Language focused content teaching : a study of teacher development through action research

Abstract

The need for a language focus in secondary content teaching has intensified as the number of students learning English through participating in mainstream content classes has increased (Mohan, 1986; Mohan, Leung, & Davison, 2001). There are many guidelines proposing how a language focus could be adopted; there are few accounts describing teachers' adoption of such a focus in their mainstream content teaching, nor has there been significant consideration of the issues they face. This case study reports on collaborative action research projects in Auckland, New Zealand, conducted by two pairs of secondary content teachers - one social studies and the other science. In pairs, the teachers designed, implemented, and evaluated an eightlesson sequence using theoretical input from their Teaching English in Schools to Speakers of Other Languages (TESSOL) programme to incorporate a language focus in their content teaching. Multiple methods were used to collect data: classroom observations, teacher interviews, focus groups, and document analysis. From the descriptive accounts of the teacher pairs' activity, two key themes emerged for qualitative data analysis: the teachers' use of the theoretical input and their goal orientation. All the teachers were surprised by the extent to which an explicit focus on language form engaged students who quickly used the preselected forms in spoken and written tasks. Subsequently, some students used these forms independently in unrelated tasks showing transfer of training. The theoretical input helped the teachers define linguistic goals and design and implement the task-based lesson sequence, the absence of specific guidelines for evaluating tasks, however, meant their evaluations of tasks was broad rather than precise. In using the theoretical input, the teachers faced and resolved a number of issues: These included a lack of guidance from the New Zealand curriculum for incorporating language in content learning and their own confidence in implementing such a focus in practice. The teachers developed in their understanding of principles and practices in language focused content teaching by achieving individual aims and collective linguistic goals. The findings of the study suggest further areas for research in LFCT and teacher development and have contributed to changes in the TESSOL programme.