scholarly journals Developing 'My Way'  in Chinese Language Teaching:  Qualitative Case Studies of  Teachers' Personal Practical Knowledge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dekun Sun
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
English Education ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Personal Practical Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

<p>Much of L2 teacher cognition research has focused on L2 English education with native speakers teaching adult students at private institutes and tertiary levels. The present study was set up to investigate Chinese language teachers' personal practical knowledge (PPK) in teaching Chinese in New Zealand secondary schools. Taking qualitative case study as the approach, the present study selected three teachers as participants - two native Chinese speakers (immigrants) and one non-native Chinese speaker with Chinese heritage background - to explore the characteristics of their PPK, and to identify the factors shaping that PPK. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into teacher professional development processes. The data for the present study are mainly interviews with the teachers, supplemented with classroom observations of their teaching, post-lesson discussions, and my field notes. Data analysis and interpretation revealed that each teacher developed her own unique characteristic of PPK, which was captured by a dominant image, an overriding perspective that guided her practice. The factors shaping their PPK and practice are shown to be their prior knowledge, particularly ideologies originating from their native culture, their awareness of their status as native and non-native speakers, their teaching experience, and the institutional context. However, the extent of the impact on each teacher differed depending upon their personal background and level of professional development. The present study supported the view that a teacher's PPK is the dynamic integration of her prior knowledge and understanding of the situation, is oriented toward practice, and is constructed and reconstructed out of the narratives of a teacher's life. Based on this study, a number of implications have been identified for teacher development, as well as suggestions for further study of teachers' PPK.</p>

scholarly journals Developing 'My Way'  in Chinese Language Teaching:  Qualitative Case Studies of  Teachers' Personal Practical Knowledge

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Dekun Sun
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
English Education ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Personal Practical Knowledge ◽  
The Impact

<p>Much of L2 teacher cognition research has focused on L2 English education with native speakers teaching adult students at private institutes and tertiary levels. The present study was set up to investigate Chinese language teachers' personal practical knowledge (PPK) in teaching Chinese in New Zealand secondary schools. Taking qualitative case study as the approach, the present study selected three teachers as participants - two native Chinese speakers (immigrants) and one non-native Chinese speaker with Chinese heritage background - to explore the characteristics of their PPK, and to identify the factors shaping that PPK. The purpose of the study is to gain insight into teacher professional development processes. The data for the present study are mainly interviews with the teachers, supplemented with classroom observations of their teaching, post-lesson discussions, and my field notes. Data analysis and interpretation revealed that each teacher developed her own unique characteristic of PPK, which was captured by a dominant image, an overriding perspective that guided her practice. The factors shaping their PPK and practice are shown to be their prior knowledge, particularly ideologies originating from their native culture, their awareness of their status as native and non-native speakers, their teaching experience, and the institutional context. However, the extent of the impact on each teacher differed depending upon their personal background and level of professional development. The present study supported the view that a teacher's PPK is the dynamic integration of her prior knowledge and understanding of the situation, is oriented toward practice, and is constructed and reconstructed out of the narratives of a teacher's life. Based on this study, a number of implications have been identified for teacher development, as well as suggestions for further study of teachers' PPK.</p>

scholarly journals Female English Teachers Perceptions and Experience of Continuing Professional Development in Qatar

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 160
Author(s):  
Saba Qadhi ◽  
Alan Floyd
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
English Language ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching

The Qatari government views English language learning as crucial to the country’s future success. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that English language teachers (ELTs) employed in Qatar may not necessarily have the appropriate training, qualifications, and experience to enable them to teach successfully. Despite growing research and interest in the continuing professional development (CPD) experiences and needs of ELTs in Western contexts, there remains a lack of research in Middle Eastern countries in general and in Qatar in particular. The aim of this study was to address this gap by exploring female ELTs’ perceptions and experiences of CPD in Qatar in order to develop new practical and theoretical insights into our understanding of this area. The study draws on data from life history interviews undertaken with 16 female ELTs with at least 3 years of teaching experience in Qatari schools. The study found that the participants had very different experiences of CPD based on their personal and professional characteristics. This suggests that for it to be perceived as a positive experience, the current model of professional development for ELTs may need revising. We propose a paradigm shift from a traditional “one size fits all” CPD model towards a more dynamic and interactive style of teacher development that facilitates both personal reflection and professional discourse among teachers. It is argued that such a shift would prove a considerable step forward for English language teaching in this country.

scholarly journals A Pronunciation Prior Assisted Vowel Reduction Detection Framework with Multi-Stream Attention Method

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 8321
Author(s):  
Zongming Liu ◽  
Zhihua Huang ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Pengyuan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Prior Knowledge ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Recognition Rate ◽  
Auxiliary Information ◽  
Vowel Reduction ◽  
Phoneme Recognition ◽  
End To End ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Auxiliary Input

Vowel reduction is a common pronunciation phenomenon in stress-timed languages like English. Native speakers tend to weaken unstressed vowels into a schwa-like sound. It is an essential factor that makes the accent of language learners sound unnatural. To improve vowel reduction detection in a phoneme recognition framework, we propose an end-to-end vowel reduction detection method that introduces pronunciation prior knowledge as auxiliary information. In particular, we have designed two methods for automatically generating pronunciation prior sequences from reference texts and have implemented a main and auxiliary encoder structure that uses hierarchical attention mechanisms to utilize the pronunciation prior information and acoustic information dynamically. In addition, we also propose a method to realize the feature enhancement after encoding by using the attention mechanism between different streams to obtain expanded multi-streams. Compared with the HMM-DNN hybrid method and the general end-to-end method, the average F1 score of our approach for the two types of vowel reduction detection increased by 8.8% and 6.9%, respectively. The overall phoneme recognition rate increased by 5.8% and 5.0%, respectively. The experimental part further analyzes why the pronunciation prior knowledge auxiliary input is effective and the impact of different pronunciation prior knowledge types on performance.

scholarly journals Hastening slowly: insights about teacher development from an evaluation of courses at the WCED’s Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Meyer ◽  
Lydia Abel
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Level ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Leadership Institute ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Education Administrators ◽  
The Impact

In the area of teacher professional development, South African education administrators face the challenge of reconciling two imperatives that have entirely different implications for programme time frames and budgets. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to improve the pedagogic content knowledge of many teachers to improve the overall standard of teaching and learning in the public school system. Considering the scale and urgency of the matter, centralised course-based in-service training seems to be the only affordable alternative. On the other hand, researchers have long warned that once-off course-based training on its own has limited impact on teachers’ practice, and has to be accompanied by further professional support in the school and classroom, or be abandoned in favour of more enduring professional learning communities. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has grappled with this dilemma in the Department’s various professional development initiatives for teachers, a mainstay of which is the training offered by the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI). This paper presents some of the data and findings from an external evaluation that ORT SA CAPE conducted in 2011–2012 of courses offered by the WCED at the CTLI. The hierarchy of INSET outcomes proposed by Harland and Kinder (1997) was applied to record changes in the practice of 18 teachers at eight schools. The progress of five of the teachers is discussed to illustrate the interplay between school-level factors and the experiences of individual teachers which influenced the impact of CTLI training on their teaching.

Target Inquiry

2017 ◽  
pp. 383-416
Author(s):  
Tanya Gupta ◽  
Deborah Herrington ◽  
Ellen J. Yezierski
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Teacher Experiences ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Change In Teacher Practice ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
The Impact

Researchers have identified several features of effective teacher professional development. Yet, there is little research on long-term Professional Development (PD) programs that provides information on the impact of such programs on in-service teacher experiences and practice during long-term PD. A qualitative case-study approach was used to investigate the impact of the Target Inquiry (TI), a long-term PD program, on change in teacher practice and the factors that support or impede these changes. The TI program is for science teachers who wish to earn a Master of Education focused on advanced content or to complete a 15-credit certificate program. Bell & Gilbert's model of teacher development and Spillane's model of teacher enactment of reforms were used as a frameworks to examine change. Teachers reported that participating in long-term PD, when combined with the necessary tools, resources, and strategies empowered them to embrace an inquiry-based practice.

scholarly journals A Survey of Practical Knowledge of Pre-service English Teachers in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 322
Author(s):  
Mingmei Wang
Keyword(s):  
Professional Identity ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
English Education ◽  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Disciplinary Knowledge ◽  
Educational Situation ◽  
Self Knowledge ◽  
Made In

Based on interviews and questionnaires, this study investigates the current situation of practical knowledge of 96 senior normal English majors. Information to be gained includes the knowledge about self, discipline, students, educational situation and their beliefs in the essence of education. The results show that: 1) They have clear self-knowledge, but most of them lack teachers' professional identity. 2) Their disciplinary knowledge is generally limited, those with certain teaching experience are better off. 3) Their students' knowledge is seriously influenced by career hopes, those who are willing to be teachers are comparatively good at understanding their students. 4) Their perception of the educational situation of English is one-sided, social factors are totally ignored. 5) Their beliefs in the essence of English education are in the process of alternation between modern and traditional concepts. The findings of the survey are discussed and suggestions are made in this study.

scholarly journals English K-12 Teacher Experiences in Saudi Arabia in the Pandemic Era: A Follow-up Study of One Khbrat University Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-20
Author(s):  
Ahlam Daraghmeh ◽  
Hilary Mead ◽  
Kathleen Copeland
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
English Education ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Integrated Analysis ◽  
English Teacher ◽  
Teacher Experiences ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Impact

A mixed-methods study examines the impact of the pandemic-driven move to virtual learning on K-12 (kindergarten through twelfth grade) English teacher experiences in Saudi Arabia to inform future development of the teaching of English in the country. Research is limited in K-12 English instruction in the country, and it is just emerging on the pandemic’s impact on education in the MENA region. The 35 subjects were English educators who completed the Saudi government-sponsored professional development program, Khbrat, at one U.S. university. Contextualized within the literature on technology in instruction, leadership frameworks, and Vision 2030 education reforms, the study explores the convergence of technological, institutional, and socio-cultural factors affecting innovation in English education to address the research question of how the pandemic has impacted Khbrat graduates as EFL teachers and as change agents in their country. Integrated analysis of survey and interview data reveals patterns of both acceleration and constraint. Findings suggest pathways to leverage virtual technology and acquired knowledge and skills of Khbrat English teacher graduates to deliver EFL professional development with a more pedagogical focus and to build coalitions among EFL educators to sustain the forward movement of innovation in English education in post-pandemic Saudi Arabia. The study concludes with recommendations for future applications.

scholarly journals Preschool Teachers’ Involvement in Informal Learning as an Important Factor of Their Professional Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-85
Author(s):  
Danijela Blanuša Trošelj ◽  
Karla Franković ◽  
Milena Valenčič Zuljan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Preschool Teachers ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Children's Activities

Every preschool teacher’s activity results in changes in the preschool teacher as well as in the practice. In situations where we have a limited number and form of professional training offered to preschool teachers, whose attendance is not always subject to the personal plan of preschool teachers’ professional development, informal learning adds great value to teacher development. This paper aims to examine the involvement of preschool teachers in certain forms of informal learning and their reflection on the impact these forms have on their professional development. The empirical part of the paper presents the results of a survey conducted among preschool teachers. 110 preschool teachers from the Republic of Croatia responded to the questionnaire and we got answers to two research questions. The results show that preschool teachers are most often involved in a form of informal learning which includes agreeing on how to work with a colleague from the group and documenting the children’s activities.

scholarly journals Teaching Chinese as a second or foreign language to non-Chinese learners in mainland China (2014–2018)

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang (Frank) Gong ◽  
Xuesong (Andy) Gao ◽  
Boning Lyu
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Chinese Language ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis review involved 60 articles chosen from 336 empirical studies identified in five leading journals on the learning and teaching of Chinese as a second or foreign language in mainland China during the period 2014–2018. The selected studies document Chinese researchers' efforts to improve the teaching and learning of the Chinese language in terms of language pedagogy, language learning and teacher development. We contend that these studies on the teaching and learning of Chinese as a second or foreign language (CSL/CFL) can contribute to the advancement of second/foreign language education theories even though they were largely conducted to address local needs and interests in the Chinese context. Unfortunately, the impact of these studies on international language education research and pedagogical development remains limited and peripheral. For this reason, this review concludes with recommendations for Chinese researchers and journal editors in the field of Chinese language teaching and learning research on how to promote quality empirical research and enhance their contributions to second/foreign language education research.

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