ERIC Number: EJ1031716
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014-Apr
Pages: 37
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0261-4448
EISSN: N/A
Research in Foreign Language Education in Portugal (2006-2011): Its Transformative Potential
Vieira, Flávia; Moreira, Maria Alfredo; Peralta, Helena
Language Teaching, v47 n2 p191-227 Apr 2014
This article reviews a selective corpus of empirical and theoretical texts on foreign language pedagogy and teacher education, produced in Portugal between 2006 and 2011. A descriptive and interpretative approach is adopted to inquire into the transformative potential of research, with a focus on its scope, purposes, conceptual and methodological frameworks, outcomes and implications. Four major themes were identified, primarily related to current language policies and theoretical developments in language didactics: intercomprehension and plurilingualism, teacher and learner autonomy, Portuguese as a non-native language, and technology-based learning and teaching. The transformative potential of the studies reviewed is enhanced by their intention to question and reshape dominant practices on the basis of democratic values; an empowering view of language, pedagogy and teacher education; a close relation between pedagogy and teacher education; participatory research methodologies; and the identification of constraints on, and conditions for, change. However, there is a need for strategies that remain somewhat marginal but may enhance that potential: expanding university-school partnerships, professional learning communities and school-based inquiry; strengthening the political dimension of research outcomes; finding strategies to counteract limitations on the scope and impact of naturalistic inquiry; and fostering scholarship in teacher education.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Transformative Learning, Educational Research, Educational Change, Teacher Education, Teaching Methods, Personal Autonomy, Multilingualism, Portuguese, Educational Technology, Democratic Values, Participatory Research, Educational Attitudes, Partnerships in Education, College School Cooperation
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Information Analyses; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Portugal
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A