Situating Reflection Within ELF Awareness: A Practical and Evaluative Orientation

IF 3 1区 文学 Q1 EDUCATION & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
Tesol Quarterly Pub Date : 2023-12-09 DOI:10.1002/tesq.3284
Nicos Sifakis, Stefania Kordia
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

Critical reflection is, without doubt, the single most important component of the ELF (English as a lingua franca) awareness framework. ELF awareness has been proposed (Sifakis, 2019; Sifakis & Bayyurt, 2018) as a comprehensive way of incorporating ELF-related issues and concerns in different English language teaching contexts. As these contexts are vastly diverse, and as ELF itself is not a variety of English that can be “taught” to nonnative speakers (in the same way that Standard English or General American is taught—Seidlhofer, 2011), engaging in critical reflection has been perceived as a way of prompting teachers (but also other English language teaching [ELT] stakeholders, including learners) to identify those elements in ELF theorizing that meaningfully relate ELF to their individual teaching situation and develop and implement their own instructional interventions on that basis (Sifakis, 2007, 2014; Sifakis et al., 2022; Sifakis & Kordia, 2019).

The place and function of reflection in ELT as an effective and indeed essential component of teacher development has not been contested in the relevant literature (see Farrell, 2022). As Anderson (2020) notes, there are two dominant perspectives. Dewey's perspective (1933) advocates a rational, scientific approach to teacher reflection, emphasizing active and careful consideration of beliefs and knowledge. On the contrary, Schön (1991) promotes more intuitive reflection, rejecting academic knowledge in favor of experiential or practice-based learning. To date, various models have been proposed that usefully merge the two perspectives. For example, Farrell's (2022) model proposes that growth occurs by reflecting on our teaching philosophy, guiding principles, applied theories, actual practice, and critically examining moral influences on our work and identities. Farrell (2022) then goes on to suggest several techniques fostering teachers' reflection, such as reflective journaling, critical incident analysis, group discussions, and role-playing.

The outlook that we put forward in this article follows Farrell's broad framework, but clarifies that the ELF awareness perspective places on participants specific reflective ‘demands’ that require that they: (a) appreciate the implications of ELF for standard varieties of English and the roles of native and non-native users of English; (b) understand the local socio-cultural and even political-economic constraints of their ELT context, namely. those dimensions in the immediate and broader “culture” that will “allow” them to engage in potent ELF-aware instructional interventions (e.g., dealing with the impact of a prevailing testing culture); (c) are cognizant of their own deeper, and often unquestioned, convictions about using and teaching English that inform their instructional practice (e.g., correcting and providing feedback); and (d) are open to transforming those convictions that are dysfunctional and engaging in action research that will prompt them to develop and implement new instructional practices. As a result of such reflection, teachers will establish their own mix of instructional activities and tasks that will be relevant and meaningful for their own specific context, complement existing courseware, and ultimately help their learners raise their own ELF awareness.

What these demands imply is that becoming critically reflective within the ELF awareness framework raises various challenges for teacher educators that need to be overcome. In what follows, we present four different levels of reflection, as proposed by adult education theorist Jack Mezirow, and discuss how they can help teacher educators and teachers appreciate the nature and limitations of the different levels of reflection vis-à-vis the above specifications so that they can better navigate through their journey to becoming critically reflective and ELF aware. We then discuss genuine examples of teachers' reflections from a teacher education program and deliberate about implications for teacher education and pedagogy.

将反思置于 ELF 意识之中:实践与评价导向
引言批判性反思无疑是ELF(英语作为通用语)意识框架中最重要的组成部分。ELF意识已被提出(Sifakis, 2019; Sifakis & Bayyurt, 2018),作为将ELF相关问题和关注点纳入不同英语教学语境的综合方法。由于这些语境千差万别,而且英语语言教学本身并不是一种可以 "教 "给非母语者的英语(与教授标准英语或通用美语的方式相同--Seidlhofer,2011),进行批判性反思被认为是一种促使教师(以及包括学习者在内的其他英语语言教学利益相关者)识别英语语言教学理论中那些将英语语言教学与个人教学情况有意义地联系起来的要素,并在此基础上制定和实施自己的教学干预措施的方式(Sifakis,2007,2014;Sifakis et al;Sifakis et al.,反思在英语教学中的地位和作用,作为教师发展的一个有效且必不可少的组成部分,在相关文献中并没有引起争议(见 Farrell, 2022)。正如 Anderson (2020) 所指出的,有两种主流观点。杜威的观点(1933 年)主张以理性、科学的方法进行教师反思,强调对信念和知 识进行积极、认真的思考。相反,舍恩(Schön,1991 年)提倡更加直观的反思,摒弃学术知识,转而支持体验式或基于实践的学习。迄今为止,已经提出了各种模式,将这两种观点有效地融合在一起。例如,Farrell(2022 年)的模式提出,通过反思我们的教学理念、指导原则、应用理论、实际做法,以及批判性地审视道德对我们工作和身份的影响,我们就会成长。Farrell (2022)接着提出了几种促进教师反思的方法,如反思日记、批判性事件分析、小组讨论和角色扮演:(a) 理解 ELF 对标准英语变体的影响以及英语母语使用者和非英语母语使用者的作用;(b) 了解其英语语言教学环境中的当地社会文化甚至政治经济制约因素,即直接的和更广泛的 "文化 "中 "允许 "他们进行有效的具有 ELF 意识的教学干预的那些方面(例如,处理普遍的英语语言教学环境的影响)、(c) 意识到自己在使用和教授英语方面更深层次的、而且往往是不容置疑的信念, 这些信念指导着他们的教学实践(如纠正和提供反馈);(d) 愿意转变那些功能失调的信 念,并参与行动研究,以促使他们开发和实施新的教学实践。这些要求意味着,在英语语言教学法意识框架内进行批判性反思,会给教师教育者带来各种需要克服的挑战。在下文中,我们将介绍成人教育理论家杰克-梅兹罗(Jack Mezirow)提出的四个不同层次的反思,并讨论如何帮助教师教育者和教师理解不同层次的反思相对于上述规范的性质和局限性,以便他们能够更好地走过批判性反思和英语语言教学法意识的旅程。然后,我们将讨论教师教育项目中教师反思的真实案例,并探讨其对教师教育和教学法的影响。
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来源期刊
Tesol Quarterly
Tesol Quarterly Multiple-
CiteScore
6.40
自引率
6.20%
发文量
84
期刊介绍: TESOL Quarterly, a professional, refereed journal, was first published in 1967. The Quarterly encourages submission of previously unpublished articles on topics of significance to individuals concerned with English language teaching and learning and standard English as a second dialect. As a publication that represents a variety of cross-disciplinary interests, both theoretical and practical, the Quarterly invites manuscripts on a wide range of topics, especially in the following areas: -psychology and sociology of language learning and teaching -issues in research and research methodology -testing and evaluation -professional preparation -curriculum design and development -instructional methods, materials, and techniques -language planning -professional standards Because the Quarterly is committed to publishing manuscripts that contribute to bridging theory and practice in our profession, it particularly welcomes submissions that address the implications and applications of research in, for example, -anthropology -applied and theoretical linguistics -communication education -English education, including reading and writing theory -psycholinguistics -psychology -first and second language acquisition -sociolinguistics The Quarterly prefers that all submissions be written in a style that is accessible to a broad readership, including those individuals who may not be familiar with the subject matter. TESOL Quarterly is an international journal. It welcomes submissions from English language contexts around the world.
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