Contextualizing College ESL Classroom Praxis

<p><i>Contextualizing College ESL Classroom Praxis: A Participatory Approach to Effective Instruction</i> provides pre-service and in-service teachers with a model for engaging in effective instruction with the variety of students encountered in college English as a second language or foreign language classrooms. Along with the model the text is designed to help readers develop the tools to use it within a participatory approach. This approach based on the principles of Paulo Freire's critical pedagogy is combined with multicultural education and the general tenets of a communicative approach to language teaching. From the philosophical to the theoretical to the practical these strands are combined into a cohesive whole.<br><br>The underlying premise is that the best way to develop an understanding of a participatory approach is to engage in it. Throughout the book readers are asked to apply <i>problem-posing</i>--a learning process that begins with naming issues reflecting on them and possible solutions and acting upon one's ideas. Questions addressed include:<br><br>*What is the nature of process over product?<br><br>*Is a new definition of effective instruction necessary?<br><br>*What are the factors that can affect second language acquisition?<br><br>*What do teachers believe about effective language instruction?<br><br>*What do students believe about effective language instruction?<br><br>*What makes pedagogy effective?<br><br>*How do teachers and students relate in the classroom?<br><br>*What does instruction mean for students?<br><br>*How can effective praxis be adapted to various contexts?<br><br>Each chapter includes <b>Pre-Reading Questions Post-Reading Questions</b> a topic for a <b>Reflective Journal</b> and <b>Follow-Up Activities.</b> These provide opportunities to enhance comprehension of the material to co-construct new knowledge with classmates and to review personal beliefs and ideas in an effort to modify or reinforce them in one's own developing model for effective language instruction.</p>