© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.
Acknowledgement as a key to teacher learning
Jenny de Sonneville has taught English in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Mozambique, Kenya and is now Head of the Language Department of the Hendrik Kraemer Institute in Utrecht, the Netherlands. In 2004 she received an MSc in TESP from Aston University. She is interested in issues of identity in language learning and in how power relationships are expressed in discourse, for example in teacher–teacher, teacher–learner, and intercultural interaction
Email: desonneville{at}planet.nl
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Abstract |
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In this article I introduce the concept of ‘acknowledgement’ and explore the role which it plays in facilitating teacher learning. Acknowledgement is the validation or recognition of the teacher, which comes about when teachers have the space to present their own perceptions of their teaching without judgement. I trace the development of a teacher from resistance to transformation during a series of teacher development activities at our institute. The teacher, Faye, observed a video of herself teaching an English lesson. She then explored her teaching in a series of ‘cooperative development’ conversations. Through having the space to acknowledge herself, she gained the critical self-awareness which led to her learning. I suggest that teachers who wish to collaborate for learning purposes practise creating the non-judgemental space for acknowledgement in learning conversations.