“It’s a Black Hole . . .”: Exploring Teachers’ Narratives and Practices for Digital Literacies in the Adult EAL Context

2021 ◽  
pp. 074171362199151
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Tour ◽  
Edwin Creely ◽  
Peter Waterhouse

A strength-based approach to teaching digital literacies can advance language education for adults from refugee and migrant backgrounds, preparing them for life in a new country. This article draws on a 6-month ethnographic study at an adult English language center in Australia and explores teachers’ perspectives and practices related to teaching digital literacies to understand how prepared they are to employ learners’ own resources. Using sociomaterial theory, this research found that English as an Additional Language (EAL) teachers’ narratives about learners focused on what they lacked rather than what they brought to learning. It also found that while teaching practices utilized some strength-based pedagogical principles, the teachers viewed their work as being deficient. They did not always recognize their agential power nor did they overtly understand that the technology itself afforded this power. The article concludes with implications for EAL practice and professional learning of teachers who work in the adult sector.

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 247
Author(s):  
Imroatus Solikhah ◽  
Teguh Budiharso

This study explores teaching practices for English Language Education program of IAIN Surakarta were implemented to link the gaps between theory and actual needs at schools. Relying on the qualitative approach, this study used content analysis as the main data sources, observation and interview to collect data.  The results of the study show that teaching practice for the ELT in IAIN Surakarta indicate restrictions.  With overall duration of 16 weeks, teaching practices at IAIN Surakarta is set in 6 credits, each of which consists of (1) micro teaching (2 credits), (2) administrative observation, (3) classroom observation, (4) classroom teaching practices.  During the field practices, complaints from mentor teachers appear that practican students are not well prepared in teaching skills and limited knowledge is performed to English competence performance in the classroom. Students claim that preparation in the itinerary of teaching practice they received from campus are not definitely sufficient as too many administrative processes are emphazised and mentoring system does not suffice to equip teaching skills


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edgar Lucero ◽  
Katherin Roncancio-Castellanos

This article discusses English language pre-service teachers’ pedagogical practicum experiences. We compiled, from their teacher journals and group talks, the lived teaching experiences of a group of 34 pre-service teachers who were majoring in English language education at a private university in Bogota, Colombia. The analysis of their stories makes us realize that their first practicum experiences are full of feelings and emotions, and that their first teaching practices are based on their mentor teachers’ pieces of advice. These first experiences, in turn, develop the foundation upon which they build themselves as English language teachers.


2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Diane Nagatomo

Japanese teachers of English in Japanese higher education are an under-researched, yet a highly influential group of teachers. A yearlong case study with one teacher, a literature specialist who is relatively new at teaching English, was conducted. Through multiple interviews and classroom observations, it was found that the teacher’s beliefs toward language learning and language teaching are deeply rooted in how she successfully learned English and are shaped by her love for literature. The paper concludes with a call for more qualitative and quantitative research investigating the teaching practices and the English pedagogical beliefs of Japanese university English teachers in order to deepen our understanding of English language education in Japan. 日本の高等教育機関における日本人の英語教師の役割は大きいにもかかわらず、これまで十分に研究の対象になって来なかった。文学が専門の比較的経験の浅い1人の教師を対象として1年間、ケーススタディを行った。数回のインタビューおよび教室での観察を通じて、その教師の言語学習・言語教授についての本人の信条が、自分の英語学習における成功体験および文学への愛情に少なからず影響されていることが判明した。本論では、日本における英語教育の理解を深めるためには、大学教師がどのような教育を行っているか、どのような教育上の信念を持っているのかを、質的にも量的にもさらに研究する必要性があると結論づけている。


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hind A. Al Fadda

This study evaluates the Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) model and its application in the Saudi classroom from the English language teachers’ perspective. The study used a descriptive study design, with a selected sample of 300 male and female English language teachers from elementary and middle schools. The research conducted a group-wide comparison using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings illustrate that educational qualification, career status, job experience and training courses substantially affect application of the SIOP model in the classroom. Results also show that technical, financial capabilities and teachers' qualifications enable the SIOP implementation in the Saudi classroom. The study suggests the implementation of the SIOP model for the sake of transitioning from the traditional English language education system to more advanced methods concerned with the systematic evaluation of English language teachers and classroom environment standards. The recommendation includes training teachers on the SIOP model and emphasizes providing other countries with the guidelines related to SIOP implementation in the English classroom.


2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Reza Zabihi ◽  
Momene Ghadiri ◽  
Dariush Nejad Ansari

<p>The aim of this research was to describe what Iranian ESP teachers believe to be the main pedagogical<br />principles and what their perceived barriers seem to be. The examination of these principles and<br />barriers were mainly based on the interviewees’ English background, followed by the elicitation of<br />teachers’ beliefs about the main pedagogical principles of English Language Education in their<br />department, their teaching practices inside the class, dilemmas and obstacles they faced with during<br />their English teaching career and how they cope with or manage those dilemmas, and ended with their<br />suggestions for improvement of English education in Faculties of Humanities. Data were subsequently<br />transcribed, modified, analyzed and translated into English. The results properly reflected various<br />perceived theoretical beliefs of ESP teachers regarding pedagogical principles as well as the obstacles<br />which prevent them from following those principles.</p>


ELT Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-48
Author(s):  
Rui Yuan ◽  
Paul Stapleton

Abstract Although the importance of critical thinking (CT) has been stressed in English language education, little attention has been paid to language teachers’ perceptions and experiences regarding CT during the pre-service stage of their careers. Drawing on data from a focus group and follow-up email interviews with pre-service language teachers, this study shows that the participants had a limited understanding of CT, and lacked preparation and support in their programmes regarding how to implement CT-oriented teaching practices. The findings also revealed a range of individual and contextual challenges faced by the participants when they tried to integrate CT into their language teaching. The study concludes with recommendations on how to cultivate a critical mindset among language teachers while developing CT-oriented pedagogies.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuyen Van Le

<p><strong> </strong></p><p><em>Teachers play the most important part in the application of a new method or approach in English language education. However, whether they implement the method successfully or not depends on various factors. This paper aims to explore the factors that affect English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ implementation of task-based language teaching (TBLT) at the tertiary level through the use of two instruments: “focus-groups” with five experienced EFL teachers and interviews with ten individual teachers at five universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The findings revealed that factors affecting teachers’ implementation of TBLT include external factors such as time allocation, testing, students’ motivation and English proficiency and textbooks, and internal factors such as teachers’ experience, knowledge about TBLT, English proficiency, and ability to use technology. The findings of the study provide EFL curriculum designers and teachers with both theoretical and practical implications in the implementation of TBLT at the tertiary level in Vietnam.</em></p><p><strong> </strong></p>


2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yustinus Calvin Gai Mali

Project based learning (PBL) refers to an approach to instruction that teaches curriculum concepts through a project espousing principles of learner-centered teaching, learner autonomy, collaborative learning, and learning through tasks. This paper justifies the implementation of PBL to design two main projects and their activities in Creative Writing and Second Language Acquisition classes at English Language Education Program of Dunia University Indonesia (ED-DU). Moreover, the paper details pedagogical practices and learning resources deployed in both classes. The discussions would seem to indicate that the use of PBL grounded in the projects shows a high level of students’ participation in learning, and teachers’ innovative teaching practices. Finally, the paper hopes to provide EFL teachers who have similar teaching practices with practical ideas they can modify and develop to help students achieve particular learning objectives in their classrooms and continue the positive trends of implementing PBL in teaching and learning.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-271
Author(s):  
NIBRAS SAED

Being able to converse is an essential part of a complete foreign language education. However, the teaching of conversation is often equated with the teaching of speaking . A Conversation Norms Approach to teaching conversation incorporates aspects of authentic native speaker (or expert speaker) conversation, such as spoken grammar and pragmatics, into instruction. This study takes a closer look at conversation, and examines issues connected with the effective teaching of conversation. An informal inquiry of the fo


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura MacGregor

In an interview in August 2015, Professor Ikeda spoke with Laura MacGregor about his first encounters with content and language integrated learning (CLIL), and how CLIL has shaped his teaching beliefs and teaching practices. He also discussed how teachers could implement CLIL principles in their classes in Japan. Makoto Ikeda is professor of English philology and English language education at Sophia University. He received his MA from King’s College London and his PhD from Sophia University. He has published a number of articles and books on CLIL, and guest-edited a special issue of The International CLIL Research Journal focusing on CLIL in Japan.


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