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There is scant research on preservice English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D) teachers’ paired practicums in an online context. Underpinned by Cultural Historical Activity Theory, this paper explores how preservice EAL/D teachers exercise their relational agency during online paired practicums. Data were collected from five preservice EAL/D teachers’ weekly journals written during their paired practicums and interviews after they completed their paired practicums. Following the key components of relational agency, the thematic analysis highlights the dialectical relationship between preservice teachers’ relational agency and different types of collaboration, evidenced by the formation of mutual objects, tool mediation, and shared expertise. This paper provides new insight into how preservice teachers’ knowledge, especially related to the affordances of technology, may be expanded and mediated by collaboration.

This study aims to investigate how pre-service EFL teachers’ individual innovativeness levels affect their TPACK development during an educational technology course. Employing a quasi-experimental research design, the participants were 59 pre-service EFL teachers. The course followed the Diffusion of Innovation Theory steps. Analyzing the data, TPACK and individual innovativeness scales were implemented as pre- and post-tests. The results showed a significant increase in participants' TPACK, while their individual innovativeness did not exhibit a significant change during the course. Although there was a notable difference in pre-service teachers' initial TPACK levels based on their innovativeness, this difference was no longer significant in the end. Education for TPACK development is critical in bridging the initial knowledge gap arising from differing innovativeness levels.

International literature highlights that a perennial challenge for initial teacher educators is to guide Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between theory and practice. Whilst there is a growing body of research that examines the relationship and/or the gap between theory and practice in teacher education, there remains a paucity of research that examines this phenomenon in the teaching of English and literacy units in higher education. This pilot study examined how PSTs from two Australian universities made connections and/or links (nexus) between their academic knowledge (theory) and professional experience (praxis) for the teaching of English and literacy in the early years (birth to eight years of age). This article reports on the study’s findings and offers propositions for future and ongoing research in this field.

This study intended to investigate pre-service teachers' and teacher educators' perceptions of technological pedagogical knowledge and professional identity development. The research was conducted with 152 English Language Teaching (ELT) pre-service teachers and 73 teacher educators from various universities in Iraqi Kurdistan. Using a mixed-method, the data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews as well as a Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge survey questionnaire. Thematic analysis and SPSS 24 were employed for analyzing the interview responses and survey data, respectively. From this data, both pre-service teachers and teacher educators perceived a high rate of proficiency in their pedagogical content knowledge as well as familiarity with simple traditional technologies, while they lacked some knowledge of professional technologies. Participants also mostly agreed that pedagogical technologies are effective and affect their professional identity development. However, there were a few participants who believed these technologies were not more effective for their teaching practice and professional identity development. The implications of the study are stated, and some suggestions for further studies in this regard are provided.

The goal of the current study was to ascertain pre-service English language teachers’ impressions of the impact of thematic speaking tasks on the development of their intercultural competence in an online Spoken English course. Moreover, the effect of certain demographic variables on pre-service teachers’ cultural intelligence (CQ) was also investigated. The findings revealed a significant difference between the CQ of students with and without overseas experience. Pre-service teachers who could speak languages other than their mother tongue and English had significantly higher CQ scores than students who could not speak other languages. However, there was not a significant difference between males' and females’ overall CQ. The results showed an increase in CQ scores when the pre- and post-questionnaire averages were compared, but it was not statistically significant. Semi-structured interviews revealed speaking tasks were effective in exposing pre-service teachers to various cultural perspectives, practices, and products.

Pre-service teachers (PSTs) need sound Knowledge About Language (KAL), both for their own professional communication and for their teaching practice. In the longer term, enhanced KAL will benefit our graduates in their implementation of the Australian Curriculum. This paper reports on work with First Year PSTs at one Australian university. We present an analysis of students’ response to an intervention designed to develop their KAL, focusing on Phonological Awareness (PA) and phonics. While the designed resources were introduced and discussed in class, students mainly accessed them online afterwards. Student achievement was measured by online testing, and attitudes were obtained from unit evaluation instruments and a survey. We present results documenting their knowledge before and after the intervention, and their attitude toward the content. Most students demonstrated improved confidence and increased knowledge in particular areas post intervention. Nevertheless, their ability to apply their knowledge lagged behind their ability to give definitions.

Seeing the significance of exploring associate teachers’ views about teaching practicum, this qualitative case study aims to seek answers to the questions of what the self-perceived roles of four Turkish associate teachers in teaching practicum are and what their perceptions concerning the adequacy of the length of teaching practicum in Turkey are. Additionally, the present research targets finding answers to the questions of whether teaching practicum contributed to the professional development of the last trainee teachers the associate teachers have mentored and if mentoring fosters their own professional development. The results indicated they considered offering professional and emotional support to trainee teachers as their pivotal roles in teaching practicum and the length of teaching practicum as insufficient. The findings also demonstrated that the associate teachers believed teaching practicum substantially contributed to the professional development of the last trainee teachers they had mentored and mentoring enhanced their own professional development.

For teachers, storytelling is a way of making sense of everyday pedagogical practices and connecting with colleagues. In this paper, we explore how storytelling contributed to a collaborative culture indicative of our professional journey as four teacher educators. We examine six online weekly Zoom conversations we participated in as a teaching group to share our pedagogical ideas for enhancing an English education unit of work. During this storytelling, we discussed how we engaged with the teaching of, teaching about and teaching through the teaching and learning curriculum cycle to a first-year cohort of preservice teachers (PSTs). Importantly, we deliberated on how we could make our pedagogical decision-making visible to PSTs, illustrating the importance of teacher collaborative storytelling. We contend that by creating time and an online space for us as teacher educators to share, consider, evaluate and think collectively about pedagogical practices we not only developed a better understanding of our subject area but provided a collaborative professional learning model to our PSTs. We hope that other English teachers may read a little of their own professional journeys in our storytelling and be encouraged to engage with a professional collaborative dialogic space. This paper does not purport to suggest that this is the only way to teach English education to PSTs. Rather, it is about making visible who we are as learners and our practice as teacher educators and storytellers.

With the sudden transition to online instruction in most educational institutions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be assumed that there is paucity in research as regards the teaching of writing online during this crisis moment. To address this niche, 13 Filipino university English language teachers were asked to participate in both online semi-structured and follow-up email interviews to describe their experiences in teaching writing online during the pandemic, particularly the challenges they faced, their coping strategies to address these challenges, and the opportunities in online teaching they valued. The interview responses revealed three major challenges in teaching writing online: technological concerns and equity issues, vague response of schools to emergency remote teaching, and problems in assessment. Three key strategies to cope with these challenges were found: flexibility in communicating with students and in accommodating their concerns, initiatives for professional development, and gaining support from colleagues and students. Despite the challenges of online instruction, two opportunities for development in online writing instruction were identified: optimizing the use of online-teaching platforms and resources, and enhancing one’s reflective practice. Implications for teaching writing online in particular and for online learning and teacher education in general are discussed in the paper.

Children’s literature is ubiquitous in Australian classrooms with picture books playing a particularly important role in early childhood classrooms. Teachers use children’s literature to teach early literacy concepts including vocabulary and to help children learn about the world and their identity. Historically, the majority of children’s literature has featured White characters and perspectives, excluding many children from seeing themselves and their lives reflected in books. The aim of this study was to explore how an assessment task that asked preservice teachers (PSTs) to select an underrepresented aspect of children’s literature, locate books on that topic, and reflect upon their own reading experiences as a child, could change their attitudes towards future classroom practice. Reflections from 40 PSTs revealed that many PSTs had not previously considered the experiences of children whose lives were not mirrored in books, the need for authentic texts written by people who identified as members of diverse groups, or the importance of diversity in children’s literature. Recommendations for teacher education programs in increasingly multicultural Australia are discussed.

Pre-service teachers (PSTs) need sound Knowledge About Language (KAL), both for their own professional communication and for their teaching practice. In the longer term, enhanced KAL will benefit our graduates in their implementation of the Australian Curriculum. This paper reports on work with First Year PSTs at one Australian university. We present an analysis of students’ response to an intervention designed to develop their KAL, focusing on Phonological Awareness (PA) and phonics. While the designed resources were introduced and discussed in class, students mainly accessed them online afterwards. Student achievement was measured by online testing, and attitudes were obtained from unit evaluation instruments and a survey. We present results documenting their knowledge before and after the intervention, and their attitude toward the content. Most students demonstrated improved confidence and increased knowledge in particular areas post intervention. Nevertheless, their ability to apply their knowledge lagged behind their ability to give definitions.

With the sudden transition to online instruction in most educational institutions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be assumed that there is paucity in research as regards the teaching of writing online during this crisis moment. To address this niche, 13 Filipino university English language teachers were asked to participate in both online semi-structured and follow-up email interviews to describe their experiences in teaching writing online during the pandemic, particularly the challenges they faced, their coping strategies to address these challenges, and the opportunities in online teaching they valued. The interview responses revealed three major challenges in teaching writing online: technological concerns and equity issues, vague response of schools to emergency remote teaching, and problems in assessment. Three key strategies to cope with these challenges were found: flexibility in communicating with students and in accommodating their concerns, initiatives for professional development, and gaining support from colleagues and students. Despite the challenges of online instruction, two opportunities for development in online writing instruction were identified: optimizing the use of online-teaching platforms and resources, and enhancing one’s reflective practice. Implications for teaching writing online in particular and for online learning and teacher education in general are discussed in the paper.

Seeing the significance of exploring associate teachers’ views about teaching practicum, this qualitative case study aims to seek answers to the questions of what the self-perceived roles of four Turkish associate teachers in teaching practicum are and what their perceptions concerning the adequacy of the length of teaching practicum in Turkey are. Additionally, the present research targets finding answers to the questions of whether teaching practicum contributed to the professional development of the last trainee teachers the associate teachers have mentored and if mentoring fosters their own professional development. The results indicated they considered offering professional and emotional support to trainee teachers as their pivotal roles in teaching practicum and the length of teaching practicum as insufficient. The findings also demonstrated that the associate teachers believed teaching practicum substantially contributed to the professional development of the last trainee teachers they had mentored and mentoring enhanced their own professional development.

For teachers, storytelling is a way of making sense of everyday pedagogical practices and connecting with colleagues. In this paper, we explore how storytelling contributed to a collaborative culture indicative of our professional journey as four teacher educators. We examine six online weekly Zoom conversations we participated in as a teaching group to share our pedagogical ideas for enhancing an English education unit of work. During this storytelling, we discussed how we engaged with the teaching of, teaching about and teaching through the teaching and learning curriculum cycle to a first-year cohort of preservice teachers (PSTs). Importantly, we deliberated on how we could make our pedagogical decision-making visible to PSTs, illustrating the importance of teacher collaborative storytelling. We contend that by creating time and an online space for us as teacher educators to share, consider, evaluate and think collectively about pedagogical practices we not only developed a better understanding of our subject area but provided a collaborative professional learning model to our PSTs. We hope that other English teachers may read a little of their own professional journeys in our storytelling and be encouraged to engage with a professional collaborative dialogic space. This paper does not purport to suggest that this is the only way to teach English education to PSTs. Rather, it is about making visible who we are as learners and our practice as teacher educators and storytellers.

This study examined the effectiveness of written corrective and the role of individual differences (ID) in the uptake of the feedback. Data was taken from a nine-week, English as a foreign language (EFL) writing course from 101 intermediate (n=101) students at a private university in Kobe, Japan. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, quantitative data was first collected concerning writing errors, followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews. Three classes were placed into either two treatment groups (direct and indirect) or a control group, and completed four writing tasks (pre-test, post-test and two delayed post-tests). The study found the two treatment groups showed significant improvements on local and global errors, whereas the control group did not. Additionally, the qualitative component elicited the influence of affective factors. The study adds to the body of literature addressing the impact of written corrective feedback, specifically on students’ self-editing strategies.

This paper reports the uses and practices of literacy in English of primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. Data was gathered from two children, their parents and the English subject teacher. The results reveal four major findings. First, the results reveal that the students’ experience with out-of-school literacies in English were largely afforded by new technologies Second, popular culture played a considerable role in the students’ out-of-school lives. Third, the students’ engagement with out-of-school texts was influenced by cultural artefacts and social discourses, and fourth, there were also complementing and contrasting literacy practices reflected in both environments. This paper argues that awareness of the students’ uses and practices of English as they participated in different communities may enable teachers to incorporate aspects of out-of-school literacy into the school to facilitate the students’ learning. Additionally, it may also help teachers prepare the students to face the growing challenges of using English in the 21st century.

This paper reports on the relationship between language teacher practices and their collaborations with other teachers through professional development. The paper argues that there is a link between the disposition to use evidence-based practices in language teaching, and ongoing reinforcement of such practices through dialogic exchange in professional practice sessions. Furthermore, the paper understands the learning and development of such disposition as a career-long endeavour, first encountered in quality teacher education programs and then continued by committing to ongoing professional development. Survey data were collected from a group of language teachers from various second languages in primary and secondary schools in [state removed], Australia after they had participated in a workshop on language teaching methodology. The teachers reported extensive use of evidence-based language learning strategies in their classrooms. The paper argues that this disposition is grounded in the ongoing commitment of these teachers to stay in dialogic exchange with colleagues during professional development.

This paper reports on a study of the children’s book preferences of 82 Preservice teachers (PSTs) at one Western Australian University. The study found PSTs preferred older books published during their own childhood or earlier. Further, representation of people of colour was limited to only 8 of 177 titles listed by PSTs. Key influences on their preferences were their personal favourite books and those used by mentor teachers during practicum experience. The outcomes of this study have implications for curriculum development and implementation of Initial Teacher Education courses, and in turn, for equitable outcomes of the future students of PSTs.

Many schools in Victoria, Australia, are multicultural, with students coming from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Content area teachers often educate EAL students in their classrooms, even though they may not have specialised EAL teaching qualifications. This paper presents the experiences of primary and secondary teachers working in multicultural schools in Victoria. It explores the way in which teachers meet the needs of EAL students in their classrooms, and the support that is available to assist them to do so. This paper reports that teaching practice, school leadership, professional learning, and identity, influence the way in which teachers educate EAL students. However, this paper reveals that teachers require more support to assist them with educating EAL students. The most beneficial forms of support are professional learning, collaboration between staff, and understanding different cultures. This paper also argues that experienced teachers require relevant ongoing professional learning throughout their careers.

English as a foreign language (EFL) literacy is necessary for the career success of non-English speaking students. Many students lack adequate EFL literacy skills which may indicate a gap between EFL literacy instruction theory and practice. Teachers’ self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach reading and writing, years of teaching experience, and/or native language may influence their selection of components for EFL literacy instruction. This study examines these components as they are perceived by teachers. One hundred and sixty-seven Israeli EFL elementary school teachers completed online questionnaires. Findings showed a weak correlation between teachers’ self-efficacy and their instructional approach. Teaching experience and teachers’ native language did not influence their selection of EFL literacy instructional components or their sense of self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach reading and writing. Providing theoretical knowledge in teacher education to all types of EFL teachers may lead to more effective literacy instruction.

Early childhood teachers are well-positioned to maximise preschoolers’ development in oral language and emergent literacy; both of which are vital predictors of academic success at school. Research investigating their pre-service training in language and emergent literacy remains limited. This issue is addressed in the present study, with the first nation-wide review of the oral language and emergent literacy course content across all 84 Australian early childhood teacher pre-service courses. Qualitative Content Analysis was employed to gain an overview of language and emergent literacy teaching content reported in publicly available course documents. Study findings demonstrated large variation in the oral language and emergent literacy course content reported. The results showed that course content on the structure of language and code-related skills including phonological awareness and concepts of print, do not feature prominently across pre-service course documents. Further, course content on evidence-based strategies to foster children’s oral language and emergent literacy development, such as dialogic book reading, and intentional adult-child interactions were also limited. Findings are discussed with respect to their implications for preparing early childhood teachers to support the oral language and emergent literacy growth of preschoolers

Early childhood teachers are well-positioned to maximise preschoolers’ development in oral language and emergent literacy; both of which are vital predictors of academic success at school. Research investigating their pre-service training in language and emergent literacy remains limited. This issue is addressed in the present study, with the first nation-wide review of the oral language and emergent literacy course content across all 84 Australian early childhood teacher pre-service courses. Qualitative Content Analysis was employed to gain an overview of language and emergent literacy teaching content reported in publicly available course documents. Study findings demonstrated large variation in the oral language and emergent literacy course content reported. The results showed that course content on the structure of language and code-related skills including phonological awareness and concepts of print, do not feature prominently across pre-service course documents. Further, course content on evidence-based strategies to foster children’s oral language and emergent literacy development, such as dialogic book reading, and intentional adult-child interactions were also limited. Findings are discussed with respect to their implications for preparing early childhood teachers to support the oral language and emergent literacy growth of preschoolers

This study examined the effectiveness of written corrective and the role of individual differences (ID) in the uptake of the feedback. Data was taken from a nine-week, English as a foreign language (EFL) writing course from 101 intermediate (n=101) students at a private university in Kobe, Japan. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, quantitative data was first collected concerning writing errors, followed by qualitative semi-structured interviews. Three classes were placed into either two treatment groups (direct and indirect) or a control group, and completed four writing tasks (pre-test, post-test and two delayed post-tests). The study found the two treatment groups showed significant improvements on local and global errors, whereas the control group did not. Additionally, the qualitative component elicited the influence of affective factors. The study adds to the body of literature addressing the impact of written corrective feedback, specifically on students’ self-editing strategies.

This paper reports the uses and practices of literacy in English of primary schoolchildren in Malaysia. Data was gathered from two children, their parents and the English subject teacher. The results reveal four major findings. First, the results reveal that the students’ experience with out-of-school literacies in English were largely afforded by new technologies Second, popular culture played a considerable role in the students’ out-of-school lives. Third, the students’ engagement with out-of-school texts was influenced by cultural artefacts and social discourses, and fourth, there were also complementing and contrasting literacy practices reflected in both environments. This paper argues that awareness of the students’ uses and practices of English as they participated in different communities may enable teachers to incorporate aspects of out-of-school literacy into the school to facilitate the students’ learning. Additionally, it may also help teachers prepare the students to face the growing challenges of using English in the 21st century.

This paper reports on a study of the children’s book preferences of 82 Preservice teachers (PSTs) at one Western Australian University. The study found PSTs preferred older books published during their own childhood or earlier. Further, representation of people of colour was limited to only 8 of 177 titles listed by PSTs. Key influences on their preferences were their personal favourite books and those used by mentor teachers during practicum experience. The outcomes of this study have implications for curriculum development and implementation of Initial Teacher Education courses, and in turn, for equitable outcomes of the future students of PSTs.

English as a foreign language (EFL) literacy is necessary for the career success of non-English speaking students. Many students lack adequate EFL literacy skills which may indicate a gap between EFL literacy instruction theory and practice. Teachers’ self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach reading and writing, years of teaching experience, and/or native language may influence their selection of components for EFL literacy instruction. This study examines these components as they are perceived by teachers. One hundred and sixty-seven Israeli EFL elementary school teachers completed online questionnaires. Findings showed a weak correlation between teachers’ self-efficacy and their instructional approach. Teaching experience and teachers’ native language did not influence their selection of EFL literacy instructional components or their sense of self-efficacy regarding their ability to teach reading and writing. Providing theoretical knowledge in teacher education to all types of EFL teachers may lead to more effective literacy instruction.

This paper reports on the relationship between language teacher practices and their collaborations with other teachers through professional development. The paper argues that there is a link between the disposition to use evidence-based practices in language teaching, and ongoing reinforcement of such practices through dialogic exchange in professional practice sessions. Furthermore, the paper understands the learning and development of such disposition as a career-long endeavour, first encountered in quality teacher education programs and then continued by committing to ongoing professional development. Survey data were collected from a group of language teachers from various second languages in primary and secondary schools in [state removed], Australia after they had participated in a workshop on language teaching methodology. The teachers reported extensive use of evidence-based language learning strategies in their classrooms. The paper argues that this disposition is grounded in the ongoing commitment of these teachers to stay in dialogic exchange with colleagues during professional development.

Many schools in Victoria, Australia, are multicultural, with students coming from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Content area teachers often educate EAL students in their classrooms, even though they may not have specialised EAL teaching qualifications. This paper presents the experiences of primary and secondary teachers working in multicultural schools in Victoria. It explores the way in which teachers meet the needs of EAL students in their classrooms, and the support that is available to assist them to do so. This paper reports that teaching practice, school leadership, professional learning, and identity, influence the way in which teachers educate EAL students. However, this paper reveals that teachers require more support to assist them with educating EAL students. The most beneficial forms of support are professional learning, collaboration between staff, and understanding different cultures. This paper also argues that experienced teachers require relevant ongoing professional learning throughout their careers.

This paper addresses a gap in research regarding the efficacy of software programs to help children with reading difficulties. Forty-two children aged 5-13 years identified as poor readers participated in a study over twelve weeks using ReadingDoctor, a software program targeting phonemic awareness, orthographic-phonemic mappings, decoding ability and sight word recognition. Measures were taken using the Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test - Revised (SPAT-R), the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE), and the graphemes and decoding subtests of the Phonological Awareness Test 2 (PAT-2). A quasi-experimental one group study with three multiple baseline measures was used. The dependent variables/measures were assessed seven times over a period of 32 weeks, allowing the research to be completed in the school-allocated timeframe. Significant improvements were found on all three measures of phonological/phonemic awareness and word-reading efficiency. These improvements were maintained when assessed three months later, during which time the software program was not used.

Given the paucity of studies regarding research practices of teachers, particularly English language teaching (ELT) practitioners in the ASEAN region and in the Philippines, this study explores the research practices of English language teachers in the Philippines. Using purposive-convenience sampling, a total of 49 teachers of English from a Philippine university were asked to answer a survey. To validate the data, pertinent public university documents were examined, and interviews with the university research heads were conducted. Findings suggest that the teachers were cognizant of the link between teaching and their own and their schools’ research practices. This research also reports the teachers’ positive perception towards research, and high receptivity to and interest in it. However, such research engagement was somehow constrained by factors such as crowded teaching timetables or heavy workload, lack of funding or financial support, difficulty in understanding (e.g., the language) published research, and the challenge of contextualising research findings for classroom use. This paper concludes with a note on how a conducive research climate in a school is a requisite in cultivating teachers’ interest in research.

Literacy today relies on a readers’ ability to analyse text critically. This case study investigated preservice teachers’ critical analysis of media text containing visuals and representations. In particular, the analysis focused on mathematical factors that impact on readers’ interpretation of diverse visuals. Data was gathered from the 23 preservice teachers, enrolled in the Graduate Diploma program at one Australian university. They participated in a series of mathematics learning sessions focused on the critical analysis of a selection of media items. The paper argues that the ability to critically analyse graphs and visuals relies on mathematical knowledge and that the ability to critically analyse such representations is a necessary component of mathematical literacy and everyday literacy. Mathematics teachers require well-developed critical analysis competencies to enable them, and ultimately their students, to critically analyse representations in everyday text. The paper illustrates that drawing on diverse visuals from the media can be productively used to develop critical analysis competencies.

This paper considers aspects of a course redesign that focuses on motivating Pre-service Teachers to engage in negotiating relevant literacy teaching pedagogies in their discipline. The purpose of this article is to describe how we approached the teaching of literacy with Pre-service Teachers, in ways that valued the Pre-service Teachers’ relationships with secondary students using notes of gratitude. These notes provided the Pre-service Teachers with an opportunity to communicate in plain language to the students what they learnt from them about literacy pedagogy. The shift from the focus on the subject matter of literacy to the enactment of literacy teaching and learning through valued pre-service teacher and student relationships shifted the tenor of the course. Our conclusion emphasises how this innovation in assessment enabled us to emphasise the importance of relationality in teaching and to uphold ideals of social inclusion of school students and the professional growth of Pre-service Teachers.

Teaching spelling is controversial because teaching approaches vary considerably in the contemporary classroom. Teachers may privilege visual over linguistic strategies, select words based around themes or let students choose spelling words, rather than focus on the explicit teaching of phono-morphological structures of words. A nine-week intervention spelling project that included the phono-morphological structure of words and contextualised sentence dictation was designed to support Year 2 students in a NSW school and is described here. The intervention aimed to support all students including those with learning difficulties and an English as an Additional Language (EALD) background, within a mainstream setting. The high-impact instruction was cumulative in design; it provided simple to more difficult target spellings; massed practice during instruction; distributed practice during generalisation; editing and dictation tasks; and continuous formative and summative assessment. Post-sentence dictation results showed that the students who received the intervention had improvements with modest to strong effect sizes.

Teaching spelling is controversial because teaching approaches vary considerably in the contemporary classroom. Teachers may privilege visual over linguistic strategies, select words based around themes or let students choose spelling words, rather than focus on the explicit teaching of phono-morphological structures of words. A nine-week intervention spelling project that included the phono-morphological structure of words and contextualised sentence dictation was designed to support Year 2 students in a NSW school and is described here. The intervention aimed to support all students including those with learning difficulties and an English as an Additional Language (EALD) background, within a mainstream setting. The high-impact instruction was cumulative in design; it provided simple to more difficult target spellings; massed practice during instruction; distributed practice during generalisation; editing and dictation tasks; and continuous formative and summative assessment. Post-sentence dictation results showed that the students who received the intervention had improvements with modest to strong effect sizes.

This paper considers aspects of a course redesign that focuses on motivating Pre-service Teachers to engage in negotiating relevant literacy teaching pedagogies in their discipline. The purpose of this article is to describe how we approached the teaching of literacy with Pre-service Teachers, in ways that valued the Pre-service Teachers’ relationships with secondary students using notes of gratitude. These notes provided the Pre-service Teachers with an opportunity to communicate in plain language to the students what they learnt from them about literacy pedagogy. The shift from the focus on the subject matter of literacy to the enactment of literacy teaching and learning through valued pre-service teacher and student relationships shifted the tenor of the course. Our conclusion emphasises how this innovation in assessment enabled us to emphasise the importance of relationality in teaching and to uphold ideals of social inclusion of school students and the professional growth of Pre-service Teachers.

Literacy today relies on a readers’ ability to analyse text critically. This case study investigated preservice teachers’ critical analysis of media text containing visuals and representations. In particular, the analysis focused on mathematical factors that impact on readers’ interpretation of diverse visuals. Data was gathered from the 23 preservice teachers, enrolled in the Graduate Diploma program at one Australian university. They participated in a series of mathematics learning sessions focused on the critical analysis of a selection of media items. The paper argues that the ability to critically analyse graphs and visuals relies on mathematical knowledge and that the ability to critically analyse such representations is a necessary component of mathematical literacy and everyday literacy. Mathematics teachers require well-developed critical analysis competencies to enable them, and ultimately their students, to critically analyse representations in everyday text. The paper illustrates that drawing on diverse visuals from the media can be productively used to develop critical analysis competencies.

This paper addresses a gap in research regarding the efficacy of software programs to help children with reading difficulties. Forty-two children aged 5-13 years identified as poor readers participated in a study over twelve weeks using ReadingDoctor, a software program targeting phonemic awareness, orthographic-phonemic mappings, decoding ability and sight word recognition. Measures were taken using the Sutherland Phonological Awareness Test - Revised (SPAT-R), the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE), and the graphemes and decoding subtests of the Phonological Awareness Test 2 (PAT-2). A quasi-experimental one group study with three multiple baseline measures was used. The dependent variables/measures were assessed seven times over a period of 32 weeks, allowing the research to be completed in the school-allocated timeframe. Significant improvements were found on all three measures of phonological/phonemic awareness and word-reading efficiency. These improvements were maintained when assessed three months later, during which time the software program was not used.

Given the paucity of studies regarding research practices of teachers, particularly English language teaching (ELT) practitioners in the ASEAN region and in the Philippines, this study explores the research practices of English language teachers in the Philippines. Using purposive-convenience sampling, a total of 49 teachers of English from a Philippine university were asked to answer a survey. To validate the data, pertinent public university documents were examined, and interviews with the university research heads were conducted. Findings suggest that the teachers were cognizant of the link between teaching and their own and their schools’ research practices. This research also reports the teachers’ positive perception towards research, and high receptivity to and interest in it. However, such research engagement was somehow constrained by factors such as crowded teaching timetables or heavy workload, lack of funding or financial support, difficulty in understanding (e.g., the language) published research, and the challenge of contextualising research findings for classroom use. This paper concludes with a note on how a conducive research climate in a school is a requisite in cultivating teachers’ interest in research.

This paper is based on a qualitative study examining multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996, 2000) and inclusivity. Underpinned by a socio-cultural approach, the study examined ways to facilitate meaningful literacy learning for students experiencing challenges in print-based, classroom activities. Key to this research was an analysis of how scaffolding was used to bridge home and school communities. This paper focuses on one of the study’s students, Hannah, who exhibited extensive engagement with multiliteracies at home - driven through the Arts (e.g. graphic design, singing and music). In contrast, Hannah’s literacy experiences in the classroom were, at times, challenging and considerably different to those with which she engaged at home. Featuring iMovies and audiobooks, a multimodal literacy program connected the home and classroom, facilitating Hannah’s exploration of multimodality. Findings call for open-ended, flexible approaches to literacy education and a reinvigoration of initial teacher programs, to support diversity and inclusion in literacy education.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether intentional vocabulary learning, incidental vocabulary learning, or a combination of the two best prepares students for learning and retaining vocabulary in English as foreign language learning (EFL) classrooms. Three experimental groups and three control groups were selected. All groups were given a pre-test and an immediate post-test after the instruction. A delayed post-test was administered to the experimental groups after the immediate post-test. The three experimental groups received the intervention—intentional, incidental, or a combination—while the three control groups received no vocabulary learning instruction. The results show that the mixed instructed group outperformed the other two groups and retained the vocabulary longer than the other groups. Incidental vocabulary learning placed second and intentional vocabulary learning placed third.

This paper gives a brief summary of Halliday’s theory of how children learn to talk, illustrating the development of children’s language from the microfunctions through the macrofunctions and into the metafunctions of adult language. The paper points to a possible source of the misinterpretation of Halliday’s theory in the work of Frank Smith (1983), which appears to have “trickled down” into some of the textbooks written for pre-service teachers in Australia. Links are made to teachers’ knowledge about language (KAL) and the current Australian Curriculum English (ACE). It is suggested that while any number of functions of the language of school-aged children may be described, it is perhaps misleading to refer to the microfunctions as “Halliday’s functions”.

Short-term international experiential learning opportunities can foster language teachers' multidimensional development. Even though such experiences are considered beneficial for language teachers’ development, educational reviews have scarcely concentrated on a comprehensive synthesis of the impact of such experiences on language teachers. This meta-synthesis of qualitative research analyzed the role of international experiential learning in the multidimensional development of pre- and in-service language teachers. Besides presenting a number of research patterns in the literature, this synthesis of 25 qualitative studies reported main outcomes of short-term international experiences for language teachers. These outcomes were synthesized under three main headings: (1) professional, (2) linguistic, and (3) intercultural. Based on this analysis, further research and practice directions regarding international language teacher education emerged. These emerging research agendas concentrated on the critical role of peer circles, host communities, program types and structures, preparation and post-program components, and guidance and supervision.

The paper explores and describes the kinds of learning attained by a group of Hong Kong preservice teachers who worked collaboratively to develop online grammar teaching resources for school teachers worldwide. Based on the quantitative and qualitative data collected during the ongoing collaboration, lesson tryouts, and post-project evaluation, the project results reflect the value of experiential learning in preservice teacher education. The themes that detail the student teachers’ experiences include textbook evaluation, professional knowledge, core competencies of teachers, and understanding of English language teaching outside the Hong Kong context.

This paper explores the issue of metalanguage and writing instruction in the senior secondary curriculum. It reports on the use of a design based research collaboration between a very experienced teacher of Ancient History and a research team with the aim of improving literacy outcomes for a group of disadvantaged students. The case highlights some of the challenges implicated in this close work between educational linguistic theorists as language specialists and classroom practitioners as subject specialists. In particular, it raises the issue of how to provide already experienced teachers with a metalanguage to express their implicit knowledge about text more effectively in the classroom. It demonstrates both the struggles involved and the positive impact of making texts more visible, and reveals the benefits of a focus on explicit teaching of writing. It also raises some implications for future in- and pre-service teacher education.

The objective of this study was to investigate how integrated content and language instruction, where English is used as the medium of instruction in teaching Mathematics and Science was viewed by the lecturers of the content subjects. The study also examined whether or not it had impacts on the lecturers classroom instructional practices. Cummins’ (1981, 1984) Content Based Instruction approach was used as the framework for the study. This study employed a mixed methods approach combining interview, classroom observation, and a survey questionnaire. Twelve lecturers participated in interviews; twenty responded to a survey questionnaire, and four participated in classroom observations. Findings of the study revealed that most lecturers viewed positively the integrated content and language instruction. This view had impacts on their classroom practices where modifications were made in order to accommodate the implementation of the policy. This study provides information for policy makers, teacher educators, and content teachers to understand how the policy is articulated and how it is implemented in the Indonesian teaching context.

The introduction of the Literature strand within the Australian Curriculum requires all teachers to engage students in print and digital literature that embrace the cross-curriculum priorities and support students to examine, evaluate, and discuss literary texts. However, such curriculum change assumes that primary school teachers who have often not studied literature as a specific method, have the confidence and content and pedagogical knowledge to plan and implement programs. This paper investigates teachers’ views of their level of confidence and preparedness to teach literature, and to explore teachers’ practices, challenges and enablers in teaching literature in both print and digital environments. Results show that this group of 321 primary school teachers reported varying levels of confidence, knowledge and practices, and offers new insights into complex challenges they’ve experienced when interpreting and enacting the literature curriculum. Findings suggest the critical need for professional learning and discuss the implications for initial-teacher education programs.

This paper gives a brief summary of Halliday’s theory of how children learn to talk, illustrating the development of children’s language from the microfunctions through the macrofunctions and into the metafunctions of adult language. The paper points to a possible source of the misinterpretation of Halliday’s theory in the work of Frank Smith (1983), which appears to have “trickled down” into some of the textbooks written for pre-service teachers in Australia. Links are made to teachers’ knowledge about language (KAL) and the current Australian Curriculum English (ACE). It is suggested that while any number of functions of the language of school-aged children may be described, it is perhaps misleading to refer to the microfunctions as “Halliday’s functions”.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether intentional vocabulary learning, incidental vocabulary learning, or a combination of the two best prepares students for learning and retaining vocabulary in English as foreign language learning (EFL) classrooms. Three experimental groups and three control groups were selected. All groups were given a pre-test and an immediate post-test after the instruction. A delayed post-test was administered to the experimental groups after the immediate post-test. The three experimental groups received the intervention—intentional, incidental, or a combination—while the three control groups received no vocabulary learning instruction. The results show that the mixed instructed group outperformed the other two groups and retained the vocabulary longer than the other groups. Incidental vocabulary learning placed second and intentional vocabulary learning placed third.

This paper is based on a qualitative study examining multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996, 2000) and inclusivity. Underpinned by a socio-cultural approach, the study examined ways to facilitate meaningful literacy learning for students experiencing challenges in print-based, classroom activities. Key to this research was an analysis of how scaffolding was used to bridge home and school communities. This paper focuses on one of the study’s students, Hannah, who exhibited extensive engagement with multiliteracies at home - driven through the Arts (e.g. graphic design, singing and music). In contrast, Hannah’s literacy experiences in the classroom were, at times, challenging and considerably different to those with which she engaged at home. Featuring iMovies and audiobooks, a multimodal literacy program connected the home and classroom, facilitating Hannah’s exploration of multimodality. Findings call for open-ended, flexible approaches to literacy education and a reinvigoration of initial teacher programs, to support diversity and inclusion in literacy education.

Short-term international experiential learning opportunities can foster language teachers' multidimensional development. Even though such experiences are considered beneficial for language teachers’ development, educational reviews have scarcely concentrated on a comprehensive synthesis of the impact of such experiences on language teachers. This meta-synthesis of qualitative research analyzed the role of international experiential learning in the multidimensional development of pre- and in-service language teachers. Besides presenting a number of research patterns in the literature, this synthesis of 25 qualitative studies reported main outcomes of short-term international experiences for language teachers. These outcomes were synthesized under three main headings: (1) professional, (2) linguistic, and (3) intercultural. Based on this analysis, further research and practice directions regarding international language teacher education emerged. These emerging research agendas concentrated on the critical role of peer circles, host communities, program types and structures, preparation and post-program components, and guidance and supervision.