J. Montoya-López, Ayda Vanessa Mosquera-Andrade, Oscar Alberto Peláez-Henao
This narrative inquiry study aims to unveil the incorporation of policy agency within the construction of teacher identity of pre-service teachers in their academic practicums. Drawing on a critical-sociocultural approach to narrative inquiry, language policy, and teacher identity, the narratives of five students of an English teaching program in Medellin, Colombia, were examined. Their reflections and decision making on foreign language policies regulating their pedagogical practices at various schools show their social and critical awareness. Teaching represents a high moral load for them as they embrace a humanistic perspective. However, their narratives also pose challenges to language teaching programs in helping pre-service teachers to build micropolitical agency supported on solid theoretical knowledge to participate in policymaking. On the one hand, their narrations of the policy appropriation process they undertook show their frustration and disappointment in trying to participate when policy structures and other policy arbiters were close to them. On the other hand, when policy structures and arbiters openly allowed their policy participation, their actions and reflections focused on methodological concerns but rarely addressed social or critical awareness regarding curriculum design and development. Therefore, supporting pre-service teachers in strengthening their identities with solid theoretical constructs should be a priority because they will build micropolitical agency to overcome political tensions and negotiate their policy participation.
{"title":"Inquiring pre-service teachers’ narratives on language policy and identity during their practicum.","authors":"J. Montoya-López, Ayda Vanessa Mosquera-Andrade, Oscar Alberto Peláez-Henao","doi":"10.19183/how.27.2.544","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.2.544","url":null,"abstract":"This narrative inquiry study aims to unveil the incorporation of policy agency within the construction of teacher identity of pre-service teachers in their academic practicums. Drawing on a critical-sociocultural approach to narrative inquiry, language policy, and teacher identity, the narratives of five students of an English teaching program in Medellin, Colombia, were examined. Their reflections and decision making on foreign language policies regulating their pedagogical practices at various schools show their social and critical awareness. Teaching represents a high moral load for them as they embrace a humanistic perspective. However, their narratives also pose challenges to language teaching programs in helping pre-service teachers to build micropolitical agency supported on solid theoretical knowledge to participate in policymaking. On the one hand, their narrations of the policy appropriation process they undertook show their frustration and disappointment in trying to participate when policy structures and other policy arbiters were close to them. On the other hand, when policy structures and arbiters openly allowed their policy participation, their actions and reflections focused on methodological concerns but rarely addressed social or critical awareness regarding curriculum design and development. Therefore, supporting pre-service teachers in strengthening their identities with solid theoretical constructs should be a priority because they will build micropolitical agency to overcome political tensions and negotiate their policy participation.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49191394","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Large-scale language testing uses statistical information to account for the quality of an assessment system. In this reflection article, I explain how basic statistics can be used meaningfully in the context of classroom language assessment. The paper explores a series of statistical calculations that can be used to examine test scores and assessment decisions in the language classroom. Therefore, interpretations for criterion-referenced assessment underlie the paper. Finally, I discuss limitations and include recommendations for teachers to use statistics.
{"title":"Statistics for Classroom Language Assessment: Using Numbers Meaningfully","authors":"Frank Giraldo","doi":"10.19183/how.27.2.541","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.2.541","url":null,"abstract":"Large-scale language testing uses statistical information to account for the quality of an assessment system. In this reflection article, I explain how basic statistics can be used meaningfully in the context of classroom language assessment. The paper explores a series of statistical calculations that can be used to examine test scores and assessment decisions in the language classroom. Therefore, interpretations for criterion-referenced assessment underlie the paper. Finally, I discuss limitations and include recommendations for teachers to use statistics.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46893621","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
In this reflective paper, we review the currently-used word classification system proposed by linguist Paul Nation (2013, 2015) and the position of the academic vocabulary in this system. Different lexical layers in this system are explained as well as the underlying assumptions. Then, taking a critical position, we raise a number of criticisms against three different aspects of Nation’s classification. The first criticism involves the fact that the system has sacrificed function for form in developing the lexical layers. The second focuses on the problem of equating ‘academic words’ with Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) and ‘high-frequency words’ with West’s (1953) General Service List (GSL). Finally, the system is criticized for the lack of an independent lexical layer for discipline-specific academic vocabulary by ignoring disciplinary variation at the level of academic words. The critical points raised in the paper can be useful for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) materials developers, teachers, test developers, and syllabus/curriculum designers.
{"title":"A Critical Review of the Word Classification System","authors":"Razieh Gholaminejad","doi":"10.19183/how.27.2.554","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.2.554","url":null,"abstract":"In this reflective paper, we review the currently-used word classification system proposed by linguist Paul Nation (2013, 2015) and the position of the academic vocabulary in this system. Different lexical layers in this system are explained as well as the underlying assumptions. Then, taking a critical position, we raise a number of criticisms against three different aspects of Nation’s classification. The first criticism involves the fact that the system has sacrificed function for form in developing the lexical layers. The second focuses on the problem of equating ‘academic words’ with Coxhead’s (2000) Academic Word List (AWL) and ‘high-frequency words’ with West’s (1953) General Service List (GSL). Finally, the system is criticized for the lack of an independent lexical layer for discipline-specific academic vocabulary by ignoring disciplinary variation at the level of academic words. The critical points raised in the paper can be useful for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) materials developers, teachers, test developers, and syllabus/curriculum designers.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44490506","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Little international research exists on EFL (English as a Foreign Language) student teachers regarding transgender identity and non-normative corporalities. Similarly, few studies in Colombia have investigated the concept of teacher identity of transgender EFL student teachers to understand this dimension of identity. This study explores the transgender/blind identity of an EFL student teacher. The study took on identity as multiple and fluid to understand how transgender identity serves a lens to shape the process of becoming a teacher. Findings suggest that transgender identity is made from either experiences that modify or re-construct the self. The study revealed that the notion of gender is contested when the idea of transgender works as a personal mechanism to question the existing normativity of one’s own body and the self. Identity is then presented as a series of choices and performances situated in time that are validated in the transgender and blind condition.
{"title":"Non-normative corporalities and transgender identity in English as a Foreign Language student teachers","authors":"Diego F. Ubaque-Casallas","doi":"10.19183/how.27.2.548","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.2.548","url":null,"abstract":"Little international research exists on EFL (English as a Foreign Language) student teachers regarding transgender identity and non-normative corporalities. Similarly, few studies in Colombia have investigated the concept of teacher identity of transgender EFL student teachers to understand this dimension of identity. This study explores the transgender/blind identity of an EFL student teacher. The study took on identity as multiple and fluid to understand how transgender identity serves a lens to shape the process of becoming a teacher. Findings suggest that transgender identity is made from either experiences that modify or re-construct the self. The study revealed that the notion of gender is contested when the idea of transgender works as a personal mechanism to question the existing normativity of one’s own body and the self. Identity is then presented as a series of choices and performances situated in time that are validated in the transgender and blind condition.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49188194","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper deals with research on inclusion concentrating on the pedagogical implications derived from a qualitative case study that looked into three hard-of-hearing (HHs) students’ perspectives and retrospectives on their schooled EFL learning. Data came from narratives gathered in autobiographical writings and interviews. Although there is a good body of literature on pedagogy in terms of strategies for dealing with HHs, few works have counted on the student’s perspectives. The authors’ insights, one of them being hard-of-hearing, call for truly inclusive policies and practices that address the categories developed in this case study, namely: 1. Deafness separates HHs from people. 2. Hearing aids are not like glasses, and 3. An exemption is not inclusion. The authors feel that the recommendations made are valid for learners with or without disabilities.
{"title":"Hard-of-Hearing Individuals’ narratives of Inclusion and Exclusion about their schooled EFL learning","authors":"Rigoberto Castillo, L. S. Florez-Martelo","doi":"10.19183/how.27.2.569","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.2.569","url":null,"abstract":"This paper deals with research on inclusion concentrating on the pedagogical implications derived from a qualitative case study that looked into three hard-of-hearing (HHs) students’ perspectives and retrospectives on their schooled EFL learning. Data came from narratives gathered in autobiographical writings and interviews. Although there is a good body of literature on pedagogy in terms of strategies for dealing with HHs, few works have counted on the student’s perspectives. The authors’ insights, one of them being hard-of-hearing, call for truly inclusive policies and practices that address the categories developed in this case study, namely: 1. Deafness separates HHs from people. 2. Hearing aids are not like glasses, and 3. An exemption is not inclusion. The authors feel that the recommendations made are valid for learners with or without disabilities.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45200422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article presents a project that explored the effectiveness of intensive reading to enhance reading comprehension with a group of university students in Pasto, Colombia. At the initial stage, a diagnostic test, field notes, and three questionnaires allowed the identification of the students’ needs. During the intervention stage, a set of workshops and reading tests were implemented to reveal the impact of the reading comprehension strategies. In the evaluation stage, four instruments (reading tests, teacher’s journal, students’ questionnaires and pre- and post-tests) were used to collect the students’ opinions and state the results. At the end, findings show that the reading comprehension strategies improved students’ comprehension because it helped them tackle the problems they had before the intervention stage.
{"title":"Enhancing Reading Comprehension through an Intensive Reading Approach","authors":"Andrés Insuasty Cárdenas","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.518","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.518","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents a project that explored the effectiveness of intensive reading to enhance reading comprehension with a group of university students in Pasto, Colombia. At the initial stage, a diagnostic test, field notes, and three questionnaires allowed the identification of the students’ needs. During the intervention stage, a set of workshops and reading tests were implemented to reveal the impact of the reading comprehension strategies. In the evaluation stage, four instruments (reading tests, teacher’s journal, students’ questionnaires and pre- and post-tests) were used to collect the students’ opinions and state the results. At the end, findings show that the reading comprehension strategies improved students’ comprehension because it helped them tackle the problems they had before the intervention stage.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44084496","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article reports on a study carried out in a foreign language course at a private Colombian university. Its purpose was to identify the role of authentic materials and tasks, based on cultural topics, in the development of intercultural competence in third-level English students. The pedagogical implementation of the activities was designed under criteria proposed by Cortazzi and Jin (1999) to evaluate the material with cultural content. In regard to intercultural competence, Byram’s (2002) dimension of intercultural communicative competence was the support for planning and implementing the tasks. In this qualitative action research study, two surveys, one interview, and teacher field notes were used to collect data. Findings indicate that students were able to understand interculturality, to show respect for other cultures, and to demonstrate interest in getting to know other societies. Likewise, the students reported their willingness to be open to discussing topics related to cultural aspects.
{"title":"Authentic Materials and Tasks as Mediators to Develop EFL Students’ Intercultural Competence","authors":"Alix Norely Bernal Pinzón","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.515","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports on a study carried out in a foreign language course at a private Colombian university. Its purpose was to identify the role of authentic materials and tasks, based on cultural topics, in the development of intercultural competence in third-level English students. The pedagogical implementation of the activities was designed under criteria proposed by Cortazzi and Jin (1999) to evaluate the material with cultural content. In regard to intercultural competence, Byram’s (2002) dimension of intercultural communicative competence was the support for planning and implementing the tasks. In this qualitative action research study, two surveys, one interview, and teacher field notes were used to collect data. Findings indicate that students were able to understand interculturality, to show respect for other cultures, and to demonstrate interest in getting to know other societies. Likewise, the students reported their willingness to be open to discussing topics related to cultural aspects.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45116367","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper develops a two-voiced self-dialogue with some compelling ideals of critical pedagogy advocated by Paulo Freire: reflection, dialogue, conscientizacao, (conscientization) praxis, critical engagement, and transformation. This dialogue, as a critical pedagogy encounter, has allowed me to go through a process of self-criticism or hopefully a self-recognition of understandings, experiences, constructions, co-constructions, and reconstructions of my practices as a language educator. I will address the following evolving choices: On dialogue and critical pedagogy, from language as power to language as possibility, from instrumental to alternative critical pedagogy practices towards more critical understandings and doings of education.
{"title":"A Self-Dialogue with the Thoughts of Paulo Freire: A Critical Pedagogy Encounter","authors":"Yolanda Samacá Bohórquez","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.520","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.520","url":null,"abstract":"This paper develops a two-voiced self-dialogue with some compelling ideals of critical pedagogy advocated by Paulo Freire: reflection, dialogue, conscientizacao, (conscientization) praxis, critical engagement, and transformation. This dialogue, as a critical pedagogy encounter, has allowed me to go through a process of self-criticism or hopefully a self-recognition of understandings, experiences, constructions, co-constructions, and reconstructions of my practices as a language educator. I will address the following evolving choices: On dialogue and critical pedagogy, from language as power to language as possibility, from instrumental to alternative critical pedagogy practices towards more critical understandings and doings of education.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48399525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article describes the implementation of digital storytelling in an English language class of eleventh graders at a private school in Mosquera, Colombia. It is a descriptive qualitative study, carried out for about six months by using digital tools to foster language production in the language learners. The implementation contained digital storytelling as a pedagogical strategy for developing the writing literacy practice. The personal stories and media literacy allowed the participants to combine both narratives and digital elements when writing in English in a collaborative work-group in which they co-constructed their stories. The data collected was analyzed by using ATLAS ti. Open questions looked for information about the writing process and the digital tools implemented when creating the stories. The findings revealed that the participants developed writing and speaking manners while assuming different roles. In addition, the digitalization of stories strengthened their multi-literacies. The participants’ recordings of their voices helped them improve their oral production without worrying about their classmates’ opinion. Finally, negotiation in the group roles, as writer, designer and media creator, played an important role when working in groups.
{"title":"Digital Storytelling: Boosting Literacy Practices in Students at A1-Level","authors":"Pedro Alejandro González Mesa","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.505","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.505","url":null,"abstract":"This article describes the implementation of digital storytelling in an English language class of eleventh graders at a private school in Mosquera, Colombia. It is a descriptive qualitative study, carried out for about six months by using digital tools to foster language production in the language learners. The implementation contained digital storytelling as a pedagogical strategy for developing the writing literacy practice. The personal stories and media literacy allowed the participants to combine both narratives and digital elements when writing in English in a collaborative work-group in which they co-constructed their stories. The data collected was analyzed by using ATLAS ti. Open questions looked for information about the writing process and the digital tools implemented when creating the stories. The findings revealed that the participants developed writing and speaking manners while assuming different roles. In addition, the digitalization of stories strengthened their multi-literacies. The participants’ recordings of their voices helped them improve their oral production without worrying about their classmates’ opinion. Finally, negotiation in the group roles, as writer, designer and media creator, played an important role when working in groups.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41244853","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This article describes a pedagogical proposal, based on debates, to determine the type of arguments that pre-service English language teachers constructed at a public university in Tunja, Colombia. We implemented a series of debate workshops about educational issues. Thirteen modern languages pre-service teachers in their sixth semester participated in the debates. In each debate, we collected data through recordings, focus groups, and field notes to understand the impact of the pedagogical intervention. Findings suggest that the arguments pre-service teachers built were based on examples. In this sense, the arguments built were based on their personal experiences and their partners’ opinions. We argue for the need to implement more research proposals that will contribute to the understanding and awareness of what argumentation implies.
{"title":"Debates about Educational Issues: A Pedagogical Strategy to Explore Argumentative Skills in the EFL Classroom","authors":"Ángela Vanesa Duarte Infante, Sandra Milena Fonseca Velandia, Bertha Ramos Holguín","doi":"10.19183/how.27.1.516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19183/how.27.1.516","url":null,"abstract":"This article describes a pedagogical proposal, based on debates, to determine the type of arguments that pre-service English language teachers constructed at a public university in Tunja, Colombia. We implemented a series of debate workshops about educational issues. Thirteen modern languages pre-service teachers in their sixth semester participated in the debates. In each debate, we collected data through recordings, focus groups, and field notes to understand the impact of the pedagogical intervention. Findings suggest that the arguments pre-service teachers built were based on examples. In this sense, the arguments built were based on their personal experiences and their partners’ opinions. We argue for the need to implement more research proposals that will contribute to the understanding and awareness of what argumentation implies.","PeriodicalId":43460,"journal":{"name":"How-A Colombian Journal for Teachers of English","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46412260","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：