27.1633, Review: Applied Ling; General Ling: Jiménez Raya, Vieira (2015)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-27-1633. Thu Apr 07 2016. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 27.1633, Review: Applied Ling; General Ling: Jiménez Raya, Vieira (2015)

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Date: Thu, 07 Apr 2016 13:29:46
From: Jose Aguilar Río [jose.aguilarrio at univ-paris3.fr]
Subject: Enhancing Autonomy in Language Education

 
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/26/26-1866.html

AUTHOR: Manuel  Jiménez Raya
AUTHOR: Flávia  Vieira
TITLE: Enhancing Autonomy in Language Education
SUBTITLE: A Case-Based Approach to Teacher and Learner Development
SERIES TITLE: Studies in Second and Foreign Language Education [SSFLE] 9
PUBLISHER: De Gruyter Mouton
YEAR: 2015

REVIEWER: Jose Ignacio Aguilar Río, Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris III

Reviews Editor: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

Enhancing Autonomy in Language Education, by Manuel Jiménez Raya & Flávia
Vieira, comes across as a collection of previous writings about autonomy,
learner development and teacher education. These writings argue for the
appropriateness of case-based approaches in teacher education programmes in
order to effectively place the learners and learning at the heart of any
teaching endeavour.

The book opens with a somewhat moral, but also committed, preface by Francis
W. Tochon, who presents a compelling characterisation of what schooling seems
to be in most societies nowadays, and what it could come to be if the
necessary means were used to foster the learners' needs and the teachers'
education. Tochon insists on principles such as autonomy and reflection, which
must be at the centre of any teaching endeavour.

An introduction by the authors comes then. They give their own point of view
on key matters such as “teacher education” (Jiménez Raya & Vieira, 2015: 1)
and “autonomy” (ibid.), which are effectively central to the whole volume. The
authors define themselves within a “critical paradigm” (ibid.: 4). The
introductory chapter ends with an outline of the book, and with the authors
acknowledging their commitment to a rather engaged and ideological standpoint.

Chapter 1 presents ways to promote autonomy in language education contexts. A
rather historical standpoint allows the authors to distinguish between
“instruction”, “schooling” and “education”, as well as to situate these
endeavours within industrial societies (ibid.: 11). Other concepts and
principles, key to the authors' objectives, are discussed, such as “literacy
skills” and “critical thinking” (ibid.: 11), “lifelong learning” (ibid.: 13),
“content based curricula” (ibid.: 17). These notions allow the authors to
introduce the idea of a pedagogy that allows for autonomy – both the learners'
and the teachers'.

Chapter 2 discusses ways to develop autonomy in the teacher. First, teaching
as a technical practice – as “art”, “craft” and “technology” (ibid.: 39) – and
the teacher as a practitioner – an “architect” and “mediator” (ibid.: 40) –
are characterised. Previous, and somewhat classic, characterisations of
teaching are also reviewed – “effective teaching”, “teaching as complex
activity” (ibid.: 42), and “teacher empowerment” (ibid.: 47). Change is
presented as a desirable goal able to help develop all actors involved in any
teaching situation, but also as a daunting agent, which brings potentially
undesired feelings, such as “vulnerability”, “doubt”, “anxiety”, and “fear”
(ibid.: 44). Ultimately, change calls for “new behaviours”, which may surface
by means of an “apprenticeship of observation” (ibid.). Cases are presented as
valid material to bring about change and such apprenticeship (ibid.: 46).

Chapter 3 presents ways to work with cases, as well as possible outcomes of
such work. The authors insist on the link between “professional development”
and “change” (ibid.: 59). Professional knowledge, which is necessary for the
development of a professional identity, is said to be composed of both
clinical and field experience (ibid.: 61). Accordingly, cases appear as an
appropriate material to “teach the theory” (ibid.) in realistic,
representative ways. Teacher knowledge is described as both “interactive” and
“speculative” (ibid.: 68).

In Chapter 4, the authors introduce ways for teachers to write cases from
their own experiences. Cases may help develop a teacher's professional
knowledge by deconstructing it (ibid.: 83), which needs an interpreting agent
who provides a mediation. Teacher educators and teacher education may be the
agents of such mediation, as far as they allow for “divergent thinking” rather
than looking for “consensus” (ibid.: 85). According to the authors, pre- and
in-service teachers are not used to evaluating their own teaching, either
alone or with the aid of a mentor. Yet, this seems to be an appropriate method
to develop teacher knowledge in a complex, critical manner. Chapter 4
concludes with examples of charts that may be used to set up a work of
analysis and deconstruction, based on case studies.

Chapter 5 is the final chapter. It presents ways for teacher educators to
write cases from teachers' experiences. The authors plead for a hybrid
approach in teacher education, which accounts for both narrative and
multi-modal cases (ibid.: 119). Ultimately, teaching and teacher education are
characterised as moral activities (ibid.: 128), which call for the “competence
to engage critically”, as well as for a “strong professional identity” (ibid.:
129).

EVALUATION

Jiménez Raya & Vieira's work comes across as a compelling, committed,
thoroughly engaged piece of writing. The expected outcome(s) of the teachers'
education approach put forward equates better societies, inhabited by
positively self-aware individuals, capable to question themselves and be
questioned by others without feeling threatened, but also able to go further.
This is a fundamentally human, moral and social aim, with which this reviewer
could not help but to agree. Plus, such aims seem to coincide with those of
the European institutions, namely the Council of Europe (2001). The means put
forward in order to attain such aim are the core of this volume. They are of a
fundamental didactic nature, and may be subject to some objection.

In effect, for a work that has “autonomy” as probably the most essential
concept, this reviewer was surprised to find that the authors do not give
explicit evidence of pedagogical artefacts, other than “the class” (ibid.: 3),
where autonomy may be developed, encouraged, played out, or be made aware of.
Why should a deeply humanistic approach to teacher education, such as the one
defended by the authors, only or mainly take place within a heavily
traditional context such as “school”? Especially since the authors seem to
contest “school” and “schooling” as corrupted educational outcomes originating
from industrial societies. In effect, this reviewer was surprised not to come
across ways to implement this case-based approach in virtual, multimedia,
online environments, where the users' autonomy and creativity may be taken to
other dimensions (Abendroth-Timmer & Aguilar Río, 2014). This reviewer did
notice the occurrence of “podcasting” (ibid.: 92), yet found that the
pedagogical context where this technology was advised, as well as its scope,
fell short of what the Web x.0 functionalities allow as far as language
teaching and learning are concerned.

Finally, and in spite of the wealth of tables and illustrations presented by
the authors, this reviewer failed to figure out how a case-based approach
could actually be implemented within a university curriculum language
teachers' education. What may be the actual contents and learning objectives?
Who should be in charge of constituting such a corpus, what may be the
available choices and to what purpose? These are certainly questions that
catch the attention of scholars, researchers and (language) teacher educators
wherever their location (Muller, David & Crozier, in press). This reviewer
believes that scholars from both ends of the Atlantic Ocean have certainly
much to gain if they combine their forces.

Jiménez Raya and Vieira's book offers a wealth of information for doctoral
candidates and scholars. Ultimately, their work has the merit of presenting an
approach to teacher education that truly accounts for the individual, and
which addresses the individual's moral dimension.

REFERENCES

Abendroth-Timmer, D. & Aguilar Río, J. I. (2014). “Accompagner la formation de
futurs enseignants de langue en tandem interculturel médiatisé : la
sensibilisation aux fonctions du tutorat.” In Abendroth-Timmer D. y Hennig
E.-M., Plurilingualism and multiliteracies: International Research on identity
construction in language education. Frankfurt  & Main: Peter Lang. pp. 303-16.

Muller, C., David, C. & Crozier, E. (in press). “Des corpus vidéo pour la
formation des enseignants de langue”. Les Cahiers de l'Acedle : Recherche en
Didactique des Langues.

Raya, M. J. & Vieira, F. (2015). Enhancing autonomy in language education: a
case-based approach to teacher and learner development. Boston, MA: De Gruyter
Mouton.


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Jose Ignacio Aguilar Río is a Senior Lecturer at Sorbonne Nouvelle-Paris 3
University in France. He teaches undergraduate and post-graduate courses in
education and applied linguistics. His research interests are in classroom
interaction, foreign language teacher education and research methodology. He
has presented papers at international conferences in Europe. His works have
been published in international reviews





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