This thesis is my professional autobiography that records an action research process of three full cycles ranging from 2004 to 2006. I follow a narrative style and a first person perspective to present this process in loyalty to the action research nature and my research reality. I work at an online institute (the Institute) of a Chinese university and I am responsible for course design and development of degree-bearing courses in English language education via online delivery to learners nationwide. My job is contextualized in a situation in China where online course design and development booms in practice, yet it lacks theoretical guidelines, quality research with responsive approaches and staff with professional identity and practice. I started my research in 2004 with a mono-commitment -- a real-situation task of adapting the courseware of an "orientation” module of a post-diploma BA course in English language education. I worked alone as both a researcher and a practitioner, only to find that the task involved more than just courseware design - it dealt with subject matter in that online course design and development was a process as well as a product that aimed at the construction of a learning system (the "What" issue); it also dealt with a methodological issue of selecting a research approach that could accommodate my research need and situation (the "How" issue). I started my second research cycle in 2005 with dual commitments – the exploration of instructional design as a subject matter guideline and action research as a responsive research methodology. I led a team of 3 tutor-researchers and 15 learner-researchers through a process of "plan -- act -- analyze and reflect” during the design, development, implementation and evaluation phases of the "orientation" module. Two issues emerged from this research cycle. One was that there existed four major tensions between instructional design and the learners' reality: time design, media selection, support design in relation to interaction and group learning, and assessment design. The other was that action research could be applied as an effective approach to professional development. I conducted my third research cycle in 2006 with tri-commitments – professional development (the "Who" issue) of 12 new staff at the Institute in addition to a further exploration of instructional design (the "What" issue) and action research (the "How" issue). This research cycle revealed that the interventional strategies worked to some extent, but some issues persisted and new issues emerged. Among them, the tensions between instructional design and the learners' reality, and the multi-faceted context of the research were repeatedly recognized. The three research cycles have informed my further research to establish a paradigmatic and practical framework that can integrate the "What", the "How" and the "Who" issues. This framework is termed multimodal learning system design that adopts a design, learning, multimodal and ecological view to guide a cyclical process that involves a community of practice in inquiry and reflection as well as all the major stakeholders (e.g. designers, tutors, administrators and learners) and a product that creates a learning system. This framework is valued for its responsiveness to sustainable improvements and changes in the online education field full of innovation and challenges in theory, research and professionalism.

This thesis investigates teacher cognition of classroom interaction as represented in narratives by Amazonian language teachers. Language teacher cognition has been investigated in the great educational centres in Brazil, but has been overlooked as a research theme in Amazonas, the context of this study. In order to bridge this existing gap in language teacher research, the current study develops a narrative enquiry in the public and private school settings to find the different understandings of interaction in the English as a foreign language (heretofore EFL) classroom as articulated by teachers. The study is grounded in theories of teacher education and cognition, applied and socio-linguistics, socio-cultural theories and discourse analysis to further the understanding of concepts that are of rising importance in the EFL field: teacher cognition, classroom interaction, and narrative research. In brief, teacher cognition refers to teachers’ mental lives and to the ways they perceive their practice. In this research, four constructs (knowledge, thought, beliefs, and decision-making) are considered to represent the broad conceptualisation of teacher cognition. Classroom interaction corresponds to the collaborative moments which happen in the language classroom among students, or between students and teacher, in order to improve learning. Narrative enquiry relates to both the method and methodology which is used to understand diverse knowledge processes. In simple terms, in this thesis, narrative enquiry explores teachers’ stories about their practice and determines the ways in which they can be analysed and interpreted. This qualitative research has been designed from a constructionist epistemological standpoint and an interpretivist theoretical perspective. Because it investigates complex concepts, this research does not follow one specific philosophical background but finds inspiration in critical pedagogy and matters of knowledge in the Brazilian context. The data produced by nine experienced EFL teachers was systematically analysed. Starting from the four individual constructs of teacher cognition, the interpretation of the data develops to concepts and themes which emerged from this initial analysis. The findings generated new understandings of the construction of knowledge as personal practical knowledge (PPK) and its relationship to other constructs of teacher cognition, to experience, to the teachers’ individual contexts and to styles of storytelling. From these main findings, the present study proposes a model of narrativised teacher cognition to better understand the interrelation between the cognitive constructs and discursive strategies, as well as build a new and concrete dimension to teachers’ articulation of their practice.

Based on a framework of linking intercultural rhetoric research to genre theories, the present study investigated Taiwanese EFL novice students’ construction of generic structures and rhetorical features in writing in L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English). Quantitative and qualitative research methods were combined in the present study, including textual analysis of students’ genre writing, a student questionnaire and interviews with students. The textual analysis focused on the construction of genre-rhetoric conventions in intercultural letters of job application and argumentative writing, respectively. The student questionnaire explored writers’ reported writing instructional experiences in L1 and L2. The results of interviews suggested that writers’ decisions on the genre-rhetoric construction were affected by a wider range of small culture factors, for example, familiarity with writing topics, L2 language proficiency, transferability of writing experiences, and contextual factors, together with writers’ large cultural influence. The overall findings suggest that the way writers approach genre writing is significantly influenced and shaped by the context of situation. More importantly, writers’ agency has to be highlighted as it triggers and mediates social processes of multidimensional negotiation between text, writer and context in L2 writing. It is therefore suggested that context of situation where writing is produced and writers’ agency are two influential factors for shaping Taiwanese novice EFL students’ intercultural genre writing.

The aim of this research was to find ways that would help reconcile contested ethical and pedagogic issues raised by the phenomenon of Teaching English as a Missionary Language (TEML): that is, the evangelical Christian use of English Language Teaching (ELT) as a means for achieving religious ends. Four aspects of ELT were examined as a way to identify factors that could contribute to an improved understanding between evangelical Christians and opponents of the appropriation of ELT for religious ends. These were cultural and linguistic hegemony, teacher authority, ethical accountability and teacher identity. This was done by using a combination of qualitative research methods and theological reflection to analyse the data from four case studies about why and how evangelical Christians taught English to speakers of other languages. A revised evangelical identity was used to create an original theological theory of action that describes the characteristics of an evangelical practice of ELT in a way that addresses criticisms made by ELT professionals. The new theory describes how the integration of knowledge drawn from human experience, theology and the social sciences can contribute to the mediation of the Christian faith in modern society. It incorporates a Christocentric understanding of mission as missio Dei, moral transparency regarding evangelical Christian motivation for teaching English and the pursuit of pedagogic excellence. The contribution to the understanding and practice of ELT by evangelical Christians that this research makes is that, by a embracing a Christocentric paradigm of mission as missio Dei and adopting a dialogic collaborative pedagogy, evangelical Christians can make a unique contribution on the basis of their faith towards a redemptive and harmonious relationship with their students and the wider community of ELT professionals.

Globalisation (increasing international flows of finance, culture, technological know-how, information, people etc.) has created pressure for a lingua franca. It is widely accepted that English now fulfils this role, with some academics in English language teaching suggesting that the language is no longer owned by ‘native speakers’ and requesting a re-evaluation of the ‘native speaker’ English language teacher in terms of his/her traditional importance in the field. These academics have queried, for example, the continued relevance of ‘native speaker’ pronunciation, methodology and the professional status of the ‘native speaker’ teacher compared with the ‘non-native speaker’ English language teacher. In this study the professional identities of a small group of ‘native speaker’ teachers are explored through data obtained from interviews, field-notes, critical incidents in the researcher-as-teacher’s professional life and by e-mail correspondence. From the collected data it appears that these ‘native speaker’ English language teachers retain a view of themselves as having a superior professional identity, based on their pronunciation, classroom practices, ethnicity, British educational backgrounds and their relational stance to ‘non-native speaker’ teachers. On the other hand, the teachers’ ambivalent relationship with both the new academic understandings of English language teaching and their own professional development appear to contribute to a dilemma in their superior identity constructs. Only one teacher in the group manages to engage with the new understandings and is thus able to conceptualise a professional identity as an English language teacher which seems more in tune with the new global role of English. Overall, in fact, this study reveals a considerable discrepancy between the lived reality of the ‘native speaker’ teachers’ professional lives and the new understandings of academics about English language teaching in a globalising world. The study also highlights a concerning gap between the teachers’ current self-constructs and the implications for the development of practice of new academic theory.

This study looks at a group of Malaysian university students’ perceptions, experiences and behaviours when presented with an informal, participatory Facebook interaction group for English language practice. Three methods of data collection, namely questionnaire, LMT100 Facebook interaction group, and semi-structured interview were employed in stages. The findings show a discrepancy between the participants’ perceptions of using Facebook for English language learning (ELL), and their experiences and behaviours when presented with the interaction group. Only a quarter of the participants used the group actively by initiating interaction threads, and communicating with each other. A huge majority acted passively by making their participation visible just once or repeatedly through the means of likes and short comments. The rest of the members were silent readers who never made their involvement visible over the period of six weeks. The students showed higher participation rate when presented with three topics; entertainment-based, grammar quizzes, and university-related inquiries. This was discussed as students’ selective interests and preferences in learning. The types of online content suitable for English language learning was also addressed. More passive interviewees reported small improvements in their communicative competence from the interaction activity. The active interviewees however only felt a boost in their confidence to use English publicly rather than experience enhanced English language ability. The discrepancy between the students’ perceptions and behaviours are discussed from three levels of sociocultural influences which are personal, institutional, and societal. The students’ prior English language learning experience within an education system that privileges examinations may have influenced their (non)participation in the LMT100 group. The interviewees also indicated the existence of sentiments in racial, political, and religious issues, which may have influenced their learning experience at the university. The findings indicate that the informal, unstructured English language interaction platform on Facebook as having great potentials, although not tremendously successful in this study. Several implications are presented as strategies that may assist the integration of Facebook for English language learning in the future.

Using literary texts in the EFL classroom has been widely practised in the field of EFL teaching and learning. Many scholars ascertain that English literary texts provide language learners with a kind of authentic language used by native speakers in real contexts. Research studies in the EFL field illustrate that EFL learners' problems in reading English literary texts are due to two main reasons. Firstly, the complex structure of literary texts. Secondly, lack of familiarity with the cultural content of English literary texts. However, the present study sets out to suggest that collaborative work in the classroom can bridge learners' difficulties in constructing the meaning of literary texts. In Libyan universities, learners in the Department of English Language and Linguistics study literature for a considerable period of their university program. The present research suggests a new model to improve the teaching of literary short fiction in one of the English departments in Libyan universities. The new model emphasizes three main tenets: 1. The role of background knowledge in processing literary short fiction. The background knowledge includes not only knowledge of English language but also familiarity with cultural content of the literary text as well as the formal organization of the literary texts. 2. Since language and culture are intertwined, the approach focuses on developing Libyan learners' cultural and intercultural awareness. 3. The approach suggests the use of Learning Conversations as a scaffolding procedure that allows more interaction and negotiation for co-constructing the meaning of the text. The study adopts a qualitative research approach. The investigation is carried out across three phases. Phase 1 focuses on the assessment of the Libyan EFL participant problems in reading literary texts by interviewing the ten participants and using a diagnostic test. The second phase is interventional. It seeks to investigate learners' development in constructing the meaning of literary text through the suggested scaffolding procedure (i.e. Learning Conversations). The third phase of the investigation explores learners' reflections on the effectiveness of interactive work in reading literature. The study aims at providing evidence of Libyan EFL learners' perspective of the new model and the development of their understanding.

The Arabic language and the Islamic faith can be considered the cultural centres of life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). However, English has often been linked to modernisation and development. The KSA is one of the countries that is in possession of oil reserves, and most of laborers that work in this area are native English speakers or English- speaking Saudi nationals. This economic development has increased the demand for English language acquisition by Saudi citizens. As a result, the English language has become very important in the KSA. Therefore, there would presumably be support for and interest in gifted English language learners (GELLs). However, there are concerns about supporting GELLs in the KSA. The focus of gifted education has remained on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. While the acknowledgement of gifted learners within STEM subjects and the considerable educational efforts that are being made to support them are a positive development, these efforts needs to extend beyond STEM subjects to the rest of the subjects. For example, there is a paucity of research investigating the best practices for identifying and supporting GELLs in the Saudi Arabian context. The current study focuses on four aspects of teaching GELLs: teacher attitude, the identification of GELLs, practice and support for GELLs. Teacher attitude underpins the learning and teaching process and appears to be closely linked to identification. The government of the KSA requires that schools identify gifted learners, so understanding how teachers and head teachers identify gifted individuals, particularly GELLs, is an important aim of this study. Strategies for supporting gifted learners are widely used in STEM subjects in the KSA, but little is known about how or even if English as foreign language (EFL) teachers utilise such strategies for GELLs within the classroom. The current study seeks to better understand classroom practice for GELL in the EFL classroom in the KSA. There is a need to ensure that the support offered to GELLs is appropriate, so exploring the views of GELLs in EFL classrooms concerning the kind of support they perceive they require and the kind of support they perceive they currently receive is an important aspect of the study. This study presents findings from: a) a questionnaire that was completed by 100 EFL teachers, b) classroom observations of 10 EFL classes, c) 10 semi-structured interviews with head teachers, d) 10 semi-structured interviews with EFL teachers and e) four focus group sessions held with groups comprising five GELLs each in six Saudi female secondary schools in Almadinah City. The findings of the questionnaires filled out by EFL teachers indicate that many of them hold positive attitudes towards GELLs, though these views do not always translate into practice. The analysis of the data gathered through the classroom observations demonstrates that the most relevant teaching practices currently used by EFL teachers in this study relate to curriculum planning and delivery in their EFL classes. The findings also suggest that EFL teachers are the primary identifiers of GELLs, which is problematic because a lack of official documentation combined with EFL teachers’ beliefs and attitudes may result in the potential mis- or nonidentification of GELLs. The views of the GELLs who participated in the focus group sessions show that additional support regarding EFL classes is required, including, for example, the development and provision of more interesting and relevant topics and resources. Throughout the thesis, the role of the teacher is identified as crucial for offering appropriate learning experiences for GELLs. One major recommendation of this study is the need for the development of effective teacher education and training in both teaching the English language and teaching gifted learners (including GELLs). This training could occur on two levels. First, this training could occur during initial teacher education to ensure that ideas about supporting the learning of all are included in courses. Second, this training could occur as a part of continuing lifelong professional development to all educators. In this way, teachers and head teachers will continue to engage in learning about learning once they are practicing teachers. In order to the policy and practice to support GELLs, head teachers and teachers need the autonomy to manage different aspects of school, including classroom practice, pedagogies and curricula in order to meet the needs of learners, including GELLs.

The research project explores teacher knowledge and the role of theory in the practice of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers. It addresses issues which are relevant more widely to the field and profession of English Language Teaching (ELT). It includes a literature-based survey of the types and sources of knowledge relevant to the work of ESOL-ELT teachers, which are collated into a conceptual framework (CF). The CF includes aspects of teacher knowledge and learning such as the ‘apprenticeship of observation’ (Lortie 1975/2002) and ‘personal practical knowledge’ (Clandinin 1985; Clandinin & Connelly 1987). Relevant contextual factors are analysed, with four levels of policy identified as impacting to varying degrees on ESOL teachers’ practice. These (policy) contextual factors include notions of ‘best practice’, ‘appropriate methodology’, and the ELT-ESOL curriculum. A further contextual area of influence on the role of theories in ESOL teachers’ practice is the recent history of teaching methodology, including ‘ELT methods’, which is analysed in a ‘genealogy of ELT’. Several of these ELT methods have traditionally embodied elements of theories from Applied Linguistics. One such ELT ‘method’ (or ‘approach’) - Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) - is identified as influential on the thinking of ESOL teachers. The question of theory and the relationship between theory and practice are discussed with reference to the work of Alasdair MacIntyre and his use of Aristotelian concepts, such as praxis. Views from ELT and mainstream education regarding the role of theory and practice are also discussed. In addition to the theoretical and conceptual analysis of the research question, an ‘empirical’ data-collection element of the research design involves conducting ‘semi-structured’ qualitative research interviews with eight ESOL teachers who work in the same UK Further Education College as the researcher. A qualitative, interpretivist research approach is adopted, which draws on several research methodologies and ‘paradigms’ such as phenomenology and critical realism. Data analysis methods draw on ideas from ‘Grounded Theory’, and use NVivo computer software to process the research interview data. Findings from the interview data are briefly presented (in Chapter 5) and illustrative quotations are included in Chapter 6. Conclusions and recommendations are presented, relating to issues of ESOL teacher education, teacher development, policy, and areas for future research (in Chapter 7). They highlight the potential value for ESOL practitioners of a greater examination of the role of theory in their practice.

Underpinned by a socio-cultural epistemology and utilising an interpretivist qualitative paradigm, this study aims to explore Iranian EFL teachers' perspectives on the integration of information and communication technology (ICT) into their teaching. Data collection was carried out during October-December 2013 held with 9 Iranian EFL teachers - five males, four females- from across 6 schools in Tehran. The focus was on the individual and contextual factors that had influenced and shaped the perceptions and practices of these teachers. Data was collected based on a total of 36 face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews that were guided by 27 observations of classroom practices. Thematic analysis of the data indicated that ICT uptake by participants was seriously hampered by several interacting and interrelated areas that influenced participants' perspectives and practices. These include inadequate technological infrastructures (in and out of schools' settings), poor or lack of technical support, teachers' insufficient expertise and self-efficacy related to technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) as a result of inadequate continual professional development (CPD), nature of the national curriculum, assessment system, shortage of time, rules and regulations, and other human and contextual factors that will be discussed holistically as an activity system in this paper.