Symposium: Sociocultural Approaches to Additional Language Learning/Teaching, Research and Teacher Education: Bridging the Gap between Practice and Theory

List of abstracts

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   Symposium: Sociocultural Approaches to Additional Language Learning/Teaching, Research and Teacher Education: Bridging the Gap between Practice and Theory
 
  
 
 KEYNOTE SPEAKER
 
 LANTOLF, James P.
 
 Greer Professor in Language Acquisition & Applied Linguistics, The Pennsylvania State University
 
 Systemic Theoretical Instruction and the Unnecessary Separation of Theory and Practice
 
  
 
 This presentation will argue that the long-standing separation of theory and practice in SLA and language education is an unnecessary and potentially harmful dichotomy for both practice and theory. I will address the topic from three different perspectives: (1) the general theory of psychology proposed by L. S. Vygotsky, with its foundation in materialist dialectical philosophy; (2) general SLA, which insists on separating theory and practice on the model followed in standard approaches to scientific research; (3) the educational setting that has traditionally been situated at the end of the theory à practice pipeline. In making the argument I will first discuss the importance of dialectics to understanding Vygotsky’s theoretical and methodological orientation and its implications for education as a special type of developmental activity. I will then discuss the nature of the unnecessary theory/practice gap in SLA and what have been some of the ways proposed to “bridge” the gap. Finally, I will consider some very new research that we have carried out framed by STI, whereby praxis, or the unity of theory and practice, effectively promotes learner development in the language classroom. 
 
  
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 Abstracts related to questions 1 and 2
 
  
 
 1) What research issues are meaningful for classroom practice? Which issues need to be addressed and why?
 
 2) What research methods are most suitable for dealing with such issues from the point of view of their contribution to teaching practices?
 
  
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 BATLLE, Jaume  
 
 Universitat de Barcelona 
 
 Conversation Analysis as a methodology to study the interactional processes implied in SLA: focus on the interactional complexity of lexical repair
 
  
 
 In the last years, Conversation Analysis has stood out as a research methodology to analyze the interaction processes implied in the Second Language Acquisition from a Sociocultural perspective (Pekarek Doehler, 2010, 2013; Seedhouse, 2010). Therefore, the sequential analysis of repairs (Schegloff et al., 1977; Hall, 2007) may offer useful information to discover how are developed the learning processes implied in the foreign language classroom interaction, as, for example, the acquisition of new vocabulary (Mazeland and Zamah-Zadeh, 2004). The repair is one of the main educational practices carried out in the interactions between teachers and students (Walsh, 2010) and its knowledge gains relevance.
 
 The sequential complexity that entails some repair technologies shows the necessity to analyze the repairs from the Conversation Analysis perspective. As a result, it could be known clearly how these sequences are developed in interaction and how is the participation of the different roles established by the context. According to this perspective, this paper wants to demonstrate the complexity of the repair work. Specifically, in this work we are going to analyze the meaning-focused repairs made by teachers and students to ensure that students overcome their lexical difficulties.
 
 Thereby, the repair analysis could demonstrate how the Conversation Analysis emerges as an appropriate methodology to get a deep understanding of the second language acquisition processes from a sociocultural perspective. In addition, with this work we will prove that the problem solving in interaction can become a complex educative practice that depends upon the Conversation Analysis to be totally understood.    
 
  
 
  
 
 CASAS-DESEURES, Mariona
 
 University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia
 
  
 
 Talking about language as a way to learn to think about language:  the interaction as a tool to promote the development of metalinguistic activity in a Primary classroom
 
  
 
 The aim of teaching and learning languages is to connect the three elements that configure the didactic system: the teacher, the learner and languages. Researching in this field means “developing knowledge on this system in order to improve the learners’ knowledge of and about languages, which is the purpose of teaching and learning languages in school” (Camps, 2001)<a href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]</a>. This paper is based on an empirical research about teaching and learning grammar in primary education which, from a qualitative interpretative approach, is conceived according to this purpose: providing new tools in order to improve the teaching and learning process. Specifically, this paper shows the role of interaction in the exploration of some non-canonical usages of the simple present tense by students of primary education in Catalonia.
 
  
 
 We assume that understanding how children construct their knowledge about grammar (what are the obstacles they have to deal and the strategies they use to overcome them) can be the first step to fit teaching and learning processes, not only about content, but also about methodologies. Therefore, this paper describes the students’ process of understanding the usages of the simple present tense and, as a result of this description, it proposes a new way in teaching to think about language in a school context.
 
 In our didactic experimentation, 80 students of primary education in Catalonia are confronted, in couples, with some texts that contain verbs in simple present tense. They talk about the usages of the verbs with the mediation of the researcher, who leads the conversation. The results highlight the role of linguistic interaction, in couples and with the adult support, because they show how interaction promotes the development of metalinguistic activity and how this activity helps students to understand the usages of the simple present tense.
 
  
 
 To conclude, if we transfer our research results to the classroom practice, we suggest taking into account the students' metalinguistic ability and the possibility of developing this kind of activity in the classroom. We consider the value of the interaction to promote the development of negotiation situations in classroom in where students can connect what they know with what they are learning. Our results show that this helps them to develop their awareness of how languages are organised and, consequently, it also helps them to improve their communications skills.
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 KEIM, Lucrecia
 
 University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia
 
 Research on task-based oral interaction in online environments
 
 The rapid evolution of information and communication technology (ICT) has led to classroom practices that can involve students in culture, life and language use outside the classroom. This has opened up research on the use of digital tools and given us a clearer vision of their educational potential and significance for classroom language practice. The research has shown us that ICT not only facilitates access to information and communication but also changes the nature of both.
 
 In my paper I focus on the development of VoIP systems and video conferencing that have influenced the design of telecollaboration projects and have facilitated additional speaking practice outside the classroom. These tools enable oral interaction as a means of learning when studying foreign languages in a virtual environment – but with certain limitations. Research on the interaction that occurs using these tools, which we can subsume under the acronym CALL, helps us see more clearly which kind of tool is most appropriate for each educational purpose and gives us a glimpse of the learning potential of multimodal interaction for the purpose of learning (Lamy and Flewitt 2011).
 
 I give a critical view of the research design of a project comparing face-to-face and online oral interaction and discuss the following issues of methodology in research projects exploring innovative teaching practices:
 
 •          The reliability and control of variables versus the authenticity of the data collection context
 
 •          A representative sample versus an in-depth analysis
 
 •          Limitations on the use as a reference of previous studies based on face-to-face oral interaction data
 
 References
 
 Lamy, M-N. and Flewitt, R. (2011) Describing online conversations: insights from a multimodal approach, in Develotte, C., Kern, R. and Lamy, M-N. (eds.), Décrire la communication en ligne: le face-a-face distanciel (71-94). Lyon: ENS Editions.
 
  
 
  
 
 MEIER, Gabriela
 
 University of Exeter, Graduate School of Education
 
 Theorizing the multilingual Turn in Languages Education: A multilingual approach to understanding language learning and its implications for practice
 
  
 
  
 
 What we do as language teachers in our classrooms depends to a large extent on how we understand language, the learner and learning. A recent shift towards multilingual or plurilingual understandings of language learning has given momentum to the idea of the multilingual turn in languages education (May, 2014; Conteh and Meier, 2014). The multilingual turn seems to bring together disciplines that had often been treated separately and tries to establish theoretical relevance for all these contexts. These include second language acquisition (SLA), English as a foreign language (EFL), modern foreign languages (MFL), and bilingual education (immersion, CLIL), etc.
 
  
 
 In this talk I will Introduce the multilingual turn, which seems to follow on from and incorporate other important theoretical turns in our field such as the cognitive and the social turn, including socio-cultural perspectives. Previous turns were based on, or emerged from influential models of language learning, which in turn influenced pedagogy. In the same way a multilingual approach to understanding language learning is likely to herald a paradigm shift in pedagogy. The questions discussed in this talk will be: How do authors associated with the ‘multilingual turn’ conceptualise language, the learner, learning and other relevant concepts such as context, and discusses potential implications for practice. This is based on a review of literature that has been identified as being related to the multilingual turn.
 
  
 
 References
 
 Conteh, J. and G. Meier, Eds. (2014). The multilingual turn in languages education: opportunities and challenges Series New Perspectives on Language and Education. Bristol, Multilingual Matters.
 
 May, S. (2014). The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and Bilingual Education. New York, Routledge
 
  
 
  
 
 NARCY, Jean-Paul
 
 Sorbonne nouvelle-Paris 3
 
 Is Language Education Beyond the Scope of Applied Linguistics?
 
  
 
 In 2002, Brodin wrote that: “Information and Communication Technology had a potential to renew teaching postures, but also to trigger an evolution of practices in favour of social constructivist and interactionist models of learning”. Following de Bot et al (2013), we would now add emergentism and dynamic-systems theory. This paper will underline the fact that the complexity of setting-up large-scale language learning environments/systems in multilingual contexts is so demanding that the construct of simplexity (Berthoz 2012) adapted to human organisations sounds appealing. And yet, when it comes to letting circumstances organize the system (Spear and Mocker 1984) and the expected language development emerge, various problems have to be solved in the process, some of which are directly connected to language sciences (scienceS du langage) and many to other social or psychological phenomena. As soon as 1948, Coch and French (1948: 524) wrote that “groups who were allowed to participate in the design and development of the changes have much lower resistance than those who do not” which will be shown to remain a wise option.
 
 Select bibliography
 
 Berthoz, A. (2009. La simplexité. Paris : Odile Jacob.
 
 Brodin, E. (2002). Innovation, instrumentation technologique de l'apprentissage des langues : des schèmes d'action aux modèles de pratiques émergentes. Alsic, vol. 5, n° 2, p. 149-181.
 
 Coch, L. and J. R. P. J. French (1948). "Overcoming Resistance to Change." Human Relations 1(4), pp. 512-532.
 
 de Bot, K., Lowie, W., Thorne, S. L., & Verspoor, M. (2013). Dynamic Systems Theory as a Theory of Second Language Developmen. In Mayo, M, Gutierrez-Mangado, M. & Adriàn, M. (eds.).  Contemporary Approaches to Second Language Acquisition. Amsterdam: Jon Bejamins, pp. 199-220.
 
 Spear, G. E., & Mocker, D. W. (1984). “The organizing circumstance: Environmental determinants in self-directed learning”. Adult education quarterly, 35(1),  pp. 1-10.
 
  
 
  
 
 SOCKETT, Geoffrey 
 
 Paris Descartes University
 
 Bridging formal and informal learning of English in online settings
 
  
 
 While exposure to English as a foreign language in many European contexts (France, Germany, Italy, Spain) used to be limited to classroom activities and a background noise of English language music on the radio, most learners today come into the classroom experienced in managing resources and interactions in English which form a significant part of their leisure time. Indeed, our studies suggest that a majority of university students in France and Germany are choosing to watch TV series online in English, surf English language websites and select English language music to listen to on a regular basis. Many also interact in English via social media. These practices are changing young learners of English into fledgling users of English and lead to development in L2 acquisition and L2 identity. Complexity theory provides a framework within which the complex interactions between these many activities can be understood contributing to these changes.
 
 The challenge for L2 acquisition research today is that much of what needs to be studied is going on outside the classroom and that practices are highly diversified. Such research can lead to teacher training which emphasizes that although the teacher is often no longer the final authority on the form of the language, his/her role as facilitator of ongoing informal learning can be all the more rewarding.
 
 The challenge for the CALL sector is that the traditional approach of setting up an online system and expecting learners to be engaged by it is becoming problematic in a context in which each learner is already at the centre of his/her own online informal personal learning environment.
 
  
 
  
 
 TOCAIMAZA-HATCH, Cecilia
 
 The University of Nebraska at Omaha
 
 Mediation and vocabulary development in NS-NNS interactions during an oral portfolio activity
 
  
 
 From a sociocultural theory perspective, language in interaction mediates or enables L2 learning (García & Asención, 2001; Storch, 1999; Swain, 1985). Several studies have researched how mediation occurs when a more able partner provides assistance that is attuned to a leaner’s needs during formal learning settings (e.g., Ableeva & Lantolf , 2011; Poehner, 2007). This study contributes to the literature on mediation in L2 learning, particularly on vocabulary development, by describing how mediation emerges in naturalistic interactions between L2 learners and native speakers (NS) as part of an oral portfolio assignment.
 
 Seven Spanish L2 learners (4 females and 3 males) were enrolled in an advanced conversation course. As part of the oral portfolio assignment, each learner met with a NS for five 15 minute interviews to discuss various predetermined topics. Each interview was recorded and transcribed by the L2 learner. After each interview, learners completed an introspective analysis of their conversation in which they reflected on their learning during the task. Two months after the last interview, learners completed an individualized vocabulary assessment in class. Each assessment was built on lexical language related episodes (LLREs) extracted from each learner’s interviews. Ethnographic techniques were applied to the analysis of the data, including learners’ interactions, learning reflections, and individualized lexical assessments. Findings showed that (1) four NS naturally provided mediation on lexical questions while three NS did not, unless they were asked to do so by the L2 learner; (2) mediation followed scaffolding patterns such as simplifying lexical complexity (e.g., replacing low frequency terms with high frequency ones) or modeling the target word in context; (3) although quantity and quality of lexical mediation varied in each dyad, individualized vocabulary assessments demonstrated that learners recalled an average of 90% of LLRE targets.
 
 In conclusion, this study describes lexical mediation that naturally occurs in NS-L2 interactions as part of a class assignment that sets the linguistic exchange outside the classroom. It also shows evidence of vocabulary development despite varying degrees of mediation during the interaction. Pedagogical implications address the use of oral portfolios as a tool to mediate vocabulary development in naturalistic settings.
 
  
 
  
 
 VALLBONA, Anna
 
 University of Vic - Central University of Catalonia
 
 Linking research results and classroom practices in EFL and CLIL programmes in primary school
 
  
 
 Despite the general enthusiasm that CLIL programs have generated at all levels of education, little finely grained research has so far been undertaken attempting to relate linguistic research results and the pedagogical practices in the CLIL classroom in order to demonstrate the link between such classroom practices and their impact on the students’ language proficiency .
 
 This proposal attempts to partly fill in this gap by presenting empirical data elicited from 100 primary learners exposed to two different CLIL-oriented programmes (Science and Arts & Crafts) for two academic years. The aim of this research project was to find out the effect of EFL+ CLIL programmes on the learners’ proficiency (listening and reading skills), gather the views and practices of the teachers involved as well as analyze possible problems or challenges thatemerged during this time
 
 A combination of both quantitave methods (language proficiency tests) and qualitative methods (class observations and interviews with teachers) were used in order to offer an insight into pegadogical classroom practices and their possible impact on the linguistic outcomes of the students involved in these programmes.  
 
 Data for the linguistic analysis was gathered at three different time periods: at T1, before the CLIL program was implemented, at T2 after one year of implementation and at T3 after two years of programme implementation. In order to follow the development of the programmes and to understand classroom practices, EFL, Science and Arts & Crafts class observations were carried out for the same two year-period.
 
 Serving as both, external counsellor and researcher allowed me to see the whole implementation process as well as gather data throughout the different stages of the programmes. Research results seem to indicate a clear link between the classroom practices and the results obtained.
 
  
 
 ZHANG, Xian
 
 Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
 
 A Systemic Theoretical Instruction Approach to Teach Chinese Ba-Construct
 
  
 
 Two different positions exist regarding the relationship between development and instruction. Pienemann (1989), inspired by Piaget, argued that L2 learning must follow some sequential developmental stages and these stages cannot be overridden by quality of instruction (the Teachability Hypothesis, Pienemann, 1987). Vygotsky (1978), on the other hand, argued that psychological development is not predetermined or universal. Instead, it depends on the quality of cognitive tools and social relationships, most especially in educational settings. Vygotsky therefore reverses the relationship between teaching and development. We report a study that tested the claim of the Teachability Hypothesis and evaluated whether instruction could change Pienemann’s universal developmental route. According to Pienemann, learners must progress through three sequential stages in acquiring syntax of Chinese: SVO, ADJUNCT+SVO, OSV (Pienemann, Biase, & Kawaguchi, 2005). In a recent study, Wang (2011) extended these sequential stages and proposed a fourth stage of development: the ba-construct stage. Following Gal’perin’s (1970) Systemic Theoretical Instruction, we developed schema for the orienting basis of action (SCOBA) to teach Stage 4 grammar (ba-construct) to Stage 2 (ADJUNCT+SVO stage) Chinese learners. The result showed that instruction allowed all learners to process and produce ba-construct without Stage 3 OSV structure in their grammar system. Such a finding supports Vygotsky’s contention that properly organized instruction can determine development. In contrast to Piaget, we argue that development is not impervious to instruction. In fact, instruction is a fundamental condition for development and the only good kind of instructions are to lead development (Vygotsky, 1978) rather than following it.  
 
  
 
  
 
  
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 Abstracts related to questions 2 and 3
 
 3) How do we have to deal in teacher education programs with both strands (theory / research and practice) in order to promote transformation in teaching practices? Which are the keys?
 
 4) What kind of learning environment is needed in schools for teachers to become agents of transformation? Which are the keys?
 
  
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 PRE-SERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION
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 ABENDROTH-TIMMER, Dagmar & SCHNEIDER, Ramona
 
 University of Siegen
 
 Bridging the gap between practice and theory – The role of task design in a multilingual blended learning Project
 
  
 
 We present a blended learning project that engaged pre-service foreign-language teachers from both a French and a German university to collaborate in culturally diverse groups.
 
 The bi-national project aimed at sensitizing students with respect to emotions in the foreign laguage classroom. The research question of this contribution is: How can the task design facilitate the transfer of theory into teaching practices of future foreign language teachers through blended learning?
 
 54 students worked in twelve groups of four to five members during the first term 2014-2015. The groups had a website with different communication tools at their disposal. Being the target language of all students, French was used as lingua franca in all groups during the course of the project. In order to facilitate the transfer of theory into teaching practice, the groups were asked to progressively complete two tasks according to Esteve (2013): First, they were given a problem to reflect on individually, starting from their personal experiences, before discussing in groups and writing a short summary of their answers. The first task would require them to reflect about what an ideal language learner should be like, the second about that of an ideal language teacher. For both tasks, the next step was to select and read two to three texts from a corpus of scientific works. The texts were supposed to be related to the task topic discussed before. Finally, groups had to hand in two two-page summaries of the selected works and to relate the theory presented to their experiences as learners or teachers.
 
 At the end of the term, the students were asked to individually hand in a four page reflexive account of their participation in the training project. They were instructed to indicate what developments their participation had brought about as to their professional, multimedia and communicative competences and to answer the question of how they foresaw their future practice as language teachers.
 
 The contribution presents first results of the analysis of the reflective accounts to show to what extent the project has triggered the learners’ reflectiveness regarding future teaching practices.
 
  
 
 References
 
 Esteve, O. (2013): Entre la práctica y la teoría. Comprender para actuar. Ikastaria 19, pp.
 
 13-36.
 
  
 
 AGUILAR RÍO, José Ignacio 
 
 Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3
 
 Sociocultural mediation for pre-service language teacher education in an international, joint program
 
 My proposal will present the first analyses of an ongoing experimental education program that gathers a group of international pre-service language teachers from France and Germany. The focus is on the latter’s emotional reflexivity concerning the language teachers’ practice and their training, as areas for conscious, guided professional development and growth. Emotional states are understood here both as a complex neurological, psychological and sociocultural construct, which may hamper or facilitate an individual's engagement in a learning process, and as a culture and discourse-based learning objective. The underlying hypothesis is that the pre-service language teachers' reflexivity may lead to an awareness of whatever emotional states felt during the act of teaching, which will likely result in improved conditions for the language learners’ learning process. Ultimately, our approach of the sociocultural framework where learning is expected to occur, is developmental and psychological, thus both intra and interpersonal.
 
 Keywords: emotional reflexivity; language learning mediation; intercultural language teachers' training.
 
 ARBONES SOLA, Carme & CIVERA LÓPEZ, Isabel 
 
 Universitat de Barcelona
 
 From Personal Learning Environments to Personal Learning Networks: Building a Sense of Community in EFL Teacher Education
 
  
 
 This paper reports on an action research study of the implementation of Personal Learning Environments (PLE) and Personal Learning Networks (PLN) as tools to foster a sense of community in Primary EFL teacher education.
 
  
 
 The project has been conducted in the English Language Teaching Speciality taught in the last year of a four-year teacher education degree for students intending to teach English in primary and infant schools. It has involved over 80 students from the Education Faculty at the Universitat de Barcelona. The content of the programme ranges over various subjects such as Language Teaching Methodology, CLIL, Storytelling and Teaching Practice.
 
  
 
 PLEs have only been present since 2006 (Atwell, 2007). The open nature of the PLE, its focus primarily on the learner (Schaffert & Hilzensauer, 2008) and the new approach to using technologies it presents provide the ideal structure to integrate the different objectives of the course programme. It offers a space for metacognition and reflection on self-regulated learning. The origins of PLNs are found in connectivism theory. The defining feature of the PLN is that it is a learning network that enables future teachers to share their perspectives on educational issues, teaching strategies and resources, and the use of technology in a meaningful way.
 
 The main aim of the project is to improve the quality of the students’ learning behaviour and to develop in them an awareness of the benefits of reflective, self regulated learning – an awareness that would later be transferred to their classroom practice.
 
 The analysis of the PLNs reveals that they are used for professional development, to locate resources for the classroom, to find relevant links to education news and collaborative solutions to the challenges of designing effective programmes for primary ELT. In sum, by making connections with other students they expand their learning opportunities.
 
 References
 
 Attwell, Graham (2007): Personal Learning Environments – the future of eLearning? In: eLearning papers, Vol. 2.  Retrieved May 2015 from <a href="http://www.elearningpapers.eu/">http://www.elearningpapers.eu/</a>
 
  
 
 Schaffert, Sebastian; Hilzensauer, Wolf (2008): On the way towards Personal Learning Environments: Seven crucial aspects. In: elearning Papers, Vol. 9. Retrieved May 2015 from <a href="http://www.elearningpapers.eu/">http://www.elearningpapers.eu/</a>
 
  
 
  
 
 ELSNER, Daniela
 
 Goethe University Frankfurt Main
 
 Research based learning in (language) teacher education. Concepts, principles and benefits
 
  
 
 The interest in chances and challenges of research-based learning in the context of (teacher) education in colleges and universities has certainly increased throughout the last few years. Research-based learning stands for a learner-oriented approach that affords students to “pursue their own new questions and lines of inquiry, in interaction with the knowledge-base of the discipline” (Jenkins & Healey, 2009, p.26).
 
 Schaper et al. 2012 argue that too many seminars and lectures found in higher education contexts relate to students as passive receivers of knowledge, and this is also true for teacher education classes. Instead of actively engaging their students in problem-solving tasks, the majority of teacher educators make use of those traditional teaching and learning approaches they on the other hand criticize school teachers for.
 
 This talk will argue for the integrating of research-based learning into teacher education curricula, and illustrate on behalf of some practical examples, that this approach can help future teachers to develop important skills and competencies, such as problem solving skills and critical thinking, communications and collaboration skills, creativity, leadership and responsibility, to just name a few. With this in mind, important principles for successfully starting research-based learning processes in university will be recommended. Last but not least, the presentation will refer to students´ evaluations of recently done research based seminars, showing that this art of learning is a powerful way to blend theory and practice as well as teaching and research into an integrated system of performance (see Jenkins & Healey, 2009).
 
  
 
 References:
 
 Jenkins, A., & Healey, M. (2009). Developing Undergraduate Research and Inquiry. [online: http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/supportingresearch/teachingandresearch]
 
 Schaper, N., Schlömer, T., & Paechter, M. (2012). Editorial: Kompetenzen, Kompetenzorientierung und Employability in der Hochschule. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung 7 (4), I-IX.
 
  
 
  
 
 ETUS, Özlem
 
 Istanbul University
 
 Teachers as “agents of change”: reframing critical inquiry in pre-service language       teacher education
 
  
 
 The established role of English as both the medium and the object of education places heavy demands on English language teachers who are expected to “change” and act as “agents of change” in response to the complex dynamics of (post)global educational landscape. They are required to reframe their professional beliefs and appropriate their pedagogical agendas within the limits of their locally diverse circumstances while also negotiate global and national expectations expressed through standards, policies and systems. In many cases the underpinning motives behind these two forces are not complementary, an issue raising challenging questions about language teacher education. Learning to teach needs to be defined as a “social pursuit” (Daniel, 2015), a multidimensional process where teachers utilize all their professional and subject-matter resources, become sensitive to diversity, mediate alternative points of view, engage in critical enquiry and (re)orient their teaching philosophies and practices according to the emerging needs of their learning communities. In this vein, the highly complex process of teaching with a reflective and transformative orientation to learning needs to integrate “critical thinking” in every phase of pedagogical reasoning, decision-making implementation and reflection on (possible) outcomes. There has to be a progression from “congenial” to “collegial” conversations (Selkrig & Keamy, 2014) which encourage student teachers and teachers to move away from conventional discourses on knowledge transfer towards evidence-based, productive conversations on alternative pedagogies. Nevertheless, critical inquiry still remains an evasive concept in teacher education, especially when teachers and teacher educators are pressurized to navigate their teaching in compliance with standards and quality assurance mechanisms with short-term measurable outcomes. The talk explores the possibilities for a progressive move from “functional literacies” to “critical literacies” (Spring 2009) by scrutinizing education and research perspectives on the integration of the various strains of critical component in language teacher education. In this frame, the talk reports on a case study where prospective teachers at a state university in Turkey engage in collaborative meta-reflection on “critical thinking” both as a construct and a tool for generating transformative practices in teaching English with close reference to their practicum-based experiences.
 
 References:
 
 Daniel, S.M. 2015. Empathetic, critical integrations of multiple perspectives: A core practice for language teacher education. TESOL Journal 6(1), 149-176.
 
 Selkrig, M. & Keamy, R.K. 2015. Promoting a willingness to wonder: moving from congenial to collegial conversations that encourage deep and critical reflection for teacher educators. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice 21(4), 421-436.
 
 Spring, J. 2009. Globalization of Education: An introduction. New York & London: Routledge.
 
  
 
  
 
 HATIPOGLU, Sevinc
 
 Istanbul University 
 
 Bridging theory and practice: Teaching Practice Courses for Foreign Language Teacher Candidates at Istanbul University:  A Case Study for German Teacher Candidates
 
  
 
 Over the last decades, the problem of theory versus practice in teacher education has increasingly become of interest.
 
 It is clear that practical training of teacher candidates is a factor in the tension between theory and practice.
 
 School Experience and Teaching Practice are two substantial courses in the curriculum of the Faculties of Education at Turkish Universities. The aim of the courses is to give teacher candidates the possibility to implement their knowledge in theory into practice.
 
 After an overview on the conception of these courses this study aims to determine the views on School Experience and Teaching Practice courses held by prospective teachers studying in the German Teaching Division of the Foreign Languages Education Department in Hasan Ali Yücel Faculty of Education of Istanbul University. The research group was composed of German teacher candidates taking the School Experience course in the 7th semester and Teaching Practice course in the 8th semester in the 2014-2015 academic year.
 
 The results could constitute the scientific basis of curricular discussions.
 
  
 
  
 
 NOVILLO, Paula & PUJOLÀ, Joan-Tomàs
 
 Universitat de Barcelona 
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 Interthinking in the joint reflective practice process between a novice language teacher and a novice teacher trainer
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 Reflective practice is seen to be an appropriate approach in the training of autonomous, critical and reflective language teachers. In recent years the academic interest in the benefits to teaching practice of taking such an approach has grown significantly - as, concomitantly, has the need to assess the difficulties faced upon when applying this approach to professional practice. In this reflective learning process, dialogue with colleagues and trainers becomes essential, as it is through this dialogue that we think and learn together or interthink (Mercer, 2001).
 
 This study explores joint reflective practice from an approach which implies the intersection of three essential elements: theory, practice and research (van Lier, 1996) in order to promote transformation in teaching practices. The purpose is twofold: to observe the processes in the conversation between a novice teacher and a novice teacher trainer
 
 which encourage reflection and generate interthinking in an informal mentoring context; and to analyse the individual impact of the joint reflective practice experience on each other’s professional development.
 
 This paper presents the analyses of three different elements of the joint reflective cycle: the mentoring sessions conducted using stimulated recall, the interviews done at the end of the both cycles and the teacher trainer’s diary. The findings of this study show how the teacher transformed her practice in class and in the developing of her teaching materials, and how the teacher trainer changes her teaching and interactional strategies throughout the mentoring sessions in a bid to identify which strategies prove more useful in promoting the teacher’s own reflection, and to maximize the effectiveness of interthinking.
 
  
 
  
 
  
 
 PÉREZ-PEITX, Mireia & FONS ESTEVE, Montserrat
 
 Universitat de Barcelona
 
 Què entenen els mestres en formació per teoria i pràctica?
 
  
 
 What do preservice teachers’ believe regarding theory and practice? What attributes do students award to each of the two facets? This communication is part of a four-year-project related to the preservice teachers’ beliefs’ about initial literacy from the University of Barcelona with the aim of improving teacher education. This communication will present the evolution of three students’ beliefs about the concepts of theory and practice (2011-2015). For the analysis, Cambra’s (2000) CRS system (beliefs, representations and knowledge) is used as well as Engeström and Sannino (2010) contradictions analysis. Special attention will be paid to identify the key issues transforming educational practices. Part of the challenge is to show preservice students the existing relationship between both elements, commonly unnoticed. Thus, we are in need of showing merging points in both concepts such as how theory is reflected in some practices and how new paradigms help us interpret new ways of teaching. Emotional dimension appears as a key element (Barcelos, 2013), specially associated with practice periods where students’ personal implication is higher and where contradictions tend to emerge. When properly dealt, these contradictions can lead to a more critical perspective. 
 
  
 
 References:
 
 Barcelos, A. M. F. 2013. Desvelando a relação entre crenças sobre ensino e
 
 aprendizagem de línguas, emoções e identidades. In: A. F. L. M. Gerhardt; M. A. Amorim; A. M. Carvalho (Orgs.). Linguistica Aplicada e Ensino: Língua e Literatura. Campinas: Pontes, p. 153-186.
 
  
 
 Cambra, M. (2000). El pensament del professor: formació per a la pràctica reflexiva in Camps, A.; I. Ríos; M. Cambra (eds) (2000). Recerca i formació en didàctica de la llengua (p. 161-172). Barcelona, Graó.
 
  
 
 Engeström, Y. & Sannino, A. (2010). Studies of expansive learning: Foundations, findings and future challenges. Educational Research Review, 5, 1-24.
 
  
 
  
 
 PUJOLÀ FONT, Joan- Tomàs; GONZÁLEZ ARGÜELLO, Vicenta & MONTMANY MOLINA, Begoña
 
 Universitat de Barcelona
 
 From self- to hetero-observation: looking at teaching practice from different perspectives
 
  
 
 The real challenge of a Master’s program in Language Teacher Education is how to make trainees develop a critical mind, independent thinking, and reflective analysis of their language teaching practice. Classroom observation is the key component that leads to reflect on the teaching practice and helps link theory, research and practice in most teacher education programs.
 
  
 
 Classroom observation can provide a framework for giving constructive and focused feedback that helps teachers improve the use of effective classroom practices. As a training technique it has been proven worthwhile for teacher training purposes for decades (Cambra, 2003; Richards and Farrell, 2011; Richards and Lockhart, 1996; Wallace, 1991) and an effective way of gathering rich information about teaching practice.
 
  
 
 Classroom observation can be performed from different perspectives in two different kinds of teaching experience: either in microteaching sessions or real language classes. Five different “looks” have been identified as effective in order to gather data, which will prompt reflection on teaching practice.
 
 a)      To look at an expert. Trainees collect descriptive notes of what happens
 
 from the expert’s teaching practice and try to identify theoretical issues, which have been worked in different subjects of the teaching program.
 
 b) To look at oneself. Trainees have to be able to reflect on their own observations from the recordings of their classes in order to recognize themselves in their teaching actions and relate to their declarative knowledge on how to teach languages.
 
 c) The trainer’s look. Trainees need to share their perceptions with expert observers, the trainers, who will guide them in their reflections on the teaching practice.
 
 d) The peers’ look. Other eyes, with similar experiences, observe their teaching and share their concerns and achievements on classroom management, or emotional issues of their teaching experience.
 
 e) The students’ look. Trainees should obtain some information from the students to assess the effectiveness of their teaching practice, which should translate into improved learning outcomes for students.
 
  
 
 This paper will present examples of these five classroom observations implemented in three different Spanish as a foreign language teacher education programs and their effectiveness of relating theory, research and practice will be discussed.
 
  
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 CANALDA, Jordi & SERÓ, Sandra
 
 IES Canet de Mar
 
 Like a fish out of water
 
  
 
 Schools are submitted to a maelstrom of news regarding changes, innovation, projects, and laws, driving both primary and secondary schools to reconsider their present situation. Successful implementation of this need for transformation by a single individual can extend to the rest of the community in a kind of domino effect. How, then, should our school respond? Should we allow transformation to happen spontaneously? Or, conversely, should the School Administrators (or agents of transformation led by the Administrators), oversee it from scratch, commanding this opportunity for change in order to prevent a resounding failure?
 
  
 
  
 
 CAÑADA PUJOLS, Montserrat & ROMANA CINTI,  Francesca
 
  EOI Barcelona Drassanes
 
  Observation as a tool to improve teaching quality
 
  
 
 In this communication we present an experience of action-research conducted with A1 level students of Italian as a FL in an EOI (Language School for Adults). The purpose of the communication is to inform about this process and emphasize the importance of observation as a tool for teacher training.
 
 An external teacher observed and recorded two classes that took place in consecutive academic years: the first one in February and the other one in March of the following year. The initial observations lead to focus the research on the interaction between the teacher and the students. The aim was to find out to what extent the teacher's discourse encouraged learners' autonomy and whether she enhanced reflection and peer work as a strategy to develop their potential skills. The conversations between the observed teacher and the observer highlighted the need to establish a plan to improve the teaching approach. Thus, a second phase of observation was programmed with the aim to check whether there had been changes in the way she handled turn taking, interruptions and overlapping in class. The results were surprising and very rewarding: it can be stated that the observed teacher’s discourse became more contingent; students' participation in classroom activities increased, and reflective practice and learners’ autonomy were encouraged, especially when asked to cooperate. Through the comparison of the two periods of observation and the data provided, we want to emphasize the importance of observation as a means of teacher training, both for the observer and the observed teacher: constructive criticism can enrich the educational community and be as effective as a training course.
 
  
 
 CARANDELL, Zinka. ;BORRÁS, Josep & LINZOÁIN, Blanca
 
 EOI Barcelona-Drassanes
 
  
 
 A concept-based work on the verbal aspect and the mood of action (aktionsart) in the german classroom: a practical
 
  
 
 As a team of German teachers working at different Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas and members of GRAULA –a classroom research group, we present here our experiences in the work regarding the categories of verbal aspect and mood of action as from a concept-based approach.
 
 This approach encourages the students to construct criteria in order to deal with grammar and pragmatic items which cannot be learnt teaching simplistic rules. From this perspective we proposed a practical classroom work on the verbal aspect and the mood of action (Aktionsart), on the basis of a contrastive analysis between German and our students' native languages (mostly Catalan or Spanish) at different levels (A1, A2, B2). The recurring work at different levels and the diversity of tasks intend to raise our students' awareness of different semantic categories, for which different language provide different languages exponents and that require a complex study of them.
 
 On the other hand, this experience required us to do an interlingual contrastive study and a much deeper reflection on the different uses of the target language, which provided us with a new glance that reorients our work in the language classroom.
 
  
 
  
 
 CARO MUÑOZ, Minerva & LLOBERA, Miquel
 
 Universitat de Barcelona
 
 Research potential from a sociocultural perspective to promote change in  Spanish Teaching as an additional language in secondary education in Gabon (Central Africa)
 
  
 
 The purpose of this communication is to present the initial results of a research that will be the basis for the full version of a PhD dissertation, untitled “Underlying beliefs and Spanish teaching practices in secondary education in Gabon”.
 
 This study focuses on teachers’ beliefs about language and culture teaching and how these beliefs are reflected in their teaching practices. On the one hand, it explores the way of thinking of 5 Spanish teachers in Gabon ; and on the other hand, it analyses the way their assumptions about teaching are inacted within their classroom. 
 
 This investigation assumes that exploring the relationship between beliefs and actions might help us better understand and interpret the teaching process and to implement efficient plans of action in order to help teachers become more aware of their own beliefs and practices. Moreover, sociocultural approaches could be the key to develop curricular changes in order to foster higher degrees of communicative and intercultural competence, so much needed nowadays.
 
 We are aware that no innovation process in education is implemented without resistance. We consider that research is probably a necessary step for plausible improvements plans in order to change teaching environments  that had had little success, as it is the case in certain African countries,  where education reforms have usually been adopted following curricula which had been established in different European school systems.
 
 These adoptions quite often have not taken into account the social complexity of the population of countries where converge a vivid variety of ethnical groups with the strong influence of foreing Western cultures and the heritage of the French tradition that affect not only the school system but also the political organization of the state. Finally, an other ingredient of this social complexity is the perception of those foreign influences as a result of cultural imperalism enhanced by Western powers.
 
  
 
  
 
 CARRETERO RÖDEL, Angela 
 
 Communities of practice as a way for collective professional growth: a school experience
 
 Escola Oficia d’Idiomes Barcelona Drassanes
 
  
 
 From the pedagogical coordination of the  Escola Oficia d’Idiomes Barcelona Drassanes, we found promoting  teacher education based on teachers’ experiences and needs was necessary in order to offer the possibility to initiate a path of collective professional growth. We chose itineraries of internal teacher education” (FIC), based on Wenger’s communities of practice (Wenger, 2001) and developed by Esteve & Carandell (2011) for teacher training in the context of primary and secondary education.
 
 This educational frame allows teachers to follow a systematic reflective cycle (Carandell, 2010), from which they can find  realistic alternatives of improvement, put them into practice and assess them.
 
 Itineraries (FIC) also provide an opportunity to foster  and improve teachers' relationships in an educational institution.
 
 The experience that we are now presenting is based on teaching and learning writing skills.
 
 The teachers  involved in this experience went through the following cycle of reflection and debate: -Self-diagnosis and  planning stage: Starting out with some guideline-questions, teachers shared their experiences with the group, and this led to a pedagogical debate out of  which progress aspects arose.
 
 One of the things we found was the need to analyze writing not as an isolated skill, but within a didactic sequence based on the Vygotskian approach and following Adair-Hauck & Donato's (1994), Carandel'l's (2013) and Esteve's (2006) suggestions.
 
 The sequence was the focal point that teachers decided to study in depth, the main reason for this being that it turns out to be the core that makes all the different tasks meaningful, not only because these aim to attain specific goals, but also because they push learners to a process of reflection that will allow them to plan and manage every step of their activity.
 
  
 
 -Construction and experimentation stage: Here teachers planned a class intervention and put it into practice. Most of them focused on textual typology and genre within the didactic sequence: texts understood as communicative models, as sources of resources and as guidance for the development of writing skills (Carandell, 2013).
 
  
 
 -Finally we carried out an assessment session where all the experiences were presented and discussed: conclusions were extracted and agreements were made. In this respect, teachers concluded that there is a need to revise lesson planning by means of didactic sequences that will always take textual work as a point of departure. Another aspect that was pointed out is the fact that many leaners improved their writing performance when assessment criteria were shared with them.
 
  
 
 References
 
 Carandell, Z.; Keim, L. y Tichgelaar, A. (2010): Herramientas para la autoregulación. En O. Esteve, K. Melief y À. Alsina  (Eds.). Creando mi profesión. Una propuesta para el desarrollo profesional del profesorado. Barcelona: Octaedro.
 
  
 
 Esteve, O & Carandell, Z. (2011): Fomentant la pràctica reflexiva col·lectiva en els centres educatius, cap a un nou paradigma de l´assessorament a centre, en Recursos i Recerca Educativa de les Illes Balears, ISSN-e 2172-587X, Nº. 2
 
  
 
 Wenger, E. (2001): Comunidades de práctica. Paidós.
 
  
 
 ESTEVE R., Olga; GONZÁLEZ D., María; ATIENZA C., Encarna; MARTÍN P., Ernesto & FERNÁNDEZ,Francesc
 
 University Pompeu Fabra, University Ramon Llull, Barcelona
 
 Towards plurilingual education through sociocultural theory. Agency as a key factor in teachers’ transformation processes
 
  
 
 The teaching and learning of languages are undergoing a change in Spain as well as in other European countries. This process involves fostering the development of plurilingualism and intercultural competence as essential components of the school curricula (European Council 2001: 4). This has moved educational institutions to search for new didactic models that respond to the challenges triggered by the aforementioned process. However, although various educational institutions have given priority to plurilingual learning, there exist diverse interpretations of this concept and its practical applications. In response to this situation, and in collaboration with diverse educational institutions, our team is carrying out a national three-year research project construing its compromise with the institutions on two general objectives:
 
 a) to establish the epistemological bases of a methodological approach that aims to be orientative for teachers in their path towards adopting and  practising plurilingual teaching in an informed way;
 
 b) to empower teachers at different educational levels to work within this approach in a meaningful way, helping them to internalize its key principles drawing from their own agency.
 
 To attain these objectives, Sociocultural Theory has provided us with solid principles on which to build our foundations, both concerning the conceptual framework for plurilingual education (Negueruela, 2008, 2013; Lantolf and Thorne, 2006) and, above all, the formative intervention so that the teachers make theirs this framework and apply it drawing from their agency (Engeström, 2011; Engeström & Sanini, 2010; Esteve, 2013; Johnson, 2009; González Davies, 2014;Lantolf and Poehner, 2014).
 
 In our communication we present the first results of the project and we focus on the way in which we apply the vygotskian method of double stimulation(Engeström, 2011) in teacher formation. These first results indicate the beginning of a transformation process in additional language classes as well as on the key concepts of the new approach which seem to trigger said transformation. Likewise, these results put forward the potential of this formative approach as a bridge between practice, training and theory.
 
  
 
  
 
 MITCHEL-SMITH, Jane
 
 St. Peter’s School
 
 Collaborative investigation as a catalyst for change
 
 Schools claim to provide stimulating learning environments for their pupils, but overlook that teachers, too, are learners. If change is to take place, space must also be made for teachers to form part of a wider learning community. My experience as teacher-researcher has led me to believe that an ongoing collaboration between schools and universities can be a catalyst for real transformation.
 
 Before this can happen, schools must be open to change and have an organizational structure which encourages members of staff to question existing practice.  Support from relevant stakeholders need securing, especially where research and investigation are taking place.  Accountability is essential, both from those who are implementing change at classroom level, but also from those in authority, requiring supervision and a real interest in findings. Although new practices and projects may never see the light of day, real opportunities should exist for those which have proved successful.
 
 Reflective practitioners are constantly looking for answers to questions which arise out of daily experience. Responses to the issues they face must be relevant. However, answers are frequently sought from external experts, who, despite their expertise, lack the detailed understanding of the idiosyncrasies of each individual context, or alternatively, through the sharing of common experience with colleagues, which has not been investigated or rigorously tested and therefore lacks validity. Action research provides an ideal framework through which ideas and experiences ban be examined, tested and reframed, but demands continuous exchange with a group of critical friends, i.e. a network of expert contacts.  It also requires an open-minded, cooperative working environment in which information is freely shared by professionals in a climate of support and trust. Teachers can no longer work in isolation. In exchange they gain a sense of ownership of projects and a commitment to transformative investigation practices which enrich professional development. However, this is a culture which needs very careful nurturing from teachers and institutions alike.  It requires a shift in perspective to create a learning environment in which professionals from the world of education share and develop understanding together. Once in place, opportunities for collaborative practice are limitless.
 
  
 
  
 
 MORENO CAMACHO, Cristina
 
 Instituto Cervantes
 
  
 
 A Cooperating Teacher Training Program: looking for congruence
 
  
 
 The cooperating teacher training is a constant concern of the Instituto Cervante’s Teacher Training Department (TTD) and it has deployed a variety of different proposals to meet institutional demands along these years. Among the strategies promoted for new cooperating teachers training, it has recently launched an online course designed according to sociocultural approaches. 
 
 Cooperating teachers can benefit from knowledge developed by sociocultural research. Concepts like zone of proximal development, mediational tools, scaffolding or intersubjectivity are just some of the ideas that can be naturally incorporated during mentoring novice teachers. In order to make it possible, cooperating teachers training itself needs to be articulated on the same theoretical basis. This is what we have tried to do in the design and implementation of the online course: to offer an initial training course that is congruent with a professional practice on the basis of sociocultural knowledge.
 
  
 
  
 
 SURRIBAS, Eva  & VILASECA, Lidia  Departament d’Ensenyament
 
 EOI Barcelona-Drassanes
 
  How to grow professionally after initial teacher education?
 
  
 
 How to grow professionally after initial teacher education? In this paper we   present the experience of GRAULA, a group created in 2012 composed of several foreign language teachers at EOIs (public language schools for adults) in Catalonia involved in classroom research, with the aim of showing how observing the own classroom, collecting and analysing data from it as well as interacting with the theoretical knowledge is contributing to the professional development of the group members.
 
 Research on learning and teaching processes is traditionally carried out mainly by university research groups. In GRAULA a group of language educators come together aiming to inquire on everyday classroom practice. Starting from the classroom to go back to the classroom by undergoing a process of collective empowerment, which reflects positively in individual professional development and growth. We refer to a process which has its origins in the personal beliefs and representations of everyday classroom practice, which have to be contrasted with pedagogical principles and theories about second language learning and teaching.
 
 GRAULA is based on a teacher education model oriented towards professional development. This means inquiring in the own classrooms and gaining a deeper insight into phenomena that take place in these classrooms. Essential to this empowerment process is regular interaction among GRAULA members on the one hand, and, as we mentioned above, interaction with theoretical knowledge, on the other.
 
 We regard interaction from a Vygotskian perspective (Vygotsky, 1978), that is, in its cognitive dimension as a mediation instrument which allows going from actual levels of development to higher potential ones.
 
 Teachers often reject theoretical knowledge since many of them consider it to be far away from everyday classroom practice and they therefore see no point in making the effort to engage in reading such complex texts. Differently, GRAULA approaches theory looking for answers or orientation with regard to the questions we ourselves as teachers pose while observing classroom phenomena. Theoretical knowledge allows the conceptualization of the learning/teaching processes on which we focus and this conceptualization is crucial to professional development, since it enables teachers engaging in inquiry processes to gain a deeper insight into classroom phenomena and thus it provides them with a solid basis for their decision making in everyday classroom practice. This fosters teacher autonomy, which leads mostly to higher quality in education.
 
 We will illustrate this presentation by giving a short account of some of the research projects carried out by some GRAULA members.
 
  
 
  
 
 TRESSERRAS CASALS, Eva  & PALOU,  Juli
 
 Universitat de Barcelona
 
 Teachers’ beliefs. Tensions from reflection on their own practice
 
  
 
 Following Woods (1996), any training process must find its anchor point in a reflection that covers what happens inside and outside the classroom. Actually, teachers’ expectations and what happens in class may differ. This divergence between forecast, which involves planning, and performance, is related to interaction. The latter is generated in the immediacy and it always promotes cognitive movements on teachers. In this sense, we believe that how teachers reflect on their own actions, according to their social environment, is the origin of training processes and, therefore, of change.
 
 According to the Activity Theory (Engeström, 1999), cognitive movements always generate tensions, which are often expressed by potential contradictions. They only way to dampen the anxiety generated is building new interpretative frameworks with teachers’ participation in research teams. For this reason, training reaches both a horizontal and vertical perspective.
 
 The Research group Plurilingualism and Language Learning (PLURAL) of the University of Barcelona studies teachers’ beliefs about language learning in multilingual contexts, and the need of pre-service and permanent training in this field. The present study involves a training program which was carried out over an entire year. It was funded by the Spanish Ministry R&D scholarship. It consisted of two phases and involved 10 teachers from all educational levels. All of them were in contact with linguistic and cultural diversity. Work on linguistic life stories, semi-structured interviews between a researcher and a teacher, and focus groups were included. We are currently interested in discussion groups. We are in the perspective of “players” to see how they understand each other and how they weave meaning to their actions. Our results suggest that reflection about teachers’ practice promotes changes in points of view, thus, a first step aimed to cognitive transformation.
 
 VERDÍA, Elena
 
 Instituto Cervantes in Manchester
 
 Research in an in-service teacher education model based on collaborative reflective learning. The experience at Instituto Cervantes in Manchester
 
  
 
  
 
 This paper presents a research undertaken at Instituto Cervantes of Manchester. Teachers, helped by their colleagues, have performed a reflective process on one of the key areas of improvement in their professional development. During the 16-month research period they have worked individually, in pairs and in groups on the selected subject, making use of different artefacts and tools (initial assessment, action plan, professional skills descriptive documents, etc.) 
 
 We show the first results of the analysis and interpretation of the data collected during the research process and what this working method means to the professional development of the participants compared to other in service training models such as courses or workshops. 
 
  
 
  
 
 ZANATTA, Theresa & CIVERA, Isabel 
 
 Universitat de Barcelona
 
 Visual Narrative Inquiry and Teacher Education
 
  
 
 This paper reports on a sociocultural, ethnographic research project conducted at the Faculty of Education at the University of Barcelona involving visual narratives as a tool for reflective inquiry and teaching methodology. The findings presented here represent a continuation of a research project originally sponsored by the British Council, in collaboration with the University of Leeds and the University of Barcelona.
 
  
 
 “Visual narrative inquiry is an intentional, reflective, active human process in which researchers and participants explore and make meaning of experience both visually and narratively.” (Bach, 2088). Both written and oral student narratives have been used in teacher education programmes to provide opportunities for students to articulate and reflect on their own personal experiences and make meaning of their learning experiences. These narratives play a critical role in teacher development. (Johnson and Golombek, 2002). A third kind of narrative, the visual narrative or visual image (Kalaja, 2012) is a less traditional research methodology in teacher education and in particular in the education and professional development of English language teachers. Within the field of visual narrative inquiry, students create visual narratives as a means of  expressing their personal stories through drawings.
 
  
 
 We will define the field of visual narrative inquiry, present visual narratives and show how they differ from other types of narratives. We will then reveal how they have been used as both a research tool and a language teaching activity in an undergraduate primary teacher education programme as an innovative new instructional practice bridging the gap from theory to practice.
 
  
 
 Using student drawings conducted during class time (visual narratives) and over the course of a full year of instruction, our presentation will show how the collection and analysis of visual narratives, an innovative sociocultural research methodology, can reveal student teachers’ beliefs about effective instructional practices.
 
  
 
 The findings reported here, have a strong practical dimension to them. We will also show how new and innovative teacher education tools, such as visual narratives can provide classroom opportunities for personal narration, storytelling and instructional practices to enhance the impact of teacher education on teacher development.
 
  
 
 Sources:
 
 Bach, H. (2008). Visual narrative inquiry. In L. Given (Ed.), The SAGE encyclopedia of qualitative research methods. (pp. 939-941). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. doi: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n490">http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412963909.n490</a>
 
  
 
 Johnson, K.E., & Golombeck, P.R. (Eds.). (2002). Teachers´ narrative inquiry as professional development. New York: Cambridge University Press.
 
 Kalaja, P., H. Dufva and R. Alanen. (2012) Experimenting with visual narratives. Submitted to Narratives in Applied Linguistics, ed. by G. Barkhuizen.
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 <a href="#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" title="">[1]</a>              The original quote is: “elaborar coneixement sobre aquest objecte per tal de millorar el coneixement dels aprenents de i sobre les llengües, que és la finalitat de l’activitat d’ensenyar-les a l’escola” (Camps, 2001, 115).
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