TY - JOUR
T1 - A dialogic approach to promoting professional development
T2 - Understanding change in Hong Kong language teachers’ beliefs and practices regarding vocabulary teaching and learning
AU - Chung, Edsoulla
AU - Fisher, Linda
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)
PY - 2022/11
Y1 - 2022/11
N2 - Adopting a sociocultural perspective, this paper reports on a case study that examined how a dialogic approach contributed to Hong Kong English teachers' professional development in methods of vocabulary instruction. Data were drawn from interviews, lesson observations, professional dialogues, and reflective writing to present two in-depth contrasting cases. While one teacher reported marked change in her beliefs and practice, the other adapted her practice minimally despite reporting belief changes. The findings revealed the role of dialogic reflection in facilitating professional learning and noted the potential impact of Chinese culture on teachers' dialogic reflection. Further, they showed that changes in practice are mediated by internalising new ideas, linking teacher beliefs with clear goals and contextual factors including institutional policies, time constraints, and learner feedback. Teachers' verbal participation in professional dialogues, for example, showing agreement with the suggestions of others, was insufficient for generating changes in practices. Implications, including the important roles of reflexivity and sociocultural contexts in teacher professional development programmes, along with directions for future research, are considered.
AB - Adopting a sociocultural perspective, this paper reports on a case study that examined how a dialogic approach contributed to Hong Kong English teachers' professional development in methods of vocabulary instruction. Data were drawn from interviews, lesson observations, professional dialogues, and reflective writing to present two in-depth contrasting cases. While one teacher reported marked change in her beliefs and practice, the other adapted her practice minimally despite reporting belief changes. The findings revealed the role of dialogic reflection in facilitating professional learning and noted the potential impact of Chinese culture on teachers' dialogic reflection. Further, they showed that changes in practice are mediated by internalising new ideas, linking teacher beliefs with clear goals and contextual factors including institutional policies, time constraints, and learner feedback. Teachers' verbal participation in professional dialogues, for example, showing agreement with the suggestions of others, was insufficient for generating changes in practices. Implications, including the important roles of reflexivity and sociocultural contexts in teacher professional development programmes, along with directions for future research, are considered.
KW - Beliefs and practice
KW - Dialogic reflection
KW - Hong Kong
KW - Sociocultural theory of learning
KW - Teachers' professional development
KW - Vocabulary teaching and learning
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138036046&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.system.2022.102901
DO - 10.1016/j.system.2022.102901
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85138036046
SN - 0346-251X
VL - 110
JO - System
JF - System
M1 - 102901
ER -