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A new professional learning landscape for English language teaching
Marcelle Houterman reports on technological advances in collaborative learning
At the International School of Phnom Penh (ISPP), professional development is regarded as something more than a workshop or a conference. Those who engage in day-to-day professional dialogues are constantly learning and upskilling themselves. ISPP’s school priority for the 2015-2017 school years with regard to professional growth and learning is focused on supporting English language learners (all language learners) across the school. During this school year (2016-2017), all faculty will engage with SPELTAC (Social Platform for English Language Teaching Across the Curriculum), which was developed by Marcelle Houterman, primary EAL teacher at ISPP.
A long-term shift in thinking needs ongoing professional development
With almost twenty years of experience as EAL coordinator and teacher across all school divisions in different international school settings, Marcelle wanted to design a differentiated, self-directed programme that would sustain good teaching practice for English language learners. Enthused by the possibilities of technology and connected learning after taking part in COETAIL (Certificate Of Educational Technology and Information Literacy), and inspired by the work of Sylvia Rosenthal Tolisano, Eithne Gallagher, Pauline Gibbons and many others, she designed a learning management system
It will be exciting to see what new understandings, insights and initiatives will emerge about international school students, bilingualism and English language learning. While much has been written about supporting English language learners, the linguistic needs of international school students are unique and there is much learning to be done.
for English language teaching with a focus on international mindedness, based on the premise that most students in international schools are learning on a bilingual continuum. She felt that what was needed was a long-term shift in thinking about how language should be integrated and valued in international education; how it is central to learning and international mindedness. Marcelle wanted to design a model of professional development that would be an ongoing part of educators’ learning, which could constantly be explored, revisited and strengthened.
Learning is defined by our times (Siemens, 2004). But learning will always be accelerated by feedback, connectivity and reflection. In international English-medium schools, professional learning about teaching bilingual learners through an internationally minded approach will remain constants. The dialogue about how to support the linguistic needs of students who are learning in a language other than their mother tongue must be continued.
The power of blogging and social media
At the time of writing this article, faculty at ISPP have nearly completed the SPELTAC orientation course, introducing them to connected learning and blogging. The range of teacher blog posts is diverse. Teachers have started blogging about the importance of inviting home languages into the classroom, reflected on the value of connected learning, international mindedness, the importance of inquiry learning for language acquisition, creating a larger section in the library for home languages, questioning how we are addressing the ‘now’ literacies in the school, where coding comes into being literate, and much more. Practices have been shared on Twitter and teachers have used each other’s ideas.
World-wide, teachers report that online networking, social media and blogging have created an unprecedented growth in their learning. Learning through blogging provides teachers with a forum to try out strategies, to improve them, and to reflect on how they support language and literacy learning, but also that international educators bring a wealth of knowledge and skills in the area of supporting bilingual learners that can be shared locally and globally. It will be exciting to see what new understandings, insights and initiatives will emerge about international school students, bilingualism and English language learning. While much has been written about supporting English language learners, the linguistic needs of international school students are unique and there is much learning to be done.
SPELTAC has the potential to facilitate collaborative learning, model and enthuse teachers to implement 21st century literacy practices, make visible what is needed in a school, celebrate growth and achievement, and create institutional memory: so far, it has proven to be a catalyst for making connections off line too. The virtual learning environment mimics the inquiry classroom; it brings to the surface what colleagues are thinking and learning about, and it is a place where teachers can inspire each other and build on each other’s understanding. As a result, conversations are ignited in the corridor.
Expected to be completed in May 2017, the real success of SPELTAC will become clear when baseline data has been collected to enable the benchmarking of growth, which will be done through growth continua and surveys. Results will be published on the website. Is everyone on board? Blogging is not everyone’s comfort zone – but as a colleague put it in one of those conversations sparked by a blog post or a Tweet in the corridor: “There is a lot for everybody to take in .... but with that comes a dialogue not so much about why we can’t but why we should.”
Reference
Siemens G (2004) Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, Available via http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/connectivism.htm
