Abstracts Dr David Nunan

Title: From the classroom to the wider world

The two contexts for language learning and use are inside the classroom and outside the
classroom. Until comparatively recently, the classroom world was where language was
learned, and the world beyond the classroom was where language was used. This bifurcation
between language learning and use began to break down with the advent of communicative
language teaching which brought with it experiential learning and the notion that one could
actually acquire a language by using it productively and communicatively inside the
classroom. The fact is, however, that the context of language use outside the classroom
makes it quite a different experience from language use inside the classroom.

Until relatively recently, opportunities for activating classroom learning in the world outside
the classroom were limited in many parts of the world. All that has changed with technology,
particularly the Internet, which provides learners with access to an astonishing variety of
authentic and output. The proliferation of social networking sites provide learners with
opportunities to communicate in speech and writing with other users of their chosen target
language around the globe.

In this presentation, I will argue that learning through using language in authentic as well as
pedagogically structured contexts outside the classroom can significantly enhance the
language learning process. Practical illustrations and examples in the form of case studies
will be presented to illustrate the rich variety of opportunities that exist for language learning
and use outside the classroom.

Title: Professional development through action research

Abstract:

I have been an enthusiastic practitioner of and advocate for action research for many years. I
believe that AR is one of the most effective ways through which teachers can take greater
control of their own teaching and their own ongoing professional development. While taking
part in action research involves teachers in additional work, it also gives them greater power
over their professional workplace, and is the ideal mechanism for professional growth and
development. Involving learners as collaborators in action research (doing research with them
rather than on them) can also contribute to the growth of learner autonomy and give learners
greater power over their own learning. In this talk I will describe the nature of action
research, and outline a procedure for carrying it out.

Abstracts - Jack C. Richards

TEACHER IDENTITY IN LANGUAGE TEACHING

This talk reviews notions of identity and teacher identity, how these relate to the specific
characteristics of language teaching, and how teacher identity can evolve or be developed
through experience and teacher education. The notion of teacher identity stresses the individual
characteristics of the teacher and how these are integrated with the possibilities and potentials
provided in the institutional identity of teacher and the content and methods of a specific field,
as these are realized in specific contexts of teaching. The elements of a teacher identity in
language teaching are derived from a review of literature on teacher identity and described in
terms of the foundational and advanced competences required for language teaching, as
illustrated by excerpts from teacher narratives. The paper concludes with recommendations for
teacher education and professional development with a focus on identity.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE AN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER?

Jack C. Richards

What is it that language teachers need to know and do to be effective classroom practitioners and
language teaching professionals? How is this knowledge and practice acquired? And how does it change
over time? The issue of language teachers knowledge and skill base is fundamental to our
understanding of effective teaching and to approaches to language teacher education. Teacher education
courses for both novice and experienced teachers reflect particular assumptions about what teachers
need to know and how such knowledge will influence their practice. In this presentation the focus will
be on the nature of the knowledge, beliefs and skills that language teachers make use of in their practice.
My focus is on the understandings and practices of those teachers who would generally be regarded by
their peers as exemplary language teaching professionals. We all recognize those teachers when we
work with them. But what distinguishes the way they understand and approach their work? In trying to
answer this question I will focus on ten core dimensions of language teaching expertise and practice.
They are not in any hierarchical relationship and there is some overlap among them but they help lay
out some of the basic territory and can help conceptualize the nature of competence, expertise and
professionalism in language teaching.