Teaching in Challenging Circumstances

Abstract

Teaching in Challenging Circumstances is the latest publication in the Cambridge Handbooks for Language Teachers series, and according to the blurb, is relevant to practising language teachers working in formal, informal, or non-formal (areas with refugees or displaced people) contexts in the developing or developed world. This is a broad audience and I did find myself asking how one book could cater to such a diverse range of circumstances, and why all of these are referred to as ‘challenging’. In the Introduction to the book, Sowton provides some clarification for this, with a list of factors (admittedly, not comprehensive) that, when combined, determine how challenging a context may be. Each of the twelve factors mentioned is said to directly influence the effectiveness of the institution or teacher. While some may reflect educational contexts in the developed world, most will be more immediately associated with developing countries: insufficient textbooks and learning...