Griffin’s 2012 advice was to cut TTT (avoid explaining, delegate, model, plan teacher talk, measure it). His 2013 workshop calls that ‘quite simplistic’: teacher talk has functions like scaffolding, reformulation and comprehensible input, so choose it by purpose.
2012: reduce it (post)
- Replace explanations with examples for inductive discovery; use jigsaw reading so students explain.
- Model, and display instructions in writing.
- Script key teacher talk in the plan; set a TTT target and measure it (record, or have a peer count).
- “Every moment that the teacher is talking is a missed opportunity for students to speak.”
2013: choose it
- Label teacher moves in real transcripts: scaffolding, reformulation, extension, clarification requests.
- Real vs display questions (“What is the capital of Japan?” vs “Do you like kimchi?”).
- Rate your reasons for talking (explaining, scaffolding, instructing, narrating); plan talk with a purpose.
- “I think it’s too easy to demonize teacher talk without considering the potential positive aspects.”
Apply in my context (Claude)
- For YL classes, teacher talk is the main comprehensible input source (The silent period and listen-and-do). The right metric there is the quality of the input (graded, repeated, gestured), not a quota.
- For IELTS speaking, a TTT quota makes more sense.
Connections
Question purposefully - socio-psychological vs pedagogical questions · Observation for development - describe before you interpret