Language teachers must be equipped with technological skills to respond to the needs of 21st-century classrooms (Guichon & Hauck, 2011). The virtual exchange can be used as an innovative tool for developing these competences by connecting culturally and linguistically diverse populations through technologies. The study reported in this article…

Concentrating on job satisfaction and five school context variables--teacher autonomy, collegial support, time pressure, student demotivation, and student discipline problems--this study explored the interplay of these variables with reflective teaching and their relative contributions to prediction of teacher reflection. Data were collected from…

The lesson study (jugyoukenkyuu) approach to professional development, used in Japan and various regions of North America, encourages teachers to reflect on their teaching in order to improve its overall quality. The purpose of the current study is to analyze the influence of this approach on the professional development of English as a foreign…

This article explores the nature of reflective practice in a professional development process based on lesson study. The authors examine how a lesson study model initiates reflection as a meta-action scaffolding reflective practice among teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) at a university in Turkey. Fieldnotes, interviews, and audio…

Recent educational research has underscored the criticality and centrality of teacher quality as a decisive and prominent influence on students' academic growth and success. Consequently, it becomes imperative to define, understand, and study the qualities and qualifications of effective teachers so as to inform preservice and in-service teacher…

Discusses an activity developed to encourage beginning graduate students studying English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) and second language acquisition in a teacher training program in Paraguay to reflect on what happened in their tutoring groups and to apply this knowledge to the classroom context. Another activity focuses on whole-class…

Discusses an innovation second-language teacher education project for teachers of English as a foreign language from Egypt. The model program used was based on the premise that teacher education programs must provide trainees with opportunities to reflect critically upon their own teaching practices and beliefs in a context of collaboration with…

Notes that collaborative action research helped Australian adult education teachers refine their classroom skills and reflect critically on their current practice. Discusses research designed to develop teachers' skills in meeting the English language learning needs of disparate groups of learners and to assist these teachers in redirecting their…

Discusses a project in which staff from a British university worked with subject teachers in a local secondary school to investigate classroom practice and develop effective strategies to teach English as a Second Language. Findings suggest that inservice education may generate change in classroom practices more effectively if teachers are given…