Volume 21

Explorations in Teacher Education: Volume 21 Issue 3 (Winter 2013)

Included in this issue are two articles and one book review.

The first article, John Blake shares a reciprocal observation project that he conducted with a colleague that could help any teacher improve their teaching practice through reflection and critical discussion.

Following this, Paul Anthony Marshall, recommends a time-efficient practice to aid teacher self-development. This article will be especially useful to TEDsig members who are involved in either teacher training with advice for reformulating lesson plans in the on-going quest that we are all facing to continue to improve our teaching and research practices. This form of action research provides the type of self-reflective practice that leads to more stimulating and satisfying classes.

In the third article, Michael Sullivan reviews Paul Nation’s text What Every EFL Teacher Should Know? This issue includes both regularly submitted articles as well as the Proceedings from our annual EFL Teacher Journeys Conference in June.

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Articles

Book Reviews


Explorations in Teacher Education: Volume 21 Issue 2 (Autumn 2013)

This issue is the Proceedings of the 2013 EFL Teacher Journeys Conference, sponsored by the JALT Teacher Education & Development SIG.

The first two papers come from the featured speakers at the 2013 conference. Deryn Verity first explores the move between teacher and mentor, and the shifts that we go through as we move between our various roles. Andy Boon then discusses the importance of reflection in our teaching practices in an article that was first published in The Language Teacher and republished here with permission.

Conference papers are also provided from six of the presenters at the 2013 conference. These explore a variety of practices that can help us reflect upon and improve our teaching and mentoring.

The first is from Yuri Jody Yujobo, who recounts a study abroad service learning program for Japanese company executives. The value of this program is clear from the reactions of the participants, including the executives, the teachers, and the groups they worked with overseas. Following this, Craig Manning talks about how we are all teaching with an entourage that deserves our attention. Ágnes Anna Patkó discusses her own development as an educator and teacher trainer and the state of language teaching in Hungary using data from a small scale research project. Anamaria Sakanoue traces her own journey toward becoming a professional educator through the various stages of her teaching career. Tricia Okada then gives voice to narratives from Filipino teachers of English working in Japan and highlights their concerns. Finally, Sachie Haga brings concepts from business that could benefit any educator considering how to improve their teaching or their program.

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Proceedings of the EFL Teacher Journeys Conference


Explorations in Teacher Education: Volume 21 Issue 1 (Summer 2013)

Two articles are included in this issue of Explorations in Teacher Education.

The first is a timely reminder of living history research and a report on its successful application with Japanese university learners of English. In this article, Lisa Theisen shares her personal experiences with a living history project before she became a teacher and how she has used this experience to connect her students to their past and create an active classroom for language learning. She reminds us that history is best shared, particularly our personal histories and those of our family.

The scond article, by Peter Hourdequin, explores the application of Vygotsky’s dialogic principles with internet techonolgies and the benefits of these for teacher development by first reviewing the underlying principles of the dialogic interactions then reviewing how several
internet sites and Twitter feeds can support teacher development and give even the busiest
teachers a place to share their stories and gain insights into our field.

Finally, this issue of Explorations in Teacher Education provides a report on the second annual
TED conference, EFL Teacher Journeys from TED Program Chair Mike Ellis.

Click here to read this issue.

Articles

Explorations