Contextual factors, methodological principles and teacher cognition
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Date
2014-12
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Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu
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Abstract
Teachers in various contexts worldwide are sometimes unfairly criticized for not putting teaching methods developed for the well-resourced classrooms of Western
countries into practice. Factors such as the teachers’ “misconceptualizations” of
“imported” methods, including Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), are often
blamed, though the challenges imposed by “contextual demands,” such as large
class sizes, are sometimes recognised. Meanwhile, there is sometimes an assumption that in the West there is a happy congruence between policy supportive of CLT
or Task-Based Language Teaching, teacher education and supervision, and curriculum design with teachers’ cognitions and their practices. Our case study of three EFL
teachers at a UK adult education college is motivated by a wish to question this assumption. Findings from observational and interview data suggest the practices of
two teachers were largely consistent with their methodological principles, relating
to stronger and weaker forms of CLT respectively, as well as to more general educa-
tional principles, such as a concern for learners; the supportive environment
seemed to help. The third teacher appeared to put “difficult” contextual factors, for
example, tests, ahead of methodological principles without, however, obviously
benefiting. Implications highlight the important role of teacher cognition research
in challenging cultural assumption
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Keywords
Communicative Language Teaching, teacher cognition, methodolog- ical principles, contextual factors, othering
Citation
Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2014, vol. 4, no. 4, p.693-718