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| The TEFL World Wiki is a collaborative project with the aim of providing useful information for TEFL professionals. Use the SEARCH function at the top-right of each page to find a topic which interests you or browse through the various categories of this site using the lists below. We aim to provide clear, jargon free information for TEFL teachers and English students about every aspects of teaching and learning English from grammar to lesson plans to employment contracts to job hunting to qualifications... And for those starting out, check out TEFL: An Introduction which looks at what teaching English abroad is all about and how to start out in the business and How to Teach English which gives an insight into what goes on in the classroom. |
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TEFL Teaching This area is all about teaching: how to teach and what to teach. And then how to make sure your students are learning! Included here are loads of activities and ideas for classroom control, discipline, techniques and so on. |
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Grammar Guide The TWW Grammar Guide is a comprehensive guide to English grammar written in a user-friendly manner for both learners and teachers. | |
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Forums Discussion on all things TEFL & English. Notable forums include News and Jobs. |
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Employment This category (and sub-categories) is about work It deals with finding work as a teacher: both how and where. | |
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Skills How to teach the four skills in English: listening, reading, speaking and writing. |
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Books & Materials This category (and sub-categories) lists useful materials used in the classroom from coursebooks to software. | |
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Linguistics This category deals with the more academic and theoretical side of teaching English. |
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Glossary All the words and acronyms associated with TEFL... and what they mean... |
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TEFAL The lighter side of TEFL - Teaching English For A Laugh!. |
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Did You Know... © rotorod Rote Learning is an old-fashioned method of learning by continuous repetition. It is derived from the idea that if a student says something enough times they will learn it and be able to produce it when the time comes. In English it is also called learning by heart however there are more derogatory terms for it such as learning "parrot fashion" (in English and Greek) and "stuffing the duck" (in Chinese). Many of these imply force feeding of information.
ExamplesA typical rote learning scenario might occur in learning the conjugation of irregular verbs.
The class might sit and chant the conjugation a dozen times. Likewise with vocabulary, a teacher may give the class a list of 20 or so words to learn by the next lesson and the students go home and learn them by repetition.
CriticismWhilst rote learning does have a place in learning (for example, it can be useful to learn the lines of a script or a times-table in maths) the main problem is that it lacks any kind of contextual learning and it can, in a worst case scenario, provide learning without understanding. A student may well be able to learn a list of 30 English idioms and be able to repeat them flawlessly without having any idea of their meaning or when they can be used. Whilst rote learning can offer quick results (a student might be able to learn vocabulary very quickly) it lacks depth and understanding that only learning in context can offer.
UseMany school systems around the world use rote learning as a matter of course and your students may well expect to learn English in a similar way. In China, for example, students will expect tables and lists as part of their classes. In countries like France, however, rote learning is disparaged and discouraged.
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