eBook downloads, eBook resources & eBook authors
This book contains many suggestions for practical work and discussion, and includes an extended case-study.
This book provides a comparative perspective on foreign language teacher training in France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The training process of state secondary school foreign language teachers is considered from two perspectives for each country. The current training routes through which necessary teaching qualifications are obtained are described with respect to national policy for foreign language learning, the nature of providers, and training programme organization and contents, with details of any practice. These descriptive dimensions are accompanied by an evaluation of the degree to which the training fits the purpose of teaching foreign languages in state secondary schools. The descriptive and evaluative approaches to FL teacher training provide a novel overview of the current successes and challenges in the field, giving an understanding of terrains not easily accessible to the general English-language readership. The book highlights elements of good practice found across nations, and contributes to shedding light on the enduring mystery of why certain nations seem to be managing multilingualism better than others. As such, it provides a reference for interdisciplinary discussions between applied linguists, education researchers and practitioners, and policymakers.
The present work is a part of an investigation into the teaching of the modern foreign languages which was begun in 1924 by a Committee organized under the sponsorship of the American Council on Education and working with funds supplied by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. From the first the Committee on Investigation recognized the fundamental importance which the training of secondary school teachers has for the present and future position of modern language studies in this country and took steps to sound out the situation as thoroughly as possible. The following pages contain the results of this inquiry. Even a hasty examination of Professor Purin's report will show that the foreign language teachers in this country, as a class, are poorly equipped both in the fundamentals of their subject and in the theory of teaching and the technique provided by practice under supervision. AU of these defects, as well as a lack of professional feeling, . teachers of the modern languages share with colleagues in other curriculum subjects, and all are to be explained in great measure by the recent history of our secondary school system. The deficiencies in the training of modern language teachers, resulting in a lack of fundamental skills and capacities, appear in glaring relief to every classroom visitor and are written plainly in the statistics contained in this report. Less than twenty-five per cent of the modern language teachers in the public secondary schools of the country have enjoyed opportunities beyond the college years, except such as were furnished by summer sessions. Only a little over thirty per cent of these teachers have ever visited a country where the language which they teach is spoken. Equally significant is the fact that one-third of them have not yet had three years of teaching experience and that thirty-six states in the Union still issue "blanket" certificates authorizing the holders to give instruction in any subject on the secondary school curriculum.
First published in 1909, this book presents a discussion of the educational process in relation to modern languages. The text is divided into two main sections: the first relates to the teaching of modern languages in secondary schools; the second relates to the training of modern language teachers.
Language teaching approaches, methods and procedures are constantly undergoing reassessment. New ideas keep emerging as the growing complexity of the means of communication and the opportunities created by technology put language skills to new uses. In addition, the political, social and economic impact of globalisation, the new demands of the labour market that result from it, the pursuit of competitiveness, the challenges of intercultural communication and the diversification of culture have opened new perspectives on the central role that foreign languages have come to play in the development of contemporary societies. This book provides an insight into the latest developments in the field and discusses the new trends in foreign language teaching in four major areas, namely methods and approaches, teacher training, innovation in the classroom, and evaluation and assessment.
Beyond Training examines the nature of second language teacher development and how teachers' practices are influenced by their beliefs and principles. It seeks to move discussion of language teacher development beyond the level of "training," which reflects a technical view of specific teaching practices. Instead, it takes a more holistic approach to teacher development built on the notion of the teacher as critical and reflective thinker. The argument pursued throughout is that teacher education needs to engage teachers not merely in the mastery of techniques, but in an exploration of the knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes that underly their teaching practices.
The field of Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) is mainly concerned with the professional preparation of L2 teachers. In order to improve teaching in the multilingual and multicultural classroom of the 21st century, both pre- and in-service L2 teachers as well as L2 teacher educators must be prepared to meet the new challenges of education under the current circumstances, expanding their roles and responsibilities so as to face the new complex realities of language instruction. This volume explores a number of key dimensions of EFL teacher education. The sixteen chapters discuss a wide variety of issues related to second language pedagogy and SLTE. Topics discussed include the importance of SLA research; competency-based teacher education approach; classroom-based action research; SLTE models; the value and role of practicum experience abroad; the models of pronunciation teaching; multicultural awareness and competence; the influence of teachers’ cognitions, emotions and attitudes on their emerging and changing professional identities; the potential of classroom materials and technology; and CLIL and ESP teacher education. English as a foreign language teacher education: Current perspectives and challenges will be of interest to teachers-in-training, teachers, teacher educators and to those educational researchers interested in how L2 teaching is actually learned in professional preparation programmes. Juan de Dios Martínez Agudo is Associate Professor of EFL Teacher Education at the University of Extremadura, Spain. His current research interests include Second Language Acquisition and English Teaching Methodology. His most recent books are Oral Communication in the EFL Classroom (2008), Errors in the Second Language Classroom: Corrective Feedback (2010) and Teaching and Learning English through Bilingual Education (2012).
This text presents an integrated description of learning and teaching foreign languages in general, and French and German in particular. Vocabulary, pronunciation, listening, reading, speaking and writing are discussed with a threefold approach: through a linguistic description, an analysis of the learning process and many practical suggestions for teaching.
