Taking action on professional development
This paper outlines some of the activities which have been developed by members of the English Language Institute (ELI) at Kanda University of International Studies (KUIS) as part of a Professional Development (PD) Committee. The committee is comprised of numerous sub-committees which include: a writing circle that provides feedback on staff members’ academic papers; a reading discussion group in which staff come together to discuss academic papers; a teaching discussion group in which various practical issues are discussed; peer workshops: presentations which harness the expertise of colleagues; peer observations: a structured process for observing lessons, being observed, and exchanging feedback; and social events including marathons and family activities. This collaborative work outlines how each of the sub-committees operates, discusses the professional benefits to be gained from such activities, and provides practical advice on how similar PD opportunities could be made available at other institutions.
READERS’ FORUM Developing Teaching Immediacy in Language Teacher Education
Teacher immediacy refers to the verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors that reduce the psychological distance between a teacher and students. Despite the importance of these behaviors in supporting student learning, teacher immediacy has received little attention in the field of English language teacher training. In fact, in many teacher training and faculty development programs, the explicit teaching of these immediacy behaviors is often absent. In this article, I first present a brief review of the literature on teacher immediacy. Then, I describe the steps for two specific training practices for developing teacher immediacy. Both practices have been used successfully for several years in an MA TESOL teacher training program in Hawaii.
Globalization and the Internationalization of Legal Education in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography
Globalization and its influence on legal education is a topic of growing interest to the legal profession and to legal educators alike. The first articles on the subject appeared in the mid-1990s, and the frequency of publications has been increasing ever since. This bibliography provides annotations to English-language law journal articles published between 1995 and 2008 that focus on the impact of globalization on legal education in the United States.