Reflective practice is now seen as a major component of teacher education and professional development programs worldwide. This book is one of the first to show how this technique can be embraced by language teachers. It makes sense that for those whose job it is to teach writing, a good way to be reflective is by writing regularly about their work. Reflective Writing for Language Teachers shows language teachers how they can use writing as a way to subject their beliefs and practices to critical reflection and offers them a means of using this type of reflective practice for professional development purposes. When language teachers write about various facets of their work over a period of time, and then read over their entries looking for patterns, that is, seeing their own thoughts, they may uncover aspects of their practice that they had not realized before beginning to write reflectively. Reflective writing develops language teachers' understanding of their practice and also leads to a clarification of the values and assumptions that underlie those practices. Reflective Writing for Language Teachers explores the impact of regular writing as a reflective tool for teachers of English as a second language, other language teachers, and classroom English or language arts teachers. The book begins with a discussion on professional development and then outlines what reflective practice involves. It also addresses such issues as self-reflection, self-discovery through narrative reflective writing, the reflective journal, reflecting on the first and the later years of teaching, reflecting with the aid of teacher development groups, and reflecting for action.
About the Author: Thomas S.C. Farrell is a professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada. His professional interests include Reflective Practice, and Language Teacher Education and Development. He is series editor for the Language Teacher Research series (Asia, Americas, Africa, Australia/New Zealand, Europe, and the Middle East) for TESOL, USA. His recent books are Succeeding with English Language Learners: A guide for beginning teachers (2006, Corwin Press, Sage); What successful literacy teachers do: 70 Research-Based Strategies for Teachers, Reading Coaches, and Instructional Planners (2007, co-authored with Neal Glasgow, Corwin Press, Sage Publications); and Reflective Language Teaching: From Research to Practice (2008, Continuum Press).