Michael Carrier “The Future of Digital English: new technologies for English language learning”

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

The ‘Good’ Language Teacher: Implications for Policy in Language Teacher Education

Professor Simon Borg

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

The Good Teacher ‌ with the right opportunity and support, we have seen that our students can learn to be more creative and innovative. But it takes good teachers ‌ (21st Century Skills, p. xxvi)

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

… there seems to be a consensus, at least intellectually, about what a good teacher is …

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

LTE Policy Suggestion #1 LTE policy needs to be based on an explicit statement of the attributes of a ‘good’ teacher. This defines the goals which will inform subsequent decisions about LTE.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

The ‘Good’ English Teacher • • • •

Knowledgeable Reflective Research-engaged Motivated

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Teacher Knowledge Linguistic/Literary Discrete Theoretical External Universal Implementation

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Teacher Knowledge Knowledge for teaching Integrated Practical Personal Situated Experiential Interpretation/Creation

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

LTE Policy Suggestions #2. Design LTE curricula to develop a multidimensional knowledge base. #3. Structure the LTE curriculum to develop an integrated knowledge base. #4. Make experiential learning central to LTE pedagogy and assessment.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Reflection conscious recall and examination of [an] experience as a basis for evaluation and decision-making and as a source for planning and action.

(Richards 1991: 4)

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Most teacher educators would argue that reflection is an essential tool in professional development. (Burton, 2009: 300)

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Reflective Practice 9 9 9 9 9

Awareness Understanding Decision-making Teacher autonomy Teacher responsibility

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

LTE Policy Suggestions #5. Integrate reflection into pedagogy and assessment in LTE. #6. Articulate & communicate a coherent rationale for reflective practice. #7. Provide teachers with modelling and training in reflective practice.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Research Engagement

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

LTE Policy Suggestions #8. Promote research-informed LTE. #9. Require all teachers to complete a research project. #10. Ensure that research engagement has pedagogical relevance. #11. Create conditions conducive to research engagement.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Teacher Motivation

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Teacher Motivation

Teacher motivation is affected by: Accountability Security The demands of policy Pay and career progression Status and vocational commitment Teacher competence Working and living conditions Teacher management & professional support (Teacher Motivation in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, DFID, 2007)

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

LTE Policy Suggestions #12. Provide induction for new teachers. #13. Increase opportunities for PD. #14. Define clear routes for career progression. #15. Create competitive working conditions.

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

Other Policy Considerations

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

To Sum Up

School of Education Faculty of Education, Social Sciences & Law

The ‘Good’ Language Teacher: Implications for Policy in Language Teacher Education

Professor Simon Borg