Fall 2023, Volume 16, Issue 1
Features:
COSPlay in Learning Translanguaging Language Awareness & Identity Book Reviews
Sunshine State TESOL Journal
FLORIDA
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Florida Sunshine State TESOL Journal Fall, 2023
Manuscript Guidelines The manuscript should appeal to the instructional, administrative, or research interests of educators at various levels, such as adult education, K-12 issues, or teacher education issues. • The manuscript should be substantive and present new ideas or new applications of information related to current trends in the field. • The manuscript should be well written, clearly organized, and carefully proofed. • A complete reference list should be supplied at the end of the manuscript, and the entire manuscript should be formatted according to guidelines in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th Ed. (2001) or later. • Manuscripts should generally be no longer than 15-20 double-spaced pages. • An abstract of 150 words or less should accompany each manuscript. • A biographical statement of 50 words or less should be included for each author. Information should include current job or title, institution, degrees held, professional experience, and any other relevant information. • Please include a cover letter with the name, postal and e-mail address, and phone number of the first author (or other contact person) clearly noted. • Manuscripts must be submitted in electronic format as an e-mail attachment. Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word). Camera-ready figures and tables are requested. • Manuscripts are accepted throughout the year and sent out for review. Reviews may take up to three months. Revisions are usually expected within one month (30 days) after receiving the initial review. Book Review Guidelines • Materials reviewed must have been published within the last three years. • Reviews should be a maximum of three pages. (double spaced). • Each review must provide complete bibliographic information, a description of the book/material, the audience for whom it is designed and how well it accomplshes its purpose. • A cover letter should provide the author's name, email address, telephone number and a brief (25 word) bibliographic statement. • Reviews should be sent as an email attachment.
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Manuscripts Manuscripts may be submitted via the Sunshine State TESOL www site: https://sunshinestatetesol. wildapricot.org/page-1075471 or send to Tony Erben at terben@ut.edu Manuscript Reviewer Interested in being a manuscript reviewer? Please contact Keya Mukherjee at keya.mukherjee@saintleo.edu and detail your area(s) of expertise, a brief bibliography, and if relevant, select publications from the past five years. Advertising Interested in advertising? Submit an inquiry through the Sunshine State TESOL www site or email Keya Mukherjee at keya.mukherjee@saintleo.edu Affiliation Florida Sunshine State TESOL Association is an affiliate of TESOL International Association. Sunshine State TESOL 19230 Wood Sage Dr. Tampa, FL, 33647
Front cover image: The Rosetta Stone. Image treated, from filehttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosetta_Stone.JPG
Editor Tony Erben, Ph.D. University of Tampa Assistant-Editor Keya Mukherjee, Ph.D. Saint Leo University Copy-Editor Cristiane Vicentini, Ph.d. University of Tampa Editorial Review Board Laura Ballard, Ph.D. Florida State University Katya Goussakova, Ph.D. Seminole State College Xuan Jiang, Ph.D. St. Thomas University Michelle Kroskey University of Central Florida John I. Liontas, Ph.D. University of South Florida Terri Mossgrove WIDA Robyn Percy-Socha, Ph.D. Full Sail University Cheryl A. Shamon, Ph.D. Saint Leo University Caroline Webb Broward College Ally Zhou, Ph.D. Florida Gulf Coast University
About Sunshine State TESOL Journal The Sunshine State TESOL Journal is a refereed journal published annually by the Sunshine State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. The main purpose of the Journal is to provide a forum for TESOL professionals to share ideas and research on second language teaching and learning. The Journal welcomes submissions of manuscripts based on research projects, classroom practices, conference presentations, and other professional activities of substance and interest to the general membership. A double-blind review process is used in which submitted manuscripts are distributed by the editor to two-three reviewers with expertise in the areas addressed in each manuscript. Written comments by reviewers and a recommendation on acceptance are returned to the editor, who then communicates the comments and decision on acceptance to the authors.
Editor's Commentary It always fills my professional heart with pride to read how vibrant our ESOL professional community is here in Florida. At our annual state conference this year, October 20 & 21, 2023, SSTESOL Press' third publication will be launched; "Surviving the Pandemic; Inspirational Stories of Resilience, Passion, Growth and Success of the Florida ESOL Teaching Community". This edited book highlghts dozens of vignettes of how our ESOL community worked through the ups and downs of COVID-19. The stories are uplifting and refreshing written by teachers, ELLs, parents and administrators. If you want to be revitalized, this will be a book for you. The book also chronicles how schools, educators and ELLs returned to schools and the on-going effects of the lockdowns. The 43 multilingual vignettes capture the spirit of our wonderful profession! Keep those submissions coming! We have a wonderful editorial board and each reviewer provides great feedback to each author. If your submission is not immediately accepted, read through the feedback and make those revisions with an eye to resubmit at a latter date. If you are interested in becoming an editorial reviewer for the SSTESOL Journal, please send me an email with C.V. at terben@ut.edu. In this Fall 2023 issue of the SSTESOL Journal we have an array of articles and book reviews. The focus of the three research articles are on translanguaging, COSPlay and identity. We also have an article on how to publish. If you are presenting this year at SSTESOL's annual conference, send in your Links to Practice in order to get your work published in next year's Fall issue of SSTESOL Journal! In addition to articles, this Fall issue of SSTESOL Journal offers three book reviews. I hope you enjoy them. We had an acceptance rate of 44% for this issue. Sincerely, Tony Erben, Ph.D. SSTESOL Editor
Editor’s Commentary 3 Research Eman Barri Translanguaging and Second Language Acquisition: Florin M. Mihai A Brief Look at the Available Evidence 5 Stefanie Erben COSPlay and Engagement in an Elementary Math Classroom 13 Tony Erben Jiameng Gao I Teach the Way I Am: A Mainstream Teacher Candidate’s Professional Identity and Multilingual Stance 26 Praxis Geoffrey Butler How to share our teaching practice through publication: A streamlined process 38 Books Reviews Alessandra Camaratta A Field Guide to Gender-Neutral Language: For Business, Families, and Allies. By Shelley Roth; Springboard Publishing, 2020. 43 Evelin Llamas 100 Ways to Teach Language Online: Powerful Tools for the Online and Flipped Classroom Language Teacher. By Shane Dixon, Shelly Shewell, J., & Jenny Crandell; Wayzgoose Press, 2020. 45 Andrew Shepherd Nelson Learning-Oriented Language Assessment: Putting Theory into Practice. By Atta Gebril (Ed.); New York, Routledge, 2021. 48
TESOL CONVENTION IN TAMPA MARCH, 2024
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Florida Sunshine State TESOL Journal Contents Contents
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Defining Translanguaging Educational institutions in the United States have opened their doors to students whose language and cultural backgrounds have contributed toa more culturally and linguistically diverse environment. However, research has claimed that the great diversity of schools has caused bilingual students to be invisible (Major, 2018). Additionally, there is a gap between teachers' beliefs about the value of bilingualism and their classroom practices when it comes to supporting bilingualism (Doorn & Schumm, 2013). Thus, education researchers and practitioners have recently emphasized the importance of supporting the development of bilingual students’ language resources by using pedagogies that suit the flexibility of the language practices of bilingual learners. Garcia (2009) has proposed the construct of translanguaging viewed as a dynamic model of bilingualism. Translanguaging is a term that was first coined by Cen Williams in his unpublished thesis to refer to the use of two languages in the same lesson.In bilingual classrooms, Williams’ pedagogical practice entailed switching the language mode of input and output in the same lesson in that information was received in one language (input), and then the information would be used in the other language (output) after it was completely understood (Lewis et al., 2012). Garcia (2009) defines translanguaging as: “multiple discursive practices in which bilinguals engage in order to make sense of their bilingual worlds” (p. 45). Garcia (2009) extended the notion of translanguaging to refer to the “multiple discursive practices in which bilinguals engage in order to make sense of their bilingual worlds” (p. 45). She further defined translanguaging as “the act performed by bilinguals of accessing different linguistic features or various modes of what are described as autonomous languages, in order to maximize communicative potential” (page 140). She claims that the focus of this approach to bilingualism is on the observable language practices of bilinguals rather than the language itself (Garcia, 2009). Similarly, Baker (2011) defined translanguaging as the process that entails establishing meaning, forming experiences, and developing understandings and knowledge using two languages. Both languages are used in a cohesive and integrated manner to organize and mediate mental processes in understanding and learning. The term is seen as a way to empower multilingual learners allowing them to use all their linguistic resources. Wei (2011) emphasizes the transformative power of translanguaging and makes the argument that it helps create social spaces for multilingual speakers by linking different aspects of their history and personal experiences. The term has been adapted and developed lately as a theoretical concept and become a new trend in bilingualism and multiculturalism that gained popularity in no time (Li & Lin, 2019).Researchsupporting translanguaging suggests that instead of perceiving bilinguals as individualswith two or more separate competing linguistic proficiencies, they must be perceived as those who can use their full linguistic resources to make sense of the world surrounding them(Axelrod, 2017;Back et al., 2020;Burton & Rajendram, 2019; Dovchin, 2021;Dryden et al., 2021;Durán & Palmer, 2014; Major, 2018;Ollerhead, 2019;Putjata & Koster, 2021;Sayer, 2013). Studies on translanguaging claim that allowing bilinguals to use their linguistic resources can help empower bilingual students’ identities(Burton & Rajendram, 2019;Durán & Palmer, 2014;Ollerhead, 2019;Sayer, 2013;Ollerhead, 2019)and create safe spaces for learners to reduce their emotional difficulties(Back et al., 2020;Dovchin, 2021;Dryden et al., 2021). The claim of allowing bilinguals to use all their language resources and mix languages challenges current empirically supportedteaching approaches and pedagogies in dual language programs where languages are perceived to be best taught and learned if they are kept separate (Collier &Thomas, 2004, 2017). Unequivocally, translanguaging in the classroom has been gaining attention in the research and practice of TESOL and applied linguistics. Therefore, it will be beneficial to review studies that examine the impact of the use of translanguaging on second language acquisition to determine the outcomes of using this approach. The Transformational Claims of Translanguaging Translanguaging and L2 Acquisition Limited research suggests that translanguaging can be used in educational settings to help in the development of L2 (Parmegiani, 2022; Yuzlu & Dikilitas, 2022). Parmegiani (2022) claims that if translanguaging is utilized strategically, the mother tongue will facilitate English acquisition and allow the students to succeed in the classroom. In her study, ESL writing courses were linked to a Spanish course to examine the impact of using translanguaging as a resource on native Spanish speaker students writing performance in Bronx Community College. After comparing the students who took the writing classes linked to the Spanish course and those who took the same ESL course alone, the results showed that there was an improvement in the performance of students in the linked courses when it came to their GPAs, retention, and success in moving through the English course. Follow-up interviews with students showed that translanguaging helped students overcome challenges encountered because of seeking a higher education degree in L2. According to the students, a translanguaging framework enabled them to feel more comfortable by creating emotionally safe spaces using their mother tongue. To examine the impact of translanguaging on the development of the four language skills of Turkish-speaking students, Yuzlu and Dikilitas (2022) conducted a mixed-method study with a quasi-experimental design of 60 pre-intermediate and 60 upper-intermediate high school students. Half of the students were assigned to the experimental group and received a 10-week of translanguaging instruction, while the other half was assigned to the control group and received instruction through grammar-translation methods and communicative language approach. The results of the study showed that the translanguaging group outperformed the controlled group in receptive and productive skills. The researcher conducted follow-up interviews with the students to elicit their responses regarding their perception of the use of translanguaging in the classroom. Although one-fifth of the interviewees were hesitant to use Turkish in the classroom as they thought that English classes must have English only, other students reported that translanguaging played an important role in creating a positive and motivating teaching environment. This study revealed that there was an inconsistency in the attitudes of students toward translanguaging in the classrooms. Despite the promising aspects of translanguaging pedagogies as shown in previous studies, Qureshi and Aljanadbah (2021) reported contradictory findings. This study found no statistically significant differences between translingual pedagogy and non-translingual pedagogy for second language reading comprehension. In order to examine the impact of translanguaging on reading comprehension, the study involved an experimental group of 38 learners who were allowed to use Arabic, their L1, to comprehend a text in English, and a control group of 29 learners who completed the same task but while using English only. The results showed no significant difference between the two groups, concluding that students who used translanguaging did not have an advantage over those who completed the task in L2 only. Research suggests that translanguaging can play a role in the development of L2 (Parmegiani, 2022; Yuzlu & Dikilitas, 2022); however, Qureshi and Aljanadbah (2021) showed contradictory results. They found no impact of the use of translanguaging on the development of L2 learners’ reading comprehension. Additionally, as the studies did not examine the effect of using translanguaging over a long period of time, it cannot be assumed that translanguaging created significant changes. After reviewing these studies, it is clear that there is a need for more empirical research that examines the role of translanguaging in language learning in the ESL classroom and what impact it has on the process of language acquisition over a long period of time. Translanguaging Spaces In contrast to the scarcity of research conducted to prove the claims that translanguaging can help the development of L2 acquisition, there is plenty of research that shows how translanguaging can help empower language learners’ identities and manages their emotional experiences. The literature proposes the term translanguaging spaces, where learners are allowed to use all their linguistic resources to create comfortable environments. Research claims that using bilinguals' entire language repertoire would help them reduce the emotional difficulties associated with English-only education (Dryden et al., 2021; Dovchin, 2021; Back et al., 2020). According to Dovchin (2021), ESL immigrants may find a place to manage their negative emotions when translanguaging is extended beyond the classroom as they may experience challenges trying to fit in a new environment. In his ethnographic study, 11 Mongolian English as a second language immigrant women in Australia were able to share their intense feelings experiencing living in a different country through translanguaging and the use of Russian, English, and Mongolian in non-academic environments. Dovchin (2021) claimed that ESL immigrants were deeply emotional as their journey fitting into a different culture and learning a new language was not necessarily very smooth. In those cases, translanguaging might provide language learners with a safe space to express their negative emotions. Similarly, in their ethnographic study, Dryden et al. (2021) discussed the connections between translanguaging and foreign language anxiety. Through interviews and focus group discussions of six EFL learners in Australia who were allowed to use whatever language (English or their L1) they felt comfortable using, the study claimed that translanguaging helped mitigate migrant EFL learners’ negative emotions connected to foreign language experiences. EFL learners employed translanguaging to create safe spaces to negotiate and mitigate their negative emotions connected to foreign language experience. The study described how one participant was exercising her identity through translanguaging. Her tone was different when she moved from speaking English to Korean where she appeared calm and confident indicating that she was a competent user of the language and successfully alleviated her negative feelings whereas, she showed stress and anxiety when she spoke in English. Dryden et al. (2021) claimed that translanguaging allowed for continuous communication that could be easily broken down in monolingual situations. Translanguaging and Identity Construction Research claims that translanguaging is not only a tool that can create safe spaces for learners, but it also helps them empower their identities (Sayer, 2013; Durán & Palmer, 2014; Ollerhead, 2019; Burton & Rajendram, 2019). Major (2018) conducted a study to investigate identity construction of bilingual students through ethnographic research. The researcher collected data through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews of 8 linguistically and culturally diverse children and their teachers in two schools in New Zealand. The study claimed that teachers’ participants positioned students as “others” who belong to different countries in comparison to the dominant norm of white students speaking English, the dominant language. According to Major (2018), teachers perceived the bilingual students as incompetent English speakers who needed native-speaking assistance. Students, on the other hand, rejected and tried to remove themselves from that position. Major (2018) claimed that the understanding of language as a social and cultural practice should be promoted. In a similar ethnographic study conducted in a bilingual program in the US Texas, Sayer (2013) adapted translanguaging as a framework. The participants were 15 children in second grade and their teacher. The teacher adapted an approach of mixing languages, where she and the students used Spanish, English, and both standard and vernacular varieties in the. Sayer (2013) claimed that the flexibility in using translanguaging in the classroom created safe spaces for the teacher and her students to negotiate and reach their desired identities of being bilingual Latinos (Sayer, 2013). To address the scarcity of research on how translanguaging influences the socioemotional experiences of emergent multilingual learners, Back et al. (2020) have looked at translanguaging as an emotional scaffolding tool. The case stories presented in their study concluded that translanguaging offered English learners an opportunity to move from a deficit perspective of their peers to one of respect and appreciation for their knowledge and experiences. During translanguaging interactions, participants' inner voices became increasingly apparent. The study also reported that translanguaging support led one participant to evolve from a quiet student who sometimes displayed behavioral issues into an engaged one. Similarly, Durán and Palmer (2014) highlighted the importance of identity and power relationships in bilingual education and the co-construction of pluralist discourse that protected bilingual spaces in the classroom. By focusing on the construct of language as a social practice, their research claimed that instead of perceiving bilinguals as monolinguals with two separate linguistic abilities, they must be viewed as being able to make sense of the world using multiple linguistic repertoires, which reflected the norm of how bilinguals communicate. Durán and Palmer (2014) have distinguished between subtractive and pluralist discourses. Within the former, students’ home languages are replaced by English whereas in pluralist discourses, multiculturalism is perceived as normal, and students’ home languages are developed besides English. The findings of their study showed that bilingual students felt empowered by their linguistic abilities and reflected a sense of agency when translanguaging was used. Discussion of Claims Despite the popularity of the term translanguaging in TESOL and applied linguistics, its application to pedagogy is approached with doubt (Duarte, 2019) and the use of translanguaging in education has been met with a certain degree of resistance. Although research suggests that allowing bilinguals to use their full linguistic resources can empower their identities and thus invites teachers to use translanguaging as a pedagogical practice, Charalambous et al. (2016) findings contradict this assumption. That study revealed that although teachers opened translanguaging spaces for their students, the group of Turkish-speaking students experienced linguistic insecurities and identity conflict. The study showed that when the teacher opened spaces for Turkish to be used in the classroom, which was the home language of the students, in a school in Cyprus, the students showed resistance, silence, and hesitation. Some of them claimed that they cannot speak the language although they were competent users of Turkish. Although the teacher intended to empower students’ identities as claimed by translanguaging, students rejected the Turkish identity because of the problematic identity of being Turkish in Cyprus. Other studies showed contradictory findings regarding teachers’ perception of the use of translanguaging as a pedagogy in the classroom (Burton & Rajendram, 2019; Sayer, 2013; al-Bataineh & Gallagher, 2021). In a study conducted by Burton and Rajendram (2019),teacher participants perceived translanguaging as slowing the process of learning English, whereas, in the study conducted by Sayer (2013), the teacher participants praised the value of translanguaging and used it in the classroom as a tool to create spaces to empower her students’ identities. This contradiction in the findings of the two studies reveals the continuous tension in accepting the implementation of translanguaging ideologies in the L2 classroom. Similarly, Al-Bataineh & Gallagher (2021) findings revealed that teachers rejected translanguaging practices of using English and Arabic simultaneously in writing stories for bilingual children, and they believed that using several languages in books would not help in biliteracy and would negatively impact the text structure and organization. Additionally, the examination of current research has revealed a gap in the literature regarding translanguaging research and its application in the classroom. Despite the claims of the promising role of translanguaging pedagogies, there are real challenges in practice. The limitation of translanguaging research is that most literature on this topic offers best practices but rarely describes the challenges faced by researchers and teachers when implementing the pedagogy (Vaish, 2019). Vaish (2019) showed the difficulties in implementing translanguaging as a pedagogy in a reading class in Singapore. Students in this study showed negative attitudes towards the use of their mother tongue in the classroom despite their multilingual backgrounds. Additionally, as students come from diverse linguistic backgrounds, using the home languages in the classroom requires that the classroom should be divided into groups based on the students’ languages (Vaish, 2019). Moreover, the implementation of translanguaging can challenge institutions. In practice, translingual teaching practices necessitate institutional restructuring, which may be unrealistic for language programs that are already balancing educational requirements and demands (Gevers, 2018). Cenoz and Gorter (2017) havewarned thatthere is a risk of using translanguaging if it is utilized without consideration for the socio-linguistic context in that it can affect the vulnerable minority languages. They noted that sustainable translanguaging can be the solution in that there should be a balance of using the multilingual resources from the learner’s language system and the use of the minority language on its own, which according to them is considered difficult to be achieved. They have proposed five principles that should be applied in order for translanguaging to be sustainable for minority languages: the first principle suggests creating spaces where the minority language can be spoken freely without the threat of the majority language; the second principle entails developing a necessity for the minority language to be used through translanguaging because if the language is not important, it is not going to be used; the third principle emphasizes using the learners’ linguistic repertoire to enforce metalinguistic awareness across all languages by making cognates connections, morphological comparisons and developing writing skills in all languages, so they can see the similarities and differences between the languages. The fourth principle shows the importance of language awareness, for example, the social status of languages and how languages are used in the community so that students can have a clear understanding of the importance of the minority language. The final principle entails connecting spontaneous translanguaging with pedagogical translanguaging by looking at how students communicate with each other and making them aware of the way the minority language can be used in different contexts. Conclusions Research claims that translanguaging helps empower bilingual students’ identities (Burton & Rajendram, 2019; Durán & Palmer, 2014; Ollerhead, 2019; Sayer, 2013) and creates safe spaces for learners to reduce their emotional difficulties (Back et al., 2020; Dovchin, 2021; Dryden et al., 2021).It also suggests that translanguaging could potentially play a visible role in the development of L2 (Parmegiani, 2022; Yuzlu & Dikilitas, 2022). However, the claim that translanguaging is more effective compared to other empirically supported pedagogical methods does not seem to be evident in the research reviewed here. Very little research has been conducted to determine its impact on students’ language learning, especially in an English as a second language classroom. In other words, does translanguaging translate well to the ESL classroom? There is still not enough evidence that shows if translanguaging can help bilingual learners acquire a new language or maintain their first language more effectively compared to other teaching approaches. Thus, the problem with the concept is not philosophical but pedagogical: Could translanguaging lead to positive outcomes in education, taking into consideration the challenges that this concept will impose on ESL teachers who might have several students from different language backgrounds, and the extra hours they will spend planning for translanguaging practices? What is noticed after reviewing the literature is that most of the translanguaging claims are subjective and lack empirical evidence. For example, Dryden et al. (2021) claim that translanguaging allows for continuous communication that could be easily broken down in monolingual situations is doubtful. In typical multilingual classrooms, teachers and students come from diverse backgrounds and speak different languages. How is it possible that the use of translanguaging can help support continuous communication if students and teachers mix different languages? Moreover, there is a gap in the current literature regarding the challenges encountered by teachers and institutions implementing translanguaging practices as most literature on translanguaging offers best practices but rarely describes the challenges faced by researchers and teachers when implementing the pedagogy (Vaish, 2019). It is important to note that learners’ first languages should be celebrated and used in the classroom as a facilitator of the students' learning process. There is a great space in the classroom where students and teachers can use the L1 in a systematic way that helps them learn and at the same time celebrate their multilingual identities.Nonetheless, language and content area teachers should keep in mind that there is a great deal of variety in L1 proficiency, as some English learners might not be literate in their L1 or might have a very limited academic language in their native language. One education context where L1 is used in a systematically to facilitate language acquisition and academic development effectively is represented by dual language programs, more specifically by two-way dual language programs where both English learners and English speakers learn through their two languages. By definition, translanguaging refers to the use of both languages in the same lesson, so many dual language teachers might be inclined to use it in their instruction. Nevertheless, research has empirically and unequivocally shown that dual language education can close the achievement gap of English learners with their native English-speaking peers if three non-negotiable conditions are met: a K-12 commitment, a separation of the two languages for instruction, and a minimum of 50% of instruction in the non-English language (Thomas & Collier, 2012). The separation of the two languages for instruction does not mean a total rejection of English in a Spanish class, or vice versa. Dual language teachers actively employ a variety of visuals such as anchor charts or cognate graphs in their classrooms to enable content and language bridging between the two languages. One example of a visual used in a dual language classroom to facilitate bridging in a Spanish-English dual language classroom is illustrated in Figure 1. The philosophical concept of translanguaging sounds promising, but more research is still needed to address the challenges of the implementation of translanguaging as a pedagogy rather than focusing on the best practices. Future research should focus on addressing the challenges related to the implementation of translanguaging in the L2 classroom. Additionally, research should be conducted to understand the long-term side effects of translanguaging on language learning and language maintenance, and this can be done by conducting more longitudinal studies. References Al-Bataineh, A., & Gallagher, K. (2021). 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Teaching across semiotic modes with multilingual learners: Translanguaging in an Australian classroom.Language and Education, 33(2), 106–122. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2018.1516780 Parmegiani, A. (2022). Translanguaging in a bilingual writing programme: The mother tongue as a resource for academic success in a second language.Language, Culture and Curriculum, 35(3), 290–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318.2022.2050742 Putjata, G., & Koster, D. (2021). ‘It is okay if you speak another language, but … ’: Language hierarchies in mono- and bilingual school teachers’ beliefs.International Journal of Multilingualism, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2021.1953503 Qureshi, M. A., & Aljanadbah, A. (2021). Translanguaging and reading comprehension in a second language.International Multilingual Research Journal, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/19313152.2021.2009158 Sayer, P. (2013). Translanguaging, TexMex, and bilingual pedagogy: Emergent bilinguals learning through the vernacular. TESOL Quarterly, 47(1), 63–88. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.53 Thomas, W. P., & Collier, V. P. (2012).Dual language education for a transformed world. Fuente Press. Vaish, V. (2019). Challenges and directions in implementing translanguaging pedagogy for low achieving students.Classroom Discourse,10(3–4), 274–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/19463014.2019.1628790 Wei, L. (2011). Moment analysis and translanguaging space: Discursive construction of identities by multilingual Chinese youth in Britain. Journal of Pragmatics. 43, 1222–1235. Williams, C. 1994. Arfarniad o ddulliau dysgu ac addysgu yng nghyd-destun addysg uwchradd ddwyieithog, Bangor, UK: University of Wales. [An evaluation of teaching and learning methods in the context of bilingual secondary education] (Unpublished PhD thesis) Yasar Yuzlu, M., & Dikilitas, K. (2022). Translanguaging in the development of EFL learners’ foreign language skills in Turkish context.Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching,16(2), 176–190. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2021.1892698
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Research Translanguaging and Second Language Acquisition: A Brief Look at the Available Evidence Eman Barri and Florin M. Mihai Central Florida University ABSTRACT Over the past two decades, translanguaging (Garcia, 2009) has been discussed in TESOL and applied linguistics as more effective than monolingual approaches of language teaching.In contrast to the monolingual perspective, translanguaging emphasizes the use of practices that pushes learners to use all their linguistic resources to interact with their social surroundings.The purpose of this article is to briefly examine the available evidence regarding the transformational claims of translanguaging, with special attention paid to second language acquisition, translanguaging spaces, and identity construction. The examined research provides evidence that translanguaging has the potential toempower bilingual students’identities and createsafe spaces for language learners to decrease their emotional difficulties. Nevertheless, there is insufficient evidence in the examined research to support the claim that translanguaging is more effective compared to other empirically supported pedagogical methods. Furthermore,most translanguaging research offers best practices but rarely addresses its challenges, so recommendations for future research are provided.
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Research COSPlay and Engagement in an Elementary Math Classroom Stefanie Erben and Tony Erben The University of Tampa ABSTRACT Student engagement is often measured by attentiveness, curiosity, and interaction throughout the lesson. However, some of the lasting consequences of the pandemic include student disengagement and issues of attendance, which have affected overall achievement and success (St. George, 2022). COSPlay, a portmanteau of costume play, is an activity and performance art in which teachers and/or learners wear costumes and accessories to represent characters. The term COSPlay is composed of the two aforementioned counterparts – costume and role play. Designing authentic COSPlay experiences has the potential to create meaningful experiences for learners and assist them to build schema around the curriculum. The researcher investigated the effects of COSplay in an elementary math classroom containing English Language Learners to engage and incentivize students through the themes; emotions, mindset, and teacher-student relationships.
Introduction According to Kurtz’s analysis of an EdWeek Research Center survey of 1,143 pre-12 educators, upon reflecting on the pandemic, found that “declining student engagement is the number one concern, with 80% saying it was a major challenge” (2020). However, engagement has been at the forefront of educators’ minds long before the COVID pandemic. Philosophers and leading educators consistently come back to the question of engagement. Engagement is the key to unlocking learners’ full potential. Student engagement allows classrooms to run smoothly and successfully. A Gallup study, included in Reckmeyer’s research, analyzed data from over 113,800 students in grades 5 through 12 and confidently determined that student engagement and academic growth is positively linked (2019). There are three dimensions of engagement; behavioral, emotional, and cognitive, thus there are many influential strategies and tools that have the power to augment or dull it. The National Association of State Boards of Education highlight teachers as an instrumental force for student engagement (2015). Teachers drive the inner workings of a classroom, from developing strong relationships in a positive classroom climate to personalized learning plans that meet students attheirneeds instead of students meeting the teacher and nurturing creativity to critical thinking. Moreover, teachers determine if their students will be active or passive learners based upon the structure of lessons and conversations. Sitting in the driver seat allows the teacher to experiment with other methods to increase engagement, such as costumes. Elizabeth F. Barkley, a scholar and an educator, said “Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is the product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing”. The goal of this study is to analyze how costumes affect student engagement during math lessons. The observations and opinions collected from the students and the classroom teacher, will allow the researcher to compare lessons with and without costume use. The researcher chose to investigate this case study after observing a steady decline in student engagement over her own teaching career and observing costume use across a Kindergarten to university setting. Dressing up for play and role play activities are used frequently in elementary school settings, with Book Week and Book-o-ween often making headlines due to the recognition received from news outlets and the wider community. However, there is limited research answering to what effect or impact these costumes have on student engagement. Do costumes support student learning or do they take away from it? Research Question What effect does costume use during math lessons have on student engagement? Review of Literature The theories and pedagogies that are the driving force of inspiration and curiosity behind the posed research question are sociocultural theory, active learning, and Constructivism. Vygotsky’s (1978, as cited in McLeod, 2022) sociocultural theory weighs on learning as a social practice, with interaction at the forefront for cognitive development. This way of thinking falls heavily under the constructivist pedagogy. Vygotsky considered learning to be a snowball of moments, where students learn through dialogue with each other and through the integration of new experiences with past knowledge. External speech is also cited as an important player in consolidating understanding, so Vygotsky challenges teachers to provide meaningful and stimulating learning moments, with ample opportunities for conversation. Here, a learning setting should emphasize collaboration between students, with appropriate teacher scaffolding which intentionally engages students through their interests (McLeod, 2022). Active learning engages students through the environment and experiences fostered through its application (Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T., 2018). If students are active in their task, they are more likely to be engaging with the content critically, creatively, intellectually, and emotionally, therefore benefiting cognitive and affective outcomes. A common characteristic of such is collaboration among students. From an educator’s perspective, active learning is broadly perceived to be an effective pedagogy to bolster student engagement and view of learning content (Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T., 2018). Baroody et al. (2016) used the Self-systems Framework to examine 387 students’ engagement levels across 20 schools in the United States. The researchers analyzed the association between student engagement, social skills, and academic achievement in mathematic classrooms. To collect data, students and teachers both completed questionnaires and the researchers conducted classroom observations. Baroody et al. (2016) found that in math classes, higher student engagement was linked with students’ social skills and achievement, thus demonstrating the correlation between engagement and cognitive and affective outcomes (Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T., 2018). The researchers reasoned that teachers’ and students’ personal measurements of engagement could differ based on their understanding of such (Baroody et al., 2016). For example, focus and attention versus a sense of belonging, respectively. Baroody et al. (2016) highlight the belief that interactions and social skills are imperative to effective 21stcentury math classrooms. Student engagement continues to be an essential component in advancing teaching and learning and persists to be in the forefront of every educator’s mind. Although scholars have developed a myriad of similar definitions over the years, Groccia (2018) analyzes a common theme (or string of words) emerging among them all;effort,student experience,active learning,participating in challenging tasks,communication, involvement in academic and non-academic experiences, interest, curiosity, attention,as well as connection to content and each other. Engagement is widely accepted as an indicator of effective classroom instruction and student success (Fletcher, 2015, as cited in Groccia, 2018). Skinner and Belmont state that engaged students "show sustained behavioral involvement in learning activities accompanied by a positive emotional tone".Drawing parallels between engagement and motivation (1993, as cited in Groccia, 2018), Groccia (2018) argues that true student engagement can be taken to the next level by captivating students through learning experiences that extend across the curriculum, which can transcend the curriculum to real-world problems. Under these circumstances, students will connect with lesson content and their learning processes on behavioral, affective and cognitive levels. When these three levels are activated in a constructive way, the student is more likely to commit and process information by connecting it to a positive experience (Groccia, 2018).Bonwell, Eison and Hake (1991, 1998, as cited in, Groccia, 2018) describe engagement as moments when learners are not passive in receiving knowledge, but instead are active participants who discuss, share, collaborate, question and problem solve. Pedler et al. (2020) echo the work of Groccia (2018) in stating that authentic engagement lies in the effective employment of students' behavioral, cognitive and affective dimensions. Fredericks et al. (2004, as cited in, Pedler et al., 2020) outline the characteristics of each as follows: Behavioral engagement includes motivation, perseverance, concentration, questioning, participation and following the instructions. "Emotional engagement includes affective reactions in the classroom, such as boredom, happiness, sadness, anxiety, identification with school (aka belonging), and liking or disliking school (Fredricks et al., 2004, p. 63). Cognitive engagement includes investment in learning, self-regulation, preference for challenge and hard work, going beyond requirements, effort in mastering new knowledge and skills and using learning strategies (Fredricks et al., 2004, p. 64)." While it is important to tap into these dimensions of a student, it is equally crucial to acknowledge and harness the power teachers have fostering engaging experiences (Pedler et al., 2020). As the designer of the classroom culture, relationships within the space and content construction and delivery, teachers play a pivotal role. In a tangible sense, the deliberate selection and implementation of activities, resources and language are the building blocks to an engaging lesson. Looking more closely at the cognitive domain, Pedler et al. (2020) put forward teacher enthusiasm as a tool to improve students' willingness to dive into a lesson. Under this reasoning, it is how a teacher presents information, rather than the information itself, that impacts student engagement. Students also respond positively when they are provided choice and are able to maintain some autonomy in a lesson. Stemming from play pedagogy, children have been partaking in role-play, drama activities that transcends cultures, geography and time. It can even be said that early childhood development, pretend play and imagination are inseparable from each other. Children may act like a character in a book, use props such as a banana for a phone or wear costumes to take a play activity to another, all the while constructing new meanings of their environment. Costumes and props are tangible support mechanisms tostrengthen students' imaginations and heighten their curiosity in the world around them (Johnson, J. E. et al., 2019). James Curiel's (2018) research explored the efficacy of a professor dressing up in a costume and investigated whether doing so increased university student participation and performance. The costume was not used as a tool to teach, it was instead used as an incentive to further motivate and engage students in their learning by their posts online prior to an examination. Curiel studied three sections of a junior level course across three semesters and two sections of a freshman level course across two semesters, providing enough classes to have a control and experimental course. The course material and instructor remained the same, while the use of a costume was the only item changed. Engagement was measured through the participation in an online forum prior to an exam. If student participation reached a pre-determined level, the professor agreed to dress up. Curiel's study found that in all instances where a costume was used as an incentive, student team participation increased to 100%, while in the control groups 81% of teams participated in the prescribed activity. Curiel also surveyed students to determine their thoughts towards the integration of a costume. The results of Curiel's experiment proved that: 1) the use of a costume substantially increased participation 2) however, there was no concrete evidence proving that the use of a costume improved student performance 3) students held positive opinions that favoured the experiment. Curiel's examination of a teacher wearing a costume effectively incentivizing student participationoffers a specific example of the effective teacher pedagogy suggested in "The teachers' role in student engagement: A review". While the latter review indicates that an increase in student engagement brings improved academic results, it could not be proven in Curiel's study.Due to his findings, James Curiel (2018) suggests thatcostumes have the ability to act as another tool for teachers to minimize student indifference towards otherwise dull learning moments. Academics recognize role-play as a beneficial active learning strategy that stimulates student participation, excitement, and the digestion of new information (Stevens, 2015). At the time, much of the research pertaining to role-play explored teachers' responses and opinions. However, in her study, Rachel Stevens (2015) examines the perceptions on a role-play task of 144 university students in a history course.From a questionnaire, she examined students' responses towards their level of engagement, motivation, and critical thinking skills necessary for an active learning, role play activity given to them. Stevens found, through qualitative and quantitative data, that a majority of students felt they gained a deeper understanding, cultivated their empathetic, perspective taking and critical thinking skills. Although, a small group of students felt the activity did not support their learning. Stevens (2015) speculates that this could be due to students being underprepared for the activity or an unwillingness to apply critical thinking skills. The research study shed light on role play, taken a step further; costumes, as an opportunity to enhance student understanding and skills. Equally important to consider, are Stevens' findings that a minority of students disagreed/strongly disagreed that the role play task helped them, demonstrating, according to Stevens', that active learning tasks must be intentional and well-thought out to be effective. Steven's qualitative and quantitative research confirms the overarching message in "The teachers' role in student engagement: A review"; higher engagement levels can be attained through intentional activities. Extrapolated from a review of an array of research, the Diski Valiant (2020) outlines that storytelling through Cosplay (costumes and play) is an effective and viable tool to improve students' listening skills. Listening is an essential language skill but is commonly difficult to develop due to the inability to maintain students' attention. Dressing up and storytelling are innovative, effective strategies to tap into student interest, thus increasing their motivation and concentration. Story telling through costumes helps students to connect to content and bolster their readiness to learn and listen. Valiant (2020) admits teachers must demonstrate a certain level of creativity and innovation to capture a class of students' interest. Listening, or engagement with material, is also impacted by students' physical and psychological state, background knowledge, attitude and environment (Rhaman et al., 2019, as cited in, Valiant, 2020). Valiant (2020) outlines three examples of teachers dressing in costumes to enhance the aspects of a student listed above: an elementary school teacher dressed as a monkey and two university teachers who dress as movie characters with one having more than 60 costumes in his repertoire. The costumes offer an additional aspect to storytelling practice within a classroom because engagement and ability to listen are highly connected. Whilst the research exploring student engagement is vast, the researcher discerned that there are gaps in the literature that investigate how engagement could be affected by Cosplay in elementary math and science classrooms. There are ample instances of teachers bringing costumes into the classroom that are publicized through social media (Instagram, Tik Tok and local news stories), yet the correlation between costumes and engagement remains at best anecdotal. This research study provides a scholarly examination of engagement levels in response to costume use in a classroom at an elementary level. Procedures School and Classroom Contextual Factors A qualitative case study was conducted during two classroom visits across one week. A fifth grade classroom, from a public school in the South-eastern United States, was studied. This classroom was decompartmentalized, meaning the classroom teacher focused on a specific subject area to teach multiple groups of students. In this study, the classroom teacher taught math and science to two groups of fifth grade students. This teacher had eight years of teaching experience in elementary schools and three years of experience teaching at a university. School X was in a large city setting which served 421 students in grades PK-5. Of the whole student body, 80% (335) of students were African American, 12% (51) of students were Hispanic, 5% (19) of students were Caucasian, 3% (13) of students were two or more races and less than 1% (3) of students were Asian. 10% (35) of the school population was classified as ELL. There was a 11.08 student-to-teacher ratio. It was a Title I elementary school with 99% (416) of students eligible for Free or Reduced Lunch. Specifically, 408 students were eligible for a free lunch. According to Florida’s Department of Education, 96.8% of students were economically disadvantaged. The school boundary included hotels/motels, domestic violence shelters and a drug/alcohol rehab facility. A majority of students attending School X experienced varying levels of trauma. There were 225 male students, 196 female students and 38 classroom teachers. From the years 2013-2019, School X consistently earned D or F school grades. In 2022, School X received a B (FLDOE, 2022). Data from Florida’s Department of Education showed that for the 2021-2022 school year, 27% of students earned a passing score or better in English Language Arts and 54% of students made learning gains in this subject area. 49% of students earned a passing score or better in Mathematics and 74% made learning gains in Mathematics. 22% of students earned a passing score or better in science. The number of English Language Learners has been steadily increasing. In the 2020-2021 academic year only 33% of ELLs made progress on the ACCESS 2.0 assessment and only 10% achieved a 3 or above (passing grade) in Mathematics. The contextual factors of the school listed above are published on the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES, 2022) website and the school’s own Schoolwide Improvement Plan. The context of the classroom helps to further illuminate the who and what of the research question. The teacher saw thirty-two students for math throughout the day. 53% of the students in her group were proficient in math and less than 1% in her group were proficient in reading, all the other students were one or more grade levels below. Below level reading was a consistent problem across the school which the classroom teacher contributed to the lack of support at home and students starting Kindergarten significantly below level. The other fifth grade classes (two) had significantly lower proficiency in math. On the quarterly math test, students scored a 57% average in the focus class and the other fifth grade class scored a 45% average. According to the data, many of the students in the fifth grade cohort should have been in sixth grade, if they had not been retained in third grade. The classroom teacher believed the Science and English scores were low because of the tests’ reading element. In the first math class, there were fifteen students and consisted of predominantly male students. Five of these students were English Language Learners (ELL). Another student had an emotional and behavioral disorder (EBD). Seven students had a disability (ESE) and one student had a 504 which provides a specialized plan for their disability. In the second math group, there are thirteen students, nine girls and four boys. One student is EBD and six students are ELL. One of the students in this focus math group was kicked out of the other fifth grade class due to her poor behavior and attitude towards math. She became more academically engaged and no absconded from the classroom, which positively affected her grades. The structure of the class was as follows: on Monday the new content was introduced, and the theme of the week was hinted at through teacher prompts and the classwork PowerPoint. Throughout the week the teacher built anticipation for Friday. On Friday, the teacher wore a costume associated to the theme (COSplay), decorated the classroom, and played related music. The math questions students worked through on Friday were linked to the theme. During the week of the case study, the theme was “Disco”. On Friday the teacher wore a sparkly outfit and rollerblades. She put a disco ball up in the classroom and played soft disco music as the students worked. Students were allowed to wear sunglasses. They took a short break to dance halfway through the designated class time. Data Collection Methodology In order to answer the research question; What effect does costume use during math lessons have on student engagement?, three instruments were used to obtain and triangulate data. Data was collected through observations, surveys to the students and separate interviews with the teacher and a small group of students. The qualitative design is particularly important to this study because it permitted the researcher, teacher, and students to provide personal insights and perspectives based on experiences they encountered and observed during instruction. In a case study, each point of view provides a significant asset in the research. Observations of classroom lessons, to assess student engagement through their actions and words, provided an objective outsider’s perspective to answer the research question, other than the teacher and students’ opinion. The researcher determined that student surveys and interviews were a critical data set to collect in order to successfully answer the research question in full. Students’ perspectives and reflections on their own engagement during a lesson with costume use couldn’t be left out. The interview with the classroom teacher postulated a better understanding of how costumes are implemented into lessons and the teacher’s opinion on the effects of the costumes, as she was most familiar with the situation. The researcher conducted observations for the entirety of the school day on Monday and Friday. These days were selected because they contributed the most pertinent information for the research question. Observations were shaped by Domain 2 and 3 on the Danielson Rubric (see Appendix A). Students received a survey on Monday, when the teacher did not wear a costume, and on a Friday, when the teacher did wear a costume, to compare their feelings towards and experience of a lesson. The survey on Monday consisted of eleven Yes/No questions and one open-ended question. The survey on Friday consisted of a variety of sixteen closed-response questions. The surveys were printed for the students to complete. This method was chosen because it allowed for efficient, anonymous data collection and delivered reliable information about personal experiences and responses. The researcher conducted eight random student interviews to gain a better understanding of how students felt about their teacher dressing up in a costume. Students were asked five questions and were given the opportunity to add any additional thoughts at the end if they wanted to. A mix of males and females, those who have had the classroom teacher before and those whom it is their first time, were withdrawn from the class individually. Asking students open-ended questions and giving them an opportunity to speak about how they feel created a more well-rounded picture than only questions on a piece of paper. The researcher interviewed the classroom teacher on a Friday, after both lesson types had been delivered (with and without costume). This was completed after the researcher conducted their own observations and collected the student surveys. The questions formulated for the teacher interview were open-ended and crafted to learn more about the teacher’s experience, class and school context, and the teacher’s perspective on Cosplay. Both the teacher and student interviews were conducted in a quiet place, away from others in order to gain the truest answers. Data Analysis To analyze the data retrieved from the student surveys, a spreadsheet was created and formatted based on responses to begin the coding process. The colored responses clearly depicted if students had positive or negative responses to the lessons. The responses from Monday were compared with Fridays to determine the impact of the costumes. To analyze the teacher and student interviews and observations, the researcher read and reread the recorded interviewee responses and their own field notes, in order to memo emerging ideas. Reflective thoughts from the week were included in the thematic analysis process. Using the emerging ideas, the researcher described and classified codes and ideas into themes. This process involved many codes being funneled into three overarching themes. The emerging themes were color coded across all data forms. Once this phase was completed, the researcher explored and evaluated how the themes were interrelated in the context of the case study. As a visual representation of the data, codes and themes, a table of quotes formed to show were the teacher and students live within each theme. Pie graphs were generated from the numerical data drawn from the student surveys to display the data through a visual representation (see Findings). To maximize the quality of the case study, multiple types of data were collected. All evidence was stamped with date and times to be organized accurately. This data was compared, contrasted, and had the power to support or contradict one another. The cross-referencing between data yielded valid results. This methodology followed a clear path of evidence from the initial research question ultimately to conclusions drawn. The case study took place in a unique social setting because it examined costume use on a specific group of students with unique in and out of school factors and a teacher with a specialized set of skills. Nevertheless, the findings can still be used to support theories on student engagement and a similar practice could be simulated in other classrooms. Findings Through an iterative process of analyzing the data, three core themes were revealed. Emotions, mindset, and teacher-student relationships drove every aspect of engagement in the classroom during this case study. Emotions Immordino-Yang stated, "It is literally neurologically impossible to build memories, engage complex thoughts, or make meaningful decisions without emotions" (AERANews, 2016). The classroom teacher avidly relayed a similar message in the interview with the researcher;“To me, engagement is when students are excited about school and what it is they’re learning. They’re engaged when they want to talk about math and they get excited when they do what they need to do. There is excitement about goal setting and for the next test because they’re excited to do well”(See Table 1).Starting with the evidence extracted from this interview, the teacher’s focus was how students felt. She believed that students needed to be emotionally invested in what they were learning because learning just as much a social process as a cognitive one. For example, on costume Friday’s students had the opportunity to answer questions around the room to achieve their proficiency goals, interact, dance, and have fun. This whole experience described by the teacher, and observed by the researcher, allowed students to experience contextualized math problems and become excited over it. Furthermore, the teacher reported that due to the student’s excitement they frequently share what they’re learning and doing in class with their friends, other teachers, and their case workers. This buzz about learning was evident in the smiles on students’ faces and the conversations passing between peers. The researcher also made key observations. Friday morning students were speeding into the classroom to catch the first glimpse of what the teacher was wearing. Students were shocked at how outrageous it was when their teacher was rollerblading around the classroom. During the math lesson, the class took a brain break and danced to disco music. The teacher brought in personalized furniture and resources. Students were given choice in their learning. Both teacher and students were smiling and joking around with one another. The classroom was a happy place. On the Danielson Rubric the teacher earned exemplary for 2a: “Creating an Environment or Respect and Rapport”; “Classroom interactions among the teacher and individual students are respectful, reflecting genuine warmth and caring and sensitivity to students’ cultures and levels of development. Students themselves ensure high levels of civility among members of the class” and 2b: “Establishing a Culture for Learning”; “High levels of student energy and teacher passion for the subject create a culture of learning in which everyone shares a belief in the importance of the subject…” (See Appendix A). However, off task behavior and subsequently teacher redirections appeared to increase on a Friday compared to traditional Monday class. While this may appear to contribute to the research question in one manner, the researcher credits it in another. Heightened levels of excitement may be perceived as disengagement, however upon closer observation the incentive of costume play on a Friday kept students diligently working throughout the week. On Friday, the excitement levels were truly a matter of energetic anticipation. Student perceptions of engagement during teacher Cosplay lessons were collated from interviews and surveys. In an interview one student stated,“I was excited to have her as a teacher because my brother had her, so I heard about all the costumes she dressed up in” (See Table 1). This demonstrates how students are emotionally invested, therefore engaged, before they even step one foot in the classroom. Figure 1 shows that 95.7% of students were looking forward to coming to class on Friday becauset heir teacher was wearing a costume. Table 2 shows data indicating that students enjoyed the Cosplay lesson more and were less bored. Surveys showed 96% of students felt interested in what they were learning. The same number of students, four, reported losing concentration at one point during the lesson on Monday and Friday, a number the researcher deemed low for an elementary school classroom. The classroom teacher’s words, actions and intentional teaching practices ensured that emotions played an integral role in student learning and engagement. Emotion drives attention because when the brain signals something is important, more energy is used to focus on it. Table 1 Teacher and Student Quotes on Emotion Figure 1 Table 2 Student Survey Responses on Emotion Mindset A growth mindset, for teacher and students, and high expectations are two critical factors contributing to student engagement and consequently higher levels of student achievement. It’s first important to examine the classroom teacher’s understanding of what engagement is. In the interview, she stated “Engagement is loud, chaotic, messy, silly, authentic” (Table 3). This helped to frame engagement in the unique context of this case study. The teacher’s central aim involved rethinking the traditional notion of a classroom and what teaching and learning is expected to look and sound like. She shared with the interviewer that she previously thought teaching was serious and had to look a particular way, but the teacher’s belief was that if she’s bored teaching, the kids are bored too. “It [Cosplay] helps me come to work, be more positive about my job, and not burn out.” The mindset that learning is fun, increased student engagement and transformed the work ethic of her students. Equally important, are the high expectations the classroom teacher held for every one of her students. The teacher stated, “People expect my kids to fail, they put a label on them because of what their home life is like and the socio-economic status of their family or how they’ve behaved in the past. I set a higher standard for them” (Table 3). High expectations are widely accepted as having far reaching impacts on student achievement, challenging them to reach their full potential. This speaks volumes for the success experienced in this classroom, especially in regard to the SES of the students and hardships they faced outside of the classroom, outlined above in the school and classroom contextual factors. Not only were the students’ math scores impressive in comparison to students in similar situations, but they also had a love for learning and their teacher. The researcher argues this cannot be achieved without first engaging students in the content. Scoring exemplary on 2b of the Danielson Rubric also included “a culture of learning in which everyone shares a belief… that students can succeed if they work hard. All students hold themselves to high standards of performance” (See Appendix A). The teacher explained she holds high expectations for all her students, and this was observed playing out. Students themselves then emulated the teacher’s feelings and held themselves to the same standard. They initiated improvements to their own work, seeking feedback from their “expert” peers or teacher. The researcher observed the positive mindset of students in relation to the classroom “expert system” and the accompanying badge of honor they could wear if attained. Students were encouraged to use the anchor charts and resources around the classroom, making them more accountable for their own learning. The student interviews and surveys echoed the teacher’s mindset and confirmed the conclusions drawn from observations. A student shared with the researcher,“We work hard, behave, and get our work done so we get to have fun” (Table 3). A fifth grader does not demonstrate this self-awareness and grit without it being taught, modelled, and repeatedly practiced. The surveys provided greater insight into students’ thoughts on the Cosplay. 60.9% of students felt the costume/theme helped them better understand the math topic (Figure 2) and 59.1% of students felt the costume/theme helped them make connections with their learning (Figure 3). Building schema and activating background knowledge is essential to draw students into a topic and develop understanding. This is often something lacking in low SES schools because the students are coming into the classroom with experiences extensively different from the classroom teacher. Therefore, the teacher must build that experience for the students. 45.5% of students answered that they are more interested in their learning when the teacher dresses up (Figure 4). Another 31.8% of students said they weren’t,butthey justified their “false” by stating they are interested in their work every day (supporting the power of mindset), or they are interested because the teacher is nice (supporting the influence of positive teacher-student relationships). 47.8% of students answered that they prefer Friday math lessons, 13% of students prefer the days equally (their love for learning shines through this question) and 39.1% prefer math on Mondays (Figure 5). It is important to point out that 8.6% of students said they preferred math on Mondays because that is when new topics are introduced, and they love learning new things. 100% of students participated in math on Friday and 100% felt motivated to continue learning (Table 4). Table 3 Teacher and Student Quotes on Mindset Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Table 4 Student Survey Responses on Mindset Teacher-Student Relationships The entire classroom dynamic functioned off the bond established between teacher and students. In this case study, the researcher deemed this relationship as the driving force behind student engagement. Research tells us that a positive relationship is a crucial factor affecting student success, this particular study showed this concept in action. In the interview, the teacher fore fronted the importance of relationships by stating,“My relationship with the students and my practice, creates a culture of learning, where students take accountability for what they want to learn, have to learn and goals they want to achieve” (Table 5). This quote demonstrates the teacher knew her students and was juggling a delicate balance of independence and trust with her students. Naturally, there were consequences if the students did not complete their work, the teacher admitted. The high expectations described in “Mindset” were also at work, building teacher-student relationships. The researcher witnessed numerous interactions that demonstrated the teacher genuinely cared for the students through her warm words and actions. Students notice how teachers interact with other students and their own colleagues and often they will mirror their teacher’s interaction style. This idea was visible in the case study because the classroom teacher effectively forged meaningful connections with each learner, thus establishing a community of learners in her classroom. Students felt safe taking risks in their learning and the ease with which students sought out feedback from peers or the teacher was distinct. Therefore, on the Danielson Rubric the classroom teacher scored exemplary for 2a: “Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport”; “Classroom interactions among the teacher and individual students are respectful, reflecting genuine warmth and caring and sensitivity to students’ cultures and levels of development. Students themselves ensure high levels of civility among members of the class” (See Appendix A). Due to the nature of the teacher’s behavior management system; only feasible due to relationships, students were engaged with and without the costume use. Regardless of students’ ability, they were consistently engaged in their math learning. The teacher’s standard of conduct was evident. It was not punitive or reactive, but instead she appealed to students’ emotions and reasoned with them first. If needed, she would remind them of consequences. Hence, the teacher scored exemplary for 2d: “Managing Student Behavior”; “Standards of conduct are clear, with evidence of student participation in setting them. The teacher’s monitoring of student behavior is subtle and preventative, and responses to student misbehavior are sensitive to individual student needs. Students actively monitor the standards of behavior” (See Appendix A). The theory that knowing students, their interests, and the intricacies of their lives inside and outside of school builds relationships and therefore engagement, worked as the backbone to the classroom’s behavior management system. Utilizing student interests and meeting students at their needs are key strategies to enhance engagement that were visible in Friday’s lesson with the costume implementation. This addresses 3a on the Danielson Rubric, “Communicating with Students” (See Appendix A). Insight into students’ feelings were critical to the unveiling of this theme. Surveys and interviews provided substantial evidence into the correlation between teacher-student relationships and engagement. Table 5 lists poignant quotes from the students. Some include“Ms._______” is the best teacher I’ve ever had. She works so hard, and she gives us good strategies to learn new things” and “She’s better than all the other teachers, she’s made math fun.” A student who was kicked out of the other fifth grade math class stated, “Ms. _____ gives me the motivation to do it. I feel more motivated in her class and encouraged.” This student then walked over to the teacher, hugged her, and said, “I love you mom.” The other quotes in Table 5 demonstrate the understanding and respect the students had for their teacher in return.The students’ answers to survey and interview questions praised the classroom teacher for all she does, but they had the maturity to appreciate her most for her compassion, rather than the material incentive of a costume and theme on a Friday. For example, a student stated when asked how they would feel if she stopped dressing up, “It’s okay because it’s her choice and I’d understand because she does so much.”Table 6 reveals that 96% of students felt they tried their best on Monday and Friday math lessons. Although not plainly demonstrating that costumes positively impacted student engagement, the data validates constructive student-teacher relationships, in part created from practices like costume use, impact engagement.Based on student survey results, most students stated they try hard regardless if the teacher is dressed in a costume and they enjoy learning math on any day of the week. However, this mindset stems from strong student-teacher relationships, effective teacher practice (costume use) and behavior management strategies, all culminating to improve student engagement. It cannot be definitively determined that the students felt this way because the teacher created a fun classroom environment, but as a researcher and an educator familiar with the field, the researcher would argue they are closely linked. Table 5 Teacher and Student Quotes on Relationships Table 6 Student Survey Responses on Teacher-Student Relationships Limitations Case studies rely on human instruments, although a strength, it is also a weakness because in social situations there are as many truths as there are people. The perspectives of the students and teacher would be just that, their perception of a situation at one point in time. The teacher bought into the concept that costumes lift engagement which is why she proceeded with making it an integral part of her teaching pedagogy and classroom. The strong bond between the teacher and students may have swayed their responses. Nevertheless, engagement is an extension of a strong teacher-student relationship. The researchers own assumptions would expectedly become a part of the research study, yet the thorough data analysis process of memos, codes and themes worked to undo those assumptions. Implications Engagement can be investigated through a lesson-by-lesson basis, but authentic engagement must be discussed in a holistic sense, examining all aspects of the classroom, where engagement is cultivated day in and day out. It was quickly apparent that measuring engagement solely against costume use would be complex, especially when students were engaged on days both with and without Cosplay and a culture of hard work and a passion for learning was explicitly promoted. A question requiring further investigation is if a contributing factor was the costume and themed Fridays. From the array of the data collected, the researcher drew the conclusion, yes, the costumes contributed to a positive, effective classroom culture, built off of student engagement. The researcher credits engagement to Cosplay because if the classroom in this case study was compared with one of a similar SES, the buzz of learning would be lacking. The study of engagement cannot be divorced from its social environment. Cosplay is a means to build bridges between teachers and students through the exploration of content within a curriculum to provide a space for students to explore their emotions and interests.Furthermore, Cosplay is a way for teachers to discover new ways to deliver curriculum and change traditional mindsets of learning. With the effects of COVID still being felt in schools and disadvantaged students further marginalized by low test scores and minimal support, Cosplay is an innovative teaching practice to enhance student engagement and reach the most needing students. Supplementary research should be conducted to investigate teachers implementing Cosplay for the first time. The melding of costume use and behavior management is an area that if understood better, teachers may be more likely to trial such a unique practice. The researcher will be implementing Cosplay in their own classroom to continue exploring its effects. References American Educational Research Association. (2016, February 18). Ed-Talk: Learning with an Emotional Brain[Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEeo350WQrs Baroody, A. E., Rimm-Kaufman, S. E., Larsen, R. A., & Curby, T. W. (2016). A multi-method approach for describing the contributions of student engagement on fifth grade students' social competence and achievement in mathematics.Learning and Individual Differences, 48, 54-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.02.012 Curiel, J. (2018). Dressed for success: Increasing student participation and performance.International Journal of Technology and Inclusive Education, 7(2), 1306-1310. http://infonomics-society.org/wp-content/uploads/ ijtie/published-papers/volume-7-2018/Dressed-for- Success-Increasing-Student-Participation-and- Performance.pdf Danielson Group. (n.d.).The Framework for Teaching. https://danielsongroup.org/the-framework-for-teaching/ Florida Department of Education. (2022, September 19). Florida School Accountability Reports School Grades. https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/accountability- reporting/school-grades/ Groccia, James E. (2018). What is Student Engagement? New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 2018 (154), (11-20). https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20287 Johnson, D. W. , & Johnson, R. T. (2018). Cooperative Learning: The Foundation for Active Learning. In (Ed.), Active Learning - Beyond the Future (pp.59-70). IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.81086 Johnson, J. E., Sevimli-Celik, S., Al-Mansour, M. A., Tunçdemir, T. B. A., & Dong, P. I. (2019). Play in early childhood education. In Handbook of research on the education of young children(pp. 165-175). Routledge. Kurtz, H. (2020, December 22).Vaccine Requirements, Failing Grades, Teacher Evaluations: Our Latest Survey Results. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/vaccine-r equirements-failing-grades-teacher-evaluations-our- latest-survey-results/2020/12 McLeod, S. (2022, May 5). Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. Simply Psychology.https://www.simplypsychology.org/ vygotsky.html?ezoic_amp=1&fb_comment_id= 500779888714_15217241 National Association of State Boards of Education. (2015).A State of Engagement: NASBE Study Group on Student Engagement. https://nasbe.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/2015/03/ StudentEngagementStudyGroupReport_March-2015_ FINAL-1.pdf National Center of Education Statistics. (2022).Search for Public Schools.Institution for Education Services. Retrieved October 22, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov Pedler, M., Hudson, S., & Yeigh, T. (2020). The teachers' role in student engagement: A review. Australian Journal of Teacher Education (Online), 45(3), 48-62. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2020v45n3.4 Reckmeyer, M. (2019, October 30).Focus on Student Engagement for Better Academic Outcomes. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/education/267521/focus- student-engagement-better-academic-outcomes.aspx St. George, D. (2022, September 29). Student absenteeism skyrocketed in the pandemic as test scores plunged.The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/ 29/student-absenteeism-pandemic-attendance/ Stevens, R. (2015). Role-play and student engagement: reflections from the classroom.Teaching in Higher Education, 20(5), 481-492. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2015.1020778 Valiant, D. (2020). Can Cosplay in Story-Telling Improve Student’s Listening Skill in Listening to Stories Learning?. International Conference on Elementary Education, 2(1), 112-123. http://download.garuda.kemdikbud.go.id/article. php?article=2030571&val=21284&title=Can%20 Cosplay%20in%20Story-Telling%20Improve%20 Students%20Listening%20Skill%20in%20Listening% 20to%20Stories%20Learning Appendix A https://danielsongroup.org/download-the-framework/
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Introduction The fast-growing number of emergent bilingual students (EBs) has been increasing the linguistic and cultural diversity in the U.S. public education (Heineke & Giatsou, 2020). However, the EBs tend to be underserved in the classrooms with their diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds untended (Zoeller & Briceño, 2022). Therefore, it becomes imperative for the teacher education programs to prepare teacher candidates to meet this multilingual trend in public education (García & Kleyn, 2013) and help the EBs prosper linguistically and academically. As a foundation for curriculum design in teacher education programs, teacher candidates’ professional identities are suggested to be considered to understand their educational beliefs and teaching practices by scads of scholars (Beijaard et al., 2004; Bullough et al., 2013; Lamote & Engels, 2010; Leavy, et al., 2007).To this end, this paper aims to understand a MTC’s teacher professional identity by examining her multilingual stance developed in the coursework and practicum experience in a teacher education program. It also aims to inform the teacher educators of how to better prepare the MTCs to work with EBs in teacher education programs. Teacher Professional Identity Identity from Sociocultural Perspective From sociocultural perspective, identity is more an ongoing process ofbecomingsomeone than a stable status of being someone (Bartlett, 2007; Moje & Luke, 2009). It is dictated by the power relations and informed by the historical contexts (Gee, 2000; Goffman, 1959; Holland et al., 1998). Gee (2015, 2017) suggest that identity is constructed by involving into social practices and acquired within social relations. That is, identity can be examined in terms of how to be, how to act, and how to understand their work and position in the society with a core belief through prior self-construction, to constantly and fluidly negotiate within the contexts to understand who one is, in order to meet societal expectations (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Clark, 2009; Day & Kongton, 2008; Lasky, 2005; Lengeling et al., 2017; Olsen, 2008). Teacher Professional Identity Teacher professional identity is how teachers define themselves in relation to themselves and to others in teaching profession. It is a construct of professional self that develops over career stages and can be shaped by external contexts (Li, 2023). Teacher professional identity constitutes the core of the teacher profession, and it shifts over times with a wide range of factors from individual levels, such as emotion, motivation, self-efficacy, agency and personal experiences (Day & Kington, 2008; Olsen, 2008; Teng, 2017), to the external forces, such as political reform, curriculum change, social beliefs (Lasky, 2005; Olsen, 2008; Rodgers & Scott, 2008; Upadhyay, 2009; Welmond, 2002; Windschitl, 2002). In short, teacher professional identity is intertwined with the professional growth through social interactions, social relations and practices (Clarke, 2009; Mayer, 1999). Therefore, understanding the construction of teacher professional identity cannot be separated from examining the teaching practices in the teaching positions. Teachers need to understand who they are and how they participate in the procedural system of education in the specific time and place they are practicing, in order to develop and modify instructional practices as a teacher. However, compared with the in-service teachers, the MTCs tend to lack the teaching experiences in authentic classroom settings. Although many teacher education programs provide opportunities for the MTCs to do practicum teaching in actual classrooms (Gallagher, 2019; Heineke & Giatsou, 2020; Jimenez-Silva & Olson, 2012; Lucas et al., 2008; Schneider, 2019; Virtue, 2009; Von Esch & Kavanagh, 2018), such practicum teaching experience is different from the real teaching experience in that the MTCs have less power and agency in pedagogical decision-making (Zeichner & Bier, 2017). Therefore, to study the MTCs’ limited teaching practices could only depict part of their professional identities because the MTCs are not able to fully enact their professional identities as they will in the host teachers’ classrooms due to the power relations. Figured Worlds Holland et al. (1998) inform the understanding of the MTCs’ professional identities by the notion offigured worlds. Figured worlds are “a socially and culturally constructed realm of interpretation in which particular characters and actors are recognized, significance is assigned to certain acts, and particular outcomes are valued over others” (p. 52). Thus, figured worlds provide a space to investigate how the MTCs enact their professional roles within social relations through social practices, hence developing their professional identities. But Holland et al. (1998) stress that figured worlds are “not an indifferent, ‘mental’ abstraction, an ‘imaginary’ in its usual sense, but a social reality that lives within dispositions mediated by relations of power” (p. 60). Although figured worlds are not where the MTCs actually implement teaching practices, they could serve as a context to interpret their past practices and envision their future practices. This paper would draw upon figured worlds by Holland et al. (1998) to shed light on a MTC’s professional identity by examining her teaching practices in practicum classroom and her envisioned teaching practices in future classroom. Consequently, the teaching practices with the EBs could provide a lens to look into the MTC’s professional identities. Multilingual Stance In this paper, the MTC’s teaching practices would be scrutinized throughthe theoretical framework developed by de Jong and Gao (2019), which is a continuum of bi/multilingual practices as shown in Figure 1. This continuum lays out the practices by the teachers in terms of how they treat the EBs’ home languages at school. de Jong and Gao (2019) develop this continuum based on the four attitudes towards the EBs’ home languages in school settings identified by Schwarzer et al. (2003), which are forbid native languages, allow native languages, maintain native languages, and foster native languages. Figure 1 A Continuum of Bi/Multilingual Practices According to the continuum of bi/multilingual practices in Figure 1, teachers’ practices with the EBs’ home languages can fall at some points on the continuum ranging from English-only to multilingual stance. Influenced by English-only ideology, some teachers deny home language use in all school settings (Banes et al., 2016; Gallo et al., 2014). They ignore the EBs’ home languages and do not provide opportunities to develop their home languages (Schwarzer et al., 2003). The teachers in favor of English-only practices hold a deficit view of the EBs’ home languages (Bacon, 2020; Bartolomé, 2004; Lew & Siffrinn, 2019) and onlystandardlanguage practices are appropriate “for public, academic and official purposes” (Watson & Shapiro, 2018, para. 22). Therefore, the teachers believe that their job is to teach English only (Schwarzer et al., 2003) rather than developing bi/multilingualism. With less restriction on the home language use towards the right of the continuum, EBs are allowed to use their home languages in certain school settings. They are usually allowed to communicate in their home languages outside classroom, such as in the cafeteria, playground, or hallway. In classroom, EBs are allowed to use their home languages only when it is necessary to facilitate their learning (Schwarzer et al., 2003), such as in small group work and informal talk. They can also have a peer sharing the same language to translate for them. As the involvement of home languages increases, some teachers adopt transitional practices in which home language are more strategically used to scaffold the EBs’ English language development (de Jong & Gao, 2019). However, up to this point, even though allowed in school settings, home languages are still a matter of expediency which do not have to be maintained when the EBs achieve English proficiency. In other word, home languages are “crutches” for learning English. Once the EBs’ “deficiency” in English is cured, their home languages could be abandoned (Schwarzer et al., 2003). The ultimate goal of the continuum of bi/multilingual practices is to take a multilingual stance. Multilingual stance involves multilingualism-as-resource orientation (de Jong et al., 2016),knowledge of/about language, bi/multilingual learners and bi/multilingualism(García, 2017), and multilingual pedagogies (Catalano & Hamann, 2016). Multilingualism-as-resource orientation is developed from Ruiz’s (1984) language-as-resource orientation but notes that bi/multilingualism is much more valued than being proficient in one single language in today’s globalized world (de Jong et al., 2016). The EBs’ home languages could thus be an asset not only for themselves but anyone else in the classroom (Catalano & Hamann, 2016). Therefore, it is imperative for the teachers to embrace the multilingualism-as-resource orientation and break down the hierarchy of languages that prioritizes English in the classroom, especially for the monolingual English-speaking teachers. Taking a multilingual stance also includes the knowledge of/about the EBs’ diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and the awareness that multilingualism is a norm in today’s globalized world, which should be acknowledged in the classroom (García, 2017). Another critical component of multilingual stance is the multilingual teaching strategies which aim to foster bi/multilingualism and bi/multiliteracies (Catalano & Hamann, 2016). Thus, multilingual stance is fundamentally different from English-centric practices in that the former regards home languages as an integral part of the EBs’ entire linguistic repertoire which should be developed equally as English. Methodology This single case qualitative study aims to investigate how a MTC constructed her professional identity by examining her multilingual stance developed in ESOL-related coursework and practicum experiences in a teacher education program. The research questions are: 1.What was the MTC’s attitude towards the EB’s home language and culture in her practicum classroom? 2.How did the MTC define her roles as a mainstream teacher who works with the EBs? Participant The participant of this study was a teacher candidate from a teacher education program at a top-ranked public research university in the southeastern United States at the time of study. She was expected to work in a mainstream elementary classroom but required to take the courses in ESOL curriculum and instruction. She was taking the course called ESOL Curriculum, Methods, and Assessment when this study was being conducted. Table 1 shows the demographic information of the participant. Table 1 Demographic Information of the Participant Data Collection There are six types of data collected for this study: a language map, a written self-introduction, four reading reflections, a class worksheet, an exit slip, and two semi-structured interviews. The language map is a visual representation of one’s language use in multiple ways, such as organizational trees, geographic maps, lists, streetscapes, pictures, circles, aerial views, and text in multiple languages (D’warte, 2014). This language map activity was implemented in the ESOL course classroom, which was designed to raise the teacher candidates’ multilingual awareness. This activity aimed to encourage the teacher candidates to think about “how, when, where, and why their language change in different contexts and for different audiences and, most important, why these changes matter in making meaning” (D’warte, 2014, p. 356). Figure 2 is the language map created by Anna. Figure 2 Anna's Language Map A written self-introduction was required in the first meeting of the ESOL course in order for the course instructor to get more information about the teacher candidates. The teacher candidates were provided with a writing template, and Figure 3 duplicates the self-introduction written by Anna. Figure 3 Self-Introduction by Anna The reading reflections were required assignments for the ESOL course. The teacher candidates would be provided with a guideline to discuss the reading materials, reflect their practicum experience, and ask questions before each class meeting. Four reflections were completed by the participant by the time of the study. They were not included into this paper considering the length of the text. The class worksheet collected for this study was a language objective exercise which required the teacher candidates to write English language objectives across language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) and levels of English proficiency (beginning, emerging, intermediate), as shown in Figure 4. Figure 4 Language Objective Exercise by Anna The exit slip asked the teacher candidates to write one thing that impressed them most and one thing that concerned them most at the end of a class meeting, as shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 Exit Slip by Anna All the data presented above were integrated into the design of the semi-structured interview protocols as visual or textual prompts. The semi-structured interviews were 45-minute long respectively. They were transcribed through Sonix. Ai and proofread manually. Data Analysis This study adopted thematic analysis (Saldaña, 2013) in analyzing interview data. There were two rounds of coding the interview data. The first round of coding drew upon the continuum of bi/multilingual practices by de Jong and Gao (2019) and the codes were comprised of the main components of the continuum. This round of coding attempted to position the participant’s practices with the EB’s home languages against the continuum. The second round of coding was based on the three main domains of teacher expertise for EBs, which are disposition, knowledge, and skills, based on the framework by Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO, 2013). The codes of both rounds “are descriptive, showing the basic activities and processes in the data” (Tracy, 2020, p. 220), and the double-coded data could unravel the complexity and multiplicity of the data. Finally, the interview data were triangulated with other types of data to ensure “the trustworthiness, verisimilitude, and plausibility of the research findings” (Tracy, 2010, p. 842). Findings Overall, Anna’s responses varied across the continuum from home language forbidden (HL-F) to multilingual as a norm (M-N). Her responses showed different dimensions of her professional identities working with EBs. Inheritor of English-Only Teaching Practices Although HL-F was rarely identified, Anna showed her English-only orientation inadvertently when asked if she had used Spanish to help the EBs learn in English. She said no because she wanted the EBs to be more and more familiar with using English. This indicated that Anna still held a monolingual orientation that privileged English in classroom. Although Anna did not explicitly say that using Spanish may reduce the EBs’ opportunities to practice English, her deliberately avoiding using Spanish revealed that English-only ideology was deeply ingrained into her mind, and she tended to prioritize English over any other languages including the EBs’ home languages. In this way, Anna identified herself as a transmitter of dominant language and mainstream culture. In her figured worlds, teachers have absolute power to determine what and how the students should learn. However, such figured worlds were not imagined out of nowhere; instead they were subject to power relations. Anna indicated that she learned from her mentor teacher about how to manage the students’ language use, such as when English was required and when Spanish was allowed. In other words, Anna’s understanding of the teaching profession was largely derived from the experiences of working with a more experienced teacher in practicum. She became an inheritor of the teaching traditions that had been predominating in public education. Increased Agency in Permitting Home Language Use Nevertheless, Anna explicitly expressed her permission for the EBs to use their home languages to learn content and communicate with others in informal talks, which fell at the home language permitted (HL-P) stage. Anna was aware of the necessity to know the EBs’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds and incorporate them into classroom teaching. In other word, her disposition to EBs’ home language and culture was somewhat positive in that she was not opposed to introducing the EBs’ languages and cultures into classroom. But the practices at this stage were more passive than active because Anna was not engaged into tapping into the EBs’ home language and culture but allowed the EBs to do that in learning. For example, when she found that the EBs in her practicum classroom were counting in Spanish, she did not stop them and let them do. But she did not actively used Spanish to help the EBs learn math. Compared with HL-F, at the HL-P stage, Anna’s responses to EBs’ home language touched disposition, knowledge and skill domain, which indicated that she was consciously aware of the importance to include the EBs’ home languages into classroom teaching and learning, theoretically capable of incorporating their home languages, and practically engaged into allowing them to use their home languages. At this stage, Anna’s agency came into play and she made some pedagogical decisions that contradicted the mainstream teaching practices represented by the mentor teacher. Her awareness and knowledge of leveraging the EBs’ linguistic repertoire and cultural resource are constructed based on what she learned from her lived experience of being a multilingual and the ESOL coursework. In one class in her practicum experience, Anna found that the EBs were counting in Spanish. Although her mentor teacher “has been trying to get them to be more comfortable talking to us and counting in English” (Interview 2,March 12, 2020), Anna still let the EBs continue to count in Spanish because she was convinced that Spanish could make them learn best and feel most comfortable. This indicated that Anna was hoping for a louder voice in decision-making in classroom teaching and eager to make a difference in helping the EBs by leveraging their home languages and cultures. Transitional Practices in Imagination In terms of transitional practices (TP), Anna showed her ample knowledge about how to use the EBs’ home language to scaffold learning in English. For example, she recalled what she learnt in children’s literature class about how to use learning materials in other languages to facilitate learning in English Language Arts: “In our children’s literature class, they talked about if you read aloud a book, finding it in the language that some of your students speak. So if you’re having them do like a word hunt or something, at least they can look at it in their own language and then go back to the English book so that they can see what they’re most comfortable in and challenge themselves to. So definitely including literature in different languages” (Interview 1, February 13, 2020). Anna did not have many opportunities to practice using the EBs’ home languages in classroom teaching, but she shared her observation of how her mentor teacher did. When her mentor teacher was teaching numbers, she said the numbers in English, and then in Spanish. The mentor teacher would also use Spanish to teach the EBs in small groups. Therefore, Anna might have a general idea about how to use the EBs’ home languages to scaffold learning in English, which was gained from practicum classroom observation, but she did not really get opportunities or seek for opportunities to use the EBs’ home language. In other word, in terms of TP, Anna seemed to remain at the theoretical rather than the practical level. Therefore, TP still stayed in Anna’s figured worlds rather than “coming to sense” (Holland et al., 1998, p. 53) in her mundane worlds where she could actually implement TP. The figured worlds were built up with what Anna learned from the coursework and her mentor teacher. She seemed to accept these “building materials” entirely without investing much agency. Compromised Multilingual Stance Subject to Monolingualism For Anna, an emerging multilingual stance appeared in her disposition, knowledge, and skills to develop bi/multilingualism and bi/multiliteracies. First, she admitted that the EBs’ home language should be respected to make them feel welcomed and valued in classroom. She seemed to be aware of the problem of English-only policy by saying that the EBs were “forced to learn a different language” (Interview 1, February 13, 2020) at school. This indicated her compassion and empathy to the EBs who had no choice but to learn English. In the knowledge domain, Anna put great emphasis on the knowledge of language. On one hand, she believed that she needed to learn some of the EBs’ language to better communicate with them and their parents. This could also set an example for the EBs as a language learner and show her respect for the EBs’ different linguistic backgrounds. On the other hand, Anna wanted to teach her students, especially the English-speaking students, some other languages, including her heritage language Italian, in order to promote the communication between the English-speaking students and the EBs. When it comes to the teaching strategies, Anna shared what her mentor teacher did in classroom, which was to create a multilingual print environment by labeling the classroom supplies in different languages. She also envisioned what she would do to create a multilingual print environment in her future classroom: “I think I know we’ve been told, like say you’re labeling your classroom supplies and putting it in one other language. So for my class right now, it would be Spanish. But I think making sure that each year I don’t just keep the English in Spanish translation. I think it’s getting to know each class that I get in each of those students. And then altering my current ways of doing things in my classroom to fit their needs. So I think it’s just like ever growing. And it’s not going to be one set way for every class. It’s every student is going to have something different. And you include that” (Interview 1, February 13, 2020). This excerpt suggested that Anna would create a multilingual environment with varying emphasis on different languages depending on the linguistic backgrounds of the EBs in her classroom. The reason why she would create a multilingual classroom environment was more to show respect for the EBs’ backgrounds than to foster the students’ bi/multilingual development because she only focused ondisplayingthe languages rather thanusingthe languages. In spite of that, Anna had the rudimentary awareness of M-N and intended to acknowledge M-N in her classroom as well. In Anna’s figured worlds, teachers were the hosts in classrooms. They needed to make sure that the EBs’ languages and cultures were recognized so that they would not feel excluded. However, it was the hosts (the teachers) who had the power to make a decision on what languages would be included, in what way and to what extent the languages would be incorporated into the classroom teaching. Dictated by the dominant ideology of monolingualism and monoculturalism (Vavrus, 2015), Anna’s figured worlds of teaching profession was still deeply inflicted with the English-only orientation. In spite of her open-mindedness to language and culture diversity, Anna was not dedicated to actively developing it but to passively maintain it at the face value. Discussion The preliminary findings suggest that Anna had a budding multilingual stance. She was empathetic to the EBs’ who had to study in a new language and welcomed the EBs’ to bring their home languages and cultures into the classroom. However, her actual teaching practices seemed to be deviant from multilingual stance. She intentionally avoided using the EBs’ home language to maximize the opportunities for the EBs to be familiar with using English. Even though Anna claimed that she was comfortable with including the EBs’ home languages into classroom teaching, her teaching strategies were more permissive than encouraging in terms of home language use. In other words, what she did to incorporate the EBs’ home language was toallowthem to use it, but she made little efforts tofosterthe EBs’ home language use and development. In Anna’s figured worlds, teachers were the holders of knowledge and the hosts of the classroom. It was the teachers who had the absolute power to decide what to teach and how to teach in classroom. With regard to this study, Anna constructed such professional identity by observing and socializing with her mentor teacher in practicum classroom (Holland et al., 1998). As a newcomer to the teacher profession, Anna made pedagogical decisions according to the judgment system introduced by a more experienced teacher. According to Gee (2017), “a judgment system tells people engaged in a particular activity or domain of activity what constitutes a good choice about where and how to start, how to judge which outcomes from their actions are good or not for their goals or purposes, and what some good things to do next are if your actions are not succeeding” (p. 70). Therefore, Anna was an inheritor of the teaching traditions that had been embraced and implemented for generations of teachers. As a result, Anna played a role in reproducing the figured worlds of mainstream teachers by involving into the traditional English-centric teaching practice (Holland et al., 1998). Even so, Anna indeed built up some knowledge about how to leverage the EBs’ home language to scaffold their learning in English through coursework and practicum teaching, but she was not provided with many opportunities to actually apply such knowledge. Additionally, Anna attached great values to multilingual competence, and she expressed her willingness to teach and learn in different languages. However, she seemed not to develop a comprehensive knowledge of multilingualism, which included the “knowledge of, or knowledge about, the ‘other’ language practices of the students, or of bilingualism, or of understanding of the political economy and social issues surrounding language use” (García, 2017, p. 266). Anna was equipped with some multilingual teaching skills such as creating a multilingual print environment, but she seemed to use these skills for the purpose of showing respect and nurturing welcoming atmosphere instead of developing the EBs’ bi/multilingualism and bi/multiliteracies. Although Anna learned how to teach in the “right” way that was acknowledged by the social cultural groups and institutions to which she belongs to (Gee, 2015), she displayed some deviations from the mainstream teaching traditions. She had an emerging multilingual awareness and a basic knowledge of multilingual teaching strategies. This showed her agency in her professional identity development. For Anna, her lived experience of being a multilingual and her learning experience in the teacher education program pushed her closer to the multilingual stance end. She seemed to have more expertise for the EBs and bi/multilingualism. In other word, Anna’s personal “trajectories through figured worlds neither take one path nor remain in the ambit of one cultural space, one figured worlds” (Holland et al., 65) due to her different personal lived experience and learning histories. In this way, Anna’s nature-identity of being a multilingual was intertwined with her institution-identity as a student teacher (Gee, 2000). Although Anna was subject to the power relation in practicum classroom and the underlying social structures that privileged English and American mainstream culture, she was attempting to explore how to break down the language hierarchy and cultural imperialism to promote educational equity for the EBs. Conclusion In conclusion, it is hard to decide to what degree Anna took a multilingual stance, because her dispositions, knowledge, and skills were drifting between monolingual orientation to multilingual stance. This indicates that Anna’s multilingual stance was developing in a fluid or a back-and-forth way. Also, this explains why there were some contradictions in her understanding and practices with bi/multilingualism. Such contradictions could actually be a salient feature of nascent multilingual stance. The fluidity and multiplicity of Anna’s multilingual stance development corresponded to the fluidity and multiplicity of her teacher professional identity development. She was vacillating between being an imparter of mainstream knowledge and being a facilitator of bi/multilingualism and bi/multiculturalism. She managed her professional identity based on the contexts she was involved into. She moved towards the monolingual orientation in the practicum classroom because she needed to listen to the mentor teacher. As Anna said, “it was not my classroom” (Interview 1, February 13, 2020). By contrast, she leaned towards the multilingual stance when envisioning her future classroom where she would hold much more power. Different aspects of Anna’s teacher professional identity would predominate due to the contexts that she was socialized into.Anna’s dispositions, knowledge, and skills in bi/multilingualism were mainly developed from the practicum teaching experience instead of the coursework, and the mentor teacher’s attitudes and practices with the EBs had great impact on her attitudes and practices. This suggests that teacher education programs need to provide high-quality practicum teaching experiences for the MTCs. It would provide a nurturing environment for the MTCs to develop powerful professional identity. To this end, teacher education programs need to improve the coordination of coursework and practicum teaching (Zeichner & Bier, 2017). They should create the opportunities for the MTCs to directly work and interact with EBs, and to experiment the bi/multilingual teaching strategies learned in the ESOL coursework (Bullough et al., 1997; Zeichner, 2010). In this way, the MTCs’ professional identities could be “formed in the process of participating in activities organized by figured worlds” (Holland et al., 1998, p. 57). Furthermore, qualified mentor teachers would make the practicum teaching experience more rewarding and meaningful for the MTCs. The mentor teachers are expected to be the experienced teachers who can provide constructive feedback on the MTCs’ pedagogical decisions. They can also model how to work with EBs in real teaching contexts for the MTCs (Athanases & de Oliveira, 2011; Catalano & Hamann, 2016; Lucas & Villegas, 2013). Furthermore, the mentor teacher and the MTCs can collaborate to deepen their knowledge of/about the EBs and hone their teaching skills in developing bi/multilingualism collectively (Hammerness et al., 2005; Zeichner, 1996; Zeichner & Bier, 2017). In Anna’s story, the mentor teacher had a strong impact on her professional identity development. The mentor teacher was transmitting her judgment system of “good” teaching to Anna either purposefully or inadvertently. Hopefully, the mentor teachers could serve as the beacons in the MTCs’ journey of professional development, but still stimulate the MTCs’ potentials and motivations to explore their own professional identity that would be most compatible with their future classrooms. References Athanases, S. Z., & de Oliveira, L. C. (2011). Toward program-wide coherence in preparing teachers to teach and advocate for English language learners. In T. Lucas (Ed.),Teacher preparation for linguistically diverse classrooms: A resource for teacher educators(pp. 195-215). Routledge. Bacon, C. K. (2020). “It’s not really my job”: A mixed methods framework for language ideologies, monolingualism, and teaching emergent bilingual learners.Journal of Teacher Education, 71(2), 172-187. Banes, L. C., Martínez, D. C., Athanases, S. Z., & Wong, J. W. (2016). Self-reflexive inquiry into language use and beliefs: Toward more expansive language ideologies.International Multilingual Research Journal, 10(3), 168-187. 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A sociocultural approach to understanding teacher identity, agency and professional vulnerability in a context of secondary school reform.Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(8), 899-916. Lengeling, M. M., Mora Pablo, I., & Barrios Gasca, B. L. (2017). Teacher socialization of EFL teachers at public school levels in Central Mexico.Profile Issues in Teachers Professional Development, 19(1), 41-54. Lew, S., & Siffrinn, N. E. (2019). Exploring language ideologies and preparing preservice teachers for multilingual and multicultural classrooms.Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 68(1), 375-395. Li, J. (2023). Teaching across two hemispheres and shaping professional identities: A multiple case study of Chinese mainstream teacher candidates’ experiences in the U.S.-based Practica(Doctoral dissertation). University of Florida, Gainesville. Lucas, T., & Villegas, A. (2011). A framework for preparing linguistically responsive teachers. In T. Lucas (Ed.),Teacher preparation for linguistically diverse classrooms: A resource for teacher educators(pp. 55-72). Routledge. Lucas, T., & Villegas, A. M. (2013). Preparing linguistically responsive teachers: Laying the foundation in preservice teacher education.Theory Into Practice, 52(2), 98-109. Lucas, T., Villegas, A. M., & Freedson-Gonzalez, M. (2008). Linguistically responsive teacher education: Preparing classroom teachers to teach English language learners.Journal of Teacher Education, 59(4), 361-373. Martin, A. D., & Strom, K. J. (2016). Toward a linguistically responsive teacher identity: An empirical review of the literature.International Multilingual Research Journal, 10(4), 239-253. Mayer, D. (1999) Building teaching identities: Implications for pre-service teacher education, paper presented to the Australian Association for Research in Education, Melbourne. Moje, E. B., Overby, M., Tysvaer, N., & Morris, K. (2008). 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Teng, M. F. (2017). Emotional development and construction of teacher identity: Narrative interactions about the pre-service teachers’ practicum experiences.Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 42(11), 117-134. Tracy, S. J. (2010). Qualitative quality: Eight “big-tent” criteria for excellent qualitative research.Qualitative Inquiry, 16(10), 837-851. Tracy, S. J. (2020).Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact(2nded.). John Wiley & Sons. Uro, G., & Barrio, A. (2013).English language learners in America’s great city schools: Demographics, achievement, and staffing.Council of Great City Schools. Vavrus, M. (2015).Diversity & education: A critical multicultural approach.Teachers College Press. Virtue, D. C. (2009). Using “ESOL rounds” to prepare middle level candidates for work with English language learners.Middle Grade Research Journal, 4(1), 1-24. Von Esch, K. S., & Kavanagh, S. S. (2018). 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Research I Teach the Way I Am: A Mainstream Teacher Candidate's Professional Identity and Multilingual Stance Jiameng Gao University of Florida ABSTRACT This single case qualitative study sheds light on a mainstream teacher candidate’s (MTC’s) professional identity when she was working with emergent bilingual students (EBs). Her professional identity was examined through her multilingual stance developed in the coursework and practicum experience in a teacher education program. Drawing upon thematic analysis, this study shows that the MTC had an increased agency in incorporating the EBs’ home languages into classroom teaching, but she still tended to default to English-only practices. Her desired teaching practices indicated that she had developed an emerging multilingual stance, but she had been continuously negotiating her practices with the dominant monolingual ideology. This study concludes that teacher education programs should provide quality practicum experiences and collaborate with mentor teachers to better support the MTCs and develop their knowledge, skills, and positive dispositions to work with linguistically diverse students.
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Praxis How to Share Our Teaching Practice Through Publication: A Streamlined Process Geoffrey Butler University of North Florida
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When I began my journey as a teacher about twenty years ago, I did not think of myself as a researcher or a writer. My work in the field would be limited to classroom teaching alone and occasional conversations with my fellow teachers about what was happening in our classrooms. I was lucky enough to have a professor in graduate school who encouraged my classmates and me to write for publication. The more that I have read and taught, the more I realized that my initial perception as a beginning teacher, while common, was not the whole story.Cao and Newton (2022) bring up research as one avenue for continued learning by teachers over their careers. McKinley (2019) observed that many advances across the field of TESOL can be attributed to teachers acting as researchers over the past decades. Nunan and Bailey (2009) argued that teachers should be involved with research no matter whether they are conducting independent research themselves, partnering with an academic researcher, or staying abreast of trends in research. Borg (2017) observed that teacher research is supported by the field and accepted as a practice worldwide. Different approaches to research such as action research (Banegas & Consoli 2020; Burns 2019; Spencer Clark et al. 2020) and autoethnography (Mirhosseini 2018; Sardabi et al., 2020) have emerged as specific tools for teachers to research and answer questions that arise in their classroom. Despite this recognition from the field as a whole, teachers themselves have expressed reservations about conducting research after finishing their graduate programs (Puustinen et al. 2018; van Katwijk et al. 2019). Dörnyei (2007) also observed that a major issue with classroom-based research, such as action research, is “there is too little of it” (p. 197).This paper offers a pathway for educators to research and write about their own work inside and outside of the class, with the firm belief that, as a teacher dedicated to improving your practice, “you are researching ideas all of the time, whether you realize it or not” (Brown & Lee, pp. 554–555). In fact, teachers as researchers have the potential to research their own teaching practice and publish their results, like what I did alone or in collaboration (e.g., Butler, 2017; Butler et al. in print). Teachers can advance the field forward by sharing their classroom practice. We already share what we do when we talk with our fellow teachers and administrators. These discussions lead us to impart our best practices and, by sharing, improve our teaching and the teaching of the teachers around us. Thanks to one single professor’s intervention, I began and, over the course of the past twelve years, have published ten articles in several international journals such as The Language Teacher,Korea TESOL Journal,and English Teaching Forum. These articles include book reviews (Butler, 2010; Butler, 2011), descriptions of different teaching techniques and tools (Butler et al., 2013; Butler, 2018), reports on curriculum development and revision (Butler et al., 2014; Butler et al., 2015), and descriptions of coping with the move to online teaching during COVID-19 (Butler et al., 2022). Because I believe that teachers need to share with one another to improve teaching practices and to learn from one another, I have done this as a regular working teacher even though my workplaces have not devoted time or funds for research. I worked on publications while teaching in diverse settings such as at a cram school in Japan, a language center in Korea, an intensive English program at a U.S. university, and most recently as K-12 teacher in a North Carolina public school system in the U.S. My experience has taught me that publication is very much an extension of the discussions and sharing that we naturally do as teachers, with the only difference that the conversation takes place on a larger stage with additional interlocutors. I hope to demystify the processes by sharing how teachers can participate in the publication process.In a forthcoming article, my co-authors and I propose two processes for moving from practice to publication: a streamlined and a complex process (Butler et al., in press). These processes are a visualization of the way that we have shared our practice as teachers and converted our practice into submissions for publication. Today, I will share a streamlined process to convert what goes on in a classroom to written articles based on my own experience. The figure below illustrates that process. Figure 1 Streamlined process for converting teaching practice to publication *Source Butler et al., in press, 2023. The first step of this process is to Teach. As teacher-researchers, any ideas for research that we conduct will come from our work. It can spring from our experiences inside the classroom or our work outside of the classroom. As we go about our daily work, questions will arise about our classroom. We will encounter successes and failures and wish to explore why and how they happen.The second step is to Generate Ideas. As we ponder our teaching practice, we will seek out answers to these questions. The ideas can emerge from books, online resources, discussions with our fellow teachers, or brainstorming on our own. At this stage, we may begin to apply those ideas back to the classroom to see how they work. We may also Share for Feedback and discuss what we have learned in the course of our research. These conversations can occur with our colleagues at work, with our mentors online, or with any peer whose opinion we respect. After we have received feedback from our peers, we begin to Write. We review our notes and sit down to compose our draft. When we feel comfortable with a working draft, wePrepareSubmission. This portion of the process sees us looking for an appropriate journal, reviewing submission guidelines and tailoring our draft to the journal’s requirement. Once we have accomplished that portion of the process, we submit it to the journal (Butler et al., in press). This approach works best with those submissions that have fewer elements involved beyond our day-to-day teaching and classroom experience such as publishing the teaching technique example that I will share here. I unconsciously followed this process with one of my first publications, a review of a book on Exploratory Practice that I read when I sought ways to empower my students' learning (Butler, 2010). As with any process, it begins with our own teaching practice. In this case, the process began with a puzzle in my Teaching, namely how could I make an end of term review activity more interactive and engaging for my students. I was teaching an intensive English program affiliated with a U.S. state university and preparing international students to matriculate into U.S. universities. It was necessary to review content and skills on a regular basis, and I observed that my class was not engaged and appeared bored with our normal review activities. As many of those students had already been enrolled at the IEP for a few terms, I hypothesized that they were familiar with the activities that other teachers and I had used. It seemed to me that I needed to find newer and more engaging activities. As I began to ponder this question, I searched online, consulted books at my school’s library, and talked to my colleagues. In this way, I had begun to Generate Ideas to help me solve this question which had arisen in my teaching. All of these steps were involved in the process of generating ideas that can take any of these forms. In the end, I found an activity through a conversation with ahigh school history teacher who I knew. He described using a stick figure drawing activity with his honors history class that had captured their attention.I was unfamiliar with this activity and had never heard it used by my colleagues in our intensive English program university teaching setting. I adapted it for my students by providing them with slips of paper with concepts connected to a class novel that we had been reading that term. Each student had their own set of concepts and blank paper. Each student was instructed to briefly sketch stick figures to represent a major character, important events, or themes on blank paper. When they had their separate papers ready to go, I instructed them to post them around the room. After all papers had been posted, the students participated in a gallery walk with a partner. They walked around the classroom and discussed each picture. At the end of the activity, we checked as a group and reviewed the main ideas and key details of the novel. In contrast with standard review activities, I observed that my students were much more engaged as they discussed the book in an animated fashion.The activity did not require much preparation and my students were able to demonstrate their knowledge of the content and to review and ask each other questions. After I had used the stick figure review activity in my classroom, I wrote down my notes and reflections. I then proceeded to the next step, which is Sharing Feedback.I talked about my experience using the activity with my colleagues and in the course of the discussions, made note of their questions, comments and thoughts. My colleagues’ feedback was useful as I began the next step, Writing for publication. I had not encountered this activity structure in other TESOL websites or publications and felt as if it would be beneficial for other teachers to use in their own classrooms. I took the basic lesson plan that I had used and expanded it. My colleagues' questions and feedback were useful as I elaborated and attempted to make the instructions and description as clear as possible for someone who would not know the details. After I finished a rough draft, I began to research possible publication venues. One that I was familiar with was The Language Teacher published by the Japanese Association of Language Teachers. When I worked in Japan in 2009, I had been a frequent reader of this publication and had enjoyed their My Share column. I went back and read their submission guidelines and read some articles. I went back and revised my draft to match their guidelines. By completing this step, I had Prepared my Submission. After I felt comfortable with my draft, I submitted it via email to The Language Teacher in June of 2017. I received an acknowledgement from The My Share column editors the following month. The editors and I then went back and forth with three rounds of revisions before stick figure review was officially accepted in November of 2017 and subsequently published in March of 2018 (Butler 2018). Although this simplified and streamlined process is presented in a straight line beginning with teaching and finishing with preparing submission for the sake of clarity, It is not always a linear process. For example, as I began to write my draft, I showed it to a coworker to get feedback if any of the steps were unclear. I would also point out that after I first learned about the activity, I returned to my teaching to test out the idea with my students first. I firmly believe, however, that educators’ work inside and outside of the classroom is important. As teachers, we all yearn to find effective ways to reach our students and help them to succeed. When we share our knowledge with one another, we build that capacity to advance our students’ learning and success. These advances cannot occur, however, if we ourselves are not willing to teach and learn from each other. Publication is one more venue beyond casual conversations and staff meetings to share our practice. My own experience as a teacher-researcher has borne this out with ten published and one forthcoming articles to my credit nor am I alone: any teacher has the potential to engage in teacher-research from their practice. 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[Review of the book The developing language learner: An introduction to exploratory practice by D. Allwright & J. Hanks]. TESL-EJ, 14(3). Retrieved from https://tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume14/ej55/ ej55r1/ Butler, G. (2011). [Review of the book Grammar Practice Activities: A Practical Guide for Teachers by Penny Ur]. JALT Journal 33(1), 80–82. DOI:10.37546/JALTJJ33.1 Butler, G.(2017). Starting the journey: Publishing for beginners.The English Connection 21(2), 11–13. Retrieved from https://koreatesol.org/content/english-connection-tecv 21n2-summer-2017 Butler, G. (2018). Stick Figure Review.The Language Teacher, 42(2). DOI:10.37546/JALTTLT42.2 Butler, G., Heslup, S., and Kurth, L. (2014). Development of a teacher-generated curriculum at a Korean university. In M. Pinto and D. Shaffer (Eds.)KOTESOL Proceedings 2013: Exploring the road less traveled: From practice to theory (pp.83–93). Korea TESOL. Retrieved from https://koreatesol.org/content/kotesol-proceedings-2013 Butler, G., Heslup, S., and Kurth, L. (2015). A ten-step process for developing teaching units. English Teaching Forum 53(3), 2–12. Retrieved fromhttps://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/ english-teaching-forum-2015-volume-53-number-3 Butler G., Hunter, R., & Kurth, L. (2013). An alternative to in-class presentations: Incorporating student-generated VoiceThread projects. PeerSpectives, 11, 7-14. Retrieved from https://peerspectives.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/ issue-11.pdf Butler, G., Kim, M. S., & Kurth, L. (2023). From practice to publication: Two case studies of ESOL teachers. English Teaching Forum, 61(3), 2-12. Retrieved fromhttps://americanenglish.state.gov/files /ae/1_61_3_from_practice_to_publication_p02-12_1.pdf Butler, G., Kim, M.S., Russo, S. (2022). Building communities of practice in adult ESOL programs during COVID-19.Korea TESOL Journal, (17)2, 69-83. Retrieved from https://koreatesol.org/sites/default/files/pdf_publications /KTJ17-2web_0.pdf Cao, P. T. H., & Newton, J. (2022). Is there a place for classroom research in the busylives of teachers? Associate Professor Jonathan Newton speaks with Phuong Cao. ELT Research37. Retrieved fromhttps://resig.weebly.com/uploads/2/6/3/6/26368747 /002_cao_advance_publication.pdf Dörnyei, Z. (2007).Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford University Press. Mirhosseini, S. A. (2018). An invitation to the less‐treaded path of autoethnography in TESOL research.TESOL Journal 9(1), 76–92. DOI:10.1002/tesj.305 Nunan, D., & Bailey, K.M. (2009).Exploring second language classroom research: A comprehensive guide.Heinle. Puustinen, M., Säntti, J., Koski, A., & Tammi, T. (2018). Teaching: A practical or research-based profession? Teacher candidates’ approaches to research-based teacher education.Teaching and Teacher Education,74, 170–179. DOI:10.1016/j.tate.2018.05.004 Sardabi, N., B. Mansouri, B. & Behzadpoor, F. (2020). Autoethnography in TESOL: Sociocultural aspects of English language teaching. In J. I. Liontas (Ed.) The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching, (pp. 1–6). Wiley. DOI:10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0995 Smith, R., & Rebolledo, P. (2018).A handbook for exploratory action research. British Council. Retrieved from https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ sites/teacheng/files/pub_30510_BC%20Explore %20Actions%20Handbook%20ONLINE%20AW.pdf Spencer Clark, J., Porath, S., Thiele, J. & Jobe, M.. (2020). Action research. New Prairie Press. Retrieved from https://newprairiepress.org/ebooks/34/ van Katwijk, L., Berry, A., Jansen, E., and van Veen, K. (2019). “It's important, but I’m not going to keep doing it!”: Perceived purposes, learning outcomes, and value of pre-service teacher research among educators and pre-service teachers.Teaching and Teacher Education 86, 1–11. DOI: 10.1016/j.tate.2019.06.022
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ABSTRACT Teachers are often daunted by the prospect of publication. They doubt that they are able to conduct research and advance the field of TESOL. The author believes, however, that publication is an extension of the sharing and discussions of our teaching practice and a vector by which teachers can disseminate knowledge to their professional colleagues. The goal of this paper is to inspire teachers to share their work inside and outside of the classroom with others. This paper explores the background of teachers-as-researchers and how working teachers can convert their teaching practice in and outside of the classroom into written publications. The author explains both a streamlined process by which other teachers can consider for publication and presents an example from his own experiences to demonstrate this process at work.
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Book Review Alessandra Picoral Sarandy M Camaratta University of Central Florida A Field Guide to Gender-Neutral Language: For Business, Families, and Allies. By Shelley Roth; Springboard Publishing, 2020.
Given how often we hear about gender issues, Shelley Roth has written a field guide to createahighly informative resource to assist peoplein incorporating gender-expansivepractices in their daily lives. As a transgender person who has worked in various fields throughout their professional life, Roth gives us an insightful insider’s perspective on how to positively impact diversity and inclusion byusing theright gender-inclusivevocabulary. Their bookbrings atopic of major importance which is still overlooked in EFL/ESL classrooms and textbooks.ELT textbooks have incorporated language such asparental leave, instead of maternity and paternity leave, and changed profession labels from mailman and chairman to mailclerk and chairperson, for instance.These changes address the attempt to be inclusive concerning new family structures and fight male predominance. However, terms such as colleagues ands pouse, instead of the gendered language correspondent ones, or non-gender pronouns and titles to combat heteronormativity, are not presented. Roth’s book can contribute by bringing knowledge and understanding, and opening the conversation on including gender-inclusive and expansive language to various contexts. The author starts by explaining the differences among biological sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender expression, and how gender, as most everything else,can be on a spectrum. They explain that misgendering, that is, referring to someone in a way that does not match a person’s gender identity, makes people feel invalidated and unseen. Whenever misgendering happens on a daily basis, it impacts people’s mental health and can negatively influence their capacity to function in the world. Having an overview of definitions in the LGBTQ community is a starting point needed to learn gender-neutral pronouns and gender- inclusive language to support a welcoming culture to every person. The author goes on to explain in simple terms the use of gender-neutral pronouns and basic gender-expansive and inclusive vocabulary. Emphasis is given to pronouns and titles since they are used a great number of times in any interaction. Because they are so frequent, misgendering someone by incorrectly using pronouns or titles probably means showing disrespect to their identity a great number of times, too. Similarly, Roth presents concrete and practical suggestions for using this vocabulary. For instance, how do you avoid using ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ and keep the same flow and level of politeness? They suggest that these titles can be substituted in different ways. People may say: “Are you ready to place your order with us?”, “Thank you for your business; we appreciate you!”, and “Have a wonderful day, all”, for example (p. 18). The book includes recommended approaches on how to communicate in oral and written contexts in a manner which respects the individuality of non-binary people in everyday life interactions, as well as in businesses, education environments, and government policies. While Roth does an outstanding job by explaining gender-expansive terms, gender- neutral pronouns and vocabulary, indicating other resources to be used, and giving suggestions on how to apply this knowledge, there is no reference to any statistics or research in the field. Although they do mention that the goal of the book was not to go into detail of statistics and research, I believe that information in this sense could help the book reach other spheres more easily, including the academic one. As an example, the interconnection of gender and second language acquisition has been investigated both in the field of applied linguistics and language teaching (e.g., Pavlenko, 2001; Sunderland, 2000). Some languages, such as Spanish and Portuguese, are heavily gendered. Although English has a minimal system of gender when compared to these languages, it still has vocabulary with gender-specific meanings (such as "husband" and "wife") and gendered pronouns (suchas"he"and"she"). Vocabulary and pronouns play an important role in correctly gendering people, and this is the scope in which speakers of English must pay special attention so as to express themselves and refer to people in an inclusive way, creatingsafe and respectful environments, experiences, and, ultimately, culture. The abundance of information in this book is a valuable resource to teachers of English. While contributing to EFL/ESL teacher’s education was not necessarily the goal of the author and they never mention this area in their book,the topic is of great relevance for the field of second language teaching (Goddard&Patterson, 2000). Teachers have a crucial role in teaching not only the language but also the values and culture this language carries. Moreover,a part of language teaching is selecting appropriate textbooks and other material to meet the goals of a course. The evaluation of these materials should consider gender representation in addition to other factors. Specifically, teachers need to evaluate how gender representation can be interpreted in their resources and be prepared to inclusively present it. However, commercial textbooks and other resources we have available for teaching the language lack extensive and careful work in presenting gender-neutral and expansive language (Ortiz,2001). Without a doubt, Shelley Roth’s A Field Guide to Gender-Neutral Language: For Business, Families and Allies is an excellent way to start getting educated in the topic. References Goddard, A., & Patterson, L. M. (2000). Language and gender. London: Routledge. Ortiz,E.S. (2001). Gender representation in ESL textbooks. Thesis (M.A.). University of Central Florida. Pavlenko,A.(2001).Language learning memoirs as a gendered genre. Applied Linguistics, 22(2), 213–240. Sunderland, J.(2000).Issues of language and gender in second and foreign language education. Language Teaching,33(4), 203-223.
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Book Review Evelin Llamas University of Central Florida 100 Ways to Teach Language Online: Powerful Tools for the Online and Flipped Classroom Language Teacher. By Shane Dixon, Shelly Shewell, J., & Jenny Crandell; Wayzgoose Press, 2020.
While all teachers have been trained to teach in a regular classroom, relatively few have had extensive training in online teaching and very few had experience with a flipped classroom until the COVID-19 pandemic forced all of us to move our instruction to a virtual setting. Fortunately, Shane Dixon, Justin Shewell, and Jenny Crandell have written 100 Ways to Teach Language Online: Powerful Tools for the Online and Flipped Classroom Language Teacher, a work that is filled with practical teaching suggestions and classroom activities that all teachers can easily use. This important book isdesigned for teachers who are planning to teach in an online or flipped classroom language. The online activities provide clear instructions step by step on how teachers can use these activities based on their learners’ language proficiency level. The book is divided into different parts covering the most common activities in one online environment. Dixon, Shewell, and Crandell (2020) explain in detail how teachers can use each activity to teach online. The book provides different techniques teachers can use to support learners who struggle with the language. In part 1, the authors present the top ten activities in the digital universe. They provided downloadable PDF worksheets to allow teachers to print or post the activities online. The authors provide images as a visual support when teaching English. They also provide suggestions on how to use the visuals, and the questions that teachers can ask students when working on activities using visuals. For each activity, the authors provide instructions based on the learners’ English proficiency levels. While part 2 focus on activities that can help teachers introduce new information while connecting to previous knowledge, part 3 offers guided practice through different activities that can help students navigate more complex activities. For example, teachers can ask students to break down a difficult task such as writing an essay, by having students focus on writing short paragraphs one at a time. Instead of asking students if they understand, teachers can ask questions about the material they have learned. For ESL students who cannot answer open-ended questions, teachers can ask more yes-no questions. Finally, teachers can show students how to use online flashcards to see what they can recall. To memorize material better, students can use different modes of online flashcards in Quizlet, such as spelling, matching, and testing. Part 4 deals with independent practices: one such practice is online presentations, which give learners opportunities to demonstrate their speaking skills using clear and organized ideas. Online presentations also allow students to practice language strategies, organize information, and control anxiety, which are considered important skills for language production. In part 5, the authors suggest that teachers break down listening activities when asking students to do listening activities. Another suggestion for teachers is pre-teach vocabulary and share key concepts ahead of time. In part 6, the authors provide different strategies that teachers can use to help learners to develop reading skills. For example, teachers can ask learners to predict the content of a passage by showing them a picture or title and asking them questions related to the picture. Another strategy the authors provide is to help learners to find a word and to find a sentence, the teacher will write a definition of a word (either on the screen or on a flashcard that the teacher can hold up) without writing the word. Then, the teacher will ask students to look for the word in the reading that has this specific meaning. In discussing writing activities in part 7, the authors provide Venn diagrams as a strategy that teachers can use to have learners to compare and contrast two objects. To this end, the authors also provide a very practical online Venn diagram generator. Another strategy is brainstorming as a way to start the writing process, in both online and flipped classrooms. Finally, the authors suggest freewriting techniques that allow students to write their ideas without paying excessive attention to grammar, spelling, or punctuation. Speaking activities are covered in Part 8. The authors recommend informal speaking activities allowing learners to focus on generating ideas, conversing, and practicing different aspects of speaking. The authors recommend informal speaking activities because speaking is difficult to assess since teachers generally are required to create rubrics that contain only some of the many possible categories that speaking involves. Part 9, one of the strongest sections of the book, presents vocabulary activities. To help students with their vocabulary learning, the authors promote spaced repetition (the Leitner system) encouraging students to make flashcards and to review them at certain intervals or spaces. Mueller & Hays (2022) talks about institutional use of a Spaced Repetition vocabulary learning app to provide students similar learning opportunities while improving and supplementing their general English vocabulary. The spaced repetition learning app that has been utilized is WordEngine. WordEngine is a bilingual (Japanese and English) vocabulary learning application for smartphones and computers. The authors indicate that this app gives each student a personalized set of flashcards with three types of paired-associate learning tasks: visual, aural, and contextual. Also, the app defines and teaches new and unfamiliar vocabulary using only definitions with words the student should already know. WordEngine is designed in such a way that allow learners to practice vocabulary at a level that is appropriate for their English proficiency level. Mueller & Hays indicated that WordEngine’s digital flashcards have been researched showing to be faster and more effective than: intensive reading, extensive reading, word lists, and paper flashcards. In addition, data provided by WordEngine showed that with a weekly study goal of 350 words, the average of Tokyo International University (TIU) students increased their vocabulary size by 1,153 new words above their starting average size of 2,854 words, about a 40% increase in one year. The authors also recommend online flashcards like the Quizlet app that will allow students to create their own cards. The authors explain that the best vocabulary activities should help learners practice and remember vocabulary words more than once and in multiple situations. Byrd and Lansing (2016) indicate that flashcards provide a useful way for learners to study and learn new vocabulary words and can be used by almost every student. After unfamiliar words are identified, flashcards are created by writing the unfamiliar vocabulary on one side and known words or phrases on the other. The authors investigate how electronic flashcards can play a role in the classroom to determine if students perform better using a computerized flashcards program than when using a more traditional, paper-based flashcard system. The authors indicate that participants performed better after using electronic flashcards than they did after using paper-based flashcards. Learners who studied using computer-based flashcards obtained significantly higher vocabulary quiz scores than their paper-based flashcard or vocabulary list studying peers.Webb and Nation (2012), explain that incidental learning gains are relatively small, and are dependent on the amount of input; words are learned gradually through repeated encounters in context. The authors indicate that in meaning-focused input, learners make gradual gains in vocabulary knowledge through repeated encounters with unknown words in context. Words that teachers believe that their students know may also be enriched through encounters in original contexts. The authors state that it is important that there are spaced multiple encounters with each word. There is no fixed minimum number of repetitions, but there should be at least somewhere between 7 and 16 meetings with each word. In part 10, Language Learners Autonomy, the authors indicate that learners must be aware of deadlines and check for resources. Teachers must recognize the role they play in their learners’ autonomy and should provide the required guidance that will empower learners. This guidance can happen in a variety of ways, such as sending students reminders of their key deadlines or weekly announcements to be in contact with students. Overall, 100 Ways to Teach Language Online: Powerful Tools for the Online and Flipped Classroom Language Teacher provides a wealth of good teaching ideas that are well organized and easy to follow. Dixon, Shewell, and Crandell include a variety of online activities with instructions that teachers can follow and use online. I especially like how each activity is explained in great detail and how for each concept the authors introduce, a definition is provided in case the readers are unfamiliar with those concepts. The book includes great online activities, and the authors provide clear instructions on how teachers can include the activities when working with students based on their language proficiency level. For these reasons, I would definitely recommend this book to all teachers, particularly online teachers who are working in English language teaching. References Byrd, D. R., & Lansing, B. (2016). Electronic flashcards inside the classroom: Practical and effective.The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 6(2), 1-13. Mueller, & Hays, G. (2022). Vocabulary Learning Outside of the Classroom: Institutional Use of a Spaced Repetition Vocabulary Learning App. Vocabulary Learning and Instruction,11(2), 48–56.https://doi.org/10.7820/vli.v11.2.mueller Webb, S., & Nation, P. (2012). Teaching vocabulary. The encyclopedia of applied linguistics.
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Teachers who want to strengthen their understanding of assessment, and in particular those who want to learn about a new method of assessment, should consider reading the bookLearning-Oriented Language Assessment: Putting Theory into Practice, edited by Atta Gebril. This book, which is geared towards an audience of readers with good foundational knowledge in assessment theories, helps readers understand how to use Learning-Oriented Language Assessment (LOA) in the classroom. LOA is an emerging method of assessment. According to Carless (2007), it can be summarized in three points: assessment tasks should be designed so that they stimulate sound learning practices among students, assessment should involve students actively engaging with their own and/or peers’ performance, and feedback should be timely and forward-looking so that it will support current and future student learning. The book includes twelve chapters, each written by authors who have made large impacts in the assessment literature. It opens with a chapter by the editor, Atta Gebril, on the history of assessment in Europe, The United States, and Asia-Pacific, which is helpful for orienting readers to the topic. The following eleven chapters provide a wealth of information from various perspectives on the application of LOA, which can assist teachers seeking to incorporate this method into their practice. Chapter 12 is a notable chapter by Erik Voss, which provides detailed explanation of how to apply LOA methodology using technological tools that readers may not have heard of and will be enthusiastic to try, such as an interactive video application called Edpuzzle. This application allows the user to stop a video and display an audio or visual prompt at certain points, which can be helpful for the development of students’ capacity to self-evaluate. Another useful tool described in this chapter is an add-on known as Orange Slice, which allows teachers to embed a rubric in Google Docs. This tool aids teachers in providing faster and more relevant feedback to students. Chapter 6 is also a noteworthy chapter, written by Daniel M. K. Lam. It offers suggestions about feedback that readers may not have considered, for example, how to orient feedback to improve future performances rather than using it for justifying the grade given. The chapter argues that including forward-looking elements in feedback may help learners appreciate the feedback more and improve. This book is dense, providing a large amount of information to help readers apply LAO in the classroom. However, its density of information and occasional difficult phrasing might be unappealing for some readers. This book requires slow reading and thoughtful attention; it is not appropriate for readers wanting a quick and simple overview of the topic, nor does it lend itself to rapid scanning for particular items. This book may be inappropriate for readers who are uninformed about assessment practices; rather, it is meant to increase the practical knowledge of readers who are already familiar with the assessment literature. Finally, subsequent editions of this book could improve the content by including more examples to help the reader better grasp how LOA is related to assessment and to eliminate the reuse of diagrams from chapter to chapter. In sum, this book is a valuable addition to the library of any educator who is knowledgeable about assessment practices but would like to learn more about LOA and how to apply it in the classroom. References Carless, D. (2007). Learning-oriented assessment: Conceptual bases and practical implications. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 44(1), 57–66.
Book Review Andrew Shepherd Nelson Yachay Tech University, Ecuador Learning-Oriented Language Assessment: Putting Theory into Practice. By Atta Gebril (Ed.); New York, Routledge, 2021.
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NOTES
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Fall 2023
SUNSHINE TESOL JOURNAL