英语教学法选读33：教师教育的本质

本文转载自《Professional Development for Language Teachers-Strategies for Teacher Learning(2005)》，作者

Jack C. Richards (SEAMEO Regional Language Centre)

Thomas S. C. Farrell (Brock University)

注释：武太白

The nature of teacher education

This book is about how teachers can continue with their professional development as language teachers once their period of formal training is over. It also examines how supervisors and administrators can provide opportunities 机会 for such development to take place. The need for ongoing teacher education 教师继续教育 has been a recurring (appearing again and again) theme in language teaching circles in recent years and has been given renewed focus 重新受到重视 as a result of the emergence of teacher-led initiatives 教师主导的努力 such as action research, reflective teaching 反思教学, and team teaching. Opportunities for in-service training 在职培训 are crucial to the long-term development of teachers as well as for the long-term success of the programs in which they work. The need for ongoing renewal 更新 of professional skills and knowledge is not a reflection of inadequate training 并非师范教育不力的反映 but simply a response to the fact that not everything teachers need to know can be provided at preservice level, as well as the fact that the knowledge base of teaching constantly changes. The following vignette （小插画，此处指案例） is an example that shows the approach a teacher in Korea is taking to manage his own professional development.

Vignette

After teaching in Asia for 2 years without any qualifications and no teaching attributes 教学能力 beyond rough reflection 粗略反思 (why didn’t that lesson work?), I did the RSA CTEFLA in England (I’m an American). The course was frustrating 令人沮丧 because so much of what was taught seemed Eurocentric 所教的大部分东西都是欧洲风, with little relevance 不怎么相关 to teaching EFL in Asia. But it gave me tools and reference points for class reflection, and started me off with independent reading. Seven years later, I have begun a master’s course in teaching foreign languages. It was the intervening time, however, that provided my principal opportunities for professional development. I am an active member of several TEFL societies: Attending conference sessions and reading newsletters and journals provides insights into the actions and thoughts of my contemporaries. I read professional materials regularly, and write book reviews on a monthly basis. Although I sometimes don’t study these as deeply as a graduate student would, the presentation of new ideas and the opportunity to balance them against conference presentations, newsletter articles, and regular chats with my colleagues allow theory and practice to find meaning in my own lesson planning. On the other hand, most of the planned staff development sessions I have attended have been of little relevance to the classroom. I would do better to use this time to reflect more carefully on the lessons of the past week. My aim for the next few months is to get in the habit of keeping a reflective journal 反思日志, and reviewing and analyzing those entries every month or two. Unfortunately, although there have been many papers arguing the merits of reflective journals, there is little to teach how to analyze them. I have more research to do. (Robert Dickey)

Reflection

What are your plans for your professional development in the next few years?

What kinds of organized staff-development activities have you found most useful?

As this example illustrates, teachers have different needs at different times during their careers, and the needs of the schools and institutions 机构 in which they work also change over time. The pressure for teachers to update their knowledge in areas such as curriculum trends 课程趋势, second language acquisition research 二语习得研究, composition theory and practice, technology, or assessment is intense 压力集中, and it is the school and the classroom that provide a major source for further professional development.

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