The Plurilingual TESOL Teacher: The Hidden Languaged Lives of TESOL Teachers and Why They Matter

Elizabeth Ellis

Published by De Gruyter Mouton 2016

The Plurilingual TESOL Teacher

The Hidden Languaged Lives of TESOL Teachers and Why They Matter

Elizabeth Ellis

Volume 25 in the series Trends in Applied Linguistics [TAL]

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781614513421

Overview
Contents

About this book

This book introduces a new topic to applied linguistics: the significance of the TESOL teacher’s background as a learner and user of additional languages. The development of the global TESOL profession as a largely English-only enterprise has led to the accepted view that, as long as the teacher has English proficiency, then her or his other languages are irrelevant.

The book questions this view. Learners are in the process of becoming plurilingual, and this book argues that they are best served by a teacher who has experience of plurilingualism.

The book proposes a new way of looking at teacher linguistic identity by examining in detail the rich language biographies of teachers: of growing up with two or more languages; of learning languages through schooling or as an adult, of migrating to another linguaculture, of living in a plurilingual family and many more.

The book examines the history of language-in-education policy which has led to the development of the TESOL profession in Australia and elsewhere as a monolingual enterprise. It shows that teachers’ language backgrounds have been ignored in teacher selection, teacher training and ongoing professional development. The author draws on literature in teacher cognition, bilingualism studies, intercultural competence, bilingual lifewriting and linguistic identity to argue that languages play a key part in the development of teachers’ professional beliefs, identity, language awareness and language learning awareness.

Drawing on three studies involving 115 teachers from Australia and seven other countries, the author demonstrates conclusively that large numbers of teachers do have plurilingual experiences; that these experiences are ignored in the profession, but that they have powerful effects on the formation of beliefs about language learning and teaching which underpin good practice. Those teachers who identify as monolingual almost invariably have some language learning experience, but it was low-level, short-lived and unsuccessful.

How does the experience of successful or unsuccessful language learning and language use affect one’s identity, beliefs and practice as an English language teacher? What kinds of experience are most beneficial?

These concepts and findings have implications for teacher language education, teacher professional development and the current calls for increased plurilingual practices in the TESOL classroom.

Author / Editor information

Elizabeth Ellis, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.

Reviews

"This work has clear implications for teacher language education and professional development, in the context of current calls for enhanced plurilingual practices in the TESOL classroom."

Rod Neilsen, TESOL in Context, Volume 26, No.1

"Ellis's book makes a significant case for moving beyond both the monolingual model and the native/non-native binary."

Phiona Stanley, Australian Review of Applied Linguistics 40:3

"This volume is a welcome challenge to the TESOL teaching and research communities. Ellis sets out a coherent, sustained, and well-supported argument that, as the subtitle states, the languaged lives of plurilingual TESOL teachers matter, both professionally and personally. ... Ellis sets out her argument with precision and an impressive command of existing literature in the areas of bilingualism. The book is a rich resource of relevant literature, research data analysis, and teacher vignettes. All of these elements make the book very suitable for either undergraduate or postgraduate TESOL study."

Robyn Moloney, TESOL Quarterly

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Table of contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acknowledgments Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
List of tables Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xii
Abbreviations and acronyms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xiii
Chapter 1. Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Chapter 2. The TESOL profession as a monolingual monolith Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	24
Chapter 3. Three studies of TESOL teachers’ linguistic identities Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	50
Chapter 4. Bilingualism, plurilingualism and TESOL teachers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	75
Chapter 5. Teachers’ identities as learners Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
Chapter 6. The value of language learning Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	130
Chapter 7. Teachers’ knowledge and insights about language and language use Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	158
Chapter 8. Teacher cognition: understanding how knowledge and beliefs underpin professional practice Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Chapter 9. Applying insights about language learning and language teaching from teachers’ own learning experience Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	218
Chapter 10. A survey of the NSW TESOL profession Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
Chapter 11. Rejecting the monolingual monolith – the way forward Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	275
Appendix A. List of languages in Study 1 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	294
Appendix B. Pre-interview questionnaire from Study 2 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	295
Appendix C. Interview protocol for Studies 1 and 2 (with instructions for Research Assistants in Study 2) Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	297
Appendix D. Survey questions used for Study 3 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	301
Appendix E. Summary chart of teachers’ biographies in Study 1 Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	305
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	310

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter Mouton
Audience: Teachers of ESL and EFL, TESOL Educators.
Pages
- Front matter: 14
- Main content: 313
Keywords: ESL; Plurilingual; Teacher Cognition; Language Biography

eBook

Published: October 24, 2016
ISBN: 9781614513421

Hardcover

Published: October 24, 2016
ISBN: 9781614515890