From the Front Lines: Foreign Language Teaching Assistants’ Perceptions of Their Professional Development and Preparedness as Future Faculty Members

The following article aims to explain the concept of textbook awareness that in foreign language teaching literature is used to denote an element of teacher’s professional competence. The underpinnings of this concept are based on an analysis of its definition as postulated by Koenig (2010) and a critical survey of subject literature on the teacher-textbook relationship. This article shows how the concept of text-book awareness is justified and can be implemented. The significance of the role of textbook awareness in teacher’s didactic practice and professional development is highlighted.

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Attitudes of Foreign Language Teaching Assistants Towards Teaching of English in Pakistani Context

10.7176/jlll/78-03 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Teaching Assistants ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Foreign Language Teaching

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The Role of Empathy in Developing Professional Identity of would-be Economists in the home Reading Classroom

MGIMO Review of International Relations ◽

10.24833/2071-8160-2014-4-37-324-331 ◽

2014 ◽

pp. 324-331

Author(s):

M. V. Grineva

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Professional Development ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Professional Identity ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Decisive Role ◽

Foreign Language Teaching ◽

Home Reading ◽

Professional Attitude ◽

Wide Range

Nowadays the growing professional orientation of all the aspects of foreign language teaching is widely recognized as one of the major trends in the process of enhancing foreign languages curriculum at higher education institutions which specialize in training non-linguistic students majoring in various fields of international relations. Professionally oriented foreign language teaching implies using the foreign language classroom as a source of forming a wide range of professionally meaningful competences (both linguistic and non-linguistic) of would-be specialists along with developing their sense of professional identity. Despite the fact that professional identity - usually interpreted as individuals' perception of themselves as members of a certain profession - is the culmination of a long process of professional development, its cultivation with future specialists should be seen as a priority as early as at a higher education level - a college or university. Referring to psychological research, the author states that emotional factors play a decisive role in shaping professional identity at early stages of a person's professional development. It reveals the importance of analyzing the potential of literary texts in a foreign language in terms of their ability to contribute to developing prospective specialists' professional identity, as such texts represent a valuable text material which provokes readers' powerful emotional response and thus triggers empathy. The novel "The Firm" byJ. Grisham and "The Headhunter" byj. Mead were selected by the author for the home reading classroom with would-be economists, as coupled with a competence-based learning aid they allow teachers to create a unique discourse, which facilitates the process of developing students' professional competences and their professional identity. Along with their clear professional content, they appeal to students, as the problems raised in them are relevant to those of young readers. Such emotional contact provokes empathy, or a feeling of compassion and sympathy, which contributes to tackling the above pedagogical tasks. According to the author, empathy as a means of developing professional identity is realized through students' analyzing and assessing the professional behaviour of literary characters and their identifying themselves with protagonists or distancing from antagonists guided by professional criteria. It is essential that reading the above novels enrich would-be economists with the knowledge and experience, though non-empiric, of various business situations. The author concludes that such information about the profession in question is likely to prove valuable, as it "has been digested" by students by identifying their moral and professional attitude to it.

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ORGANIZATION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DISTANCE LEARNING COURSE AT HIGH SCHOOL

Pedagogical Sciences ◽

10.32999/ksu2413-1865/2020-91-17 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 118-123

Author(s):

Denysenko I.I. ◽

Tarasiuk A.M.

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Distance Learning ◽

Foreign Language ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Foreign Language Teaching ◽

Educational Process ◽

Foreign Languages ◽

Full Time ◽

Technological Basis ◽

Independent Work

The article is devoted to one of the advanced formats of foreign language teaching at high school, which effectively complements extramural and full-time forms of education – distance learning. The author emphasizes that the quality and effectiveness of foreign languages distance learning athigher educational establishments depends on effectively organized course; the pedagogical skills of teachers, participating in the educational process; the quality of applied methodical content.The main principles of foreign languages distance learning in higher education has been covered, the means of improving the quality and effectiveness of this educational format has been proposed, the key conceptual regulations of foreign languages distance learning has been determined. The article proposes a model for organizing foreign languages distance learning course for future specialists, describes a system to control and monitor the knowledge of all types of speech activities. It is also noted that independent work in the foreign languages distance course at high school should not be passive, but on the contrary, the student should be involved in active cognitive activities, not limited to acquiring foreign language skills, but necessarily includes their practical application; to solve certain communicative tasks in the future professional activity.The article concludes that in the process of organizing the foreign language distance learning course at high school, it is necessary to take into account not only the didactic characteristics and functions of multimedia and telecommunications as a technological basis, but also the conceptual trends of didactic distance learning as a component of modern education. In addition, it is necessary to take into account the specific nature of foreign language teaching in general.Key words: higher educational establishment, distance learning, multimedia means, independent work, information and communicative technologies, Internet, interactive engagement.

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