David Nunan is Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Director of the David Nunan Institute for Language Education at Anaheim University, California. He is also Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Hong Kong. Professor Nunan has published over 100 books and articles. His most recent academic book is Teaching English to Young Learners, published by Anaheim University Press. He is also Series Adviser for Our Discovery Island, a major new series for young learners published by Pearson.

ELT Review: How many presentations do you give every year and how do you select the topic of your presentation?

David Nunan: I give around 50 speeches a year, and I usually negotiate with the organization about the topic. I’ve talked a lot about the topic TBLT(Task-based Language Teaching). The most frequent question that teachers ask is about how TBLT could achieve good results in the examinations. My answer is always that the examination system has to reflect the goals of the curriculum. We hope the learners will be able to use English to communicate. But if we do not test that ability, it’s not taken seriously. We need to change the examination system if it doesn’t reflect the communicative goals of the curriculum.

ELT Review: For 18 years, 21st Century English Newspaper Group of China Daily has been engaged in publishing newspapers for English learners in China and we have won the recognition from millions of readers. What’s your opinion on Newspapers in Education?

David Nunan: I think it’s crucial and fundamental. Before there was the Internet, newspaper was the only resource that people had. Even now, it’s still a very valuable resource. People can quickly obtain it, and they can read it on the bus or on the train. What I really love about 21st Century is the fact that you actually care about education.

ELT Review: Do you think TBLT can be used in newspaper reading classes?

David Nunan: Of course, it’s a perfect match, because TBLT is about making connections between the classroom and the world outside. Newspapers represent the world outside and learners can see that English is not just a subject to be studied, but it’s a tool for communicating outside the classroom. That’s why I wrote the book Teaching English to Young Learners, because learning English at a younger age is going to be a great advantage to the learners. The book is about engagement. Young learners don’t want to be bored, and teachers have to engage them through songs, rhymes and games. I’m trying to convince the parents as much as anybody else that learning happens more effectively if you are enjoying what you are doing. I also advise on a series entitled Our Discovery Island for young learners which will be published by Pearson in September.

ELT Review: Your ELT textbook series “Go For It!” have become the largest selling textbook series in the world with total sales exceeding 2.5 billion copies. What motivated you to write them for Chinese middle school students and what advice would you give to the teachers?

David Nunan: I wrote it for China because I think China represents the future. Many people are learning Chinese, but in the meantime, English is going to be the medium for successful communication for Chinese citizens around the world. Therefore, I wrote the series not just for young learners to learn English, but also for education in general. I write textbooks to get my message through to the teachers in a way that makes sense to them. Teachers shouldn’t make learning boring. Even if a teacher has a great textbook, he or she can turn the learners off if he or she makes learning boring.

ELT Review: What are TESOL’s biggest contributions to the ELT world?

David Nunan: The TESOL Association has done a great deal to professionalize the ELT world. It has resources, it provides seminars, and it publishes books. From a personal point of view, what it gave me was the connection to other English teachers around the world.