SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION TODAY

Se con d Lan gu a ge Tea ch e r Edu ca tion Toda y

Jac k C. Ric har ds

One of t he simp le f act s of lif e in t he present t ime is t hat t he English lang uage s kills of a good p ropo rt ion of it s c it izenry are seen as v it al if a c ount ry is t o part ic ipat e act iv ely in t he global ec ono my a nd t o hav e acc ess t o t he inf or mat ion a nd know ledge t hat prov ide t he basis f or bot h soc ial and ec ono mic dev elop me nt . Cent ral t o t his ent erprise a re En glish t eac hing and Eng lish la ng uage t eac hers. There is c onsequent ly inc reasin g de mand w o rldw ide f or c o mpet ent English t eac hers and f or more ef f ec t iv e approac hes t o t heir prepa rat ion a nd p rofessiona l dev e lop ment . In t his pape r I w ant t o exa mine t ren ds in sec ond langua ge t eac her educ at ion and t o ident if y so me of t he key issues t hat are shaping t he w ay sec ond language t eac her educ at ion ( SLTE) is c onc ept ualised and realized t oday.

The f ield of SLTE has been shaped in it s dev elop me nt by it s response t o t w o issues. One might be c alled int erna lly in it iat ed c hange, t hat is, t he t eac hing prof ess ion g rad ually ev olv ing a c hanged un derst and in g of it s ow n essent ial know led ge base and assoc iat ed inst ruc t iona l prac t ic es t hrough t he effort s of applied lin gu ist s and spec ialist s in t he field of sec ond langua ge t eac hing an d t eac her educ at ion. Muc h of t he debat e and disc ussion t hat has appeare d in t he pr ofessiona l lit erat ure in rec ent y ears for exa mp le and w h ic h is surv ey ed in t his pape r, is an ent irely int erna l debat e, un like ly t o int erest t hose out side t he w alls of ac ademic inst it ut ions. The eme rgenc e of suc h issues as ref lect iv e t eac hing and c rit ic al pedagogy for e xa mp le arose fro m w it hin t he pr ofession lar gely as a resu lt of self - impose d in it iat iv es. At t he same t ime t he dev elop me nt of SLTE has also been impac t ed by ext ernal p ressu res, for exa mp le by globa lizat io n and t he need for Englis h as a lang uage of int ernat io na l t rade and c o mmu nic at ion, w hic h has bro ug ht w it h it t he de ma nd by nat ion al ed uc at ional aut hor it ies for new la ngua ge t eac hing polic ies, for great er c ent ral c ont rol ov er t eac hing and t eac her educ at ion, and f or st andar ds and ot her f or ms of acc ount abilit y . The Commo n Eu ro pean Fra mew o r k is an e xa mple of t he professio n at t empt ing t o respond t o ext erna l p ressu res of t his kind.

T he grow th of SLT E

The f ield of TESOL is re lat iv ely new and in t he f or m t hat w e know it t oday , dat es f ro m t he 196 0s. I t w as dur ing t he 19 60s t hat Englis h lan guage t eac hing bega n a ma jo r per iod of expa nsio n w or ldw ide and t hat met hodo log ies suc h as Audio lingua lis m a nd Sit uat ional Lang uage Teac hing e me rged as t he f irst of a w av e of new met hodo log ies t o reinv igo rat e

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t he f ield of Eng lis h as a sec ond or f oreign lan guage. The or ig ins of spec if ic approac hes t o t eac her t rain ing f o r lan guage t eac hers began w it h sho rt t rain ing p rog ra ms and c ert if ic at es dat ing f ro m t his pe riod, designed t o giv e p rospec t iv e t eac hers t he prac t ic al c lassroo m sk ills needed t o t eac h t he new met hods. The disc ipline of app lied ling uist ic s dat es f rom t he same pe r iod, and w it h it c ame a body of spec ialized ac ade mic know led ge and t heory t hat prov ided t he foundat ion of t he new disc ipline. This know ledge w as re prese nt ed in t he c urric ula of MA prog ra ms, w hic h began t o be offered fro m t h is t ime t hat t y pic ally c ont ained c ourses in lan gua ge analy s is, lea rn ing t heo ry , met hodo logy , and so met imes a t eac hing p rac t ic um.

The relat ionsh ip bet w een p rac t ic al t eac hing sk ills an d ac ade mic know ledge a nd t heir rep resent at ion in S LTE prog ra ms has ge nerat ed a debat e ev er sinc e, alt hough as w e w ill see in w hat f ollow s is now pa rt of t he disc ussion of a muc h w ide r ra nge of issues. I n t he 199 0s t he prac t ic e v ersus t heory dist inc t ion w as so met imes reso lv ed by dist ingu is hing " t eac her t rain in g" f ro m " t eac her dev elop ment " , t he f or mer be in g ide nt if ied w it h ent ry lev el t eac hing sk ills lin ked t o a spec if ic t eac hing c ont ext , and t he lat t er t o t he longer- t er m dev elop me nt of t he indiv id ual t eac her ov er t ime. Training inv o lv ed t he dev elop ment of a repe rt oire of t eac hing sk ills, ac quired t hrou gh obse rv ing e xpe rie nc ed t eac hers and prac t ic e- t eac hing in a c ont rolled set t ing, e. g. t hroug h mic ro- t eac hing or pee r- t eac hing. Go od t eac hing w as seen as t he mast ery of a set of skills or c o mpet enc ies. Qualif ic at ions in t eac her t raining suc h as t he CELTA ( Cert if ic at e in English Lang uage Teac hing t o Adult s) w ere t y pic ally of f ered by t eac her t rain in g c olleges or by o rgan izat io ns suc h as t he Brit ish Counc il. Teac her dev elop me nt on t he ot her hand meant mast er in g t he disc ipline of applied lingu ist ic s. Qualif ic at ions in t eac her dev elop ment , t y pic ally t he MA degree, w ere offered by un iv ers it ies, w here t he prac t ic al skills of lan guage t eac hing w ere oft en unde rv alued.

By t he present t ime t he c ont rast bet w een t rain ing a nd dev elo p ment has been rep lac ed by a rec onsiderat io n of t he nat ure of t eac her learn ing, w h ic h is v iew ed as a f or m of soc ializat ion int o t he prof essiona l t hin king and p rac t ic es of a c ommu nit y of prac t ic e. SLTE is now also inf luenc ed by perspec t iv es draw n f ro m soc ioc ult ura l t heory ( Lant olf 2 000 ) and t he f ield of t eac her c ognit ion ( Bor g, 20 06) . The know led ge base of t eac hing has also been re- exa mined w it h a quest ion in g of t he t radit ional pos it ion ing of t he langua ge- based disc ip lines as t he ma jo r f oundat io n f or SLTE ( e. g. ling uist ic s, phonet ic s, sec ond langua ge ac quisit ion) ( Free ma n 2 00 2) . At t he same t ime it has also been affec t ed by ext ernal f act ors - by t he need t o respond t o t he st at us of English as an int ernat io na l lan guage an d t he de mand w o rldw ide f or a prac t ic al c omma nd of Eng lish la ng uage sk ills.

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T he pr of e ssio na liz a t io n of la ng ua ge t e a ch ing

A c ommon obse rv at ion o n t he st at e of English la ng uage t eac hing t oday c ompa red w it h is st at us in t he not t oo dist ant past is t hat t here is a muc h h ighe r lev e l of prof essio na lis m in ELT t oday t han prev io us ly . By t his is meant t hat Englis h la ngua ge t eac hing is seen as a c areer in a field of educ at ional spec ializ at ion, it req uires a spec ialize d k now le dge base obt ained t hro ugh b ot h ac ademic st udy and prac t ic al exper ienc e, and it is a f ield of w or k w here me mbers h ip is based o n ent ry req uire ment s and st andar ds. The professiona lis m of Eng lish t eac hing is seen in t he grow t h in dust ry dev ot ed t o prov id ing lang uage t eac hers w it h professio nal t ra in in g and q ualific at ions, in c ont inuo us at t empt s t o dev elop st andards f or Eng lish la ng uage t eac hing and f or Eng lis h la ngua ge t eac hers, t o t he prolif erat io n of prof essio na l jou rna ls an d t eac her magaz ines, c onf erenc es and prof essiona l or gan izat ions, t o at t empt s in ma ny plac es t o require non- nat iv e speake r Eng lis h t eac hers t o de mo nst rat e t heir lev el of p rof ic ienc y in En glish as a c ompone nt of c ert if ic at ion, t o t he de ma nd for p rofessio nal q ualific at ions for nat iv e- speake r t eac hers, and t o t he great er lev el of soph ist ic at ed know ledge of la ngua ge t eac hing requ ired of Eng lish t eac hers. Bec o min g an En glish lang uage t eac her means bec o ming pa rt of a w orldw ide c ommu n it y of prof essiona ls w it h sha red goa ls, v alues, d isc ourse, and p rac t ic es but one w it h a selfc rit ic al v iew of it s ow n pract ic es and a c ommit me nt t o a t ransfor mat iv e app roac h t o it s ow n ro le.

The f oc us on prof essiona lis m may mean d if f erent t hings in d if f erent plac es. I n so me it may me an ac quiring q ualific at ions rec ognize d by loc al educ at ional aut ho rit ies o r by int ernat io na l profess iona l or gan izat ions an d at t aining st anda rds mandat ed by suc h bodies. It may a lso mea n behav ing in ac c ordanc e w it h t he rules and nor ms t hat prev ail in t heir c ont ext of w ork, ev en if t he t eac her does not f ully sup port suc h nor ms suc h as w hen a t eac her is t old t o "t eac h t o t he t est " rat her t han c reat e his or ow n lea rn in g pat hw ay .

Leun g ( in p ress) c ont rast s t w o dif f erent dime nsio ns t o prof essiona lis m t hat w ill be allu ded t o t hroug hout t his paper. The first c an be c alled inst it ut ionally p resc ribed p rofessio na lis m ? a mana ger ia l app roac h t o professionalis m t hat represent s t he v iew s of min ist ries of educ at ion, t eac hing orga n izat ions, re gu lat ory bod ies, sc hool pr inc ipa ls and so on t hat spec if y w hat t eac hers are expec t ed t o know and w hat qualit y t eac hing prac t ic es c onsist of. There are likely t o be proc edures fo r ac hiev in g acc ount abilit y and proc esses in plac e t o ma int ain q ua lit y t eac hing. Suc h spec if ic at ions are like ly t o dif f er f ro m c ount ry t o c ount ry . For exa mp le in Singapo re, t eac hers are enc ouraged t o t ake up t o 100 hou rs of in- serv ic e c ourses a y ear. In Aust ralia sup po rt for in- serv ic e professiona l dev e lop ment is almost non- ex ist ent in many sc hools.

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The sec ond dimens ion t o prof essio nalis m Leu ng ref ers t o as indepen dent prof essio nalis m, w hic h ref ers t o t eac hers' ow n v iew s of t eac hing and t he proc esses by w hic h t eac hers engage in reflec t ion on t heir ow n v alues, beliefs, and prac t ic es. Muc h of t he disc ussion in t his paper abov e has ad dressed t his d imens io n of ind iv idua l p rofessiona lis m a nd t he c urrent lit erat u re on p rof essiona l dev e lop ment f or la ngua ge t eac hers pro mot es a w ide v ariet y of proc edures t hrou gh w h ic h t eac hers c an engage in c rit ic al and ref lec t iv e rev iew of t heir ow n prac t ic es ( see Ric har ds and Far rell 2 00 6) , e. g. t hroug h self - mon it or ing, analy s ing c rit ic al inc ident s, t eac her suppo rt groups, an d act ion resea rc h.

T he know le dge ba se of SLT E

As not ed abov e, t here hav e t radit ionally been t w o st rands w it hin t he f ield of SLTE ? one foc ussing on c lassroo m t eac hin g sk ills and pe dagog ic issues, and t he ot her foc ussing on w hat has been perc eiv ed as t he ac ademic under pinn in gs of c lassroo m s kills, na mely know led ge about lang uage an d lan guage lear n ing. The relat io nsh ip bet w een t he t w o has of t en been prob le mat ic . One w ay t o c larif y t his issue has bee n t o c ont rast t w o dif f ering k inds of k now le dge ? w h ic h may be t hought of as know le dge about and know ledge h ow . " Know le dge abo ut " or c ont ent know led ge prov ides w hat has c ome t o be t he est ablishe d c ore c urr ic ulu m of SLTE pro gra ms, pa rt ic ula rly at t he graduat e lev el, w here c ourse w o rk on t opic s suc h as language a naly s is, disc ourse ana ly s is, phono logy , c ur ric ulu m dev elop me nt , and met hodo logy is st anda rd. The lang uage- based c ourses prov ided t he ac ademic c ont ent , and t he met hodo logy c ourses show ed t eac hers how t o t eac h it . An unq uest ioned assu mpt ion w as t hat suc h know le dge inf or ms t eac hers' c lassroo m prac t ic es. Rec ent researc h how ev er ( e. g. Bart els 2 00 5) show s t hat t eac hers in f ac t oft en f ail t o apply suc h kn ow led ge in t heir c lassroo ms. Desp it e know ing t he t heory and pr inc ip les assoc iat ed w it h Commu n ic at iv e Language Teac hing f or e xa mp le, in t heir ow n t eac hing t eac hers are of t en seen t o ma ke use of t radit iona l " g ra m ma r- and- prac t ic e" t ec hniques in t heir c lassroo ms. Free man ( 2 00 2, 1) raises t he issue of t he relev anc e of t he t radit iona l know ledge base of lan gua ge t eac hing, obse rv ing, " The know led ge- base is lar gely d raw n fro m ot he r disc ip lines, and not fro m t he w or k of t eac hing it self" . Those w or king w it h in a soc ioc ult ural pe rspec t iv e hav e henc e argued t hat sec ond langua ge ac quisit ion researc h as it has been c onv ent ionally unde rst ood has foc ussed on an inade quat e v iew of w hat t he object of learnin g is sinc e it has not c onsidered t he w ay lang uage is soc ially and c ult u rally c onst it ut ed ( Mille r 20 06, Firt h and Wag ner 1 99 7, No rt on 19 97) .

The dist inc t ion bet w een explic it know led ge and imp lic it know ledge t hrow s so me lig ht on t he dile m ma of failed u pt ake, t he for me r c onst it ut ing t he basis of " know le dge abo ut " and t he lat ter of " know le dge how " . I mp lic it know ledge c ov ers a w ide ran ge of t er ms t hat hav e

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been used in t he lit erat ure t o refer t o t he beliefs, t heories, and know ledge t hat unde rlie t eac hers' prac t ic al act ions ( t er ms suc h as " princ iples" , " p rac t it ioner k now ledge" , " pe rsona l t heories" , " ma xims" ) ( Ric har ds 19 96, Tsang 2 004 ) . Cent ral t o kn ow led ge how are c onc ept s suc h as pedagogic al c ont ent know led ge ( t he c apac it y t o t ransf or m c ont ent int o acc essible and lea rna ble for ms) an d prac t ic al know ledge, all of w hic h refer t o t he know led ge and t hin k in g t hat t eac hers ma ke use of in f ac ilit at ing lear ning in t heir c lassroo ms an d w hic h belong t o a t hird st rand t hat has oft en been miss ing fr o m f or mu lat ions of t he c ore c ont ent of SLTE ? na mely t he nat ure of t eac hing it self . Free man and ot hers hav e e mphas ized t hat t he know ledge- base of SLTE must be expan ded t o inc lude t he pr oc esses of t eac hing and t eac her- learning and t he belief s, t heories an d know led ge w hic h inf o r ms t eac hing. Rat he r t han t he MA c ourse being a su rv ey of issues in applied lingu ist ic s draw ing fro m t he t radit iona l d isc iplina ry sou rc es, c ourse w or k in a reas suc h as ref lect iv e t eac hing, c lassroo m researc h, and ac t ion researc h now f or m part s of t he c ore c urric ulu m in ma ny TESOL p rog ra ms and seek t o expa nd t he t radit iona l know led ge base of langua ge t eac hing. Van Lie r p roposed a w ay t o resolv e t he t heory prac t ic e issue in a 1 99 2 paper :

I nst ead of t he usual ling uist ic sub- t opic s suc h as phonet ic s, sy nt ax, disc ourse analy s is and so on, I p ropose t hat w e ident ify lang uage- relat ed t he mes fro m t he t eac hers' ow n sphe re of act iv it y ... Wit hin eac h t heme, it is inev it able t hat st raight forw a rd lin gu ist ic pheno mena of phon olo gy , sy nt ax, disc ourse, et c w ill need t o be explo red at so me po int . This exp lorat io n w ill nec essit at e a c ert ain a mo unt of ling u ist ic st udy in t he t radit iona l sense, but it is v ery impo rt ant t hat suc h st udy is now mot iv at ed by a real- life quest ion t hat requ ires an a nsw er. I nt erest in gly in t his sc he me of Lang uage Aw are ness dev elop me nt , w e t reat "t he t eac hing of ling uist ic s" in a simila r w ay t o t he w ay in w hic h w e t reat " t he t eac hing of gra mma r" in a t ask- based c ommu nic at iv e approac h. We do not t eac hing ling uist ic s " bec ause it is t here" , but bec ause it helps us t o solv e lang uage prob le ms in rea l- life t asks. Van Lie r, 19 92 : 19 96

Ku marav a div e lu p roposes w hat he c all " c rit ic al c lassroo m obse rv at ion " as a proc edure for engag ing t eac hers in t he proc ess of t heoriz in g t heir ow n prac t ic e, a proc edure w hic h inv o lv es self - observ at ion of a lesson by t he t eac her t oget her w it h observ at ion by st udent s in t he lesson an d an observ e r, follow ing w h ic h t heir d ifferent perspec t iv es are c ompa red and t he mean in g of t he lesson is int erp ret ed and t heor ized.

T he na t ur e of t e a che r - le a r n ing

A f oc us on t he nat ure of t eac her lear ning has bee n c ent ral t o a ret hink in g of bot h t he c ont ent and deliv e ry of SLTE prog ra ms. Teac her- earning f ro m t rad it iona l pers pec t iv es w as seen as a c ognit iv e issue, so met h ing t he lea rne r did on h is or he r ow n. Nu nan ( 199 5: 55) desc ribes t his lear ne r- c ent ered v iew . " I n t he f inal ana ly sis ... it is t he lear ner w ho must re ma in at t he c ent re of t he proc esses, for no mat t er how muc h energy an d

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