The Future of
English Language
Teaching Conference

PLENARY

Swings and Roundabouts: Where we’ve been and where we’re going

Scott Thornbury

Saturday 26 June, 15:45 - 16:30 (UK time)

The history of language teaching methods is characterized less by a steady progress from darkness into light than by a series of pendulum swings and recurring cycles. Nowhere is this more apparent than in attitudes and approaches to the teaching of grammar. Equally volatile are attitudes to the use of the learners’ L1, and to the accuracy vs. fluency polarity. In this talk, I will review the history of language teaching methods from this cyclical perspective, and attempt to tease out some of the key dimensions along which different methods can be grouped. At the same time, I will dare to predict the next swing of the pendulum, and/or spin of the roundabout

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Scott Thornbury

Scott Thornbury is a teacher and teacher educator, with over 40 years’ experience in English language teaching, and an MA from the University of Reading. Until recently he taught on the MA TESOL program at The New School in New York. His previous experience includes teaching and teacher training in Egypt, UK, Spain (where he lives), and in his native New Zealand. His writing credits include several award-winning books for teachers on language and methodology, as well as authoring a number of papers and book chapters on language and language teaching. Scott is a series editor for the Cambridge Handbooks for Teachers (CUP). He was also the co-founder of the dogme ELT group. You can find out more about him at his website http://www.scottthornbury.com