Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83094
Frank Giraldo
In this reflection article I examine language assessment literacy initiatives and their possible impact on teachers, and I discuss the connections that exist between language assessment literacy and teachers’ professional development. I explain that training for language assessment literacy may primarily foster teachers’ knowledge and skills and, secondarily, principles for language assessment (e.g., fairness). In conclusion, existing language assessment literacy initiatives, while limited in number, have the potential to advance teachers’ language assessment literacy overall and contribute to their professional development. Thus, this article may be useful to language teacher educators, particularly in the Colombian context.
{"title":"A Reflection on Initiatives for Teachers’ Professional Development Through Language Assessment Literacy","authors":"Frank Giraldo","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83094","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83094","url":null,"abstract":"In this reflection article I examine language assessment literacy initiatives and their possible impact on teachers, and I discuss the connections that exist between language assessment literacy and teachers’ professional development. I explain that training for language assessment literacy may primarily foster teachers’ knowledge and skills and, secondarily, principles for language assessment (e.g., fairness). In conclusion, existing language assessment literacy initiatives, while limited in number, have the potential to advance teachers’ language assessment literacy overall and contribute to their professional development. Thus, this article may be useful to language teacher educators, particularly in the Colombian context.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44909722","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85984
Lucelly Paredes-Mendez, Ingrid Alexandra Troncoso-Rodriguez, Sandra Patricia Lastra-Ramírez
This article reports on an action research study about the exploration of local communities to enact agency and value rural identity. Thirty-three students from a rural public school in Colombia participated in the study. Our aim was to examine ways in which students enacted agency as a result of participating in local community inquiry to realize the predominant value of their identity as farmers. Data were gathered through a focus group, interviews, students’ artifacts, and teacher journals. Results showed that when communities are linked with classroom practices and foreign language learning, English becomes a vehicle to explore their places, who they are as members of the community, and how to promote decision making to help others.
{"title":"Enacting Agency and Valuing Rural Identity by Exploring Local Communities in the English Class","authors":"Lucelly Paredes-Mendez, Ingrid Alexandra Troncoso-Rodriguez, Sandra Patricia Lastra-Ramírez","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85984","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85984","url":null,"abstract":"This article reports on an action research study about the exploration of local communities to enact agency and value rural identity. Thirty-three students from a rural public school in Colombia participated in the study. Our aim was to examine ways in which students enacted agency as a result of participating in local community inquiry to realize the predominant value of their identity as farmers. Data were gathered through a focus group, interviews, students’ artifacts, and teacher journals. Results showed that when communities are linked with classroom practices and foreign language learning, English becomes a vehicle to explore their places, who they are as members of the community, and how to promote decision making to help others.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78408037","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85964
Jaime Fernando Duque-Aguilar
This paper reports an exploratory and descriptive qualitative study on speaking assessment approaches in a teacher education program at a Colombian university. The study aimed to explore how four in-service English language teachers approach the assessment of students’ speaking skill. The data were gathered through classroom observations, interviews, and documentary analysis. Results revealed teachers’ preference for summative assessment practices to determine students’ progress regarding speaking. As a conclusion, teacher professional development in terms of language assessment may be seen as an alternative to develop significant assessment processes where students, teachers, and the institution can be benefited.
{"title":"Teachers’ Assessment Approaches Regarding EFL Students’ Speaking Skill","authors":"Jaime Fernando Duque-Aguilar","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85964","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85964","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports an exploratory and descriptive qualitative study on speaking assessment approaches in a teacher education program at a Colombian university. The study aimed to explore how four in-service English language teachers approach the assessment of students’ speaking skill. The data were gathered through classroom observations, interviews, and documentary analysis. Results revealed teachers’ preference for summative assessment practices to determine students’ progress regarding speaking. As a conclusion, teacher professional development in terms of language assessment may be seen as an alternative to develop significant assessment processes where students, teachers, and the institution can be benefited.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89368084","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85019
Elsa Fernanda González
The extent to which writing assessment training (WAT) impacts writing scores has been widely explored in L2 testing contexts. However, little is known of the benefits of WAT to classroom assessment of writing. This paper analyzes the impact of two WAT sessions on the classroom assessment of writing of eleven EFL Mexican university teachers. Twenty-two interview transcripts suggested an impact in three main areas: classroom teaching of writing, classroom assessment of writing, and teacher self-awareness. The category of teacher self-awareness displayed the most impact. The paper proposes a categorization of impact on writing assessment.
{"title":"The Impact of Assessment Training on EFL Writing Classroom Assessment: Voices of Mexican University Teachers","authors":"Elsa Fernanda González","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85019","url":null,"abstract":"The extent to which writing assessment training (WAT) impacts writing scores has been widely explored in L2 testing contexts. However, little is known of the benefits of WAT to classroom assessment of writing. This paper analyzes the impact of two WAT sessions on the classroom assessment of writing of eleven EFL Mexican university teachers. Twenty-two interview transcripts suggested an impact in three main areas: classroom teaching of writing, classroom assessment of writing, and teacher self-awareness. The category of teacher self-awareness displayed the most impact. The paper proposes a categorization of impact on writing assessment.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76124090","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.82598
Vicky Ariza-Pinzón
This study explores the ways in which master thesis writers position their research in the field of English language teaching in a context where academic literacies are still a developing field. From a social semiotic perspective, this paper aims to identify the resources writers use to represent their object of study and provide a context and justification for research. The analysis focuses on the ideational and textual metafunctions to account for patterns of meanings in seven introductory chapters of master theses in English teacher education. The results reveal a set of interconnected genres—descriptions of the object of study, definitions, and personal exemplum—that build a shared experience with the reader as well as the persuasive purpose of the text.
{"title":"Analysis of MA Students’ Writing in English Language Teaching: A Systemic Functional Linguistic Approach","authors":"Vicky Ariza-Pinzón","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.82598","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.82598","url":null,"abstract":"This study explores the ways in which master thesis writers position their research in the field of English language teaching in a context where academic literacies are still a developing field. From a social semiotic perspective, this paper aims to identify the resources writers use to represent their object of study and provide a context and justification for research. The analysis focuses on the ideational and textual metafunctions to account for patterns of meanings in seven introductory chapters of master theses in English teacher education. The results reveal a set of interconnected genres—descriptions of the object of study, definitions, and personal exemplum—that build a shared experience with the reader as well as the persuasive purpose of the text.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45798212","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83955
Gloria Romero
This paper reports a small section of a larger study that uses a mixed-methods approach to examine participation experiences of novice teachers of English in Chile beginning their careers in nonharmonic public, semiprivate, and private school communities. Drawing on Wenger’s framework of communities of practice, this paper reveals that novice teachers come across nonharmonic communities of teachers regardless of the types of schools where they work—that is, schools normally classified by socioeconomic background. As such, new teachers experience varying degrees of challenges that hinder their participation in such school communities. Rather than being a detriment, these nonharmonic communities of practice positively impact novice teachers to strive, including by joining diverse forms of communities, during the first years of teaching.
{"title":"Deconstructing Novice Teachers’ Actions and Reactions to Nonharmonic Chilean School Communities of Practice","authors":"Gloria Romero","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83955","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83955","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports a small section of a larger study that uses a mixed-methods approach to examine participation experiences of novice teachers of English in Chile beginning their careers in nonharmonic public, semiprivate, and private school communities. Drawing on Wenger’s framework of communities of practice, this paper reveals that novice teachers come across nonharmonic communities of teachers regardless of the types of schools where they work—that is, schools normally classified by socioeconomic background. As such, new teachers experience varying degrees of challenges that hinder their participation in such school communities. Rather than being a detriment, these nonharmonic communities of practice positively impact novice teachers to strive, including by joining diverse forms of communities, during the first years of teaching.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42053471","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.92134
M. Cárdenas, María Claudia Nieto-Cruz, E. Martínez
{"title":"Possible Research Paths for English Language Teacher-Researchers in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"M. Cárdenas, María Claudia Nieto-Cruz, E. Martínez","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.92134","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.92134","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42379325","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85326
Malba Barahona, K. Davin
The international trend towards a practice-based approach in teacher education has permeated foreign language teacher education and English language teaching. A practice-based approach is based on the understanding that teachers learn to teach a language by engaging in “actual” teaching rather than “talking” about teaching. We report on the implementation of a practice-based approach in two different contexts: an initial English teacher education program in Chile and an initial foreign language teacher education program in the United States. We provide practical recommendations and areas of caution for future enactments. The findings demonstrate that incorporating a practice-based approach into the university classroom offers a useful affordance for examining and illuminating the complexities of foreign language teaching practice across contexts.
{"title":"A Practice-Based Approach to Foreign Language Teacher Preparation: A Cross-Continental Collaboration","authors":"Malba Barahona, K. Davin","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85326","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.85326","url":null,"abstract":"The international trend towards a practice-based approach in teacher education has permeated foreign language teacher education and English language teaching. A practice-based approach is based on the understanding that teachers learn to teach a language by engaging in “actual” teaching rather than “talking” about teaching. We report on the implementation of a practice-based approach in two different contexts: an initial English teacher education program in Chile and an initial foreign language teacher education program in the United States. We provide practical recommendations and areas of caution for future enactments. The findings demonstrate that incorporating a practice-based approach into the university classroom offers a useful affordance for examining and illuminating the complexities of foreign language teaching practice across contexts.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43163757","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.84020
Ximena D. Burgin, Mayra C. Daniel
This paper reports on Ecuadorian pre-service and in-service teachers’ ability to conduct action research in the classroom as well as their skills to efficiently adjust instruction to address students’ cultural and linguistic diversity. A qualitative case study approach was implemented to collect information from teacher candidates in 2015, in-service teachers from a public school in 2017, and in-service teachers from a private school in 2019. Data were collected through focus groups and interviews conducted in Spanish. Findings suggest that training teachers to conduct action research will improve their ability to analyze data and improve students’ learning outcomes.
{"title":"Examining Current and Future Ecuadorian Educators’ Experiences Using Action Research in the English as a Second Language Classroom","authors":"Ximena D. Burgin, Mayra C. Daniel","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.84020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.84020","url":null,"abstract":"This paper reports on Ecuadorian pre-service and in-service teachers’ ability to conduct action research in the classroom as well as their skills to efficiently adjust instruction to address students’ cultural and linguistic diversity. A qualitative case study approach was implemented to collect information from teacher candidates in 2015, in-service teachers from a public school in 2017, and in-service teachers from a private school in 2019. Data were collected through focus groups and interviews conducted in Spanish. Findings suggest that training teachers to conduct action research will improve their ability to analyze data and improve students’ learning outcomes.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42716835","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}
Pub Date : 2021-01-05DOI: 10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83052
Carmen Helena Guerrero-Nieto, A. Quintero
This paper aims at showing how a bottom-up approach of the study of educational policies can shed some light on how elementary school teachers deal with educational policies to make them work. This is a partial report on a larger focus group study conducted in Bogotá, Colombia, where a group of elementary school teachers shared their opinions about educational policies. The data collected allowed us to see that teachers take actions, have their own perspectives about policies, and feel negatively treated by the national government, which give way to three categories: Teachers’ Micro-Practices, Clashing Visions About Education, and Mistreatment. We conclude that despite the pervasiveness of neoliberalism in education, which teachers are very aware of, they find ways to make policies work while being critical of the way these are designed and implemented.
{"title":"Elementary School Teachers in Neoliberal Times: The Silent Voices That Make Educational Policies Work","authors":"Carmen Helena Guerrero-Nieto, A. Quintero","doi":"10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15446/PROFILE.V23N1.83052","url":null,"abstract":"This paper aims at showing how a bottom-up approach of the study of educational policies can shed some light on how elementary school teachers deal with educational policies to make them work. This is a partial report on a larger focus group study conducted in Bogotá, Colombia, where a group of elementary school teachers shared their opinions about educational policies. The data collected allowed us to see that teachers take actions, have their own perspectives about policies, and feel negatively treated by the national government, which give way to three categories: Teachers’ Micro-Practices, Clashing Visions About Education, and Mistreatment. We conclude that despite the pervasiveness of neoliberalism in education, which teachers are very aware of, they find ways to make policies work while being critical of the way these are designed and implemented.","PeriodicalId":45095,"journal":{"name":"Profile-Issues in Teachers Professional Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.9,"publicationDate":"2021-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44559498","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}