This volume explores the defining element in the work of language teacher educators: language itself. The book is in two parts. The first part holds up to scrutiny concepts of language that underlie much practice in language teacher education yet too frequently remain under-examined. These include language as social institution, language as verbal practice, language as reflexive practice, language as school subject and language as medium of language learning. The chapters in the second part are written by language teacher educators working in a range of institutional contexts and on a variety of types of program including both long and short courses, both pre-service and in-service courses, and teacher education practice focusing variously on metalinguistic awareness for teachers, language improvement, and classroom communication. The unifying factor is that collectively they illuminate how language teacher educators research their practice and reflect on underlying principles.

This book contains many suggestions for practical work and discussion, and includes an extended case-study.

This casebook is designed to broaden L2 teacher knowledge, thinking, and practice with regard to making language and learning accessible to all students. Language teachers are especially accountable for promoting socially just, inclusive, decolonizing, and multicultural pedagogical practices and curricula; at this critical juncture in history, this book is intended to raise language teachers’ awareness of the importance of critically examining and reflecting on the intersectionality of language education and inclusive pedagogical practices. Language teacher educators can use this text in their courses and workshops to build on and extend theoretical foundations, while making critical practical connections. The 12 cases presented here cover a range of inclusive language teaching and learning issues that practitioners are likely to face in their respective teaching contexts. All the cases are based on real-life dilemmas faced by practitioners in the field and have been informed by discussions with pre-service and in-service student teachers. The cases represent a range of classroom contexts: K–12 ESL/sheltered English immersion, world language, and post-secondary EAP; private, charter, and public schools; and urban and suburban settings. The cases are accompanied by pre- and post-problem sets and in-class discussion questions. This volume applies the case-based pedagogy often used in some fields to that of second language teacher education to encourage pre- and in-service teachers to grapple with the types of dilemmas and decisions teachers confront every day. The cases here are not intended as exemplars of practice to be emulated or illustrations of existing theories; instead, they are problem-based narratives that resist clear-cut answers or solutions and remain open ended to stimulate further investigation and reflection. The goal is to mimic the complexity of the classroom where teachers confront a range of pedagogical and learning challenges, and the ensuing experience requires critical, real-time decisions that demand keen professional discernment.

This text provides a detailed account of current approaches to the education of teachers of second languages. The paperback edition provides a detailed account of current approaches to the education of teachers of second languages. It offers valuable ideas on the observation and supervision of classrooms, on self-evaluation by teachers, and on teaching itself. Its emphasis reflects the shift in orientation from teacher training to teacher education, in which teachers are involved in developing their own theories of teaching, understanding the nature of teacher decision making, and developing strategies for critical self-evaluation. The book is aimed at teachers, teacher educators, and workshop facilitators involved both in pre-service and in-service education of teachers of second and foreign languages.

Current Issues in Second/Foreign Language Teaching and Teacher Development: Research and Practice represents a collection of selected papers from the 17th World Congress of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA), which was held in August 2014 in Brisbane, Australia. The volume comprises 18 chapters presenting current research projects and discussing issues related to second language acquisition, teaching and teacher education in a variety of contexts from around the world. This collection of research papers will be of use to both new and seasoned researchers in the field of applied linguistics. Teacher educators, language teachers and language policy makers will find this volume equally useful as the papers address current issues in language education.

This book introduces a state-of-the-art model for second/foreign language language teacher education ─ Knowing, Analyzing, Recognizing, Doing, and Seeing (KARDS). Its goal is to develop prospective and practicing teachers into strategic thinkers, exploratory researchers, and transformative teachers.

This practical resource book showcases both the theory and practical application for teacher educators in diverse contexts bringing a global Englishes perspective into their teacher education courses, both at pre- and in-service levels. The recent Global Englishes paradigm serves as a promising response to the complexity of identity, interaction, use, and instruction surrounding the English language. It is increasingly important to enhance teachers’ knowledge base—their specialized knowledge, skills, competencies, and commitments—vis-à-vis the changing needs of English Language Teaching. The chapters in the book provide accessible theoretical orientation to different aspects of the Global Englishes paradigm, from instructional materials to language assessment, and are complemented by a range of practical applications that promote teacher development. The volume is recommended as a viable professional development resource for teacher educators who are looking for activities and resources in preparing teachers for diverse teaching contexts, realities, affordances, and constraints.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the epistemological underpinnings of a sociocultural perspective on human learning and addresses in detail what this perspective has to offer the field of second language teacher education.

This collection provides an overview of current issues, debates, and approaches in Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) presented by internationally prominent researchers, educators, and emerging scholars. Chapters address such issues as distance education, non-native English-speaking educators, technology, assessment, standards, and the changing contexts of contemporary language teaching and teacher education.

Embracing a sociocultural perspective on human cognition and employing an array of methodological tools for data collection and analysis, this volume documents the complexities of second language teachers’ professional development in diverse L2 teacher education programs around the world, including Asia, South America, Europe, and North America, and traces that development both over time and within the broader cultural, historical and institutional settings and circumstances of teachers’ work. This systematic examination of teacher professional development illuminates in multiple ways the discursive practices that shape teachers’ knowing, thinking, and doing and provides a window into how alternative mediational means can create opportunities for teachers to move toward more theoretically and pedagogically sound instructional practices within the settings and circumstances of their work. The chapters represent both native and nonnative English speaking pre-service and in-service L2 teachers at all levels from K-12 through higher education, and examine significant challenges that are present in L2 teacher education programs.