Country Studied: Poland
Area of Focus: Train the trainers – System level
Type of learning difficulty the Best Practice is supporting:
- Support given to teachers pre-teaching.
Aims and objectives of Best Practice
This paper reports on a qualitative case study that investigated the challenges faced by teachers who teach English as a foreign language at secondary schools in Poland and Turkey. A number of shared challenges affecting teachers in both Poland and Turkey were identified, despite the contrast between these educational contexts. The findings suggest that support provided for teachers of English must be flexibly aligned to local educational conditions as well as by evidence based strategies at national level. In this case, we see a best practice arising from an unfavourable situation through the empirical research of the authors in interviewing and discussing the issues with their experts. By recognising the need to expand their knowledge in teaching English to students, particularly with learning difficulties, they need to be trained in more robust ways by equally highly skilled trainers.
Short description of Best Practice
- Teachers from both countries complained about receiving training that was mainly theory oriented; teachers said that beginning teachers need intensive support to apply their knowledge to teaching, and to develop professional networks with more experienced mentors. In other words, extended training in the form of a pre-service practicum was recognized as a proper way to help teachers bridge the gap between theory and practice.
- Teachers are challenged partly by localized conditions connected mainly with classroom level issues of students’ motivation to learn, students’ emotional inhibitions, teaching large classes, and differentiation. In addition, challenges around the school level context include not enough high quality training, and the perceived need for more hours for teaching English.
3 Key learning Principles that were used in this Best Practice to support learners with LD
- Model for teacher employment is ‘career-based’ public service, in which entry is competitive, and career development is extensively regulated and lifetime employment is largely guaranteed. The quality of teachers depends mainly on setting high standards for teacher-preparation programmes – the quality of pre-service teacher education, and on the attention given to the quality of teachers’ in selection and recruitment processes at the school level.
- Teachers who took part in our study emphasised the complexity of their role. They shared the perception that teaching English at schools is very specific because foreign language teachers not only have to choose appropriate teaching methods in accordance with the policy of the school they work in, but they also must reflect their own beliefs about teaching, as well as accommodating the students’ individual differences and personal contexts. Learning English as a foreign language is a sensitive matter, because students engage their emotions in learning the language and the emotions vary. Students’ emotional inhibitions such as anxiety, prejudice about English, shyness, and fear of failure were challenges experienced by teachers at the schools with low student attainment in both Poland and Turkey.
- Small class sizes can give them the opportunity to spend more time with each student, which more directly affects their learning and academic success. Within a context where large classes are the norm, teachers felt constrained from employing small group work and were forced to employ mostly direct instruction methods. Furthermore, students were particularly passive, and teachers had difficulty in motivating them to participate in higher order thinking activities such as discussions, questioning, and problem-solving strategies.
Strategies used as part of Best Practice
- Adapting instruction to various learning styles.
- Individualized Learning Plans.
- Guidance on creating and implementing individualized learning plans.
- Collaboration with support services and professionals.
- Strategies for modifying or creating teaching materials to suit different abilities.
- Creating a positive and supportive classroom environment.
Results and impact
Classroom Level:
- Students’ motivation to learn
- Students’ emotional inhibitions
- Teaching large classes and differentiation
School Level:
- In-service professional development and learning
- More hours of English
The system level:
- Pre-service education
- Attractiveness of the profession
- Career- path incentives
Transferability
Issues provided in this article, reflect the need for training teachers & considering the classroom in more holistic ways.
The three-level approach of classroom/school/system levels is applicable for different contexts.
Resources used as part of Best Practice
Interviews with teachers.
Critical issues
- Complex role of teachers who teach English, and direct our attention to the components of the complex systems in which their work is immersed. At the same time the analysis encourages us to respond to the question about what should be done in order to support teachers performing their role as a teacher of English, as a foreign language in schools.
- The current study revealed teachers’ perceptions that students from low social-economic background are y among the lower-achievers. This finding is compatible with the literature that socio-economic background influences learner motivation for learning and educational attainments.
- The current studies on teacher education programmes in different countries in the world show that incorporating research into ITE remains a controversial issue. Inquiry-based teacher education has been advocated in more recent literature, but it is far from representing a common approach and it faces various challenges.
Any additional learning that we can take from this Best Practice, example:
- Train the teachers
- Inquiry-based learning
- Classroom level is as important as the system level
