New version (revised) -- Work Group One

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Subject: New version (revised)

Author:
Luciano Valadares

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Date Posted: 14:22:48 08/21/10 Sat
In reply to: Luciana Maia 's message, "Question 1" on 05:31:51 08/21/10 Sat

Please, take a look in this new version of Question 1. And send me an OK message. Thank you.

1- What is the role of theory and previous studies in the article.

The first article chosen �A case study on foreign English teachers� challenges in Taiwanese elementary schools� (article 1) mentions the little work done on the field of teaching language abroad. Three teachers, from South Africa, are sent to a town in Taiwan to teach English in a secondary school. After some time, they started to face some difficulties with the students and also problems understanding of the culture.

The article refers to two important previous studies, which support the research. One of them is by Verity�s (2000):

��she documented her sense of lost expertise as a novice teacher in the Japanese context. Although she was a well-established teacher in her home context, Verity felt much stressed from having to cope with unfamiliar administrative demands such as large classes in Japan.�

The other is conducted by Gingerich (2004) .From her studies she concludes that:

��the knowledge that teachers bring from their home context (general pedagogical knowledge) and how this knowledge is utilized and transformed in the new context to develop a set of knowledge needed for English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teaching (pedagogical content knowledge), which involves arriving with a plan and making adjustments��
�Her study also �highlights the need for teachers to understand the multiple contexts surrounding their work, including that of the classroom, the school, and the larger society (pedagogical context knowledge).�

The theories mentioned in the articles are being used to clarify and bring a new light on the teacher�s report, explaining with previous experiences some of the teachers feelings as shown in some examples:

�Amy: �I�m a very sensitive person. When students misbehave, I sometimes think that� Are you misbehaving because I�m black? (field-note, 2006/12/05).
�I don�t understand why people want American accents here� (field-note, 2006/12/28)
May: �I hate teaching phonics.� or �Teaching this stuff is so boring�
Ivy�s: The Grade 2 can�t understand my instruction because of my accent?
That�s not true. Language itself is a problem to these kids.�

These reports prove the consistency, veracity and relevance of the former studies. The ESL teachers in the new environment did not seem to adapt to the culture of the new country, to the school�s policies and yet, they did not seem to be at ease with unfamiliar situations.

With a careful analysis and examination of the theoretical literature previously published, the teachers might have been more prepared to face the new challenges and problems which arouse with the students in the classroom and also might have been better prepared to deal with their own feelings of inadequacy in a new environment. We also conclude that the role of the theory, although relevant is not enough to fully assist these teachers in their practice as teachers abroad, as the author states in the discussion:

�To function more effectively in the Taiwanese context, they need to be equipped with more what Gingerich (2004) terms pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical context knowledge�. To be more specific, they need to make adjustments to address the learning need of their students and gain more knowledge about the classroom, school, and societal contexts.�

What the study is saying is well stated by the author: � The current study is an attempt to address this gap in the literature�

The second article chosen, � From Principles to practice: Teachers� uptake of principles from instructed language learning to plan a focus on language form in content lessons�(article 3) mentions the extensive work done on the field of second language research but also mentions �few descriptive accounts detailing the ways in which this input has been used by secondary content teachers to plan for student�s language and content needs.�

The research was developed in a New Zealander school, after realizing the problems both, native and non-native students were having with English language. These problems were related to the understanding of English language meaning in depth which resulted in difficulties in other subjects, and also difficulties in producing academic writing work. As it says on the article:�Many secondary students, not just new learners of English, need informed language-oriented pedagogy that benefits native speakers as well as non native speakers.�

On article 3, differently from article 1, the researchers rely on the theory published, which is the basis to trigger the whole project, as we can understand from the statement below:

�This paper��examines the ways in which teachers draw on their knowledge of second language acquisition to distil principles that provide a link between a language and content needs analysis and the subsequent design of an unit of work�

Throughout the text the author mentions the need to search for assistance in previous work, building an interconnection between theory and practice before establishing an action plan.

Many of the theoretical material covered in this area was utilized : �At the beginning of the study each participant was given a Project Manual containing summaries of the theoretical input covered in the TESSOL program�.

The constant revision of their action was based on teacher�s perception of various student�s needs, and also the constant reflection, pause and reference to previous studies, as it says on the text: �To find new direction for their pedagogical action, they paused in their discussion and turned for assistance to the literature - the summaries of articles in the Project Manual�.

The theories mentioned in the article assisted: in the set up of the work, during the work and also on the results interpretation being crucial to the article. In conclusion, the role of theory was to provide a framework in which the research was carried out and also to work as a bridge linking previous knowledge with practice.

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