Vol. 8. No. 1 A-2 June 2004
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Teaching Second Language Acquisition Courses: Views from New Faculty

Greta J. Gorsuch
Texas Tech University
greta.gorsuch@ttu.edu

David Beglar
Temple University, Osaka, Japan
david_beglar@kmug.org

Abstract

Second language acquisition (SLA) courses are a perennial feature of graduate level teacher preparation programs in Applied Linguistics and TESOL. While there has been recent interest in exploring the interfaces of second language acquisition research and classroom teaching (Ellis, 1997), the teaching of SLA courses at the university level is little studied. This report describes a faculty-initiated self reflection and development program done by two new U.S.- and Japan-based graduate faculty teaching SLA for the first time. The authors' responses to a written interview protocol, analyzed using Shulman's (1986, 1987) pedagogical reasoning model, revealed the challenges they faced and also the strategies they employed in teaching SLA content to M.A. students. The authors argue for a greater awareness of faculty development in TESOL and applied linguistics, and a new view of SLA teachers and students as stakeholders in SLA.

 
Keywords:ESL,EFL, pedagogy, SLA, second language acquisition, instruction, teacher development

 

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