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The John Martyn & Danny Thompson Moment
At Reading Festival in 1973, I saw John Martyn play live with Danny Thompson. The music came from a place I didn't know existed. I was seeing Martyn play his acoustic guitar but I was hearing sounds that didn't match. The music from the guitar came in waves, an alien language with more than one voice speaking at once. Only two musicians on stage but they sounded like more. And John's voice was anything but ordinary, like someone emerging from deep sleep, a prolonged period in zero gravity or a night on the razzle. Let me try and tell you the story.
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Smoke Signals in the classroom
Storytelling in the language classroom is a powerful tool. But what happens if nobody wants to listen? Or if, at least, that's how it feels? The problem is often not with the story. It's about the smoke signal you're sending out : people can't see the signal, all they can see is the smoke. Here are some ways to change that.
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Slow down, teacher, enjoy the journey
As a beginning teacher, I regularly had uncomfortable moments in class when I suddenly realised that everyone was listening to me. I could command people's attention in such moments, but was slightly overwhelmed by being the focus. I didn't exactly panic. However, I did feel myself reel a little as a rush of energy caused a slight dizziness to the head, coupled with a sense of a sudden stuffiness in the room. It was like being caught in a traffic jam of my own making. The flow was gone. All I could do was pull over to the side of the road for a moment and let the flow pick…
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Teacher’s voice – friend or foe?
Teaching involves speaking in public. Beginning teachers often become aware of the sound of their voice for the first time in their lives in the classroom. But when we say "voice", which voice are we talking about? We all have several. In fact, we have a different voice for everyone we talk to. This post uses the example of preparing to tell a story in class, as a way of becoming more confident with your voice.
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We all know stories
We all know stories. But how can they become part of classroom learning? When I first fell into teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in 1981, John Morgan and Mario Rinvolucri were already developing their ideas on the use of storytelling for the language classroom. A chance encounter with Mario Rinvolucri would set me up for a life with storytelling in the classroom. Here's how it happened.
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Two tales of orality from Harlow street market
This is a story about primary orality : thought and expression untouched by the culture of writing or print. There are places where language takes root, grows and generally has a field-day. Street markets are full of people who use language to make us listen. Want to know more about the price of cabbages and today's unbeatable offer on sheets and towels? Read on, dear reader.
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The Ferryman
Hi, I'm Gerry The Ferryman. Welcome aboard! Here's a short personal introduction to my blog so you know where I come from.
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Welcome aboard!
Hi, I’m Gerry The Ferryman. My story started out as a Rock Ferryman born in Birkenhead, a town which gazes across the Mersey at Liverpool and its skyline. My family moved south and I grew up in Essex, then studied at Keele but I have lived since then in France, working as a teacher and teacher trainer in EFL, mainly in Toulouse. I am the second in a family of six. My parents christened me Gerald, but over the years I have also been known as Ger, Josh and Gerry. When I met my wife Sylvie, who came in 1974 on a ferry from France for a language holiday in…
