© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
Looking at teaching through multiple lenses
Tan Bee Tin currently works in the Department of Applied Language Studies and Linguistics at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Previously she lectured on postgraduate English language teacher education programmes at Assumption University, Bangkok. Her main research interests are materials development, studies of academic discourse and the issue of language and learning in higher education and she has published in these areas
Email: tb.tin{at}auckland.ac.nz
The article reports on a project conducted with a group of MA-ELT students during their teaching practicum. Many student-teachers, like many teachers in general, rarely see and hear themselves or experience the lessons they conduct from the other side of the fence. When teachers themselves are asked to do the things they normally assign to their students, many are reluctant to do so, in particular the writing tasks they have so readily and willingly assigned as homework to their students. This project put student-teachers in multiple roles to encourage them to look at their lessons through multiple lenses, and to produce written texts which can be used as resources for teaching writing. The article discusses the findings and insights gained from the project. Suggestions are also made for teacher education programmes.