Quotations  - hgunn.uk


Derek Rowntree (1982)

       Some teachers have thirty years of teaching experience, others have experience of teaching the same think thirty times.

       Averages are a crude measure educationally

       The assesmental tail can wag and even strangle the educational dog.


Mujis and Reynolds (2001)

        The medical profession in the early decades of this century reminded one that teachers are close to being now - they were relatively poor, demoralised and self-destructive, attempting to get their emotional and professional satisfaction out of inventing their own, often ineffective, methods. Every tried to invent their own cure for tuberculosis.

        Now they use methods which research as established a valid and, based upon an audit of the patient, obtain their personal fulfilment and satisfaction from seeing sick become whole and the lame become whole.

        Teacher need, similarly to reject the demoralising nonsense they should daily reinvent the wheel, and that their professional satisfaction is linked to their exhausting, but doomed attempt at educational and instructional (D.I.Y.), the educational equivalent to inventing a cure for tuberculosis. Instead, they should be encouraged to use what is known to be valid methods outlined in this book, while at the same time always enquiring how to make them better.

      They should be encouraged to gain their satisfaction not from DIY, but from seeing the educationally lame walk.

       The results would be a more self-respecting and emotionally fulfilled teaching profession, more educated and a more prosperous society.

Research is word that can be misused in society. Not all educational research is valid including university research. See Goldacre's book. Valid research is that accepted by range of authorities in their fields.


Wallace (2009) Oxford Educational Dictionary

       Although like most other professions. teaching requires a lengthy period of training and adherence to a professional code of conduct, many would argue that that are not normally accorded the parity of status with the other professions, such as law and medicine.


Gunn  (2010) - Developing a Second Language Teaching and Learning Strategies.

     Teaching should be a learning process for teacher and child.

     It is very easy for teacher to place pressure upon learners that would find it intolerable if it was placed upon themselves.

      This can also apply to Government Education Ministers

      It is very easy for teacher to pressure upon children that they would find intolerable if they were placed upon themselves.

     Teachers must also avoid the trap of viewing their teaching success in terms of the achievements of their highest attaining learners. It is very easy to be a good teacher when teaching those of higher potential, who will have the intelligence to overcome any limitations of their teaching approach, and to view this as a reliable indication of their teaching success.

        Learners will never be able to receive learning in their target language as fluently, accurately and effortlessly as they can in their first. Learning through the target language is like attempting to read effectively using out of focus glasses. All too often the inappropriate use of the target language in second language teaching is placing intelligent adult learners in the same situation as remedial children, who possess learning difficulties, because of their limited first language communication skills.  


Colin Baker (2011) - Foundations of Bilingual Education

       Cummins found that everyday conversational language could be acquired two be acquired two years while more complex language capabilities need to cope with the curriculum can take four to seven or more years to establish.

        In California, Hakuta found that English oral proficiency takes three to five years to develop, while academic English proficiency can take four to seven years.

        This makes the call for English immersion schooling for immigrants, where children are expected to learn English in just one word, is unrealistic and damaging". pg. 170

     In other research in New York, Menken shows that English Language Learners, even after seven years of elementary education through the medium of English, arrive in high school with limited academic literacy in English... Also, their native literacy skills are often insufficiently developed for them to read in that language at high school level, or for such skills to transfer to English literacy. Since performance at high school depends greatly on literacy, they are impeded in developing their learning potential.   pg 262


Hurd and Murphy (2005) - Success with Languages - Open University.

       Often as learners we set off with unrealistic assumptions, some of which may be fostered by the advertising employed by some course providers of language learners, along the lines of 'Learn language in three weeks!  pg.7


Hunter and Turner (2008) - Dysgu Cymraeg

      There is anxiety among the authorities for arranging courses concerning the very large number of students who fail to complete courses.

"Is it possible that some people  are attracted by catchphrases such as: 'Welsh is fun', 'Welsh is easy'. 'Welsh in a week' and are mislead.

   Everyone who thinks of learning Welsh seriously has to consider 'why'? Am I prepared to give a great deal of time, regularly to study? There is no justification learning superficially anyway.  pg.12


Gunn  (2012/6) - Developing a New Perspective on Langage Teaching and Learning. First and Second Languages.

       The history of second language teaching has been dominated by methodological conflict. Field (2000) suggested that the second language National Curriculum requirements were based upon a compromise and that there is, “No such thing as a new idea in second language teaching”. The underlying problem, as Field explained, is that second languages have not traditionally being accredited the importance that other subjects in the curriculum have. Kirsch (2008) contended that, “The findings of second language research does not provide a straightforward answer to the question of how children learn additional languages effectively”. This undoubtedly applies to adult second language learning also.  

     Second language teaching has been obsessed with methodologies. There have been many drifts between different methodologies. Gunn (2010) concluded that, “The time appears long overdue when the traditional methodologies are viewed as tools which can be used to address specific learning problems as opposed to rigid teaching approaches.”


Gunn  (2017) -  A New Applied Perspective on Langage Teaching and Learning. First and Second Languages including music and mathematics.

       The educational focus must move towards identifying what is in the interest of each child to receive in the context of what their individual needs are. The discussion has illustrated that learning is a process of cognitive growth and maturation, which resembles a growing tree. Not all children will biological mature at identical rates. Secure worthwhile learning roots should be grown in everything that children are required to learn and do. There are vast dangers in their learning too much superficially.   Cockcroft (1982) concluded that a curriculum should be developed from the bottom up, what the least able can do. Donaldson (2015) contended there has been too many top down educational initiatives. It is very easy for claims to made about what all children should learn, including the standard they should reach, but how they can realistically be expected to learn what is demanded of them is a very different issue.

       The plasticity of the brain of very young children is where their foundations of innate future learning potential is developed from. Proven secure researched educational practice needs to be constantly developed and refined.