Page 14 - ELG1903 Mar-Apr Issue 464

RESEARCH NEWS .

Real issues for online teacher training

A review signposts issues for both instructors and students

developing academic writing are enrolled from different
PIXABAY and reflective practice. Online countries where the institution
may have no presence on the
wikis and boards also easily
facilitate peer-review and ground at all. One option is to
feedback. offer online teaching practice
Sociocultural factors also – another is to ask the student
impact online interactions – as to organise a local placement
they do in the ‘real’ classroom. with a collaborating teacher. In
For example, in one study, the latter case the student can
Chinese student teachers felt collect video recordings of their
unable to disagree with their teaching and add their own
Canadian instructors on an reflections.
online discussion forum –
and were also uncomfortable Considerations for students
openly disagreeing with As a student looking through
each other. Although this the many OLTE options, the
might well be the same reliability and validity of their
in a ‘real’ classroom evaluation can be a major issue
– the underlying and one that is still not well-
discomfort is a lot addressed by the TEFL industry.
less visible to the At present, online courses range
Computer-assisted language learning is well-established for language instructor: it can be from free MOOCs (massive
learners, but its use in teacher training is a more recent phenomenon.
hard to know just how your open online courses) with
students are responding informal certification to TESOL
By Gillian Ragsdale
training online is going to be very (or exactly what your instructor Masters from well-established
The pros and cons of online TEFL different to attending a bricks and is asking for) in an online universities.
training are outlined in a review mortar institution. There are environment. The OLTE environmental
by Dong-shin Shin and Hyun- also issues around the purpose of context makes it difficult to
Sook Kang of the Universities of OLTEs and the way the courses Differences for trainers simply transfer the accreditation
Cincinnati and Illinois State, USA. and the students are evaluated. As a teacher-trainer, the OLTE system from a face-to-face course
They highligh both advantages The student body of any online is also likely to differ. Just as to the online environment, and
and disadvantages compared course tends to vary a lot more, as students may be signing in from all educators recommended that
to conventional face-to-face students come from more diverse over the world – it is highly likely TESOL accreditation should
courses, and ways to improve the backgrounds and geographical that the instructors are also more be suitably adapted when being
experience and outcome for both areas. scattered and there may be no delivered online. Going forward,
student teachers and instructors. Their aspirations are also real-world campus as such. This OLTE assessment (of both
Computer-assisted language likely to vary more. At present, may challenge the traditional students and the program itself)
learning is well-established for most student teachers training role of the teacher-trainer as a and accreditation will need their
language learners but training online are aiming to work in mentor and both the instructor own industry standards.
teachers to teach a language is a conventional classrooms – but this and the student may need to be At first glance, language
comparatively recent but rapidly is also changing as online teaching more pro-active in establishing teacher training may not seem
expanding phenomenon. In the opportunities expand. In future, the necessary regularly scheduled the most promising candidate
mid-90s there were just 23 online there may be a whole cohort of communication. for online programmes given
language teacher education teachers who have no offline In online teaching generally, the central role of social
(OLTE) programmes but by 2009 experience of either teacher there are often issues around interaction, mentorship and
there were over 120 – and by 2013 training or language teaching. parity between online and offline teaching practice, but given
at least 186 institutions around the The most difficult parts of faculty with regard to status, the world-wide demand, its
world were offering OLTE courses. the learning experience are wages and workload, and these expansion is inevitable. Some of
A typical OLTE course has no the potential lack of social issues can have a trickle-down the points above apply to most
face-to-face tuition at all, and interaction, opportunities for effect on student satisfaction and online courses, while others are
much of the interaction between improvised and informal learning outcomes. Good OLTE programs more specific to OLTEs. Both
both the instructors and students is opportunities – and practical support their instructors, for future students and instructors
asynchronous, although there are teaching experience. example with ongoing virtual would do well to bear these
some blended courses combining, Including synchronous professional development points in mind and ask how
for example face-to-face sessions group work can help to build opportunities and good technical these points are being addressed
(real or virtual) and real-time chat some sense of community and support so the instructor is by OLTE programmes under
rooms with the more common encourage interaction. But not dealing with the inevitable consideration.
asynchronous wikis and discussion asynchronous interaction also technological hiccups and help
forums. has some advantages to be requests as well as teaching. REFRENCE
exploited. Students, especially For OLTE programs more ■ Shin, D-S and Kang, H-S. (2018)
A different experience more anxious students, can take particularly, getting practical ‘Online language teacher education:
Clearly the experience of both time over their contributions and teaching experience can be practices and possibilities.’ RELC
receiving and providing teacher this can be particularly useful in difficult, particularly if students Journal, 49(3): 369-380.

14 March/April 2019