We’re sharing the recording of Ceri Jones’ talk from IATEFL 2019 on the importance of peers in language learning and how students learn with and from each other.
In her talk, Ceri explores the concept of near-peer role models, using a personal windsurfing example. She also explains the difference between someone who might be an exact peer and someone who is a near-peer.
Covering how students can learn with and from each other, Ceri shared learner belief systems of near-peers. Near peers:
- are more relatable
- normalise variations
- model effective L2 communication
- expose students to the real English-speaking world
Communities of practice
By this, we mean a group of people who share a concern or passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Ceri says that this is us, as teachers, or even as attendees of IATEFL, and this can apply to our classes.
Watch the full talk below:
If you’re interested in hearing from more of our IATEFL experts, check out Michael Tomlinson’s talk on Project-based ideas for the primary classroom.