A book critique on Nunan’s book.  

            The selected book for this critique belongs to one of the most important researcher and author in the English Language Teaching area. This piece of work has been entitle “Syllabus Design” by David Nunan. It was first published in 1998 by Oxford University Press and it is part of  a series of books called, Language Teaching: A scheme for teachers education. In this significant book, the author aims to help graduate teacher with their professional development; particularly in a complex area of language teaching. Not only does he provide definitions and theoretical explanations, but also he provides the reader with tools to evaluate modify and adapt syllabuses. In the author’s words, “the purpose of this book is to provide teachers with tools and techniques for analyzing and subjecting to critical scrutiny the syllabuses with which they are working” (Nunan, 2010, p.vii).

            Regarding organization, the book is divided into three sections; each of which has a purpose and they are interconnected. Section one provides all the background information about syllabuses and curriculum. Concepts, such as objectives, goals, among others, are explained. The most remarkable trends of language teaching are explained as well as their positions towards the topic. In other words, this section explains and examines the main concepts and their implications. Following this line, section  two complements section one by providing clear practical situations and implementations of the concepts previously presented. The main purpose is to exemplify the concepts by providing resources and materials.

            Section three is intended to be used as an implementation of the ideas developed by the reader in sections one and two. Connections, between theory and real classroom practices, are intended. This aim is taken into practice through practical tasks which the reader has to solve. Particularly, this section aims to help the readers develop critical thinking and analysis of their teaching programme and “to help them identify ways in which they might modify, adapt, or improve the syllabus or syllabuses with which they are working” (Nunan, 2010, p.vii). It might be said that the author seeks to present the topics in an integrative approach by connecting theory with practice and by integrating all the relevant concepts.

            All in all, especially noteworthy is the author’s intention to connect theory and practice, by presenting the concepts in company with tasks. Nunan (2010) seeks to make the readers think critically on the basis of their own teaching reality and how these crucial concepts can positively modify their practices. Furthermore, all approaches to syllabus design are presented and explained, which also help the readers have a general overview and allow them to make choices and decisions. However, the book is clearly aimed at graduate teachers with some background knowledge and background experience in the classroom. It could have been better if the author had taken into account other audiences, such as undergraduate teachers at college.

References

Nunan, D. (2010). Syllabus Design. In Candlin,C.N. & Widdowson, H.G.(Ed) (2010). Language teaching. A scheme for teacher education. Oxford, Ox: Oxford University Press.

Discovering a new technique for reflection and professional development

The Critical Incident Technique (CIT), as a tool of reflection and professional development.

            The Critical Incident Technique (CIT)  has been used in the educational field as a tool for reflection. However, this methodology is not only restricted to the educational field. It can be implemented in any situation, in which the main purpose is to analyze human behaviour (Flanagan, 1954). “The critical incident technique is essentially a procedure for gathering certain important facts concerning behaviour in defined situations” (Flanagan, 1954, p.8) . In other words, this method implies the observation of human behaviour in a particular situation.

            Many authors have used this technique for different purposes ( Fernandez Gonzalez, Elortegui Escartin, Medina Perez, 2003; Angelides, 2006). Fernandez et.al (2003) presents this technique as a teacher education strategy, a formative strategy, to promote the teaching learning process. The main purpose of using this strategy is to help students and teachers to develop critical thinking and analysis in a teaching- learning situation. In other words, the critical incident technique is presented as a professional and pedagogical tool to analyze specific learning situations.

            Additionally, Angelides (2003) proposes to use the critical incident technique as a tool for collecting data for research in the classroom. The author explains “this technique could be useful to researchers and those within schools who are interested in identifying the details of practice ( …)” ( Angelides, 2003, p.1). Teachers as researcher might need to think, reflect and conceptualize about their daily practice and it can be said that this method might provide them with the necessary tools to perform that actions.

            It is worth mentioning that the critical incident technique is not a rigid procedure, rather it is a flexible procedure which can be adapted in the light of the situation under analysis (Flanagan, 1954).It is possible to say that the critical incident technique has proved to be a useful tool for self reflection and analysis. To sum up, the classroom is an environment in which unexpected incidents may appear, for that reason teachers need to be prepared to confront and analyze them. The critical incident technique may not only provide them with a powerful tool for analysis and reflection, but also it may imply a life- long learning process.

References

Angelides, P. (2006). Supporting the continued professional development of teachers through the use of vignettes. Teacher Education Quarterly. Fall, 2006. Retrieved August, 2011 from www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3960/is_200610/ai_n17197617/print

Fernandez Gonzalez, J., ELortegui Escartin, N. & Medina Perez, M. (2003). Los incidentes críticos en la formación y perfeccionamiento del profesorado de secundaria de ciencias de la naturaleza. Revista universitaria de Formacion de Profesorado, 17-001. Zaragoza, España: Universidad de Zaragoza. Retrieved August 2011, from www.redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/src/inicio/ArtPdfRed.jsp?iCve=27417107

Flanagan, J. (1954). The critical incident technique. Psychological Bulletin, 51-4. Retrieved August 2011, from www.apa.org/psycinfo/special/cit-article.pdf