Abstract

A Paradigm Shift Away from Method-Wise Teaching to Strategy-Wise Teaching: Reconstructive Strategy versus Communicative Strategy

 

Ismail Baroudy

Mohammad Mohseni-Far

Shahid Chamran University


Abstract

This descriptive exploratory survey is a postmethod-oriented endeavor related to the identification and adoption of the most appropriate teaching strategy, from the strategic framework proposed by Waldemar Marton, that is best suited to the Iranian educational system. In doing so, two teaching strategies, i.e., communicative strategy and reconstructive strategy were selected for examination. Specifically speaking, the underlying goal is to diagnose and analyze the characteristic features and particularities of the Iranian educational system through an exploration of the two imperative contextual factors, i.e., learner and teacher. Accordingly, the researchers probe experienced teachers’ belief systems to identify the features of the two contextual factors, as well as examine the strategies at issue. The instruments utilized were four multi-purpose questionnaires. The Cronbach’s alpha test of reliability yielded a coefficient of 0.78 and 0.67 for the questionnaires of learner and teacher, and 0.71 and 0.63 for the questionnaires of the strategies; thereby signifying the reliability of the survey. Asample population of 40 knowledgeable, practicing, and skilled teachers, both male and female, of the province of Khuzestan, Iran, was recruited on a voluntary basis with an average of at least ten years of teaching experience in public schools. The majority was considered both the criterion and decisive factor in regard to the type of Iranian EFL learners (careful students) and EFL teachers (with poor proficiency and stamina). Conditions included non-intensive teaching curricula and large numbers of classes. The best strategy that responds to these conditions while resulting in the successful development of second language (L2) competence was detected to be the reconstructive strategy.

 

Keywords: Postmethod pedagogy, strategic framework, contextual factors, learner variable, teacher variable, teacher education.

 

Abstracto

 

Esta encuesta descriptiva y de carácter explorador se trata de un esfuerzo orientado al post-método de la identificación y adopción de la estrategia de enseñanza más apropiada basada en la propuesta de Waldemar Marton sobre el sistema de educación iraní. A raíz de esto se eligieron dos estrategias de enseñanza para la examinación: la comunicativa y la reconstructiva. La meta que se mantiene es diagnosticar y analizar los rasgos característicos y las peculiaridades del sistema de educación en Irán a través de una exploración de dos factores contextuales e imperativos: el maestro y el estudiante. Los investigadores involucrados en este experimento pusieron en prueba sus sistemas de creencias para así identificar los rasgos de los dos factores contextuales, como también examinar las estrategias principales. Los instrumentos que se utilizaron fueron cuatro cuestionarios de uso múltiple. La prueba de fiabilidad de Cronbach dio un resultado de un coeficiente de 0.78 y 0.67, en los cuestionarios de maestro y estudiante, y 0.71 y 0.63 en los cuestionarios sobre las estrategias. Una población de 40 maestros de ambos sexos con al menos 10 años de experiencia enseñando en escuelas públicas todos de la provincia de Khuzestan en Irán, fueron reclutados de manera voluntaria para llevar a cabo este experimento. La mayoría fueron considerados como el factor decisivo con relación al tipo de aprendices iraníes de EFL (estudiantes cuidadosos) y maestros de EFL (con poca competencia y resistencia). Las condiciones incluyeron un currículo de enseñanza poco intensivo y grandes números de clase. La mejor estrategia que responde a estas condiciones y al desarrollo exitoso de la competencia de un segundo idioma (L2) se detectó como la estrategia reconstructiva.

 

 

Palabras clave : Post-método de pedagogía, esquema estratégico, factores contextuales, variables de aprendices, variables de maestros, educación de maestros.

 

Ismail Baroudy is assistant professor of the Department of English at Shahid Chamran University, Ahvaz, Iran. He did his M.A. in English literature ( Tehran University), Ph.D. in TEFL/Applied Linguistics (A.M.U., India) and Post-Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics ( Warsaw University, Poland). His main areas of interest take in comparative literature, European and American literature, developing language skills, language testing (designing multiple-choice tests), ESP, teaching methodology, syllabus design, discourse analysis and theories of second language acquisition. He has published seven books and several articles in refereed journals.

 

Mohammad Mohseni-Far holds M.A. degree in TEFL from the State University of Shahid Chamran, Ahwaz, Iran. He currently teaches English courses at Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz-Iran. His main areas of interest take in ESP, psycholinguistics, SFL, vocabulary study, syllabus design, discourse analysis, theories of second language learning and teaching. He has recently published over ten articles in the international refereed and peer-reviewed journals in USA, Australia, Germany, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, India, Pakistan, and Greece.

 


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