Oxford university press biography of michael swan

I started in ELT as an untrained teacher who knew nothing about English except how to speak it. Coursebooks and grammar practice materials gave some of the basic information that my students and I needed, and this helped a good deal.

However, when I corrected the students’ homework, the books often didn’t explain why something was wrong; and the students had an irritating habit of asking questions in class which I couldn't answer.

Biography of michael jackson

Working out the rules on the spot was generally useless. When I was asked about the difference between one structure and another, I would either produce meaningless phrases like ‘It’s a matter of style / a question of emphasis’, or tell them what turned out on reflection to be lies.

In fact, as I slowly came to realise, it's no use trying to analyse language on your feet: your first answer is always wrong. So as I developed a professional conscience, I took to admitting when I didn't know