Amanda Barton

Opportunities for Practice and Development: Newly Qualified Teachers and the Use of Information and Communications Technologies in Teaching Foreign Languages in English Secondary School Contexts

This study explores the experiences of newly qualified teachers of foreign languages in English secondary school contexts as they both seek opportunities and develop their abilities to use information and communications technologies (ICT) as a tool to support foreign language learning. A cohort of newly qualified foreign language teachers from the University of Manchester was first surveyed to establish a picture of teacher experience and confidence in the use of ICT after their initial training year. Based on self‐declared interest in ICT as a development area, indicated in career entry profiles, six case‐study teachers were subsequently identified and their experiences in specific school environments were explored. Cross‐case analysis determined not only the impact of specific factors on opportunities for ICT use and personal development, but also an ecological dimension to the school contexts resulting in an interplay between factors with varying effects on newly qualified teachers.

The representation of gender in English textbooks in Uganda

The central role played by textbooks in children’s education in developing countries has been highlighted previously in this journal. This paper reports on how an English-language textbook used commonly in Ugandan secondary schools reinforces gender stereotypes which are prevalent in society. The paper is based on a mixed-methods investigation of gender representation in English in Use, Book 2 by Grant and Wang’ombe, a textbook recommended by the Ministry of Education for teaching English to students aged 14–15 in Ugandan schools. Documentary analysis elicited the data which were analysed quantitatively using Porecca’s framework for the analysis of English as a Second Language textbooks and then qualitatively using critical discourse analysis. This revealed that positive female role models are under-represented and that the language of the text is not inclusive of females. Lesson observations of two teachers using the textbook, along with follow-up interviews, revealed that they mostly ignored gender issues by dealing with them uncritically, purely as a means of enhancing linguistic skills. We argue that the content of such textbooks, and the way in which they are mediated in the classroom, undermine the Ugandan government’s commitment to equity and inclusion.

Teaching modern foreign languages to single-sex classes

This paper addresses a number of questions of relevance to practitioners and researchers who have an interest in the potential of single-sex groups to raise pupil achievement in modern foreign languages. It explores the perceptions and experiences of pupils and teachers in five mixed comprehensive schools in England who were involved in single-sex initiatives for at least one academic year. The potential benefits of such groups are described, along with other factors which may influence their effectiveness.

Shifting codes: education or regulation? Trainee teachers and the Code of Conduct and Practice in England

In 2009, the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) introduced a revised Code of Conduct and Practice (2009) for registered teachers. The code also applies to all trainee teachers who are provisionally registered with the GTCE and who could be liable to a charge of misconduct during their periods of teaching practice. This paper presents the results of a small-scale piece of research that utilises Q-methodology to ascertain trainee teacher alignment with the code. Our research concludes that trainee teachers in the sample have a high degree of homogeneity in relation to prioritising specific areas of the code, namely those pertaining to ethical behaviours. They do not prioritise those areas of the code relating to classroom-based skills which they have yet to develop. The paper questions the efficacy of a code which represents an aggregate of a code of conduct, a code of ethics and a set of standards for practice.

In memory of Dr Ann Barnes (née Rawnsley), 1964–2009

If you are a regular at Language World, the annual conference of the Association for Language Learning, you cannot have failed to notice Ann Barnes. Ann was a loyal and enthusiastic speaker and delegate, whose vibrant hair colour and lively presentations never failed to draw attention and admiration. Many colleagues in the language teaching community will share our fond memories of partying with Ann into the early hours of Sunday morning after the conference dinner. So it was a particularly poignant moment when Marilyn and I found ourselves at Language World in Leicester last year without Ann, following her death on 27 January 2009. For us, and other colleagues, Language World will never be quite the same again. If you are a language teacher, researcher or adviser in the UK, you will undoubtedly have come across Ann’s work. Ann had a prolific career as a researcher as well as a lecturer. She joined the University of Warwick as a lecturer in foreign languages (teacher education) in 1994. She was promoted to senior lecturer in 2003 and the following year was awarded her PhD by the University of Warwick. In September 2004 she became course leader for the secondary PGCE programme and in September 2008 was appointed director of teacher education. She gained a Warwick award for teaching excellence in 2006, a tribute to her excellent skills. Ann was an active researcher and her many inspiring conference papers and articles about language teaching and learning demonstrated her wisdom and insight on a range of issues including target language testing, reading skills at A level, assessment, and the use of ICT in modern foreign languages (MFL). She wrote Effective Assessment in MFL with Marilyn Hunt (2003) and co-edited the third edition of Learning to Teach Modern Foreign Languages in the Secondary School, A Companion to School Experience with Norbert Pachler and Kit Field (2008). Ann also worked as a member of research teams on both nationally funded and EUfunded research projects. Projects commissioned by QCA and DfES related to evaluating the feasibility of introducing the teaching of a modern foreign language into the statutory curriculum at Key Stage 2 (2001) and the evaluation of the Key Stage 2 Language Learning Pathfinders (2005). Projects with EU partners included the development of on-line assessment for MFL, and videoconferencing as an aid to teaching and learning MFL in primary schools where there are no specialist MFL teachers. Ann co-authored the paper reporting on this latter project which appears in this issue of the LLJ. Ann published numerous articles in The Language Learning Journal on such diverse topics as teacher education, homework, multilingual approaches in the primary school and dictionary use. She was a guest editor of the first special issue of the Journal devoted to primary languages which was published in July 2009. Her Language Learning Journal Vol. 38, No. 2, July 2010, 133–134