Teacher Qualifications, Professionalism, Competencies, and Benchmarks

Abstract

To achieve professionalism, English language teachers (both native English‐speaking teachers [NESTs] and non‐native English‐speaking teachers [NNESTs]) need to gain competence in disciplinary content knowledge about the nature of language, language learning, and language teaching, as well as pedagogical content knowledge regarding teaching strategies that they can use to make their teaching contextually appropriate and effective. Teachers also need to achieve the ability to use English effectively for different purposes, and acquire knowledge about English that gives them the skills to analyze and explain the language. In addition, teachers need to engage in reflective activities and classroom‐based research as part of developing teacher qualifications, in order to be able to make a connection between these bodies of knowledge and their practice and continue their professional development. Benchmarks developed to measure teachers' English language proficiency need to reflect local needs and constraints as well as respond to the role of English as a lingua franca.

Construction of an Individual Educational Trajectory as a Way to Reveal the Personal and Professional Potential of a Future Teacher

“…Studies have shown that mentoring and induction programmes have been an important aspect of teacher education in many countries worldwide, particularly since the 1980s (Gjedia & Gardinier, 2018). Mentoring has been found to increase teacher retention (Doğançay-Aktuna & Hardman, 2018), improve new teacher job satisfaction and self-efficacy (Ingersoll & Strong, 2011), enhance teachers' pedagogical content knowledge (Spooner-Lane, 2017), reduce new teachers' feelings of isolation (Mamlok-Naaman & Eilks, 2012) and promote teachers' ongoing professional development and lifelong learning (Snoek et al, 2018).…”

Professionalism and Evidence-Based Mental Health Care: The Roadblocks and New Ways

“…The knowledge base underpins professional action, but professionalism is beyond knowledge acquisition (Moore, 2017). Professionalism requires continual knowledge update through research utilisation (Doğançay-Aktuna, & Hardman, 2018). Though the process of knowledge acquisition is the primary stage of professionalism.…”

“…Though the process of knowledge acquisition is the primary stage of professionalism. However, before an individual can be regarded as a professional, there are regulated knowledge pathways through structured institution under which the person must study (Doğançay-Aktuna & Hardman, 2018;Moore, 2017). Learning and registration make an individual become a registered professional, but beyond registration, an individual requires knowledge update through engagement in research enquiry and utilising of findings from research (Moore, 2017).…”

Teacher education from an EIL perspective - Aya Matsuda, Preparing Teachers to Teach English as an International Language. Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2017. Pp xxi + 254. Paperback US$34.97, ISBN: 9781783097029

“…The increase in research in English as an International Language (EIL), World Englishes (WE) and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) demands a paradigm shift in English Language Teaching (ELT) among scholars. Furthermore, the successful implementation of any changes in ELT requires and depends on successful innovations in teacher preparation (Dogancay–Aktuna & Hardman, 2008; Matsuda, 2006). Aya Matsuda intelligently brings together this volume under review which comprises six parts, including 15 chapters, examining theoretical frameworks, programs, courses and units, model lessons, activities and tasks for ELT teacher education from the perspective of EIL with the purpose of offering approaches to preparing in-service and pre-service teachers to meet the diverse needs of English learners today.…”

“…Arktuna and Hardman (p. 19) outline a complementary framework by integrating an EIL perspective into Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) teacher education and discuss specific topics, practical activities and pedagogical resources. They define EIL as a ‘paradigm for thinking, research and practice’ (Dogancay-Aktuna & Hardman, 2008) in applied linguistics, emphasizing the international and intercultural nature of English, and present their EIL teacher education model as an interaction between place, proficiency, praxis and a set of understandings about language, culture, and identity teaching related to EIL pedagogy.…”