ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Guest Editor's Introduction
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20350_9bf0120e9f8b3dc338c810d6ff29066d.pdf
2016-10-01
1
3
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20350
Jack
Richards
jack.richards@sydney.edu.au
1
University of Sydney, Australia
LEAD_AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Who Provides Professional Development? A Study of Professional Development in Qatar
This paper argues that understanding what is offered as professional development frames what matters in English language teaching in a national education system. Analyzing these offerings articulates the values and perceptions of the work environment in which teachers live professionally. The Learning4Teaching (L4T) project is a multi-country series of national studies that examine public-sector English language teachers’ experiences of professional development. The studies document 1) the learning opportunities provided in the national context, 2) how teachers view participating in these opportunities, and 3) what they believe they take from them. Drawing on data from the first phase of the study (#1 above), this paper examines the provision of professional development to ELT teachers in the ‘independent’ (public school) sector in Qatar between 2012 and 2015. Of the 150 events offered during this period, 50% concerned teaching methodology. The university/training center sector provided the bulk of professional development (79% of events). The professional development offerings presented teachers with a view of English language teaching as: highly focused on methodological expectations and skills; driven by a set of policy priorities around managing the learning environment, assessment, and standards; in which methodological knowledge and skills are seen as the currency of a teaching identity.
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20351_c7135514040c0f232b371f72ada51e06.pdf
2016-10-01
5
19
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20351
foreign/second language motivation
changes in motivation
interest and involvement
Donald
Freeman
donaldfr@umich.edu
1
University of Michigan, US
LEAD_AUTHOR
Dudley
Reynolds
2
Carnegie Mellon University, Qatar
AUTHOR
Will
Toledo
3
University of Michigan, US
AUTHOR
Abdullah Mohammad
Abu-Tineh
4
Qatar University, Qatar
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Exploring Change in Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs about English Language Learning and Teaching
The beliefs a teacher carries into the classroom are a strong predictor of behaviour and, thus, have educational implications. With more English Language Learners (ELLs) worldwide, in mainstream classrooms in English speaking countries and in content-based classes in other countries around the globe than ever before, it is essential that preservice teachers’ beliefs about these students are understood and, when possible, altered to ensure positive and productive educational experiences. This study examined the initial language learning beliefs and attitudes toward ELLs among 354 pre-service teachers in a large public university and compared it to their beliefs after their ESL related coursework. The findings demonstrate beliefs about ELLs can be changed, influencing preservice teachers’ practices in future classrooms. Survey data collected before and after specific coursework revealed a significant shift in preservice teachers’ beliefs, indicating more alignment with current research and sound educational practice. Semi-structured focus-group interviews provided supporting evidence. These findings suggest pre-service teachers need evidence-based coursework in language development and language learning processes to overcome misconceptions regarding ELLs.
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20352_1dc10e7564dfbd3fa0e1fca0397f7246.pdf
2016-10-01
21
36
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20352
belief change
English language learners
preservice teachers
Kylah
Clark-Goff
1
Tarleton State University, US
AUTHOR
Zohreh
Eslami
zeslami@tamu.edu
2
Texas A & M University, US
LEAD_AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Native and Nonnative English Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Professional Identity: Convergent or Divergent?
There is still a preference for native speaker teachers in the language teaching profession, which is supposed to influence the self-perceptions of native and nonnative teachers. However, the status of English as a globalized language is changing the legitimacy of native/nonnative teacher dichotomy. This study sought to investigate native and nonnative English-speaking teachers’ perceptions about native and nonnative teachers’ status and the advantages and disadvantages of being a native or nonnative teacher. Data were collected by means of a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. A total of 200 native and nonnative teachers of English from the UK and the US, i.e. the inner circle, and Turkey and Iran, the expanding circle, participated in this study. A significant majority of nonnative teachers believed that native speaker teachers have better speaking proficiency, better pronunciation, and greater self-confidence. The findings also showed nonnative teachers’ lack of self-confidence and awareness of their role and status compared with native-speaker teachers, which could be the result of existing inequities between native and nonnative English-speaking teachers in ELT. The findings also revealed that native teachers disagreed more strongly with the concept of native teachers’ superiority over nonnative teachers. Native teachers argued that nonnative teachers have a good understanding of teaching methodology whereas native teachers are more competent in correct language. It can be concluded that teacher education programs in the expanding-circle countries should include materials for teachers to raise their awareness of their own professional status and role and to remove their misconception about native speaker fallacy.
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20353_c863f567f11eb4796b300b46cd3353b4.pdf
2016-10-01
37
54
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20353
professional identity
native teachers
nonnative teachers
inner-circle
expanding-circle
Zia
Tajeddin
zia_tajeddin@yahoo.com
1
Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Aylar
Adeh
2
Kharazmi University, Iran
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Initiating an Action Research Programme for University EFL Teachers: Early Experiences and Responses
Accounts of how teacher educators begin to plan, develop, and support action research programmes for language teachers are rare, as are descriptions of the responses of the teachers who participate. This article documents and analyses the initial processes of introducing and supporting a new programme of action research for language teachers at the Universidad Chileno-Británica de Cultura (UCBC) in Santiago, Chile. To evaluate the setting up of the programme and how the teachers have perceived it in its early stages, the authors, who are the programme facilitators, have conducted a meta- study. Data include workshop and meeting recordings, workshop observation notes, a reflective account, and a teacher questionnaire. The findings indicate that the teachers value the input and collaboration provided by an initial workshop, and subsequent meetings and discussions, very highly, but that issues of time, student involvement, and academic literature are areas for further debate and development. The article ends by drawing out the broader implications for UCBC and for others wishing to initiate similar action research programmes.
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20354_8984d2982eed95ba4e644b6ff270bb36.pdf
2016-10-01
55
73
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20354
language teacher education
action research
teachers as researchers
facilitation of action research
Anne
Burns
anne.burns@unsw.edu.au
1
University of New South Wales, Australia
LEAD_AUTHOR
Anne
Westmacott
2
Universidad Chileno-Británica de Cultura, Chile
AUTHOR
Antonieta
Ferrer
3
Universidad Chileno-Británica de Cultura, Chile
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
EFL Teachers’ Stress and Job Satisfaction: What Contribution Can Teacher Education Make?
The present study was conducted to find out the level of job satisfaction and stress among Iranian EFL teachers. More precisely, an attempt was made to investigate the main sources of EFL teachers’ stress, their level of satisfaction with the job and the relationship between occupational stress and instructors’ age, marital status and tenure. Using a localized self-reported questionnaire, adapted from Ferguson, Frost, and Hall (2012), data was collected from 149 EFL teachers working in Urmia, Iran. The analysis of the data revealed that 29.93% of the teachers reported feelings of stress in one way or another. In addition, more than one-third of the teachers claimed to be somewhat or very dissatisfied with their job. It was also observed that age, marital status and employment play significant roles in the level of occupational stress perceived by EFL teachers. Suggestions are offered for relieving teachers from stress and how teacher education programmes can contribute.
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20355_31f92913550a42dcf9f402cf1faea390.pdf
2016-10-01
75
96
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20355
occupational stress
job satisfaction
EFL Teachers
teacher education
Karim
Sadeghi
k.sadeghi@urmia.ac.ir
1
Urmia University, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Morteza
Sa’adatpourvahid
2
University of Canterbury, New Zealand
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
TESOL, A Profession That Eats Its Young! The Importance of Reflective Practice in Language Teacher Education
The field of teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) is similar to other fields in that we must not take it for granted that novice teachers will survive their first year without some kind of support. This paper outlines how three novice ESL teachers in Canada survived their first year without any support from the school they were placed. Specifically, the paper outlines how they, with the aid of a facilitator, engaged in reflective practice by using a framework for reflecting on practice to help them navigate complex issues and challenges they faced during their first year of teaching. Had they not engaged in such structured reflection during their first year, they would have probably become another statistic of those who quit the profession and contribute to the growing perception that TESOL is a profession that eats its young. The paper suggests that language teacher educators and novice teachers should not just wait until their first year to learn the skills of reflective practice but should do so much earlier in their teacher education programs so that they can be better prepared for the transition from their teacher education programs to the first year of teaching.
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20356_c68f5a2bf97079b8ead506c5e22251b1.pdf
2016-10-01
97
107
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20356
reflective practice
novice teachers, language teacher education
Thomas
Farrell
tfarrell@brocku.ca
1
Brock University, Canada
LEAD_AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Secondary EFL School Teachers’ Perceptions of CLT Principles and Practices: An Exploratory Survey
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is advocated by many applied linguists as a common vehicle to curriculum innovation in many ELT contexts. It represents a change of focus in language teaching from linguistic structures to learners’ need for developing communication skills. In recent years, the Iranian Ministry of Education has introduced the development of a new English curriculum for secondary schools with the aim of establishing the use of communicative activities in language classes. The present study was an attempt to investigate Iranian teachers’ perception of CLT principles and practices through a survey of 75 secondary school teachers in the context of the newly introduced English language curriculum developed based on CLT principles. Based on a combination of quantitative and qualitative data using a semi-structured questionnaire supplemented with interviews with a smaller group of teachers, the results of the survey revealed that a change in classroom arrangements is required before CLT can be practiced in secondary school English classes in Iran. The results also showed that the employment of CLT procedures at the local level is at its beginning stages and might take time to take root. The conclusion is that for the suggested changes in the curriculum to be implemented and realized in English education in Iran, the findings of more comprehensive surveys complemented with observation of teachers’ instructional practices is required to inform the change implementation.
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20357_9b31064a943dfe4ee4d8ed58192041a0.pdf
2016-10-01
109
130
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20357
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
Iranian EFL context
teachers’ perceptions
secondary education
curricular innovation
Mohammad Reza
Anani Sarab
anani@sbu.ac.ir
1
Shahid Beheshti University, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Abbas
Monfared
2
Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran
AUTHOR
Mohammad Meisam
Safarzadeh
3
Allameh Tabataba’i University, Iran
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
BOOK REVIEW: Key Issues in Language Teaching
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20358_5f7d9273e2a3c5524862483936d10eea.pdf
2016-10-01
131
134
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20358
Farah
Ghaderi
f.ghaderi@urmia.ac.ir
1
Urmia University, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Karim
Sadeghi
k.sadeghi@urmia.ac.ir
2
Urmia University,Iran
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
BOOK REVIEW: CALL Teacher Education: Language Teachers and Technology Integration
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20359_a39bc93b8e0f359d86a3f54b5a7593bb.pdf
2016-10-01
135
138
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20359
Teymour
Rahmati Kelahsarayi
trahmati58@gmail.com
1
Urmia University, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
Karim
Sadeghi
k.sadeghi@urmia.ac.ir
2
Urmia University, Iran
AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
INTERVIEW: An Interview with Professor Simon Borg
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20360_54c62c95e17291ca280b2b632651f662.pdf
2016-10-01
139
143
10.30466/ijltr.2016.20360
Karim
Sadeghi
k.sadeghi@urmia.ac.ir
1
Urmia University, Iran
LEAD_AUTHOR
ORIGINAL_ARTICLE
Abstracts in Persian
https://ijltr.urmia.ac.ir/article_20361_d539d67fd00cc2d261e93052d0ad142d.pdf
2016-10-01
144
149