A Case on Teaching Critical Thinking and Argument Mapping in a Teacher Education Context

2014 ◽  
pp. 119-139
Author(s):  
Yasemin Oral
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
State University ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Argument Mapping ◽  
Turkish State ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

This chapter is based on the classroom work of a course on critical thinking designed as part of a pre-service teacher education program in English language teaching at a large-size Turkish state university. With its dual focus on both modernist and postmodern approaches to critical thinking, the course offers scope for classwork that concentrates on the skills to identify the parts and structure of arguments. To this end, argument mapping has been utilized to enhance understanding of the components of arguments and to facilitate the analysis of arguments. This chapter seeks to illustrate the materials and activities used when argument maps have been constructed during the class sessions. Furthermore, drawing from the data gathered from students' journal entries, I argue for a high interplay of the perceived efficacy of argument mapping with the content, length, and complexity of arguments as well as the anxiety evoked by these factors.

Exploring Challenges and Possibilities in Pre-Service Teacher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 179-194
Author(s):  
Larisa Kasumagić-Kafedžić
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Analytical Skills ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Twenty years after the war (1992-1995) in Bosnia and Herzegovina the country is still very fragile, dysfunctional and continues to face numerous political and socio-economic challenges. Ethnically fragmented and exclusivist approaches to education in Bosnia and Herzegovina are anathema to the development of critical thinking and analytical skills necessary to open young minds, reduce intolerance and question the ethnic status quo narrative (Perry, 2015). This paper will try to present a good example of academic and social successes achieved with students who are attending an English language teacher education program at the University of Sarajevo in the context of challenging teaching and learning environments. The paper will explore the possibilities and challenges for using a critical pedagogy framework and intercultural approach to foreign language education in pre-service teacher education courses that emphasizes reflection, critical thinking, empathy, multiperspectivity along with other aspects of intercultural communicative competences which are integrated in this course.

Exploring Challenges and Possibilities in Pre-Service Teacher Education

2016 ◽  
pp. 42-62
Author(s):  
Larisa Kasumagić-Kafedžić
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Critical Pedagogy ◽  
Bosnia And Herzegovina ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Analytical Skills ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Twenty years after the war (1992-1995) in Bosnia and Herzegovina the country is still very fragile, dysfunctional and continues to face numerous political and socio-economic challenges. Ethnically fragmented and exclusivist approaches to education in Bosnia and Herzegovina are anathema to the development of critical thinking and analytical skills necessary to open young minds, reduce intolerance and question the ethnic status quo narrative (Perry, 2015). This paper will try to present a good example of academic and social successes achieved with students who are attending an English language teacher education program at the University of Sarajevo in the context of challenging teaching and learning environments. The paper will explore the possibilities and challenges for using a critical pedagogy framework and intercultural approach to foreign language education in pre-service teacher education courses that emphasizes reflection, critical thinking, empathy, multiperspectivity along with other aspects of intercultural communicative competences which are integrated in this course.

scholarly journals ELT Student Teacher Identity Construction: Exploring Teacher Roles and Domains of Expertise

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Nafiye Cigdem Aktekin ◽  
Hatice Celebi
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Teacher Roles

In this study, we direct our focus to identity construction in an English language teaching (ELT) teacher education program. We explore the teacher roles in which student teachers are struggling to position themselves comfortably and the teacher expertise domains (subject matter, didactics, and pedagogy) that they are dedicating themselves to improving. To address our research focus, we have collected reflections and survey responses from 18 student teachers in an ELT education department. Our findings indicate that ELT student teachers find it difficult to position themselves as experts in and about the English language and that they feel a need to be equipped with expertise first and foremost in the subject matter, and then in didactics, followed by pedagogy. These results imply that in ELT teacher education, certain language ideologies are still prevalent and need to be dealt with by teacher educators for transformative outcomes in education.

ELF-aware pre-service teacher education: practices and perspectives

ELT Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-462
Author(s):  
Esma Biricik Deniz ◽  
Elif Kemaloglu-Er ◽  
Yonca Ozkan
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
English Language Learners ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
Prospective Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Pre Service Teacher Education ◽  
Theory Practice Gap ◽  
Pre Service Teacher

Abstract English as a lingua franca (ELF) is a recent paradigm in ELT which acknowledges non-native varieties in their own right and NNSs as having their own unique characteristics rather than assessing them against an NS benchmark. Despite the changing needs of today’s English language learners, there is little research on how to integrate ELF into pre-service teacher education programmes and English language teaching practice since there is a theory–practice gap due to lack of clear pedagogical descriptions and concrete classroom-driven data. This study presents an intensive educational model for pre-service teachers aiming to raise their awareness of the pedagogy of ELF, synthesizing theory with practice. It investigates how prospective teachers exposed to the ELF-aware teacher education model integrated ELF into their teaching and their viewpoints about the process. The entire process has been reported to contribute significantly to the participants’ professional development as well as presenting several challenges.

scholarly journals Interrater Scoring of Public Speaking Performances in English Language Teacher Education Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Aynur Kesen Mutlu
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
English Language ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative Methods

Based on the constructivist learning principles, self-assessment has been a targeted topic for many studies in the field of teacher education. Its importance and its leading to learner empowerment have been discussed for long. This current study in this line tries to move one step further by adding a correlative comparison between instructors’ and students teachers’ grading as well as searching into students’ views on self-assessment in Oral Communication Skills Course at English Language Teaching Department of a private university in Turkey. Interrater consistency was examined throughout the study. This study involves 21 student teachers who assessed their speaking performances five times using a micro-analytic rating scale. In the analysis of data, both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized. Both data sets suggest that there is a high correlation between instructor and student teachers grading. The study has got some implications for curriculum designers, instructors and teacher candidates.

scholarly journals Fostering Learner Autonomy among Pre-Service EFL Teachers: A Mixed-Method Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 298
Author(s):  
Gökhan Öztürk
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
State University ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Turkish Higher Education ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Taking Charge

This study reports on the process how pre-service EFL teachers developed as autonomous learners during a 14-week period in a Turkish higher education context. The participants included 25 freshman pre-service teachers, 11 males and 14 females, studying at an English language teacher education program of a state university. A course, specifically designed to improve students’ autonomy was taken by the participants and multiple forms of data collection tools were employed throughout the study. The Autonomous Learning Scale (ALS) developed by Macaskill and Taylor (2010) was used at the beginning and the end of the course, the participants were asked to write reflection reports and they were also interviewed at the end of the process. The findings demonstrated a significant change in the autonomy level of participants, specifically a dramatic change in their independence of learning. Besides, it was found that being more aware of the self, taking charge of their own learning and changing perspectives towards the notion of learning were the biggest gains of the process for the participants. In line with literature, the findings were discussed and several suggestions were made on how to integrate autonomy practices into teacher education programs.

scholarly journals Post-critique in contemporary ELT praxis

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-280
Author(s):  
William Mineo Tagata
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Distance Learning ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Literacy Research ◽  
Made In

Abstract This article investigates the importance of critical thinking in English language teaching. It begins with an examination of the notion of praxis and its relevance for current critical literacy research and teacher education programmes. One such programme was a distance-learning course offered to English teachers from Brazilian public schools from November 2016 to November 2017. An analysis of excerpts from posts on Moodle forums and online chats from this course was made in order to ascertain whether participants acknowledge the importance of critical literacy and are able to identify any hindrances to its implementation in the classroom. This article concludes by advocating a post-critical (HOY, 2005) approach to the development of English teachers’ critical praxis, based on the concepts of self-reflexivity and ethics.

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