scholarly journals Teacher cognition of pronunciation teaching amongst English language teachers in Uruguay

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme Couper
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Teacher Cognition ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Qualified Teachers ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
English Language Teachers

This article reports on the concerns and issues which 28 experienced and well-qualified teachers expressed during individual semi-structured interviews with the researcher. It describes and discusses the participants’ views, pulling together themes representative of a wide range of perspectives on pronunciation teaching. Themes include: teacher anxiety about pronunciation and pronunciation teaching; external factors affecting pronunciation teaching such as curriculum and exam pressures, textbooks, and training received; approaches to teaching and error correction; activities and techniques; and issues related to literacy bias, listen-and-repeat, use of phonemic symbols and pronunciation goals and models. These findings, taken in conjunction with studies of teacher cognition in other contexts, serve to inform all those with an interest in English language teaching, whether they be researchers, teachers or teacher educators, curriculum designers or textbook writers.

Supporting the development of primary in-service teacher educators

ELT Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 428-437
Author(s):  
Laura Grassick
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Primary Teachers ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
State School ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
University Lecturers ◽  
School Curricula

Abstract English language as a compulsory component of primary state school curricula is a growing phenomenon around the world. One of the challenges of this lies in training the vast numbers of teachers required. To date there has been little consideration of how those tasked with facilitating the professional development of primary English language teachers might be supported and the kind of knowledge, skills, and understanding they might need. This paper explores the experiences of primary teachers and university lecturers learning to become in-service teacher educators in the context of primary ELT curriculum change in Vietnam. The findings provide insights into the participants’ understanding of primary English language teaching and learning and the new curriculum, their awareness of the classroom contexts in which primary teachers work, and their ability to support teachers in implementing the innovation. The implications of this beyond the context of the study are highlighted.

scholarly journals Pre-Service English Language Teachers’ Levels of Reflectivity during the Process of Identity Construction in Pedagogical Practicum: A Snowball

HOW ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 53-77
Author(s):  
Angélica María Pita-Castro ◽  
Yury Alicia Castiblanco-Rincón
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Private University ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Reflective Journals ◽  
The People ◽  
Van Manen ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
The Way

This research study is about the way pre-service English language teachers’ levels of reflectivity, proposed by Van Manen, give an account of the construction of their identity as language teachers during their pedagogical practicum in a BA program of English Language Teaching at a private university in Bogota, Colombia. This study follows the principles of narrative research to explore the way the participants live their pedagogical practicum experience. Data were collected from the participants’ reflective journals and audio-recorded semi-structured interviews. Findings reveal that pre-service English language teachers possess a level of reflectivity, although they are unaware of it at the beginning of their pedagogical practicum. Thus, their identities as language teachers are constructed depending on the context, the people that are around them, and the specific time; hence, the levels of reflectivity as proposed by Van Manen are set in an incognito manner.

scholarly journals PRIMARY ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ ENGAGEMENT IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Thom Thom ◽  
Pham Thi Thanh Thuy
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
The Impact

Teachers’ professional development (PD) is viewed as the center of educational reforms in many countries, and this topic has been widely researched by scholars such as Avalos (2011), Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin (2011), Le (2002), and Whitehouse (2011). However, primary English language teachers (PELTers)’ PD has been under-researched in Vietnamese contexts. This paper outlines a project researching PELTers’ PD in a period of ongoing educational transformation, initiated by the National Foreign Languages Project. The authors highlight a ‘mixed methods’ research design with data collected from 68 surveys and five individual semi-structured interviews in a province in North Vietnam. Both the impact of language policy on Vietnamese PELTers' PD and their responses to top-down PD requirements and provision are under investigation. Some initial findings are (i) PELTers' rationales for PD; (ii) their engagement in PD forms and topics; (iii) benefits of PD; (iv)their PD need areas; and (v) factors affecting PD engagement. PELTers' suggestions for improving PD in their contexts are also discussed. This paper offers significant insights for EFL researchers, policy-makers, EFL teacher training institutions and other educators.

scholarly journals Factors Preventing in-service University English Language Teachers from Becoming Action Researchers in Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 120-133
Author(s):  
Hassan Syed
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Academic Culture ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Classroom Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Published Research

Research suggests that TR enables classroom teachers to address their classroom-specific problems without having to rely too heavily on published research. However, despite the fact that TR narratives of language teachers have increased lately, there is still need for studies investigating the perceptions of university English language (EL) teachers about TR, and exploring the factors affecting their engagement with TR in culturally diverse contexts. The current study was designed to explore the perceptions of university EL practitioners about the factors that inhibit or encourage them to engage in TR in a university context in Pakistan. Data were obtained from fifteen EL teachers from four public sector universities through semi-structured interviews. Results show that teachers appeared to possess only simplistic knowledge of research as an activity aimed at finding something new. While a majority admitted to have done no research, even the engagement of others who claimed to have done some research seemed sporadic and less than systematic. The main factors responsible for teachers’ dis-engagement from TR included academic culture, management’s attitude, power relations between senior and junior faculty, workload, lack of monetary benefits, and large classes. A number of implications have also been discussed.

scholarly journals Pedagogical Implications of Corpus-based Approaches to ELT in Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 259
Author(s):  
Tehseen Zahra ◽  
Akhtar Abbas
Keyword(s):  
English Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Spoken English ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Reference Corpus ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Lexical Items

<p>The advent of corpora has opened new vistas for language study and restructured linguists’ and academicians’ approaches to lexicography and English language teaching (ELT). After 1980s, the use of online language corpora and computer tools garnered tremendous attention of English language teachers and academicians. Keeping in view the modern trends and needs of learners, this research focused on the practical implications of online corpora for ELT and its utility in the Pakistani context. Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE) is used as a reference corpus for this research. MICASE is a collection of nearly 1.8 million words of transcribed speech (almost two hundred hours of recording). The transcribed data of MICASE includes wide range of speech events like seminars, lectures, advisory meetings and lab sessions. The study identified the utility of lexical items at syntactic level and its usage in various contexts. Furthermore, the layers of meanings and uses of lexicons through in-depth study of right and left collocates were explored in the reference corpus. The results showed that lexicons can be used as noun, verb and adjective depending upon the context of the study and right and left collocates play a significant role in understanding the meanings of lexical items in various contexts. Thus, this strategy can be fruitful for English language learners and academic discourse community who are interested in understanding the versatile uses of lexical items and their contextual meaning.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> collocate, context, corpus, ELT, MICASE</p>

scholarly journals Supervising English Teachers: Saudi Principals and the English Language Barrier

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Jwahir Alzamil
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Female Principals ◽  
Language Classes ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Supervisory Practices

Principals’ supervision has been an important aspect of school leadership, which has aimed to improve the overall quality of teaching in schools by improving the work of individual teachers. This study has identified a need to fill an existing gap in the teaching supervision literature, as researchers have overlooked the possibility that principals’ mastery of the English language may affect the supervision of English language teachers. It therefore examines whether Saudi female principals who did not major in English language face difficulties supervising English language teaching in secondary schools. This study was carried out over a week. The data was collected from five female principals working in secondary schools by means of semi-structured interviews. The results showed that the main obstacle faced by principals supervising English language classes was understanding the English language itself. Data collected by the study show the need for Saudi Arabian principals to be aware of their limitations in understanding English when supervising English language teachers; having this information can be crucial for improving supervision and planning successful supervisory practices. Moreover, it can help principals evaluate themselves and review the way they supervise English language teachers.

scholarly journals MICROTEACHING LESSON STUDY FOR PROSPECTIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS: DESIGNING A RESEARCH LESSON

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdullah Coşkun
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Study ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
State University ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Group Members ◽  
English Language Teachers

In this study, Microteaching Lesson Study (hereafter MLS) was applied for a research lesson designed by the MLS group members including three third-year prospective English language teachers in line with the Content and Language Integrated Learning (hereafter CLIL) approach. This qualitative study aims to uncover the contribution of MLS to the improvement of the teaching within a single lesson geared toward young learners and the perspectives of MLS group members about major components of the MLS process. The participants of the study are three MLS group members, 15 peers and an instructor in the English Language Teaching (hereafter ELT) department of a state university in Turkey. The lesson collaboratively developed by the MLS group members was presented three times by a different member to a different group of five peers who pretended to be young learners. After each lesson, revision meetings were held to analyze the self-reflection of the presenter, the peer/instructor feedback about the lesson and the recorded lesson. The analysis of the revision meetings illustrated the instructional improvement cycle of MLS. Moreover, the analysis of the semi-structured interviews with the MLS group members revealed that they were generally satisfied with the major components of MLS, such as collaborative lesson planning and receiving feedback from peers although a few concerns were mentioned as well. It is suggested that MLS should be incorporated into ELT programs.

scholarly journals Exploring English Language Teaching in an Ecuadorian Urban Secondary Institution

2017 ◽  
pp. 107-134
Author(s):  
Ximena Burgin ◽  
Mayra C Daniel
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Major Theme ◽  
Data Analyses ◽  
Diverse Student ◽  
English Language Teachers

 This article presents a case study focused on the pedagogy of nine English language teachers’ pedagogy in Ecuador. The significance of this study is its potential to inform practitioners, teacher educators, and policymakers in countries where teachers need to be prepared to teach in multilingual settings, such as Ecuador. Data analyses of nine observations of practicing teachers seems to suggest the curriculum used to prepare English teachers does not fully meet the educational needs of teachers or students. Observations of secondary level English teachers were conducted using the Classroom Observation Checklist (2010). This instrument is useful to analyze teachers’ delivery of content, lesson organization, classroom interactions, verbal and non-verbal communication in the classroom, and integration of media during instruction. One major theme emerged from data analyses; English language teaching appears to follow teaching as a foreign language paradigm. The validation of the results of this exploratory study through the participation of a larger sample size of classroom teachers would be important to provide a more robust conclusion regarding teaching diverse student populations. 

scholarly journals English language assessment in Malaysia: Teachers’ practices in test preparation

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Looi Chin Ch'ng
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Classroom Teaching ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Assessment Guidelines ◽  
English Language Teachers

In the context of English language teaching, many studies that claimed to investigate teachers’ assessment practices were actually exploring their perceptions and belief with little reference to what they were practising in schools. The need to address such a limitation has prompted this study to examine the current formal assessment practices of English language teachers in lower secondary schools. Specifically, this paper reports how the teachers prepare the formal assessments. Extensive structured interviews were conducted with 72 teachers from 24 schools in Kuching division, Sarawak. Relevant documents such as test papers and assessment guidelines were also collected for further analysis. The findings from this study revealed that a majority of the teachers conducted formal assessments mainly due to the requirements of the school and ministry while following pre-determined steps in preparing a test. Furthermore, the findings also revealed teachers’ reliance on commercial reference books in constructing exam questions and sample answers. The outcome of the study provides an insight on the nature of English language teachers’ assessment practices in relation to the classroom teaching and learning at the secondary level.This could help inform the Ministry of Education in providing necessary support for the teachers particularly assessment practices in ESL context as well as in formulating a better assessment policy for schools.

scholarly journals Factors Affecting the Management of Innovative English Language Teaching Methods at People’s Police Universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 393-404
Author(s):  
Nguyễn Ngọc Ân ◽  
Nguyen Duc Danh
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Methods ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
English Language ◽  
Influence Factors ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Language Teaching Methods

Based on the theoretical basis of the factors affecting the management of innovative English teaching methods, the paper focuses on researching and investigating the current situation of factors affecting the management of innovative English teaching at People’s Police Universities to assess the importance and influence on management. The results of a survey with 49 leaders and 119 English language teachers at at People’s Police Universities showed the degree of influence factors ranging from quite to very influential and the importance of these factors all reach 100% from important or more across the sample. This result can be useful sources for administrators and lecturers to pay attention and propose measures to manage effectively in the innovative English teaching methods at People’s Police Universities.

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