Produced as part of English in Action, the papers give an insight into how teachers teach, address problems and come up with practical solutions.
They have been divided into five themes which reflect the areas of concern that language teachers have in primary and secondary classrooms.
- Developing language skills
- Listening to learners’ voices
- Encouraging inclusiveness
- Strategising pair and group work
- Continuing professional development
These pieces of research were first presented at the Teachers' Voice Conference in February 2017 which gave about 150 teachers from across all regions of Bangladesh the impetus to research and explore their own classrooms over a year and then to share their experience of researching with fellow professionals across the country. For many teachers this was the first time they had an opportunity to ‘tell their story’ in their own words.
The research offered teachers a way to self-observe, self analyse and self evaluate their work situated in their own cultural context.
This reflective approach to ongoing professional development is sustainable and is amenable to critique at every stage. It shifts the focus from being implementers of ‘good’ practices to one of taking responsibility for classroom decision-making. This process has shown that teachers researching their own classrooms is a powerful way of them becoming autonomous, staying motivated and growing in the profession.