Teacher-learners’ Voices: Not the Same Old Song

Abstract

Abstract This paper discusses the theme of leaners’ voices from the perspective of a methodology course that promotes a focus on reflective teaching. The learners in this course are pre-service and in-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) trainees enrolled in a teacher education programme. The methodology course encourages the teacher-learners to use a reflective approach to raise their awareness of their beliefs about language learning and teaching and develop an understanding of how these beliefs are likely to influence the teaching approaches they adopt in the classroom. A core assignment in this course is a learning journal in which teacher-learners chart their path as emergent EFL professionals. While the entire course lays great store by having the teacher-learners take ownership of their learning and letting their voice be heard, it is perhaps via the medium of the learning journal that their voices are revealed most clearly. The journal voices are rich in texture as the teacher-learners reflect on their prior language learning; their present engagement in a professional development programme and their projections of themselves as future EFL professionals. The teacher-learners discover, often to their surprise, that journaling and reflection lead them to rich insights about their personal and professional selves.