FSL and ESL Teachers’ Perspectives
of Their Professions: A Comparative Overview of
Two National Survey Projects 2014
Taken from CASLT
As a Core French teacher in Ontario,
I found this publication to be of particular interest. There were many parts of the article that I
could have commented on, and probably will in the future, but these two sections
stood out for me today.
The most troubling finding to arise
from the
surveys is that experienced teachers
may be
dissatisfied with the L2 teaching
profession.
As noted in the comparative
analysis, although
a majority of FSL and ESL teachers
had over
10 years of general teaching
experience, nearly
40% of FSL teachers and 47% of ESL
(QC)
teachers had contemplated leaving
the profession
in the previous year. To ensure
teacher retention
and attract new generations of L2
teachers,
it is crucial to gain a better
understanding
of why so many teachers are looking
to
leave the profession. Future
research should
examine, in particular, what
specific teacher
population is dissatisfied with the
profession
(e.g.,experienced teachers, new
recruits), and
to what extent other factors such
has workload,
amount of L2 specialist training,
and level of
self‑perceived
efficacy (see Swanson, 2012) might
influence the desire to abandon L2
teaching.
L2 Specialist Training
The majority of FSL and ESL
teachers, except
for ESL (QC) teachers, hold a
generalist teaching
license only. Learning an L2 is
fundamentally
different from learning an L1,
especially when
the L2 is being learned primarily in
a language
classroom. Specialist training is
beneficial in
helping students achieve proficiency
in the L2.
In the short term, there is a clear
need for more
PD opportunities focusing on
improving L2
teaching skills for teachers who
have not had the
opportunity to receive solid
specialist training
(and for those with specialist
training who are in
need of upgrading their knowledge).
In the long
term, provincial ministries of
education clearly
need to revisit the requirements for
L2 teachers.
We have been observing and
experiencing these findings for decades. Let’s move forward.
I know for a fact that Wendy
Maxwell, creator of the Accelerative Integrated Methodology, has been cognizant
of the FSL teaching dilemma since she began work her Master’s thesis in the
1990s. (https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/16589/1/MQ58676.pdf)
Her ideas and methodology are founded in research, and she continues to address criticisms and concerns as they arise over time.
The AIM should be take much more seriously
by those professionals who really want to facilitate change.
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