Waiting for Godot in the EFL classroom

This article1 is the result of observations carried out in a small number of EFL classrooms in Japan. It reports that there is a lot of what might be called ‘time-passing’ going on, and little meaningful communication. In this respect it tends to confirm the reports of other researchers in the area. The article shows how a teacher can become a researcher and thus gain valuable insights into processes of teaching and learning. It also makes a strong plea for teachers and others actually to observe what is going on in classrooms, as a first step towards a more professional approach to the teaching of EFL/ESL.