Secondary English Language Teachers Research Articles

Do the language errors of ESL teachers affect their learners?

At the University of South Africa (Unisa), a large, open and distance education university in South Africa, the majority of the practising teachers who enrolled as students (henceforth referred to as teacher students) for the practical component of the Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE): Inclusive Education (Learning Difficulties) for the year 2008 lacked English proficiency. Because these students’ primary language is not English, they found it difficult to master this course, as reflected by the low throughput rate of 44 per cent in 2008. The question arose: Does poor proficiency in English of English second-language (ESL) teacher students influence ESL learners’ progress during learner support lessons taught by teacher students as part of their teaching practice for the ACE: Inclusive Education (Learning Difficulties)? In an attempt to answer this question, we report on typical errors made by the learners and the teacher students and similarities between teacher errors and learner errors, against the background of a literature overview which includes the relationship between input and output and prominent theories of second-language acquisition. Departing from a phenomenological/interpretive paradigm, a qualitative analysis of the teacher students’ portfolios was undertaken (Hussey & Hussey, 1997:54). The document analysis was done by means of error analysis of the teacher-student portfolios (which included ESL learner support lessons and ESL learner evidence) that were submitted by the teacher students to Unisa by 1 September 2008. The results of this study are significant because it alerts academia to the fact that qualified practising ESL teachers are not necessarily proficient in English and that this may have an effect on the ESL learner’s ability to acquire English proficiency. However, it was pointed out that several other contributing factors may exist and that further in-depth research is required. Nevertheless, a re-evaluation of teaching methodologies and the upgrading of teacher-students’ levels of cognitive academic language skills are required as a matter of urgency.

Learning, teaching, and constructing identities: ESL pre-service teacher experiences during a short-term international experience programme

Short-term international experience programmes are a common element of English second language (ESL) teacher education in many countries. This study problematizes the belief that such programmes necessarily result in beneficial changes in pre-service teachers thinking about themselves as teachers – their beliefs, habits, and values – by exploring the experiences of eight pre-service ESL teachers from Hong Kong as they undertook a short-term international experience programme in Australia. Drawing on a theory of identity construction, the findings suggest that identity conflicts impacted how the student teachers experienced this programme as they struggled to reconcile past, present, and future trajectories of teacher identity. In particular, the student teachers constructed rigid divisions between different types of teachers and teaching they experienced at home and abroad. These divisions were reflected in antagonistic relations between the types of English language teachers and teaching they aligned their own teaching activities and practices with and the teacher identities that they perceived to be available to them within the Hong Kong education system. Implications for addressing such identity conflicts throughout international experience programmes are considered and implications for future research are discussed.

The impact of teachers’ limited English proficiency on English second language learners in South African schools

The importance of the role of language in teacher education programmes and in children’s learning is crucial. This study focuses on the use of English as the language of learning and teaching and its impact on the language development of English second language (ESL) student teachers and ESL learners. Against the background of major theories in second language (L2) acquisition and learning, this topic is contextualized within the South African education system. An empirical inquiry was carried out in which portfolios (evidence of practical teaching including lesson plans and learners’ work) submitted by final year student teachers enrolled at a large distance teaching university for the Advanced Certificate in Education: Inclusive Education were scrutinised. A comparison of teacher and learner written errors was made. Based on the findings, a questionnaire was designed to determine the extent of the impact of teachers’ limited English proficiency on learners’ English proficiency. The findings of the questionnaire responses are presented. Recommendations are made on how student teachers can improve their teaching practice to ensure quality ESL teacher input and ESL learner performance. Keywords: English second language; input; learners; limited English proficiency; student teachers

The tangled web

This study explores the notion of plagiarism and the Internet from 11 English as Second Language (ESL) teachers and 186 first-year ESL students at South-Coast University in Melbourne, Australia. Data collection was by a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, and coded using SPSS and N*Vivo software to ascertain trends in response. The most significant difference in response related to the concept of the Internet as copyrightable space. ESL teachers in this study regarded cyberspace as a limitless environment for ‘cut and paste’ plagiarism in students’ academic writing, whereas ESL students considered the Internet a ‘free zone’ and not governed by legal proprietary rights. These conflicting views, it is suggested, relate to differing notions of authorship and attribution: the Romantic notion protected by legal theory and sanctions versus literary theory and techno-literacy notions of authorship. This research highlights the need to reformulate plagiarism policies in light of global and technological perspectives of authorship and attribution of text.

An analysis of the extent to which English Second Language teacher educators are implementing learner-centred teaching and learning : a case study

The primary learning environment for undergraduate students, the fairly passive lecture-discussion format where teacher educators talk and most students listen, is contrary to almost every principle of an optimal student learning setting. The current view in higher education is that teacher educators need to focus on student learning rather than on teaching. One of the challenges in moving a university, and in this case specifically a Faculty of Education Sciences, toward learner-centredness is to help teacher educators understand what learnercentredness means and to help them overcome implementation barriers. The purpose in this article was to a) determine the nature and scope of English Second Language (ESL) teacher educators' tasks at a tertiary institution, b) determine the extent to which ESL teacher educators are implementing a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning, c) identify the factors, if any, that impede the transition to a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning, and d) provide recommendations to facilitate the implementation of a learner-centred approach to teaching and learning within a faculty of education sciences. South African Journal of Education Vol.24(4) 2004: 295-300

Implementing Cooperative Learning for Language Minority Students

Abstract This study analyzed the relationships between variables affecting the degree to which cooperative learning (CL) was implemented by English as second language (ESL) and bilingual education teachers. Three sets of variables were investigated: (a) teacher beliefs about the acquisition of knowledge, teacher role, and second language instruction, (b) teacher attitudes about CL, and (c) teacher perceptions of constraints and opportunities of their school environment. Subjects were 227 ESL and bilingual teachers (K-12) who elected to respond to a questionnaire of 87 items. The dependent variable, frequency of CL implementation, was based on teachers' estimations of the percent of their teaching time used for CL instruction. A hierarchical discriminant function analysis predicted membership in one of three groups; HI, MID-RANGE, and LO users. There was a statistically significant discrimination among the three groups on the basis of the 28 variables included in the analysis. The largest percentage of the variables was a subset of the Interpretive/Transmissive Belief Scale. Second in importance were variables representing external constraints and opportunities, while variables representing teachers' attitudes towards CL ranked third. Implications regarding ways to encourage more use of CL in ESL and bilingual classrooms are gleaned from these results.