ELT365 · Day 233 — Student Talk Time — Building It Up
Student talk time (STT) is not just speaking-skill practice — it is thinking time in the target language. Every minute of productive STT is a minute of acquisition.
Category: English Teaching
ELT365 · Day 232 — Teacher Talk Time — Cutting It Down
Teacher talk time (TTT) includes instructions, explanations, modelling, and filler. High TTT crowds out learner speaking practice — the goal of the lesson.
ELT365 · Day 231 — Teacher Proximity — Moving Around the Room
Where you stand sends a signal. Standing at the front during pair work keeps the focus on you, not the task. Move into the room to monitor.
ELT365 · Day 230 — Rapport in the Classroom
Rapport is the working relationship between teacher and learner — not friendship, but trust. Learners learn more when they feel seen and safe to make mistakes.
ELT365 · Day 229 — Using Learner Names
Using names personalises attention and signals you know who is in the room. Directing questions to named learners also distributes participation.
ELT365 · Day 228 — Keeping Learners on Task
Task design drives on-task behaviour. If learners go off-task consistently, the task may be too easy, too hard, or the outcome too unclear.
ELT365 · Day 227 — Managing Disruptive Behaviour
Most classroom disruption is unmet need: boredom, confusion, anxiety, or social pressure. Address the cause before the behaviour.
ELT365 · Day 226 — Working with Very Small Classes
Classes of two to five learners change the social dynamic — there is no crowd to hide in. Build in solo preparation time before pair or group tasks.
ELT365 · Day 225 — Working with Large Classes
In large classes, whole-class activities eat time; pair and group work multiply speaking opportunities. Monitoring must be systematic, not random.
ELT365 · Day 224 — Managing Mixed-Level Classes
Mixed ability is the norm, not the exception. The question is not how to remove the gap but how to use it — faster learners support slower ones when tasks allow.