The affordances and limitations of collaborative research in the TESOL classroom

The diversity of learning needs within the TESOL field creates inherent tensions between the need for targeted professional learning for TESOL teachers, the more generalist nature of tertiary TESOL courses, and the varied research interests of teacher educators. This article describes a collaborative research project between university-based teacher educators and TESOL teachers working in an adult education centre. With a range of aims amongst the research participants, this article reports on the ‘fluid’ and ‘messy’ process of collaborative research (Burns & Edwards, 2014, p. 67) as we investigate the use of identity texts (Cummins & Early, 2011) as a mediating tool for professional learning. In acknowledging the practice of teaching as highly situated, the data presented focuses on the individual experience of each teacher, voiced through an action research frame, before we discuss the achievements and challenges which emerged through this collaborative research process. In the findings, we argue for the importance of championing the case for the messy processes of collaborative research within the broader research academy.

About TESOL in Context

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Considering the benefits of research participation: insights from a study of adult EAL educators

Despite the professional learning benefits that may be realised through participation in research, many institutions and teachers are reluctant to get involved. They (correctly) anticipate that it will require some time, effort, and commitment. They may understand that research is important for improving education practices but more direct and immediate value for them and, importantly, how to gain it may not be obvious. To address this issue, we report a part of a six-month study that used institutional ethnography as the method of inquiry. We present and analyse three generative episodes that we observed and experienced in the context of our research collaboration with the participants at one adult community-based English as an Additional Language (EAL) institution in Melbourne (Australia). These episodes provide important insights into the ways in which our participants were proactive in realising the benefits of participating in the research. The participating teachers brought research and practice into regular dialogue and strategically utilised our partnership for their professional learning. We conclude by discussing some practical strategies for EAL institutions, teachers, and researchers who want to unlock and maximise the learning potential of research partnerships.

REFLECTIONS ON TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING

REFLECTIONS ON TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING Rod EllisBristol, Blue Ridge Summit: Multilingual Matters, 2018

MIND MATTERS IN SLA

MIND MATTERS IN SLA Edited by Clare Wright, Thorsten Pike and Martha Young-ScholtenBristol, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2018

Symbolic capital and the problem of navigating English language teacher practice: the case of Indonesian pesantren

English is the most widely taught and learned language in the world. Within the broader literatures on the worldwide spread and dominance of English as a key skill for 21st century education, the use of English(es) and English Language Teaching (ELT) in the context of schooling in Asian countries represent an important research direction. Our paper contributes to these debates by exploring the problem of English language teachers’ beliefs about their pedagogical practices in Indonesian pesantren schools. The system of religious pesantren schools provides a unique research context to examine teacher practice in classrooms where English is not assigned the assumed de facto status of a ‘global lingua franca’. In engaging a Bourdieusian lens, this paper explores teachers’ perceptions of the (lack of) symbolic and linguistic capital of English language learning in pesantren, the emergent tensions, and how these frame teacher beliefs and practice. In so doing, this paper aims to contribute to the broader debates in the field that seek to critically analyse and reframe the hegemonic status of English as a global educational commodity of political-economic power.

Editorial: Teaching and learning English in the age of COVID-19: Reflecting on the state of TESOL in a changed world

As this issue of TESOL in context goes to press, we are looking back on a period of close to 18 months since the COVID-19 pandemic became a reality for Australia. The immediate, farreaching and ongoing impact of the pandemic on education has been captured and documented in much academic and professional debate to date (Kenley, 2020; Zentrum für Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung Bamberg (ZLB), 2020). Restrictions on travel resulting from the pandemic have severely impacted teachers, students and teacher educators all over the world (Tran, 2020).

EMOTIONS IN SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING: THEORY, RESEARCH AND TEACHER EDUCATION

EMOTIONS IN SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHING: THEORY, RESEARCH AND TEACHER EDUCATION Juan de Dios Martinez Agudo (Ed.) Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2018

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LANGUAGE PRACTICES OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN AND YOUTH: THE TRANSITION FROM HOME TO SCHOOL

LANGUAGE PRACTICES OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN AND YOUTH: THE TRANSITION FROM HOME TO SCHOOLWigglesworth, G., Simpson, J., & Vaughan, J. (Eds.) Springer, 2018