Suchergebnisse

The Qatari government views English language learning as crucial to the country's future success. Anecdotal evidence suggests, however, that English Language Teachers (ELTs) employed in Qatar may not necessarily have the appropriate training, qualifications, and experience to enable them to teach successfully. Despite growing research and interest in the continuing professional development (CPD) experiences and needs of ELTs in Western contexts, there remains a lack of research in Middle Eastern countries in general and Qatar in particular. The aim of this study is to address this gap by exploring female ELTs' perceptions and experiences of CPD in Qatar in order to develop new practical and theoretical insights into our understanding of this area. The study draws on data from life history interviews undertaken with 16 female ELTs with at least 3 years of teaching experience in Qatari schools. The study found that participants had very different experiences of CPD based on their personal and professional characteristics. This suggests that for it to be perceived as a positive experience, the current model of professional development for ELTs may need revising.We propose a paradigm shift from a traditional 'one size fits all' CPD model towards a more dynamic and interactive style of teacher development that facilitates both personal reflection and professional discourse among teachers. It is argued that such a shift would prove a considerable step forward for English language teaching in the country.

"This collection explores the discursive strategies and linguistic resources underpinning conflict and polarization, taking a multidisciplinary approach to examine the ways in which conflict is constructed across a diverse range of contexts. The volume is divided into two sections as a means of identifying two different dimensions to conflict construction and bridging the gap between different perspectives through a constructivist framework. The first part comprises chapters looking at socio-political conflicts across specific geographic contexts across the US, Europe, and Latin America. The second half of the book unpacks socio-cultural conflicts, those not defined by physical borders but shaped by ideological differences on core values, such as on religion, gender, and the environment. Drawing on frameworks across such fields as linguistics, critical discourse analysis, rhetoric studies, and cognitive studies, the book offers new insights into the discursive polarization that permeates contemporary communicative interactions and the ways in which a better understanding of conflict and its origins might serve as a mechanism for providing new ways forward. This book will be of particular interest to students and scholars in critical discourse analysis, linguistics, rhetoric studies, and peace and conflict studies"--