TEFLese

Here's a similar observation:

"The cloning of published materials has led to the creation of what is effectively an artificial dialect of English (TEFL-ese) characterized by large amounts of phraseology which learners find difficult to integrate into their language naturally. This may well be as it does not always conform to what they encounter in real business life."

(One disadvantage of being Anonymous is that we are stricter with linkage and other contact information-- MM)

Anonymous

Yes, very TEFLese. There are many similiar vacuous exercises in the world of TEFL.

Ah, so that's what you meant.
But I also agree with Jim: beginners need a simplified environment to understand the basics. The only problem is that it is often not presented as "simplified", and therefore the students tend to take it as the "ultimate" model to follow.
I started with an old grammar written in Italian as an introduction to English, then I moved on to read a more complete grammar in English (Murphy, for example), then other grammars (a little bit of Swan, unfortunately), and then I finally decided I'd had enough of that garbage, and I swore I would never rely on a grammar book anymore.

In the end, I think it all boils down to how good your teacher is. If he (or she) is good enough, he will definitely realize some material is boring and silly, and he will decide to follow a different approach based on his own experience. I am afraid most of the teachers who rely too much on TEFLese teaching materials don't actually know English very well themselves, and unfortunately that's what you have to expect from most non-natives.

And what if you are not lucky and your teacher sucks? Well, if you have a broadband internet connection, you don't need to worry! Nowadays, you can learn on the net! There's everything you need... especially englishforums.com! It's free! Join now! (LOL, sorry for the little advertisement )

TEFLese is a dialect. It is a product.

Suppose we accept that statement. Why does it matter? Non-native speakers outnumber native speakers, after all; if they and their teachers create TEFL-ese, and begin to use it between themselves, that's their affair.

(And imagine what our common friend M. would say, if he heard you, Anon. "The sentences don't get any more authentic"? Mere prescriptive sniping. In fact, I suspect that M. would advise disgruntled natives to pursue an entirely different course of action: to attend classes in TEFL-ese themselves, so that they could learn to communicate with the global majority.)

MrP

Anonymous

I agree, but I don't think that sentences get any more authentic as one progresses through the learning levels. Even at advanced level, there's lots of TEFLese English going on in classrooms world over. TEFLese is a dialect. It is a product.

I know, and that's why I believe once a learner is enough "advanced" they don't need any more courses, grammars, or specific teachers. That's when they need more advanced vocabulary and idioms, which they can pick up by practicing the way they like the most. Oh, let's not forget the dictionaries... You can't throw those away, they are absolutely vital (without them, I would write worse than so, and I wouldn't be learning new vocabulary so fast).

<In which case, why does it matter if TEFLese doesn't sound natural to you? Isn't TEFLese simply another kind of divergence?>

A divergence created by whom and imposed upon whom?

You seem to feel that TEFLese is OK for ESL classes. Is that what you feel?