LAJI SIR SEMINAR METHODOLOGY- LANGUAGE TEACHER COMPETENCIES

PRESENTED BY
ELIZABETH MATHEW
1st year B.ed student
OBJECTIVES
On completion of the class the students will be able
to
· define
competency
· identify the need of being a competent teacher
· explain
what teacher competencies comprise of
· mould
oneself into a competent student teacher
· inculcate
the qualities in personal life
· answer
the questions at the end of the session
INTRODUCTION
Competence
is the ability to do something successfully or efficiently. In recent years,
there has been a dramatic change in the scope of english language teaching
worldwide and an increasing demand for competent english language teachers, as
well as language programmes that can deliver the english language skills and
competencies needed by today’s global citizens.
The teacher
should be linguistically minded and should love his subject and be eager to
sharpen his previous experience, enrich his knowledge and to explore new
perspective areas and trends in education. He should be resourceful. He has to
be conscious about three factors – the student, the subject, and the
methodology
He should
have clarity of thought, precision in subject matter as well as care in
planning, preparation and execution of lessons. Good command of english is
essential.
Above all,
the teacher should have the power of motivating the students. In the word
motivation all the above qualities can be integrated
DEFINITIONS
Competence is the ability to do
something successfully or efficiently.
Competency is defined as, knowledge,
skills and judgement which the teacher has to demonstrate at a predetermined
proficiency level. (rao, kapse & jain 1978)
Language teacher competence is a set of
professional knowledge, skills and behaviour that must be possessed,
internalised, mastered, and actualised by teachers in accomplishing their
professional responsibilities.
WHY
AN ENGLISH TEACHER SHOULD BE COMPETENT?
·
Increasing globalization has created a
great need for people to communicate in multiple languages.
·
Language teacher competency is required
for effective teaching.
·
Continuous school improvement is not
optional but essential.
·
Teaching of english consumes a
considerable portion of available educational resources in many countries.
·
UN has declared english is an
international language. · Learners
are culturally and linguistically diverse, from different families. Competent
teacher should encourage positive cross cultural interaction.
· Competent
teachers will be able to make successful links with international institutes of
education.
· Helps
in good classroom management.
· Competent
teachers reflect and evaluate his/her teaching practice. Helps in her own
professional growth.
· The
society at large demands teachers to provide leadership and inculcate new
values, attitudes and capabilities in students.
· Competent
teachers are not mere dispensers of knowledge, but is a social engineer producing
good citizen.
WHAT DOES TEACHER
COMPETENCE COMPRISE?
A.
LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY FACTOR:
Most of the
world’s english teachers are not native speakers of english and it is not
necessary to have a native-like command of a language in order to teach it well
. There is a threshold proficiency level that a teacher should reach so that
she could teach english language with confidence and a sense of professional
legitimacy
Language specific competencies that a language
teacher needs in order to teach effectively are as follows
· To
comprehend texts accurately
· To
provide good language models
· To
maintain use of target language in the class
· To
maintain fluent use of english
· To
provide accurate explanations
· To
monitor his/her own speech and writing for accuracy
· To
give correct feedback on learner language
· To
provide language enrichment experiences for learners
· To
provide input at appropriate level of difficulty
B. PEDAGOGICAL
CONTENT KNOWLEDGE
Content knowledge
refers to what teachers need to know about they teach, and constitutes
knowledge that would not be shared with teachers of other subject areas. It
refers to the knowledge that provides a basis for language teaching. Relevant
content knowledge helps in planning lessons, making appropriate decisions, and
to arrive at solutions to problems than a teacher without such knowledge
Sound grounding in pedagogical content
knowledge should prepare teachers to be able to do things such as
·
Understand learners needs
·
Diagnose learners learning problems
·
Plan objectives for lesson
·
Select and design learning task
·
Evaluate students learning
·
Design and adapt test
·
Evaluate and choose published materials
·
Make appropriate use of technology
·
Evaluate their own lessons
C. TEACHING
SKILLS
These includes routine
procedures such as
·
Opening the lesson
·
Introducing and explaining tasks
·
Setting up learning arrangements
·
Checking students understanding
·
Guiding student practice
·
Monitoring students language use
·
Making transition from one task to
another
·
Ending the lesson
Competent teachers’
posses
·
They are willing to depart from
established procedures and are more willing to improvise
·
Make greater use of interactive decision
making
·
Pay more attention to language issues
·
Able to anticipate problems and have
procedures available to deal with them
·
carry out thing more effectively in less time
·
Relate things that happen to a bigger
picture, seeing them not in the context of particular lesson
·
Distinguish between significant and
unimportant issues that arise.
D. CONTEXTUAL
KNOWLEDGE
Teaching in a school involves understanding the specific values, norms
of practice and patterns of social participation in that school.
This
includes
· Role
of prescribed curricula
· The
school culture
· The
routines of the class room
· School’s
procedure for lesson plan
· How
to interact with students, school authorities and colleagues
Learning to teach within a specific teaching
context is a process of socialization. Learning to teach involves becoming
socialized into a professional culture with its own goals, shared values and
norms of conduct. This “hidden curriculum” is often more powerful than the
prescribed curriculum.
E. THE
LANGUAGE TEACHER’S IDENTITY
Identity refers to the
different socio cultural roles teacher enacts through their interaction with
students. These roles are not static but emerge through the social processes of
the class room. Identity may be shaped by many factors, including personal
biography, gender, culture, working conditions, age, gender, and school and
classroom culture
F. LEARNER
FOCUSED LEARNING
Learner focused
teaching is creating a classroom that functions as a community of learners.
While teaching can be viewed as a type of teacher performance, the goal of
teaching is to facilitate student learning. Characteristics of expert teachers
include
· They
are familiar with typical student behaviour
· They
use their knowledge of learners to make predictions about what might happen in
the classroom
· They
built their lessons around students’ difficulties
· They
maintain active student involvement
· Recognize
that student have both social as well as learning needs in the class room
G. PEDAGOGICAL
REASONING SKILLS
This encompasses the
mental lives of teachers, how they are formed, and how teachers’ beliefs,
thoughts and thinking process shape their understanding of teaching and their
classroom practices. It is the ability of a teacher to turn the subject matter
of instruction to the level and ability of the students.
Special reasoning skills in competent teachers are
as follows
· Analyse
potential lesson contents and identifies ways in which it could be used as a
teaching resource
· Identify
specific linguistic goals that could be developed from the chosen content
· Anticipate
any problems that might occur and ways to resolve them.
· Make
appropriate decisions about time, sequencing and grouping arrangements
H. MEMBERSHIP
OF A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
A community of practice
involves a group of people who have common interest on exploring and resolving
issues related to the work place practice. Many forms such as reading groups,
action research, team teaching, peer observation and peer teaching helps to
foster a sense of community practice. Making the transition from seeing oneself
as a member of a community of practice is an important component of
professional development.
I. PROFESSIONALISM
English teaching is
seen as a career in a field of educational specialization, it requires a
specialised knowledge base obtained through both academic study and practical
experience. A key to long term professional development is the ability to be
able to reflect consciously and systematically on ones teaching experience
,e.g., through analysing critical incidents, teacher support groups, journal writing,
discussion groups, action research and portfolios.
POINTS
TO PONDER
·
Competency is defined as, knowledge,
skills and judgement which the teacher has to demonstrate at a predetermined
proficiency level. (rao, kapse & jain 1978)
·
Language teacher competence is a set of
professional knowledge, skills and behaviour that must be possessed,
internalised, mastered, and actualised by teachers in accomplishing their
professional responsibilities
·
Language teacher competency is required
for effective teaching and professional growth.
·
Competent teachers should have adequate
language proficiency.
·
Pedagogic content knowledge refers to
the knowledge that provides a basis for language teaching. Relevant content
knowledge helps in planning lessons, making appropriate decisions, and to
arrive at solutions to problems than a teacher without such knowledge
·
Competent teachers will have good
teaching skills and contextual knowledge about the social atmosphere of the
college
·
Language teacher identity is not static
but is variable according to her goals on learner focussed teaching
·
Competent teachers will be having good
pedagogic reasoning skills and will be a member of a community of practice
which helps to professional development.
QUESTION AND ANSWERS
I.
Multiple
choice questions
1.
Knowledge, skills and judgement which
the teacher has to demonstrate at a predetermined proficiency level
a) Quality
b) Professionalism
c)
Competence
d) Ability
2.
Pedagogic content knowledge is
a) What
teacher learn from society
b) What
teacher learn from other teachers
c) How
to teach a student
d) Knowledge that would not be shared
with teachers of other subject areas
3.
The knowledge that provides a basis for
language teaching
a) Pedagogic content knowledge
b) Contextual
knowledge
c) Proficiency
in language
d) Teaching
skills
4.
Understanding practice and patterns of
social participation in that school
a) Content
knowledge
b) School
mission
c)
Contextual
knowledge
d) Teachers
identity
5.
Best practice of teaching
a) Teacher
centered learning
b) Society
focussed learning
c)
Learner
focussed learning
d) Life
centered learning
II.
Write very short answers
1.
Define competency?
2.
What is language teacher competency?
3.
What is learner focussed teaching?
4.
Can non native teachers be competent
language teachers?
5.
What do you mean by community of
practice?
III.
Write
short answers
1.
What is pedagogic content knowledge?
2.
What are the teaching skills required
for a competent teacher?
3.
How is pedagogic reasoning skills used
in teaching?
IV.
Write an essay on language teacher competencies?
REFERENCES
· Dr.
Sivarajan K, Ramakrishnan T.V & Mridula K(2007). English language
education. Calicut: Premier offset printers.
· Pahuja
Sudha(2008). Teaching of English. Meerut:Vinay Rakheja publishers.
· www.
Cambridge. Org> view
· idiomas.
Ens. Uabc. Mx> plurilinkgua.docs
· https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk
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