Demystifying Grammar: Rethinking language awareness for teacher education: Final report

Abstract

<p>This report describes a project, supported by the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT), that addresses the question 'what kind of language awareness do teachers need to meet the stated goals of the new national curriculum, and how can this be integrated into teacher education?' Language-related components of Australian teacher education courses were reviewed, and interviews were conducted with pre-service teachers and teacher educators in Victoria and Queensland about their views and experiences of language issues in education.</p> <p>The current environment for pre-service teacher training in Australia is framed by a new national curriculum in which knowledge of language (KAL) has been emphasised. In recognition of Australia's increasing cultural and linguistic diversity, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2011) made it explicit that all teachers will be required to provide pedagogy that responds to the language learning needs of students whose first language is not English, regardless of whether these teachers have had formal language teacher training or not. For teachers to be able to do this, they need knowledge of the structure of English, of how both first and second languages are learned, and some awareness of pedagogy that scaffolds second language learning. Awareness of these, it is argued, would enhance self-confidence for dealing with language in areas also beneficial for mainstream students for whom English is a first language.</p> <p>The new curriculum for subject English outlines in reasonable detail the features of English language that should be the focus of each year level in primary and secondary education. The curriculum has been informed by language specialists, who have suggested that an effective approach would be to include elements of both traditional and functional grammar in teacher training, but there is much debate about how this could be achieved (Adoniou & Macken-Horarik, 2007). The ACARA document does not, however, specify in detail how teachers of other content areas could be enabled as language-aware teachers, nor does it explicitly state what kinds of knowledge about language would enhance their capability to respond to English as an additional language (EAL) students. In some UK and Australian studies, lack of knowledge about language is shown to be related to lack of confidence in dealing with it in classroom situations (see Cajkler & Hislam, 2010; Petraki & Hill, 2010).</p> <p>Research over the past two decades into the acquisition of additional languages has also revealed much about the social and cultural nature of language (e.g. Ortega, 2009), and the connections between language and culture are emphasised in the findings reported here. This project then aims to identify what kind of language awareness training should be included in pre-service programs for Australian teachers of all content areas.</p> <p>This project and its report are intended primarily for university academics and particularly those involved in the planning and delivery of teacher education courses. The factors influencing enhancement of teacher education are complex, particularly in Australia with its urban and rural contexts, and diverse groups of speakers of other languages, groups which include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well as migrants. Added to this complexity is the surfeit of accreditation requirements imposed on teacher education programs and the running commentary by state and federal governments and media on teacher education students. When all factors are considered, it is not possible to offer a one-size-fits-all approach, but the report does offer directions toward best practice through a review of current course content, the initiation of dialogue about language among educators of different disciplines, and through feedback from pre-service teachers.</p> <p>The report is presented over five chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the project and presents its scope with a brief review of relevant literature. Chapter 2 reports on what language-related components are currently included in the Australian teacher education curriculum through a review of a sample of courses. This is followed by a brief discussion of relevant teacher education practices in a small sample of countries held to be successful in promoting highly literate and language-aware teaching workforces. Chapter 3 reports on the views of pre-service teachers who were interviewed about their experiences with language in their own schooling and in teaching practicums. Chapter 4 reports on the views of teacher educators, from a range of discipline areas, who were interviewed about their views of language in their content area, and how the teacher education curriculum should cater for this. Finally, Chapter 5 summarises the findings, discusses the implications of the study, and details the dissemination activities to date.</p> <p>The project found that policy change in regards to language in education over recent decades has led to confusion and inconsistency in dealing with language in both primary and secondary schooling. It is suggested that language-specific modules, containing cultural elements, be included as core units in the education of teachers of all disciplines, linked to a stronger practicum component ('unit' being typically a one-semester subject of between 20–35 hours). Language studies units are offered widely in teacher education, but are rarely compulsory outside English or modern languages major or minor methods. This seed project presents exploratory findings. An investigation involving more content areas and more contexts, and especially including the views of in-service teachers and English as an additional language (EAL) students themselves, would increase the understanding of how the design of language-related units relates to positive outcomes in the inclusive classroom.</p>