We have decided to use this blog, instead of email, for the discussion because this will allow our interaction become much more accessible.

     Here are some quick comments on the article “Implementing ELT Innovations: A Needs Analysis Framework” by Waters and Vilches to trigger our discussion on the issue of needs analysis and teacher training. The article was attached as a .pdf file on Nelta email but even if you didn’t get to read that, these comments should help you post a response.

     One great point raised by this article is that of giving the stakeholders a sense of ownership: “… the trainers’ role is not simply to ‘teach’ the content of the innovation, but to maximize the potential for ownership of the innovation by the teachers” (139). This is an extremely important issue because if teachers who ultimately implement the innovation at the level of the classroom do not feel a sense of ownership, and therefore satisfaction, in the innovative approach, the pedagogy will remain an idea, an obligation, or a misunderstood something.

     Another important ssue othe article considers is the need to take into account not only teachers who implement the innovation, or the administration who make that possible on larger scales, but also students and a whole spectrum of stakeholders in the process of making an innovation in curriculum and pedagogy.

     A third point worth our discussion in this article is that of the need for educating teachers about the rationale for the innovation: “Any attempt to change the curriculum—whether indirectly through changes in teaching materials, for example, or more directly, through changes in teaching methods—implies a need for teacher learning, i.e. opportunities for teachers to learn about the rationale for the new form of teaching, to critically evaluate, and understand how to get the best out of it” (137). The Choutari team looks at discussions that we are having on NELTA mail as motivated by that particular need to discuss ELT issues at the conceptual level. It is also noteworthy at this point, therefore, that the editors have always urged readers/contributors to relate the general/theoretical readings and posts to practical pedagogy as much as possible.

     This time, we hope that NeltaChoutari will prompt—in fact, extend—some good discussion on the issue raised by Kate’s initial call for feedback and the following series of posts. The issue of innovation in general, or that of how to make new ideas and approaches to ELT productive in the classroom as well as relevant to our local society in particular, is one that is potentially inexhaustible. We certainly haven’t had enough discussion on this issue, and we hope to hear much more.

     Finally, here is a specific issue that has come up in our discussion since last month but hasn’t been followed up very much. On the issue of teaching basic sounds to beginners, Nepalese ELT community obviously needs to think in terms of thorough innovation: there is a need to shift paradigmatically from teaching letter names (and not sounds at the same time or subsequently), words starting with letters (rather than with sounds), and pronunciation of words that bypass the need to first “hear” the unique sounds and then practice producing them with the correct vocal features. The shift to be made is, as already implied, into teaching the sounds of a (A-ea, as in “apple”; A-aa, as in “arm”; A-a, as in “Anil”; B-b, as in “boy”; etc). The innovation, to connect this problem with the issue in the article, should start by familiarizing teachers with the concept that English letters DO (most often) correspond to particular sounds, within the sound system of the language (against the myth that they do not, or rarely do so).

In this issue, there are also the following items:

b. Teacher anecdote (coming up)

c. ELT humour (videos)

          “sinking” not “thinking”

          what a song sounds like

d. useful links to ELT resource on the web:

          BBC English Pronunciation Talk 1

          BBC Pronunciation Talk 2

Please share your responses as blog comments on NeltaChoutari Blog.