Conference Agenda

Changes in today’s required skills for the world and job market necessitate a shift in EFL (English as a Foreign-Language) instruction. Proficiency in English is a crucial tool for developing social networking and communication skills; therefore, quality EFL pedagogy should target communication and authentic language production over traditional aims like accuracy or comprehension. However, teachers often cling to traditional concepts of English teaching that fail to meet the current expectations. This study shows a conceptual change in EFL instruction among a group of practicing teachers.

In a 60-hour professional-development course, we introduced 15 English teachers to the Attentive-Teaching approach (Schur, 2019) by modelling its practice in the course. Attentive-Teaching emphasizes connecting the study material to the personal world of the learner. When Attentive-Teaching is applied in EFL, it promotes communication and authentic language production as learners express their unique views. Thus, this approach addresses deeper learning as it combines mastery, creativity, and identity (Mehta & Fine, 2019).

Examination of participants' products from the first and last lessons, alongside recorded group-discussions and responses to pre- and post-course questionnaires, revealed a conceptual change in teachers' perceptions of EFL instruction. The teachers increased their emphasis on communication goals and authentic student engagement in learning. They viewed their roles more holistically, emphasizing the social aspects of education, and have come to view the classroom as a space for mediation. Thus, the application of Attentive Teaching allowed us to observe a conceptual change such that English teaching is a more equitable practice, where all learners are required to express their personal view regardless of their English level.

By targeting English teaching as a core concept, the conceptual change observed in the PD course enabled teachers to relate their teaching to real-world goals and see themselves as making a difference through education.

This research study explored how three teachers of Chinese language and culture negotiated a sense of “who they are” as language teachers during their pre-service teacher education studies in Australian higher education institutions. Drawing on positioning theory and Darvin and Norton’s (2015) expanded model of investment, results from qualitative narrative inquiry, including narrative frame, anecdote writing, and semi-structured interview, reveal the dynamic interplay of identity, ideology, and capital to explain the way in which these pre-service teachers’ identities were being constructed. The findings show that when encountering challenges, particularly concerning legitimacy and competency in university coursework and teaching practices, the pre-service teachers strategically employed different resources from their linguistic, cultural, and educational histories to negotiate a legitimate position as a teacher of Chinese language and culture for the Australian classroom. This research provides insights into the role of “agency” in contributing to teachers’ identity construction and negotiation and concludes with implications for the preparation of language teachers in linguistically and culturally diverse contexts.

Equitable education implies students being able to engage in learning activities on an equal basis, irrespective of their identity and background. To communicate about oneself and one’s family is considered an integral part of beginner competences in foreign languages (Council of Europe, 2020). Thus, autobiographies, illustrations of family trees, and similar forms of self-presentation and presentation of family information, are common genres in foreign language textbooks aimed at beginners. The aim of this research project is to investigate potential inclusive and/or exclusive teaching practices that these genres may generate. Our research questions are: What family structures and potentials for self-presentation are represented in the textbooks? How do the textbooks invite learners to critically engage with the represented knowledge?

These questions call for methodological and theoretical approaches that take into consideration both which knowledge is presented as legitimate in the textbooks (representation), and how learners are engaged with this knowledge (semiosis). We present a critical multimodal analysis of beginner textbooks in the foreign language subjects French, German, Italian, and Spanish in Norway. Informed by queer pedagogy (Nelson 1999, Paiz 2018) and principles of semiotic theory (Weninger & Kiss, 2013), we examine constellations of images, texts, and tasks, with a special eye for potentials for ambiguity and “queer” readings, to understand how the textbooks invite or make possible certain interpretations and language practices.

Preliminary findings suggest that the textbook material reproduces and reinforces traditional family patterns and binary notions of gender and sexuality. This may indicate that the genres are constrained by cultural norms and as such resistant to change. We discuss how more open and inquiry-based approaches can lead to more equitable teaching practices in foreign language teaching and learning, and suggest implications for future development of teaching and learning materials.