Ofsted's (2021) Curriculum research review for languages (OCRR) draws conclusion on what 'high-quality language education' may look like. This opinion piece problematises the status of these conclusions as 'features' or recommendations. Before delving into a selection of identified 'features' in more depth, the author highlights the complexity of…

Historically and as a developing country, the Sultanate of Oman has always been culturally dependent on Britain to plan and implement its English Language Teaching (ELT) and in-service teacher education. This dependency has negatively affected preparing English language teachers with a new global professional identity capable of introducing change…

This article reflects on the epistemological steamrolling that the 2021 Ofsted Curriculum Research Review (OCRR) accomplishes: in part, by the positioning of the problem and solution through highly selective cherry-picking (omitting key causal factors); in part, through the discursive move of acknowledging complexity before offering simple and…

Thomas Farrell is widely known for his views and publications on the topic of Reflective Practice, which is key to the professional development of teachers in 21st century classrooms. He is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada. Farrell has been a language teacher and teacher educator since 1978 and has worked in Korea,…

This commentary discusses the four papers that comprise the special issue on dialogic teaching and learning, while making general observations that apply across the field as a whole. Similarities and differences are identified over the concepts of "dialogue" and "dialogic pedagogy". The possibility is raised that some aspects…

This chapter is a reflective account of the author's experience as a teacher of English at the University of Pavia during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It considers the design and delivery of an English for architecture and construction engineering course as well as the assessment stage of a text analysis course. It proceeds by…

Drawing on the author's experience as both a graduate student and ESL practitioner, this article explores the process of taking on a voice of authority within a new discourse. The author reflects on her own struggles with authorship in the professional discourse community of TESOL, and she uses these experiences to illuminate the struggles of her…

Masaki Oda is a Professor of Applied Linguistics at Tamagawa University in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in Sociopolitical Aspects of Language Use. Prof. Oda got his PhD program from Georgetown University, where he also taught Japanese for several years. He returned to Japan in 1990 and began teaching EFL and training EFL teachers at Tamagawa…

According to the author, the Modern Language Association's (MLA's) recent publication of the reports "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World" and "Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature" concerning foreign language education has caused many of them to reexamine the…

This article presents the process of recent curricular revision and material development in English at the national level in India in a limited way. Teachers' needs and wants, their participation in the development of materials, the dilemmas of teachers and their implications for classroom transactions are discussed from the experiences of one of…

Discusses the concept of "faculty development," focusing on such areas where it could play a role as curriculum and staff hiring decisions and tenure. It is concluded that staff development depends on consensus building, both within and without the department. (VWL)

A brief history of second-language teaching is presented, and a distinction is made between a methodological trend and a bandwagon. It is argued that bandwagons exercise subtle control over professional debates and practices. The possible functions of bandwagons in professional growth are examined. (Author/MSE)

Offers one English-as-a-Second-Language teacher's personal reflections on the role critical pedagogy has played in his professional development. Discusses his reluctance to embrace critical pedagogy unreservedly. (Author/VWL)

Discusses how to organize a strong year-round faculty development program, touching on everything a foreign language department does. Such a program depends on a cooperative enterprise involving shared goals, mutual growth, and persistent good examples. (Author/VWL)

Suggestions are offered to help department chairs make faculty development an overall professional approach rather than a separate program of activities. They include the following: make development your main job, emphasize planning, and examine your formal reward system. (Contains eight references.) (LB)