Language awareness and its relevance to TESOL

Abstract

Language awareness (LA) is widely considered to be an important dimension of ESOL teachers' professional knowledge. This paper considers how language awareness has been defined and examines which aspects are foregrounded in various conceptions of language awareness. Samples of professional competency statements and tasks commonly given to pre-service teachers are provided to illuminate the aspects of language awareness that are given prominence in ESOL. The paper examines the aspects of language awareness that are fostered by current practices in teacher education and professional development and discusses which aspects of language awareness are desirable for teachers to develop. Excerpts from studies of pre-service and in-service teachers are used to suggest that teacher LA is strengthened by L2 learning experience, and to argue for the value of language learning awareness. It is argued that LA has been through a pendulum swing from a cross-lingual focus to a focus on English-only, and is now in the process of returning to a renewed and reinvigorated multi-lingual focus.