scholarly journals TEACHING LIFE SCIENCES USING SECOND LANGUAGE: HOW DO TEACHERS COPE?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amos Motloung ◽  
◽  
Lydia Mavuru ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Scientific Language ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Teaching Life ◽  
Observation Protocol

Language plays a pivotal role in science teaching and learning as it serves as both the medium through which the teachers and learners think and also communicate in the classrooms. Science and Life sciences in particular comprises of a unique scientific language register with a lot of technical words and terms borrowed from other languages other than English. Previous researchers acknowledged the difficulty teachers face when teaching science in a language different from their own and that of the learners. Consequently, the current study explored the various ways in which English-second-language Life Sciences teachers taught Life Sciences in order to mitigate language difficulties for themselves and those of their learners. The study was guided by the research question: how does English as a second language influence teacher practices when teaching Life Sciences to grade 12 learners? Using a qualitative research design, six Life Sciences teachers with various levels of teaching experience, two novices, two relatively experienced and two very experienced teachers, were purposefully selected from six different schools. The assumption was that teachers at various levels of experience may have different experiences of teaching the subject in a second language. Each teacher was observed once whilst teaching the same topic to grade 11 Life Sciences learners to establish their teaching practices. Incidences of learner engagement with the content, teacher-learner and learner-learner interactions were captured and scored using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol rubric. Lesson observations were suitable for data collection as they allowed the researcher to examine even non-elicited behaviour as it happened. The findings indicated that language difficulties were prevalent and affected both teachers and learners in engaging with the concepts at hand. For instance, most of the teachers whether experienced or not, struggled to explain and elaborate vital Life Sciences concepts in a comprehensible manner due to lack of proficiency in the language of instruction. The teachers mostly utilised code-switching as it enabled them to explain and elaborate scientific terms and processes in both English and their home languages. Because learners were allowed to express themselves in their home languages, the level of interaction also increased. In addition, teachers used transliteration and demonstrations as teaching strategies that also reduced the challenges of using English as a medium of instruction. The study informs both pre-service and in-service teacher development programmes.

scholarly journals Teachers’ beliefs and practices when teaching life sciences using their second language

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S1-S15
Author(s):  
Amos Ntokozo Motloung Amos Ntokozo Motloung ◽  
Lydia Mavuru ◽  
Carmel McNaught
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Beliefs And Practices ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Teaching Life ◽  
Personal Context ◽  
Prior Experiences

African township schools are characterised by cultural and linguistic diversity, hence, teachers have the dual task of ensuring that learners grasp scientific concepts, while also catering for the diversity in the learners’ backgrounds. The study reported on here was aimed at investigating teachers’ beliefs and practices in teaching life sciences using English, a language that is not their own home language. The study was underpinned by a socio-constructivist perspective, emphasising how one’s personal context, including prior experiences, influences the development of beliefs about language use in life sciences classes and the manner in which teaching and learning might occur. The sample comprised 6 teachers who all spoke English as a second language. We collected the data using structured interviews to ascertain the teachers’ beliefs about the teaching of life sciences in English to Grade 11 classes, and classroom observations to identify their classroom practices. The findings indicate that the beliefs that the teachers expressed differed from their actual choices and practices in the lessons observed.

scholarly journals PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PREPAREDNESS AND CONFIDENCE IN TEACHING LIFE SCIENCES TOPICS: WHAT DO THEY LACK?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Mavuru ◽  
◽  
Oniccah Koketso Pila ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Life Sciences ◽  
Teacher Competence ◽  
School Life ◽  
History Of ◽  
Life On Earth

Pre-service teachers’ preparedness and confidence levels to teach is a topical subject in higher education. Previous studies have commented on the role of teacher in-service training in preparing teachers for provision of meaningful classroom experiences to their learners, but many researchers regard pre-service teacher development as the cornerstone. Whilst teacher competence can be measured in terms of different variables e.g. pedagogy, knowledge of the curriculum, technological knowledge etc., the present study focused on teacher competency in terms of Life Sciences subject matter knowledge (SMK). The study was framed by pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The study sought to answer the research question: How do preservice teachers perceive their levels of preparedness and confidence in teaching high school Life Sciences topics at the end of their four years of professional development? In a qualitative study, a total of 77 pre-service teachers enrolled for the Methodology and Practicum Life Sciences course at a university in South Africa participated in the study. Each participant was tasked to identify topic(s)/concept(s) in Life Sciences they felt challenged to teach, provide a critical analysis of the reasons for that and map the way forward to overcome the challenges. This task was meant to provide the pre-service teachers with an opportunity to reflect and at the same time evaluate the goals of the learning programme they had gone through. Pre-service teachers’ perspectives show their attitudes, values and beliefs based on their personal experiences which therefore help them to interpret their teaching practices. The qualitative data was analysed using content analysis. The findings showed that whilst pre-service teachers were competent to teach other topics, the majority felt that they were not fully prepared and hence lacked confidence to teach the history of life on earth and plant and animal tissues in grade 10; excretion in animals particularly the functions of the nephron in grade 11; and evolution and genetics in grade 12. Different reasons were proffered for the lack of preparedness to teach these topics. The participants regarded some of these topics as difficult and complex e.g. genetics. Evolution was considered to be antagonistic to the participants’ and learners’ cultural and religious belief systems. Hence the participants had negative attitudes towards them. Some of the pre-service teachers indicated that they lacked interest in some of the topics particularly the history of life on earth which they considered to be more aligned to Geography, a subject they did not like. As remedies for their shortcomings in the content, the pre-service teachers planned to co-teach these topics with colleagues, and others planned to enrol for content enrichment programmes. These findings have implications for teacher professional development programmes.

Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about second language pronunciation teaching, their experience, and speech assessments

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216882093727
Author(s):  
Aki Tsunemoto ◽  
Pavel Trofimovich ◽  
Sara Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
School Students ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Teacher Assessments ◽  
L2 Pronunciation

Teacher cognition has attracted increased attention among second language (L2) researchers and practitioners, likely because of its potential consequences for classroom practices, such as teaching and assessment. Prior research has revealed links between teacher beliefs about pronunciation teaching and teachers’ own experience (e.g. amount of teacher training and teaching experience). However, no research has to date focused on how teachers’ experience and their beliefs are intertwined, possibly affecting teacher assessments of L2 speakers’ pronunciation. For this study, 77 Japanese pre-service teachers of English completed an online questionnaire examining their beliefs about the teaching of English pronunciation and eliciting details about their L2 teaching and learning experience. Additionally, pre-service teachers assessed 40 Japanese secondary school students performing an extemporaneous speech task, rating these speakers for comprehensibility, accentedness, and fluency. Results showed that pre-service teachers could be categorized into two distinct profiles, defined by joint contributions of pre-service teachers’ experience (a mixture of language learning/teaching experience and pronunciation-related instruction) and their beliefs (teachability of L2 pronunciation and approaches to its teaching). Pre-service teachers with more experience appeared to be more skeptical about how (easily) L2 pronunciation can be learned and taught and also provided harsher accentedness ratings, compared to pre-service teachers with less experience, revealing links between experience, beliefs, and speech assessments. Taken together, the findings reveal how pre-service teachers’ experience might shape their beliefs and assessments, implying that teacher educators must encourage future teachers to hold positive views about the teachability of L2 pronunciation by shifting their attention toward communicatively oriented dimensions of L2 speech and by providing teachers with pedagogical skills to target these dimensions.

scholarly journals USING EVERYDAY LANGUAGE TO SUPPORT LEARNERS’ ACCESS TO MATHEMATICAL CONTENT KNOWLEDGE

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azwidowi Emmanuel Libusha ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Mathematical Language ◽  
Symbolic Language ◽  
Mathematical Content Knowledge ◽  
Mathematical Content ◽  
Everyday Language ◽  
Learning And Teaching

The language of mathematics can hinder the development of some learners’ conceptual understanding of mathematics. Language as a whole plays a crucial role in the teaching and learning of mathematics as it serves as the medium in which the teachers and learners think and communicate in the classroom. Ball, Thames and Phelps (2008) argue that the demands of teaching mathematics require specialized mathematical knowledge that only pertains to mathematics teaching and is not required in other mathematics professions. The role of the teacher is to use resources available to them to support learners in accessing mathematical content knowledge. Previous researchers acknowledged the difficulty learners face when trying to interpret the formal language of mathematics in order to access mathematical content knowledge. Consequently, the current study explored the various ways in which the language of learning and teaching can be utilized by teachers to mitigate language difficulties their learners may experience. The study was guided by the research question: What is the informal mathematical language that Grade 10 teachers use to inform effective instruction when teaching functions? This paper aims to describe how teachers use informal mathematical language to teach inequalities and functions. The research is qualitative and the descriptive method was employed, with the researcher serving as the main instrument. The required data was collected by observing two teachers teaching inequalities and functions. The findings indicate that the use of transliteration and demonstrations as teaching strategies reduced the challenges of using English as a medium of instruction to interpret mathematical symbolic language and that the use of everyday language makes a difference in the learning of functions and inequalities. The study informs both pre-service and in-service teacher development programmes.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Dewar ◽  
Curtis Bennett ◽  
Matthew A. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
The United States ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
Inquiry Process ◽  
Collegiate Level ◽  
And Mathematics

This book is a guide to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) for scientists, engineers, and mathematicians teaching at the collegiate level in countries around the world. It shows instructors how to draw on their disciplinary knowledge and teaching experience to investigate questions about student learning. It takes them all the way through the inquiry process beginning with framing a research question and selecting a research design, moving on to gathering and analyzing evidence, and finally to making the results public. Numerous examples are provided at each stage, many from published studies of teaching and learning in science, engineering, or mathematics. At strategic points, short sets of questions prompt readers to pause and reflect, plan, or act. These questions are derived from the authors’ experience leading many SoTL workshops in the United States and Canada. The taxonomy of SoTL questions—What works? What is? What could be?—that emerged from the SoTL studies undertaken by the Carnegie scholars provides a useful framework at many stages of the inquiry process. The book addresses the issue of evaluating and valuing this work, including implications for junior faculty who wish to engage in SoTL. The authors explain why SoTL should be of interest to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty at all types of institutions, including faculty members active in traditional STEM research. They also give their perspective on the benefits of SoTL to faculty, to their institutions, to the academy, and to students.

scholarly journals Exploring Turkish EFL Instructors’ Perceptions on Learner Autonomy through Metaphor Elicitation Technique

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-62
Author(s):  
Sevgi Erel ◽  
Hasan Bedir
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Development ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Learner Autonomy ◽  
Graduate Degree ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
One Year ◽  
Support Teacher

Abstract Introduction: This study analysed Turkish instructors’ metaphors identifying learners in terms of learner autonomy. Methods: In the present study we proposed a mixed methods approach to the investigation of the images created by the participants. Results: The metaphors produced by the participants showed that instructors see both themselves and learners as active agents in teaching and learning process. Discussion: The variety of metaphors grouped into eight categories reflected the broad range of perception of instructors have for learners. Limitations: 80 non-native English-speaking Turkish instructors were the participants of the study. Their qualifications were varied from graduate degree to doctoral degree on ELL or ELT and their teaching experience varied from recent graduates with one year of experience to considerable veteran instructors with 27 years of experience in teaching English. Conclusion: We observed that instructors perceive learner autonomy in many perspectives while they assign themselves some main roles in teaching and learning process. The findings also revealed a variety of teacher conceptualization of learner metaphors such as sponge, tree, traveller, puppet, cone, and empty canvas most of which are positive. The information may shed light on the attempts to promote learner autonomy, to understand teachers in practice better and to support teacher development.

The Cycle of Academic Reading Fear Among Undergraduates

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Noor Hanim Rahmat ◽  
Mazlen Arepin ◽  
Suraiya Sulaiman
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Reading Comprehension ◽  
Reading Ability ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Anxiety Scale ◽  
Academic Reading ◽  
Reading Anxiety

This study investigates students' fear in academic reading as well as the influence of perceived difficulties in their reading comprehension. The paper aims to study the level of anxiety as experienced by undergaduate students in academic reading. Data from 25 respondents were analyzed quantitatively using Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) developed by Saito, Horwitz, and Garza (1999). Te objectives of the study are to examine the influence of students' fear and perceived difficulties in academic reading. The findings of this study reveal that factors such as background and culture, general reading ability, vocabulary, grammar as well as teaching method can make readers fear reading. The results of this study bear interesting implications towards the teaching and learning of academic reading in English as a Second Language.

Science Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching and Learning Implementing Inquiery-based Learning - A Case in Qatar Government Primary Schools

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alshaima Saleh Alyafei
Keyword(s):  
Science Teachers ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Traditional Approach ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Years Of Teaching Experience ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
Voluntary Basis

The current study investigates the beliefs held by science teachers on constructivism and a traditional approach in Qatar government primary schools. More specifically, it aims to investigate the challenges that science teachers experience during inquiry-based learning implementation. A web-based survey was conducted in order to collect data from grades 4 to 6 science teachers. A total of 112 science teachers responded and completed the survey on a voluntary basis. The results indicate that science teachers hold a higher beliefs in constructivism than traditional approach. A T-test and ANOVA analysis have showed that there is no significant differences between the beliefs of science teachers’ and their gender, level of education, and years of teaching experience. In addition, science teachers faced challenges in lesson planning, assessment, and teacher support.

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