Professional development through reflective practice for English-medium instruction (EMI) teachers

ABSTRACT

The constraints and demands on teachers and students, related to implementing English medium instruction (EMI), mean that teachers need to be able to reflect on their practice and make appropriate adjustments. Reflective practice generally means that EMI teachers subject their philosophy of practice, principles, theories and practices to a critical analysis so that they can take more responsibility for their actions. Reflective practice allows EMI teachers to act in a deliberate, intentional manner. Reflective practice involves EMI teachers systematically looking at what they do, how they do it, why they do it, what the outcomes are in terms of student learning, and what actions EMI teachers will take as a result of knowing all of this information. Thus experience combined with systematic reflection can lead to professional growth so that we can become more effective language teachers. In this paper I discuss what reflective practice is and how it can be accomplished by EMI teachers.

KEYWORDS:

• English medium instruction
• reflective practice
• professional development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Thomas S. C. Farrell is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada. Professor Farrell's professional interests include Reflective Practice, and Language Teacher Education. Professor Farrell has published widely and has presented at major conferences worldwide on these topics. A selection of his work can be found on his webpage: www.reflectiveinquiry.ca.

ORCID

Thomas S. C. Farrell http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8588-3516