Professional knowledge in action: How experienced ESOL teachers respond to feedback from learners within syllabus and contextual constraints

It is now generally acknowledged that teachers are curriculum makers and adapters rather than mere transmitters of written plans and prescriptions. This study reports on the curriculum making practices of three capable, experienced teachers of adult ESOL in high, medium and low-constraint contexts over the duration of one complete course for each teacher. Through iterative interviewing and analysis of curriculum documents, it details the tentativeness and sketchiness of teachers’ written planning (particularly in the pre-course phase). It goes on to describe how teachers’ plans were constantly revised in response to the powerful influence of learner feedback, received through explicit negotiations and responses as well as their own perceptions about the way the instructional curriculum was being received. Teachers in all three types of instructional context responded to learners’ developmental and affective needs in a variety of ways, and to the fullest extent possible within the constraints of their teaching situations and their own theories of best practice. Study findings indicate the importance of assisting novice teachers to acquire awareness and abilities in this area as a goal for second language teacher education. Areas of research are suggested as possible further contributions to the development of an epistemology of practice for TESOL.