Libor Štěpánek Masaryk University Language Centre libor.stepanek@cjv.muni.cz Confident, Creative and Curious: Autonomous Teachers for Autonomous Times agenda •teachers´ autonomy • •teachers negotiating autonomy with learners • •teacher-trainers and teachers´ individual limitations • that prevent them from promoting learner autonomy • •managers and factors that can enhance or restrain • the autonomy teachers may enjoy autonomy •learner • - ability or capability to take charge or control • of one´s own learning • autonomy •teacher autonomy • •ability, •capacity, •willingness, •personal responsibility, •self-directed professional development, •professional action •freedom •…. …to take control over the teaching process. • • Little (1995), Thavenius (1999), McGrath (2000), Smith (2003), Huang and Benson (2007), Xu (2007), Vieira (2008) autonomy • • • “a state of mind, an attitude to life… It has to do with the belief in one’s potential, self-esteem, open-mindedness, self-respect and respect for others… At the same time it has to do with the development of the ability to act autonomously and the ability to learn…” • (Sampedro, 2008, p.129) • teacher – learner autonomy negotiation •negotiated (proces, flexible) syllabus is organized around shared decisions made by teachers and learners • • •“a shared detailed understanding between teacher and students of what is going on, what needs to be done, and how it will be done”. • (Boomer, 1992, p. 287) A negotiated (process) syllabus (adapted from Breen & Littlejohn, 2000b, p. 38; Nation & Macalister, 2010, p. 150) • H:\CJV.Libor\konference.Libor\hradec\gramamr1.png Which grammar issues cause major problems? flexible syllabus •1. small talk – starting / finishing / turn taking •2. after-presentation discussion •3. critical listening •4. critical thinking •5. sound argumentation •6. conference presentation giving •7. panel discussion – presentations •8. panel discussion – chairing •9. panel discussion – turn taking •10. conference slot chairing •11. feedback giving /accepting •12. lecturing •13. interactive seminar giving • •14. academic talk •15. peer-to-peer communication •16. authoritative communication •17. “one of the crowd” communication •18. adjusting language to your audience •19. instructions giving •20. academic writing style •21. abstract writing •22. biography writing •23. informal emails/letters •24. formal emails/letters •25. critical reading •26. other • two priorities 1´ (individually) • • two priorities 3´ (pairs) • • two priorities 5´ (groups of four) • • two priorities 7´ (groups of eight) … • • two priorities 10´ (the whole class) DSCN3062 C:\Users\cjv\Desktop\obr2.png C:\Users\cjv\Desktop\obr2.png C:\Users\cjv\Desktop\Obrázek2.png C:\Users\cjv\Desktop\obr2.png C:\Users\cjv\Desktop\Obrázek2.png Our work will consist of six types of activities: 1) 1. meetings with lecturers (organised by lecturers) 2. meetings with lecturers (organised by group members) 3. meetings of the academic writing group (organised by group members) 4. individual writing and consultations (for feedback from lecturers) 5. peer-review 6. collaborative list of links to academic writing skills C:\Users\cjv\Desktop\obr2.png •PEER-REVIEW •(Participants of the activity: … ) • •Task: Write a short piece of text (300-500 words). Include the following information: •1) Title (if applicable) •2) Type of text •Please, do NOT include any identification, since we intend to keep the peer-review anonymous. •3) Then, write at least three peer-reviews to the texts of your colleagues. You can follow the structure given below but it is not compulsory. •Deadlines: 31st October (write your own text and upload it to the peer-review system); 19th December ( write and upload •peer-reviews to the texts of your colleagues) •To be sent to: peer-review system (automatic emails) •peer-review • •„I do not want to participate as I see no point in being corrected by someone who may have lower level of English than me.“ • •I do not know how it could help me – also, I do not feel confident enough to judge someone else´s writing. C:\Users\stepanek\Desktop\obr13.png http://images.cpcache.com/merchandise/514_400x400_Peel.jpg?region=name:FrontCenter,id:33367861,w:16 • • • • • •“ …it is not academic“ •“ ….it is just a game“ •“ …I was not sure about spelling of some words“ •“ …it is not good to use informal words in academic English“ •“ …my grammar is very bad“ DSC00383 confidence teacher – teacher autonomy negotiation • why? - - •clap the rythm of this conference • - • •make a drawing of … •what you are looking forward to today Line of interest … • •autonomy •Read the statements below. Identify if they are facts, pieces of knowledge, opinions, impressions, feelings or beliefs. • •Senses are physiological capacities of organisms that provide data for perception. Humans have five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. • • •Crimea is a part of Ukraine. • • • • Ivan Matteuzzi • • https://www.cjv.muni.cz/cs/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/10/DSCN7315.jpg https://media.licdn.com/media/AAEAAQAAAAAAAAYlAAAAJGE3NTlmOGM2LTIzN2UtNGRhNi04OTAwLTQ0YjYxYmU0YjJjY Q.jpg • •How old are you? (Korean) •Do you mean Korean or international age? • • • • 28 Adapted from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeXIV-wMVUk Adapted from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty9QSiVC2g0 torque • • • • 30 limitations •…non-linguistic skills are not necessary… •…no controversial topics are allowed… •…I do not have any assumptions about students before I meet them. … •….Do Koreans really ask that? …. •…Who is going to correct the peer-review? … •…it is too much work to find and prepare diverse materials for one topic … •… if students bring their texts, how do we know they bring the right ones… •…It is impossible to be authentic and give them long texts as homework … creativity manager – teacher autonomy negotiation • responsibility • •learner • •institution • •your own professional integrity questionnaire •teaching and testing at Masaryk University Language Centre • •36 questions •online •anonymous •vague questions open to interpretation of respondents •52 respondents (out of 78 academic staff members) • • I would like my students to see me as: •teacher – (excellent, competent, their, good …) •friend •colleague •facilitator and motivator •mentor •expert •partner •inspirational and knowledgeable person •mediator and coordinator of group activities •provider of the best they can learn •help •motivational factor and source of interest to language • • • • I would like my students to see me as: •teacher – (excellent, competent, their, good …) •friend •colleague •facilitator and motivator •mentor •expert •partner •inspirational and knowledgeable person •mediator and coordinator of group activities •provider of the best they can learn •help •motivational factor and source of interest to language • • • • Rafael Noir (Lausanne): sport coach I use different teaching approaches in different courses I teach. •30 YES •18 NO •4 no response • •…every course is different and target groups in each course need different approaches… •There are styles or approaches I use in all of my courses and some approaches I adjust to the needs of the group. •I teach only one type of a course. •My approach is appropriate for all courses. • • Materials I use in my teaching are: •…online materials, textbooks, videos •…everything suitable – textbooks, my own materials, Kahoot, grammar tasks, authentic listenings, presentations of students … •…compulsory and recommended materials for a given course •…materials created by the unit, materials students bring from their branches… •…ppt, podcast, news, videos, handouts, mobile phone tasks … •…diverse … • • • Can I choose which materials to use in my classes? •34 YES •14 YES and NO •2 NO •2 no response • • Are there any materails I cannot use? •NO •authentic diagnoses •not if I am not sure whether my materials are well-referenced materials • • • • • • During the course, I give feedback to students: •YES •…oral feedback every session, written twice per term… •…frequency differs, mostly oral, written rarely… •…if students ask for feedback…. •…to homework… •…group feedback after tasks… •…corrected tests… • To evaluate language skills, I use the following style of testing: •oral and written test •analysis of written and oral work •test of four language skills + „gramlex“ •home written text + monologue on the topic of their thesis + interaction in pair •standardised test •pro-achievement test •portfolio testing •translation •work in seminar • • You can choose a way of evaluation at your unit: •15 YES •23 NO •14 no response • •Units usually have one. •It depends on specialisations •If one teacher teaches a course, it is possible, if more teachers, then it must be unified. •Standardised courses are tested in a standard way, others in a different way. •We may think about new forms of testing. •We all have the same tests with the same points. • • In what cases do I consult my decision about a grade with colleagues: •If a student thinks, the grade should be different… •If it is the last try of the student. •When the results are poor and the student should be failed. •In all cases, we test in pairs. •If a student´s response shows a new possibility not mentioned in the test key and I think it could be correct. •There has never been any need so far. • • • • When I fail a student, I base it on: •CEFR levels •The test must be well constructed. Because we are not perfect test designers, I can tolerate 1-2% of mistakes, if a student is in a difficult study situation. If the situation is not clear, it is always a problem of a test not the student. •If a student is unable to express their thoughts… •Points in a test … •If the student does not do tasks during the course… •It is important for me to see the student is trying hard to improve their language skills, even if they do not achieve expected levels in all fours skills. •Work and effort during the term, achievement of the student, test results •It is not so common. Portfolio enables continuous improvement checking, they get continuous feedback and know which areas to focus on and which mistakes to eliminate. If a student does not collect enough points, they usually know before the end of the term. • • As a teacher, I do not like: •large groups •admin •testing •bored / passive / tired / non-motivated students •grammar •time stress / lack of time •different levels of students in one group •when I cannot manage what I have planned •when I am bored • • As a teacher, I enjoy: •everything •…developing a session and seeing that students have learnt something and feel fine about it… • …interaction with students…. •watching students´ styles of thinking, finding new ways … •variability of methods and teaching styles I can use to achieve individualised approach / tailoring sessions •dynamics •when students are having fun •watchnig students „grow“ •intellectual excitement •diversity of audiences and their reactions • • curiosity summary • •learners (confidence) •expertise •experience • •teachers (creativity) •open-mindedness •sharing • •managers (curiosity) •balance of responsibilities •professional trust conclusion • • •…a responsible attitude to work… • • … professional trust • learners and teachers, teachers as a community teachers and managers/admin sources •Benson, & P. Voller (Eds.), Autonomy and independence in language learning (pp.132-149). London: Longman. •Holec, H. (1981). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press. •Huang, J., & Benson, P. (2007). Research on teacher autonomy in second language education. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching, (2), 33-37. •Little, D. (1991). Learner autonomy 1: Definitions, issues and problems. Dublin: Authentik. •Little, D. (1995). Learning as dialogue: The dependence of learner autonomy on teacher autonomy. System, 23(2), 175-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/0346-251X(95)00006-6 •McGrath, I. (2000). Teacher autonomy. In B. Sinclair, I. McGrath, & T. Lamb (Eds.), Learner autonomy, teacher autonomy: Future directions (pp. 100-110). Harlow: Longman. •Sampedro, S. (2008). Fostering learner autonomy in a secondary school context. In M. Jiménez Raya, & T. Lamb (Eds), Pedagogy for autonomy in modern languages education: Theory, practice, and teacher education (pp. 126-142). Dublin: Authentik. •Smith, R. C. (2003). Teacher education for teacher-learner autonomy. In J. Gollin, G. Ferguson, & H. Trappes-Lomax (Eds.), Symposium for language teacher educators: Papers from three IALS Symposia. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh. •Thavenius, C. (1999). Teacher autonomy for learner autonomy. In S. Cotterall, & D. Crabbe (Eds.), Learner autonomy in language learning: Defining the field and effecting change (pp. 159-163). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. •Vieira, F. (2008). Introduction to section III: Teacher education for teacher and learner autonomy. In M. Jiménez Raya, & T. Lamb (Eds.), Pedagogy for autonomy in modern languages education: Theory, practice, and teacher education (pp. 199-201). Dublin: Authentik. •Xu, J. F. (2007). Autonomy in College foreign language learning: From theory to practice. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. •