I begin this article by introducing a recent, international report on online English language teacher education, which then leads to a discussion of building Communities of Practice in virtual environments. Next, I examine some advice from participants completing an online master’s degree in TESOL to their professors to help make the case for ensuring that learners’ voices are made an essential part of this rapidly growing area of teaching and research.

Online English Language Teacher Education

Earlier this year in May 2013, The International Research Foundation (TIRF) published an important 112-page report titled “A Case for Online English Language Teacher Education.” The report, written by Professor Denise Murray, a TESOL past president (1996–1997), represents one of the most up-to-date accounts of one of the newest and fastest-growing areas in our field (Murray, 2013).

In the foreword to the report, Professor Kathleen Bailey, president and chair of TIRF’s Board of Trustees and TESOL past president (1998–1999), explains that online language teacher education “is central to our ongoing discussions about English in the 21st-century workforce.…As technological developments exert more and more influence on education in general and teacher training in particular, it behooves us to understand the impact of those developments” (Murray, p. 4).

In the report, Murray (2013) compares online language teacher education (OLTE) to the American frontier in the western United States in the 19th century. “However, as with all new enterprises, it can also be characterized as the ‘Wild West,’ with a certain amount of lawlessness and exploitation of promises not kept” (p. 13). As online teacher education is still largely uncharted territory, Murray offers a cautionary note: “The prospective English teacher or the language teaching program searching for a quality online program needs to carefully sift through much of the online rhetoric” (p. 13).

Murray (2013) found nearly 190 OLTE programs, of which approximately 100 were being offered by universities and colleges and the rest by professional associations and private companies. This gives some indication of the current scale and scope of this area. In terms of geographical distribution, more than 80% of the programs being offered (approximately 160) are based in English-dominant or Inner Circle countries, with nearly half of those 160 in the United States. This distribution reflects the fact that, at least for now, “the online commercialization of language education involves an export market of education, primarily to developing countries from rich countries” (Murray, p. 13).

The findings of the report, based on 18 case studies of OLTE programs in different countries, are grouped under four main areas, with the set of findings particularly relevant to this article coming under the heading of Developing Communities of Practice. Here, Murray (2013) stresses the importance of context.

Effective student learning requires collaborative, student-centered, and student-created knowledge. It requires that students understand their local contexts within the global context so that they can test the theory and research input in the program against their own (and others’) professional contexts. (p. 14)

Murray also highlights the importance of making students an essential part of a collaborative process.

(Re)Creating Classroom Communities Online

By late October, Kathleen Bailey and I will have given a presentation on “(Re)Creating Classroom Communities in Online and Blended Courses” at the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL) 2013 Conference in San Diego. In our CATESOL proposal, we noted that, although publications on teacher education have been in circulation for more than half a century (e.g., Cottrell, 1956), publications about online teacher development are far more recent, mostly appearing within the last 10 years. As King wrote in 2002, “The rapid pace of technological innovation, along with the global fascination with the Internet, continues to result in a dominating call to integrate Internet technologies into higher education” (p. 231).

However, King (2002) also noted that “pressing questions remain as to how online and hybrid classes may support quality and success in professional development, teacher education, and professional schools’ programs” (p. 231). We believe that one of these pressing questions is how to build a classroom community among course participants who are far removed in space and time from each other and from their teacher(s). One goal of our presentation was to build on the work presented in the recent TIRF report by highlighting the voice of the learner in the online environment, particularly on this pressing question.

Advice From the Learners to the Teachers

To ensure that the voice of the learner in the OLTE environment is included in the work in this area, we asked a group of course participants completing an online graduate TESOL course at Anaheim University (AU) for their input on creating and re-creating classroom communities online. The MA TESOL program at AU uses a blended learning approach in which most of the courses are taken online via an asynchronous discussion forum. Attendance at face-to-face classes is also required; some of these are conducted via webcam using the Citrix GoToMeeting program, and some are held in person with the AU professors going to Korea or Colombia for brief, intense periods of classes in situ.

In July 2013, nine course participants completed an online course on classroom-based assessment taught by Kathleen. At the end of the course, they were asked to reply to a series of questions via e-mail about online classroom communities. Six of the nine course participants responded, giving an all-important “third corner of the triangle” in terms of triangulating input from professors, program administrators, and course participants. The participants in the AU MA TESOL program all have had English language teaching experience, and most of them teach while taking their courses. The course participants are a mixture of native and nonnative speakers of English.

Based on their experiences of having taken dozens of MA TESOL courses at AU in recent years, the six course participants had much to say, generating nearly 7,000 words of input. One of the key questions asked was “What advice would you give to a professor who had not taught these kinds of courses before and who had not been in one of these kinds of groups/communities before?”

Bob (pseudonyms are used for all responses) gave the following advice: “I would advise professors who are new to this method of teaching to try and engage students as much as possible, try to have students share their experiences and really find a way to relate to them.” It is interesting to note that none of Bob’s advice is unique to the teaching and learning environment. What is different is that “engaging students” and “relating to them” in a virtual space is different and in many ways more challenging than in a concrete, physical space.

Dan’s advice was more specific to the online environment:

"Be active on the discussion forums and encourage interaction during real-time classes. If you are able to share resources, please do so because many students do not have access to online periodicals. Invite questions and allow time for students to ask questions during real-time classes."

Dan makes a number of important points, particularly about access to online resources, which is especially important for course participants who are not working at universities—which is most of the AU students—and who do not have access to online journals and other online publications through university library subscriptions.

Dan also reiterated Bob’s point about engaging with and relating to students as this is especially important in online environments where face-to-face contact is far more limited than in physical classrooms. “If you are willing, share some personal information and background information with the students. It is important not to underestimate the importance of having some shared informal experiences, especially in online communities and courses.”

Karen’s advice highlighted the importance of the immediacy of feedback, which happens all the time throughout lessons in a physical classroom but can be significantly delayed when teachers and students are spread across so many time zones. “Be available for your students. Answer emails and comment on [discussion forum] posts promptly.” Like Bob and Dan, Karen also gave advice that relates to the creation of teaching and learning communities in virtual spaces using technology. “Share your personal experiences—students love that! Encourage students to come on camera!” Karen emphasized here the importance of the webcam presence in online, pedagogical environments in an effort to engage students.

Conclusion

The course participants gave a great deal of helpful and useful advice, only a little of which it has been possible to share here. However, their comments clearly demonstrate the importance of ensuring that as OLTE continues to grow and expand exponentially, the voices of the learners are made an essential aspect of the research being done in this area.

REFERENCES

Cottrell, D. P. (1956). Teacher education for a free people. Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).

King, K. P. (2002). Identifying success in online teacher education and professional development. The Internet and Higher Education, 5(3), 231–246.

Murray, D. E. (2013). A case for online English language teacher education. The International Research Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.tirfonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/TIRF_OLTE_One-PageSpread_May2013.pdf

Andy Curtis will be President of the TESOL International Association during the 50th Anniversary Convention in 2016. Prior to that, he will be installed as President-Elect from 2014 to 2015 at next year's March convention in Portland. He teaches TESOL courses at Anaheim University and other organizations, and he writes a biweekly TESOL blog about teaching and learning online.