Chapter One

The Self-Developed Language Teacher

‫مدرس اللغة المطور ذاتيا‬

Q/ What factors are central to teacher self-development ?

First, there is no doubt that development takes time.

It takes time to observe interaction in our own classrooms and to visit other teachers’
classes. The teachers who are in the first few years of their teaching career, time is
needed to work through stages in their development.

The developmental stages of language teacher:

1- Being dependent on outside sources (Such as supervisors and the textbook).

2- Concerned with self-survival (“What do I do tomorrow in the class?”).
3- What kinds of techniques to use, to be concerned with student learning and able to make
informed teaching decisions.

Second, development requires an ongoing commitment.

Development teaching is not something to do only in a teacher education program or

at the beginning of teaching career. Even the most experienced teachers can learn new
things about teaching, and development is enhanced when the teacher makes a
commitment to ongoing development.

For example:

Many would call Kathy’s teaching skills developed, she continues to think about her
teaching and its consequences on students, especially about creating a more learner-
centered classroom to engage students in learning to be communicatively competent in
English.
 Third, development is enhanced through problem solving.

When the teachers recognize problems and work at solving them, they can discover
new ways to teach and discover more about their role as a teacher.

For example:

Kathy’s exploration into getting the class started quickly and her interest in getting
students to use more English in class indicate that she continues to generate ways to
solve perceived problems in her teaching.

Fourth, development is also enhanced through exploration for

exploration’s sake.

Teachers can indeed discover much by exploring simply to explore, not just to solve
problems.

For example:

Try to follow new approach that is the opposite of one you love simply to see what
happens, or trying a new approach/technique simply because it sounds interesting.

(That’s mean you may discover new things in your teaching)

Fifth, development is enhanced by paying attention to and reviewing the basics of

EFL/ESL.

For example:

Although Kathy’s introduction to the basics began during her peace corps training,
she has continued to study:

❖ Ways to create opportunities for students to interact in English.

❖ Ways to manage classroom behavior; and materials and media used to teach EFL.
❖ She undoubtedly considered ways to teach different skills, such as reading, writing,
listening and speaking.
Sixth, development is enhanced by searching out opportunities to

develop.

For example:

It turns out that Kathy talks with other teachers about teaching, she reads about
teaching, she attends teaching seminars and workshops and she participates in other
activities that give her chances to reflect on her teaching and see teaching possibilities.

Seventh, self-development of teaching beliefs and practices requires the

cooperation of others.

For example:

It takes others who are willing to observe us, listen to us, and talk with us about our
teaching. We need administrators, students, other teachers and friends to help us succeed
with our development. Without their cooperation, self-development is very difficult as
there is neither any source for feedback nor any stimulus for ideas.

Chapter 2

Exploration of Teaching

Q/ What is teaching ?

Teaching is a set of procedures which are followed by the teachers in the classroom to
give a systematic information (Nunan, 2003).

Ways to Explore Teaching:

1. Read journal articles and books about teaching and learning.

2. Read teacher narratives.
3. Attend professional conferences.
4. Establish a mentoring relationship.
 5. Put together a teaching portfolio.
6. learn another language.
7. Do action research.
8. Do self-observation.
9. Observe other teachers.
10. Talk with other teachers.
11. Keep a teacher journal.

First, read journal articles and books about teaching and learning.

For example, reading this book, will help you gain knowledge about ESL and EFL
teaching.

There are many topics that you have to read them in order to explore
teaching:
❖ Lesson Planning
❖ Mixed Level teaching
❖ Project Work
❖ Classroom Management
❖ Cooperative Learning
❖ Teaching Pronunciation, Vocabulary and Grammar

Second, read teachers narratives.

Recently, a number of anthologies have been published on teachers’ own teaching and
learning. They offer other teachers, especially those new to teaching, glimpses into the
realities of teaching.

For example:

Teachers’ narrative Inquiry as professional development, edited by Karen Johnson and

Paula Golombek, includes a collection of highly personal narratives by teachers who
inquired about their own experience in learning to teach
Third, another way to work on development of our teaching and ourselves as
teachers is to attend professional conferences.

The conferences are good opportunities to hear what teachers in your own area are doing
in their classrooms, and good opportunities to present your own techniques or action
research.

Fourth, another way to explore our teaching is through establishing a mentoring

relationship with another teacher.

Define Mentoring relationships?

Mentoring is an interpersonal, ongoing, situated, supportive and informative

professional relationship between two or more individuals, one of whom (the mentor)
has more experience in the profession, craft, or skill in question.

Fifth, A teaching portfolio is another additional way to explore and develop our
teaching.

It means gathering of your reports, files, or documents that you have made about your
teaching and learning processes.

How putting together a portfolio helps teachers?

Putting together a portfolio helps teachers to make sense of what they have learned,
provides chances for them to think about teaching and learning, demonstrates their
competencies, and recognizes the complexities of learning to teach.

What kind of documents can be included in the portfolio?

1- Papers written for courses.

2- Class presentations.
3- Professional conference presentations.
4- Original teaching materials.
5- Reflective journal entries.
6- Video or audiotapes of teaching
7- Reflective observation reports.
8- Syllabi.
9- Letters of recommendation.
10- Reports on observations by others.
11- Evaluation reports.
12- Vitae.
13- A statement of teaching and learning philosophy.

Sixth, another way to explore our teaching as a language teachers is to learn

another language.

Q/ What are the advantages of learning another language or how it can help us as
language teachers?

1- We can better understand the challenges that learners face.

2- We can go more insight into understanding language.

3- By assuming the role of learner, we can gain insight into ways of teaching that seem
to work and don’t work.

Seventh, another approach teachers use to explore teaching is action research.

Q/ Define action research?

An approach that centers on problem posing. The cyclic process includes posing
problems based on what goes on in the teacher’s classroom.
Also, action research allows teachers to investigate and pose problems in their
teaching to work at solving them, and generally to gain more awareness of
teaching and classroom interaction.
For example:

When the teachers make forum (meeting) to talk about and collaborate on their action
research projects. They report that they gain more awareness of their teaching after
participating in such forums.

Eighth, Do self-observation.

How can teachers explore teaching through self-observation?

As teachers, we can explore through a process of describing, analyzing, and

reflecting on our teaching.

Q/ Explain in details the cyclic process of self-observation and draw the figure

that illustrate the process?

‫ اشرح بالتفصيل العمليةٌ الدوريةٌ للمالحظة الذاتيةٌ وارسم الشكل الذي‬/ ‫س‬
‫ي ٌوضح العمليةٌ؟‬

‫ ) مطلوب الشكل حفظ مع الشرح‬19 ‫(صفحة‬

1- Collect descriptive samples of our teaching.

2- Analyze the samples.

3- Reflection and multiple interpretations.

4- Consider how the same lesson could be taught differently and draw up a

teaching plan.

5- By implementing the new plan, the cycle returns to the collection of

samples of teaching.
collecting samples of teaching.

When you collect samples of teaching, you have descriptions of what actually goes on
in the classroom that focus attention on some aspect of your teaching.

ٌ ‫عند جمع عينٌات من التدري‬

‫ لديكٌ أوصاف لما يدٌور في الواقع في الفصل الدراسي والتي تركز االنتباه على‬،‫س‬
.‫س الخاصة بك‬
ٌ ‫بعض جوانب التدري‬

‫يرجى‬.. ‫ في الكتاب هنالك جدول يخص عملية طرح السؤال في جمع العينة‬20 ‫صفحة‬
.‫االنتباه له‬

• Keep a teacher journal is another way to explore teaching.

Q/ What is the purpose of writing in a journal?

1- To have a place to record our observations of what goes on in our own and

other teachers’ classrooms.

2- Write about our discussions.

3- Consider teaching ideas.

4- Reflecting on our teaching.

5- Journals are also a place for us to raise doubts, express frustrations, and

raise questions.