16.48, Review: Applied Ling: Tedick (2005)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-16-48. Wed Jan 12 2005. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 16.48, Review: Applied Ling: Tedick (2005)

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1)
Date: 11-Jan-2005
From: Clemens Fritz < clemens.fritz at clemens-fritz.de >
Subject: Second Language Teacher Education 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 02:45:11
From: Clemens Fritz < clemens.fritz at clemens-fritz.de >
Subject: Second Language Teacher Education 
 

EDITOR: Tedick, Diane J.
TITLE: Second Language Teacher Education
SUBTITLE: International Perspectives
PUBLISHER: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates
YEAR: 2005
Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/15/15-2992.html


Clemens Fritz, Freie Universität Berlin

SUMMARY

'Second Language Teacher Education' (SLTE) is collection of papers which 
derive from the Second International Conference on Language Teacher 
Education held at the University of Minnesota in May 2001. The papers have 
been expanded and improved by blind refereeing.  The contributors are 
mainly American, but the focus is not restricted to the US. Japan, 
Australia and Great Britain as well as general studies are also part of 
the volume.  The papers are written not only by well-established, 
internationally known scholars, but also by members of a younger 
generation of researchers. Moreover, five out of eighteen chapters come 
from practising teachers.  SLTE brings together perspectives of teachers 
and teacher educators in a variety of second language settings. Teaching 
English as a Second Language (ESL), English as a Foreign Language (EFL), 
foreign language education and bilingual or immersion education contexts 
are all considered.  In this the book is valuable since it furthers much 
needed communication between research areas which, though closely related, 
more often than not ignore each other. The international perspective adds 
to this.  The editor stresses (xxii) that "Second language teacher 
educators are very aware that there are similar debates and efforts in the 
world of first language education [...]". In this recognition lies another 
fruitful approach to the topic of language teaching. 

STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK

SLTE contains eighteen chapters in four sections. These are:
1. The knowledge base of second language teacher education.
2. The contexts of second language teacher education.
3. Collaboration in second language teacher education.
4. Second language teacher education in practice.
Each section is preceded by an introduction explaining its scope and 
summarizing the respective papers.  Naturally, some of the chapters 
reflect all four themes but had to be put into one section only. This task 
was carried out by the editor with much care.  References are given at the 
end of every contribution.  The book closes with a helpful index divided 
into an 'Author index', containing the names of all authors mentioned in 
any of the chapters, and a 'Subject Index'. An index of abbreviations is 
sadly missing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Section 1: The knowledge base of second language teacher education.
'Knowledge base' refers to what second language teachers need to know and 
understand in order to be effective teachers. This, of course, has 
implications for teacher education.  The knowledge base comprises diverse 
subjects such as theoretical knowledge, classroom experience, beliefs and 
attitudes, values and ethical dispositions, teacher socialization and 
learning, teacher cognition, teacher identity and reflective learning.

Chapter 1: Tarone/Allwright, "Second language teacher learning and student 
second language learning: Shaping the knowledge base"
This chapter is largely a reply to Freeman/Johnson (1998) which has proven 
to be very influential in the field of language teacher education.   
Freeman/Johnson (1998) argued for a reconceptualization of the knowledge-
base of language teacher education since they saw that language teacher 
education programs do not sufficiently reflect current research. Moreover, 
social context as an issue is underrepresented.  Tarone/Allwright are 
afraid that the common goal, namely the influence of scholarly research on 
educational practices, is undermined by the generalizing claims in 
Freeman/Johnson.  Tarone/Allwright believe that language teacher education 
programs should be redesigned to avoid the 'Academic fallacy', i.e. the 
belief that taking university courses alone makes an effective teacher, 
and the 'Noninterface fallacy', i.e. the belief that only classroom 
experiences make effective teachers.

The authors argue convincingly that teachers need to be educated 
differently at different levels of their own teaching experiences.  Their 
second major point of disagreement with Freeman/Johnson is the assumed 
virtual exclusion of the learners' position succinctly summed up in the 
phrase "teach is not an intransitive verb; it is not an action one does by 
oneself" (17f).  A small reference error and a spelling mistake on p. 17 
about Figure 2.1 in the book is unusual, since the book is carefully 
edited.

Chapter 2: Freeman/Johnson, "Response to Tarone and Allwright"
It is also rather unusual that responses to a paper can become a paper of 
their own. But this is an exception and not an unhappy one.   The tone is 
scholarly and clarifies where Tarone/Allwright misunderstood 
Freeman/Johnson (1998) and where they agree to disagree.  This response 
indeed is a further contribution and was well-worth including.  Only 
citing the same, non-essential, quote twice in so short a paper seems a 
bit odd (Prufrock: That is not what I meant at all).

Chapter 3: Scarino, "Introspection and Retrospection as windows on teacher 
knowledge, values and ethical dispositions"
Scarino is interested in getting to know teacher knowledge, their values 
and ethical dispositions. She does this by interviewing three experienced 
teachers over a two-year period about their evaluations of a group of 30 
students.  Some interviews are done over a recently produced text, 
introspection, others in retrospect.  The insights gained are revealing 
and will possibly stimulate further research.

Chapter 4: Johnston/Pawan/Mahan-Taylor, "The professional development of 
working ESL/EFL teachers: A pilot study"
The authors intend to examine the lives of 12 graduates from a U.S. 
masters program over a period of five years.   There are two principal 
research questions: "(a) What happens to teachers after the master of arts 
(MA)? and (b) How do the careers and professional development of working 
teachers match up with our assumptions about such teachers' needs, 
interests, and concerns?" (54)  The socio-political and socio-cultural 
context of teacher development is divided into four parts: teacher life 
stories, professional development, teacher beliefs and knowledge and 
teacher identity.  In this paper a pilot study about Bea, an American 
teacher in Japan, is presented.   Her interviews form the body of a corpus 
of statements which is then further investigated.

Chapter 5: Freeman/Johnson, "Toward linking teacher knowledge and student 
learning"
Freeman/Johnson differentiate between action, activity and tools. In their 
words these three can be likened to: 1) action = passing a ball; 2) 
activity = a whole soccer game, i.e. all actions and also tactics, etc. 
and 3) tools = football, goalpost, etc.  They stress that teaching, even 
good teaching, alone does not necessarily lead to learning. Only the 
active participation of the students of the language-classroom can achieve 
this.  The authors proceed with an example of a use of an overhead 
projector as a multifunctional tool in language learning. They show how it 
is effectively used by a teacher of French in a high school in Vermont.

Section 2. The contexts of second language teacher education.
'Context' means the contexts in which second language teacher education 
takes place, the classroom contexts (ESL, EFL, etc.), and the geographic, 
social, cultural, political and institutional contexts.

Chapter 6: Shohamy, "The power of tests over teachers: The power of 
teachers over tests"
Shohamy discusses how tests are used by authoritative bodies to enforce 
new policies. Teachers become mere instruments and their professional 
qualifications and experiences are disregarded. Teachers need to be 
emancipated and become critical users of tests.

Chapter 7: Hiramatsu, "Contexts and policy reform: A case study of EFL 
teaching in a high school in Japan"
The author explores the impact of two recent reforms in Japan, the Japan 
Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and the revision of the English 
curriculum towards more oral skills.  Under JET, recent university 
graduates from abroad are encouraged to come to Japan and fill the role of 
team-teachers in foreign language classrooms.  Not all teachers are happy 
to have native speakers in their classrooms, since they are afraid of 
being less knowledgeable than their team mates. The development of oral 
skills are also hindered by the type of university entrance exams in Japan.

Chapter 8: Byrnes, Towards a comprehensive conceptualization of teaching 
assistant education: Contents, commitments, structures"
Byrnes investigates foreign language teaching at the university level in 
the US. She is especially concerned with the curriculum for graduate 
teaching assistants and claims that language learning and culture learning 
are too much apart and should be integrated much more.

Chapter 9: Poynor, "A conscious and deliberate intervention: The influence 
of language teacher education"
ESL and bilingual education at the elementary level are looked at here. 
The method of 'investigation' is rather strange. Poynor weaves her own 
life story and that of two teachers into a narrative account of what they 
experienced in classrooms using a particular teaching method. The value of 
this is not immediately clear to the reviewer.

Section 3. Collaboration in second language teacher education.
This section stresses the importance of cooperation and collaborative 
relationships. This encompasses institutional collaboration as well as 
collaboration among teachers and teacher educators themselves.

Chapter 10: Edge, "Build it and they will come: Realising values in ESOL 
teacher education"
This paper is very personal. Edge explores the political, economic, 
military and cultural values typically associated with English and 
compares them with his own set of beliefs and values. He concludes that 
the teacher's convictions must take precedence and that discussions with 
colleagues can help in this.  Edge considers himself to be en vogue with 
this procedure. Educators no longer want to say what is right or 
wrong. "They offer their own evaluation and they invite their readers to 
ask ... 'What can I learn from this'" (p. 182).

Chapter 11: Smith, "The impact of action research on teacher collaboration 
and professional growth"
Smith documents the collaboration of three language teachers in an English 
Language Institute in the U.S. The research questions are: "1. How does 
the facilitated collaborative relationship of a triad of teachers 
responsible for the same classes of students develop over 1 year?  2. How 
do these teachers view the relation between their efforts to collaborate 
and their professional development?" (p. 202)  The 'testees' and the 
students comment favourably on the outcome of the experiment. Importantly, 
the teachers agreed to continue their cooperation even after the end of 
the actual project.

Chapter 12: Cormany, Maynor, Kalnin, "Developing self, developing 
curriculum, and developing theory: Researchers in residence at Patrick 
Henry Professional Practice School"
The authors are two teachers and one researcher, all documenting the 
results of personal development and collaboration Patrick Henry High 
School, an establishment which managed to rise from bottom to top through 
intensive efforts on part of the teaching staff.  Researchers in residence 
and action research are taken as important tools for developing teacher 
skills and promoting the welfare of students and the school as a whole.

Chapter 13: Dubetz, "Improving ESL instruction in a bilingual program 
through collaborative, inquiry-based professional development"
The last chapter in this section deals with bilingual classrooms in the 
U.S. and the problems of learners of English whose first language is not 
English.  This is a very interesting topic and certainly needs more 
attention. This type of language situation is quite frequent and teacher 
education in this area is limited.

Section 4. Second language teacher education in practice.
The final section looks at how the work of second language teacher 
education is accomplished. Program models and underlying philosophies are 
showcased and examples given.

Chapter 14: Snow, "Key themes in TESOL MA teacher education"
Snow identifies six key themes of high quality teacher education. These 
are (a) initiation into the professional discourse community, (b) the role 
of native and non-native speaking teachers in the profession, (c) infusion 
of technology, (d) knowledge of standards and accreditation processes, (e) 
performance-based assessment, and (f) new partnerships and roles (p. 262).

Chapter 15: Cloud, "The dialogic process of capturing and building teacher 
practical knowledge in dual language programs"
Cloud explores dual language education in the U.S. Particular attention is 
given to school-based study groups, program visits, networking among dual 
language teachers, curriculum development, and intensive institutes.

Chapter 16: Erben, "Teacher education through immmersion and immersion 
teacher education: An Australian case"
Immersion as a way of teaching languages started in the 1960s in Canada 
and is most prominent there and in Australia. Erben describes how 
immersion teachers are educated in Queensland, Australia and critically 
evaluates the courses' effectiveness.  The method of immersion and the 
type of teacher education shown appear exemplary.

Chapter 17: Bigelow/Tedick, "Combining foreign and second language teacher 
education: Rewards and challenges"
Bigelow and Tedick showcase preservice and inservice programs for teachers 
at the University of Minnesota. They argue for an integrated approach 
which brings together ESL, ELF, bilingual and immersion teachers, since 
contact between the different professions is profitable for all sides. The 
rewards are found to outnumber the challenges.

Chapter 18: Walker, Ranney/Fortune, "Preparing preservice teachers for 
English language learners: A content-based approach"
In the final chapter the diverse language proficiencies of students in a 
classroom are addressed. For demographic reasons, there are many students 
whose first language is not English. At the University of Minnesota there 
are special courses to help content teachers to grapple with the different 
linguistic needs of their students. In these courses the preservice 
teachers are grouped in cohorts, of maths teachers, of English literature 
teachers, etc., so that actual classroom problems can be addressed.

CRITICAL EVALUATION

"It is hoped that these descriptions of second language teacher education 
in practice will spark further ideas and innovations on the part of the 
teacher educators who read this volume." (p 259; Tedick, the editor)
Although most of the papers are interesting in themselves and the editing 
of the papers conforms to high standards, the above-mentioned hope needs 
qualification.
It is obvious that the publishing of conference proceedings with such a 
broad scope make it impossible to build one coherent volume. Apart from 
the notable exception of chapters 1 and 2, the contributions are almost 
completely unrelated. This is interesting for a researcher who look for 
many new approaches and research projects. For teachers and teacher 
educators this is less than optimal.

Some issues are less well covered than could be wished. Multicultural and 
multilingual contexts, an area of growing importance, come up only in two 
chapters (13 and 18).   In immersion and the development of language 
skills of the general population, Canada and Australia take the lead. But 
Canada cannot be found at all in the volume and Australia only in two 
chapters (3 and 16), with chapter 3 not being Australia-specific.   The 
claim for an 'international approach' is further diminished when looking 
at the papers in detail. Chapter 10 supposedly deals with Great Britain, 
but is in reality a very theoretical line of arguments with no reference 
to Great Britain whatsoever. Chapters 4 and 7 are about Japan, but in 
chapter 4 there is only an interview with an American teacher in Japan 
which intends to investigate her professional development. Chapter 7 alone 
provides real insights into teachings at a Japanese school.  Another issue 
wanting is student needs and actual teaching. As rightly stated in chapter 
1 "teach is a transitive verb". This is hardly visible in many of the 
papers. Thus the editor's 'dedication' "This volume is dedicated to 
teachers around the world who devote their professional lives to helping 
others learn languages" (v) does not really capture the intended audience.

All in all, this book can be thoroughly recommended for researchers world-
wide. Teacher educators and teachers, however, may find it less useful 
than expected.

REFERENCES

Freeman, D. and Johnson, D. (1998). Reconceptualizing the knowledge-base 
of language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly 32, 397-418. 

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

After studies in Regensburg, Germany, and Galway, Ireland, Clemens Fritz 
graduated with a master's degree in English and History in 1995.   For ten 
years now he has worked and published on early Australian English.  A 
particular focus is on Irish English and its survival in Australia.  In 
1998 the reviewer started a two-year teacher training programme and has 
been teaching English, history and drama in a German secondary school 
since 2000.





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