1. The Callan Method
Czarina A. Alvaro-Abenoja, Ph.D.

2. ROBIN CALLAN
author of the Callan
Method
In his early 20s, he
went to Italy to teach
English in Salerno.
Robin thought, that
the way teachers
teach their lessons
was inefficient and
boring.

3. A teaching method created specifically to improve one’s English in an intensive atmosphere.
THE CALLAN METHOD
The teacher is constantly asking questions so the student is hearing and using the language as
much as possible.
When the student speaks the lesson, the teacher corrects his/her grammar and pronunciation
mistakes and learns a lot from this correction.
Presents a lesson that entails a lot of speaking and listening practice, but there is also reading
and writing so that the student understands English when it is spoken at a natural speed.

4. THE CALLAN METHOD
Focus: Improvement of
student’s listening and
speaking skills.
FAST
FUN
EASY

5. This method is full of questions. Each question practices a word, an expression or a piece of
grammar.
THE CALLAN METHOD
The student never knows what questions will be asked by the teacher so he/she is always
concentrating as one question is asked after the other.
The teacher speaks quickly. This is because in the real word, it is natural to speak quickly.
Callan principle: “If you want to understand normal English, you must practice listening to quick
natural speech and become able to understand English without first translating into your
language.”

6. Learn to listen and
respond to English
spoken at a normal
conversational level
Learn to think and
speak directly into
English without
first translating.
Learn practical,
useful vocabulary
and grammar
structures.
The Learner will…

7. THE CALLAN METHOD
The goal is to make the student practice speaking as much as possible, so he / she always have
to make complete sentences whenever he/she speaks in the lesson using the same grammatical
structure as in the question.
Example
Teacher: About how many pages are there in this book?
Student: There are about 200 pages in this book.
Teachers and students use contractions – this is because it is natural to use contractions in
spoken English and students must learn to understand them. ( e.g. I don’t instead of I do not)
Lesson Structure: 20-minute class 50-minute class
4 min : reading 10 min : reading
14 min : speaking 35 min : speaking
2 min : dictation 5 min : dictation
In this way, the student is not just answering a
question but she can make full sentences with the
vocabulary and the grammar that he/she needs to
learn.

8. Are there two
chairs in this
room? / Are there
two chairs in this
room?..No there
aren’t…
No there aren’t
two chairs in this
room; there are
twelve chairs in
this room.
The teacher will speak along with the student all
the time while the latter is saying his/her answer.
The student should repeat after the teacher, but
must immediately try again to continue with the
answer on his/her own.

9. It is suitable for students
of all nationalities, of all
ages, and for all purposes
of study.
It is based on repetition
and speed, the two things
that guarantee success in
the learning of a language.

10. THE CALLAN METHOD
No chatting. The student learns English quickly because the lessons are organized, efficient, fast
and busy, and there is no time wasted on chatting.
Chatting is not a good way to spend time in an English lesson. First, only a few students can
really speak. Second, in a chat, people use only the English that they already know. Third, it is
difficult for a teacher to correct mistakes during a conversation.
In your native tongue, you sometimes read or hear a word that you do not already know. You
usually need to read or hear this new word only once or twice in order to remember it and then
use it for yourself.
However, when you are learning a foreign language, things are very different. You need to hear,
see, and use words and grammatical structures many times before you really know them
properly. Thus, one’s studies must involve a system of revision (repeating what was studied
before).

11. Check his/her
understanding and
progress with regular
reading and writing
practice
Receive maximum
speaking practice
Choose to study in
the morning,
afternoon, or even
nighttime.
The Learner will…

12. Teacher’s Speed in
Talking = 200 – 240
words/min
The Callan Teacher’s extra speed :
prevents boredom,
stops them translate in their head ( by
not giving them time),
allows them to hear more words
repeated more times.
This makes it easier for them to
understand English outside the
classroom, and of course, makes them
faster.

13. REPEAT, REPEAT, AND REPEAT
“ The secret to success when learning a
language is to repeat, repeat, and
repeat, without thinking.”