Humanising Language Teaching
Year 3; Issue 4; July 2001

Here's an activity to encourage students to use writing as a means of communicating directly with each other. It developed from Mario Rinvolucri's idea of the teacher writing letters to new students, thereby easing them into a new class and also strengthening teacher-student relationships.

In an environment of continuous enrolment, this is a great idea and my students respond enthusiastically. However, one drawback with large classes is that replying to each letter can be time consuming and difficult to continue reliably long-term.

So, why not let the students take over? - after all, the less teacher - centred, the better!

This is how it works: Our classbook is a spiral note pad, 12.5cm by 20cm, nothing too cumbersome so that students can easily take it home in their bags. There's no need to make a fuss about it. In fact, the less fuss the better. New arrivals soon realise that there is a book being passed around. If it's not being used at the time, I put it in a visible spot, in the centre of the classroom. When new students ask about it, either I or preferably the other students explain that it's our classbook. Perhaps they would like to read it? They can take it home to read and if they want, they can contribute, anonymously if they prefer. There is no pressure to contribute but of course, students notice if one of the students hasn't contributed and I hear them encouraging each other: 'Tomorrow's your last day. You can't leave without writing something!'

Contributions can take any form they choose: essays, drawings, photos, newspaper cuttings that they have found interesting, poems, odd thoughts, jokes, impressions of London, life in general, in fact anything they feel like contributing. Occasionally, ex-students send me a contribution via email, which I stick in the book and this produces a flurry of emails.

What kinds of things have they written about? Well, complaints about the London Underground and London Transport do keep cropping up, but usually comments are positive and often demonstrate individuality and creativity: amazement at London's swinging, cosmopolitan life-style, proverbs, frustration at how difficult it is to learn English, then on another page someone has pasted a newspaper cutting, a photo taken the day after the Clapham train disaster, showing a deserted car-park except for five cars waiting for absent owners.

The classbook has been running for over a year now. It goes with me from class to class, changing levels with me and in this way students get a taste of a cross-section of abilities, from Elementary to CAE exam classes, and are thus provided with a wide perspective on language learning and on what is achievable. Students are usually particularly keen to read what the CAE and Proficiency students have written.

What are the benefits of this activity? It provides authentic writing and reading practice, students peer and self correct, pointing out mistakes to each other or asking each other what they meant to say. Sometimes a topic continues as a thread for several days and provides material for discussion in class. The beauty about the classbook is that it empowers students - the activity truly belongs to them. I never correct what they have written and in fact, it is sometimes difficult for me to get hold of the book because it's in such demand. It provides communication practice without teacher correction or input. It encourages genuine class interaction across all language skills. For the teacher, apart from obvious continuous diagnostic value, it provides an insight into what the class are thinking and are interested in.

I have found this to be a simple but very powerful teaching tool. Both my students and I are very proud of our classbook. Try it!

Any comments or suggestions on further development of this activity would be welcome. Please get in touch: svetlana_m@hotmail.com

Svetlana Mintschenko teaches at the Cambridge School of English, London. She worked as a symphony orchestra violinist for 19 years and has a M.A. in German Literature from University College London.