Principled Eclecticism or Unprincipled Confusion - Andrew Walkley

Courses for teachers and directors in ELT: Join us on VK: Some have argued that we are in a post-method era where ‘principled eclecticism’ should be our guide. However, what exactly is are principles in language teaching and learning? Also, are our eclectic choices really in line with these principles? In this plenary I will try to separate out the principles from ‘the eclectic’. I’ll suggest a framework for defining our principles which may avoid an eclecticism that Henry Widdowson once described as ‘merely confused’. Andrew Walkley runs Lexical Lab with his long-term collaborator Hugh Dellar. Their methodology book Teaching Lexically: Principles and Practice is published by Klett. They also write coursebooks and ELT materials. Andrew and Hugh have written two series – Innovations and Outcomes - and one level of Perspectives. Content: 0:00 Introduction 0:30 Principled eclecticsism or unprincipled confusion? 8:00 Three examples of confusion 14:30 What role research and science? 18:00 What principles? 19:03 Principles about language 19:59 Principles about teaching and learning 22:27 Building a brand and being on the same page 25:46 Defending ourselves from dogma. The case of CELTA 27:06 Conclusions #elt #yarconf