students using summative exams, mostly at the end of the learning period.

In brief, the concept of AfL

was developed from formative and continuous assessment
but is more focused on the process of learning, learning styles and strategies
emphasizes the students’ role in assessing themselves and others
favours student-centered methods and feedback that enhances learning.

In short, using assessment of AoL

means checking towards the end of the course to what extent the goals of the course have been reached
This type of testing is discussed at the end of each skill area under the left-hand side menu topics ‘Vocabulary’, ‘Speaking’, ‘Pronunciation’, ‘Listening’, Reading comprehension’ and ‘Grammar’.

AoL and AfL compared

Assessment of Learning	Assessment for Learning
AoL 10% of teaching time	AfL 90 % of teaching time

N.B. The percentages above simply indicate which kind of assessment I personally consider vital.

The focus is on final results, summative exams and giving grades.
The student is classified: excellent – good – satisfactory – bad.
AoL takes mostly place at the end of the learning period in an examination marked by the teacher. Little analysis of what may have gone wrong.
AoL means strict teacher-centred control, individual (not pair / group) accomplishments are valued.
Little attention is paid to ways of learning and development of skills, mainly the content of the course is tested.

The focus is on the learning process and ways to enhance learning.
The student is compared with his/her previous performance.
AfL takes place all the time, done by the teachers or other students, not to give a grade but to guide the learning process, individual needs are taken into account
AfL is more like giving guidance and positive feedback to others continuously, the teacher in the background
A lot of time is spent on learning strategies and how to improve language skills, knowledge of the content is tested but the ‘side products’ of AfL are recognized.

You may wonder if you should be worried about not always knowing if you are applying AfL or AoL. No, definitely not.

The borderline between AoL and AfL can, in fact, be a line drawn on water. Wise teachers have always, at least subconsciously, done both for the benefit of their students.

How come? For example, if you have a practice lesson before the examination and the exam is analysed afterwards when the papers are returned to enhance learning, AoL and AfL are intertwined, in my opinion, in an ideal manner. Any AoL exams that make the teacher realize that the goals were not reached and some remedial actions are required, turn the original AoL exams into AfL exams simultaneously.

Over the last fifteen years more and more attention has been paid to the process of learning which we teachers are trying to make as smooth and effective and enjoyable as possible. These measures are what we call ‘Assessment for Learning’ and they are utilized from the beginning of the course till the end until it is the time for the summative exam.

In the past learners of foreign languages were terrified of making mistakes and the fear of embarrassing yourself in front of others prevented learners from being fully engaged in learning. Thanks to the ideas of communicative learning teachers realized the message getting through to the listeners/readers was more important than the accuracy of the language. Application of CLT and AfL principles is a highly recommended combination in any language class.

No-one makes mistakes on purpose (unless they are joking). If the message is understood, the mistakes do not usually matter at all. We make mistakes even in our mother tongue. Why should we worry about them when learning a new language?

In the end, the success of our language lessons is measured in how well our students cope with the language in real life, not which grades they were granted.

The next two articles deal with the tools you can use in class to apply the principles of AfL.