Dispositions

What do accomplished TESOL teachers need to ‘be’?

Accomplished TESOL teachers

Understandings

What do accomplished TESOL teachers need to ‘know’?

Accomplished TESOL teachers

Skills

What do accomplished TESOL teachers need to ‘do’?

Accomplished TESOL teachers

Orientation to education in a multicultural society

·         espouse the values of cultural inclusivity, multiculturalism, multilingualism, reconciliation and anti-racism

·         are informed by social and educational trends, stakeholder expectations and institutional priorities

·         are sensitive to students’ cultural and community experiences, including migration and colonisation, and the effects of these on personal and social development

·         identify the features and understand the implications of multi-cultural Australian society

·         are familiar with and can critique existing provisions, policies, and curriculum and assessment frameworks

·         understand how students’ experiences, knowledge and prior learning shape their present learning and development

·         advocate for and create a positive environment for cultural diversity, inclusive practice and English language learning

·         identify issues or concerns in current provisions and work collaboratively within the educational setting and wider community to address them

·         respond to and incorporate students’ experiences and aspirations by developing appropriate educational provisions

Orientation to second language education

·         appreciate the pivotal role of language and culture in learning, teaching and socialisation

·         are informed by coherent theories of language and culture, and the acquisition of English as an additional language

·         are sensitive to student learning needs and interests in relation to language and culture

·         know how language and culture function in spoken, written and multimodal texts

·         understand the linguistic, cultural and contextual factors and processes involved in the development of English as an additional language

·         understand the important relationship between content selection and students’ needs and aspirations for meaning making

·         identify achievable outcomes for the development of English as an additional language relevant to socialisation and learning

·         design courses and activities to teach and assess relevant features of the systems of language and culture, including their integration in diverse subject areas

·         appropriately select and sequence language and culture content to provide for and critique meaning-making in diverse texts and contexts

Orientation to TESOL practice

·         commit to reflective practice and program evaluation that is responsive to students’ cultural and linguistic history and environment

·         value diverse and relevant methodologies, resources, technologies and classroom investigation

·         are sensitive to the opportunities and limitations of the particular learning and teaching environment, including students’ English language proficiencies

·         understand the complexity of the linguistic and cultural relationship between colleagues, students, teachers, community and curriculum

·         know a range of teaching and assessment practices and resources, and can evaluate them in terms of the context

·         know how to adapt teaching to respond to features of the learning environment

·         use learners, families, communities and the educational setting as resources for classroom activity

·         select and implement teaching and assessment practices appropriate for the learners and educational setting

·         scaffold students’ learning and English language development through appropriate classroom interaction, negotiation, teaching strategies,  activities, materials and assessment