David Crystal - The Biggest Challenges for Teachers

Summary

The video script discusses the challenges of language teaching in the face of rapid linguistic evolution, particularly due to the internet and globalization. It emphasizes the importance for teachers to keep pace with new slang and expressions, and to expose students to various English dialects beyond traditional British or American English. The speaker also touches on the complexity of language and the need for teachers to be well-compensated for their crucial role in education.

Takeaways

• 😯 The rapid pace of language change is the biggest challenge for teachers, especially due to the internet accelerating the spread of new words and expressions.
• 🌐 Teachers need to keep up with language evolution because students are often already familiar with new slang and expressions before they are taught in class.
• 🌍 Globalization of English is a significant trend, with English spoken in various accents and dialects worldwide, not just British or American English.
• 📚 Teachers should respect traditional accents and dialects but also expose students to the diversity of English to prepare them for real-world encounters.
• 🔍 It's important for educators to improve students' listening and reading comprehension by introducing them to different English varieties.
• 🎓 The traditional focus on a single 'correct' form of English, such as Received Pronunciation, may not be sufficient in today's global context.
• 📈 The variety of English accents and dialects encountered globally is vast, and teachers should consider including multiple varieties in their curriculum.
• 👂 Exposure to different English accents can help students develop better listening comprehension and adapt to various linguistic situations.
• 📝 While maintaining a conservative approach for exam preparation due to exam boards' conservatism, teachers should still embrace language diversity in the classroom.
• 💡 Teachers can utilize the internet to easily access resources and examples of different English accents and dialects for educational purposes.
• 💰 The speaker suggests that teacher salaries should be significantly increased to reflect the complexity and importance of their profession.

Q & A

What is the biggest challenge in language teaching according to the script?

The biggest challenge in language teaching is keeping pace with language change, which is happening at an unprecedented speed due to the internet and globalization.

How does the internet influence the speed of language change?

The internet fosters new varieties and experiences of language, allowing new words and expressions to spread globally within hours rather than generations.

Why is it important for teachers to keep up with language changes?

Teachers need to keep up with language changes because their students are often already familiar with new slang and expressions, and it helps in maintaining relevance and effectiveness in teaching.

What is the impact of globalization on the English language?

Globalization has led to the diversification of English, with various accents and dialects becoming more prevalent worldwide, challenging the notion of a single 'correct' English.

Why is it a mistake to teach students that there is only one kind of English?

Teaching students that there is only one kind of English can be limiting, as it does not prepare them for the diverse accents and dialects they will encounter in the global context.

What should teachers do to expose their students to the variety of English dialects?

Teachers should incorporate listening and reading materials that represent different English dialects and accents into their curriculum to improve students' comprehension skills.

What is the speaker's view on the importance of traditional accents in language teaching?

The speaker believes that while traditional accents should be respected and taught, it is also crucial to expose students to the full range of language variation.

How can teachers effectively keep up with changes in language and pedagogy?

Teachers can leverage the internet to access resources, materials, and even direct interactions with speakers of different dialects, making the task of staying current more manageable.

What does the speaker suggest about teacher salaries?

The speaker suggests that teacher salaries should be significantly increased to reflect the complex professionalism required in language teaching.

What is the speaker's perspective on the complexity of language?

The speaker views language as the most complex aspect of human behavior, surpassing even fields like brain surgery and nuclear physics in complexity.

How does the speaker propose to address the challenge of teaching diverse English dialects?

The speaker proposes that teachers and institutions should choose which dialects to expose students to based on their likely future encounters and the usefulness of those varieties, while also using the internet to facilitate access to these dialects.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Challenge of Keeping Pace with Language Change

The speaker emphasizes the rapid evolution of language, particularly due to the internet, which accelerates the spread of new words and expressions. Teachers face the challenge of staying current with these changes, as students are often already familiar with the latest slang and vocabulary. The speaker suggests that educators should respect traditional accents and dialects while also exposing students to the global diversity of English, including American, Indian, and other English variants. This prepares students for real-world encounters with different accents and dialects and broadens their comprehension skills.

05:01

🌐 Adapting to Global English and Language Pedagogy

This paragraph discusses the importance of adapting teaching methods to acknowledge the global nature of English and the need for teachers to keep up with linguistic changes. The speaker humorously dismisses his responsibility for solving this issue, highlighting the complexity of language teaching and the importance of recognizing the profession's value. He advocates for increased teacher salaries to reflect the difficulty and professionalism required. The paragraph also touches on the use of technology, such as the internet and Skype, to facilitate exposure to different English accents and dialects, making it easier for teachers to incorporate global perspectives into their curriculum.

Keywords

💡Language change

Language change refers to the evolution of language over time, influenced by various factors such as technology, globalization, and cultural shifts. In the video, it is emphasized as the biggest challenge for language teachers, particularly due to the rapid pace of change fostered by the internet, where new words and expressions can spread globally within hours, as opposed to previous times when it could take a generation for a new word to become widely known.

💡Internet

The internet is highlighted as a catalyst for rapid language change, enabling new varieties and expressions to disseminate quickly. It is mentioned as a platform where a new word invented today can be known worldwide within 24 hours, illustrating the contrast with the slower pace of language evolution in the past.

💡Globalization of English

This concept refers to the spread of the English language worldwide, leading to a diversity of accents and dialects. The video discusses the importance of recognizing that there is not just one 'correct' form of English, and that teachers should expose students to the various English dialects they may encounter globally, such as American English, Indian English, and others.

💡British English

British English, in the context of the video, represents one of the traditional forms of English taught in schools, often associated with Received Pronunciation (RP). The speaker argues that while it is important to respect traditional accents and dialects, students should also be made aware of the diversity in English dialects beyond British English.

💡Received Pronunciation (RP)

Received Pronunciation is a standard accent of British English, traditionally taught and considered prestigious. The video points out that only a small percentage of the English population speaks RP, suggesting that focusing solely on this accent could be limiting for students in a global context.

💡American English

American English is one of the many English dialects mentioned in the video, which is widely recognized and influential due to its prevalence in media such as films and television. It serves as an example of the variety of English that students should be exposed to, beyond the traditional British English.

💡Listening comprehension

Listening comprehension is the ability to understand spoken language, which the video suggests should be improved in students by exposing them to a variety of English accents and dialects. This helps prepare them for the diverse linguistic environments they may encounter in the globalized world.

💡Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to understand written language, and the video implies that just as with listening, students should be exposed to a range of written English dialects to enhance their understanding and adaptability to different linguistic styles.

💡Accents and dialects

Accents and dialects are variations in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar that occur in different regions or social groups. The video emphasizes the importance of acknowledging and teaching these variations to students, to prepare them for the linguistic diversity they will encounter.

💡Pedagogy

Pedagogy refers to the methods and practices of teaching. The video discusses the challenges teachers face in keeping up with language changes and suggests that pedagogy may need to adapt to include exposure to various English dialects and the development of listening and reading comprehension skills.

💡Teacher salaries

The video includes a commentary on the importance of recognizing the complexity and difficulty of teaching language, suggesting that teacher salaries should reflect the professionalism and expertise required in this field. The speaker humorously notes that if they were in charge of the world, teachers' salaries would be increased significantly.

Highlights

The biggest challenge for language teachers is to keep pace with the rapid changes in language.

The internet accelerates the spread of new language varieties and expressions, making it crucial for teachers to stay updated.

New words invented today can be known worldwide within 24 hours through social media platforms like Facebook.

Students are often ahead of teachers in adopting new language trends due to generational differences.

Globalization of English is a significant trend, impacting the variety of English accents and dialects encountered globally.

Only a small percentage of the English population speaks Received Pronunciation (RP), challenging the notion of a single 'correct' English.

Teachers should respect traditional accents but also expose students to the diversity of global English dialects.

It's essential for teachers to improve students' listening and reading comprehension by exposing them to various English dialects.

Teachers need to decide which English dialects to expose students to based on their likely future encounters and usefulness.

Even if certain dialects are not directly useful, brief exposure can help students adjust to unfamiliar language variations.

Language change prepares individuals to encounter any form of language, moving away from the idea of a single 'correct' English.

Examining boards are conservative, so teaching for exams requires a more traditional approach despite language evolution.

Teachers face the challenge of keeping up with language changes without being linguists and having limited time for analysis.

The complexity of language makes teaching it one of the most difficult professions, requiring recognition and higher salaries.

The internet has made it easier for teachers to access and incorporate global English dialects into their teaching.

Resources and courses focusing on global English differences are available to assist teachers in their curriculum development.

Initial setup for incorporating global English into teaching requires time and resources, but it becomes reusable in subsequent years.

The speaker humorously suggests that if they were in charge of the world, teachers' salaries would be increased significantly.

Transcripts

[Music]

the biggest challenge without a doubt is

to keep Pace with language

change no question um that is the

difficulty always has been a difficulty

with teaching but it's particularly a

difficulty now given that language is

changing so fast it's changing for two

reasons one reason the internet which is

indeed fostering new varieties and new

experiences faster than ever before you

know in the old days if you invented a

new word it could take a generation

before the rest of the world knew about

that new word if you invent a new word

today and put it on Facebook everybody

knows about it within 24 hours let

and so language is moving faster and

teachers have got to keep Pace with this

because their students are already ahead

of them you must have had this

experience you know the kind of language

that you use uh all the time every day

whether it's English or any or Serbian

or whatever is often not the language

that your teachers know because they're

the generation older and they're just

not familiar with it until you tell them

and this is the sort of thing that's

happening to going to happen to your

students you see in due course New Slang

new words new expression are going to

come

in the other big Trend in language

change is the globalization of English

the fact of the matter is is that you

and your students will go out into the

big wide world and encounter F in the

English language well if you've been

teaching your students that there is

only one kind of English and that is

British English and the only kind of

accent is receive pronunciation which is

the accent of the queen and so on and

you say that's the only kind of English

you'll hear out there you are going to

be so wrong because only 2% of the

population of England speaks

RP and worldwide that proportion grows a

little bit but even so the vast majority

of the accents and dialects that you'll

hear as you travel around the world you

don't even have to travel just turn on

the television set or go to the cinema

and what you'll hear is of course a lot

of American English a lot of if it's

Indian Cinema a lot of Indian English

and so on standing any High Street

anywhere in the world where English is

an important language Oxford Street in

London I've done this I've just stood

there and listened to the variety of

accents and dialects that pass me by and

the variety of other languages too of

course and what I hear every now and

then one in a hundred passes by with the

educated accent that we are often

teaching our students to use so for

teachers the important thing is that you

retain that respect for the the

traditional accent reason being that

that's the accent probably you've been

taught or of course if you've been

taught American English that's a

different scenario but the same

principle applies there or Australian

English the same principle that there

will be one accent that you know that

you respect because your teachers have

taught it to you you've heard it more

than anything else the examiners have

examined you in it the teaching

materials are in it and if you know RP

and British standard English fine no ch

change there you'll carry on doing that

because it's a perfectly respectable

accent and dialect but but but if you

let your students go away thinking that

is the only accent and dialect in the

world then you've done them a disservice

but you've got to do is improve their

listening comprehension and reading

comprehension from the very beginning

you've got to expose them to as much of

the variation that exists in English as

it's possible to do now which VAR ities

will you choose of the hundreds that are

out there what will you choose well

that's up to you to decide that's your

main decision you or the institution for

which you will work you'll obviously

choose American English as well as

British English because that's so

obvious I mean because of films and

television and all the rest of it you

have to do that but whether you then

choose to expose your students to South

African English or Australian English or

Indian English will depend very much on

your view as to where these students are

likely to go how often they're likely to

encounter those situations are these

varieties going to be useful and even if

they're not it's worthwhile spending a

little bit of time just dropping them

into a scenario where you've never heard

anything like this before guys and you

just play them a bit of say Indian

English or Nigerian English or something

like this and just let them flounder a

bit and then sort out some of the

differences point to some of the

differences and say notice this notice

this it Tunes the ears you know it gets

them ready ready for difference that's

the point about language change it makes

yourself ready to encounter anything and

forget that old notion that there is

just one kind of thing that you would

want to call correct English now

footnote here that's the philosophy of

the classroom but when you're training

the kids to do the examination

then you have to be a bit more

conservative because examining boards

are notoriously

conservative and you know I wouldn't put

I'm loving it into an exam just yet

implicit in what you're saying is

another challenge for teachers whether

they're teaching now or teaching in the

future how to keep up and bear in mind

they're not linguists with time to

analyze all that's going on how does a

busy teacher keep up with with the

changes in the language and perhaps

changes in pedagogy I've have no

idea I mean this is your problem it's

not mine I thank the Lord every day but

I am not a teacher uh I said in the

lecture just a little while ago you know

if I were in charge of the world I would

want the the world to recognize there

are two most important jobs in the world

the most difficult jobs in the world are

not brain surgery and nuclear physics

and so on they're easy and no the two

big jobs are first of all translating

and interpreting and secondly language

teaching and the reason is

because no aspect of human behavior is

more complex than language it is the

most complex thing you will ever ever do

those of you who have learned two

languages or three or five you've done

the job three or five times over but

think what's coming out of my mouth now

you know 40 odd sounds phonemes whatever

you call them combined into several

hundred syllables superimposed there's

all sorts of intonation and Rhythm and

stress and so on combined into three or

4 thousand grammatical constructions

with how many words 50,000 100,000 words

depending upon the size of your

vocabulary but at least 50,000 words for

average speakers of English and it's all

coming out along with all the politeness

and the discourse features and the

rhetoric and the jokes and so on it's

all there you know and you do it in two

languages or three or five and you know

members 3/4s of the world's population

is bilingual to be monolingual is the

exception around the world and so here

we have a situation and you have to

teach

it well good luck you know and yeah just

briefly your recommendation what

government should do about teacher

salaries oh if I were in charge of the

world yes um the biggest bit of Applause

I got in the lecture in there this

morning was when I said that teachers

salaries should be increased by a factor

of at least four you know four times

amount but that I said I'm not in charge

of the world so that isn't going to

happen but that is the point you know

that kind of complex professionalism

needs to be reflected in salary scales

and all sorts of things and there has to

be time you see that's it you have to

find the time to do effectively the

research into the question well of

course not everybody has to do it if a

group gets together they can hammer out

a syllabus and focus on these Global

differences quite quickly there are

books out there now and and courses

called Global and things of that kind

which are trying to do this for you so

some of the job has already been done

but the job is now much easier than it

was a decade ago and the reason is the

internet so once upon a time if you

decided that you wanted to teach or talk

or expose the students to say South

African English well how would you have

done that apart from going to South

Africa or something these days it's so

easy just type South African English

into Google and up will come the latest

South African newspapers uh the audio

will be there Heck if you really want to

get into South African English you just

call up a school in South Africa and

they will have a Skype interaction with

you and you can hear the thing you know

live it's so easy now all it needs is a

bit of organizing and a bit of money of

course because you've got to get the

equipment and everything but the job is

becoming easier as a result of the

internet it will take a of time but it's

time that you only need to spend once

you know once you've done this basic

work and got the contacts and got your

materials then you'll use it next year

and next year and next year you don't

have to do it twice so I think it's an

initial problem but not a longterm one

[Music]

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