reviews of dr. richards' books
The following are a selection of reviews which have
appeared in various academic publications.. |
The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education
Edited by Anne Burns & Jack, C. Richards,
Cambridge University Press, 2009:325 pages
ISBN 978-0-521-75684-6
Reviewed by Roger Barnard, University of Waikato in New Zealand Studies in Applied Linguistics, 2010, 16 (1) 76-89
This is an excellent collection of specially-written articles on a 'hot' topic in applied linguistics: second language teacher education (SLTE). Anne Burns and Jack Richards invited international experts to write short, approximately 10-page, updates on a wide range of area of SLTE, all of which provide reviews of both recent studies and older, standard works, as well valuable and authoritative insights from the authors. It would be tedious here to list the contributors, all of whom have published extensively and recently on their chosen topic. It would, I think, have been useful to devote a few pages at the front of this book to notes on the contributors, especially to introduce new practitioners to some of the leading lights of our profession. Such information would also help to highlight the very diverse contexts in which these experts arc based·-from Canada and the USA to Hungary and Singapore, from Hong Kong to New Zealand.
The thirty individual chapters are grouped into seven themes, each briefly introduced by the editors: 1) The landscape of SLTE, 2) Professionalism' and the language teaching profession, 3) Pedagogical knowledge in SLTE, 4) Identity, cognition, and experience in teacher learning, 5) Contexts for SLTE, 6) SLTE through collaboration, and 7) SLT development through research and practice. Here is a flavour of the issues discussed in two of the sections: Section 1 comprises four chapters on the scope of SLTE (Donald Freeman), trends in SLTE (Karen E Jol1nson), critical LTE (Margaret Hawkins & Bonny Norton) and social and cultural perspectives (Charlotte Franson & Adrian Holliday). The final section has three articles on classroom research (Sandra Lee McKay), action research (Anne Burns) and reflective practice (Jill Burton).
Given the broad range of issues in this book, "it is impossible to effectively appraise each the chapters. So I have decided to pick on three areas which T am particularly interested in, although the choice was not easy because every chapter is clearly written and each contains much useful information and thought provoking suggestions for further reading and action. Anyway, I have chosen Simon Borg's discussion of language teacher cognition, then Rod Ellis's chapter on Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and teacher education, and finally Kathleen Bailey's consideration of language teacher supervision.
In Chapter 16, Borg firstly defines the construct of language teacher cognition, and then focuses on six themes that arc of special interest to teacher educators: prior language learning and pre-service education; pre-service cognition during the practicum; the impact of pre-service education; the cognition and practices of in service teachers; comparison of language teachers' cognitions and practices; and research methods in studying language teacher cognition. Each of these sections provides a very reasonable digest. of the issues considered much more fully in Borg (2006). In addition to pointing to specific empirical studies, some of which have been published since his 2006 book, Borg adds valuable comments based on his considerable experience in the area; for example, the need to complement quantitative approaches (such as questionnaires) with qualitative data such as may be elicited from reflective journals (p.166). He also adds a cautionary note (p.168) about journals completed by teachers undergoing professional development courses: while this may be a neat way to collect data, he questions whether entries in these journals may not be influenced by what researchers tell participants about the purposes of their investigation. Borg concludes the chapter, as do the other contributors, with suggestions for further research. The points he makes here are, like those in his 2006 review, very sensible and include the need for investigation in more contexts (both geographically and in different educational sectors) and into more pedagogic areas than grammar, reading and writing, which have received most attention. One caveat is that, while he calls for collaboration between researchers from acquisition and cognition traditions, he does not seem to think it important to see teachers themselves as knowledge-makers, and theory-creators; in other words, as full research collaborators, rather than as mere informants or participants.
This issue is in fact discussed very fully in the final three chapters in this book, and also in Ellis', earlier consideration (Chapter 13) of how SLA can best be incorporated into a teacher education programme. After a concise tabulation and description of the key topics studied by SLA researchers (Ll transfer, sequential development, systematicity and variability, learner strategies, etc.), Ellis presents three possible models for incorporating insights from SLA into SLTE programmes: a discrete course of SLA, integrating SLA into other courses (e.g., a general methods or grammar course), or using SLA as a basis for practitioner research, With regard to the latter) he cites Allwright's (2003) argument for 'exploratory research' in which practitioners (learners as well as teachers) adapt their normal pedagogic practices for use as investigative tools. While Ellis bas reservations about precisely how to apply SLA to practitioner research, he does acknowledge that "doubts have crept in about the value of SLA for teachers" (p.141) because of its until relatively recent narrow focus on the acquisition of grammar, and - quoting Borg (1998, p. 10)~"the inconclusive nature of L2 acquisition studies of the best way to teach grammar." Ellis considers that research into teacher cognition, such as Borg endorses, is important, but stresses the ultimate importance of the technical contribution that is provided by SLA research. He concludes his chapter by stating that it is undeniable that SLA must be included in second language teacher education programmes, but it is far less obvious how this is best done, and suggests that in itself this is an obvious direction for future research.
In her introduction to Chapter 27, Kathleen Bailey points out that "language teacher supervisors seldom receive specific training in how to be effective supervisors" (p,269), and then summarises three interesting approaches and practices that are currently applied. The first is a discussion of how an analysis of discourse can illuminate effective -and ineffective-supervision, when she refers to the work of Wajnryb (for example, 1998) in the challenging problem of how supervisors can deliver criticism gently but clearly, and then Williams and Watson's (2004) exploration of student teachers' discourse in post lesson discussions with supervisors. Secondly, Bailey considers how teacher supervision could be informed by sociocultural theory, After a brief reference to Van Lier's (1995) discussion of the Zone of Proximal Development, there is a useful summary of five principles derived from sociocultural theory (Rueda, 1998) which supervisors could apply to promote teacher development. The third secti011 reviews several studies conducted in North America and Australia into how supervisor-teacher interaction can be mediated at a distance by technology, such as websites, emails and handheld personal digital assistants, and videoconferencing, the latter perhaps also involving teachers' videotaped lessons. Bailey concludes this section by saying that the majority of published reports of such distance supervision are about first language teacher education, and that "this trend does not seem to have influenced language teacher education yet" (p. 275). In fact, there are some interesting developments currently taking place in this area of distance supervision in some applied linguistics programmes in New Zealand, which suggests the need for systematic local research into its effectiveness and subsequent public dissemination and discussion of findings and appropriate data collection and analysis procedures.
In their short preface, the editors envisage this book as a companion to the Cambridge guide to TESOL (Nunan & Carter, 2001) and anticipate that the readership would include, among others, pre-service and in-service teachers, teacher educators, administrators and academics. Indeed, I strongly suggest that there is something here for everybody engaged in professional or academic activity in the field.
This book would be very useful for any practising teacher who wishes to enhance their professional knowledge, either when undertaking a programme of study, or for private reflection, Here they would find a wide-ranging update on issues of contemporary concern and/or interest. It would help prospective research students who want a bird's eye view of what the current state of research is and what empirical spaces there might be to occupy, It might also serve as a follow-up reading to any introductory course, such as the Cambridge CELTA or Trinity College's Cert. TESOL to indicate to beginner teachers the complexity of the professional community they are about to enter. In my opinion, this book would be entirely suitable as the prescribed textbook for an MA course on the subject of SLTE, a full understanding of which, as the editors point out in their ten-page introduction, is vital if the profession is to meet the ever-growing worldwide demand for effective English language education at all levels, and in many occupations.
References
- Allwright, D, (2003), Exploratory practice: Rethinking practitioner research in language teaching, Language Teaching Research 7, 113-141.
- Borg, S, (1998), Teachers' pedagogical systems and grammar teaching: A qualitative study. TESOL Quarterly (32, 9-38.
- Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education. London: Continuum.
- Nunan D., & Carter. R. (2001). Cambridge guide toTESOL. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
- Rucda, R. (199R). Standards for professional development: A sociocultural perspective. (Research Brief No.2). Santa Cruz, CA: University of California, Centre for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence.
- Van Lier, L (1995). Introducing language awareness. London: Penguin Books.
- Wajryb, R. (1998). Telling it like it isn't - exploring an instance of pragmatic ambivalence in supervisory discourse. Journal of Pragmatics, 29, 531-544.
- Williams, M., & Watson, A (2004), Post-lesson debriefing: Delayed or immediate? An investigation of student teacher talk. Journal of Education for Teaching, 30(2), 85·96.
The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education
Edited by Anne Burns & Jack, C. Richards,
Cambridge University Press, 2009:305 pages
ISBN 978-0-521-75684-6
Reviewed by Alex Hand
in QATESOL Newsletter
November 2009
The authors edited the book with a wide range of readers in mind; in-service teachers, teacher trainers, professional development coordinators, administrators and those more generally wishing to acquire a go understanding of the field. This book manages to achieve what it sets out to do; it is a comprehensive manual for those involved in training ESL teachers and for ESL teachers themselves. There are seven sections; The Landscape of Second Language Teacher Education, Professionalism and the
Language Teaching Profession, Pedagogical Knowledge in Second Language Teacher Education, Identity,
Cognition and Experience in Teacher Learning, Contexts for Second Language Teacher Education, Second
Language Teacher Education Through Collaboration and finally Second Language Teacher Development
Through Research and Practice. Each section, comprising a number of chapters by international experts in
the field, is designed to take the reader through current debates in specific areas. The sections each has an
overview which summarises the central issue which the authors of that section focuses on. Whilst each
section can, of course, be read separately from the others, there is n nonetheless a sense of dovetailing
with the sections.
Every section has a list of references and further reading at the back which allows the reader to extend
her / his reading on any given subject. The book itself contains both a subject index and an author index,
so again, the reader is able to follow through any thread of particular reading and understand how a theorist
is seen by different writers in various chapters.
The section by Margaret Hawkins and Bonny Norton I found especially good. It is common practice nowadays
to acquire some knowledge of the ESL field and continue through one’s career with varying degrees of
further study and perhaps with a nodding acquaintance of current issues, especially sociological ones. This
book and especially ‘The Landscape of Second Language Teacher Education’ ensures that teachers are able
to stay abreast of contemporary issues. Margaret Hawkins and Bonny Norton’s chapter reminds the
reader that critical pedagogy is very important in the ESL field and that issues of power, social position,
race, ethnicity, gender and normative values are thing that are easily overlooked. Hawkins and Norton cite
Pennycook’s work where the notion of different Englishes is raised, the purpose being to identify questions
of whose English is valid, what Standard English is/might be and how ideas of ownership of the language are
discussed. Whilst a critical approach is perhaps difficult to work through n the classroom it is nonetheless
something which both trainee-teachers and practicing teachers need to have in mind, especially when
teaching higher adult classes.
Section seven; chapters 28, 29 and 30 were also a particular favourite of mine. The reason for this is that
in-services and professional developments so often take the form of an outside professional being invited
in to lecture on a topic to the staff after which life goes on pretty much as normal. Sometimes the effect is
more long lasting. Section seven though is focused on us, the teachers, running our own research and
learning. This process could be through, for example, action research, through peer observation, through
collective planning, reflective practice and so on. In the real world it is widely understood that there are
financial restraints on all activities in the school, however, many of the strategies used in ‘Second Language
Teacher Development Through Research and Practice’ actually allow he staff to develop and improve with
either no money being spent or a very minimal amount. As Jill Burton says: “Being reflective assists teachers
lifelong professional development, enabling them to critique teaching and make better informed teaching decisions”.
Burton begins her chapter by quoting that icon of education John, Dewy; “…Teachers should listen to all
points of view (open-mindedness), be alert to the consequences of their actions (responsibility) and
have these qualities at the core of their being and actions (wholeheartedness). In essence teachers do
need to be reminded that regardless of how experienced they may, reflecting on what they have done and
eliciting assistance in their teaching can only ever improve their professionalism. It must be remembered
too that experts need only be brought in when the issue is one of great complexity or novelty, perhaps one
of legislation or a new programme. In most cases a group of research minded teachers are quite able to work through their own questions well enough, often an expert may be required to begin the ball rolling or to confirm a conclusion.
This book is I feel one of the best to come out of Cambridge University Press for some time. It is a text which really lays down what
professional development organisers need to be thinking about and as with the ACTA framework for Professional Development it suggests
that teachers need to be aware of (a) their teaching and the classroom, and (b) the field of Second language acquisition more
broadly – those external factors which affect all ESL classrooms. To me this is an essential book for anyone with responsibility for or a
professional interest in teacher education. It is a book which I feel will be well-dog-eared in a very short space of time.
Professional Development For Language Teachers:
Strategies For Teacher Learning
Jack C. Richards and Thomas S.C. Farrell.
Professional Development For Language
Teachers: Strategies For Teacher Learning
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
Pages: X + 202. (ISBN: 0521613833 Paperback)
Reviewed By Robert J. Dickey
Published in Korea TESOL Journal Vol 8, No 1
Professional development has become a major focus area in English
Language Teaching over the past decade, as the educational community
begins to look beyond basic qualifications and any need for minimal
“continuing education units” (where that requirement exists). This trend
is equally strong in the teaching community beyond ESL/EFL – even
teachers’ labor unions are involved (see American Federation of Teachers,
2002). Yet, a survey of the literature indicates that there are very few materials
available to guide language teachers or trainers in a holistic manner. We
find resources on teacher research and (increasingly) on reflective teaching,
but only one other general treatment of the topic (Bailey, Curtis, & Nunan,
2001). Other titles in the field tend to either consider specific subfields in
more detail, such as Crookes (2003) or Farrell (2004), or are more oriented
to the “stories” of professional development rather than explaining how it
may be done (e.g., Casanave & Schecter, 1997).
Jack Richards, widely recognized as one of the leading scholars in
applied linguistics and language teacher education, has done it once again:
presented what is sure to be a best-selling teacher education resource
while also introducing another scholar to the ELT mainstream. We in Korea
are thrilled to see Thomas S.C. Farrell, who spent over one decade in Seoul
and who was the founding editor of this journal, illuminated by the global
reach of the Cambridge University Press spotlight. One may think it difficult to
remain uninfluenced when reviewing a book that includes a vignette of
you on page 1, but the text is of such a quality that there is no difficulty in
writing a critical and fair review.
Richards and Farrell set the stage by identifying the target audience
and overall tone clearly and early – the series editor’s preface, the preface,
and page 1 all set roughly the same message – how language teachers, particularly those new to the field, can manage their professional
self-development once their initial training has been completed. However,
they also note that the scope is not so narrow: teacher supervisors,
coordinators, administrators, and trainers will also benefit from the concepts
presented in the text, in the aim of developing a “coherent and strategic
approach to teacher development” (p. ix). Other important works take other
routes: Wallace (1991) is clearly focusing on organized training programs
and the work is largely focused towards those who control and implement
them.
For those who are familiar with the classic methods work by Richards
and Rogers (1986), you will find a number of similarities in organizational
design between that book and this. Here eleven different approaches to
professional development are outlined in individual chapters in a very
detailed yet readable fashion, along with a clearly superior introduction –
the introduction should be required reading for all entering or currently
involved in the field of language teaching. (I’m suggesting it as the next
reading task for KOTESOL’s Teacher Education and Development SIG.)
There are some important improvements from the old Richards and Rogers
design, however: the use of vignettes and reflection questions along with
bulleted lists assists those with various learning styles to make full use of
the information presented. Several of the chapters include their own appendices
with additional forms or information.
The first development activity presented is workshops (chapter 2),
which seems a peculiar choice at first glance – we all understand workshops,
right? Perhaps not. Richards and Farrell distinguish workshops from
seminars, and identify some reasons why “many teachers have experienced
effective and less effective workshops during their careers” (p. 30). This
chapter sets the stage for much of the rest of the book, displaying a “compare
and contrast” methodology to explaining the nature of activities as well as
relying on the reader’s own experiences for reflection.
Subsequent chapters discuss self-monitoring, teacher support groups,
keeping a teaching journal, peer observation, teaching portfolios, analyzing
critical incidents, case analysis, peer coaching, team teaching, and action
research. Each chapter follows a similar format, various sections are interspersed
with teacher vignettes that model items under discussion or raise
questions for further reflection. The subsections consider the nature of
the activity, purposes and benefits, procedures used, implementing the
activity, and examples of the activity, as well as references. The index at
the end of the book includes both vignette author names and key words, and while there is no concluding chapter or glossary, the design of each
chapter and the writing style obviate the need for these tools.
Portfolios are an interesting addition to this book, something less
discussed as a teacher-led method of professional development and
reflection. Chapter 7 is fairly representative of the book’s chapters; in a
concise yet readable 15 pages, a number of issues and features involved
are discussed within short and aptly titled sections (subsections),
and with reflection sections and vignettes as well as checklists of things
to consider including. There is also a 2½-page example of things included
in one professional portfolio. This chapter – as do most chapters – does a
good job of explaining how this tool is both a reflective tool and a
stand-alone asset.
Naturally, each of us, as well as the professional and scholarly literature,
may have variations on the designs presented; we may be less comfortable
with some activities than others, or we may find some other concepts
excluded. After all, the book is a general introduction, focusing principally
on those new to the profession; it cannot cover every possibility. Bailey,
Curtis, and Nunan (2001) include discussions on mentoring and language
learning experience for teachers as well as more detail with self-awareness/
reflecting, but far less detail overall in how to go about self-directed
professional development. On the other hand, I find the lack of “alternate”
development activities disappointing – I’ve previously (Dickey, 2004)
advocated professional development designs such as those within Fiona
Balloch’s (n.d.) “Continuing Professional Development Record Card,”
developed for the now defunct British Institute for English Language
Teaching. One might include the following inexhaustive list of possibilities
(some of which are from Balloch): “visitations” and “shadowing” of other
teachers or even other professions with impact on our students’ professional
futures, visiting other schools where innovation is taking place, browsing
the literature beyond ELT, and serving in leadership roles in various
committees or professional communities. Even simply being a member of
a professional society can help teachers develop beyond present skills, as
can “whole-self” development in areas outside ELT. Perhaps too obvious,
but also worth mention, is further formal studies and learning more about
the “content” of what we are teaching: both the nature of language itself
and its pedagogy. It is interesting to note that in reviews of what teachers
felt was important in their professional development, learning subject matter
content was rated at or near the top (see American Educational
Research Association, Summer 2005; Borko, Summer 2004; and Firestone
et al., 2001).
In summary, Richards and Farrell’s Professional Development for
Language Teachers is quite likely to become an early 21st century classic
best-seller, just as Richards and Rogers (1986) became The methods book
for TESOL professionals in the last part of the 20th century.
The reviewer
Robert J. Dickey has taught in Korea since he first started teaching in 1994.
For professional development, he joined KOTESOL in 1995, did the RSA/
CTEFLA in 1996, and has been active in self-guided study (including book
reviews), research, and various courses ever since, as well as active in
KOTESOL.
professional development for language teachers
J. C. Richards and T. S. C. Farrell
Professional Development for Language
Teachers: Strategies for Teacher Learning. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2005. Pp. 202.
$25.00, paper.
ISBN 0-521-61383-3.
Reviewed by Tammy Jandrey Hertel (Lynchburg College)
Published in The Modern Language
Journal Volume 91 (2007)
Professional Development for Language Teachers serves to provide in-service teachers, supervisors,
and administrators with a variety of ideas for furthering
teachers’ professional development. The
book systematically examines 11 categories of activities:
workshops, self-monitoring, teacher support
groups, teaching journals, peer observation,
teaching portfolios, analysis of critical incidents,
case analysis, peer coaching, team teaching, and
action research. One chapter is devoted to each
of these activities, including its goals, methodologies,
potential benefits and problems, along with
illustrative vignettes written by in-service teachers
and questions inviting reflection on these
situations.
Each chapter is well organized and is written in
non technical, straightforward language, making
the activities easy to understand and implement.
The section of each chapter describing the procedures
to follow maintains a clear, step-by-step
guide for conducting a particular type of professional
development activity. Each category can
be implemented in many ways, depending on the
user’s context and goals, and the authors provide
a thorough list of the different forms the activity
can take. This approach gives readers ideas to
apply procedures to their own situations. If one
has to include a criticism of the book, it is that
the sheer number and variety of ideas provided
could be overwhelming. However, for those readers
who want to explore specific procedures in
greater depth, the bibliography provided at the
end of each chapter is an excellent resource.
The vignettes and examples included in each
chapter further illustrate how the activities can be
implemented in a variety of contexts around the
world. Although the outcomes of the situations
described are generally positive, not all scenarios
were problem free; they therefore represent a realistic
picture of what a teacher may learn from
similar activities. The reflection questions posed
after each vignette provide readers with opportunities
to apply the methods to their classrooms
and would be useful for stimulating discussion in
a classroom situation.
Underlying the book is a sense of the importance
of both individual critical reflection and collaboration
with peers. Activities suggested include
those that may be done on an individual basis, in
pairs, in groups, or at the institutional level. Although
supervisors and administrators are called
upon to encourage, support, and reward teachers’
professional development efforts, many of the activities
described are initiated by teachers. The
authors also recognize the apprehensions some
teachers may have toward certain aspects of professional
development activities, such as the time
commitment and fear of peer criticism. They suggest
ways to overcome or minimize these anxieties,
such as useful advice regarding nonjudgmental
peer observation, support groups, journal writing,
and coaching. They seek to overcome the view of
teaching as a solitary endeavor, and they provide
ways in which a community of teacher-learners
may be established.
Professional Development for Language Teachers makes a valuable contribution to the field of second
language teacher education. The book speaks
to the needs of new and experienced language
teachers, administrators, and supervisors. Readers
of this book will gain practical information
regarding teacher learning. Although examples
and vignettes included are from settings in which
English as a second or foreign language is the focus,
the procedures described can be applied to
the teaching of languages other than English. The
book would serve well as a textbook for graduate
programs in the teaching of English to speakers of
other languages and as a resource for administrators,
supervisors, methodology course instructors,
and, of course, in-service language teachers.
Language teachers who read Professional Development
for Language Teachers will gain a renewed
enthusiasm and motivation for furthering their
professional development and a wealth of ideas
for realizing activities that can help both them
and their students. The step-by-step description of
each kind of activity does not overwhelm already
overcommitted teachers. Even a teacher who does
not immediately undertake a professional development
activity described in the book will learn
the value of engaging in reflective teaching practices
as a result of having read the book.
professional development for language teachers
J. C. Richards and T. S. C. Farrell
Cambridge University Press 2005, 202 pp., £16.90
ISBN 0 521 61383 5
Reviewed by Pornapit Darasawang
Published in ELT Journal Volume 60, Number 3, July 2006
The issues of teacher training and teacher
development have become central to the field of
teacher education. Recently, the literature has
tended to focus on teacher development far more
than teacher training. For example, Edge (2005)
argues that, at present, ELT teachers are no longer
required to apply a particular theory or use
a particular method in their teaching. Instead,
they should be responsive and responsible for
examining their teaching context to gain a deeper
understanding of their own work. This process
of open, continuing development creates an
institution which is an environment that caters
for learning, collaboration, and growth.
In the book under review, Richards and Farrell also
make the distinction between teacher training
and teacher development. They argue that the
former deals with basic concepts, strategies, and
methodology, and therefore aims at short-term and
immediate goals while the latter aims at helping
teachers understand themselves and their teaching.
Through reflective analysis of teaching practices,
examining beliefs, values and principles, sharing
with colleagues, and keeping up-to-date with new
trends and theories, they believe that teachers
can engage in professional development. In the
12 chapters of the book the authors provide tools
for readers to employ for their own professional
development. Most of the activities which they
provide in this book are similar to those found
in other teacher development texts, namely,
workshops, self-monitoring, teacher support
groups, teaching journals, peer observation, case
analysis, peer coaching, team teaching, and action
research. In addition, they introduce less well documented
activities such as teaching portfolios
and analysing critical incidents, both of which
I found particularly interesting.
Teaching portfolios are a collection of documents
and other items that provide information about
teachers’ performance. They are composed of
teachers’ thoughts, goals, and experiences together
with reflection and self-assessment. Therefore,
teachers have to think about their goals and
priorities for future development or improvement
when compiling their portfolio. Separating portfolios
into working and showcase portfolios, the authors
suggest possible documents to be compiled and
how to organize the contents of the portfolio.
The second less documented activity concerns
critical incidents, an area that has been well covered
in general education (for example, Tripp 1993) but
largely overlooked in ELT. Critical incident analysis
concerns analysing unplanned events happening in
class, which cause teachers to have more insights
about their own teaching. Critical incidents can
be both positive and negative. Analysing them
encourages self-awareness and enables teachers
to become more critical about their teaching. Also,
the incidents can be used for action research.
Apart from the first chapter, which helps the readers
understand the nature of teacher education and
professional development, presentation of all of
the development activities covered in the book
follows a standard pattern. Since the process of
development deals with reflective analysis, the
authors arrange the information of each chapter to
help the readers reflect on their teaching and/or
work context. Therefore, each chapter starts
with a definition of the activity to provide
contextualization. This is followed by several
vignettes or personal teaching accounts, each
giving a teacher’s experience of putting the activity
into practice. The vignettes serve as input for the
readers to understand how other language teachers
think about the activity or use it to develop their
profession. The vignette is followed by a section
entitled ‘Reflection’ which includes a few questions
to let the readers relate their own experience to that
of the teachers in the vignettes. At the end of the
chapter, a real example of how the activity was
implemented is presented formally.
The vignettes and the reflections are the main
features of this book and they reinforce the key
processes of teacher development, which are
reflective analysis and sharing. The goals of the
authors in using this approach of vignette plus
reflection appears to be twofold. First, they
encourage readers to apply the concepts and
activities of development in their own context.
Second, since the vignettes are contributed by
language teachers working in different countries,
they show different cultures and constraints
on teaching English, emphasizing the context dependent
issues in teaching but also the context independent
approaches to teacher development.
Although the authors use reflection and sharing
to encourage teacher development, the content
concerning how each development activity can be
implemented is rather introductory and presented
on a step-by-step basis. For example, the
description for implementing journal writing, an
activity which has been around in ELT for more than
a decade, concerns setting goals, deciding on the
audience, allocating time to write, setting
a timeframe for the activity, reviewing the journal
to see what can be learned from it, and evaluating
if it meets the goals of development. Although
the authors state that this book is intended as
a practical introduction and provides a strategic
approach to teacher development, this step-by-step
‘how-to’ approach is more training oriented than
development oriented.
Overall, this book achieves its goal in providing
tools for novice teachers to employ for their
professional development. However, it may not
go as far as creating the attitudes necessary for
ongoing long-term development, which involves
a more complex and internal process. This book
is thus best suited for novice teachers or student
teachers who are starting out on the road to
professional development.
References
Edge, J. 2005. Continuing Cooperative Development.
Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Tripp, D. 1993. Critical Incidents in Teaching.
London: Longman.
The reviewer
Pornapit Darasawang earned a PhD in TESOL
from Edinburgh University. She has been involved
in teacher training and development on the
post graduate programmes at King Mongkut’s
University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok,
Thailand. She is also interested in learner
autonomy, learner training, and self-access
learning.
approaches and methods in language teaching 2nd edition
Reviewed by Maria C.M. De Guerrero
Inter American University of Puerto Rico
Published in The Modern Language Journal Vol 87,
1, Spring 2003
This second edition of Richards and Rodgers's Approaches
and Methods in Language Teaching constitutes a significant
revision of the popular 1986 volume. This book "seeks
to provide a comprehensive and comprehensible account of
major and minor trends in language teaching methods from
the beginning of the twentieth century to the present" (p.
viii). The authors have not only written more than half
its contents specifically for this edition, but they have
also reorganized the material into a three-part structure:
(a) major language trends in 20th-century language teaching,
(b) alternative approaches and methods, and (c) current
communicative approaches. By devoting one whole part to
communicative language teaching (CLT) and treating the
other approaches and methods as alternatives, the authors
recognize the endurance and vitality of CLT. A host of
methods and approaches, which either consolidated them-
selves or newly emerged during the last 15 years of the
20th century, have been introduced. These are whole language,
multiple intelligences, neurolinguistic programming, the
lexical approach, competency-based language teaching, cooperative
language learning, content-based instruction, and task-based
language teaching.
The chapters in part 1, which remain practically the same
as in the 1986 edition, offer a historical account of language
teaching and of the methods that preceded the cognitive and
communicative movements of the second part of the 20th century.
The authors have done well in preserving two chapters in
this section: chapter 2, which clarifies differences between
method and approach and offers guidelines for the analysis
and comparison of methods, and chapter 4, a classic on the
audiolingual method.
Part 2 is a diverse collection of methods and approaches.
Some of these were once interesting innovations in language
teaching that have now lost their appeal. Others are "sufficiently
distinct" (p. vii) from the communicative approaches
in part 3 to be grouped in this section. Most of the methods
which had appeared in the earlier edition have been considerably
trimmed to reflect their decline in popularity.
Part 3 reflects the powerful impact of the communicative
view of language teaching on methods. Five approaches are
included here: communicative language teaching (the "classical
view," p. 151), the natural approach, cooperative language
learning, content-based instruction, and task- based language
teaching. It is perhaps this part, with its focus on the
major contemporary approaches to language teaching, that
will be of most interest to practicing and prospective teachers.
Several features make this an excellent second edition.
Useful short prefaces precede each of the three constitutive
parts. The same clear format, including sections on underlying
theories of language and learning, design of the approach
or method, and procedures, has been followed in every chapter.
The separate bibliographies for each chapter have been updated,
and many references to easily available ERIC documents have
been added. The book ends with a wonderful new final chapter
on the "post-methods era" (p.244), which predicts
future trends in language teaching and offers critical commentaries
on the notion of method and teachers' personal beliefs.
There is not much room for disagreement with the ideas presented
in this volume. For the most part, the authors have followed
their declared intent to be "objective" (p. ix)
and to avoid personal evaluation of the methods described.
When criticisms are presented, they are usually framed as
the words of the critics. There are two areas, however, where
important criticisms have been withheld or neglected: (a)
the calling into question of what is seen as CLT's predominant
reliance on a mechanistic input-output view of language learning
and communication; and (b) the critique of the assumption
of task-based instruction that tasks can predict the nature
of the input, as well as the failure of task-based instruction
to recognize learners as self-directed and self-motivated
agents in their own learning.
Finally, this reviewer would have preferred an extended
treatment of computer-assisted language teaching. It may
not be a teaching method or an approach in the sense adopted
by the authors, but neither are some of the trends granted
chapter status in this volume (e.g., multiple intelligences,
neurolinguistic programming). Given the increasing presence
of computers in language courses, the impact of this kind
of technology on methods should have been granted more attention.
Notwithstanding the above, as a recapitulation of a century
of language teaching and as a foundation to understand future
methodological developments, this book is a "must have" in
one's professional library.
approaches and methods in language teaching 2nd edition
Reviewed by Roger Barnard
Published in TESOL Quarterly
He concludes:
"Over the years, I have made constant reference
to the 1986 edition- so much so that my copy is now dog-eared.
I heartily recommend the new edition to all who seek clear
and dispassionate information about the wide range of current
approaches and methods to language teaching. Students of
English language teaching, practicing L2 teachers, and
those involved in professional development programs should
read this book".
curriculum development in language teaching
Reviewed by Erwin Tschirner
Herder-Institut, University of Leipzig
Published in The Modern Language Journal, Vol 87, 1 Spring
2003
This book ought to become the vade mecum of a
broad spectrum of language teaching professionals: language
program directors and coordinators; teacher trainers; materials
developers; curriculum officers in schools, universities,
and ministries of education; as well as teachers and students
studying to become teachers or any of the above. It provides
practical and detailed discussions of the processes of curriculum
development in second or foreign language teaching ranging
from needs and situation analyses to the design of courses,
syllabi, and instructional materials and to evaluating teachers,
lessons, materials, and programs.
Apart from the preface, the book comprises nine chapters
that focus on the history of syllabus design and curriculum
development (chapters 1-2), needs analysis and situation
analysis (chapters 3-4) , developing goals and learning outcomes
(chapter 5), course planning and syllabus design (chapter
6), providing for effective teaching (chapter 7), the role
and design of instructional materials (chapter 8), and curriculum
evaluation (chapter 9) .Each chapter provides an exhaustive
treatment of the topic at hand that features many useful
checklists and assumes little or no specialist knowledge.
All technical terms are clearly explained and ample examples
of all essential processes are provided. The chapters are
complemented with a set of discussion questions and activities
followed by a treasure trove of appendixes that contain all
kinds of useful forms: guidelines, questionnaires, checklists,
taxonomies, syllabi, and appraisal forms.
Each chapter is completed by a comprehensive list of references.
Author and subject indexes are provided at the end of the
book.
The first two chapters trace the history of curriculum development
from its beginnings as syllabus design in the first half
of the 20th century to the current concept of a range of
planning and implementation processes involved in developing
or renewing a curriculum. The chapter on needs analysis discusses
the purposes of needs analysis, its users, and features of
its target populations. The chapter then moves on to describe
common procedures for conducting needs analyses and finishes
with a discussion of how best to use the information obtained.
The appendixes include examples of needs analysis projects,
guidelines for designing questionnaires, and two complete
model questionnaires containing from seven to nine pages
each. The chapters on situation analysis and the development
of goals and learning outcomes follow a similar pattern.
The following two chapters on syllabus design and the creation
of conditions for good teaching comprise roughly a third
of the whole book with the greatest number of appendixes,
nine and eight respectively. Some of the topics treated in
the chapter on syllabus design are course rationales, the
description of entry and exit levels, choosing course content,
determining the scope and sequence of a course, and planning
course structure. The chapter on conditions for good teaching
focuses on characteristics of institutions, teachers, and
teaching and learning processes. The appendixes include,
among others, proficiency descriptions for speaking and writing,
a skills syllabus for listening and speaking, a unit from
an ESL text- book, an institutional mission statement, assessment
criteria for teaching practice, checklists for evaluating
lessons, and student and peer appraisal forms of teaching
effectiveness.
The final two chapters on materials design and program evaluation
focus on such issues as evaluating and adapting textbooks;
preparing materials for a program; managing a materials writing
project; and purposes of, issues, and procedures in program
evaluation. Appendixes include guidelines for developing
reading activities, a checklist for textbook selection, a
case study of a materials development project, and examples
of program evaluations.
This book fills a need in the area of foreign language teaching
and learning. It is particularly useful for people responsible
for the development or administration of language programs,
such as department chairs and language program coordinators
at large universities or institutions with fluctuating staff
membership. It is also useful for teachers and teachers-in-training,
who will find much valuable information with respect to improving
the quality of their own teaching through the use of systematic
planning, development, and review practices in all aspects
of their language program from revisiting needs, goals, and
objectives to course and lesson design to textbook selection
and to self- and other-evaluation. In addition, this book
helps policy makers grasp the scope of language program development
or renewal by providing them with detailed descriptions of
procedures and processes needed to establish successful programs
and with clear guidelines on how to evaluate their effectiveness
including the effectiveness of potential program evaluators.
Curriculum Development in Language Teaching belongs
on the shelf of every language professional involved with
curriculum development, materials development, and teacher
development and on the reading lists of graduate and undergraduate
students in foreign language education. Complemented by a
book on methodology and classroom practice, it might also
form the basis of a general methods course offered by ESL
and foreign language departments.
curriculum development in language teaching
Reviewed by Maraget Zeegers
Director of the English Language Centre
at the University of Ballarat, Australia.
Published in the journal English Australia, Vol 19, 2, 2002.
Interest in a book of this kind would normally result from
wanting to see what is current in the field of curriculum
development in language teaching, and to evaluate its use
as a resource for student teachers. It more than adequately
satisfies on both points. It also sets out to promote reflective
practices with its "Discussion Questions and Activities" at
the end of each chapter.
English language curriculum development may be encapsulated
by issues of PPP (Presentation, Practice, Production,), but
the English language teaching situation is more complex than
this implies. Richards recognizes the importance of understanding
the greater dimensions of what it means to be an educator
in this field. Central to his book, in the Cambridge
Language Education series, is the concept of the number,
range, and variety of decisions and choices made in curriculum
development as they reveal themselves when the curriculum
developer adopts an informed stance regarding choices available.
Curriculum development in language teaching, is, then, seen
not as a value-neutral presentation of essential grammar
and/or vocabulary drawn out of systematic observation, but
as a means by which it can lead into educational development
that enters the field of empowerment.
Not only that, the book presumes a need for introduction
to the curriculum developer's language with brief and integrated
explanations of terms used, along with useful examples given
in the Appendices. References at the end of each chapter
rather than at the end of the book serve as resources which
may be plumbed in a context of immediacy as each chapter
is dealt with. The structure of the book, grouping a number
of curriculum-related issues within the whole of the field
itself, presents possibilities for negotiation and compromise
in a contested field peppered with competing interests. In
doing this, Richards allows readers access to a number of
points to current concerns ranging from syllabus and proficiency
descriptors, to effective teaching and evaluation, with a
host of others in between.
Succinct overviews of various histories related to such
features provide a mini-contextual positioning, as it were,
preparing the ground for potentially insightful and informed
reflection as readers engage the materials. Richards constantly
gives specific and relevant instances linked to governments,
students, teachers and other educational stakeholders to
underscore the issues he raises. A series of examples at
various times throughout the book underscores the diversity
of responses that curriculum developers make in the face
of curriculum issues with which they must deal. These are
readily recognizable aspects of practitioners' experience
and serve to keep discussion relevant. The result is an address
to an audience treated as intelligent, concerned, and knowledgeable.
I would recommend this book to colleagues, as I would to
my own students.
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