What do you think about the Callan Method?

in my longish and varied experience of english schools in the Uk and worldwide, i recognise that nice theories don't always make for good practice. I worked with callan for a while. it works in the same way that hitting a table-full of peanuts with a sledgehammer works - you open a few with the sheer force but most get blown aside. communicative courses often leave big decisions to teachers who can justify getting away with anything - I communicated didn't I?
Especially abroad where students don't get the exposure to 'authentic english', a structured lesson and overall programme definitely hits target. I worked with SpeakyourMind for a year in spain and liked its balance between organisation and leeway for imagination. the students liked it on the whole too. i'm not so sure about Poles fixing in on a teaching system more than hungarians or any other of these opinions that seem to reflect the teacher's rigidity more than anything else.

to hugo
sir , i am very interested in speak your mind. is it possible to tell me in details about this method of teaching. i saw your web page, but unfortunatly i dont know japanese. i am going to implement this method in my country, as it is different from others and i think it would be very competitive. thank you in advance. i'll be obliged
looking forward ti your answer. my mail is: ninokotia@yahoo.com

Hi Nino - you can direct all questions to the main website of SpeakYourMind at www.speakumind.com (in English, Italian and Spanish) There you can find a basic introduction to what it is, and you can contact us from there to receive more information.

All the best!

Just a quick question.

Shouldn't it be "What do you think OF the Callan method" rather than "What do you think ABOUT the Callan method"? Or it doesn't matter?

In this case either "think of" or "think about" are fine, as is usully true when asking an opinion on something.
However, you'd need to say "Can you think OF any more outdated teaching material than the Callan Method bookks", not 'think about'. We're looking for a name not an opinion here.
There are other cases too but maybe this is not the right thread.

There are controversial opinions about the method. People say it is good or bad. However you may notice that it is relatively easy to find a job if you are trained as a Callan teacher. There are about 17 schools in the UK and 11 of them are in London. All the schools exercising Callan method offer teaching positions constantly and experienced Callan teachers are preferential. To apply for a teacher's position with St. Nicholas College of London please visit bookmark ‘teachers’ at www.stncollege.co.uk

I have been teaching the Callan method for a while now, as as a fully qualified school teacher with 5 years of TEFL experience under my belt, I can say, without hesitation, that this system is absolute nonsense. Yes, it does force the fundamentals of the language into the mouths of absolute beginners, but beyond that, it's next to useless.
Students reach a point where they have to use the language for self expression and need to put their thoughts into words. This, after all, is what a language is for. I feel, therefore, that the tired churning out of the same old phrases does not constitute a valid system for learning a language, but rather serves to lull students into a false sense of achievement.

Now then ... have I more thumbs than fingers on my hands?