Abstract
The struggle for English Language Teaching (ELT), and by default language teacher education (LTE), to become recognized as a fully-fledged profession is a continuing one (Wallace, 1991: 4-6). However, increased professionalism in LTE has contributed greatly to its quest for independent disciplinary status in recent years. Some of these professional practices have occurred as a result of emerging philosophies, others because of empirical findings, and yet more due to technical advances. The present chapter firstly provides an up-to-date profile and contextualization of LTE. This includes brief discussions of theoretical and practical issues such as reflective practice, action research, critical approaches, the role of language and genre, and participation in language teaching communities of practice (Wenger, 1998). It then examines in detail how a spoken language corpus is vital for the successful critical reflection on one component of LTE programmes; teaching practice reviews, one of the most crucial aspects of what we do on teacher education programmes. As part of this discussion it will consider the part that computerized spoken language corpora can play in supporting and advancing some of the emerging paradigms. The focus is on the use of spoken corpora for professional development and introspection for those attending and conducting LTE programmes .
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Spoken English, TESOL and Applied Linguistics |
| Subtitle of host publication | Challenges for Theory and Practice |
| Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
| Pages | 182-215 |
| Number of pages | 34 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780230584587 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781403936325 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2005 |