scholarly journals Inclusive practices and policies in language teacher education courses

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Betânia Passos Medrado ◽  
Dilma Mello ◽  
Juliana Reichert Assunção Tonelli
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Educational Needs ◽  
State University ◽  
Inclusive Practices ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Education Courses

ABSTRACT The current legislation regulating basic education in Brazil (Brasil, 2013) and the inclusion of students with specific educational needs in regular schools (Brasil, 2015) warrant some reflections on the discourses and actions in the field of language teacher education. We have observed that the implementation of inclusive practices in Brazilian schools has been a time-consuming process as it implies not only changes in public policies, but also - and maybe primarily - several kinds of transformation in educational contexts. Considering the broad spectrum of students’ specific educational needs, given the innumerable types of pathologies and their nuances, as well as keeping in mind the assumption that teachers can only create some space for inclusive practices in the classroom if their education is based on critical, autonomous, and informed thinking (Celani, 2010), we consider it to be essential to explore the language teacher education landscape. It seems important to highlight that our understanding of inclusive practices is related to the process of identifying and reflecting on what social-affective, ethical, and pedagogical changes are needed, not only providing accessibility and architectural changes as is usually done. However, this perspective still requires some debate on the language teacher education courses in our country. In this paper, we discuss the inclusive practices, programs, and studies carried out at three Brazilian universities: Federal University of Paraíba, State University of Londrina, and Federal University of Uberlândia. Our aim is to analyze the way inclusive matters have been or can be incorporated into the pedagogical project, the teacher practicum, and/or the individual projects of teacher educators in the institutions mentioned in this paper.

scholarly journals A Critical Teacher Education Experience in the State of Goiás, Brazil

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosane Rocha Pessoa ◽  
Maria Eugênia Sebba Ferreira de Andrade ◽  
Edilson Pimenta Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
The State ◽  
Female Teacher ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
National Network ◽  
Brazilian Government

ABSTRACT One of the Brazilian government initiatives to improve basic education was to create the National Network of Continuing Education for Teaching Professionals of Public Basic Education in 2011. Our extension program in this network was implemented in 2013 in 10 towns of the state of Goiás and counted on 21 teacher educators and 110 teacher-participants. Part of the empirical material of one of these teacher educators will be analyzed in this article, focusing on the discourses of seven female teacher-participants about their previous language teacher education experiences and about the first two months of the extension course. The qualitative discussion draws on theorizations from Critical Discourse Analysis and Teacher Education in Brazil, and shows that discourses on language teacher education, English teaching, and English were problematized.

scholarly journals A Critical Teacher Education Experience in the State of Goiás, Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosane Rocha Pessoa ◽  
Maria Eugênia Sebba Ferreira de Andrade ◽  
Edilson Pimenta Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
The State ◽  
Female Teacher ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
National Network ◽  
Brazilian Government

ABSTRACT One of the Brazilian government initiatives to improve basic education was to create the National Network of Continuing Education for Teaching Professionals of Public Basic Education in 2011. Our extension program in this network was implemented in 2013 in 10 towns of the state of Goiás and counted on 21 teacher educators and 110 teacher-participants. Part of the empirical material of one of these teacher educators will be analyzed in this article, focusing on the discourses of seven female teacher-participants about their previous language teacher education experiences and about the first two months of the extension course. The qualitative discussion draws on theorizations from Critical Discourse Analysis and Teacher Education in Brazil, and shows that discourses on language teacher education, English teaching, and English were problematized.

Theory and practice in language teacher education

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 450-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Ur
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Professional Expertise ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Optimal Learning ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Education Courses

We often hear language teachers say ‘Don't confuse me with theories, just give me practical ideas I can take into the classroom’. Many teacher educators and researchers, on the other hand, believe that (research-based) theory is more important, and should be used and implemented by practitioners. This paper will propose an approach to the use of theory and practice in teacher education that may help to resolve this dissonance. After some preliminary definitions and clarification of some common confusions, it is suggested that theory and practice in the context of language teaching are not polar opposites, but points on a continuum: any statement or guideline about teaching can be, more or less, practical or theoretical. The rest of the paper will focus on the questions how the various types of published theories or teacher theorizing can contribute to professional expertise, what is the place of practical tips or recipes, and how all these can be used or combined in teacher education courses to bring about optimal learning by novice teachers, or increased expertise on the part of the more experienced ones.

Developing English Language Teachers' Professional Capacities through Digital and Media Literacies

2016 ◽  
pp. 414-437
Author(s):  
Lucas Moreira dos Anjos-Santos ◽  
Michele Salles El Kadri ◽  
Raquel Gamero ◽  
Telma Gimenez
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Instructional Material ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

This chapter aims to demonstrate how a group of educators from a southern Brazilian state university designed and implemented formative workshops to sustain English language teachers' professional development through digital and media literacies. The chapter maps important changes that have happened in language teacher education in Brazil and the convergences these changes share with digital and media literacies coming from a sociocultural paradigm. It also presents and discusses the extent to which the instructional material the group of educators produced for the continuing education of English language teachers integrated 21st century skills and the standards from the TESOL technology framework. As a way to evaluate the instructional material, the chapter analyzes the representations and identities schoolteachers constructed when engaging with digital and media literacies through the instructional material. The chapter concludes by advocating more social, political and collaborative future research in language teacher education and digital and media literacies.

Developing English Language Teachers' Professional Capacities through Digital and Media Literacies

2016 ◽  
pp. 91-114
Author(s):  
Lucas Moreira dos Anjos-Santos ◽  
Michele Salles El Kadri ◽  
Raquel Gamero ◽  
Telma Gimenez
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Instructional Material ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

This chapter aims to demonstrate how a group of educators from a southern Brazilian state university designed and implemented formative workshops to sustain English language teachers' professional development through digital and media literacies. The chapter maps important changes that have happened in language teacher education in Brazil and the convergences these changes share with digital and media literacies coming from a sociocultural paradigm. It also presents and discusses the extent to which the instructional material the group of educators produced for the continuing education of English language teachers integrated 21st century skills and the standards from the TESOL technology framework. As a way to evaluate the instructional material, the chapter analyzes the representations and identities schoolteachers constructed when engaging with digital and media literacies through the instructional material. The chapter concludes by advocating more social, political and collaborative future research in language teacher education and digital and media literacies.

Second language teacher education: Review of recent research on practice

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Wright
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Learning To Teach ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Second Language Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language Teacher

Second language teacher education (SLTE) has undergone considerable change over the past 25 years. The question of how language teaching is learnt and how programmes of professional preparation can contribute to this process now elicits quite different answers. A new agenda of theory and practice has emerged as SLTE has incorporated many of the ideas and practices of reflection (Schön 1983). At the same time, it has drawn increasingly on feeder fields of research and practice such as teacher cognition and professional cultures. These have augmented, and to some extent displaced, the original roots of SLTE in Applied Linguistics and Psychology, and a new knowledge base (Freeman & Johnson 1998) has been established, contributing to the formulation of theory about language teachers' learning-to-teach, and its practices. The focus of this review is on the extent to which the new agenda has influenced SLTE practices in recent years. It examines accounts of activities teacher educators and student teachers engage in during SLTE programmes in formal learning experiences. The paper identifies a thriving practitioner research culture in SLTE but argues that much more research is required to establish the true extent to which new conceptualisations of the process of learning-to-teach second languages guides SLTE practice.

Developing English Language Teachers' Professional Capacities through Digital and Media Literacies

2016 ◽  
pp. 407-430
Author(s):  
Lucas Moreira dos Anjos-Santos ◽  
Michele Salles El Kadri ◽  
Raquel Gamero ◽  
Telma Gimenez
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Instructional Material ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

This chapter aims to demonstrate how a group of educators from a southern Brazilian state university designed and implemented formative workshops to sustain English language teachers' professional development through digital and media literacies. The chapter maps important changes that have happened in language teacher education in Brazil and the convergences these changes share with digital and media literacies coming from a sociocultural paradigm. It also presents and discusses the extent to which the instructional material the group of educators produced for the continuing education of English language teachers integrated 21st century skills and the standards from the TESOL technology framework. As a way to evaluate the instructional material, the chapter analyzes the representations and identities schoolteachers constructed when engaging with digital and media literacies through the instructional material. The chapter concludes by advocating more social, political and collaborative future research in language teacher education and digital and media literacies.

scholarly journals The ‘subject’ of Freeman & Johnson’s reconceived knowledge base of second language teacher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Cross
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Second Language Teacher Education ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Second Language Teacher ◽  
The Way

This article focuses on reframing the ‘who’ of second language teacher education (SLTE), building on the framework laid out by Freeman and Johnson (FJ) in 1998 with particular attention to their notion of the teacher-as-learner. The first half of this article is conceptual, outlining one way I have found helpful for engaging with this notion since first encountering the framework some twenty years ago. The second half, being more substantive in focus, risks misinterpretation without this broader perspective: propositional ‘who’s’ that lack relevance on their own, not least in the way I see FJ’s call to engage with ‘the who of teaching’, and a focus on not just the individual, but also the context, goals, and background from which one comes to take up that role. This includes a discussion of the teacher-subject as an increasingly communicatively-complex, conflicted-compliant, and collaboratively-creative agent within the kinds of spaces that their roles can be realized against emerging contexts for ELT.

scholarly journals Research on Language Teaching and Learning: Advances and Projection

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Reading Instruction ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Entire Volume ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher

In 2010, teachers from the B.A. in English Teaching at Universidad Católica Luis Amigó formed CILEX (Construcciones Investigativas en Lenguas Extranjeras). Research and teaching in the program have grown synergistically ever since, but ten years down the road it was time to take stock of our research to project the direction in which we wanted to move forward. This book is the result of that effort to recognize our shared history and thus propel our upcoming academic endeavors. The book starts out by presenting the epistemological foundations of CILEX, which is based on the threefold notion of the language teacher as an intellectual, an academic, and an educator. It thereon explains the system that arranges our academic production within five thematic nodes: cultural studies, language policy, literacies, language teacher education, and language assessment. Each chapter reports on one or two studies in which the authors participated as leading researchers or advisors. Hence, the book also reflects the formative research tradition that characterizes most of our practice. Having language teacher education as a binding thread that cuts across the entire volume, authors present their particular perspective on topics as varied as college academic performance, early childhood literacy, language policy appropriation, teacher educators’ assessment literacy, student teachers’ practicum identity crisis, research training in teacher education, and critical reading instruction. This book condenses the work of a group of teacher educators who believe in the power of research to galvanize teaching and inspire positive educational change. As readers go through its pages, it is our hope they will be able to recognize not only the singular value of each individual chapter but also the richness of our collaboration, which constitutes the fabric of our identity as an academic community.

scholarly journals Transmissive and transformative approaches to language teacher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-38
Author(s):  
Jack C. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Ecological Approach ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Second Language Teacher Education ◽  
Second Language Teacher

In this paper I compare two contrasting educational philosophies that have had a significant impact on the way we approach and understand our practice as teacher educators. These have been labeled in several ways such as top-down versus bottom-up or product versus process based. I will characterize them a transmission-based approach and an ecological approach. My aim here is to describe and compare these two approaches and suggest how they offer complementary perspectives on the nature and practices of second language teacher education.

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