TEIS Newsletter - July 2022 (Plain Text Version)
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LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING: COHERENCE IN A TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM Frances Sokel, English Department, Sha'anan Academic Religious College of Education, Haifa, Israel
As the world undergoes change at an unprecedented rate, so, too, does the role of the educator. This, in turn, promotes the need for teacher education programs to consider how best to equip future teachers with the knowledge and skills needed to execute effective practice in a rapidly changing society. In recognition of this need, and in acknowledgement of the long-standing divide between theory and practice in teacher education, ‘efforts to tie preparation more closely to practice (since it) can have a significant impact on student (teachers’) learning,’ are being witnessed in varying contexts across the world (Jenset et al, 2018:184). In extending this perception, Darling-Hammond et al (2005:393) note that ‘Studies of learning suggest that learning is enhanced when learners encounter mutually reinforcing ideas and skills across learning experiences.’ In the context of language teacher education, the content of courses relating directly to language teaching clearly lends itself to making explicit connection to practice. However, making links between courses that focus on knowledge of and about language to teaching practices proves somewhat more challenging. In aiming to provide future teachers with extensive knowledge of and about English, together with an up-to-date professional knowledge base upon which to execute effective practice, the program for English teachers at Shaanan Academic Religious College of Education in Israel has been developed to meet this challenge. Until recently, students studied to become English teachers at Shaanan on a double major program, thereby resulting in a Bachelor of Education degree and Teaching Certificate for both English and Hebrew or Bible studies. However, following an-depth evaluation process of English departments conducted by an international committee in teacher education colleges across the country, the Council for Higher Education in Israel has directed all colleges to move to a single-major English program. The English department at Shaanan College, has, therefore, been engaged intensively in constructing a program to meet these requirements. The courses in the program that focus on knowledge of and about language include those relating to Linguistics, and those that fall under the heading of Language Proficiency, since the majority of program participants are native speakers of Hebrew and thus benefit from courses that enhance their own English proficiency. The following account highlights how connections between these courses and knowledge of and for teaching, are promoted through course content and modeling. Course Content The connection between the content of courses that focus on language and language acquisition is manifested in the Shaanan program in two main ways: through topics of relevance to teaching and education, and tasks that demand application of skills and knowledge in a practical context. Topic Opportunities to enhance the language proficiency of course participants are provided through consideration of topics relating to educational issues of relevance to future educators and teachers of English in several courses. In the course entitled ‘Ethics and Dilemmas in Education’, for example, the intended learning outcomes determine that students will use the newly acquired vocabulary in context in spoken and written English, and develop their reading and listening comprehension skills and abilities through engaging with a variety of texts. Texts focusing on such topics as creativity in education and morality in the classroom promote both written and spoken responses, thus serving as a vehicle through which to attain the goals determined. Likewise, in the course ‘Proficiency through Film’, movies and documentaries on topics of relevance to educators in general, and English teachers specifically, are used as a springboard to consider pertinent issues. Such productions include ‘Freedom Writers’, which focuses on motivating learners through writing, and ‘Do you speak American?’, which promotes consideration of dialectal variation in English. Task Tasks incorporated into both Linguistics and Proficiency courses are designed to bridge the connection between language knowledge and language teaching, whereby students are encouraged to consider how what they have learned may be applied in practice. In the course ‘The Development of English’ for example, differences between British and American English are examined. Participants are asked to find vocabulary examples, and design a short vocabulary practice activity that focuses on such differences for use by fellow students in the course. This task provides opportunity for course participants to both extend and practice their knowledge of vocabulary in British and American English, while also considering the types and purposes of vocabulary practice exercises that are used in the school context. Similarly, in the course ‘English as an International Language (EIL): Implications for the Classroom,’ which falls under the category of Linguistics, students gain insight into developments in the use and status of the English language, while considering the subsequent implications for teaching and learning English today. The final assignment for this course involves planning a lesson and preparing materials that incorporate the principles of teaching EIL, thereby bridging the gap between the study of Linguistics and the practical application of the principles examined. The types and structure of academic articles is a key area of focus in the course entitled ‘Advanced Academic Literacy.’ One assignment in this course calls for participants to select a relevant academic research article to present to the class. The presentation includes details of the article itself, highlighting the main points raised in each section, and culminates with the students’ comments on what they learned and will take from the research to their own practice. The examples above illustrate how knowledge of and about language imparted in relevant courses is purposefully intertwined with knowledge for and about teaching and education. Modeling Modeling, in the context of teacher education is defined by Yuan (2018: 45) as ‘the practice of intentionally displaying certain teaching behaviors in order to promote student teachers’ pedagogical awareness and professional learning.’ Hence, if teacher education programs are to provide future teachers with experiences that will enhance the quality of their own teaching in turn, modeling effective practices in instruction by college faculty is of prime importance. There are several prominent examples of how this is executed in courses that focus on language knowledge at Shaanan. A course entitled ‘Reading Proficiency’ for example, is founded on various texts of topics of interest to language teachers, including ‘World Language Day’ and ‘Emojis’. Texts are worked on according to a pre/while/post model. Prior to reading the text, students are encouraged to activate their prior knowledge of the topic through questions and discussion, or listing their thoughts and ideas in the ‘K’ and ‘W’ sections of a KWL (Know- Want to know- Learned) graphic organizer. In addition, key vocabulary needed to comprehend the text is presented /elicited, and/or reviewed and practiced. A question to provide a focus for reading is given for students to consider while they read the text. In the post-reading stage, the question posed is referred to, and tasks relating to vocabulary, comprehension of the text, and application of the knowledge gained to another situation, are provided. Such practices are subsequently presented in methodology courses, and student teachers are expected to incorporate them into their own lesson planning and teaching. In a course entitled ‘Language Assessment’, students explore the purposes and methods of assessment of English in the school context. A significant part of this course focuses on the topic of alternative language assessment tools, including performance-based tasks and project work. Such tools are, in turn, used to assess learner knowledge and performance in many of the courses devoted to language knowledge at Shaanan. For example, oral proficiency is assessed through students’ presentations in relevant courses. The assessment rubrics, with the assessment criteria and the breakdown of the grade, are presented to students, together with the guidelines for the task. In executing the use of alternative forms of assessment, the relevant courses are therefore modeling the practices presented in the course on Language Assessment. In the course entitled ‘Sociolinguistics’, the final assignment is a project relating to the linguistic landscape. In this project students are required to describe and identify linguistic patterns in the local linguistic landscape, and offer a critical analysis of the messages that underlie the visual display. In addition to employing an alternative assessment tool in this course, the project is conducted in the students’ local environment, thereby promoting the notion of relevance as a key contributing factor to learning. The topic of relevance in and for learning is covered in depth in a course entitled ‘Effective Teaching’ that takes place at a later stage of the program, and focuses on effective research-based teaching practices. In all the above examples, lecturers model what are considered to be sound educational practices that we encourage our future teachers, in turn, to adopt in their own practice. Darling-Hammond (2014:549) points out that '…powerful teacher education rests on certain critical pedagogical cornerstones’, of which one is coherence. Such teacher education programs are founded upon '…a tight coherence and integration among courses and between coursework and clinical work in schools’ Darling-Hammond (2014:549). The program for English teachers at Shaanan College is based on this premise, demonstrated above through examples as to how the essential component of coherence between courses that focus on language knowledge and the practice of teaching is manifested efficiently and meaningfully , in the effort to provide what Darling-Hammond (2014:550) identifies as ‘an almost seamless experience of learning to teach.’ References Darling-Hammond, L., 2014, Strengthening Clinical Preparation: The Holy Grail of Teacher Education, Peabody Journal of Education,89, 547-561 Darling-Hammond, L., Hammerness, K., Grossman, P., Rust, F., and Shulman, L., 2005, The Design of Teacher Education Programs, In Linda Darling-Hammond and John Bransford (eds), Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and Be Able to Do, Jossey Bass, USA, pp. 390-441 Jenset, I. S., Klette, K., & Hammerness, K. (2018). Grounding teacher education in practice around the world: An examination of teacher education coursework in teacher education programs in Finland, Norway, and the United States. Journal of Teacher Education, 69(2), 184-197. Yuan, R. (2018). "Practice What I Preach": Exploring an Experienced EFL Teacher Educator's Modeling Practice. TESOL quarterly, 52(2), 414-425.
Frances Sokel has worked for the Ministry of Education in Israel in various capacities relating to English teaching. She currently serves as Head of the English Department at Sha’anan Academic Religious College of Education, and is responsible for both the undergraduate and post-graduate programs. Her main research interest concerns effective language teaching practices. She holds an Ed.D. degree from the University of Bath, UK. |
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