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This volume brings together articles written by experts in the thriving field of language teacher education from a variety of geographical and institutional contexts, with a particular focus on EFL.
Teaching Materials and the Roles of EFL/ESL Teachers is published amidst a decade long increase in academic publications and training courses concerned with the evaluation and design of English language teaching materials. It is timely to consider what effect the advice on offer has had on teachers' practice. Are teachers evaluating materials carefully, using textbooks in the ways expected by textbook writers, developing their own materials, and mediating between materials and learners in the ways advised in the professional literature? The book explores these issues from a variety of perspectives. The views of publishers/textbook writers, those contributing to the professional literature, and teacher educators are synthesised to establish a 'theory' of how teachers can best fulfil their roles vis-à-vis materials and learners. This is then compared with 'practice', as represented by published accounts of teachers' actual practices and learners' perspectives. The conclusion reached is that teacher education in materials evaluation and design is essential and suggestions are offered as to the form this might take. The book is intended particularly for MA students and teacher educators concerned with materials evaluation and design, but is of interest to all those concerned with the publication and use of English language teaching materials.
This book offers a detailed examination of reflective practice in teacher education. In the current educational context, where reflective practice has been mandated in professional standards for teachers in many countries, it analyses research-based evidence for the power of reflective practice to shape better educational outcomes. The book presents multiple theoretical and practical views of this often taken-for-granted practice, so that readers are challenged to consider how factors such as gender and race shape understandings of reflective practice. Documenting approaches that enhance learning, the contributions discuss reflective practice across the globe, with a focus on pre-service, in-service and university teachers. At a time when there is pressure to measure teachers’ work through standardised tests, the book highlights the professional thinking that is integral to teaching and demonstrates ways it can be encouraged in beginning teachers. Aimed at the international community of teacher educators in schools and universities, it also includes a critical examination of methodological issues in analysing and evaluating reflective practice and showcases the kind of reflective practice that empowers teachers and pre-service teachers to make a difference to students.
Blended learning has recently been gaining popularity within educational fields. Examining the impact that computer-assisted techniques have on foreign language education will provide more effective ways to enhance learning techniques for educators and students alike. Applications of CALL Theory in ESL and EFL Environments is a pivotal reference source that discusses recent advances relating to online teaching and learning of foreign languages. Highlighting relevant topics such as electronic portfolio assessments, corpus linguists, flipped learning models, and student engagement, this scholarly resource is ideal for educators, academicians, students, and researchers that are interested in staying current on the latest technologies and methodologies in foreign language learning.
This collection of research in on-line communication for second language learning inlcudes use of electronic mail, real-time writing and the World Wide Web. It analyses the theories underlying computer-assisted learning.
This edited volume explores the multifaceted nature of teacher emotions, presenting current research from different approaches and perspectives, focused towards the second language classroom. Twenty three chapters by well-known scholars from the applied linguistics, TESOL and educational psychology fields provide the reader with a holistic picture of teacher emotions, making this collection a significant contribution to the field of second language teaching. Given the emotional nature of teaching, the book explores a number of key issues or dimensions of L2 teachers’ emotions that were until now rarely considered. The contributions present the views of a select group of applied linguistic researchers and L2 teacher educators from around the world. This international perspective makes the book essential reading for both L2 teachers and teacher educators.
In this publication national and international researchers working in the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, applied linguistics and educational sciences are presenting their current research in the area of primary EFL teacher education. The starting point of this collection was the general shift in educational research towards the role of teachers as well as towards facets of the teaching profession and their relative contributions to successful and 'good' education. All contributions to this volume focus primarily on hitherto insufficiently researched as¬pects of the professional development of primary EFL teachers. This book is thus contributing to closing existing research gaps as well as giving impetus for future studies and increasing communication about research on the professional development of EFL teachers in related disciplines. Aside from an overview of teaching primary EFL in Europe and beyond, the contributors are presenting up-to-date research on policy and practice of primary EFL teacher education, in-service training as well as professional competences and beliefs of primary EFL teachers. Edited by Eva Wilden and Raphaela Porsch, this interdisciplinary book provides contributions from Nora Benitt, Henriette Dausend, Ann-Cathrin Deters-Philipp, Janet Enever, Alicia Jöckel, Johannes König, Angelika Kubanek, Sandra Lammerding, Rama Mathew, Günter Nold, Annamaria Pinter, Thorsten Piske, Shelagh Rixon, Andreas Rohde, Henning Rossa, Bianca Roters, Sarah Strauß and Sarantis Tachtsoglou.
This book is designed to provide practical applications of sociocultural theory with regard to teachers’ roles in second language education. By providing specific examples of teachers’ roles in the classroom, the book aims to help researchers, teacher educators, and classroom teachers make clear connections between practice and theory in second language learning. All the studies in this edited book are conducted in the PreK-16 classroom setting. Each chapter presents rigorous research analysis within the framework of sociocultural theory and provides rich descriptions of teachers’ roles. The book is intended to be used in teacher education courses. The primary audience of the book is in-service teachers who work with second language learners (SLLs) in their classrooms including ESL/Bilingual classrooms or regular classrooms. Since many SLLs receive instructions both in the ESL/Bilingual classrooms and in the regular classrooms, it is important to discuss teachers’ roles in both settings. The secondary audience of the book is teacher educators and researchers who work with pre-service and in-service teachers in teacher education. This book will be an excellent resource for book study groups and practitioners working with professional learning communities.
The European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages is a tool for reflection and self-assessment of the didactic knowledge and skills necessary to teach languages. It builds on insights from the Common European Framework of Reference and the European Language Portfolio as well as the European Profile for Language Teacher Education. Four years after its initial publication it has been translated into twelve European and Asian languages.To meet widespread demand this ECML publication provides materials which support its implementation in teacher education. The book entitled Using the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages presents examples, discussions and research findings of how the EPOSTL is used in initial teacher education courses, in bi-lateral teacher education programs and in teaching practice. The accompanying folder and flyer feature, amongst other things, guidelines for strategic measures for introducing the EPOSTL in a particular institution.
English Language Teaching Today: Linking Theory and Practice provides an up-to-date account of current principles and practices for teaching English in the world today. The chapters, written by internationally recognized language teacher educators and TESOL specialists, introduce the reader to key language skill areas (i.e., listening, speaking, reading, writing, pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary) and explain how each skill area can be taught in a principled manner in diverse language learning contexts. Throughout the book, the link between theory and practice is explicitly highlighted and exemplified. This reader-friendly book is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in TESOL and other second language education programmes as well as for TESOL professionals who wish to stay current with recent developments in ELT.
