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EFL teacher agency in mediating the socialisation of multilingual learners

100%

Rokita-Jaśkow J.

Glottodidactica

2023

vol. 50

issue 1

191-212

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers are seemingly ideally placed to mediate the successful socialisation of multilingual learners into the new school environment for two major reasons. Firstly, as they have effective command of both L1 and L2 and often have experience of living abroad, they tend to exhibit higher levels of openness to new situations, empathy and understanding of the difficulties faced by multilingual learners. Secondly, the English class can itself be a platform for mutual understanding where learners are able to develop both English communication skills and intercultural competence (cf. Hopp, Jakisch, Sturm, Becker & Thoma 2020; Krulatz, Neokleous & Dahl 2022). As English is the language of instruction, it also has the potential to maintain levels of multilingual competence among those learners who already speak English as their heritage language (Banasiak & Olpińska-Szkiełko 2021), e.g. migrant children returning from the UK/Ireland. Drawing on data from a larger project (Rokita-Jaśkow, Wolanin, Król-Gierat & Nosidlak 2022), which consisted of interviewing 23 primary school EFL teachers in various contexts, this paper analyses the possible factors that impact teacher agency in the socialisation of multilinguals. It has been found that teacher agency in that respect appears to stem from teachers’ plurilingual competence and prior teaching experience. Surprisingly, personal experiences of intercultural encounters (e.g. time spent living abroad) or verbalised empathy, had little impact on teacher agency. This finding implies that even language teachers find it difficult to put themselves in the position of the multilingual learner and need specialist training in order to work with multilingual learners, which may convey an important message for educational decision-makers with reference to the formulation of future teacher education guidelines and curricula.

English language teaching in times of crisis: teacher agency in response to the pandemic-forced online education

88%

Thumvichit A.

Teaching English with Technology

2021

vol. 21

issue 2

14-37

Teacher agency occurs when teachers demonstrate a capacity to solve pedagogical and curriculum challenges. This article delves into how tertiary English teachers in Thailand practice their agency in response to the abrupt conversion to online teaching amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This study drew on teachers’ responses to a questionnaire (n=162) and semi-structure interviews (n=3) to identify their positioning and agentic actions. The results suggest that teachers’ positioning as being professionally responsible for students’ learning outcomes remains intact, even though the situation restricted them from going beyond their fundamental responsibilities. From a pedagogical standpoint, teachers’ agentic actions identified were endeavoring to create an interactive learning environment; implementing social media platforms to compensate for the loss of face-to-face communication; working with students to adjust their teaching practices; promoting autonomous learning; and incorporating formative assessment approaches. Teachers might find themselves struggling to achieve their pedagogical goals, but once they become familiar with the new learning environment and master suitable teaching methods, online learning can be a viable option for formal language education, even in the normal situation.

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1 Glottodidactica

1 Teaching English with Technology

1 Rokita-Jaśkow J.

1 Thumvichit A.

1 2023

1 2021

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EFL teacher agency in mediating the socialisation of multilingual learners

English language teaching in times of crisis: teacher agency in response to the pandemic-forced online education