Slides from The Accommodating Teacher talk I did for IH World's online conference 29/11/13

1. The Accommodating
Teacher
Chris Ożóg, IH Dubai

2. The Philosophical Core
Beauty in things/classrooms
exists in the mind which
contemplates them.
David Hume
Scottish
Wrote difficult academic texts
No “Scottishisms”!
Why?
Accommodation
From: http://filosofia.laguia2000.com/filosofia-y-arte/historia-de-la-estetica-xii-elempirismo-britanico-ii-el-problema-del-gusto

3. What is Accommodation?
‘accommodation through speech can be regarded as an
attempt on the part of the speaker to modify or disguise his
persona in order to make it more acceptable to the person
addressed’ (Giles, H. and Powesland, P. 1975:158)

4. Convergence vs Divergence
1. asserting your identity and difference between you
and your interlocutor to signal group identity, for
example.
Divergence
2. speaking more like your interlocutor to make yourself
understood due to factors such as attractiveness,
charisma, higher social status and so forth. As such, it
involves a desire for social acceptance, but also for
intelligibility.
Convergence

5. Convergence vs Divergence
Convergence – movement
towards
Courtesy of @sandymillin, ELTPics
Divergence – movement
apart
Courtesy of Martin Eayrs, ELTPics

6. Meanwhile, in ELF...
Courtesy of @AnthonyGaughan, ELTPics
English as Lingua Franca
Lingua Franca Core
(LFC)
“th” /θ/, e.g. “think”
intelligable as /t/ or /f/
Other 'teachable' pron.
features
Phonological
Accommodation in L-L
interaction
We must change what we
teach, but perhaps not
how we teach it (Walker)

7. Accommodation Reconsidered
...accommodation is to be seen as a multiply-organized
and contextually complex set of alternatives, regularly
available to communicators in face-to-face talk. It can
function to index and achieve solidarity with or
dissociation from a conversational partner, reciprocally
and dynamically... (Giles & Coupland, 1991: 60-61)
“speech rate, pauses, utterance length, pronunciation
and… non-vocal features such as smiling and gaze”
(Jenkins, 2000: 169)

8. Applying these Ideas
tion
c
ele
S
ial
Assessment
r
ate
M
Pro
nu
ncia
tion
???
Teacher Roles
Teacher Training
La
ng
ua
ge
Gr
ad
Courses Offered
Tea
c
Lexis Selection
Rapport
Topics
Grammar Selection
ing
Activity Types
o
Err
hing
r
Co
r
tion
re c

9. Native Speakers and Initial training
???

10. Language Grading
When is it most important to grade your language in class?
@cgoodey, ELTPics
@sandymillin, ELTPics
@Senicko, ELTPics
Transactional Moments of Classroom Interaction

11. Accommodation and Instructions
CONVERGENCE
The learners' level
Frequency of lexis used
The learners' L1s
Complexity of grammar
Where you stand in the
room
Pauses
Use of gestures, mime
Modulation of voice
Speed of delivery
'Surround' language
No. of words used
Use L1?

12. Raising Awareness of Intelligibility
Recording
candidates
Give a task
Dictations
Of learners
From Recording
Pron notes tasks
Note breakdowns
LFC?
Blogs/Reading
Input sessions

13. Materials and Convergence?

14. Materials and Convergence!
It’s 2013 and I’m back in Glasgow... My teaching is all project-based;
the course covers topics related to living in the UK, and I set projects
for students to work on that focus on these topics. I hardly ever use
published ELT materials. Instead, I make up my own... have long
stages where the learners generate materials... Occasionally I select
a language item in advance that I think the students should know
about, but [generally] language focus [is] dictated by the students.
The materials I’m using and the discussions they generate are rich
sources of language – I try to exploit this by clarifying new language
as it comes up. However, it’s the students who decide which items are
actually of use to them.
- Language Selection: An Evolution by Steve Brown
http://stevebrown70.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/language-selection-an-evolution/

15. Convergence & Learning Context?
What different needs do emigrant learners in Dubai and
Scotland have?
How does accommodation relate?

16. Scotland
Courtesy of
cgoodie, ELTPics
 Will meet Scottish people
 Greater need to know Scottish cultural
references
 Scottish lexis
 Scottish grammar?
 Scottish Pronunciation (recognition at least)
 (Largely) monolingual environment
 Native speaker teachers
 Little knowledge of L1 outside L1 communities

17. Dubai
Highly multi-national
ELF environment
Which standard variety?
3rd person-s? Really?
No need for Scottish anything
Likely non-native teachers
Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Tagalog
Massive L1 communities
English-speaking environment

18. Any Place for Divergence?
What about demanding high in teaching?
Or mixing it up a bit?
Or deliberately being linguistically 'provocative'?

19. Rapport and Accommodation
The non- accommodating
teacher builds a wall; the
accommodating teacher
opens a door.
Me, er, at the weekend

20. In conclusion
Courtesy of @mubeenfk, ELTPics

21. Any Questions?
???
Thank you for attending!

22. References
Giles, H. & Coupland, N 1991, Language: Contexts and Consequences. Keynes:
Open University Press, cited from Accommodation Theory, D. Thanasoulas,
<http://www.tefl.net/esl-articles/accommodation.htmDimitrios>, [30/10/13]
Giles, H and Powesland, P. 1975, Speech Style and Social Evaluation, cited in
Edwards, J. Language and Identity, 2009: 31, Cambridge: CUP
Jenkins, J 2000, The Phonology of English as an International Language, Oxford:
OUP
Jenkins, J 2006, 'English Pronunciation and Second Language Speaker Identity', in
The Sociolinguistics of Identity, eds T. Ominiyi and G. White, Continuum, London,
pp. 75 – 91.
Walker, R 2010, Teaching the Pronunciation of English as a Lingua Franca, Oxford:
OUP.

23. The Accommodating
Teacher
Chris Ożóg, IH Dubai
E-mail: chris@ihdubai.com
Twitter: @chrisozog
Blog: eltreflection.wordpress.com