LAJI SIR SEMINAR METHODOLOGY- LANGUAGE TEACHER COMPETENCIES

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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