scholarly journals A Language Teacher in the ESP Classroom: Can We be a Successful Dweller in This Strange and Uncharted Land?

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Suphatha Rachayon
Keyword(s):  
Language Teachers ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Subject Specificity ◽  
Specialist Knowledge ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Knowledge Strategies ◽  
Subject Specialist

The English for specific purposes (ESP) classroom has been described by a number of scholars as a strange and uncharted land for many language teachers. This is because ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of the learner, making it related to subject specialist content. Accordingly, some people feel that language teachers without a specialist subject background are “unqualified” to teach ESP courses. Rather, subject specialists should be the ones who teach these courses even though, in many cases, they are not trained to teach language. This paper therefore aims to find out whether it is possible that language teachers, who have limited subject specialist knowledge, can “settle down” happily in this strange and uncharted land. Reviews of the literature and previous studies of related topics, namely the definition of ESP, subject specificity, subject specialist knowledge, strategies for dealing with a lack of subject specialist knowledge, and the roles of the ESP practitioner, are discussed first. Then, the answer to the question is presented at the end.

Formation of Methodical Competence of Students at Seminars on the Methodology of Teaching a Foreign Language

2020 ◽  
pp. 136-143
Author(s):  
Natalia Aleksandrovna Zhukova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Approaches To Teaching ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Activity Component ◽  
Definition Of

Introduction. The article updates the methodical training of future foreign language teachers as part of their professional training. The content of methodical training of students is revealed through the concept of methodical competence. The purpose of the article is to clarify the definition of the methodical competence of a foreign language teacher, to present its structure, to reveal the features of its formation at seminars on the methodology of teaching a foreign language. Methodology and research methods. The methodological foundations of the research are the ideas of communicative and socio-cultural approaches to teaching foreign languages, competence-based, contextual, and personal-activity approaches. Results. The following components of methodical competence are highlighted: the personal component; the cognitive and informational component; the operational and technological component; the activity component. This article reveals the possibilities of seminars for the formation of methodical competence of students. The author gives detailed recommendations based on her textbook on the methodology of teaching foreign languages to teachers on the successful formation the components of this competence. Conclusion. The effectiveness of the formation of methodical competence of future teachers of a foreign language largely depends on the correct organization of seminars on the methodology of teaching a foreign language.

scholarly journals Language Teacher Assessment Literacy: A Current Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurdiana Nurdiana Nurdiana
Keyword(s):  
Language Assessment ◽  
Teacher Assessment ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Assessment Literacy ◽  
Good Test ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Test Specifications ◽  
Alternative Assessments ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Teacher Assessment Literacy

<span>H<span>Half of the language teachers’ time is spent on assessing students’ performance. Therefore, they should be literate to language assessment in terms of how to make a good test or knowing which method appropriate to assess their students’ learning. Without having assessment literacy, they may not be able to help their students achieve the best results of their performance. For this reason, the present study attempts to examine language teacher assessment literacy and how it has been measured. Besides, suggestions and recommendations for language teachers regarding assessment literacy are discussed in this study. A literature review was employed to conduct this research. Findings suggest that language teachers need more training on language assessment due to their lack of knowledge of language assessment. Although some of them are assessment literate, they do not practice the knowledge in their classroom. This implies that the training they need could be on how to select appropriate assessments for their students, how to design a test,  alternative assessments, and test specifications.</span></span>

scholarly journals Moving Beyond Self Introductions to Sharing Self Exploration and Expression

2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Ellen Motohashi
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Based Instruction ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
And Task

Language teachers can easily get caught up in the mechanics and outcome-based instruction of language teaching. Too often, the pedagogic relationship between the language teacher and learner are defined according to the narrowly defined discourse and task-based nature of the learning task designed for language acquisition. Pushing back the boundaries on this relationship and opening up opportunities for self-expression and self exploration through an introductory task termed Self Maps helps teachers and students to move beyond formulaic introductory exchanges and express themselves more deeply in their unique and singular individuality. 語学教師は授業の際、文の構造や学習の成果についとらわれがちである。また多くの場合、語学教師と学習者の関係は、言語習得のためにデザインされた、狭義でのディスコースやタスクに基づく学習活動の性質によって決まってしまう。この両者の間の境界を押し広げ、セルフマップという自己紹介活動を通して自己表現と自己探求の機会を与えることにより、教師と学習者は紋切り型の自己紹介を超え、個々の唯一無二の個性をより深く表現できるようになる。

scholarly journals The Relationship of Georgia's Rural Foreign Language Teachers' Sense of Efficacy to Teacher Attrition

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Swanson ◽  
Robin Huff
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Efficacy ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Foreign Language Teachers ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Rural Teachers ◽  
New Instrument

Foreign language teachers are in critical need in many parts of rural America. Using Bandura's conceptual framework of self-efficacy teaching languages as a theoretical lens, the researchers created a scale to measure foreign language teacher efficacy and administered alongside a well-known efficacy survey to in-service rural teachers (N = 167) in Georgia. Data analysis indicates that the new instrument is psychometrically sound and there are two dimensions to language teacher efficacy: Content Knowledge and Facilitating Instruction. Positive correlations between the two surveys suggest that teaching languages requires more than just strength of content knowledge and FL teachers may need assistance engaging students. Aditionally, it appears female novice Spanish teachers are more prone to attrition than teachers of other languages. The research holds implications for professional development opportunities as well as teacher preparation programs. 

scholarly journals Interculturality in English Language Teaching – A Small Study with Portuguese Teachers

e-TEALS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-125
Author(s):  
Ana Ponce de Leão
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Intercultural Communicative Competence ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Teachers Perceptions

Abstract UNESCO and many other organisations worldwide have been working on approaches in education to develop tolerance, respect for cultural diversity, and intercultural dialogue. Particularly, the Council of Europe has laid out guiding principles in several documents to promote intercultural competence, following Byram’s and Zarate’s efforts in integrating this important component in language education. The commitment to developing the notion of intercultural competence has been so influential that many countries, e.g., Portugal, have established the intercultural domain as a goal in the foreign language curricula. However, this commitment has been questioned by researchers worldwide who consider that action is needed to effectively promote intercultural competence. The research coordinated by Sercu, for example, suggests that, although foreign language teachers are willing to comply with an intercultural dimension, their profile is more compatible with that of a traditional foreign language teacher, rather than with a foreign language teacher, who promotes intercultural communicative competence. In this study, I propose to examine teachers’ perceptions and beliefs about intercultural communicative competence in a cluster of schools in Portugal and compare these findings with Sercu’s study. Despite a twelve-year gap, the present study draws similar conclusions.

Language teacher research engagement

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Borg
Keyword(s):  
Professional Practice ◽  
Teacher Research ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Research Knowledge ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Reading Research ◽  
Professional Activities ◽  
Research Engagement ◽  
Educational Literature

The aim of this review is to provide a critical analysis of language teacher research engagement. The term ‘research engagement’ here covers both engagement in teacher research (i.e. by doing it) as well as engagement with research (i.e. by reading and using it). Research engagement is commonly recommended to language teachers as a potentially productive form of professional development and a source of improved professional practice; empirical accounts of teachers’ practices and experiences in doing teacher research and reading research, and of the benefits that accrue to them from such activities are, however, limited and diffuse. This review examines the available evidence on research engagement in language teaching and discusses this in relation to the educational literature more broadly. The analysis presented here highlights both the benefits and the challenges that are associated with teacher research engagement, and sheds light on why teacher research remains largely a minority activity in the field of language teaching. It also illustrates the complex relationship between research knowledge and what teachers do, and considers the implications of this relationship for the contribution that reading research can make to teachers’ professional activities. The paper concludes by outlining a number of conditions which facilitate teachers’ attempts to engage both in and with research. An awareness of these conditions is fundamental to the success of initiatives which aim to promote language teacher research engagement.

Spelling Pronunciation versus Relaxed Pronunciation in Foreign Language Teacher Education

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-46
Author(s):  
Mehmet DEMİREZEN
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Native Students ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
English Language Teachers ◽  
The Creation

Accurate pronunciation is an important part of learning any language, and especially when non-native students are trained to be English language teachers. Good pronunciation is more than just mastering individual sounds since it also requires understanding intonation, stress, pitch and junctures. In this respect, first things first, two functional issues come to the stage: Spelling pronunciation versus relaxed pronunciation. Spelling pronunciation depends on the use of a pronunciation that is based on spelling that includes common pronunciation of the silent vowel and consonant letters. The converse of spelling pronunciation is pronunciation spelling which produces the creation of a new spelling form on the basis of pronunciation. In this study, the contrastive positioning of spelling pronunciation versus pronunciation spelling in English words, phrases, clauses, and sentences will be analyzed to train the English teachers.

Applying a Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Framework in Ethiopian English Language Teacher Education

2014 ◽  
pp. 286-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Berhanu Abera
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
English Language ◽  
Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Knowledge Framework

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) has emerged as a useful frame for instructional technology-enhanced education. This chapter addresses the existing literature on technological pedagogical content knowledge framework and of teacher education in Ethiopia in general and English language teacher education in particular. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire, interviews, classroom observations, and documents. The results revealed that the existing literature failed to demonstrate the application of TPACK in English language teacher education in the country. The technological pedagogical content knowledge of classroom English language teachers was also found to be low. Classroom teachers applied their pedagogical content knowledge while teaching English language through televised instruction like the conventional instruction. They were seldom observed applying their technological pedagogical content knowledge. Finally, based on the results and the conceptual framework of TPACK, implications for the Ethiopian secondary school teacher preparation programs are outlined and further studies are suggested.

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.

Core Practices for World Language Teaching in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2022 ◽  
pp. 24-40
Author(s):  
Francis John Troyan ◽  
Emre Başok ◽  
David R. Carr
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
The United States ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
World Language ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Core Practices ◽  
Based Instruction

This chapter presents the results of a nationwide questionnaire of world language teachers in the United States (n=135) that sought to examine how they perceived the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their ability to enact certain “core practices” for world language teaching. Quantitative analysis of Likert items and qualitative analysis of open-ended questions allowed for the examination of the teacher's perceptions of their practice related to three core practices that have been identified as essential to the work of contextualized, standards-based instruction. The findings contribute to an understanding of the realities of world language teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic, the disruptions created by it, and the challenges faced in carrying out the work of world language teaching. Given these insights, suggestions are made for ways forward for the work in core practices in world language teacher education, as well as for pedagogies for practice-based world language teacher education.

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