Teacher Professional Development: EFL Teachers’ Experiences in the Republic of Benin

Agbayahoun, Juvenale Patinvoh

doi:10.5539/ijel.v6n4p144

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In the Republic of Benin, Agbayahoun (2016) conducted a survey with 157 secondary EFL teachers in order to explore their views on PD, the models of teacher development they were familiar with, and their experiences in the area. The results reported that the PD activities teachers frequently engaged in were one-shot courses that followed top-down models, so these activities could not assist teachers to enhance their skills in reflection and action on practice.…”

Section: Teachers' Participation In Pdmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This view is supported by other international scholars. As argued by Agbayahoun (2016) and Wyatt and Ončevska Ager (2017), both top-down and bottom-up approaches should be combined in order to enhance the effectiveness of teachers' PD. This argument is reaffirmed through Anderson's (2018) model of an interactive PD approach, which integrates both input from institutional needs analyses and from individuals who have defined their PD needs.…”

Section: Top-down National Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Professional Development Experiences Of English As A Foreign Language Lecturers At A Vietnamese University

Ngo¹

2021

Preprint

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As a consequence of globalisation, English language teaching (ELT) has been identified as one of the key emphases of the national education reforms in Vietnam. Professional development (PD) of teachers attempts to enhance the quality of ELT. However, there is a paucity of research investigating English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers’ perceptions towards their experiences of PD in order to understand how PD currently functions and could potentially function within the context of Vietnamese higher education. My project has sought to address this gap by contributing insights into tertiary EFL lecturers’ PD experiences. More specifically, this study has drawn on Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological systems theory and Knowles’ (1980) andragogy theory as theoretical frameworks for understanding how tertiary EFL lecturers experience PD as adult learners and the contextual factors which influence their PD experiences. A phenomenological research design as proposed by Moustakas (1994) enabled lecturers’ lived experiences of PD to be explored through phenomenological interviews with 12 EFL lecturers across the three groups of beginning, midcareer, and late-career and four academic managers at one Vietnamese university. The recruitment of the participants from the three groups aimed to examine lecturers’ experiences of PD at their different career stages. The inclusion of both lecturers and academic managers was considered essential in collecting multiple perspectives on the PD experiences. In addition, document analysis was used to collect information from national and institutional documents in order to better understand the contexts within which lecturers experienced PD. Evidence from this study highlights that lecturers’ PD is a multidimensional and dynamic activity. Influenced by the national language reforms and important projects such as Project 2020 and Project 911, EFL lecturers had been exposed to a wide range of formal PD activities (e.g., seminars, workshops, and conferences) and job-embedded PD activities (e.g., research projects, textbook and teaching material development, and professional meetings) in the three years prior to data collection. Lecturers expressed their need for further PD activities that were content-focused, on-going, collaborative, and specific to their career-stage. EFL lecturers’ involvement in PD activities was positively influenced by enablers (e.g., the status of English as a global language, national policies and projects, student outcomes, occupational prestige, and personal responsibility), but there were also barriers hampering lecturers’ career development (e.g., top-down national requirements, inappropriate institutional policies, insufficient collegial and managerial support, and time constraints). This study demonstrates that PD initiatives for Vietnamese tertiary EFL lecturers need to be reformed. At the national level, it is important for the Vietnamese government and MOET to understand lecturers’ real needs for PD when implementing any PD activities. At the institutional level, a comprehensive framework with specific requirements and guidelines regarding lecturers’ engagement in PD activities would bring greater coherence and consistency. At the individual level, a proactive role by EFL lecturers would further foster their professional growth along with fulfilling the national and institutional requirements. The findings of this study are represented through an integrated framework of effective PD for tertiary EFL lecturers which combines three main aspects of content, context, and process. This representation helps to shed light on what PD planners and academic managers need to focus on when planning, organising, and implementing PD activities in the setting of Vietnamese education reforms. Implications are drawn for PD planners, academic managers, and EFL lecturers as these groups need to closely collaborate in order to promote lecturers’ PD and improve the quality of ELT in Vietnam. Implications for future research are also discussed. The study makes significant contributions to current literature related to tertiary EFL lecturers’ lived experiences of PD within the Vietnamese higher education context and may be applied to other international contexts.

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Section: Teachers' Participation In Pdmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Top-down National Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Development Experiences Of English As A Foreign Language Lecturers At A Vietnamese University

Ngo¹

2021

Preprint

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“…Other researchers also noted that viewing videos of peer microteaching can also focus pre-service teachers’ attention on particular features of their teaching like classroom management (Setyaningrahayu et al, 2019) that they might otherwise ignore (Galvis & Nemirovsky, 2003). They also observed that reflection upon peer feedback can make novice teachers aware of their unconscious behaviors while teaching (Serdar Tülüce & Çeçen, 2018) that they might not have considered (Agbayahoun, 2017) and the effect that those actions can have on their lesson (Eröz-Tuğa, 2013).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of Preservice English Teachers Regarding Peer Reaction Video Feedback on Their Microteaching

Murphy Odo

2023

Sage Open

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Video recordings have been used in pre-service teacher preparation programs to facilitate greater self-reflection through pre-service teachers’ observation of their own and their peers’ microteaching. Few studies have, however, examined the perceptions of pre-service teachers regarding the use of peer feedback reaction videos on their microteaching. Therefore, video-recorded microteaching lessons were taught by preservice English teachers and then they were given video recordings of their peer’s reaction and feedback to their microteaching video. Qualitative data about their perceptions of microteaching and feedback they received were collected and analyzed. Participants indicated that the peer reaction video feedback helped them to discern their strengths and weaknesses as teachers, and learn more about how to teach from observing others. They also said it allowed them to view themselves through others’ eyes, provided detailed feedback, encouraged honest feedback, and allowed them to analyze and reflect on their own practice. Among the criticisms they raised were feeling like they were unprepared, concerns about technical difficulties, and reacting emotionally to negative feedback. Recommendations made to improve the peer reaction video feedback experience were to provide more detail in the feedback using more detailed feedback guidelines and sample lesson activities beforehand. Implications for practice are also discussed.

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“…In order to gather information on the teachers" experiences of EFL teachers with professional development, a questionnaire item asked about the activities they had engaged in during the year prior to the study and offered the following collection of response options to choose from: state-run annual training workshops, TEFL 6 Agbayahoun (2016), additionally, based on theory, "analysis distinguishes between top-down and bottom-up teacher development models" (Johnson, 2006;Kumaravadivelu, 2003;Richards, 2008;Richards & Farrell, 2005 2005), some professional development practices are explained as follows: workshop, self-monitoring or self-observation, peer observation, peer coaching, study groups, team teaching, dialog journals or keeping a teaching journal, professional development portfolios, mentoring, analyzing critical incident, case analysis, participatory practitioner research.…”

Section: Research Context: Tpd Learning Activitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some of them, focus on the teacher professional development has been reported to be beneficial, both in ESL (English as a Second Language) and EFL (English as a Foreign Language) context (see Bell & Gilbert, 1994;Bell & Mladenovic, 2008;Christodoulou, 2010;Dasrizal, 2009;Drew & Klopper, 2014;Karaaslan, 2003;Lan & Wang, 2013;Maisa, 2009;Mardiana, 2013;Pajarwaty, 2009;Sadler, 2012;Subramanian & Genni, 2013;Thongthai, 2011;Warahmah, 2009;Yani, 2012;Zepke & Stevens, 1987). Another study concerning EFL teachers" views on professional development, the models of teacher development they are familiar with, and their experiences in the area (Agbayahoun, 2016). The results indicate that though the EFL teachers often have the opportunity to participate in teacher development activities, these activities do not enable them to develop the skill of reflection and action on practice as they are patterned on top-down models of teacher development and happen in a one-shot workshopstyle.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Development of Senior High School Efl Teachers: Voices From Teachers

Yuliani¹,

Muljanto

Fajriah

2019

EEAL

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This research aims to investigate EFL teachers’ perceptions on programs EFL teachers join to support their professional development and challenges faced by EFL teachers’ in contribution to their professional development. To achieve these aims, a qualitative research in form of a case study was employed. The participants involved in this research were three English teachers. The participants were an experienced teacher in three of senior high schools in Garut. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview, additionally, document analysis as validate the data. The data were then analyzed based on the theory from Cresswell (2012). The result revealed that TPD was perceived positively by all the teachers. It can be inferred that the efforts of all participants have made similar efforts to improve their professionalism. These efforts comply with the Academic Qualifications and Teachers’ Competence Standards, and include programs such as; seminars, workshops, training programs, and even modules/ books, Classroom Action Research and teaching materials. However, they also had problem improving their professional skills, because the challenges they faced are not only from external one, but also from internal factor.

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Teacher Professional Development: EFL Teachers’ Experiences in the Republic of Benin

Cited by 6 publications

References 18 publications

Professional Development Experiences Of English As A Foreign Language Lecturers At A Vietnamese University

Professional Development Experiences Of English As A Foreign Language Lecturers At A Vietnamese University

Perceptions of Preservice English Teachers Regarding Peer Reaction Video Feedback on Their Microteaching

Professional Development of Senior High School Efl Teachers: Voices From Teachers

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