ELT (English Language Teaching) – as seen from the UK context where I work – is a dynamic, forward-looking field, constantly reinventing itself via new approaches, methods, materials and techniques. Without a sense of history, however, we... more
ELT (English Language Teaching) – as seen from the UK context where I work – is a dynamic, forward-looking field, constantly reinventing itself via new approaches, methods, materials and techniques. Without a sense of history, however, we may at times be victims of fashion, reinventing the wheel as we think we progress. In this short article I argue for the importance to ELT professionalism of what I call ‘historical sense’ – an appreciation of the past which enables new ideas to be evaluated in the light of former experience, and forgotten ideas to be made available as a continuing resource.
Both teacher-research mentors’ and teacher-researchers’ perspectives are represented in this book, which is the third in a series published by the IATEFL Research Special Interest Group. The first six chapters are teacher-research... more
Both teacher-research mentors’ and teacher-researchers’ perspectives are represented in this book, which is the third in a series published by the IATEFL Research Special Interest Group. The first six chapters are teacher-research mentors’ accounts of helping teachers engage in practitioner research, with those supported including both in-service and pre-service teachers. The remaining chapters provide teacher-researchers’ accounts of helping students develop a range of language skills and knowledge, positive feelings about learning, and a greater sense of autonomy. All the researchers, whether mentors of other teachers or classroom teachers themselves, place the improvement of students’ learning at the heart of their research, and show that powerful kinds of learning can occur for all involved in the teacher-research process: mentors, teachers and students alike.
