有鑑於近年來教育當局對於提升教師教育專業能力的重視以及陸續於一般中等學校計劃實施教師專業評鑑的努力，本研究旨在建構高中英語教師之教學專業能力指標，瞭解279位現職於22所公立高中之新北市高中英文教師對於各指標重要性看法之差異，並針對性別、學歷、學校規模、教學年資等社會背景的教師分析其看法之不同。依據文獻探討與專家效度實施之結果，共建立5大能力層面、13個向度、以及47個指標。問卷分析採用階層程序分析法(AHP)，得出各向度之權重值，排序結果如下： 1.規劃能力：教學規劃比課程規劃重要；這兩項中分別又以規劃適當教學活動及規劃教學程序為重要指標。 2.教學能力：溝通能力與英文能力尤其重要；這兩項中分別又以良好口頭溝通技巧及自我表達能力為重要指標。 3.管理能力：班級管理比資源管理重要；而班級管理中又以良好師生互動為重要指 標。 4.專業成長：掌握學習機會比進行教學研究與革新重要；而掌握學習機會中又以反思個人教學與追求專業成長為重要指標。 5.教學道德：工作態度比專業精神重要；而工作態度中又以與學校同事、學生家長、與附近社區建立良好工作關係為重要指標。 在各向度的指標中，與教學有關係者較受青睞。各背景的教師與所有教師的看法傾 向於一致，只顯示些微的差別。 依據研究結果，本研究亦針對教育當局及高中英文教師提出建議，對於未來研究方 向也提出一些看法，以期對英文教學有些許貢獻。 / Academic authorities have recently laid their prominence on upgrading teachers’ professional competence with the reform efforts of implementing evaluating professional competence on teachers in middle schools. The current study aimed to explore the indicators for evaluating senior high school English teachers’ professional competence, and at the same time, to provide English teachers access to improve and increase teaching efficiency by showing the rankings of indicators under each sub-criterion investigated from 279 English teachers with 4 social background variants in 22 public senior high schools in New Taipei City. The social background variants included gender, educational backgrounds, school size, and total teaching years. In accordance with literature review and expert validity, 5 criteria, 13 sub-criteria, and 47 indicators were established as evaluating standards. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was employed and the results indicated that: 1. Planning competence: Teaching planning was more important than course planning. Planning appropriate teaching activities and developing teaching procedures were considered to be the most important in the two sub-criteria respectively. 2. Teaching competence: Communicative competence and English language competence were the first two priorities, but presentation of teaching materials the last. Good oral communicative skills and self-expressive ability were labeled as the most essential indicators respectively. 3. Management competence: Classroom management was rather prominent than resources management. Good teacher-student interaction was especially viewed as important in classroom management. 4. Professional development: Grasping opportunities to learn was taken more significant than conducting teaching research and teaching innovation. In grasping opportunities to learn, reflecting on one’s teaching and seeking professional development were seen as more important than others. 5. Teaching ethics: Working attitude was of higher significance than professionalism, especially establishing good working relationship with school staff, students’ parents, and surrounding communities. In conclusion, indicators which were more helpful to teaching were more favored. Despite their different social backgrounds, teachers tended to show similar opinions on the development of their professional competence. According to the results of the study, some suggestions were provided for professional development of English teachers, teacher training, gender differences of English teachers, teaching experiences, and future studies.

Despite a growing body of research on trainee teachers’ learning during pre-service programs, intensive introductory TESL training courses are still designed to instruct a “standard” type of trainee teacher. This research study investigates the factors that mediate trainee teachers’ learning process as well as the interaction between these factors, which either facilitate and/or hinder trainee teachers’ success during an intensive introductory TESL training course. Using a qualitative holistic single-case study, informed by an interpretivist perspective, this study explores how three trainee teachers learned how to teach during a course in Southern Ontario, Canada. An integrated conceptual framework, formed by a sociocultural perspective of teacher learning, a holistic view of curriculum, and transformative pedagogy was employed and the findings include four major factors that mediated trainee teachers’ teacher learning process and three types of interaction that facilitated and/or hindered their success during the program.

Es una tesis analítico-descriptiva, con finalidad diagnóstica, en la que se describe el enfoque didáctico que debe aplicarse en la enseñanza de la lengua inglesa, según las directrices curriculares: el enfoque comunicativo. Se describe la metodología empleada para la investigación: observación en el aula. Por otro lado, se describe y analiza un corpus de actividades recopilado a partir de la observación de clases de inglés, presentando los datos en tablas en aras de mayor objetividad y para facilitar su sistematización, y también en formato descriptivo. Finalmente, tras la descripción y el análisis de los datos, se presentan las conclusiones, en las cuales se comprueba que la metodología empleada no es la comunicativa. Además, se ponen de manifiesto aspectos de la realidad del aula que contribuyen a explicar por qué no se aplica esa metodología y por qué el aprendizaje de la lengua extranjera no es tan fructífero como cabría esperar. / This is an analytico-descriptive thesis, written for diagnosis purposes, which investigates the relationship between the curricular guidelines for the teaching of English at the secondary level in the Spanish education system (communicative approach) and the actual application of those guidelines in real language classrooms. The methodology used for the the investigation is the so-called classroom observation. Also, a corpus of 1º Bachillerato English language lessons is described and analyzed, in two main formats: in tables (for the sake of objectivity and to facilitate data systematization) and in written analysis (descriptions). Next, conclusions are drawn where it clearly shows that the methodology employed in those lessons is not communicative. Finally, aspects of the day-to-day in language classrooms come out that contribute to explain why the communicative methodology is not used in the lessons observed and why foreign language learning in our country is not as fruitful as it would be desirable.

This dissertation examines effects of globalization on language, identity, and education through the case of four Korean jogi yuhak (early study abroad) students attending Toronto high schools. Resulting from a 2.4-year sociolinguistic ethnography on the language learning experiences of these students, the thesis explores how globalization--and the commodification of language and corporatization of education in the new economy, in particular--has transformed ideas of language, bilingualism, and language learning with respect to the transnational circulation of linguistic and symbolic resources in today‘s world. This thesis incorporates insights from critical social theories, linguistic anthropology, globalization studies, and sociolinguistics, and aims to propose a "globalization sensitive" Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory. To better grasp the ways in which language learning is socially and politically embedded in new conditions generated by globalization, this new SLA theory conceives of language as a set of resources and bilingualism as a social construct, and examines language learning as an economic activity, shaped through encounters with the transnational language education industry. The analysis examines new transnational subjectivities of yuhaksaeng (visa students), which index hybrid identities that are simultaneously global and Korean. In their construction of themselves as "Cools" who are wealthy and cosmopolitan, yuhaksaeng deployed newly-valued varieties of Korean language and culture as resources in the globalized new economy. This practice, however, resulted in limits to their acquisition of forms of English capital valued in the Canadian market. As a Korean middle class strategy for acquiring valuable forms of English capital, jogi yuhak is caught in tension: while the ideology of language as a skill and capital to help an individual‘s social mobility drives the jogi yuhak movement, the essentialist ideology of "authentic" English makes it impossible for Koreans to work it to their advantage. The thesis argues that in multilingual societies, ethnic/racial/linguistic minorities‘ limited access to the acquisition of linguistic competence is produced by existing inequality, rather than their limited linguistic proficiency contributing to their marginal position. To counter naturalized social inequality seemingly linguistic in nature, language education in globalization should move away from essentialism toward process- and practice-oriented approaches to language, community, and identity.

Despite a growing body of research on trainee teachers’ learning during pre-service programs, intensive introductory TESL training courses are still designed to instruct a “standard” type of trainee teacher. This research study investigates the factors that mediate trainee teachers’ learning process as well as the interaction between these factors, which either facilitate and/or hinder trainee teachers’ success during an intensive introductory TESL training course. Using a qualitative holistic single-case study, informed by an interpretivist perspective, this study explores how three trainee teachers learned how to teach during a course in Southern Ontario, Canada. An integrated conceptual framework, formed by a sociocultural perspective of teacher learning, a holistic view of curriculum, and transformative pedagogy was employed and the findings include four major factors that mediated trainee teachers’ teacher learning process and three types of interaction that facilitated and/or hindered their success during the program.

The problem this study addresses is the continuing ineffective teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) despite the popularity of in-service (INSET) programmes. As a means of situational analysis, ethnographic approaches were used to investigate the INSET participants in the four-year degree programme at the University of Botswana. Responses to one inventory containing second language teaching activities showed that the activities respondents know to characterize ESL classrooms do not facilitate much verbal teacher-pupil/pupil-pupil interaction. Responses to another inventory containing idealised course content showed evidence of needs the preparation programme was ignoring. This confirmed one of two study hypotheses that: there are specific second language teaching needs being ignored by preparation programmes for primary school language teachers. Document analysis verified the assumptions about what classroom English Language Teaching (ELT) was expected to achieve. However, lesson observation revealed that the products of the programme still taught and perceived English as a mental exercise, with the following results: the lessons were complicated, uninspiring, unenjoyable, restrictive, and ineffective. Questionnaire and interview results confirmed the second study hypothesis that: the confidence of non-native English-speaking teachers (non-NESTs) with regard to competence in English, which affects the effectiveness and efficiency of their teaching, is low. As a solution a model specifying the essential programme components for preparing ELT specialists in the primary school is proposed. The proposed model is however not prescriptive and the proposed content is neither exhaustive nor limiting, but only broadly suggestive of the content of each instructional component. It is hoped that the product of the proposed model will become not only a well-educated person in the arts but also a highly proficient and self-confident person in ELT. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

The aim of this thesis is to describe the conception of English language teaching at high schools in Spain. In the theoretical part the Spanish educational system is presented. It focuses on secondary level education, English teaching and the target competencies. The practical part collects and evaluates the results of my research of teaching English at two different public high schools that I have gained by my own observation and interviews with Spanish teachers. The research is primarily focused on the teaching methods and techniques, the assessment of pupils and the student´s approach to learning English. Next to the results of research there is my own critical analysis.

Chapter one of this study outlines some of the problems encountered in education today, with particular reference to the 'relevance gap'. This is taken to mean that the education which learners receive does not adequately prepare them for life, i.e. academic life, social life and their later career. The South African scenario is described briefly, with the focus on English language teaching and learning. The importance of English language skills is underlined. This chapter also includes a discussion on the writer's awareness of the problem, the research proposal, aims and method of the study plus a definition of terms. The next chapter argues that the curriculum is at the centre of the education endeavour and indicates that a relevant curriculum is one that (a) is dynamic, (b) focuses on the learner, (c) considers the context within which and for which the learning takes place and (d) includes all the relevant role-players and stakeholders in its design and development. A set of guidelines for developing and implementing a relevant curriculum, are then suggested based on this assumption. This is followed by a description of the traditional curriculum model, as proposed by Robert Zais (1976), and the outcomes-based approach to curriculum design, development and implementation proposed by William Spady (1993). The latter formed the basis for the development of Curriculum 2005 currently being implemented in South Africa. This section serves to illustrate the differences between these two approaches with regard to the principles underlying the approaches and the elements which determine the structure of the curriculum. In chapter four the researcher attempts to evaluate the traditional curriculum and the outcomesbased approach descn"bed in Chapter 3 on the basis of the guidelines for a relevant curriculum outlined previously, i.e. to what degree do these two models satisfy the need for: * a dynamic curriculum which is true to life and responsive to changes within society; * a focus on learner needs and aptitudes; * a careful consideration of the context within which and for which the learning is taking place; and * the inclusion of the relevant stakeholders and role-players in its design, development and implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Didactics).

This study explored the impact of the importation of expatriate English teachers on the morale of the Malaysian English teachers and attempted to identify the perceptions of Malaysian English teachers, expatriate native English-speaking teachers (NESTs), and expatriate nonnative English-speaking teachers (nonNESTs) regarding the practices that are prevalent in Malaysia in areas such as hiring, remuneration, and benefits. An initial questionnaire was completed by the participants to ensure that they fit the target demographic profiled. Then, a semi-structured interview was conducted as a follow-up to the participants' open-ended responses in the second part of the questionnaire. Completed questionnaires were gathered from ten participants, and two semi-structured interviews were conducted with an expatriate NEST and a Malaysian nonNEST respectively. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze responses to the seven-point Likert-scale statements. In addition, this study took a qualitative approach in analyzing the core themes of the responses in the semi-structured interview and the questionnaire. Examining individual survey items and interviews revealed that there is a large discrepancy in wages between NESTs and nonNESTs in Malaysia, and this contributes to the unhappiness and low morale of Malaysian English teachers. In addition, the presence of expatriate NESTs causes Malaysian nonNESTs to have low self-esteem as they compare themselves to their native counterparts. This study also revealed that participants felt that the importation of expatriate NESTs had no significant impact on improving the language proficiency of students. Owing to the perceived failure to deliver desired results, the majority of the participants agreed that hiring qualified and experienced English teachers (not on the basis of one's race or first language) is paramount in improving the language proficiency of Malaysian students. The analysis of the data collected resulted in recommendations for a more in-depth study of the impact of the importation of expatriate NESTs/nonNESTs to the morale of Malaysian nonNESTs and the improvement of the language proficiency of Malaysian students. Also, the contributing factors for the decline of the English proficiency of Malaysian students should be thoroughly evaluated so as to affect change.

The aim of the research study, Combatting the Downward Spiral: Burnout, Support Networks and Coping Strategies of TESOL Teachers at Private Language Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa was firstly to determine whether TESOL teachers working in private language schools in Johannesburg, South Africa suffered from burnout. Secondly, the aim was to discover which factors caused stress for TESOL teachers inside and outside the classroom, what support structures were available for burned out TESOL teachers and the type of coping strategies TESOL teachers used to manage burnout. Using a mixed method design which consisted of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Educators Survey and semi-structured interviews, the findings revealed that 46% of the TESOL teachers who participated in the research study were suffering from high levels of burnout. Interviews revealed three main areas that caused stress for TESOL teachers: the job of teaching, relationships at work and organisational and TESOL-related issues. These areas were divided further into various sub-themes. Furthermore, support structures for burned out TESOL teachers were generally inadequate and although TESOL teachers attempted to manage burnout by using a variety of coping strategies, these did not seem to be effective in the long-term. / English Studies / D. Lit. et Phil. (English)