Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T11:05:45.372Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Theory and practice in language teacher education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 May 2019

Penny Ur
Penny Ur*
Affiliation:
Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel
*
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We often hear language teachers say ‘Don't confuse me with theories, just give me practical ideas I can take into the classroom’. Many teacher educators and researchers, on the other hand, believe that (research-based) theory is more important, and should be used and implemented by practitioners. This paper will propose an approach to the use of theory and practice in teacher education that may help to resolve this dissonance. After some preliminary definitions and clarification of some common confusions, it is suggested that theory and practice in the context of language teaching are not polar opposites, but points on a continuum: any statement or guideline about teaching can be, more or less, practical or theoretical. The rest of the paper will focus on the questions how the various types of published theories or teacher theorizing can contribute to professional expertise, what is the place of practical tips or recipes, and how all these can be used or combined in teacher education courses to bring about optimal learning by novice teachers, or increased expertise on the part of the more experienced ones.

Type
Plenary Speeches
Information
Language Teaching , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , October 2019 , pp. 450 - 459
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Plenary speech given at the Language across borders conference: Graz, December 2017.

References

Argyris, C., & Schön, D. (1974). Theory in practice: Increasing professional effectiveness. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.Google Scholar
Clarke, M. A. (1994). The dysfunctions of the theory/practice discourse. TESOL Quarterly, 28(1), 9–26.Google Scholar
Ellis, R. (2010). Teaching-based research and language pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 4(3), 193–220.Google Scholar
Irún-Chavarria, M. (2005). Doing, reflecting, learning. English Teaching Professional, 40, 20–28.Google Scholar
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
Krashen, S. D. (1983). Second language acquisition theory and the preparation of teachers: Toward a rationale. In Alatis, J., Stern, H., & Strevins, P. (Eds.), Georgetown University Round Table on Languages and Linguistics 1983 (pp. 255–263). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.Google Scholar
Pienemann, M. (1984). Psychological constraints on the teachability of languages. Studies in second language acquisition, 6(2), 186–214.Google Scholar
Pienemann, M. (Ed.). (2005). Cross-linguistic aspects of Processability Theory. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Popper, K. (1963). Conjectures and refutations. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.Google Scholar
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Schmidt, R. (1990). The role of consciousness in second language learning. Applied Linguistics, 11, 129–158.Google Scholar
Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Skela, J. (2017). A journey through the landscapes of (foreign) language teacher education, presented at Language Education Across Borders Conference, Graz, 2017.Google Scholar
Swan, M. (2005). Legislation by hypothesis: The case of task-based instruction. Applied Linguistics, 26(3), 376–401.Google Scholar
Swan, M. (2012). We do need methods. In Swan, M. (Ed.), Thinking about language teaching (Selected Articles 1982–2011) (pp. 162–179). Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ur, P. (2001). Check it out. Language Teaching Professional, 21, 5–8.Google Scholar
Ur, P. (2011). Vocabulary activities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Ur, P. (2016). Penny Ur's 100 teaching tips. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Widdowson, H. G. (2003a). Defining issues in English language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Widdowson, H. G. (2003b). Expert beyond experience: Notes on the appropriate use of theory in practice. In. Newby, D. (Ed.), Mediating between theory and practice in the context of different learning cultures and languages (pp. 23–30). Strasbourg/Graz: Council of Europe Press.Google Scholar