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“TEACHING ENGLISH WITHOUT TEACHING ENGLISH”
(Roberto Guzman)
Introduction
Learners listen, observe and follow instructions. Teachers control the learning
environment. But how “teaching English without teaching English”?
In this video, Roberto Guzman discusses his three phase system which he uses to teach
English without teaching English, to improve the learning experience for students and the
teaching practice for teachers.
Roberto Guzman is a full professor at the University of Puerto Rico, Aguadilla Campus. He
teaches undergraduate English courses in which he stresses the development of critical thinking
skills and hands on language development skills. He felt frustrated because he realized that his
students could answer very well in grammar, writing, listening and reading test. However, when
he tried to have a casual conversation with his students they were not able to answer anything.
He thought that when his students will to go into a work environment in which they are expected
to think in higher levels of cognition, analyse, synthesized, and to evaluate in another language
that is not their first language, it will be difficult for them. Therefore, he developed system called
“Teaching English without teaching English”.
He put away the grammar aspect and gave to their students a BS detector, which has
three parts: “1.) critical thinking on which students have to learn to ask specific questions
whatever they see, hear or read. On this way, students can know how much the speaker knows
about the topic that he/ she are talking. In this way, the speaker has to take responsibility about
their speech providing enough evidence. When the students get that part of the BS detector,
they go to the second part: 2.) they should detect logical fallacies that are very useful when the
speaker does not have enough arguments to sustain their speech. In addition, the third part came
from Benjamin Bloom who 3.) thought about what happens when the brain is thinking.
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Teaching English Without Teaching English
Reality Check
Students are able to make mistakes, which is essential for learning, without being scared
of being wrong. The teacher must be aware that the most important part for our students is to
have tools for the future and useful knowledge for their lives.
The language becomes a useful tool for the students' development. For example, the 3
stages for the BS detector are not only important for learning a new language, these skills are
also going to develop a new way of comprehending and seeing the world for those students.
As teachers, our concern is not only for students to learn the rules of the language, but
for them to be able to communicate their ideas with the language. An educator that doesn't only
care for the grades or the grammar skills.
Implication
Students can learn more than just English, as they are linking the class with reality, and
develop their critical thinking skills. They should comprehend language as more than just a set of
grammar rules.
Learning is an active, contextualized process of constructing knowledge rather than
acquiring it. Questioning and criticizing are important.
Learning is a social activity: our learning is intimately associated with our connection with
other human beings, our teachers, our peers, our family as well as casual acquaintances.
Each student access progressively and sequentially to the next level of intellectual
development according to his/her needs and conditions.
Teaching English without Teaching English

What metaphor does Roberto use to exemplify that content is more important than
form?
 The teacher is a guide in the learning process.

 Group work is essential --> development of social skills.
 It emphasizes active inquiry and investigation.
 Assessment by evaluation of child's projects and productions - there is no comparison
between students.
 Students are participants and not spectators: emphasis on learning by doing.
 Knowledge is always related to reality.
 It encourages disagreement and celebrates difference— treats the classroom as a place
where differences can be articulated and analysed.

Conclusion
After a brief review on the video about what Roberto Guzman proposes, I therefore agree
with him that “knowledge always related to reality” because most of the time English teachers
do not develop the communicative skills. Teachers only focus their classes on grammar aspects
forgetting that students need to practice what they are learning. Which means speaking and not
only answering questions in a paper.
It is also necessary to integrate different abilities, which are more deeply that the
cognitive side such as critical thinking. Students are not only students; they are citizens and future
professionals, as they need to have different abilities and competences that needs for social and
emotional development. Teaching is not only to teach a specific subject and give students all the
answers. Teaching is to give students the tools to discover and build their own knowledge,
experiment and develop social, emotional and cognitive skills to be an integrate human being.
Reference
Roberto Guzman. TEDx Talks. 2016. Teaching English without Teaching English | Roberto
Guzman | TEDxUPRM: www youtube com/watch?v=8pZa6R3rmRQ
Submitted by: Submitted to:

Maria Catalina F. Porcadilla Dr. Toni Gay Z. Artates
MAT English Professor


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Teaching English without Teaching English

 The teacher is a guide in the learning process.

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