Overview

Susan Spezzini

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_overview24 

Have you ever wanted additional materials to help you become a great English teacher? Have you wanted easy access to useful ideas and free resources specifically designed for your teaching context? If so, Teaching English in Global Contexts: Language, Learners, and Learning is the perfect book for you. In this overview, you will learn how and why this book was created. You will learn about the nine parts of this book and its 55 chapters. You will also learn about teaching English to different types of learners, especially in resource-challenged contexts.

INTRODUCTION: What is Special About This Book?

I think I could be a better teacher if had access to materials of higher quality.

I wish my university had an enormous library with all the latest pedagogical materials.

If only I could buy everything I see online to help me become a great English teacher.

Such comments are often expressed by university students worldwide who have limited access to affordable quality textbooks. This situation is especially acute in Paraguay and other countries with similar socio-economic and political characteristics, referred to as the Global South (Hollington et al., 2015). 

To provide you and other students with access to quality materials, the English program at the National University of Asuncion created an online teacher preparation textbook with chapters written by local and international educators. Published as an open educational resource (OER) through the university’s Creative Commons license, Teaching English in Global Contexts: Language, Learners, and Learning addresses the challenge of providing open and accessible education (Trotter, 2018). As such, this book is accessible at no cost to you and everyone else. 

Teaching English in Global Contexts: Language, Learners, and Learning contains 55 chapters. These chapters were written by 61 authors from nine countries. Each of these chapters contains the following sections:

• Preliminary Sections—Abstract, Keywords

• Text Sections—Introduction, Background, Major Dimensions, Pedagogical Applications

• Activity Sections—Key Concepts, Discussing, Taking Action, Expanding Further

• End Sections—See Also, References, About the Author

To help you know what to expect in these sections, this overview provides information boxes at the top of each section. These information boxes will help you understand the organizational structure of all 55 chapters in this book.

Background:  Why Was This Book Written?

While pursuing a university degree, you may have experienced the need to have additional materials in your teacher preparation program. The Higher Institute of Languages (ISL) at the National University of Asunción (UNA) has a similar situation regarding its library collection, which is limited and outdated. To address this need with a possible solution, the faculty in the ISL’s English degree program conceptualized an online textbook with chapters written by local and international educators. The purposes of this online book are to

• address the need of pre-service teachers (like you) for affordable quality textbooks in English language teaching (ELT), especially in resource-challenged contexts;

• support the preparation of university students (like you) in becoming effective English teachers for learners of all ages in the Global South (Hollington et al., 2015); 

• serve as an online textbook from which your university instructors can select chapters to be used in your teacher preparation courses; and 

• meet the pedagogical needs of pre-service teachers whose English is at a low advanced level (e.g., CEFR-B2+) upon entry to a teacher preparation program.

This collaboration between the ISL faculty and colleagues from around the world led to a free, open-access book published with a Creative Commons license.

Major Dimensions:  What Process Was Followed in Writing This Book?

Valentina Canese, as ISL director, was the lead editor for this book. She negotiated transactions per UNA policies, obtained approval to publish this book as an OER under UNA’s Creative Commons license, encouraged collaborators, and oversaw all aspects. Valentina invited Susan Spezzini, a Fulbright Scholar, to serve as co-editor. Susan reviewed and edited chapters, communicated with chapter authors, invited Julia Austin to serve as the book’s professional editor, and guided revisions. Through this project, 61 professionals from nine countries collaborated in preparing this book. The two-year process for preparing this OER publication is outlined in Table 1. These actions can serve as a model for other practitioners who wish to undertake a similar project.

Pedagogical Applications: How Can This Book Be Used?

Pre-service teachers can read chapters assigned by course instructors and use activities described in the Prologue. Experienced teachers can select chapters for professional development and implement strategies described in the Epilogue. Following is a preview of the book’s nine parts and its 55 chapters:

Part I: The World of English Language Teaching

This first part orients you to the book and its role in the ELT field.

• Chapter 1 The Teaching of English in Global Contexts. Valentina Canese (Paraguay) introduces the major issues associated with teaching English in global contexts and describes ELT principles for effectively teaching in the Global South. 

• Chapter 2 The Diversity of Global Englishes. Leslie Barratt (USA) introduces Global Englishes and offers examples for applying this concept when teaching English.

• Chapter 3 The Diversity of English Classes. Remigio Díaz (Paraguay) outlines the wide array of English classes, thus introducing pre-service teachers to different ways that English is taught.

• Chapter 4 Humanism in English Language Teaching. Bryan Meadows (USA) describes the role of humanism in teaching and suggests strategies for including this in ELT.

Part II: Language Learners

This second part of the book introduces readers to different types of language learners and users and, also, to the diverse needs that are characteristic of specific learner groups.

• Chapter 5 Building Relationships With Language Learners. Stephanie Montiel (USA) emphasizes building relationships with learners as a necessity for effective teaching.

• Chapter 6 Supporting Learners’ Social Emotional Learning. Grazzia Mendoza (Honduras) validates the role of social emotional learning in schools and suggests including this across all grades.

• Chapter 7 Embracing Young Learners. Monica Gandolfo, Beatriz Damiani, and Laura Caperochipe (Argentina) recommend ways for teaching English to young learners, especially in contexts with limited resources.

• Chapter 8 Teaching and Engaging Adolescents. Vicky Ariza (Mexico) reviews individual and social characteristics of adolescents and explores using The 6 Principles for Exemplary Teaching of English Learners (Short et al., 2018) to teach adolescents.

• Chapter 9 Empowering Adults for Autonomous Learning. Maura Zalimben (Paraguay) highlights ways to prepare adults to guide their own learning by becoming autonomous learners of English.

Part III: Language Learning and Use

This third part examines language as being the target of what is being learned and, also, as having an instrumental role in communication.

• Chapter 10 Building Language Awareness. Harshini Lalwani (Paraguay) reports on language awareness and how to build this awareness in ELT.

• Chapter 11 Using Social Media to Enhance Language Awareness. Silvia Terol and Jessica Amarilla (Paraguay) evaluate how social media can be used in ELT to increase language awareness.

• Chapter 12 Explicit and Implicit Learning in Second Language Acquisition. Carla Fernandez (Paraguay) defines explicit and implicit learning and examines the necessity of each for facilitating language acquisition.

• Chapter 13 Designing Learner-Centered Classrooms to Promote Active Learning. Heather Kaiser (USA) identifies elements of learner-centered classrooms as essential to promote active learning.

• Chapter 14 Promoting Thinking Skills to Enhance Language Learning. Kristina Sandi (USA) clarifies how the functions of the brain support language and thought and suggests how to incorporate thinking skills to enhance language learning.

• Chapter 15 Exploring Meaning Through Translanguaging Practices. Kailin Liu and Julie Choi (Australia) examine translanguaging as a concept and offer ways to incorporate translanguaging in ELT.

• Chapter 16 Incorporating Interjections to Facilitate Conversational Flow. Aida Rodomanchenko (Russia) investigates the role of interjections in oral discourse and provides insights on teaching interjections as a technique for managing conversations.

• Chapter 17 Providing Feedback on Learners’ Language Output. Christian Cristóful (Paraguay) describes types of oral and written feedback and explains how such feedback can help English learners enhance their language output.

Part IV: Context for Teaching and Learning

This fourth part examines ELT contexts and the physical, social, emotional, and pedagogical aspects within these contexts.

• Chapter 18 Teaching English in Different Contexts. Remigio Díaz (Paraguay) provides a summary of the different contexts in which English is taught and learned. 

• Chapter 19 Incorporating Inclusive Education Practices in ELT. Rocio Mazzoleni (Paraguay) affirms the need to incorporate inclusive practices in ELT classrooms and recommends ways for doing so.

• Chapter 20 Creating an ELT Classroom Community. Becky Crosbie and Diane Carter (USA) describe how they created a collaborative learning community of language learners through group projects based on ecology and the arts.

• Chapter 21 Connecting Student Interaction With Classroom Management. Grazzia Mendoza (Honduras) reveals how to enhance classroom management by providing opportunities for meaningful student interaction.

• Chapter 22 Strengthening Communication Through Classroom Discourse. Kent Buckley-Ess (USA) explains how to strengthen English learners’ communicative skills by increasing classroom discourse activities.

• Chapter 23 Integrating Technology in Language Classrooms. Holly Hubbard, Amanda Foss, and Chad Strawn (USA) explain how to enhance language development in ELT classrooms by integrating technology applications and digital tools.

• Chapter 24 Teaching in Virtual and Hybrid Classrooms. Yulia Grevtseva and Elena Zyrianova (Russia) distinguish virtual classrooms from hybrid classrooms and provide examples for maximizing the effectiveness of both types of classrooms in ELT.

• Chapter 25 Preparing to Teach Through Effective Lesson Planning. Harshini Lalwani (Paraguay) encourages pre-service English teachers to prepare for classroom instruction by following a step-by-step process to develop effective lesson plans.

Part V: Content and Language Integration

This fifth part focuses on several ways for successfully integrating content and language.

• Chapter 26 Counterbalancing Content and Language Integrated Learning. Alberto Roca (Paraguay) focuses on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) and proposes counterbalancing CLIL’s benefits and challenges.

• Chapter 27 Implementing Actionable Gamification Design in ELT. Fernando Esquivel (Paraguay) compares gamification with game-based learning and spotlights how a semester-long game narrative can enhance language learning.

• Chapter 28 Teaching English to Young Learners Through Authentic Literature. Stael Ruffinelli and Carolina Ortiz (Paraguay) explain using authentic literature (e.g., chapter books) with young language learners and share examples from ELT classrooms.

• Chapter 29 Using Theater to Teach English. Carolina Ortiz (Paraguay) and Matthew Vaky (USA) affirm how theater and drama-related techniques can support the teaching of English to learners of all ages.

• Chapter 30 Incorporating Music in the ELT Classroom. Otoniel Carrasquel (Paraguay) compares music and language, explains how music can support the teaching of languages, and provides examples of using music to teach English.

• Chapter 31 Using Translation and Interpretation in ELT. Silvia Terol (Paraguay) proposes three categories of translation and interpretation (T&I)—personal, pedagogical, professional—and shares how pedagogical T&I can enhance language skills in ELT.

Part VI: Methods and Approaches

This sixth part outlines several ELT methods and approaches, provides a historical overview of their development, and identifies trends. 

• Chapter 32 Major ELT Trends in the 20th Century. Clara Onatra and Sandra Palencia (Colombia) outline major ELT trends from the 20th century, with some having been popular just briefly and others continuing into the 21st century.

• Chapter 33 Current Approaches in English Language Teaching. Nicolás Dantaz (Uruguay) focuses on three approaches that have been popular in the 21st century.

• Chapter 34 Alternative Approaches to English Language Teaching. Gabriel Díaz Maggioli (Uruguay) describes how to engage English learners through the implementation of two alternative approaches. 

• Chapter 35 Developing Critical Thinking Through Inquiry-Based Learning. Valentina Canese (Paraguay) encourages ELT educators to guide their learners in developing critical thinking by taking an inquiry-based approach to learning. 

• Chapter 36 Task-Based Approach With Adult Learners. Ignacio Giménez and Cynthia Rolón (Paraguay) describe the effectiveness of a task-based approach for helping adults learn English. 

• Chapter 37 Engage-Study-Activate With Adult Learners. Cynthia Rolón and Ignacio Giménez (Paraguay) assert the benefits of Engage-Study-Activate for teaching English to adult learners.

• Chapter 38 A Socio-Cultural Approach to Teaching Grammar. Catherine Davies, Josephine Prado, and Julia Austin (USA) suggest taking a socio-cultural approach to guide English learners with learning grammatical structures. 

Part VII: Teaching Strategies

This seventh part provides strategies for teaching the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), integrated skills, pronunciation, and vocabulary.

• Chapter 39 Strategies to Teach Listening. Elena Nuñez (Paraguay) identifies listening as the forgotten skill, differentiates types of listening, and offers strategies to help learners develop listening comprehension. 

• Chapter 40 Strategies to Teach Speaking. Susan Spezzini (USA) describes the role of talking in language development and explains how to help all learners develop speaking skills by using interactive peer-to-peer oral techniques.

• Chapter 41 Strategies to Teach Reading. Elena Kryukova (Russia) and Melinda Harrison (USA) survey historical ELT developments to teach reading and share instructional techniques for the pre, during, and post stages of reading.

• Chapter 42 Strategies to Teach Writing. Melinda Harrison (USA) underscores the role of writing to support language learners and describes strategies to extend the cyclical writing process.

• Chapter 43 Strategies to Teach Integrated Skills. Lynn Fuller (USA) emphasizes the importance of incorporating at least two of the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) in each ELT lesson and offers examples of integrated skills lessons.

• Chapter 44 Strategies to Teach Pronunciation. Susan Spezzini (USA) describes common pronunciation challenges facing English learners and provides strategies for helping learners overcome these challenges.

• Chapter 45 Strategies to Teach Vocabulary. Gwyneth Dean-Fastnacht (USA) views vocabulary as key in language development and explains several strategies to help language learners expand their vocabulary.

Part VIII: Assessment

This eighth part explains the role of language assessment in ELT and provides different ways to assess language development. 

• Chapter 46 Introduction to Language Assessment. Natalie Kuhlman (USA) reviews the role of assessment to support language learning and offers several insights to the use of assessment for specific purposes.

• Chapter 47 Authentic Assessment of, for, and as Learning. Gabriel Díaz Maggioli (Uruguay) highlights the importance of authentic assessment for teaching and learning new languages and validates the role of assessment as being of, for, and as learning.

• Chapter 48 International Framework to Assess Language Development. Elena Nuñez (Paraguay) describes three international frameworks (CEFR, GSE, WIDA) for assessing the development of second languages.

• Chapter 49 E-Portfolios to Assess Language Learning. Briseida Jiménez (Mexico) examines the benefits of e-portfolios to assess language learning and, also, describes effective e-portfolios.

Part IX: Career Development and Enhancement

This ninth and final part of the book provides multiple ideas and resources for professional development accessible to teachers for their ongoing development as ELT professionals.

• Chapter 50 Developing Intercultural Competencies. Lisseth Rojas, Jairo Castañeda, and Jhon Mosquera (Colombia) describe techniques that teachers can use to develop their own intercultural competencies while helping their students to develop theirs.

• Chapter 51 Observing in the Transformative Teaching Process. Veronica Sánchez and Yonatan Puón (Mexico) explain an observation process that supports a transformation in the process of teaching; these authors also provide observation rubrics.

• Chapter 52 Becoming a Reflective Practitioner Through Action Research. Valentina Canese (Paraguay) explains how teachers can become reflective practitioners by conducting action research in their ELT classrooms.

• Chapter 53 Doing Research in the ELT Undergraduate Classroom. Araceli Salas (Mexico) argues why all undergraduate ELT programs should require students to design and implement research projects.

• Chapter 54 Promoting Collaborative Professionalism Among Pre-Service Teachers. Diana Pineda (Colombia) explores how pre-service teachers can participate in activities to promote their own collaborative professionalism. 

• Chapter 55 Building and Engaging With Your Professional Community. Mark Algren (USA) explains how pre-service and in-service teachers can build and engage with professional communities and, by doing so, develop their professionalism.

In this overview of Teaching English in Global Contexts: Language, Learners, and Learning, you learned how this book evolved from idea to implementation. You learned about OER materials and how colleagues are willing to contribute to global ELT projects. You also previewed the nine parts of this online book and its 55 chapters.

• Published through a Creative Commons license, this OER book offers free access to 55 chapters written by 61 authors. 

• This edited book shares the voices of ELT educators from nine countries to enhance the teaching and learning of English, especially in resource-challenged contexts. 

• This book aims at providing future teachers with the necessary conceptual and methodological tools to address the needs of learners in an increasingly globalized world.

Based on the information provided in this overview, answer these questions:

1. How do you think the chapters in this book can help you address the challenges of providing English learners with quality education? 

2. How do you feel the process for conceptualizing and writing this book can serve as a model for other educators to create their own OER publication? 

3. As you advance towards your goal of becoming an English teacher, how do you feel you can contribute to the community of OER users?

To practice using what you have learned about humanism in ELT, do the following:

1. The editors intentionally arranged the nine parts of this book in a specific order. Examine the order of these parts, hypothesize the editors’ reasoning for having positioned these nine parts in this order, and explain your hypothesis.

2. International experts in teaching English in global contexts wrote the Prologue and Epilogue. Read the Prologue and Epilogue, compare their purposes, and explain how these pieces can help guide readers in using this book.  

3. Select one of the nine parts. Read the abstracts for the chapters in this part. Explain how these chapters are related to each other and how they address the overall theme for this part.

• Creative Commons. https://creativecommons.org/  

• Global South explanation. https://theconversation.com/the-global-south-is-on-the-rise-but-what-exactly-is-the-global-south-207959  

• ISL/UNA. https://sites.google.com/fil.una.py/isl/inicio  

• OER policies and processes. https://oercommons.org/ 

Unique aspects and potential impacts of this book as well as innovative ways for using its chapters are provided in the book’s Prologue and Epilogue:

Prologue by G. Díaz Maggioli 

Epilogue by L. Barratt 

I would like to thank Socorro Herrera and Melinda Harrison for having provided insightful suggestions to this overview. I also thank Julia Austin for having served as professional editor for this book.

Hollington, A., Tappe, O., Salverda, T., & Schwarz, T. (2015). Introduction: Concepts of the Global South. Global South Studies Center. https://web.archive.org/web/20160904205139/http://gssc.uni-koeln.de/node/451 

Trotter, H. (2018, February 23). The challenge of open and accessible education. University World News: The Global Window on Higher Education. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20180223045659684  

Susan Spezzini is professor and program director in ESL teacher education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), USA. Susan holds a bachelor’s in linguistics (University of California San Diego), master’s in language teaching (University of California Berkeley), and doctorate in ESL curriculum (University of Alabama). Before coming to UAB, she worked 26 years in Paraguay, initially in Peace Corps and then at the ISL/UNA and other ELT entities. A founding member of PARATESOL, she served in leadership roles during PARATESOL’s early years. As a Fulbright Scholar, Susan returned to Paraguay to help create and edit this book.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6296-9365   

Email for correspondence regarding this overview: spezzini@uab.edu