Last but not least, the above ideas operate as the groundwork to the analysis of two cases:
a. The Egypt case describes the development of standards for English teachers and how they may provide a road map for professional preparation and improved English language skills.
Snow et al. define standards both from the students and teachers’ perspectives respectively. For learners ‘standards are statements that describe what learning should look like and how learning should be provided in order to increase achievement or effectiveness.’ As for teachers, ‘standards describe what teachers need to know and be able to do as they design and deliver instruction and assess student achievement.’ They believe that their main function is to help spot those …show more content…
The Uzbek case provides examples of ways in which their teacher preparation program targeted those needs perceived by both the trainers and the local teachers.
In this second case, Snow et al. argue how important it is to resort to external specialists in the assessment of the current status quo of a teacher training programme at the Institute of English Language Teacher Education in Uzbekistan (IELTE) so as to tackle their emergent language and professional needs later on. Snow et al. report that, on the one hand, ‘IELTE faculty-identified’ needs ranged:
‘[from] fine-tuning the existing teacher preparation curriculum and designing new courses for the 4th year curriculum; preparing for the upcoming accreditation of IELTE by the USUWL administration; revising the entrance exam and other assessment instruments; increasing teachers’ facility with computers; addressing teacher pronunciation and grammar skills; [to] structuring the supervision of the student teaching and senior project …show more content…
explain that the ELSpec-identified needs ranged:
‘[from] fine-tuning teachers’ lesson delivery; addressing language issues in content classes; improving teachers’ pronunciation and academic writing skills; identifying the optimal scope and sequence of courses for the 4-year TESOL curriculum; [to] helping IELTE faculty acquire professional leadership skills.’
Finally, Snow et al. (2006) conclude that
‘teacher preparation in lingua franca settings must be guided by carefully-defined goals. They further reveal the importance of setting in determining these goals since, as Markee (2001:125) reminds [them], the immediate context of language teaching and the sociocultural factors present ultimately account for “Who adopts what, where, when, why, and how?”’
And systematize their views on teacher preparation on a list of relevant issues derived from their findings in both case studies. Furthermore, as a follow-up commentary, they propose a set of questions for future research work in this field, i.e. teacher preparation in lingua franca settings, namely:
a. ‘What does it mean to aim for a global perspective while maintaining local sensibilities?
b. How should teacher educators address the issue of Inner Circle versus Outer Circle varieties of
a. The Egypt case describes the development of standards for English teachers and how they may provide a road map for professional preparation and improved English language skills.
Snow et al. define standards both from the students and teachers’ perspectives respectively. For learners ‘standards are statements that describe what learning should look like and how learning should be provided in order to increase achievement or effectiveness.’ As for teachers, ‘standards describe what teachers need to know and be able to do as they design and deliver instruction and assess student achievement.’ They believe that their main function is to help spot those …show more content…
The Uzbek case provides examples of ways in which their teacher preparation program targeted those needs perceived by both the trainers and the local teachers.
In this second case, Snow et al. argue how important it is to resort to external specialists in the assessment of the current status quo of a teacher training programme at the Institute of English Language Teacher Education in Uzbekistan (IELTE) so as to tackle their emergent language and professional needs later on. Snow et al. report that, on the one hand, ‘IELTE faculty-identified’ needs ranged:
‘[from] fine-tuning the existing teacher preparation curriculum and designing new courses for the 4th year curriculum; preparing for the upcoming accreditation of IELTE by the USUWL administration; revising the entrance exam and other assessment instruments; increasing teachers’ facility with computers; addressing teacher pronunciation and grammar skills; [to] structuring the supervision of the student teaching and senior project …show more content…
explain that the ELSpec-identified needs ranged:
‘[from] fine-tuning teachers’ lesson delivery; addressing language issues in content classes; improving teachers’ pronunciation and academic writing skills; identifying the optimal scope and sequence of courses for the 4-year TESOL curriculum; [to] helping IELTE faculty acquire professional leadership skills.’
Finally, Snow et al. (2006) conclude that
‘teacher preparation in lingua franca settings must be guided by carefully-defined goals. They further reveal the importance of setting in determining these goals since, as Markee (2001:125) reminds [them], the immediate context of language teaching and the sociocultural factors present ultimately account for “Who adopts what, where, when, why, and how?”’
And systematize their views on teacher preparation on a list of relevant issues derived from their findings in both case studies. Furthermore, as a follow-up commentary, they propose a set of questions for future research work in this field, i.e. teacher preparation in lingua franca settings, namely:
a. ‘What does it mean to aim for a global perspective while maintaining local sensibilities?
b. How should teacher educators address the issue of Inner Circle versus Outer Circle varieties of