Inside Online Language Teaching: Conversations about the Future That Became The Present

Ross Thorburn

Independently published (2021)

Like many readers recently, I’ve been overwhelmed by articles and online events, all promising to give me that one tool to transform my online teaching. There is also a wealth of related books by gurus such as Lindsay Clandfield and Nicky Hockly, as well as Russell Stannard’s Teacher Training Videos. Did we need more?

Inside Online Language Teaching is a series of conversations and is refreshingly different. I wish I’d had it 12–18 months ago, yet its beauty lies in each interviewee’s immediate response to what we’ve all been trying to do. The book started out as part of a podcast from TEFL Training Institute of 15–minute episodes with scripts, which have been edited for this book. I thought I’d done pretty well online so far, but this slim volume is full of tried-and-tested, common-sense ideas from people who were already experienced online before the pandemic struck. The focus is largely on what you can do online, not what you can’t; this positivity is a shining beacon throughout.

Ross Thorburn has been living in China for the past 15 years, and while much of his experience is local, it also extends to teaching, training and supporting managers in ELT further afield, as well as to curriculum design and assessment. As the podcast attests, he is certainly more than qualified to delve into all these areas.

Some of his discussion partners may be familiar: Russell Stannard, Marek Kiczkowiak, Jake Wheddon. Several chapters focus on teaching younger learners, often in China, and though this may be a far cry from many of the contexts we work in, much of the advice is transferable; I’ve found ready-to-use nuggets in every chapter.

The first part looks at how to help students get the most out of online classes. Chapters 1, 2 and 4 are good places to start, dealing with the early-stage practicalities of moving online. It might seem obvious to remember to help orientate learners to a new platform, and teach them associated IT phrases. It’s also useful, online, to remember to focus on meaningful and authentic classroom interaction, and exploit what we have around us at home. Students also need ‘time out’ online. A wealth of ideas is included for both teachers and students on how to manage breakout rooms effectively.

In chapter 3, Morag McIntosh reminds us that asking students to share something exciting about their weekend, when they’ve been stuck inside, just doesn’t cut it online. Instead, she has encouraged teens to make a video on their isolation walk, share and watch these in class, and engage other students in a Q+A. She’s also done virtual cultural tours and quizzes. What a treat!

Chapter 5 turns the tables, and Ross is interviewed about his MA research on meaningful communication in one-to-one classes with low-level young learners. As a keen one-to-one teacher, despite teaching mostly teens and adults, I had high expectations. Ross had analysed the effectiveness of four tasks used variously by a number of teachers. I expected success to be related to the quality of the task itself, but in fact meaningful communication related far more to teacher interaction (questions; responses) than task design. A useful read.

Russell’s extensive experience shines through and Chapter 6 focuses on promoting learner autonomy, with numerous practical ideas on how this can be implemented – from teaching phrases about online tools, to how students can take control.

The following two sections look, respectively, at motivation online, and language learning at home with technology. Both stress developing rapport by opening up teaching and learning spaces to share online. The first does this through sharing interests, while the second highlights the benefits of involving parents. I’m not convinced that ‘showing’ my granny or hamster would work with my adults or in Europe dragging parents to the screen when they’re desperately trying to hold down their own job during ‘school hours’ would be a good idea; in study-driven China, however, parental support in language learning is surely a must for 3 year olds. My takeaway here is the use of online tools to help engage more introvert students, and address differentiation.

The final three sections move outside the classroom and focus on apps, setting up online courses, and teacher observation. The first of these will be useful for anyone promoting app use for language learning. It refers to Kathy Hirsh-Pasek’s four pillars of learning, and how these should be included in any good app: minds-on learning, engagement, meaningful learning and social interactions.

Readers of the next section will benefit from Marek Kiczkowiak’s experience of setting up online courses. From materials design on synchronous and asynchronous courses, to platform use and marketing, this must be the shortest route to having a go yourself!

The last part promotes the benefits of teacher development using recorded video lessons for observation, rather than rather relying on memory. We know how invaluable peer observation is, yet how rarely it happens, but the ideas here take this to a new level, also suggesting how to provide more effective feedback online.

While, personally, I would have liked to read more on adult one-to-one classes, perhaps within EAP and BE contexts, the book does do what it says on the tin, and each carefully-structured chapter is followed by a Top Tips and Takeaways section, and discussion questions. A four-page glossary is a bonus (items are unfortunately not hyperlinked from the main text in the e-book version), as is the detailed index. Having such an overview in relatively few pages (140) is a treat.

What I especially like, throughout, is the ‘chat-over-coffee’ style used, and the positive approach Ross adopts. He also describes how much of what we’re learning online is beginning to have positive effects back in face-to-face classes, in China. Let’s hope that has knock-on effects out west too!

Rachel Appleby is a teacher and trainer based in Budapest, Hungary, with over 25 years’ experience, mostly in Business English and tertiary education. rachelappleby.edublogs.org.