A Book Critique on a Methodology Book

   The book under analysis is part of the Oxford Handbooks for language teachers, a series which seeks to provide sources for both language teachers and teacher trainers. It was first published in 1999 and has become a classic among English Language Teaching (ELT) literature. Both authors, Lightbown and Spada (2010), are well known writers who have been carrying out research and publishing books for many years, both together and separately. This third edition is an expanded and updated version which maintains the overall structure but the chapters have been edited and completed.

    The book is organised in an introduction, seven chapters, a glossary and a bibliography. In the introduction, there is a set of statements about the popular beliefs about language learning and teaching that teachers may have which are further considered and explained in the last chapter. All the chapters include a summary and a list of recommended further reading, “we encourage readers to use both the end-of-chapter reading lists and the bibliography to pursue their own interests further” (Lightbown & Spada, 2010, p. xiv)

   Chapters one and two provide overviews of theories of first and second language acquisition respectively. The theories and issues introduced here re-occur later in the book in discussions of learner characteristics, factors affecting acquisition, and classroom acquisition. The third chapter neatly deals with the ways in which intelligence, aptitude, personality, and motivational characteristics, learning styles, and age can impact on second language learning. Lightbown and Spada (2010) are honest in warning that research on individual differences is quite complex by stating that “researchers are beginning to explore the nature of these complex interactions’ (p. 75). The fourth chapter focuses on learner language. Drawing on the findings of second acquisition research, the authors present a number of samples of learner language to illustrate the various research findings and “to give you an opportunity to practice analysing learner language.” (Lightbown and Spada, 2010, p. 77).

   In the fifth chapter, the authors observe both teaching and learning in the second language classroom, focusing mainly on interactions, feedback and questions. Finally, as indicated above, in the sixth and final chapter the authors present their own responses to the twelve commonly expressed views on language learning and what their implications are with regard to how languages should be taught. Not only are complete references given in a bibliography section, but also there is a glossary of terms at the end of the book. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that terms included in the glossary are italicised throughout the book.

   Overall, the book succeeds admirably in presenting theoretical views and research findings to language teachers. Moreover, the inclusion of examples intermingled with theoretical explanation makes the information clear and understandable. It just sets the basis of most of the concepts since they are just presented. A more experienced teacher or a researcher would need to further expand the topics. All in all, it would have been better if Lightbown and Spada (2010) had delved more into the topics.

References

Lightbown, P. M., & Spada, N. (2010).  How languages are learned (3^rd ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

My Personal Critical Incident

  More than ten years ago, I was called to deliver some lessons to a group of adults attending primary school. The Head of the school thought it would be a good idea to let them approach the foreign language, at least in an extracurricular way. With that purpose, she contacted the TEFL College with the aim of getting some help in order to put her idea into practice. Thus, I was asked whether I wanted to undergo such an experience, and of course, I accepted the challenge.

  There were 20 students in the groups whose ages ranged from 16 to 65 years old and none of them had had any contact with the target language before. Their reasons for learning varied a lot, some of them were there because they were obliged to, some others – mainly the eldest ones – because they wanted to learn to read and write. Hence, many behaved quite badly and inappropriately while a few were actually interested and motivated.

  Given that scenario, I decided that my main goal would be to let them enjoy the language by having fun and spending a good moment together. So that in time, they would have a positive attitude towards English. With that idea in mind, I developed games, quizzes, and activities to develop some basic vocabulary and structures in a motivating and involving way. I remember preparing lots of materials and thinking over every single moment of the lesson. I must admit that although I was actually doubtful as regards students’ behaviour, the lessons resulted interesting and the learners got really motivated.

  When I finished delivering the lessons the Head wrote an acknowledging letter for the TEFL College and another for me. I felt really proud and from that moment on, I have always beard in mind that everything is possible and, above all, I felt I am capable of overcoming difficulties. All in all, this experience may be food for thought for teachers who are likely to experience similar situations. The way we face problems may vary, but it has proved to be useful to consider the learners’ environment, needs and likes to address enriching teaching and learning experiences.

Critical Incidents to Promote Reflection in Teaching Practices

  Many teachers and educators consider that a person, who masters the concepts of a field, is able to teach it, while others emphasize the importance of reflecting and analyzing the situation deeply. Reflection on teaching practice is then, understood as a formatting strategy which “outlines procedures for collecting observed incidents having special significance and meeting systematically defined criteria” (Flanagan, 1954, para.2). But why do inexperienced teachers fail to solve unexpected incidents in classrooms? Is experience the key to face those situations?

  According to Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez (2003), critical incidents provide the tools for teaching practices analysis. Through this means, an efficient analysis strategy is developed not only for students but also for teachers evaluating the situation. Hence, being observed when you are still an apprentice may become a very fruitful experience since by analysing and interpreting professional practices, autonomy and leadership to encounter unpredicted teaching situations would be enhanced.

  A wide variety of alternatives to overcome everyday life controversial classroom situations are provided by the perspective of the observer and the person delivering the class. In this perspective, the numbers and ways of tackling and solving the problems will vary according to the teaching context, the students and the problem in itself. When reading the article, lots of memories came into my mind. Mainly, those related to my practices at the Teaching Training College and the comments of my teachers and my feelings towards those comments. I wanted everything to develop smoothly and precisely, but I could see I did not have the tools to do so. But I am convinced that those comments and critics made me grow as a professional.

  All in all, critical incidents do deserve to be taken into consideration for bettering teaching practices. Through this technique, the problem in itself is careful analyzed considering the context and the main causes. On the findings of this research, an ample diversity of possible solutions is reflectively discussed. And most importantly, teachers’ training colleges appear to be the keystone in the field of education to fulfill this mission for teacher development purposes.

References

Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51-4. Retrieved September 2011, from  http://www.analytictech.com/mb870/Readings/flanagan.pdf

Fernández González, J., Elórtegui Escarlín, N. and Medina Pérez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista universitaria de Formación de Profesorado, 17- 001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved September 2007, from http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=274 17107

Proofreading a paper

Title missing

After reading the material[DA1] , I found the following evidence to support Swales’s theory[DA2] ; “a discourse community is a group of people who share certain language using practises that can be seen as conventionalised” (year of publication and page number missing) by social interactions within the group and in its dealing with outsiders. It[DA3]  is “bound together primarily by its uses of language, although bounds, perhaps, by other ties as well, geographical, socio-economic, ethnic, professional, and so on[DA4] ” (source acknowledgement missing).

All human activities are culturally mediated. Culture itself mediates human actions in the sense that it is a system of shared meanings or social inheritance embodied in the artefacts of a given social structure. “A discourse community can not be isolated from other discourse communities and can not exist in the absence of a collaborative environment that supports risk-taking and reflection.” (Kelly-Kleese, 2001, p. #).[DA5] 

The discourse community must coexist with the dialectical union of reflection and actions. Reflection is understood as a process that is embedded in every day activities situated in school cultures that are social in nature, where interactions with others are an important medium in which reflection occurs. Teachers interact with colleagues in goal directed activities that require communication and exchange of ideas where reflection itself is not contained wholly in the mind of the individual but is distributed through signs systems and artefacts that are embedded in the social activity of the school community[DA6] .

As teachers participate in the practices of the community and use strategies and artefacts according to the institutional requirements of their school community, reflection itself becomes constrained or supported in particular ways. In the text Theory into Practice by Hoffman–Kipp and et al, it can be seen that discourse communities assert that teachers’ critical reflection without participation is as impossible as thought without language.[DA7] 

Paragraphs shouldn’t be justified.

References

Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond Reflection: Teacher Learning as Praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved August 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s Choice: An Open Memo to Community College Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved August 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463

Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in Academic Research Settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Comments: Careful with paragraph length. Papers should be acknowledged. Your name should be included, please. 

Some comments: .

Remember not to justify papers, they should be left aligned.

Your choice of font is not appropriate; remember to use Arial or Times New Roman size 12.

You should leave double space to signal the beginning of a new paragraph.

Remember that your paper needs a header.  Here are some instructions:  Insert a header, inside it, write a shorter version of the title of your paper.  Leave five spaces and write the page number.  In the line below, specify the assignment and draft number, and finally write your surname and name.  Everything needs to be placed in top right corner and right aligned

---

 [DA1]Do you think that this phrase is correct? There is no need to say that, you should show evidence of your reading.

 [DA2]Why did you start a new paragraph?

 [DA3]Not clear reference

 [DA4]Not academic

 [DA5]You are using an in-text citation but you have changed the author’s actual words.

 [DA6]Where did you take this information from? 

 [DA7]These are the author’s actual words, so you need to quote them or paraphrase them.

Towards a Definition of Discourse Community

Many theorists and researchers such as Wenzlaff and Wiesemand (2004), Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles and Lopez Torres (2003) and Kelly-Kleese (2001, 2004) have attempted a definition of discourse community. Namely, Brizzel (1986) explained the term as “a group of people who share certain language-using practices…[that] can be seen as conventionalised by social interactions within the group and in its dealing with outsiders ” (p.222). Swales (1990) defines some criteria in order to consider a discourse community as such:

1. Common goals
2. Participatory mechanisms
3. Information exchange
4. Community-specific genres
5. Highly specialised terminology
6. High level of expertise.

These characteristics have been supported by various authors such as Wenzlaff and Wiesemand (2004) who identified some of these criteria. In their paper, they looked at reflection and sharing views and experiences with other teachers as a way to support teacher professional development. They explained the term ‘teacher learning’ by stating that through the participation in professional communities teachers get the opportunity to work with colleagues, to carry out reflective work and to contribute to the common goals of the group. More evidence in favour of Swales’ (1990) criteria can be found in a research article by Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles and Lopez Torres (2003). They mainly emphasise the idea that reflection is the key to improve teachers’ professional development. The authors express that “teacher reflection is comprised of self awareness often achieved through introspection – both in the moment and after- through journals, scrapbooks, or other repositories of personal experience” (p.3). As it can be seen, in their work there is great support to Swales’ ideas of common goals, participatory approaches and information exchange.

More evidence can be found in two papers written by Kelly-Kleese (2001, 2004). She states that the community college should be considered as a discourse community. This can be supported by the idea that the members of the community college “ share understandings about how to communicate knowledge and achieve shared purposes, and they exhibit a flow of discourse that has a particular structure and style” (2004, p.2). She also clarifies that “the community college can be seen as adopting language that has been given particular meaning within the larger education community” (p. 2). In the same line of thought, Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles and Lopez-Torres (2004) agree on the fact that a situated learning community talks via a “social language” which is to be transformed by teachers (p.7).

All in all, it can be clearly seen that various authors support Swales’ characteristics of discourse communities. It is of paramount importance to have a clear definition of what a discourse community is and what it implies to be part of one. As teachers and professionals, it is essential to understand this concept which implies continuous professional development. From the different articles and authors mentioned, there is enough evidence that supports those features. As a consequence, it is possible to believe that teachers should promote and achieve professionalism, so as to extend knowledge in order to better perform in discourse organisations in the field of education.

References

Bisel, P (1995). Academic discourse and critical consciousness. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press


Hoffman-Kipp, P., Artiles, A. J., & Lopez Torres, L. (2003). Beyond reflection: teacher learning as praxis. Theory into Practice. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0NQM/is_3_42/ai_108442653


Kelly-Kleese, C. (2001). Editor’s Choice: An Open Memo to Community College Faculty and Administrators. Community College Review. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_29/ai_77481463


Swales, J. M. (1990). Genre Analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.


Wenzlaff, T. L., & Wieseman, K. C. (2004). Teachers Need Teachers To Grow. Teacher Education Quarterly. Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200404/ai_n9349405

Getting started...

Welcome to my blog!
I opened this blog with a twofold intention.  On the one hand, I was asked to do so by my teachers at the Licenciatura para Profesores de Ingles Univesidad CAECE, specifically for two classes I'm attending: ESP and EAP.  On the other hand, I see the need to share my writings for those classes.
Hope to receive your comments!! Enjoy reading my blog!
Melina Barbero