English Medium Teachers Research Articles

English-medium teachers as policymakers through critical translingual literacy instruction

AbstractMany classrooms include students who use multiple languages other than the school-sanctioned or teacher’s language(s). This study asks how English-medium teachers develop language ideologies that support critical translingual literacy instruction. Using a collective case study, we ask how five English-medium teachers in a U.S. graduate course name and act on their language ideologies through literacy instruction. The cross-case analysis indicates the teachers’ language ideologies viewed students’ L1 use as a source of pride/identity and as a way to promote equity and social justice. These ideologies supported critical translingual literacy instruction through classroom actions (incorporating new texts, initiating family engagement, and positioning students as experts). Implications illustrate the need for literacy teacher education to focus on language ideologies, using literacy instruction as a powerful vehicle to effect language policy. Thus, focusing on critical translingual literacy instruction can support English-medium teachers to act as both literacy and language policymakers.

Investigating the Challenges of Utilizing English as a Medium of Instruction in Teaching English as a Second Language Classroom

The research investigates by providing an overview of the concept of Language Policy and Planning (Status and Acquisition planning) in related to using English as a Medium of Instruction (EMOI) in English as a Second Language (ESL) teaching context. The main aim of the research is to identify the challenges faced by ESL teachers in using EMOI and identifying strategies to minimize the challenges. The research question focuses on what are the Challenges faced by ESL teachers in using EMOI within the classroom and what are the strategies to minimize the challenges. The research adopted a quantitative research design. In accumulating data, a questionnaire was conducted and distributed to randomly select 29 ESL teachers in the Kurunegala Educational Zone. The core of the study reveals that the foremost challenges that English medium teachers encountered were the challenges in formulating and organizing effective classrooms and explaining lesson contents and subject matters, due to no demonstration or modeling of the instructions and further it is investigated that the challenges have a direct impact on the students’ performance too. It is manifested that using EMOI has been a great challenge for teachers in the academic performance of students as well. The inability to have a face-to-face discussion due to limited time frame can be pinpointed as a major limitation in the research study. The study recommended that the government be responsible for setting and monitoring the implementation of education reforms in schools with the help of implementers, particularly teachers.

Code-switching in Bilingual Classroom in Sri Lanka: Differing Perception of Teacher and Students

Code-switching occurs in multilingual cultures where citizens have the right and ability to speak two or more languages. This phenomenon can frequently be seen in the English Medium classrooms in the Sri Lankan state school where English and Sinhala are used interchangeably for classroom practices. This article aims to examine subject teachers’ and students’ perspectives towards the use of English and Sinhala for instruction and learning in English medium classrooms in state schools in Sri Lanka, thus identifying how code-switching impacts on students’ performance. The study used mixed method for data collection. Five English medium teachers of three schools in the Hambantota district in Sri Lanka were interviewed and forty students who are learning the subjects in English medium in five schools were distributed questionnaires. The study used random sampling method for selecting the participants and Thematic Analysis (TA) for identifying, organizing, and interpreting data. One key finding of this study is that most teachers employ code-switching in bilingual classrooms in order to make the students familiarize with the subject matter. Although the majority of students are willing to speak English, as a medium of instruction in bilingual classrooms, students need their teachers to explain the lessons in both media. Although code-switching can enhance a student’s knowledge of a specific subject it does not make the student a better speaker or a writer. The current study has implications for bilingual teachers, students, syllabus, and material designers.

Defining and negotiating translingual awareness in “monolingual” teacher education

As a challenge to social and material inequities in the opportunities and outcomes of U.S. public schooling for students of color, more teachers are being prepared to teach with culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Paris, 2012). As teachers in mainstream, English-medium classrooms encounter more linguistic diversity, they must also be prepared to teach with linguistically sustaining pedagogies, such as translanguaging pedagogy (García, Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017). The objective of the present study is to explore one example of how translanguaging pedagogy can be integrated into an English-medium teacher education curriculum. This paper analyzes a case study of effective instruction, student learning, and reflective practice in teacher education, examining how undergraduate Education Studies majors in a linguistic justice course define translanguaging as a pedagogical framework and negotiate it in conversation with monolingual orientations. Through thematic analysis of qualitative data, including student work, course artifacts, and reflection surveys, this study demonstrates how a group of future teachers developed translingual awareness through specific course activities. This study ultimately highlights both the challenges and successes of promoting translingual awareness in traditionally “monolingual” teacher education, and provides concrete steps towards preparing all teachers to teach with culturally and linguistically sustaining pedagogies.

Do years of teaching experience make a difference for teachers working in Abu Dhabi government schools?

In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, subject teachers of English medium in government schools are recruited from overseas and have a wide range of years of teaching experience. Research is divided into whether or not years of experience necessarily translates into a positive correlation with student-centred classroom practice such as the use of hands-on learning and inquiry-based approaches to learning in science. Abu Dhabi is in the process of dramatically overturning its education system, resulting in at times challenging teaching environments. Teachers working here are in the unique situation of being part of a rapidly developing education system and face similar challenges regardless of their years of experiences. This study surveys 249 expatriate English medium teachers to explore how their number of years of experience varies with their classroom practice, teaching beliefs and confidence levels. Although teachers with more experience were far more likely to express confidence in their own abilities (self-efficacies), we found the classroom practices of those between five and ten years of experience aligned most closely with inquiry-based, student-centred learning approaches applied in Abu Dhabi classrooms.
 Keywords: Years’ teaching experience, classroom practice, reform.

A study of the self financed english medium teacher education institutions of Gujarat

Education is one of the primary factors that takes a country to the ranks of developed nations. It also forms the foundation for growth and prosperity of the people and hence is one of the most important aspirations of developing countries. In today's time the most important resource is no longer land, labour and capital only, but the knowledge. Nothing survives in modern society without knowledge. It is only through learning that one acquires knowledge. Education is a complex term but if we narrow down the meaning it remains as “an interaction between the teacher and the taught”. It is education that fits the pupil to environment. The quality of school education is the outcome of the quality of teachers and the teacher education system. Teachers are the most critical agents of change, responsible for growth, development and progress of societies and communities. They prepare the next generations, and the level of their commitment, devotion and dedication determines the future society. The role of teachers is changing in current times, characterized by globalization and liberalization and vast expansion of new information and communication technologies. It is essential that all issues critical to preparation of competent, committed and willing-to-perform teachers be examined in depth, by all stakeholders in the field of education. This study presents the status of Self-financed English medium Teacher Education Institutions of Gujarat with reference to various components.

Placing elementary-school teachers at the vanguard of modernisation: language use and emergent identity among English-medium teachers in the UAE

ABSTRACTIn the midst of immense societal change, this paper examines the complex forces at work in novice Arabic-speaking teachers’ choice of language in English-medium primary classrooms in the United Arab Emirates. Thirty newly-graduated Emirati English language teachers, working in kindergarten or primary government schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, participated in a survey that investigated language choice in the classroom. Data was collected using self-reported quantitative and qualitative methods, summarised and analysed. Main findings identified a pragmatic willingness and enthusiasm among participants to use their first language in second language English classrooms not found in previous studies. The researchers also uncovered evidence of an emerging bilingual professional identity that sets participants apart from their monolingual colleagues. Pedagogical implications for language teachers, administrators, teacher trainers, and educational policy-makers are presented and discussed.

Conceptualizing interculturality in multicultural teacher education

ABSTRACTThis study examined student teachers’ and teacher educators’ discourses about multiculturalism in an international English-medium teacher education programme in Finland. An analysis with discursive pragmatics of semi-structured interviews revealed four positioning strategies for initial responses to multiculturalism: stereotyping and othering, distancing oneself, verbalizing experiences and downplaying multiculturalism. Although the same strategies were present to a large extent among both student teachers and teacher educators, these have different implications. The teacher educators’ lack of a shared critical understanding of interculturality created uncertainty when considering multicultural issues and can lead to a situation where the coherence between the objectives, implementation methods and assessment in the program suffers. The student teachers had difficulties transferring their immediate experiences of multiculturalism into reflections of how these may contribute to their future work as teachers. Student teachers seemed dependent on teacher educators’ support in recognizing challenges with diversities as learning opportunities. Teacher educators should be provided with opportunities to compare and contest their conceptions of interculturality so that they would be able to guide student teachers in reflecting on theirs.

Problems Faced by Preschool Teachers When Using Teaching Aids in the Teaching Learning Process

This study attempts to find out the problems faced by the preschool teachers when making and using teaching aids in the process of teaching and learning, and to identify their perception on using teaching aids. The study employed quantitative method of research. The sample of this study comprised of 60 Sinhala medium preschool teachers and 40 English medium teachers who have registered in the Diploma in Early Childhood & Primary Education programme in the Colombo regional center, at OUSL. The study employed the survey research design. A questionnaire was adopted to collect data. The data were analyzed using simple quantitative statistical methods. The study revealed that the teacher have precise perception of teaching aids and its functions. However they face problems such as lack of time for making teaching aids for each lesson, lack of training on using electronic teaching aids, lack of knowledge on relating teaching aids to the lesson in the teaching learning process. Thus, the study recommends enhancing more emphasis by providing awareness, knowledge on using teaching aids effectively among preschool teachers. KEYWORDS: Teaching Aids, Preschool teachers, Teaching learning process, Perception, Problem faced by preschool teacher

“To Get a Foot in the Door”: New Host Country Educated Immigrant Teachers’ Perceptions of Their Employability in Finland

This article sets out to find factors that promote or hinder employment opportunities for immigrant teachers educated in the host country. The data were collected through online questionnaires and focus group discussions among two student cohorts. After a year of graduating from English-medium teacher education in Finland, the employment situations ranged from full-time permanent teaching posts in Finland to unemployment. Although the majority was successful in securing at least some work, no one was teaching in mainstream classrooms in a Finnish-medium school. The scope of teaching qualifications and references from substitutions were considered factors for employment. Lacking “strong enough” Finnish skills or native English skills was experienced as the main hindrances to employment. Although generally the participants did not perceive their nationality a hindrance to employment, ‘nativeness’ in certain languages seemed to play a role. Being a native English (or sometimes another major language) speaker promoted job opportunities in international schools.

Reading Aloud as a Technique for Developing Teachers’ Awareness of English Phonology

Reading Aloud as a Technique for Developing Teachers’ Awareness of English Phonology

Challenges presented to personal theories, beliefs and practices of play in Abu Dhabi kindergartens: the English Medium teacher perspective

Abu Dhabi Education Council’s new school model recognizes the value of play, although anecdotal evidence suggests that there are challenges to play in the preschool context. This article reports on challenges from the English Medium teacher perspective. Findings show that challenges are related to: (a) children meeting teacher expectations for play which may be limited by: real-life exposure, the nanny’s role, a desert climate for outdoor play, overuse of technology; and English as an additional language; (b) acquiring adequate resources for play, including open-access to Internet sites, meaning teachers have to use their own money to provide resources for play; (c) establishing boundaries and managing behaviour, especially for boys; (d) working with conflicting time pressures caused by academic performance benchmarking, accountability and workload; and (e) working with diversity, including meeting parental expectations, collaborating with colleagues and understanding the cultural and linguistic background of children. Recommendations to lessen the challenges of nurturing appropriate play experiences are made within the context of the findings.

Developing a Portfolio of Intercultural Competences in Teacher Education: The Case of a Finnish International Programme

The concept of intercultural competences is contested, although it is omnipresent in varied fields of research and practice. Its assessment is also questioned: how can it be done? By whom? When? Should assessment be summative or formative—or both? In order to be able to assess anything, learning and teaching objectives must be clear, coherent, and consistent. Yet intercultural competences are often polysemic and rely heavily on problematic concepts such as (national) culture and identity. Here we revisit the concept and reflect on its use for formative assessment within international teacher education. Having developed a Portfolio of Intercultural Competences (PIC) to be used by student teachers in an English-medium teacher education programme in Finland, we explain how the portfolio came to life (theory, methods) and how it can help develop students' intercultural competences. We report on three components of the portfolio: the students' reflexive and critical essays on five stories of meaningful and/or memorable intercultural encounters written during a course on multicultural education, and focus group discussions amongst the students. We analyze the data with discursive pragmatics, a linguistic method which looks deeper into participants' discourses.

Challenges faced by Emirati novice teachers

The first years of teaching are well known as being the most challenging of new graduates' careers, corresponding to the highest attrition rates. Numbers of novice teachers leaving the profession during the first three years are universally high. The challenges faced by novice teachers vary from struggling with classroom management issues to coping with lesson planning, to name just two. In Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, novice Emirati teachers face additional dimensions to these challenges, in that they are joining public schools which are undergoing substantial educational reform. They are also in the minority as Emirati English medium teachers, working among mainly Western teaching staff. We interviewed a group of Emirati primary school teachers during their first year of teaching. It was found that they had faced multiple challenges, some of which are universal among novice teachers, such as managing student behavior and learning to cope with their new workload. However, they also faced additional unique challenges, such as navigating inter-cultural relationships with colleagues, and balancing their new working lives with their demanding home lives.

Knowledge, attitude and practices related to oral health among English and Telugu medium school teachers in two districts of Andhra Pradesh, India: A comparative study

Background: A teacher with adequate oral health knowledge, positive attitude toward dental health can always play an important role in health education of school children and be a role model for children, lay people and the community at large. Objective: To assess and compare the oral health knowledge among English and Telugu medium primary school teachers in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts of Andhra Pradesh. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted among 300 primary school teachers selected from two districts of Andhra Pradesh. A combination of cluster and systematic random sampling technique was employed for the selection of study participants. The data on oral health knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) were collected by two investigators using a structured questionnaire. The data were entered onto a personal computer, and statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 20. Results: A total of 150 school teachers each from English (62 males and 88 females) and Telugu medium (62 males and 88 females) schools participated in the study. By considering the oral hygiene aid used and frequency of brushing, it was evident that the oral hygiene practices were better among English medium teachers compared to their counterparts in Telugu medium. The teachers in English medium had favorable attitudes toward dental health than teachers in Telugu medium. Conclusion: The study found English medium teachers to be having better oral hygiene practices, more frequent dental visits, and better awareness about first aid in dentistry. However, the lack of preventive attitude, lack of motivation to be role models for children in oral health maintenance, reflect that there is a tremendous need to improve the oral health KAP among schoo teachers.

From Teacher Preparation to Classroom Practice: Perceptions of Novice Emirati Teachers

The teacher-training college where this research took place prepares Emirati primary school teachers to teach the subjects of English, Mathematics and Science through the medium of English. The college courses taught have been aligned to the 'New School Model' developed by the Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) as part of the overall education reform. The current group of graduates is unique in that most English Medium Teachers in the past have been recruited from overseas to teach these subjects. They were also the first graduates to have been specifically trained to teach these subjects in English throughout their entire course of study. Therefore, it is critically important to review the effectiveness of their college preparation. This study explores their journey in their first year as novice teachers, looking at the ways in which they found their teacher preparation useful and relevant, and the ways in which they felt it was lacking. Findings from survey and interview data identify the areas where the novice teachers suggest how preparation can be improved, and give suggestions for ways in which the gap between theory in college and practice in school can be narrowed to become more effective.