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Teacher Talking Time in the EFL Classroom

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 PROFILE 6 (2005): 97-106
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Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Ciencias Humanas, Departamento de Lenguas Extranjeras

Teacher Talking Time in the EFL Classroom

Tiempo de participación oral del profesor en el aula de inglés como lengua eextranjera
profesor xtranjera

Nilton Hitotuzi
nhitotuzi@uea.edu.br
Universidad Federal del Amazonas, Brazil

Classroom Research may be simply defined as ongoing and cumulative intellectual

inquiry by classroom teachers into the nature of teaching and learning in their own
classrooms (Cross and Steadman, 1996, p.2).

This paper reports on a piece of classroom research, aiming to support the hypothesis that
most of the talk in my English-as-a-foreign-language elementary and intermediate classrooms
was done by the teacher, presumably implying a more teacher-centred approach. In terms of the
percentage of teacher talk, the results indicate that the discrepancy between the amount of
teacher talk actually done in these classrooms and that which was hypothesized as being in
conflict with a learner-centred approach was notably high. This appears to imply that, although
I talked more than the learners on some occasions, my lessons were much more focused on them
rather than on me, the teacher.

Key wor ds: Classroom research, teacher talking time, learner-centred approach, English as a
words:
foreign language, teacher-centred approach

Este documento reporta sobre una investigación realizada en el aula, con el fin de comprobar
la hipótesis de que el profesor hizo la mayor parte de las intervenciones orales en las clases de
inglés como lengua extranjera en los niveles elemental e intermedio, lo que implica presumiblemente
un enfoque más centrado en el profesor. En términos del porcentaje de intervención del profesor,
los resultados indican que la discrepancia entre el volumen de su participación oral en las aulas y el
que según la hipótesis conduciría a un conflicto con el enfoque centrado en el estudiante, fue
notablemente alta. Esto parece indicar que, aunque en ocasiones mi participación oral fuera mayor
que la de los estudiantes, mis lecciones se centraron mucho más en ellos que en mí, el profesor.

Palabras claves: Investigación en el aula, tiempo de participación oral del profesor, enfoque
centrado en el estudiante, inglés como lengua extranjera, enfoque centrado en el profesor

This article was received on April 12th, 2005 and accepted on September 19th, 2005.
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INTRODUCTION and foremost, capitalising on elicitation in the

Purpose and Significance of the Study classroom is of prime importance in an LCA lesson.
For the wealth of information it can provide, Students are not a tabula rasa on which supercilious
gauging the amount of talk produced in the second- teachers can record their knowledge; instead, they
or foreign-language classroom (Henceforth, L2 have knowledge and experiences of life and language
classroom) seems to be an interesting investigation. which can contribute greatly to the learning process.
It can offer, for instance, feedback on the teaching Rutherford seems to endorse this view. He argues
approach actually adopted in a given classroom, that, when attempting to learn an L2, the learner is
despite the claims of the teacher. equipped with two kinds of prior knowledge, which
The piece of classroom research reported on he labels knowledge that and knowledge how. The
this article aims to support the hypothesis that most first consists of an innate perception of the various
of the talk in my English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) possibilities of the target language (TL) and the
elementary and intermediate classrooms in the learner's capacity to infer the unknown based on his/
second semester of 2001 was done by the teacher, her rudimentary interlanguage. The second
presumably implying a more teacher-centred corresponds to the learner's first language (L1)
approach. The verification of such hypothesis would learning experience, to wit: 'the ability temporarily
contradict the teaching principles I purport to follow, to bend the new language into forms that will, with
namely, those of a learner-centred approach. maximal efficiency, serve the initial desire for
rudimentary communication' (Rutherford, 1987, p.
Benefits Derived from the Investigation 7). The implication of Rutherford's elaboration
At least two benefits derived from the seems to be that the more learners contribute in
investigation reported on this paper can be outlined the L2 classroom, the more they are likely to learn.
here. One is that it can inspire other in-service Hence, teachers should never underestimate the
language teachers to conduct research in their ability of their students.
classrooms. The fact that classroom research is The focus of an LCA lesson is on learners'
considered to be an important tool for professional experience and interests: the students may lose
development (Cross and Steadman, 1996) seems interest should the teacher choose an unattractive
to suffice for its exploitation in the L2 classroom. topic, or just follow the coursebook. If, however,
The other is that it satisfactorily answered the teachers use the coursebook as an aid for the
question posed at the onset of the study, which completion of tasks related to the students' areas
allowed me to continue working with the groups of interest and experience, the students are more
under investigation reassured that, contrary to what likely to become involved in the lesson, thereby
had been hypothesized, my lessons revealed the learning more (Nunan, 1989).
adoption of a learner-centred approach if the amount More emphasis on communication than on
of talk done in the classroom can actually indicate accuracy is another feature of a learner-centred
tendencies in terms of learner-centredness and approach, since one of the aims of most students
teacher-centredness. learning an L2 appears to be the achievement of
aural/oral skills. Moreover, it is likely that those learning
SOME TENETS OF A LEARNER LEARNER--CENTRED an L2 will use it more frequently to communicate
APPROACH (LC A) TOW
(LCA) ARDS L2 TEACHING
TOWARDS with other non-native speakers than with native
Second-language-acquisition (SLA) literature speakers of that language. If that is the case, the
provides a number of interesting discussions on the ultimate goal then is to be able to understand and
aspects that constitute the tenets behind a learner- respond to each other. Students, consequently,
centred approach as applied to L2 learning. First need opportunities to practise communicating in the
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TL without being haunted by the constant fear of apparently the more learners talk, the more they
making mistakes (NIED, 1999). Thus, in an LCA are in control of learning. However, deciding on
lesson, teachers should not interrupt learners' the ideal amount of time one should spend talking
interactions on the spot; instead, they should make to one's students is a rather complex matter if the
notes and give feedback later. different levels of proficiency are taken into
Learners should learn by doing: the more actively account. The paucity of information in SLA
involved students are in their own learning, the more literature on appropriate proportions of L2
likely they are to retain what they have learnt. Activities classroom talk across levels of proficiency is a
such as tasks completed in small groups, in which strong indicator that more research needs to be
learners are engaged in experimenting with the TL, conducted so that practitioners can make informed
and having to choose regarding learning, are decisions about their talking time in the classrooms.
examples of learning by doing. Tasks appear to be,
indeed, a major component of a learner-centred REGUL
REGULA ATORS OF THE AMOUNT AND
approach (Nunan, 1988). TYPES OF TEACHER T ALK IN THE
TA
In a lesson following an LCA, tasks are open- CL ASSROOM
CLASSROOM
ended; that is, there is more than one possible answer, It seems that the amount and type of talk L2
different from traditional grammar-based tasks, for teachers do in their classrooms are largely dependent
instance, which are either right or wrong and test only on both the specific goals of the syllabus adopted
one skill at a time. They are generally unimaginative, and their pedagogical principles. Nunan and Chaudron
often in the form of multiple-choice answers and totally consistently underscore the following points:
divorced from 'real world' situations. Open-ended tasks • "Of course, whether or not it is considered a
are wider in their focus and involve a variety of language good thing for teachers to spend 70 or 80 per cent
skills (Brodie et al., 2002). of class time talking will depend on the objectives of
Finally, in an LCA lesson, learners are constantly a lesson and where it fits into the overall scheme of
exposed to the TL through the use of authentic the course or programme" (Nunan, 1991, p. 190).
materials such as electronic articles, magazines, • "What constitutes an interaction of a particular
newspaper, and audio and video recordings. This size or purpose, and the degree to which the nature
exposure seems to suggest that an approach of the interaction is negotiable, depends on the
centred on the learners helps them learn far more rules of speaking established by the teacher. Enright
than the linguistic code. For one thing, besides found the two classroom teachers he studied
being informed about current events, being able differing in the degree to which student
to explore cultural traits from other countries, and contributions and negotiation were possible. One
by being allowed to participate actively in the teacher's constitution was the traditional teacher-
classroom, learners can be encouraged to think centered one of 'do not speak unless you are
critically and develop problem-solving skills through spoken to,' while the other's 'open or child-
creative tasks and group work (Ministry of centered' constitution was characterized by 'if you
Education and Culture, Namibia, 1999). have something to say, say it,' among other rules"
Clearly, underlying these tenets is the idea that (Chaudron, 1988, p. 118-119).
a learner-centred approach implies less teacher As regards Nunan's suggestion, in case the
talk and more opportunity for students to speak in lesson has a non-conversational purpose (e.g. a
the L2 classroom. It seems, thus, that the rate of writing lesson), one may expect a period of teacher
teacher talk vis-à-vis student talk plays a pivotal role talk for lecturing the students on the processes
in determining whether or not one's teaching involved in the construction of a paragraph, for
methodology is in line with an LCA, insofar as instance, followed by a silent period allotted to
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the students to experiment with techniques of There seem to be two major arguments against
composition production. these scientific pieces of evidence of the popular
Chaudron pinpoints the old-school and new- belief that teachers' speech either is or should be
school principles as major regulators of teacher talking predominant in the classroom. On the one hand,
time and type of teacher talk in the L2 classroom. the concept of the relationship between teachers
Teachers who still maintain that students should be and learners in the classroom environment seems
'spoon-fed' probably put themselves on a pedestal in to have changed a great deal since the time when
the classroom and believe that learners' contributions those pieces of research were carried out. On the
should be kept under control, or should not be other hand, and most importantly, all of the subjects
verbalised whatsoever during their lessons. Conversely, in those investigations were children. Experience
those who believe otherwise, besides allowing more and common sense seem to lead one to assume
freedom of expression in the classroom, also interact that children, by their very nature, demand a great
with the learners in various ways. deal more of talking by the teacher than adults do.
Therefore, one might find it hard to believe that
FINDINGS ON TEACHER T ALKING TIME
TALKING the teachers participating in these studies would
Apparently it is a general belief in the teaching- do more than half of the talking in those
learning world that teachers either talk or should classrooms were the subjects adult learners, let
talk more than learners. This belief is to a certain alone were the investigations carried out today.
extent supported by research. Bellack et al. (1966) Another point that might be important to
and Dunking and Biddle (1974), all cited in consider here concerns types of classrooms.
Chaudron (1988), found out, for instance, that Would teachers' moves be predominant in, say,
about 60 per cent of the total amount of talk done content-oriented classrooms? Do science
in L1 classrooms is done by the teacher; and subjects demand more teacher talk than, say, arts
further investigation claimed that the figures are or social sciences subjects? Regarding language-
about the same as for L2 classrooms. In Table 1 oriented classrooms, is it not compulsory that
there is an outline of the results of four foreign-language teachers take more turns in their
investigations reviewed by Chaudron (1988) in each classrooms than do their second-language peers,
of which, although the researchers have applied notwithstanding their teaching style? These
different criteria, they underscore the prevalence questions seem to be still lingering in the available
of teacher talking time over student talking time: literature on teacher talk.

Table 1
1. Investigations on teacher talking time (Adapted from Chaudron, 1988, p. 51-54).
Resear cher/year
Researcher/year Context %Teacher talk (range)
Teacher
Legarreta (1977) Five bilingual education kindergarten classrooms
representing two programme types ("Concurrent 70% - 80%
Translation" and "Alternate Days") Median = 77%.
Enright (1984) Two bilingual kindergarten classes similar in 42.9% - 84.9%
context to those in Legarreta's. Median = 64.5%
Bialystock, Fröhlich One grade 6 French immersion class and one Teacher talk:
and Howard (1978) grade 6 "core" French (FSL) class in Canada. a. French immersion
teacher: 68.8%.
b. Core French teacher: 6.3%.
J.D. Ramires et al. Seventy-two kindergarten through grade 3 classes
(1986) (L1 Spanish children in English immersion, and Not mentioned.
early-exit transitional bilingual education classes).
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THE INVESTIGA
INVESTIGATION TION METHOD heavily on Jane Willis's (Willis, 1996) task-based
The Resear ch Question and Hypothesis
Research learning approach (TBL) in my lessons during this
As the result of some reflection about my own investigation. On the other hand, two Portuguese-
praxis in the classroom in the year 2001, I noticed speaking groups of EFL students, both from the city
that I was talking more than I should when meeting of Manaus, capital city of the state of Amazonas in
my EFL elementary (EG) and intermediate (IG) Brazil, but characterized differently in several
groups, since I believe that my teaching must be in aspects, comprised the other part of the population.
line with the tenets of a learner-centred approach. The first group consisted of 10 elementary-level
This means, to a certain extent, more student and students attending the Closed Caption Project. This
less teacher talk in the classroom (NIED, 1999). I was a project which capitalised on massive video
decided, thus, to investigate whether or not teacher viewing in the classroom, and which was supervised
talking time was excessively superior to student by Professor Nelson José Fontoura de Melo from
talking time in these two classrooms. UFAM. The group met on Saturday mornings in
The initial hypothesis was that teacher talking three-hour sessions. Furthermore, this group was
time was in the range of 60 to 80 per cent and 40 rather heterogeneous as regards age and literacy
to 60 per cent during the elementary and level: four students in their mid-teens, at the high-
intermediate lessons, respectively (Table 2). In my school level; two in their early twenties, at the
view, these figures are beyond the adequate level undergraduate level; and four in their early thirties,
of teacher talking time at any level of L2 classrooms at the postgraduate level. The second group was an
whose focus is on oral communication. intermediate-level group attending the Liberal Arts
course at UFAM. Unlike the other group, these 22
Table 22: Hypothetical amount of teacher talking time students were fairly homogeneous regarding both
in the EG and IG EFL classrooms. age range (in the 19 to 25-age bracket) and level of
literacy. Additionally, another difference that appears
to be worth pointing out is that this group met twice
a week in 100-minute sessions. In terms of economic
background, the groups were evenly balanced: there
were members of the working-class and middle-class
in both groups.

Materials
In order to capture the amount of talk done in
the two classrooms, a TP-M105 AIWA micro
cassette recorder, and eight TDK-60 micro
Subjects cassettes were used. The amount of talk was
Due to its nature, this study involved both the afterwards timed with a DW-003 CASIO stopwatch.
teacher and the students. Thus, on the one hand,
one part of the population of the study consisted of Data Collection Procedure
a single subject: the teacher (myself), being a bilingual There were considerable variations in the
Brazilian non-native teacher of English holding a BA recordings involving the two groups. For one thing,
in Liberal Arts from the Federal University of only parts of four lessons were audiotaped in the
Amazonas (UFAM), and serving as a supply teacher elementary classroom. Importantly, the parts of
in the Department of Foreign Languages and these lessons captured on tape amount to 240
Literature of this University. Importantly, I capitalised minutes of recording. For another thing, four whole
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lessons were audiotaped in the intermediate class length (CL). However, there are at least two
classroom. However, due to some unexpected aspects to be considered involving these time-
routine alteration, this group's tally was 165 minutes length variables. The first is that, if the PTTT and
of lesson on tape. the PSTT are achieved in relation to the CL as
Once the data were collected, the amount of Nunan (1991) suggests, it is impossible to tell
talk that both the groups and I did was timed whether or not the teacher makes more moves than
discretely without any elaboration on the types of the group, since there are occasions when teacher
moves produced by both sides (For details on and students talk at the same time. The other aspect
some teacher talk statistics according to types of is that, through the calculation of the PTTT and
moves, see Chaudron, 1988.). The percentage of the PSTT from the TTCR, the percentage of teacher
the amount of talk I did in each classroom was talk versus student talk is rendered unambiguous.
then calculated (Table 3). At this point, it may be In addition, the SL percentage plays a pivotal role
worth drawing attention to the fact that the in determining the significance of the amount of
recordings in both classrooms were non-stop, so talk done by the teacher, in comparison with that
much so that they included pauses as well as all of the students. Importantly, without taking this third
the activities that were being carried out at the same variable into account, the PTTT emerges as
time in these classrooms, such as pair and group delusive. Consider, for instance, the calculation of
work, reporting, and listening to audiotapes. the PTTT on the basis of a given CL; if the result
Moreover, on the first day that the intermediate is, say, 10%, it does not imply that the teacher has
group was audiotaped, due to both a malfunction talked less than the group; if alternatively the SL
of the equipment and the spaciousness of the equals 80%, the students will have talked as little as
room, a great deal of student voice emerged the teacher. It was thus decided that the calculation
unintelligible on tape. A solution to this problem of TTT in both classrooms should be made based
was to tally as student talking time also all the on the TTCR, rather than the CL (Tables 3 and 4).
recorded unclear chunks of student speech.
COMMENTS ON THE RESUL RESULTS TS OF THE
Data Analysis Procedure INVESTIGA
INVESTIGATION TION
The following arithmetical formula was applied The Intermediate Group
for reckoning the percentages of talking time in both As the audiotaped lessons were expected to
classrooms: be based on tenets of the communicative approach
PTTT = (TTT/TTCR) x 100 (Larsen-Freeman, 1986), the students were kept
PSTT = (STT/TTCR) x 100 busy working on tasks (Willis, 1996) either
Where: individually, in pairs or in small groups so much so
PTTT = Percentage of Teacher Talking Time. that, as I was talking to a group or a single student,
PSTT = Percentage of Student Talking Time. student-student interaction was taking place
TTT = Teacher Talking Time. elsewhere in the classroom. These teacher-
STT = Student Talking Time. individual student, individual student-teacher or
TTCR= Total of Talk in the Classroom. teacher-small group interactions originally
The figures in Tables 3 and 4 show the amount amounted to another 25 minutes in the TTT slot
of talk done by me (TTT), the students (STT) and in the first two lessons. However, these extra
periods of silence (SL); this latter includes minutes were subtracted from Table 3 later, since
audiotape listening, videotape viewing as well as they would require different categorisations which
written exercise activities. These figures are might go beyond the scope of this paper.
expressed in minutes and as percentages against Importantly, albeit some experts might dismiss this
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kind of interaction as non-teacher talk, there is no classroom is a significant variable in the process
evidence whatsoever to the contrary in the literature of TTT/STT tallying. For one thing, in a lesson
reviewed. This dismissal might be ascribed to the that should involve activities such as video viewing
overlapping figures: the PTTT and the PSTT can or composition writing for most of it, both teacher
both tally, say, 80% of any given CL. This can be talk and student talk would be drastically reduced
easily exemplified by the instance of a classroom for obvious reasons. For another thing, the teacher
where the learners are working in groups and, as should do most of the talking should the lesson
they interact amongst themselves, the teacher is focus on involved explanations of grammar rules,
interacting with a particular group or a particular for instance. These arguments seem to be in line
pupil; it is possible that the PTTT can partially or with Nunan's comments on the amount of teacher
entirely coincide with the PSTT at the end of the talk in the L2 classroom (Nunan, 1991).
lesson. Thus, notwithstanding the fact that the Notice that the PTTT and PSTT in relation to
teacher is not addressing the whole group, it seems the TTCR for this group were 15% and 85%
reasonable to consider the turns taken by him or respectively.
her in those particular instances as teacher talk,
which in turn could well fall into some of Milk's The Elementar
Elementaryy Gr oup
Group
(1982) teacher-moves categories. Two factors involving the audio recordings in
In Table 3, there is a distribution of the length the elementary group render them different from
of time (minutes) the students spent talking the data collection in the other classroom. For one
amongst themselves and to me, and the time I thing, although lessons were merged into 180-
spent addressing the whole group against the length minute hebdomadal sessions, the data were
of the lessons (CL). Moreover, the peculiarity of collected from the beginning of each meeting up
the four minutes in the TTT slot corresponding to to the 120th minute of classroom activity. For
my moves in the session comprising the first two another thing, the nature of the lessons in this
lessons recorded is accounted for by the fact that classroom differs markedly from those given to the
all the details about the task carried out by the five intermediate group. In this classroom, there was
small groups into which the students were divided massive video viewing, which accounts for the large
on that occasion had been explained in the figures in the SL slot, as can be seen in Table 4.
previous session. For this very reason, one can For this group the PTTT and PSTT against the
argue that the type of activities implemented in the TTCR were 47% and 53% respectively.

Table 3
3. The tallying of the amount of talk in four lessons to the IG.
TTT STT SL CL
minutes % minutes % minutes % minutes TTCR
First two lessons 4 4.94 75 92.59 2 2.47 81
Second two lessons 18 21.43 50 59.52 16 19.05 84
Total 22 13.34 125 75.76 18 10.90 165 147

Table 4
4. The tallying of the amount of talk in four lessons to the EG.
TTT STT SL CL
minutes % minutes % minutes % minutes TTCR
First two lessons 37 30.84 42 35 41 34.16 120
Second two lessons 38 31.67 44 36.66 38 31.67 120
Total 75 31.25 86 35.84 79 32.91 240 161
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Rejecting the Hypothesis particular classroom - it seems beginning level

As Table 5 illustrates, in the EG classroom, the classrooms tend to demand more TTT.
actual amount of TTT was in the range of 40 to 60
per cent, and 0 to 20 per cent in the IG classroom. SOME CONCL USIONS
CONCLUSIONS
Issues Arising from the Results of the Study
Table 5. Actual amount of TTT in the EG and IG While it might be the case that the type of
EFL classrooms. investigation which involves the tallying of the
amount of talk produced in the L2 classroom is
undervalued by some language-oriented experts,
it can be of considerable value to reflective
teachers. The results of the study reported here,
for instance, can unveil a number of postulations
related to the relevance of the distribution of the
amount of talk in the L2 classroom. One such
postulation is whether or not the overlap between
TTT and STT should be regarded as a negative
aspect by LCA advocates. Many would be likely to
The comparison between the figures in this agree that there is no negativity whatsoever in such
table with those outlined in Table 2 indicates that concurrent tallying, since in student-student,
the initial hypothesis about the amount of teacher student-teacher (or otherwise) interactions both
talk in the two classrooms investigated was not parties (students versus teacher) are equally
supported by the results of the research. For one involved in the process of speech production even
thing, the 47 per cent of TTT represents 13 per if in different proportions.
cent less than the minimum hypothetical TTT (60%) Considering the balance struck between TTT
in the EG classroom. This difference is even higher, and STT in the EG classroom, for example, was
if the analysis is conducted in terms of mean ( X1 those students' learning prejudiced by the fact that
= 70% - X2 = 50% = 20%) . For another, the 15 I was talking as much as the students in the
per cent of actual TTT tallied in the IG classroom is classroom? If examined in the light of the nature
twenty-five per cent less than the minimum TTT of the activities carried out by the EG students,
hypothesized for this group (40%). Here, too, if the one might argue that, even when allotted a lesser
means are considered, the discrepancy between the share of the TTCR, students can still have their
hypothesized PTTT and the actual PTTT learning skills improved to a great extent and in
considerably high (X1 = 50% - X2= 10% = 40%)2. various fronts from the type of lessons I have
If TTT versus STT in the L2 classroom can be an implemented, namely, (1) listening comprehension;
indicator of the teaching principles adopted by me, (2) pronunciation; (3) intonation; (4) syntactical
these results seem to indicate the adoption of a more aspects and (5) vocabulary, just to cite a few.
learner-centred approach towards the intermediate Another issue that may be raised on the basis
group, and the establishment of a balance between of these results is the question of whether or not
teacher-centredness and learner-centredness in the the type of learner-centredness suggested by the
elementary classroom. This equilibrium can be high level of STT in the IG classroom contributes
explained by the type of activity carried out (video effectively to a solid development of L2
viewing) as well as the level of the students in this intermediate students. One might claim that at this
1
level STT should not cover 85 per cent of the
X1= Hypothesized PTTT and X2 = Actual PTTT for EG.
2
X1= Hypothesized PTTT and X2 = Actual PTTT for IG.
TTCR yet, since these students still need a great
 PROFILE Teacher Talking Time in the EFL Classroom
105 ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

deal of exposure to native-speaking models for (1990: 9) suggest: "(...) to remain effective, teachers
consolidating their aural/oral skills in the target (...) will need to continually upgrade their skills,
language, mainly in a foreign-language learning expand their knowledge, and develop new
environment, as is the case with the participants of strategies to meet the needs of increasingly diverse
this investigation. students and their parents".
Finally, considering my approach towards This seems to constitute a safe course for
classroom management and my capitalisation on keeping one's lessons both dynamic and
task-based activities mostly in the IG classroom, productive. It does not mean to say, though, that
one tends to accept that, despite the tentativeness less TTT equals dynamic and productive lessons.
of the investigation, the results somehow indicate Good lessons seem to be resultant of a number
a greater focus on the learners. of factors that can range from language theories
The creation of an environment in which learners favoured by the teacher to his or her personality
learn by doing appears to be one of the concerns traits (Holland and Shortall, 1997). But this, as well
of a learner-centred approach, inasmuch as it seems as most of the other issues raised from the results
the greater the involvement of the students in the of this study, seems to merit the implementation
process of learning, the higher the likelihood of of other classroom investigations (Allwright and
retaining newly learnt items (Stern, 1992). At this Bailey, 1991; Chaudron, 1988; Nunan, 1992).
point, activities anchored in TBL, which in most cases
have to be completed in small groups, appear to be ABOUT THE AUTHOR
a valuable tool to the development of learner-centred Nilton Hitotuzi holds an MA in TEFL/TESL
lessons (Nunan, 1988; Willis, 1996). from the University of Birmingham and a BA in
The assumption that the classrooms investigated Liberal Arts from the Federal University of
are in alignment with the principles of an LCA in Amazonas. Currently he holds a lecturing position
terms of TTT implies that lessons designed and at the State University of Amazonas. He is interested
implemented based on TBL are successful in in the teaching of methodology and pronunciation.
keeping TTT at a low level in L2 classrooms aiming
at the achievement of communicative competence REFERENCES
in the TL. Nevertheless, TBL, which currently seems Allwright, D. and Bailey, M. (1991). Focus on
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monitoring of both the long- and short-term Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
outcomes of this teaching approach should be done Brodie, K. et al. (2002). Forms and substance
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and Teacher Education,18, 541-559.
A Safe Course for Dynamic and Productive Chaudron, C. (1988). Second language
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expertise as educators, as Hixson and Tinzmann changes are generating new needs for professional
 HITOTUZI
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PROFILE
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