The Lemov Series : Applied Techniques in ELT "At Bats"
The “At Bats” techniques centers around the notion that the key to students acquiring and mastering a new skill is related to the number of times they practice it. Finding ways to incorporate as many “At Bats” during a given lesson will lead students down the path to mastery. Barriers to progression can be overcome from the confidence built up in core concepts. This is as true with language as it is with math, chemistry, physics, art, sports etc.
“Practice after practice, swing after swing after swing: maximize the number of at bats.”
In the language classroom it is crucial to build students knowledge on a solid foundation. The best and most effective way to lay the bricks of that foundation is simple: practice. Students must repeat, must drill, must speak time and time again before they will master language concepts. The challenge is finding ways to increase “At Bats” without sacrificing engagement or motivation. A drill repeated over and over quickly degrades in the quality of return for time spent practicing. Students are less apt to fall away from engagement as predictability increases. Varying lesson format, drill activities and difficulty level help to bolster engagement.
Students should repeat (in various ways) until the new language is mastered. Mastery opens the doors to building on what was previously learned. A student devoting large amounts of effort to the first part of a question lessens their ability to master the second. For example, consider students working on adding “Nice to meet you!” to the phrase previously learned “Hello, my name is (blank)”. Students who have mastered the previous content will devote less brainpower to recalling the phrase. More focus will be spent on mastering the new content and “At Bats” will deliver a higher yield – since students will be reinforcing previous content while layering new challenges on top. On the other hand, students who had yet to master “Hello, my name is (Blank)” must devote significant focus on recalling it. Remembering content that should have been previously mastered. They will get less out of the days lesson. They might fall behind their peers and lose motivation.
“Nothing inscribes a skill so that it can be reliable applied under any circumstance like at bats, so great lessons should have plenty of them.”
The idiom “Practice makes perfect” is almost a fitting expression here. What it lacks is the continuation found in a good classroom. Skills aren’t developed in a vacuum. Good curriculum builds vertically not horizontally. For students in the classroom “Practice makes perfect…for tomorrow”.
The “Lemov” Series is a review Doug Lemov’s 2011 book: Teach like a Champion: 49 Techniques that put students on the path to college. I highly recommend this fantastic work and do not claim any of these techniques as of/or being my original content.
