Developing a creative foreign language reader: in search of a theoretical approach and didactic techniques

The paper discusses different conceptions of creativity in relation to reading in a FL. It looks at psycholinguistic approaches that view creativity as a mentalistic individual creative thought. Further, it discusses sociocultural theories that take in account social, cultural and environmental factors. Special attention is given to a critical aspect of creativity. In the next section, the author looks at how psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic approaches view literacy and what they can offer for both FL/L2 research and pedagogy. The presentation argues for viewing the FL/L2 reading situation as an interaction of cognitive and social factors and emphases the importance of developing skills to critique texts. It suggests a set of tasks to be applied in a FL classroom aiming at improving creative reading skills

Developing critical reading skills : a coursebook evaluation study

The aim of the paper is to discuss the importance of teaching critical reading skills, particularly in a foreign language context. The paper consists of two parts: theoretical and empirical. In the first part, the theoretical considerations underpinning this aspect of reading are discussed. Two theoretical perspectives are focused on: a psycholinguistic-cognitive orientation, which views reading as a mental process during which the reader constructs their own representation of the text and a socio- cultural orientation, which emphasizes the importance of varied social and historical contexts in text production and text reception. Within each theory, practical possibilities on how to develop critical reading skills are explored. The practical part of the article presents the results of a small-scale coursebook evaluation study, whose main aim was to examine to what extent the Pioneer Plus coursebooks can help learners develop critical reading skills. The results of the study point to didactic materials and teaching activities that have the potential to facilitate this important component of language proficiency.peer-reviewe

Teaching practice tasks

Publikacja recenzowana / Peer-reviewed publicationTeaching Practice Tasks has been designed for students of initial teacher training courses who are about to start their teaching practice. The book contains a set of materials that provide guidance and enable trainees to keep record of their development at the beginning of their teaching career. The book may be used by institutions which organize their students’ teaching practice in cooperation with school-based mentors. The tasks offered in the book may be used by teacher trainers and mentors as a tool to check and assess trainees’ progress. The book may be particularly helpful in supervision of extra-mural and distance learning students, who because of geographical and time constraints may wish to take up their teaching practice at their local schools. Teacher training institutions may find visiting student teachers in their home places almost impossible and a written record of teaching experience can provide a reliable alternative. What does the book contain? The book contains a range of tasks that will help trainees to develop skills necessary in the teaching profession. The materials may be divided into the following: Reflection tasks, Observation tasks, Team / solo teaching tasks, Materials for Teaching Practice supervisor

The use of the Iteman program in designing a General Foreign Language placement test

The paper is a report on the project which involved the process of designing and piloting a General Competence Test intended to serve as a placement test in teaching Polish intermediate foreign language learners. All the actions taken to design and pilot the test are d iscussed in detail. The use of Iteman 4, a program designed to do a detailed item test analysis, is described. Problems encountered by the teacher during the process of designing, piloting and preparing the final version of the test are discussed. It is hoped that this paper will elucidate the advantages of tests constructed by foreign language teachers themselves and will encourage them to produce their own tests tailored for their teaching needs

Coursebook evaluation in foreign language education

The aim of the paper is to discuss the role of course book evaluation in foreign language education. Coursebooks are presented as the most common learning material s used in institutionalized education. First, the way coursebooks can enhance or inhibit the process of foreign language teaching and learning is addressed. Then, several types of coursebook evaluation are analyzed, along with various roles that coursebook evaluation can play in foreign language education. To emphasise the importance of evaluating coursebooks, a selection of checklists applied in the process of coursebook evaluation is discussed. The author of the paper draws on her experience as a co-author of foreign language coursebooks used in Polish secondary schools, a reviewer of coursebooks employed by the Polish Ministry of Education and a foreign language teacher trainer

Nauczanie sprawności czytania uczniów na poziomie zaawansowanym

Artykuł recenzowany / peer-reviewed articleTematem artykułu jest sprawność czytania, która jest ważnym elementem kompetencji obcojęzycznej. Przedstawiono dwa podejścia stosowane w badaniach empirycznych dotyczących czytania: perspektywę psycholingwistyczną i socjolingwistyczną, wraz z wybranymi modelami teoretycznymi stosowanymi w każdej z perspektyw. Omówione zostały także różne rodzaje czytania, które mogą być celem nauczania języka obcego w warunkach szkolnych, takie jak: czytanie,,globalne’’ i czytanie,,lokalne’’ oraz czytanie wybiórcze tekstu i czytanie,,dokładne”, polegające na bardziej wnikliwej analizie tekstu. W dyskusji podkreślono rolę czytania krytycznego, które zdaniem autora artykułu powinno być głównym celem w nauczaniu uczniów o zaawansowanym poziomie kompetencji językowej. Przedstawiono zarówno przesłanki teoretyczne tego rodzaju czytania, jak i przykłady ćwiczeń, które mogą być stosowane w pracy dydaktycznej

Exploring FL readers’ metacognitive beliefs : narrations from learner diaries

Metacognition is a complex construct widely investigated in SLA studies, also those that focus on reading skills and reading comprehension. Ample research points to metacognition as a strong predictor in developing foreign language reading skills, thus promoting metacognitive strategies in FL education is highly recommended. This paper presents a report on a study in which Polish FL learners kept a diary for a period of one month and wrote comments in reference to the reading classes in which they participated. The data obtained from the students’ narrations allowed to examine the learners’ metacognitive beliefs defined in the study as knowledge about cognition, consisting of three components: person knowledge, task knowledge, and strategy knowledge (Flavell, 1981). The diary data were analyzed in a global narrative way, which enabled the researcher to examine a complex character and a dynamic nature of metacognition in relation to the reading lessons. The findings underline a double role that learner diaries played in this study: as a research tool useful in investigating learners’ metacognition and an effective task that seemed to facilitate the learners’ reflection skills

Exploring student teachers’ reflection skills: Evidence from journal tasks

The article addresses the issue of developing reflection skills of Polish foreign language student teachers in the context of university training.   Although the importance of fostering reflection in student teachers has been widely acknowledged, the complexity of the construct and difficulties to operationalize reflection in research calls for new studies, to which the present paper aims to contribute. The paper discusses the study in progress whose main aims were to explore the potential of journal tasks as  techniques stimulating trainees’ reflection and to investigate the nature of reflection demonstrated in students’ journals. The results of the analysis of students’ texts revealed different ways that the students adopted to approach the journal task. Three perspectives from which the students developed their narration were identified: teacher-focused, learner-focused and the one that focusses on external factors. Additionally, the analysis led to the identification of three types of  writing, named in the study as Theorising, Describing and Discussing. The findings point to the effectiveness of journal tasks in stimulating students’ thinking about their practicum experiences.  They also stress the significance of fostering novice teachers’ reflection skills as a way of socializing students into new roles they will play in their future professional communities.Kusiak-Pisowacka, M. (2020). Exploring student teachers’ reflection skills: Evidence from journal tasks. En 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'20). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. (30-05-2020):475-482. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11088OCS47548230-05-202