Conclusion
This case study examined the relevance of SLA knowledge through (1) investigating the process of learning and understanding SLA knowledge, (2) comparing and contrasting the theoretical orientations between the instructor and a teacher-learner, and (3) documenting the impact of the knowledge in a given context. The results show that one’s theoretical orientations have profound influence both on designing and delivering an SLA course and on learning and understanding SLA knowledge. These orientations, in turn, determine, to a great extent, the degree of impact SLA has in a given context. More case studies need to be conducted to understand the relevance of SLA knowledge through (1) investigating different processes of learning and understanding, (2) comparing and contrasting teacher-learners and instructors with diverse theoretical orientations, and the various combinations of (mis)matches, and (3) documenting different impacts of different processes and theoretical orientations in different contexts.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Babcock, S. P. (1993). The significance of cultural influence within the ESL/EFL classroom: A Taiwan experience. Paper presented at the International Conference on Language Teacher Education, Hong Kong. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 375 681)
Bailey, F. (1996). The role of collaborative dialogue in teacher education. In D. Freeman & J. C. Richards (Eds.), Teacher Learning in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1997). The place of second language acquisition theory in language teacher preparation. In K. Bardovi-Harlig & B. Hartford (Eds.), Beyond Methods: Components of Second Language Teacher Education. New York: McCraw Hill.
Bartels, N. (2002). Professional preparation and action research: Only for language teachers? TESOI, Quarterly, 36(1), 71–79.
Bley-Vroman, R. (1989). What is the logical problem of foreign language learning? In S. Gass & J. Schachter (Eds.), Linguistic Perspective on Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bogdan, R., & Biklen, S. (1992). Qualitative Research jar Education. Needham, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Burnaby, B., & Sun, Y. (1989). Chinese teachers’ views of Western language teaching: Context informs paradigms. TESOL Quarterly, 23, 219–138.
Carver, D. (1988). Appropriate methodology for INSET in ELT. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Association for Teachers of English as a Foreign Language, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Clarke, M. A. (1994). The dysfunctions of the theory/practice discourse. TESOL Quarterly, 28(1), 9–26.
England, L., & Roberts, C. (1989). A survey of foreign students in MA-TESOL programs. Paper presented at the Annual TESOL Convention, San Antonio, Texas, USA.
Freeman, D. (1989). Teacher training, development, and decision making: A model of teaching and related strategies for language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 23(1), 27–46.
Freeman, D. & Johnson, K. E. (1998). Reconceptualizing the knowledge-base of language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 32(3), 397–417.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. Chicago: Aldine.
Golombek, P. R. (1998). A study of language teachers’ personal practical knowledge. TESOL Quarterly, 32(3), 447–464.
Gupta, R., & Saravanan, V. (1995). Old beliefs impede student teacher learning of reading instruction. Journal of Education jar Teaching, 21, 347–360.
Heiman, J. D. (1994). Western culture in EFL language instruction. TESOL Journal, 4(1), 4–7.
Johnson, K. (1996). The role of theory in L2 teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 30(4), 765–771.
Johnston, B. (1994). Teacher education and the MA in ESL: The students’ perspective. In D.C.S. Li, D. Mahoney, & J. C. Richards (Eds.), Exploring Second Language Teacher Development. Hong Kong: City Polytechnic of Hong Kong.
Kagan, D. M. (1993). Laura and Jim and What They Taught Me about the Gap between Educational Theory and Practice. New York: State University of New York.
Kamhi-Stein, L. D. (2000) Adapting U.S.-based TESOL education to meet the needs of nonnative English speakers. TESOL Journal, 9(1), 10–14.
Kerekes, J. (2001). How can SLA theories and SLA researchers contribute to teachers’ practices? In B. Johnston & S. Irujo (Eds.), Research and Practice in Language Education: Voices from the Field. Minneapolis, MN: Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition.
Kubota, R. (1998). Voices from the margin: Second and foreign language teaching approaches from minority perspectives. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 54, 394–412.
Li, D. (1998). It’s always more difficult than you plan and imagine: Teachers’ perceived difficulties in introducing the communicative approach in South Korea, TESOL Quarterly, 32(4), 677–703.
Lightfoot D. (1982). The Central Problem. Cambridge, MA: MIT press.
Lo, Y. G. (2001a). What do they need from MA TESOL programs: A case study of four non-native EFL teachers. Paper presented at the annual the Annual TESOL Convention, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Lo, Y. G. (2001b). From Western language teacher education programs to Eastern EFL classrooms. Paper presented at the Annual TESOL Convention, St. Louis, MO, USA.
Lo, Y. G. (2003). “It’s like two different worlds ”: A journey from learning to teach in the United States to teaching to learn in Taiwan. Unpublished dissertation, Indiana University. Bloomington.
Liu, D. (1999). Training non-native TESOL students: Challenges for TESOL teacher education in the West. In G. Braine (Ed.), Non-Native Educators in English Language Teaching. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum
Polio, C. (1994) International students in North American MA TESOL programs. Paper presented at the Annual TESOL Convention, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Richards, J. C. (1998) Beyond Training: Perspectives on Language Teacher Education. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Richert, A. E. (1991) Case methods and teacher education: Using cases to teach teacher reflection. In B. R. Tabachnick & K. M. Zeichner (Eds.), Issues and Practices in Inquiry-Oriented Teacher Education. London: Falmer.
Schulman, L. S. (2000) Teacher development: Roles of domain expertise and pedagogical knowledge. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21, 129–135.
White, L. (1989) Universal Grammar and Second Language Acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Woods, D. (1996) Teacher Cognition in Language Teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gloria Lo, YH. (2005). Relevance of Knowledge of Second Language Acquisition. In: Bartels, N. (eds) Applied Linguistics and Language Teacher Education. Educational Linguistics, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2954-3_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-2954-3_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-23451-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-2954-7
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawSocial Sciences (R0)