A longitudinal study of new language teachers in a New Zealand primary context

Nicola DalyUniversity of Waikato

New Zealand

The context• Language Learning in New Zealand Curriculum

(Ministry of Education, 2007)• Requirement that language learning be made

available to all Year 7 and 8 students (Year 6 and 7 in Australia)

Why is language teacher education important?• Tognini (2006, p. 37)– “[t]he ability of language teachers to improve their skills

and grow professionally depends, in part, on the quality of their pre-service education”

• understanding what it is that language teachers do is a very important aspect of designing effective language teacher education (Johnson, Pawan, & Mahan-Taylor, 2005; Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, & Johnson, 2005)

Some questions for you• What does being a language teacher mean to

you?– what do you do?

• What do you think pre-service language teachers need to know?

The story so far…• Longitudinal study began in 2007 with 4 pre-service

teacher education students (Daly 2008/2009)– the previous language learning and teaching experiences of the

pre-service teachers was central to their conception of what it meant to be a language teacher

– after completing the paper they reported that language teaching was about • giving students opportunities to use the target language;• about using the target language socially; and • about motivating children to use target language

The story so far…• The four pre-service teachers also suggested the

following areas of language teacher education were important:– the importance of observing language teaching classes in

action– that children in the classroom can actually communicate

using the target language; and – the importance of giving children a purpose for learning a

language.

The story so far…• Three of four pre-service students interviewed 6 months into first position

– only 1 of the 3 were in positions which required them to teach languages– other students using their language teaching knowledge in different ways

language teacher education• the need to be familiar with curriculum documents; • Ellis’s (2005) principles of effective instructed language acquisition;• the language myths discussed extensively by Lightbown and Spada (2006); • the observations they made of experienced language teachers; • the language lessons they were required to give to peers; and • the usefulness of previous experience of learning.

Research QuestionsThe present study‘s aim was to examine the thoughts of the participants at 12 and 18 months

into their first teaching positions, addressing the following research questions: 1. How do first-year teachers describe and view their work teaching additional languages in a

New Zealand primary setting?-How do these views compare with their pre-service views (Daly 200/2009)?-How do these views compare with the descriptions and views of experienced in-service teachers (Daly

2010)?

2. What are the views of the first-year teachers concerning the relevance of their pre-service LTE education?

- How do these views compare with the views of experienced in-service teachers (Daly 2010)?

MethodologyTwo in-service teachers who had participated in the

study since its start were interviewed – a semi-structured interview approach – interviewed 12 months into their first teaching position

and 18 months into their first teaching position– each interview lasted between 25 and 35 minutes– each interview transcribed– transcriptions sent to participants for further comment

Participants• Participant Two (P2)

– a 21 year old – some New Zealand Sign Language,– Japanese at secondary school for 5 years, and – some Korean through her work with people at her church– 18 months into her first teaching position with a class of 26 Year 3 (aged 7-8 years) in an urban

primary school.

• Participant Three (P3)

– 23 year old – learnt French for 4 years at secondary school– a few months into her second teaching position at an urban full primary school (Years 0 to 8)– previously been teaching Year 7 (aged 11-12 years) students, at an urban intermediate school.

Findings Participant 2 (real)• RQ1: Description of work (12 months)– 22 Year 3 students (age 8 years)– received 30 minutes te reo Maori each week– classroom teacher did not participate– did use some formulaic Maori in class– LTE relevant when teaching new vocabulary and

with ELL students

Findings Participant 2 (projected)• RQ1: Description of work (12 months)– discrete lessons– target language integrated into everyday

classroom activities– vocabulary and phrases all over classroom walls– wait until Years 4-6 to become more intensive

Findings Participant 3• RQ1: Description of work (12 months)– Year 7 students (age 12 years)– expected to teach additional language each week– “very communicative, oral and fun-based”– important for those not achieving in other areas– grammar provides extension for high achievers– wide variation in priority given to languages

Findings Participant 3• RQ1: Description of work (12 months)– In contrast to first six months (2-3 distinct

lessons), now one discrete lesson plus daily roll call and Friday Art

– Since 6 months students had done speeches– was now doing written exercises

Findings Participant 2• RQ1: Description of work (18 months)– Now had a new Year 3 class for six months– te reo 30 minutes each week– noted a kind of linguistic limbo for some children– LTE relevant for 4-5 ELLs in classroom

Findings Participant 3• RQ1: Description of work (18 months)– she rushed into some aspects as she was leaving

• roll call• writing

– ordered topic according to other curriculum areas being covered in class

– French Art Fridays– discussions of French culture– used French as a point of discussion regarding difference

and bullying

Findings• RQ2: relevance of pre-service language

teacher education (18 months) P2, P3– observations of language teaching– background readings– microteaching with peers could be tied more

closely to ELLs

Discussion• Two very different contexts reflecting NZ

governments approach to implementing additional language teaching in primary schools at senior level first

• Observation that even in senior levels variation in implementation and priority given

Discussion• Descriptions relate closely with the areas

identified by the 6 experienced in-service teachers (Daly, 2010): – ‘creating a context for language learning’• including creating a space where students feel safe to try

out new language, using Ministry of Education resources not sequentially (but making links to the particular classroom context), the importance of games and music, and creating resources;

Discussion– ‘the content of language learning’, • including basic language skills such as

introductions, focusing on topics relevant to other aspects of the students’ school experience (such as sports), focusing on speaking and listening more than reading and writing, referring to grammatical knowledge only in passing, and a focus on cultural awareness; and

Discussion– ‘in-service education’ • which included being willing to learn

alongside students, and to change one’s own teaching style from the style encountered as a student

Discussion– Where school not expecting additional language

teaching, hard for new teacher to implement single-handedly

– Difficult to follow up on target language when classroom teacher not present during language lesson

– Suggestions for experienced language teacher to work alongside classroom teachers to build capacity

– LTE valuable for work with ELLs in class

Conclusion• Areas helpful in the pre-service language teacher education:

– the opportunity to observe language teachers in action, – the opportunity for microteaching with their peers, – the reading of literature concerning best practice in language teaching

(e.g., Ellis, 2005), – literature concerning myths about language teaching (e.g., Lighbown

and Spada, 2006), – familiarity with curriculum documents – the importance of their own experiences of teaching and learning

languages prior to their teacher education, and– the need to change their language teaching practice from that they

had experienced as learners

Conclusion• Areas helpful in the pre-service language teacher education:

– the opportunity to observe language teachers in action, – the opportunity for microteaching with their peers, – the reading of literature concerning best practice in language teaching (e.g.,

Ellis, 2005), – literature concerning myths about language teaching (e.g., Lighbown and

Spada, 2006), – familiarity with curriculum documents – the importance of their own experiences of teaching and learning languages

prior to their teacher education, and– the need to change their language teaching practice from that they had

experienced as learners

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