In this interview I talked with Jason West, the Founder of Languages Out There about the recently published first Social Media English Course Book.
Of course, I also asked him about his company Languages Out There in general and what it is that makes his lesson plans so different compared to the classic ones.
Jason took the time to give us a short theoretical digression on the teaching principles as well as the psycholinguistic approach behind English out there for both face to face and online teaching.
The most important difference between LOT lesson plans and the content by classic ELT publishers is that all LOT lessons have been taught hundreds of times in real life already. They are developed and tested with and on real people.
So, if you are really interested in some true change in ELT, this interview is a must. And if you think you can stay with the old way of ELT, you better watch out.
Audio only
Additional Links to this Interview:
Languages Out There website:
http://www.languagesoutthere.com
You can buy the Social Media English Course Book:
amazon.co.uk
amazon.com
lulu.com
Articles mentioned in the interview:
How Web-Savvy Edupunks Are Transforming American Higher Education
Out There materials teach you the way babies learn their first languages?
A new life for old content – Thoughts on Syndication Part 1
E-Teachers Conference:
http://etcon.eteachersacademy.com
Kirsten Winkler is an Online Education Blogger on and the Founder of the E-Teachers Academy. 
The range of topics covered in this interview is amazing.
Thanks for this fantastic interview. Great amount of preparation and the choice of an honest, brave and passionate interviewee. Loved the role-swap at the end.
Very exciting news about the book – hope it will go down well. I'll keep my eyes peeled for Languages out there – Good luck
The bit on publishers and the whole EFL business is though provoking, controversial and will become part of the discourse on the topic. I enjoyed it.
Thanks to both of you for this.
Tamas
Hello Tamas,
after I turned the recording off, Jason and I kept on talking about this issue for about an hour. But we already agreed to do a follow up discourse about this. This topic is too good to be left aside.
If you are talking with Jason you have to be prepared for things like the role swap. I hope I looked not too much taken by suprise.
Quoting Jason: We might ruffle some feathers but hey, this is about education revolution
.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Kirsten