General and language learning theory, my own preferences as a learner, and my experiences as a learner and teacher all influence my beliefs about the nature of learning and teaching.

I regard interactivity in classrooms as crucial because, through engagement of learners together in focused activities, I have witnessed, read evidence of, and experienced greater learner interest and improved retention. Besides, if learners are passive recipients, it is difficult to see how they are going to develop domain-specific, generic, cognitive or linguistic skills.

Fortunately, social constructivism currently enjoys considerable favour in educational circles, and this encourages teachers to plan for active, collaborative learning. Outcomes-based education generally promotes a constructivist view of learning and results in more student-centredness. Moreover, in the language learning arena, the popularity of the communicative approach also results in an emphasis on student-student interaction.

Another advantage of an interactive, student-centred approach is that teachers have more freedom to monitor and listen to learners. This can have benefits in terms of informing the teacher about the progress of learners and their mood, and whether divergences from lesson plans are required.

Saying this, I still think that direct instruction has its place as an efficient means to convey information to large groups when self-aware learners are armed with effective learning strategies and can adjust to didactic teaching in order to internalise content knowledge. Behaviourism too offers a partial explanation of learning. Repetitive practice has its place, particularly with the development of psychomotor skills. Repetitive learning can involve understanding as well as habit formation, for example in the learning of Chinese characters and drills in language learning are beneficial for pronunciation.

As a teacher and trainer, I am conscious of my own learning style, but careful not to impose it on others. To accommodate a group of learners’ preferences, I initially adopted a balanced activities approach, i.e. varying the means and modes of instruction over time to satisfy some learners some of the time. Nowadays, I am able to employ a range of differentiation strategies which is more efficient. It is also my practice to conduct learner training so that students can eventually differentiate for themselves.

With regard to establishing a positive environment with and between learners, I conduct activities designed for this purpose. I also endeavour to act unaffectedly, manage behaviour in a consistent and fair manner, and observe learner reactions carefully.

During initial training, I believe that new teachers need to be exposed to the theory and research findings underpinning the pedagogical guidance that they receive, and to be invited to question that guidance by reflecting on personal learning experiences.

However, clear direction at this stage is, I consider, warranted. In my experience, teachers starting out on their careers look for straightforward recommendations from trainers on how to teach. Lesson frameworks and an assortment of immediately applicable teaching techniques constitute a ‘survival kit’ to meet their short-term needs as educators. They also need opportunities to develop the micro-skills of classroom management, e.g., giving clear instructions. Without these skills, teaching can be inefficient, disorganised and they may lose student confidence.

I also think that lesson observations, teaching journals and reflective assignments can help to circumvent any propensity towards prescriptivism in their teaching. For example, situated discussion following lesson observations in which the observer carefully evaluates the success of the teaching by reference to achievement of intended learning outcomes rather than strict adherence to a teaching recipe. This, I believe, can help new teachers to become more reflective and flexible classroom practitioners and to pay more attention to the learners rather than their own teaching performances. In the longer term, or for more experienced teachers, I believe it is advantageous if they are supported to continue their professional development through additional workshops to increase their methodological options, and through their own educational enquiries via, e.g., action research projects.