A Reflection of Teacher’s Roles in Foreign Language Teaching in the Post—method Era

葉丹 文靈

【Abstract】At different historical stages， teachers hold different roles. Foreign language teachers roles at present have the characteristics of a post-method era. Post method is an open， dynamic thinking， going beyond the traditional concepts. A teacher in a post-method era is a transformative intellectual， a sketcher of self-portrait and a cooperator with characteristics of global society.

【Key words】Foreign Language Teaching； Post Method； Teachers Roles

Influenced by the twin process of economic and cultural globalization， foreign language teaching now is in the post-method era. The “post” produces a heightened awareness of historical， political， and cultural movements that shape and reshape human beliefs and behaviors. Teachers roles in such a postmethod era contain the era characteristics of “post”.

A Brief Review of Teachers Roles and Introduction of Post Method

Previously， Grammar-Translation Method was teacher-fronted. The teacher was the authority.

Direct Method was largely dependent on the teachers skills and made high demands on teachers. In Audiolingualism， the teacher modeled the target language， controlled the learning pace， and monitored the performance. During the 20th century influenced by humanism， the teacher was a counselor， a supporter， an adviser， a designer， a facilitator， or even a psychotherapist. Today， combination of traditional teaching methods and online delivery， the teacher is an assessor， a mentor， and a navigator.

Post method is one of five deeply interconnected global perspectives including postnational， postmodern， postcolonial， and post-transmission. The postnational perspective pays attention to global educational and economic flows without ignoring native linguistic and cultural sensitivities. The postmodern perspective considers multiple forms of knowledge systems as well as diverse practices of identity formation. The postcolonial perspective alerts to the scholastic， linguistic， cultural and economic dimensions of colonial representations that are ever present in educational enterprises. The post-transmission perspective visualizes inquiry-oriented teacher education programs that are transformative in nature. The postmethod perspective empowers teachers as strategic thinkers capable of theorizing from their classrooms and goes beyond the quest for a best method with redefinition of method itself. Five componential modules are comprised （Knowing， Analyzing， Recognizing， Doing， Seeing）. And its framework is shaped by three operating principles （particularity， practicality， possibility）.

Teachers Roles in the Post-method Era

The fast evolving global society with its incessant and increased flow of peoples， goods and ideas across the world has placed huge responsibilities on the shoulders of teachers.

A teacher should be a transformative intellectual， namely， a language teaching professional and exploratory researcher. Language teaching methods are based on idealized concepts geared towards idealized contexts which cannot provide omnipotent techniques to complete all challenges in the everyday teaching. Thus a teacher cannot be a passive consumer of theory. A teacher should transform the teaching experience through self-reflection into teaching theories to guide practices.

A teacher should be a sketcher of self-portrait. Teachers cannot simply make sense of their teaching Self unless they fully understand their own identities， beliefs， and values. Through the self-observational and self-reflective processes， teachers construct their self-images of who they are as persons and as professionals.

A teacher should be a cooperator with characters of global society. Teachers need to cooperate not only with their students， but also with their colleagues， family and partner universities from broader philosophical， psychological， and sociological perspectives.

Conclusion

In the fast-evolving global world， it is time for language teachers to move forward， alter viewpoints， enlarge thought substance， and render past systems of thinking obsolete （Sri Aurobindo， 2001）. Teachers roles in postmethod era deserve characteristic features of this age， and will have endured the test of time， becoming richer and more vigorous.

References：

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