Self-reflection and Self-evaluation as Tools Increasing Effectiveness of Foreign Language Teaching: Classroom Teacher Talk

Abstract

There are some ways by which foreign language teachers sometimes prevent learning. Even the most qualified and experienced professionals sometimes produce unnecessary classroom teacher talk and thus limit the student opportunities to produce the language.

The paper describes our teacher Professional Development Project carried out at Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Naval College in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. A group of English language teachers analyzed the ways in which they do or do not hinder learning. As part of their professional development, teachers reviewed their own audio-recorded lessons and reflected on their verbal classroom behavior, classroom discourse habits and areas of classroom management in order to identify those that supported learning and those that did not, and needed to be eliminated, modified or avoided.

The Project was not only aiming at raising awareness of the amount and quality of the classroom teacher talk but also at understanding the teachers´ strengths and weaknesses in communication with their students and setting out relevant ways for the future of adapting their teacher talk in order to minimize it and enhance its effectiveness.