In this guide
Cambridge Veritas · Original TESOL self-study resources
Understand the idea
Preselected language is chosen before the lesson; emergent language becomes useful because of learners’ actual messages. Reactive teaching still involves planning tasks, monitoring and making principled choices. It is not simply teaching without preparation.
What you will practise
- Explain the key idea in “Preselected and emergent language” using a concrete example.
- Choose a teaching response that fits the learner and the purpose.
- Identify evidence you could collect to evaluate that response.
A closer look at the teaching
Prepare the conditions for communication even when the exact language focus is not predetermined. Choose a task, anticipate useful resources and decide how to collect output. During the exchange, notice what learners want to express but cannot yet manage. A small relevant focus can then make the next attempt more effective.
Reactive teaching begins from communication and uses learner output to decide which language support will be most useful. The teacher still plans an achievable task, prepares to monitor and makes selective decisions. Respond to what learners meant, highlight effective language and address a small number of important needs. A later attempt with changed information gives the feedback a practical purpose and shows whether the support can be used.
In the classroom
A planned travel discussion generates repeated difficulty explaining a change of plan.
Before choosing an activity, identify what the learner needs to understand or communicate. Separate the language demand from other demands such as reading instructions, managing equipment or speaking to a large group.
A teaching sequence you can adapt
Use these stages as a starting point for this topic. Keep the language goal visible, and change the support when learner responses show a different need.
- 01
Set up a clear communicative task with a product or decision learners can report.
- 02
Monitor selected groups and record useful language, recurring difficulties and blocked meanings.
- 03
Respond to the content, then clarify or improve a small number of representative language examples.
- 04
Use a related task with changed conditions and monitor transfer of the selected focus.
Check whether the selected language helps learners express a message they were actually trying to convey.
A common mistake to avoid
Do not confuse reactive teaching with having no plan, aim or preparation.
When reviewing the activity, distinguish what you observed from what you inferred. Use the task outcome and a fresh example to decide whether another explanation, a different scaffold or more independent practice is needed.
Adapt it for your learners
Make the task accessible.
Keep a small phrase bank available and offer a brief prompt when a learner cannot continue the message.
Extend the thinking.
Ask learners to identify useful language needs themselves and explain why a proposed upgrade improves the communication.
Keep the intended outcome consistent when comparing responses. Record which support was available so you do not confuse a supported performance with the same task completed independently.
Try it, then compare.
Take a moment to make your own decision. Compare your reasoning with the example, then adapt it for a teaching context you know.
Try it in a teaching context
Explain a useful reactive response.
Your questions, answered.
What is a common mistake with Preselected and emergent language?
Do not confuse reactive teaching with having no plan, aim or preparation.
How can I check whether the teaching worked?
Check whether the selected language helps learners express a message they were actually trying to convey.
How can I support learners who find the task difficult?
Keep a small phrase bank available and offer a brief prompt when a learner cannot continue the message.
How can I add a useful extra challenge?
Ask learners to identify useful language needs themselves and explain why a proposed upgrade improves the communication.
Quick revision
- The key idea: Preselected language is chosen before the lesson; emergent language becomes useful because of learners’ actual messages.
- The context to remember: A planned travel discussion generates repeated difficulty explaining a change of plan.
- A useful next step: Explain a useful reactive response.
For your teaching portfolio: keep a brief plan, a note of what learners actually did and one change you would make next time. Use anonymous examples.
Take the module self-checkSources and authorship
This module maps to the supplied syllabus PDF, Teaching language items reactively (4 pages). The study notes, examples, application tasks and self-checks on these pages are original Cambridge Veritas resources.
View the supplied PDF ↗ · Publication reference: source chapter
Written by Cambridge Veritas. Updated .
Use these resources for preparation and reflection. Browser self-check results are for personal study and do not award a qualification or replace observed teaching practice.