English Language Fellow Christine Lewis recently led a four-hour workshop on communicative language teaching in Indonesia. Eighteen educators at the Language Center in Airlangga University participated in the workshop, which focused on the teaching style’s importance in conversation classes.
“Instructors were challenged to search beyond rote and easy teaching methods to see the need for meaningful and engaging lessons,” Lewis said. Through active discussions and examinations of their own teaching, the participants practiced improving their lesson plans in favor of a truly communicative classroom. After engaging in several practical activities and assessment ideas, the group brainstormed problems that might arise in their own classrooms, and together they outlined ways to overcome these difficulties.
By the end of the workshop, the Language Center participants had evaluated their conversation textbooks in light of communicative teaching and added, changed, or removed materials to better meet their students’ needs. Instructors left the workshop motivated and excited to implement these changes in their classrooms.