This seminar will be conducted by 3-hour online Zoom sessions for four days: Saturday, November 9, Sunday, November 10, Saturday, November 16 and Sunday, November 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (JST).  Students taking this seminar for credit must attend all four days. Students can add/drop this seminar course by 13:00 on Saturday, November 9.

The pre sign-up (or course registration for those who are taking this seminar for credit) is required for anybody attending the public session on Saturday, November 9 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The sign-up process must be completed through "Distinguished Lecturer Series Seminar Sign-Up Form" that is available on TUJ Grad Ed website. The sign-up deadline is Friday, November 8, at 12:00 p.m. The public session Zoom link will be provided to those people who completed the online sign-up (or course registration) process by 18:00 on Friday, November 8.

Reflective practice generally means conscious thinking about what they are doing and why they are doing it and is now used in many different professions such as the legal profession, nursing, and education. Within the field of education reflective practice has had a major impact on virtually all areas of a teacher’s life from teacher education programs for novice teachers to professional development programs for experienced teachers. Reflective practice has also impacted the field of second language education and especially the field of teaching English to speakers of other languages- (TESOL).

This seminar introduces the theory, practice and research related to the interesting, yet complex topic of reflective practice in language education. The public session will provide an overview of the concept of reflective practice, as well as practical ideas and principles for implementing reflection in second language education. Specifically, during the seminar participants will be taken through a framework for reflecting on practice. The framework outlines five-stage/level of reflections that start at level 1: Philosophy: level 2: Principles; level 3: Theory-of-practice; level 4: Practice; level 5: Beyond Practice. The framework for reflecting on practice can be used by all second language teachers from pre-service, novice teachers to the most experienced teachers. This seminar emphasizes that reflective practice is central to a language teacher’s development (both novice and experienced) because it helps them to analyze and evaluate what is happening both inside and outside their classes so that they can not only improve the quality of their teaching, but also provide better opportunities for their students to learn.

Recommended Textbook:
Farrell, Thomas S, C. (2015). Promoting teacher reflection in second language education: A framework for TESOL professionals. Routledge.