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Toward a Socioliterate Approach to Second Language Teacher Education
Author(s) -
Hedgcock John S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
the modern language journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.486
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1540-4781
pISSN - 0026-7902
DOI - 10.1111/1540-4781.00151
Subject(s) - pedagogy , teacher education , discipline , dimension (graph theory) , professional development , reflective practice , grounded theory , sociology , psychology , mathematics education , qualitative research , social science , mathematics , pure mathematics
This article proposes that effective language teacher preparation should facilitate candidates’ access to the shared knowledge, discursive practices, and instructional processes of language teaching (LT) as an inherently disparate discipline. Whereas the reflective orientation widely embraced in North American teacher education programs should be preserved, reflective practice should be promoted within a socioliterate framework. The author explores the position that teacher education must be grounded partly (though not exclusively) in what is commonly called “theory,” but that this theoretical dimension should be developed by systematically examining socioeducational practices. A genre–based, sociorhetorical approach to LT discourse, it is argued, can build candidates’ awareness of knowledge–construction practices, enhance their declarative knowledge, and develop their professional skills. By modeling analytic and reflective processes that focus on disciplinary knowledge, teacher education can help LT candidates to shape their own professional literacies, enabling them to participate meaningfully in the profession's many conversations.