What increases TTT? Things you should take care of while talking

In a lesson there is room for a teacher’s input, students’ contribution and silence, and the balance of these is a skill in its own right. 

This blog post will delve into the time teachers spend talking in class, aka Teacher Talking Time (TTT), providing some tips on how to achieve the appropriate quantity of it.

So what things should an educator keep in mind in order to deliver a lesson with balanced TTT?

The first consideration is grading the language, which means adjusting the complexity of what you’re saying to match the proficiency level of your audience.

For example, rather than saying to A1 learners ‘Provide a detailed description of your favourite book.’, say ‘Tell us about your favourite book.’

Similarly, to challenge C1 students, you might say ‘Discuss the meaning of these sayings within the context of success and failure.’ in lieu of ‘Talk about what these expressions mean when we think about success and failure.’

Grading your language should be complemented by an appropriate amount of TTT.

If you are a quiet person by nature who tends to be succinct in your mother tongue, you might inadvertently reduce TTT. 

If that’s the case, it’s worth remembering that a teacher should model the use of the language learners are trying to acquire and grammatical precision. 

Example:

Teacher: ‘Do you ever feel the need to escape from city life? 

As for me, I like to escape from city life by going to the countryside. I feel free being in wide open spaces. It’s nice to get back to nature, breathe in fresh air and pick fragrant wildflowers in summer. So getting away from it all is my idea of rest. How about you?’

Instruction: ‘Think about your answer to the question. Use phrases related to being in nature. You have 3 minutes for preparation.’

After 3 minutes: ‘Now, discuss your answer to the question with your partner. Be ready to give feedback on your discussion. You have about 7 minutes. Go.’

While a speaking activity is underway, you may intervene if you notice that one of the participants is silent by asking, ‘Mark, what do you think?’ and move on to another pair or breakout room so as not to become part of the activity and avoid over-reliance on you. 

In this case, you can provide fast finishers with an additional task, such as an extra question to discuss, such as ‘What place in your country that you’ve never visited before would you like to visit?’

It is important to explain why you are doing something, especially with adult learners. 

I recall a situation where an adult student expressed dissatisfaction because she had to talk with her peers without me correcting mistakes immediately.

Interacting with fellow students enhances fluency, preparing students for real-life situations. Accuracy is addressed after a speaking task, when a teacher writes examples of both successful and less successful language use that were heard on the board. 

By asking open-ended questions, which encourage students to share their opinions, teachers can elicit reasons and examples.

Example:

Teacher: What kind of films do you like?

B1 Student: I like animated films.

Teacher: Interesting. Why do you enjoy them?

Student: Animation creates a special world where you can escape for a while.

Teacher: Can you give an example of an animated film that you particularly liked?

Student: Ratatouille.

Teacher: Why?

Student: Because I like cooking a lot and the main hero has a dream to become a chef. Plus, it’s well-made and really amusing.

Circling back to the aspect of a personality type, there are teachers who are naturally on the chatty side, meaning they may unintentionally include irrelevant information in their speech.

If in doubt whether your TTT is appropriate, seek opportunities to observe lessons taught by experienced colleagues, or invite them to observe yours and provide feedback afterwards. 

If this isn’t possible, you might audio record your lesson using a mobile phone and analyse your input.

This will help you identify areas for improvement.

Preparation for a lesson is of utmost importance, especially when you’re just starting to teach. 

Additionally, don’t underestimate your students' ability to understand instructions by immediately repeating what you’ve said.

Have some trust in their ability to comprehend and your ability to give intelligible instructions.

If you do need to repeat, consider using pauses at the end of sentences.

Example instructions: 

Open page 5. Look at photo A. Ask and answer the questions in exercise 2 in pairs. 

ICQs

1. What page should you open? (Page 5)
2. Do you need to look at photo A or B? (Photo A)
3. Do you have to work alone or with your partner? (With a partner)

I’ve noticed that by the middle or end of a course students become accustomed to your voice, instructions, types of exercises and lesson routines and it’s getting easier for them to understand what they need to do. 

However, ICQs are particularly useful when starting unit 1 with a new group of students.

In online classes, this can be done by highlighting relevant exercises on a shared screen. 

In offline classes, you can use chesting, which involves holding up material in front of your chest so all students can see it clearly.

For instance, instead of describing a picture yourself, ask them to describe what they can see. This approach involves learners more actively and provides them with more speaking practice.

Sometimes you may feel anxious meeting new students for the first time, concerned whether they will like your teaching.

This anxiety may sometimes lead to over-politeness, causing you to say something like, ‘Would you be so kind as to open your books and go to page 5.’ instead of the clearer ‘Open your books. Go to page 5.’

You shouldn’t feel uncomfortable during these silent moments. Silence can be productive, allowing students to focus and reflect.

Keeping all the nuances in mind might seem overwhelming at first, but with practice, maintaining balance becomes easier.

For further reading on classroom management, consider these resources:

• Teach EFL by David Riddell
• Learning Teaching by Jim Scrivener
• The Practice of English Language Teaching by Jeremy Harmer