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Distance
Inservice Training for Language Teachers
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It must be emphasized at
the outset that these thoughts are concerned with post-experience professional
development-that is, in-service training, rather than pre-service, or initial teacher
training. The ideas discussed below derive from programs I have run in Ministries of
Education in Europe and the Middle East, and they have proved to be effective,
practicable, and popular with the teachers.
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Rationale for distance training
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Training teachers at a
distance has superficial attractions to those who wish to carry out a financially viable
program of professional development for teachers. In the first place, in a distance
program it is not necessary to collect teachers together in one place all at the same
time, but rather it is expected that they work on their own-and usually in their own time.
This saves money on accommodation and travel, as well as any costs (e.g. for substitution)
that may be incurred in taking teachers out of their schools. Secondly, it is not
necessary to pay the costs for a trainer to be present at training sessions, nor does a
room have to be provided. Even the provision of teaching equipment (e.g. videoplayers) can
often be left to the teachers.
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However, it is unwise to
consider distance training to be a cheap alternative to more conventional programs.
Rather, distance-training may be an efficient means of achieving some training goals in
certain circumstances. For example, in many countries teachers work in schools a long way
from the capital and often remote from each other; it might be practically impossible to
get together those teachers targeted for training for conventional courses, even if time
and money were available. A distance course may be the only way to train teachers in those
parts of the country that other courses cannot reach.
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More positively, distance
training lends itself to reflective and experiential learning. By reflective is meant the
teacher's conscious harnessing of existing conceptual schemata or mental constructs to new
information. By experiential is meant a learning situation in which new knowledge can soon
be put to practical application and the results evaluated, at least tentatively.
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Furthermore, distance
training lends itself to self-pacing: the trainee learns in his or her own time, and at a
rate which broadly meets individual needs. Apart from suiting personal convenience, this
should facilitate the development of a sense of self-reliance, which itself should be an
underlying goal of any program of professional development.
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It should, however, be
noted that since teaching is above all an interpersonal activity, wherever possible some
face-to-face contact should be built into any training program. Such direct contact with
colleagues is very important, as it will facilitate the exchange of learning among peers.
The costs and benefits involved in such meetings should be carefully weighed.
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The five-stage approach,
outlined below, is suggested as the basis for a set of units, each of which would focus on
a specific didactic point. Each unit would consist of a set of printed material and
videoed lesson extracts. The range of topics that can usefully be dealt with in such units
includes:
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- beginning and ending lessons appropriately
- the purpose of revision and appropriate techniques
- presentation of items of vocabulary, grammar, etc.
- modeling and practicing pronunciation/intonation
- dealing with errors and/or correction techniques
- approaches to the teaching of specific reading or listening skills
- organizing pair or group work
- encouraging communication among learners
- making teacher-talk more effective
- considering aspects of the teacher's body language
- the analysis of effective classroom interaction
- giving practice for tests and examinations.
- The content and number of units in any program will depend,
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of course, on the
particular circumstances in which the training takes place and the purposes it is intended
to serve. However, the broad assumption is that the teachers cumulatively gain unit
credits for work done on the course.
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This outline also lends
itself to the provision of core and peripheral units, from which the teachers can make
choices according to their own perceived needs and interests.
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Starting with the teacher
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Teacher
training (as opposed perhaps to the broader concept of teacher
education) should focus its attention on classroom practice, and
should have as its primary goal the improvement of the teacher's
practical efforts to bring about effective learning on the part
of his/her students. However, this behavioral focus should not
mean that there should be a lack of theory in a training program.
Any change in professional behavior should come about as a result
of realignments in the teacher's attitude, and these changes of
attitude themselves should derive from increased professional
knowledge-otherwise, behavioral changes are either capricious
or the result of conditioning. Adding to one's professional knowledge
is not a simple matter of absorbing unrelated bits of information,
but rather of integrating new data into a coherent mental scheme.
It is in this sense that theory must play a major role in any
training course. Thus, theoretical reflection-the internalization
of relevant knowledge-may bring about changes in attitudes, which
in turn may give rise to changes in behavior. In any training
course, it may be possible to specify behavioral changes, but
it is less easy to predetermine changes in attitudes-and certainly
it is less desirable in a democratic system. Therefore, the teacher
needs to be put at the heart of the training process, and both
the trainer and the teacher need to understand that the sole agent
of effective behavioral improvement is the teacher him- herself,
and his or her attitude to any proposed change is critical.
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It is
axiomatic in any teaching situation that it is just as important
to build on the strengths of the learners as to address their
perceived needs, which are often too easily regarded as merely
weaknesses. Where teachers are being trained at a distance, particular
problems are posed in establishing these relative qualities. Much
can be done by employing appropriately-designed, introspective
questionnaires evoking the teachers' awareness, knowledge, experience,
and skills in specific areas; but these should be further explored
by interviews, preferably face-to-face but otherwise mediated
(e.g. by telephone or by correspondence).
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In addition
to these intangible strengths and weaknesses, each teacher should
be made aware of the tangible learning resources available to
him or her. For example, he/she should draw up a resource list
of all relevant books and periodicals at home, and the accessibility
of audio and video cassettes/recorders, and other technical facilities,
such as perhaps computer applications. The teacher should note
the availability of relevant mass media in the locality-radio
and TV programs, book shops, libraries, etc. It is also worth
making a note of potentially useful resource people, such as colleagues,
family members, and ex-students; these people can be very supportive
in the distant days ahead. Finally, it is a good idea to encourage
the distance trainees to consider their present lifestyle with
a view to identifying the most appropriate times to set aside
for personal study, as well as other adjustments that need to
be made. This might lead to the teachers keeping a training diary,
in which the times and topics of study are noted-including specific
points of interest or difficulty.
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It is extremely desirable,
at this early stage, to enable and encourage teachers who may follow the same distance
course to contact each other. They should be asked if they are willing to exchange
addresses and/or telephone numbers, and in the latter case to suggest optimal contact
times. It might also be appropriate to ask the trainees to indicate on the questionnaires
which specific points they would like to discuss with colleagues, and then arrange contact
times (direct, or mediated by telephone or correspondence) between or among themselves.
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While the trainer should
gain information from this process, the primary focus in this introductory phase is on the
teacher's own self-knowledge and the self-confidence this should engender. If the teacher
begins with a feeling of low esteem arising from a sense of deficit, the success of any
training program is jeopardized; this is particularly true in the case of distance
learning, where the trainee is largely on his or her own.
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As an integral part of the
above process, the teachers should be consulted about the aims, content, and methods of
the course and also how their progress through the course will be evaluated. Wherever
possible, changes should be made as a result of their suggestions, as well as making the
course more relevant to the particular teachers, thereby enhancing the validity of the
course. This positive response will increase the teachers' investment in, and commitment
to, the program. The sense of "ownership" thus developed will help to offset the
inevitable loneliness of the long-distance trainee.
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Articulating a distance training course
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Stage 1:
Orientation. For each topic there should be a set of print materials to introduce
ideas, some or many of which will be new to the teacher. The extent of this theoretical
introduction will vary according to the depth of knowledge required, the assumed or known
level of existing knowledge, considerations of the teacher's study time available and,
lastly but not least, financial constraints.
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These print materials
should be carefully designed to be attractive to read. If possible, there should be
accompanying illustrations to satisfy both didactic and aesthetic criteria.
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The printed texts should
be accompanied by short but relevant tasks to be completed before the next stage. The
purpose of these tasks is to stimulate the teacher's interest in the topic, and to
integrate the new ideas into his/her existing knowledge and awareness of problem areas and
previous experience of dealing with similar situations. When the tasks have been
completed, the teacher should insert them, together with the printed tests, in the
appropriate place in his/her course file.
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Each teacher following the
course should be encouraged to contact others to discuss and compare their responses to
the tasks.
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Stage 2: transfer.
This stage is based around a video recording, lasting perhaps ten or fifteen minutes,
containing extracts from one or more lessons. These clips would illustrate techniques
related to the topic discussed in the print materials of the previous stage. They should
be considered as mirrors of reasonable practice, rather than models for direct emulation.
With some topics-such as the specification of course objectives, lesson planning, criteria
for assessing learners' progress, and the writing and scoring of tests-this transfer stage
might be achieved via the medium of print. However, since much of the training is
concerned with classroom practice, the axiom that a picture tells a thousand words holds
good.
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The video should be
accompanied by printed tasks to be carried out by the teacher before, and while, viewing.
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Previewing
tasks should follow a brief description of the classroom context
to be viewed, and ask the teacher to make notes of what he or
she might do in the same situation, to anticipate specific difficulties
that may arise, or suggest possible solutions for them. The teacher
should be encouraged to reflect upon specific experiences with
similar situations. For example, "Note down the last time
you were in a situation like this. Make notes about what you did,
and/or why do you think the learners did." These notes should
be retained.
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While-viewing tasks
are of two sorts, and each requires a separate viewing of the extract. In other words,
each lesson extract should be seen at least twice; it is not necessary for the two
viewings to take place in the same session.
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The first viewing should
be to focus attention on what actually happens in the extract-to sharpen the teacher's
observation skills. To achieve this, the teacher should be asked to focus on one or two
specific items, and record them on a grid, table, form, etc. Thus the teacher will note
matters such as:
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- what the teacher says
- what the teacher does
- what the learners say (the whole group)
- what the learners do in the context of the specific topic under
consideration.
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It is a good idea for the
teacher to write a short summary of the observation and neatly store this report and the
accompanying raw data in the teacher's course file.
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The second type of while-viewing
task is intended to develop the teacher's critical faculties. Therefore, after further
reflection of the data gained in the observation tasks, the extract would be viewed a
second (or third) time. The tasks this time would consist typically of two or three
questions beginning with "How?" or "Why?" While watching the video,
the teacher would make brief notes, which he/she would subsequently draft into a short
lesson report, to be inserted in his or her course file. It may be pointed out that it is
not easy to make notes while viewing a video, but the teacher should be encouraged to do
so, even if it means watching the extract more than once; notes written after a lesson
tend to be less reliable than those done at the time.
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Stage 3: Activation.
In this stage, the teacher integrates the ideas generated in stages 1 and 2 by planning
classroom tasks or activities for his or her own learners. Before doing so, the teacher
would need to consider carefully whether the previously introduced ideas and the
techniques demonstrated in the video were really appropriate to his or her own teaching
situation; if so, what adaptations would need to be made. This review is particularly
relevant to the adoption of demonstrated techniques, since the circumstances of the video
lesson will be different from the teacher's, e.g. in terms of the specific content of the
lesson, the personality of the teacher, the age, number and nationality of learners, and
even perhaps the language taught.
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The plan should be based
upon what is understood to be sound professional practice within the context in which the
teacher works. In other words, the activation plan should not require a format different
from a normal lesson plan nor significantly more detail, but should rather enable the
pedagogic topic of the training unit to be put clearly in focus.
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While the transfer
and activation stages should be designed for teachers to work on their own, it is
extremely desirable for those undergoing distance training to be asked to form study
groups of two to four people. They could then work through the tasks together, pooling
their ideas, experience and skills-and discussing any difficulties that arise. If it is
not possible for them to meet, they could be asked to circulate notes among themselves. It
should be clearly acknowledged that the real expertise lies precisely among the teachers
rather than with the (distanced!) trainer. This networking of teachers is important not
only for study purposes, but also for emotional and psychological support.
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Stage 4:
Application. The teacher applies the above plan to one or more groups of his or
her own learners in the genuine learning context. This is the vital stage of the
training process, the pivot on which all else hinges; without application, there is no
training.
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The application stage
should be monitored, and this can be done in a number of ways. Perhaps the best way is for
a fellow teacher to be invited to observe (part of) a lesson and make notes based on
agreed criteria; these could be amicably discussed afterwards. (If the observer is also a
colleague in the course, skills of classroom observation and critical awareness are thus
reinforced.) However, in certain circumstances this suggestion may not be practicable or
acceptable. Alternatively, therefore, the monitoring could be done by the teacher audio
recording his/her own lesson and then analyzing (part of) it with appropriate observation
and/or evaluation criteria.
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Stage 5: Evaluation.
The application stage needs to be evaluated using appropriate criteria, and the findings
noted-perhaps in a report, or a questionnaire (self-devised?) or an entry in a training
diary. This written record should be filed with the work done during the other stages.
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The criteria used to
evaluate the application stage will vary from topic-to-topic; some will focus on the
teacher's language or activities, others on the learners. But they will also change
according to progress through the training program. Initially, it may be assumed that
teachers need simple and straightforward guidance in self-(or peer) evaluation; with
experience, they should become more technically proficient and creative. Thus the
instructions for self-evaluation should tend to be less directive and more suggestive as
the course progresses.
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The evaluation of the
application stage-although valuable as an integral element of any course of professional
development-is only one part of the evaluation process.
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Reference was made above
to the need for the trainees to maintain course files containing notes, reports, etc.,
made at the different stages in any unit. The trainees should be encouraged to supplement
these records of formal learning with notes of their emotional and psychological reactions
at the time. The importance of this written record of cognitive and affective development
cannot be overemphasized. In the first place, it is an ongoing record of the trainee's own
progress during the course that will permit a personal evaluation to be made. This is
extremely important in the absence of an on-hand trainer or course tutor to provide
immediate feedback. Such reference becomes even more valuable on those occasions when the
distance trainee is discouraged and motivation flags; confirmation of the distance already
traveled can stimulate further effort. The course files should also, of course, be useful
reference points for the teacher for a long time after the course has been completed.
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In the second place, if
the trainer wishes to monitor the trainees' progress, they could be requested to complete
and return feedback sheets or assignments after stages 2, 3, or 5. This work would be
completed by the trainee with reference to his or her own written record. Feedback of this
sort is particularly important if the trainees are to be formally assessed in terms of
achievement of specified course objectives.
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Thirdly,
the trainees' written records are vital in the evaluation of the
course itself. During the program, as well as at the end, the
trainer should seek feedback from the teachers on the extent of
the relevance and effectiveness of the materials and the modality
of training. This may be done partly by means of questionnaires,
and the teachers' written notes, neatly organized, will greatly
help them provide detailed feedback.
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The costs of distance training
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The above suggestions are
practicable: the author has developed the basic pattern over time in various contexts.
However, although effective, this approach to teacher development is not necessarily
cheap.
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Distance
training requires that most resources are needed at the front
end of the program-i.e. the setting up of the course, rather than
its ongoing operation, although the running costs should not be
discounted . It will be appreciated that the main costs of preparing
a course as outlined above do not vary with the number of people
who follow the course: the design and preparation of print and
video materials are the same for fifty or five-hundred teachers.
(The reproduction of these materials is relatively cheap.) Major
expense is incurred in the production of video materials, but
the most obvious alternative-demonstration lessons in different
training locations by the trainer or fellow trainees-is likely
to be even more expensive. Furthermore, once recorded, the materials
can be used again, and may also be reedited in a variety of ways.
Experience indicates that three or four recorded lessons can provide
clips to illustrate many different aspects of teaching. It is
possible, too, to use commercially available materials, such as
the British Council's Teaching and Learning in Focus
series, but of course permission for their use in this context
would need to be sought and probably a fee paid.
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The cost of the efficient
distribution of course materials needs to be taken into account, although in many cases
this can be done piggyback on the existing infrastructure. Where, for example, the postal
system is unreliable, materials can be sent to regional centers through regular
administrative channels, and trainees can collect them (or ask for them to be collected by
colleagues, head teachers, inspectors, etc.) on their periodic visits to the centers for
other purposes. What is fundamentally important is that the materials are received by the
trainees in good time, and that any feedback from them is promptly attended to and equally
promptly acknowledged. Nothing is more disheartening to the distance trainee than the
feeling that no one is paying attention at the other end!
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Mention has been made of
the importance of arranging face-to-face contact with, and among, trainees during the
course. It is very useful for the course organizer (as well as the course designers, if
they are not one and the same) to meet the trainees to establish and maintain personal
rapport, to explain any points of difficulty, and to receive feedback. If teachers are
also to be encouraged to meet others following the course, there needs to be appropriate
provision, and recompense (not necessarily financial), for their efforts in this area. The
cost of all such meetings has to be calculated, monitored and, if possible, measured in
terms of their effectiveness.
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The evaluation
of distance training will incur similar costs to other training
programs, but the reliability of evaluation at a distance
has to be carefully considered. If, for example, the trainees'
evaluation of the course can only be achieved by the completion
of a questionnaire, much care needs to be put into the formulation
of questions, and the quantity and quality of the responses carefully
weighed. Furthermore, if it is deemed necessary for trainees to
undertake formal tests or examinations-and this may be unavoidable-it
is unlikely that this can be done at a distance. The cost implications
of these points need to be weighed.
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By using the ideas
suggested above the author has found that some important areas of professional development
can be undertaken at a distance quite cost-effectively. When planning any distance course,
it is necessary to place the teachers concerned at the forefront with the understanding
that they themselves are the sole agents of whatever changes in classroom performance may
result. The teachers themselves need to be sensitized to the demands and opportunities
that training at a distance involves, and the many resources that they can bring to the
program. The materials and procedures need to be tailored to the teachers' strengths and
needs, and wherever possible modified in response to feedback about particular
circumstances. This requires caring and prompt attention throughout the course. Finally,
the organization responsible for training teachers at a distance needs to be constantly
aware of the heavy investment of time, effort and emotion that is made by the distance
trainee.
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Roger C. G. Barnard is a 20-year veteran of EFL teaching,
training, and management. While in Oman he he designed and implemented a national program
for ELTs. He is presently in the UK researching EFL classroom interaction. |
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