Language Teacher Education: A New Discursive Space

Language Teacher Education: A New Discursive Space Suzanne Burley and Cathy Pomphrey

Part 1 - Introduction • Lantolf (2000) identifies dialogue as having potential to open “a new discursive space”

Part 1 - Introduction • Theoretical and policy constructions of subject • The characteristics of the discursive space • Exploration of the space through data from student voices • The impact of the loss of the discursive space in the first year of teaching.

Part 2 – Theoretical and Policy Constructions of Subject Discipline is understood as the term defining the body of knowledge, which constitutes the boundaries of the discipline. The term subject is used to define how this body of knowledge is organised or institutionalised as part of a University or school curriculum. (Evans 1993)

Part 2 – Theoretical and Policy Constructions of Subject Evans goes on to suggest that it is perhaps a difference in perception and or experience of a discipline which leads to institutionalised difference as subjects rather than intrinsic differences in discipline

Part 2 – Theoretical and Policy Constructions of Subject • “English to my knowledge has mainly been concerned with literature past and present. Poetry has always had a major part.” • “The content might include creative writing, Shakespeare, a variety of texts through the ages from Paradise Lost to post modernism”

Part 2 – Theoretical and Policy Constructions of Subject • “… the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking; grammar; vocabulary, pronunciation and intonation” • “Modern Languages as a subject included mainly studying grammar and vocabulary – concentrating on accuracy when writing/speaking in target language”

Part 2 – Theoretical and Policy Constructions of Subject • Discrete models such as Kingman (1988), Cox (1989) and Harris (1989) • Models which have attempted to provide a more coherent approach to language across the curriculum – Hawkins (1984), Carter (1990)

Part 3 – Characteristics of the Discursive Space The language teacher education programme includes three broad areas of content about language: • linguistic and cultural diversity starting with the personal • language as system • language teaching pedagogy.

Part 3 – Characteristics of the Discursive Space Developing the dialogue ` The social constructivist perspective recognises dialogue, talk, to be central to teacher learning` (Roberts 1998)

Part 3 – Characteristics of the Discursive Space Hogg & Abrams (1998)) state that individuals gain a sense of identity and understanding of self “… in great part from the social categories to which they belong”. They continue to describe self-definition as a dynamic process “… temporally and contextually determined, and … in continual flux.” (p.19)

Part 4 - Explorations from within the Discursive Space Guidance for poetry task In pairs: • Read the poems to each other • Agree the key meanings and the key language features • Plan activities at word, sentence and text level, which enable learners to have some understanding of meanings and language

Part 4 - Explorations from within the Discursive Space • “I now believe that my subject is more open than originally thought.” • “… analysis of any texts, English or MFL can apply mutually.”

Part 4 - Explorations from within the Discursive Space • “ … an excellent opportunity and should be implemented in schools … to gain new ideas into exploring language.” • “I found the opportunity gave me a lot of insight on how to explore new materials. I had not yet used poems but now feel that I can use them and possibly explore new language resources.”

Part 5 – The Loss of the Discursive Space • A willingness to make informal contact with teachers of the other subject, eg through personal language learning and social contact • A positive attitude towards the idea of collaboration with the other subject, but many practical difficulties offered as reasons why this was not happening e.g. when asked if she had had an opportunity to work with Modern Languages teachers, one English teacher reports “… we were trying to do more but it hasn’t worked out as well, just because of staffing problems”

Part 5 – The Loss of the Discursive Space • Evidence of some tentative links e.g. A Modern languages teacher said “I read an article or I see something interesting on the newspaper. Even in English … I think … what can they do with the text in English?” • Evidence from one of the English teachers of regular use of different languages and language varieties in her teaching e.g. “So we’ve got all like key words that you would say in an English class, and we’ve got them all written up in things like Somali, Arabic .…”

Part 5 – The Loss of the Discursive Space • Evidence of using their linguistic identity as part of their teaching role e.g. a Modern Languages teacher said “You know this is not just text book stuff. It’s stuff that we’ve lived and if they know that I’ve lived through it … they can get interested as well.” An English teacher reported: “I started telling them about my background in Italy and they went, ‘Oh Miss, talk to us in Italian, so I did and I taught pretty much the whole lesson in this dialect that I speak.” • Evidence of barriers to continuing a dialogue with the other subject – barriers of physical distance between subject departments, resistance from school management, workload and pupil motivation.

Part 5 – The Loss of the Discursive Space • Some evidence of a narrower view of their curricular subject than was expressed during the PGCE course. An English teacher reports that she is trying to “push it (the English curriculum) towards the skills base…they (the pupils) can see the relevance of it” . A Modern Languages teacher presents her subject as defined by “getting the best grade that we can from this.”

Part 6 - Conclusions It is possible to extend and/or problematise subject boundaries through setting up a discursive space in which personal understandings of subject can be broadened.

Part 6 - Conclusions Dialogue is key but also the choice of focus for the dialogue is crucial. The dialogue needs to be centred around an area of subject content relevant to both subjects but which may be traditionally differently constructed by each subject.

Part 6 - Conclusions The loss of the discursive space results in a return to more exclusive and narrow ‘institutionalised’ subject boundary definitions. In this case ones which do not go beyond prevailing policies both institutional and national.

Language Teacher Education: A New Discursive Space