The article describes the latest changes in the system of higher education of language teachers in Poland. The author concentrates on the social competences indispensable for language educators based on the National Framework of Qualifications. They are considered to be the prerequisite of success in both language teaching and pedagogy. The article also presents an example of good practice of constructing a list of social competences in the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences for philology in the State School of Higher Education in Płock.
Private English tutoring, understood as the paid English teaching service offered to students to supplement their learning of English at school or prepare them for an examination in English, has become a popular out-of-school learning activity. In order to obtain deeper insights into its intricacies, the need arises to examine the experience of one of its pivotal stakeholders – the private tutors. This article is based on a phenomenographic study with a view to investigating the conceptions of private tutoring held by 15 English teachers from three countries (Poland, Portugal, and Turkey) who offer private teaching services in English in their local contexts. The findings suggest that there are at least three conceptions according to which private tutoring can be experienced by the participants: as a source of income, as helping, and as professional development. The study also poses the question if there is space for formal training of private tutors and calls for further research into English private tutoring
Quality in general education has been defined through aims, key qualifications, organisationalstandards, didactic requirements, but also learning outcomes which depend on students’proficiency in the language of schooling and their cognitive academic skills. New challenges bringabout changes in responsibilities of schools and teachers and have a strong impact on approachesto quality assurance in teacher education, a complex process not devoid of controversies, the most important of which will be identified in the present text. Implications for the curricular content of pre- and in-service language teacher education will also be sought.
EN
Quality in general education has been defined through aims, key qualifications, organisational standards, didactic requirements, but also learning outcomes which depend on students’ proficiency in the language of schooling and their cognitive academic skills. New challenges bring about changes in responsibilities of schools and teachers and have a strong impact on approachesto quality assurance in teacher education, a complex process not devoid of controversies, the most important of which will be identified in the present text. Implications for the curricular content of pre- and in-service language teacher education will also be sought.
Quality in general education has been defined through aims, key qualifications, organisational standards, didactic requirements, but also learning outcomes which depend on students’ proficiency in the language of schooling and their cognitive academic skills. New challenges bring about changes in responsibilities of schools and teachers and have a strong impact on approaches to quality assurance in teacher education, a complex process not devoid of controversies, the most important of which will be identified in the present text. Implications for the curricular content of pre- and in-service language teacher education will also be sought.
This article presents two reference documents on the professional development of practising language teachers: Las competencias clave del profesorado de lenguas segundas y extranjeras (Key competences of teachers of second and foreign languages) published by the Instituto Cervantes, and the European Profiling Grid (European EPG Project) for European teachers. This article focuses exclusively on the role of these documents in teachers’ professional development, thus excluding all other ways in which other professionals might use them. As a starting point, a reflection on the meaning of professional development will be presented.
Celem tekstu jest pokazanie potencjalnych korzyści płynących z rozwijania umiejętności badawczych nauczycieli w ogóle i nauczycieli języków w szczególności. Sądzimy, że nauczyciele, którzy nabyli umiejętności badawcze, są w stanie efektywnie czerpać z badań empirycznych przy podejmowaniu decyzji w klasie, co może zoptymalizować korzyści uczniów. Podkreślamy fakt, że odwołując się do swojego doświadczenia zawodowego, nauczyciele mogą również pełnić rolę aktywnych badaczy dzielących się swoimi obserwacjami i weryfikujących skuteczność poszczególnych technik nauczania lub działań w różnych kontekstach i dla indywidualnych potrzeb edukacyjnych. Próbując wyjaśnić podstawowe nieporozumienia, dostrzegamy potrzebę praktyki nauczania wspieranej badaniami empirycznymi, która wywodzi się z podejścia „opartego na dowodach”, popularnego w medycynie, psychologii i psychoterapii. W ostatniej części tekstu pokazujemy przydatność różnych metod badań empirycznych do odpowiedzi na różnorodne pytania badawcze, podając jednocześnie przykłady wysokiej jakości badań z zakresu edukacji językowej. Podsumowując, apelujemy o ściślejszą współpracę i dwukierunkową wymianę know-how między nauczycielami a naukowcami.
EN
The aim of our text is to show the potential benefits of developing research literacy of teachers in general and language teachers in particular. We argue that research-literate teachers may effectively draw upon empirical studies and make informed decisions in the classroom, which has the potential to optimise students’ benefits. We emphasise the fact that, by referring to their experiential knowledge, teachers can also assume the role of active researchers who communicate their observations and validate particular teaching techniques or activities for different contexts and needs. By attempting to clarify basic misunderstandings, we see the need for ‘evidence-informed’ practice in teaching, which stems from an ‘evidence-based’ approach popular in medicine, psychology and psychotherapy. Finally, we demonstrate the suitability of various designs of empirical studies to answer different types of research questions, which we exemplify by high-quality studies from language education. Concluding, we call for tighter cooperation and bidirectional exchange of the know-how between teachers and academics.
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