Book Critique

A Book Critique of the Works of Harold E. Palmer. An Overview

Smith (1999) has successfully accomplished to depict Harold Palmer’s works and life in a clear year-by-year biography (1877-1949).  He has shown that Palmer’s influence is still present in today’s deepest beliefs about English Language Teaching (ELT).  Especially noteworthy is the fact that his works have not been published in English until recently.  By analyzing his life, his works, and his Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) career, English teachers can now meet one of the fathers of ELT. 

Smith (1999) has established a connection between Palmer’s works and current TEFL theories and practices.  Palmer used to refer to some TEFL terminology which is known nowadays under the following terms: acquisition / learning theories, Total Physical Response (TPR), and eclecticism, among others.  Indirectly, other associations to teachers’ current concerns can be inferred from Smith’s description: The Rational Order of Progression, dealing with students’ specific needs, the three P model: presentation, practice, production (ppp), and finally, the “communicative approach” (p. 167).

Smith (1999) should have devoted more space to draw a more concise, clearer parallelism between Palmer’s works and current TEFL theory if he had taken into account possible future implications.  Not surprisingly, this absorbing, compelling book might one day become mandatory at TEFL courses. Smith’s (1999) work on Palmer’s life fosters not only teacher reflection, but also community development since, after reading this book, teachers might become more willing to share and discuss ideas, theories and values.

References

Smith, R. (1999). The writings of Harold E. Palmer. An overview. Tokyo, Japan:Hon-no-Tomosha publishers.

Critical Incident

Teacher Assessment for a Job Interview

In 1997, I was interviewed by the Head of a well-known Language Teaching Organization (LTO).  She explained that this language school required new teachers not only to have an oral interview with her, but also to give a lesson to some of the LTO’s students.  

This was a teacher assessment form, which would determine whether I was hired.  Referring to teacher assessment, Ur (1996) has pointed out that these systems are usually used “for hiring and firing purposes rather than to assist professional improvement and learning. The effect may therefore be stressful and demoralizing rather than helpful” (as cited in Chandler & Ruffinelli de Ortiz, 2004, p. 322)

I was given the opportunity to observe the group of students one week before and then I started preparing my lesson plan for the following class.  Everything was neatly prepared and I really thought I had taken care of every little detail.  I had been told that both the course teacher and the coordinator would be observing the class.  I was terribly anxious about this situation.  I arrived very early.  Students arrived punctually.  They were a group of five adults: three men and two women.  The atmosphere was quite tense.  

In the middle of the lesson, I read out instructions for a listening activity, and I mispronounced the name of a US city (unintentionally).  Students were asked to read out questions in which the name of the same city appeared and they mispronounced it as well.  Then I played the tape and to my astonishment, during the first ten seconds, the name of the city was mentioned several times with the correct pronunciation.  Once the recording finished, we started correcting students’ answers and I corrected their pronunciation of the name of the city several times.   

Had I checked the correct pronunciation of the word before the class, I would have felt much safer. Correcting the students so eagerly was not my style and I still do not know why I did it. Anyway, some days later, the Head called me up to let me know I had passed the interview.  The pronunciation mistake was not serious for them.  However, I still felt embarrassed.

References

Chandler, M., & Ruffinelli de Ortiz, S. (2004). Building consensus on teacher assessment. Educational and Cultural Affairs – US Department of State. Retrieved October 2011, from http://eca.state.gov/forum/vols/vol42/no3/p22.htm

 

Journal Entry

 

Critical Incidents: Fostering Teacher Reflection

Why should teachers reflect on their profession?  Are “Critical Incidents” (CIs) a tool to let others know about your professional experiences?  Can other professionals benefit from analysing them?  Wouldn’t the writer of critical incidents feel ashamed when sharing his/her experiences with others?  The importance of these questions is given in the fact that professionals always look for better ways to enhance their daily work. Fostering reflection has the ultimate end of promoting change.

Teachers are professionals.  As Fernández González, Elórtegui Escartín and Medina Pérez (2003) pointed out, not only must they know about their subject, but also they should be able to observe their teaching practice and reflect on it in order to take meaningful decisions. 

The only reliable way to take professional decisions is through introspection and reflection.  There is a wide range of instruments used to foster teacher reflection.  One of them is CIs.  They describe real and unique teaching situations, with the clearly defined aim of allowing student teachers to reflect, analyse and finally become able to make decisions. 

CIs may be used at Teacher Education Programmes.  According to Fernández González et al. (2003), the following steps are followed: a) description of the context, b) description of the problem, c) possible causes, and d) plausible solutions.  Teachers analysing the CIs with their peers by means of debates will be able to learn how to reflect and how to take decisions.  Moreover, decisions made for particular CIs – though might not be shared by all – may be repeated in their future professional career. 

Even though we all like to show only our outstanding capabilities, we might also share daily classroom experiences with student teachers.  We will benefit from this reflection exercise, and student teachers will benefit as well, since they will start developing necessary skills.  Moreover, the whole profession – in the present and in the future – will benefit from this deep analysis and skills acquisition.  Griffin (2003) has revealed that CIs lead teachers toward growth and inquiry.  As a professional, you should not feel ashamed, but proud of writing CIs. 

References

Fernández González, J., Elórtegui Escartín, N., & 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, año/vol 17, número 001.  Retrieved October 2011, from http://www.grupoblascabrera.org/didactica/pdf/incidentes%20criticos.pdf

Griffin, M. (2003).  Using critical incidents to promote and assess reflective thinking in preservice teachers.  Reflective Practice. Vol. 4, no. 2. Retrieved October 2011, from http://graduateseminar1.wikispaces.com/file/view/Griffin,+Using+Critical+Incidents.pdf

Discourse Communities

Discourse Communities

Swales (1988) has described a discourse community as being “the center of a set of ideas” (p.212) and not merely a speech fellowship.  For this reason, he suggests six inherent characteristics or requirements in any discourse community:

1.  Members share common goals.  “The goal-directed nature of human activity (. . .) supports learning environments.”  (Hoffman-Kipp, Artiles & Lopez-Torres, 2003, p. 2).  Borg (2003) makes a distinction between sharing common interests and sharing common goals.

2.  The discourse community may use different mechanisms for intercommunication between members.  According to Wenzlaff and Wieseman (2004), members may engage in professional discourse and group work through face-to-face study groups or through electronic devices.

3.  In any discourse community there should be information exchange and feedback.  Ideas are not only for the individual, but they can be “distributed through sign systems and artifacts” (Hoffman et al., 2003, p. 3).

4.  Members use community specific genres.  Bizzell (1992) defined a discourse community as sharing “language-using practices… [that] can be seen as conventionalized” (as cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2004, p.1) by interactions within the group.

5.  The discourse community may use specialized terminology.  Kelly-Kleese (2001) has suggested that the community members share their knowledge, create policy and redefine language.  For example, the term “open door" has acquired a specific meaning.

6.  This community has acquired “relevant discoursal and content expertise.” (Swales, 1988, p. 213).  Kutz (1997) has defined communicative competence as what we should know for using the language properly (cited in Kelly-Kleese, 2004).

Research has shown evidence to support Swales’ requirements for a discourse community. This goal-oriented kind of community uses mechanisms for communication in order to exchange ideas. The use of specific genres and specialized terminology leads to expertise.

References

Borg, E. (2003). Key Concepts in ELT: Discourse community. ELT Journal, 57/4, 398-400. Retrieved November 2011 from http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/57/4/398.full.pdf+html

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/

Kelly-Kleese, C. (2004). UCLA community college review: community college scholarship and discourse.  Community College Review.  Retrieved September 2011, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HCZ/is_1_32/ai_n6361541/

Swales, J.  (1988).  Discourse communities, genres and English as an international language.  World Englishes, 7/2, 211-220.   Retrieved September 2011, from http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71887/1/j.1467-971X.1988.tb00232.x.pdf

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/



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