The population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in schools in Europe has increas... more The population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in schools in Europe has increased steadily since the 1990s. This means there are increasing demands for schools to find innovative ways to ensure equal education and appropriate learning environments for linguistically and culturally diverse students. Research shows that teachers ’ attitudes toward their students will have a direct affect on their students’ behaviour and output. In order to ensure teachers ’ awareness of these issues, a study of their general attitudes and perceptions of these situations is germane. This paper will describe a qualitative research project which examined how teachers in Catalonia, Spain mutually constructed their categorizations of linguistic and culturally diverse students in their classrooms. The research consisted of collecting recorded data, which were then analyzed through an approach based on ethnomethodology and Sacks ’ Membership Categorization Analysis (1972). The research meth...
It is becoming increasingly frequent for language teachers to incorporate new teaching and learni... more It is becoming increasingly frequent for language teachers to incorporate new teaching and learning approaches into their classroom practice, including the use of computer technology. Commonly known as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) or sometimes called
Virtual exchange (VE) is an umbrella term used to refer to the engagement of groups of students i... more Virtual exchange (VE) is an umbrella term used to refer to the engagement of groups of students in sustained online intercultural interaction and collaboration with international partners under the guidance of their teachers. In the computer-assisted language learning literature, telecollaboration and eTandem approaches to VE have been researched extensively. However, this research has principally focused to date on learner gains and the impact on teachers has been much less explored. This paper identifies the impact of VE on foreign language teachers’ practices and their professional development by examining the results of a qualitative study of 31 teacher trainers who engaged their classes in VE projects as part of a large-scale European project. The findings of the study suggest that participation in VE projects provides teachers with valuable experience in continued professional development and methodological innovation. In particular, VE was seen to open up opportunities for te...
"How we're going about it" provides a space for teachers' voices in the nexus b... more "How we're going about it" provides a space for teachers' voices in the nexus between research and practice by outlining specific cases of innovative approaches to language teaching and learning as they have been applied in the classroom. The volume includes descriptions of some of the most representative recent work and practice in the field while at the same time covering a wide geographic scope. The case descriptions help synthesize research and teaching practice in a way that is accessible to busy teachers, teacher trainers or anyone interested in language development. Each chapter focuses on a similar approach taken by teachers and researchers from different countries and while the book contains contributions from some well-known authors, it also includes contributions from lesser-known practitioners who merit recognition of their innovative practices. This book is an important contribution to language teaching and learning for several reasons. It deals with educational innovation at various levels of education (young learners, primary, secondary, tertiary); it deals with perspectives from different areas of Europe and beyond; and it provides examples of grass-roots experiences being carried out by real teachers in real classrooms and is honest about the problems faced when implementing educational changes. It is therefore a book about authentic experiences with both a theoretical and problem-solving base, experiences which in turn make an important contribution to the underlying theories described herein.
Interactional analysis can be used to explore transcripts and to provide access to embedded, inte... more Interactional analysis can be used to explore transcripts and to provide access to embedded, intertextual information in the discussion participants’ talk. In this article, the analysis provides “portraits” of preservice and inservice teachers’ orientation towards linguistic diversity in Catalan schools —orientations which can help reveal the discourse participants’ previous knowledge and understanding of such categories. By recognising these categorizations as both bounded by commonsense background knowledge and constructed in situ, the analysis looks at the categorising processes used by teachers as a part of their life of teaching. It also reveals the social nature of these categorizations because they are, in the dialogic sense, an inseparable element of the socially constituted fabric of language and human interaction (Bakhtin, Dialogic) in the environment of schooling and society.
This text presents the results of surveys and interviews of Former Students (FSs) who have taken ... more This text presents the results of surveys and interviews of Former Students (FSs) who have taken part in a teacher education course that began in 2004 (still on-going) and that includes Virtual Exchange (VE). The study aimed to look at the impact of two teacher education courses, imparted collaboratively between geographicallydistanced universities for over a decade. The course design aims to introduce VE, both theoretically and empirically, as an approach to foreign language teaching in primary and secondary schools. The data are drawn from an online survey as well as in-depth interviews with FSs enrolled in the course between 2004 and 2015. The findings indicate that a significantly high percentage of the FSs who had been exposed to VE had been involved in or intended to implement VE in their own teaching and that the course had provided them with the knowledge and confidence to do so.
The term ‘Information Age’ has been applied to the current era we now live in, based on the fact ... more The term ‘Information Age’ has been applied to the current era we now live in, based on the fact that technology and Internet are continuously changing the way people work, learn, spend their leisure time and interact with one another. At the same time, access to this means of interaction is not always equal –whether due to lack of experience, knowledge or economic access. The rate of these changes –and a feeling of uncertain consequences- can create a sense of uncontrollably rapid social changes and possible social fragmentation. In the face of this, education stakeholders must seriously consider how schooling can confront these challenges. This article will first give a brief overview of how the notion of social cohesion has been used in social and educational policies, focusing especially on two central points that emerge: social equality and education as a nexus for social cohesion. Next, the text looks at how education can undertake the challenge of eliminating social inequalit...
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) once meant principally text-based communication mediated by... more Computer-mediated communication (CMC) once meant principally text-based communication mediated by computers, but rapid technological advances in recent years have heralded an era of multimodal communication with a growing emphasis on audio and video synchronous interaction. As CMC, in all its variants (text chats, video chats, forums, blogs, SMS, etc.), has become normalized practice in personal and professional lives, educational initiatives, particularly language teaching and learning, are following suit. For researchers interested in exploring learner interactions in complex technology-supported learning environments, new challenges inevitably emerge. This article looks at the challenges of transcribing and representing multimodal data (visual, oral, and textual) when engaging in computer-assisted language learning research. When transcribing and representing such data, the choices made depend very much on the specific research questions addressed, hence in this paper we explore ...
I boken belyser orattvisor i utbildning. De exempel som ges behandlar framforallt lander inom eur... more I boken belyser orattvisor i utbildning. De exempel som ges behandlar framforallt lander inom europeiska unionen. Forfattarna diskuterar att man i europeisk utbildningspolicy for framtiden sager sig vilja narma sig strukturella missgynnanden pa ett mer systematiskt satt.
The use of computer-supported collaborative learning is more and more commonplace in language lea... more The use of computer-supported collaborative learning is more and more commonplace in language learning classrooms; this has given rise to the need for more research on roles and processes of telecollaboration in language teaching and learning and how online interactions are integrated with face-to-face classroom activities. Using a data-driven, qualitative approach to provide snapshots of a telecollaborative language learning project, this article examines participants’ modes of language use beginning with the task-asworkplan (Breen, 1987, 1989) and then examining episodes (both F2F and online) and outcomes of the task-in-process. By pinpointing specific moments of emerging language knowledge in the telecollaborative process, the article aims to delineate salient factors involved in this type of language learning context.
Many reports suggest that the use of education technology can have a positive effect on language ... more Many reports suggest that the use of education technology can have a positive effect on language education. However, most of the research indicates that there is need for more detailed understanding of the pedagogical processes that support technology-enhanced language learning. This text takes a social semiotic perspective to examine multimodal interaction (Jewitt, Bezemer, & O’Halloran, 2016) of learners taking part in telecollaborative activities in a language classroom. The study aims to provide a detailed view of the ways in which the language teachers’ task-as-workplan (Breen, 1987, 1989), designed around different technologies, dovetails (or not) into the task-as-process (i.e., the way in which the learners interpret and act upon the task instructions). Comparing the teachers’ pedagogical design and intended purpose of different technology-supported tasks with the actual way in which the learners interact with the tools, the results show that the students often engage with th...
El Grup de Recerca en Ensenyament i Interaccio Plurilingues GREIP treballa per contribuir a l'... more El Grup de Recerca en Ensenyament i Interaccio Plurilingues GREIP treballa per contribuir a l'educacio plurilingue en tots els nivells educatius, amb un enfocament global i integrador i des de perspectives propies de la sociolinguistica interaccional, de l'analisi de la conversa i de la construccio socialment situada del coneixement.
6 Una aproximació a dades multimodals amb l'anàlisi del discurs mediat Melinda Dooly 1 Conceptes ... more 6 Una aproximació a dades multimodals amb l'anàlisi del discurs mediat Melinda Dooly 1 Conceptes clau: multimodalitat, anàlisis del discurs mediat, anàlisi de nexe, comunicació mediada per ordinador, anàlisi d'interacció. Per citar aquest capítol: Dooly, M. (2017). Una aproximació a dades multimodals amb l'anàlisi del discurs mediat. A E. Moore i M. Dooly (Eds), Enfocaments qualitatius per a la recerca en educació plurilingüe (p. 212-235). Researchpublishing.net.
The population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in schools in Europe has increas... more The population of linguistically and culturally diverse students in schools in Europe has increased steadily since the 1990s. This means there are increasing demands for schools to find innovative ways to ensure equal education and appropriate learning environments for linguistically and culturally diverse students. Research shows that teachers ’ attitudes toward their students will have a direct affect on their students’ behaviour and output. In order to ensure teachers ’ awareness of these issues, a study of their general attitudes and perceptions of these situations is germane. This paper will describe a qualitative research project which examined how teachers in Catalonia, Spain mutually constructed their categorizations of linguistic and culturally diverse students in their classrooms. The research consisted of collecting recorded data, which were then analyzed through an approach based on ethnomethodology and Sacks ’ Membership Categorization Analysis (1972). The research meth...
It is becoming increasingly frequent for language teachers to incorporate new teaching and learni... more It is becoming increasingly frequent for language teachers to incorporate new teaching and learning approaches into their classroom practice, including the use of computer technology. Commonly known as Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) or sometimes called
Virtual exchange (VE) is an umbrella term used to refer to the engagement of groups of students i... more Virtual exchange (VE) is an umbrella term used to refer to the engagement of groups of students in sustained online intercultural interaction and collaboration with international partners under the guidance of their teachers. In the computer-assisted language learning literature, telecollaboration and eTandem approaches to VE have been researched extensively. However, this research has principally focused to date on learner gains and the impact on teachers has been much less explored. This paper identifies the impact of VE on foreign language teachers’ practices and their professional development by examining the results of a qualitative study of 31 teacher trainers who engaged their classes in VE projects as part of a large-scale European project. The findings of the study suggest that participation in VE projects provides teachers with valuable experience in continued professional development and methodological innovation. In particular, VE was seen to open up opportunities for te...
"How we're going about it" provides a space for teachers' voices in the nexus b... more "How we're going about it" provides a space for teachers' voices in the nexus between research and practice by outlining specific cases of innovative approaches to language teaching and learning as they have been applied in the classroom. The volume includes descriptions of some of the most representative recent work and practice in the field while at the same time covering a wide geographic scope. The case descriptions help synthesize research and teaching practice in a way that is accessible to busy teachers, teacher trainers or anyone interested in language development. Each chapter focuses on a similar approach taken by teachers and researchers from different countries and while the book contains contributions from some well-known authors, it also includes contributions from lesser-known practitioners who merit recognition of their innovative practices. This book is an important contribution to language teaching and learning for several reasons. It deals with educational innovation at various levels of education (young learners, primary, secondary, tertiary); it deals with perspectives from different areas of Europe and beyond; and it provides examples of grass-roots experiences being carried out by real teachers in real classrooms and is honest about the problems faced when implementing educational changes. It is therefore a book about authentic experiences with both a theoretical and problem-solving base, experiences which in turn make an important contribution to the underlying theories described herein.
Interactional analysis can be used to explore transcripts and to provide access to embedded, inte... more Interactional analysis can be used to explore transcripts and to provide access to embedded, intertextual information in the discussion participants’ talk. In this article, the analysis provides “portraits” of preservice and inservice teachers’ orientation towards linguistic diversity in Catalan schools —orientations which can help reveal the discourse participants’ previous knowledge and understanding of such categories. By recognising these categorizations as both bounded by commonsense background knowledge and constructed in situ, the analysis looks at the categorising processes used by teachers as a part of their life of teaching. It also reveals the social nature of these categorizations because they are, in the dialogic sense, an inseparable element of the socially constituted fabric of language and human interaction (Bakhtin, Dialogic) in the environment of schooling and society.
This text presents the results of surveys and interviews of Former Students (FSs) who have taken ... more This text presents the results of surveys and interviews of Former Students (FSs) who have taken part in a teacher education course that began in 2004 (still on-going) and that includes Virtual Exchange (VE). The study aimed to look at the impact of two teacher education courses, imparted collaboratively between geographicallydistanced universities for over a decade. The course design aims to introduce VE, both theoretically and empirically, as an approach to foreign language teaching in primary and secondary schools. The data are drawn from an online survey as well as in-depth interviews with FSs enrolled in the course between 2004 and 2015. The findings indicate that a significantly high percentage of the FSs who had been exposed to VE had been involved in or intended to implement VE in their own teaching and that the course had provided them with the knowledge and confidence to do so.
The term ‘Information Age’ has been applied to the current era we now live in, based on the fact ... more The term ‘Information Age’ has been applied to the current era we now live in, based on the fact that technology and Internet are continuously changing the way people work, learn, spend their leisure time and interact with one another. At the same time, access to this means of interaction is not always equal –whether due to lack of experience, knowledge or economic access. The rate of these changes –and a feeling of uncertain consequences- can create a sense of uncontrollably rapid social changes and possible social fragmentation. In the face of this, education stakeholders must seriously consider how schooling can confront these challenges. This article will first give a brief overview of how the notion of social cohesion has been used in social and educational policies, focusing especially on two central points that emerge: social equality and education as a nexus for social cohesion. Next, the text looks at how education can undertake the challenge of eliminating social inequalit...
Computer-mediated communication (CMC) once meant principally text-based communication mediated by... more Computer-mediated communication (CMC) once meant principally text-based communication mediated by computers, but rapid technological advances in recent years have heralded an era of multimodal communication with a growing emphasis on audio and video synchronous interaction. As CMC, in all its variants (text chats, video chats, forums, blogs, SMS, etc.), has become normalized practice in personal and professional lives, educational initiatives, particularly language teaching and learning, are following suit. For researchers interested in exploring learner interactions in complex technology-supported learning environments, new challenges inevitably emerge. This article looks at the challenges of transcribing and representing multimodal data (visual, oral, and textual) when engaging in computer-assisted language learning research. When transcribing and representing such data, the choices made depend very much on the specific research questions addressed, hence in this paper we explore ...
I boken belyser orattvisor i utbildning. De exempel som ges behandlar framforallt lander inom eur... more I boken belyser orattvisor i utbildning. De exempel som ges behandlar framforallt lander inom europeiska unionen. Forfattarna diskuterar att man i europeisk utbildningspolicy for framtiden sager sig vilja narma sig strukturella missgynnanden pa ett mer systematiskt satt.
The use of computer-supported collaborative learning is more and more commonplace in language lea... more The use of computer-supported collaborative learning is more and more commonplace in language learning classrooms; this has given rise to the need for more research on roles and processes of telecollaboration in language teaching and learning and how online interactions are integrated with face-to-face classroom activities. Using a data-driven, qualitative approach to provide snapshots of a telecollaborative language learning project, this article examines participants’ modes of language use beginning with the task-asworkplan (Breen, 1987, 1989) and then examining episodes (both F2F and online) and outcomes of the task-in-process. By pinpointing specific moments of emerging language knowledge in the telecollaborative process, the article aims to delineate salient factors involved in this type of language learning context.
Many reports suggest that the use of education technology can have a positive effect on language ... more Many reports suggest that the use of education technology can have a positive effect on language education. However, most of the research indicates that there is need for more detailed understanding of the pedagogical processes that support technology-enhanced language learning. This text takes a social semiotic perspective to examine multimodal interaction (Jewitt, Bezemer, & O’Halloran, 2016) of learners taking part in telecollaborative activities in a language classroom. The study aims to provide a detailed view of the ways in which the language teachers’ task-as-workplan (Breen, 1987, 1989), designed around different technologies, dovetails (or not) into the task-as-process (i.e., the way in which the learners interpret and act upon the task instructions). Comparing the teachers’ pedagogical design and intended purpose of different technology-supported tasks with the actual way in which the learners interact with the tools, the results show that the students often engage with th...
El Grup de Recerca en Ensenyament i Interaccio Plurilingues GREIP treballa per contribuir a l'... more El Grup de Recerca en Ensenyament i Interaccio Plurilingues GREIP treballa per contribuir a l'educacio plurilingue en tots els nivells educatius, amb un enfocament global i integrador i des de perspectives propies de la sociolinguistica interaccional, de l'analisi de la conversa i de la construccio socialment situada del coneixement.
6 Una aproximació a dades multimodals amb l'anàlisi del discurs mediat Melinda Dooly 1 Conceptes ... more 6 Una aproximació a dades multimodals amb l'anàlisi del discurs mediat Melinda Dooly 1 Conceptes clau: multimodalitat, anàlisis del discurs mediat, anàlisi de nexe, comunicació mediada per ordinador, anàlisi d'interacció. Per citar aquest capítol: Dooly, M. (2017). Una aproximació a dades multimodals amb l'anàlisi del discurs mediat. A E. Moore i M. Dooly (Eds), Enfocaments qualitatius per a la recerca en educació plurilingüe (p. 212-235). Researchpublishing.net.
(Unpublished doctoral thesis) The importance of the topic of linguistic diversity is more patent ... more (Unpublished doctoral thesis) The importance of the topic of linguistic diversity is more patent than ever when considering within the framework of the increasing numbers of newly arrived students to the Catalonian schools. Considering teachers' perspectives about linguistic diversity is especially relevant if taken into account within a theoretical framework which considers linguistic diversity an important tool for the acquisition of further languages. This doctoral thesis, "Linguistic Diversity: A Qualitative Analysis of Foreign Language Teachers' Category Assembly" presented by Melinda Dooly Owenby on the 25 April and directed by Dr. Luci Nussbaum, studies foreign language teachers' perspectives towards students whose language is different from the school's vehicular language. The research was carried out through a qualitative analysis of the way in which both inservice and preservice teachers constructed categories during conversations about linguistic diversity. The principal questions of the research were the following: - Question: Are there any predominant categorizations of linguistic and cultural diversity in the interactions between groups of preservice and inservice teachers and if so, which ones? - Question: Are there any significant differences in their categorizations of linguistic and cultural diversity between preservice and inservice teachers and if so, which ones? - Question: With preservice teachers, does it make a difference if they have participated in international and intercultural projects, exchanges or experiences, compared to the attitudes of preservice teachers who have not? - Question: Is there indication of evolution in the category assemblies over the course of the research? The theoretical part of the research discusses some previous studies on cognitive schemes and how they affect teacher behaviour and subsequent expectations in the classroom. It also introduces the rationale for the Baktinian, dialogic approach taken in the research and explains how it fits with the ethnomethodological understanding of categorizations, stemming from a common "stock of social knowledge". The chapter also discusses the reasons behind taking a qualitative approach rather than a quantitative one and provides a literature review of teacher expectations because categorization concerning teacher expectations is a key issue in the research. The text then goes into further detail about how I adapted Sacks' Membership Categorization Analysis as a principal part of the research approach. It explains what MCA is and how it can be applied to the research, as well as providing some definitions and examples of the more technical aspects of MCA. Next, the text looks at the topic of diversity, which is the principal focus of the analysis and how conversation participants often categorize the "other" according to features of diversity. Reflective teaching and language awareness is considered since it provides the main focus of the proposals made in this research, based on the results of the category analysis. I also provide a theoretical background of the approach taken as well as a practical outline of its application to the research. The analysis itself consists of a qualitative conversation analysis of over 100 extracts taken from approximately 25 hours of recordings of three groups, one inservice and two preservice groups, all of whom are discussing linguistic and cultural diversity. The extracts were selected according to the frequency of the category mentioned (e.g. linguistic diversity categorized as a problem) and how the actual category was constructed (the negotiation of the category, attenuating features, common background knowledge which was visibly accessed, etc.). This is followed by a closer examination of some of the categories, particularly looking at differences in the way in the positive and negative category were assembled by the preservice groups and the inservice teachers.
'How we're going about it' provides a space for teachers' voices in the nexus between research an... more 'How we're going about it' provides a space for teachers' voices in the nexus between research and practice by outlining specific cases of innovative approaches to language teaching and learning as they have been applied in the classroom. The volume includes descriptions of some of the most representative recent work and practice in the field while at the same time covering a wide geographic scope.
The case descriptions help synthesize research and teaching practice in a way that is accessible to busy teachers, teacher trainers or anyone interested in language development. Each chapter focuses on a similar approach taken by teachers and researchers from different countries and while the book contains contributions from well-known authors, it also includes contributions from lesser-known practitioners who merit recognition of their innovative practices.
This book is an important contribution to language teaching and learning for several reasons. It deals with educational innovation at various levels of education (young learners, primary, secondary, tertiary); it deals with perspectives from different areas of Europe and beyond; and it provides examples of grass-roots experiences being carried out by real teachers in real classrooms and is honest about the problems faced when implementing educational changes. It is therefore a book about authentic experiences with in turn make an important contribution to the underlying theories described herein.
Based on a research project supported y the European Research Foundation, this book explores how ... more Based on a research project supported y the European Research Foundation, this book explores how primary and secondary students in four different European countries views theirs and the world's future. The results indicate that there is a gap between students' perspectives and the future and a clear pedagogical base for helping students confront many issues that are significant to them. The importance of ensuring students become critically aware citizens and helping them develop the ability and skills necessary for facing the challenges of the future are patent. This book spells out specific ways in which the issues which emerged from the study can be approached from diverse fields (geography, language learning and arts and crafts). It also discusses some cross-disciplinary educational issues relevant to all teachers - general education and cross-disciplinary, as well as offering two proposals on how teachers can count on sufficient psychological support to face the challenges of teaching in an increasingly complex environment and promote cooperative behaviour in the classroom.
How teachers and students work together through discourse to construct their understanding of the... more How teachers and students work together through discourse to construct their understanding of the context they live and work in will influence, in many different ways, the interaction within their classrooms. This book describes an indepth research that used ethnomethodology and conversation analysis to study three different groups of teachers. The study highlights the teachers’ perspectives concerning heterogeneity in the classroom, using recordings of discussions concerning cultural and linguistic diversity. Moreover, this research examines the discourse participants’ choice in the use (deployment) of categorical descriptions and reveals the speaker as positioned, interested and accountable for meaning construction. Thus, “portraits” of differing preservice and inservice teachers’ orientation towards linguistic and cultural diversity are analysed. By recognising these categorizations as partially bounded by previous knowledge and partially constructed in situ, the research sees meaning-making by teachers as a part of their lived work of teaching. It also reveals the social nature of these categorizations because they are an inseparable element of the socially constituted fabric of language in the environment of schooling and society.
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The research was carried out through a qualitative analysis of the way in which both inservice and preservice teachers constructed categories during conversations about linguistic diversity. The principal questions of the research were the following:
- Question: Are there any predominant categorizations of linguistic and cultural diversity in the interactions between groups of preservice and inservice teachers and if so, which ones?
- Question: Are there any significant differences in their categorizations of linguistic and cultural diversity between preservice and inservice teachers and if so, which ones?
- Question: With preservice teachers, does it make a difference if they have participated in international and intercultural projects, exchanges or experiences, compared to the attitudes of preservice teachers who have not?
- Question: Is there indication of evolution in the category assemblies over the course of the research?
The theoretical part of the research discusses some previous studies on cognitive schemes and how they affect teacher behaviour and subsequent expectations in the classroom. It also introduces the rationale for the Baktinian, dialogic approach taken in the research and explains how it fits with the ethnomethodological understanding of categorizations, stemming from a common "stock of social knowledge". The chapter also discusses the reasons behind taking a qualitative approach rather than a quantitative one and provides a literature review of teacher expectations because categorization concerning teacher expectations is a key issue in the research. The text then goes into further detail about how I adapted Sacks' Membership Categorization Analysis as a principal part of the research approach. It explains what MCA is and how it can be applied to the research, as well as providing some definitions and examples of the more technical aspects of MCA.
Next, the text looks at the topic of diversity, which is the principal focus of the analysis and how conversation participants often categorize the "other" according to features of diversity. Reflective teaching and language awareness is considered since it provides the main focus of the proposals made in this research, based on the results of the category analysis. I also provide a theoretical background of the approach taken as well as a practical outline of its application to the research.
The analysis itself consists of a qualitative conversation analysis of over 100 extracts taken from approximately 25 hours of recordings of three groups, one inservice and two preservice groups, all of whom are discussing linguistic and cultural diversity. The extracts were selected according to the frequency of the category mentioned (e.g. linguistic diversity categorized as a problem) and how the actual category was constructed (the negotiation of the category, attenuating features, common background knowledge which was visibly accessed, etc.). This is followed by a closer examination of some of the categories, particularly looking at differences in the way in the positive and negative category were assembled by the preservice groups and the inservice teachers.
The case descriptions help synthesize research and teaching practice in a way that is accessible to busy teachers, teacher trainers or anyone interested in language development. Each chapter focuses on a similar approach taken by teachers and researchers from different countries and while the book contains contributions from well-known authors, it also includes contributions from lesser-known practitioners who merit recognition of their innovative practices.
This book is an important contribution to language teaching and learning for several reasons. It deals with educational innovation at various levels of education (young learners, primary, secondary, tertiary); it deals with perspectives from different areas of Europe and beyond; and it provides examples of grass-roots experiences being carried out by real teachers in real classrooms and is honest about the problems faced when implementing educational changes. It is therefore a book about authentic experiences with in turn make an important contribution to the underlying theories described herein.
the teachers’ perspectives concerning heterogeneity
in the classroom, using recordings of discussions concerning cultural and linguistic diversity.
Moreover, this research examines the discourse participants’ choice in the use (deployment) of categorical descriptions and reveals the speaker as positioned, interested and accountable for meaning construction. Thus, “portraits” of differing preservice and inservice teachers’ orientation towards linguistic and cultural diversity are analysed. By recognising these categorizations as partially bounded by previous knowledge and partially constructed in situ, the research
sees meaning-making by teachers as a part of their lived work of teaching. It also reveals the social nature of these categorizations because they are an inseparable element of the socially constituted fabric of language in the environment of schooling and society.