Teaching Speaking/Listening in the East Asian Classroom

Abstract

This chapter moves from theoretical discussion of teaching and learning in East Asia to practical application of how to adapt specific methodologies to improve their usefulness and effectiveness in the East Asian classroom. The author first surveys many of the language teaching pedagogical innovations from the past century, while pointing out why the adoption of such teaching techniques faced heavy resistance in the East Asian region. Next, targeted adaptation strategies and “stretching techniques” designed to instruct students how to learn from different pedagogical approaches are introduced. Finally, the author introduces and contrasts two different approaches to teaching the same lesson topic, while offering detailed analysis concerning what would be effective (or not) in each plan, and the rationale for the differences between the two lessons.