Creative Teaching, Sustainable Learning

Book excerpt: There are many books on foreign language teaching - this book is different because it focuses on the learner and the learning process. It starts from the social nature of interactive learning and locates learning in a community of learners, one of whom is the teacher. The conditions for lasting learning in the foreign language are the basis for the teaching methods. These aim to provide a rich and shared learning context, offer individualised support and scaffolding for learning and make the language the medium for learning what learners are interested in as developing persons. It makes teachers into reflective researchers of their practice, thus ensuring that teaching is an art, a craft and a science. The best learning occurs when teachers can read the effects of their teaching on the learning behaviour of the pupils and are able to adapt their approach to be inclusive of all learning types. The approach carefully developed in this book, takes foreign language teaching and learning to a new level. Without losing touch with its origins in Waldorf pedagogy, it also draws on contemporary learning theory. Above all it is an authentic account of the learning journey of a committed and caring teacher.