Papers by Indika Liyanage
Teachers construct their practice, education and professional development within two domains of p... more Teachers construct their practice, education and professional development within two domains of professionalism: Sponsored and independent. The association between these two domains, however, is complex; it is overlapping, inseparable and sometimes uneasy. The complexity is further exacerbated by the co-dependent nature of association between the teacher and employment context in which teachers' and institutions' trajectories for professional development may vary. This situation calls into question the discrete treatment given to and received by sponsored and independent professionalism in conceptualisations of teacher professional development. We argue that, in both domains, teachers' agency as learners is crucial for their professional development and institutional efficacies. We critique the ostensible disconnect and tensions that exist between the domains of sponsored and independent professionalism in relation to teaching English as an additional language (EAL), and discuss how principles of sponsored and independent professional development initiatives can be harnessed for optimal teacher learning.
Liyanage, I., & Badeng, N. (2016). Internationalisation of Australia-China higher Education in ti... more Liyanage, I., & Badeng, N. (2016). Internationalisation of Australia-China higher Education in times of Globalisation. In I. Liyanage & N. Badeng (Eds.), Multidisciplinary research perspectives in education: Shared experiences from Australia & China (pp. 1-6). Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Guo, X., Liyanage, I., Bartlett, B., Walker, T., & Diaz, A. (2016). Uncertainty and reluctance in... more Guo, X., Liyanage, I., Bartlett, B., Walker, T., & Diaz, A. (2016). Uncertainty and reluctance in teaching taboo language: A case study of an experienced teacher of English as an additional language. In H. v. Rensburg & S. O'Neill (Eds.), Deep Languages Education Policy and Practices: Stimulating languages learning - global perspectives and local practice (pp. 234-246). Wisconsin, USA: Deep University Press.
Guo, X., Diaz, A., & Liyanage, I. (2016). Exploring the professional agency chasm in exam-driven ... more Guo, X., Diaz, A., & Liyanage, I. (2016). Exploring the professional agency chasm in exam-driven English language education contexts. In H. v. Rensburg & S. O'Neill (Eds.), Deep Languages Education Policy and Practices: Stimulating languages learning - global perspectives and local practice (pp. 215-232). Wisconsin, USA: Deep University Press.
TESOL Quarterly, 2009
... na migratsiya i polityka identychnosti ta gromadianstva [Global migration and the politics of... more ... na migratsiya i polityka identychnosti ta gromadianstva [Global migration and the politics of identity and citizenship]. ... Contemporary Politics, 6, 143–164. ... most class time is devoted to teaching answers to predetermined examination questions, such as differences between novels ...
In the present globalised and digitised world, availability of a plethora of pre-packaged classro... more In the present globalised and digitised world, availability of a plethora of pre-packaged classroom resources for English Language Teaching (ELT) seems to threaten ESL/EFL teachers' professional agency in the language classroom. Whilst it is difficult to envisage the viability of these materials presented for a global audience of learners (Liyanage & Bartlett, 2008), the practice also seriously limits ESL/EFL teachers' agency in the application of their pedagogic and pedagogic content knowledges. The selection and implementation of pre-packaged materials by language teachers are due either to personal choice or to mandated regulations and established practices(Birch & Liyanage, 2004; Liyanage & Bartlett, 2008). This paper reports the reflections of thirty overseas ESL/EFL teachers enrolled in postgraduate programmes on (i) their use of pre-packaged materials in language classrooms in contexts where such practice is mandated or is the norm, and, (ii) the effect of this practi...
Liyanage, I., & Canagarajah, S. (2014). The teaching of local languages and interethnic understan... more Liyanage, I., & Canagarajah, S. (2014). The teaching of local languages and interethnic understanding in Sri Lanka In V. Zenotz, J. Cenoz & D. Gorter (Eds.), Minority languages and multilingual education (Vol. 18, pp. 119-135). Netherlands: Springer.
… Conference on Post- …, 2001
Science education through literacy and language (SELL) / Brendan John Bartlett, Indika Liyanage, ... more Science education through literacy and language (SELL) / Brendan John Bartlett, Indika Liyanage, Stewart Jones, Janelle Penridge and Kevin McKay. ... Brisbane: Centre for Learning and Work Research, 2001. ... National Centre for Vocational Education Research, PO ...
Globally, the number of in-service and pre-service teachers who seek in-service professional deve... more Globally, the number of in-service and pre-service teachers who seek in-service professional development qualifications in countries other than their own is on the rise. This is particularly true of the Australian education context. In an era of heightened ethical awareness, we are, more than ever, encouraged to critically consider the unintended outcomes and implications resulting from the provision of such educational experiences. However, there remains a silence in many of the discussions, consultations and policy papers about teacher education programmes (TEPs), specifically about their role, efficacy and ethical practice. Using post-training reflections of a practising teacher from Fiji who completed a TEP at an Australian university, as a case in point, we explore the development of reverse ethnocentric views, whereby this teacher’s idealised conceptions of professional identity and best practice overshadowed the perception of educational settings in her home country. Indeed, as the data illustrated in this paper suggest, when overseas participants return to their home countries, there is a tendency for them to become dissatisfied with the socio-educational practices and principles of which they themselves are examples of successful outcomes. We contend that attempts to neglect the seriousness of this issue are an abrogation of responsibility and highlight the need for TEPs to develop ethically responsible pedagogical practices, which acknowledge the sensitive nature of these issues and, in so doing, promote the development of an emancipatory and transformative educational stance for all, domestic and overseas participants alike.
International Journal of Pedagogies and Learning, 2015
n the study of how students learn a second language, inventories have provided a readily availabl... more n the study of how students learn a second language, inventories have provided a readily available methodological instrument used to assess strategies. Items describing ways of learning a new language have been written, added to similar items, and organised into categories of types and subtypes of strategies. In the construction of one inventory for learning Russian and Spanish (Chamot, O'Malley, Kupper, & Impink-Hernandez, 1987), items were linked to conceptually defined types of strategies (specifically, metacognitive, cognitive, and socialaffective approaches to learning foreign languages). A 63-item version of this inventory has been adapted to assess strategies of learning English as a Second Language (ESL), and strategic preferences of ESL high school students from Sri Lanka and Japan have been linked to learner variables such as ethnicity, mother tongue, religion, gender, and personality type . More recent scrutiny of participant responses to this language learning strategies inventory (LLSI), has exposed limitations in its notional classification of strategies and basic design. Factorial analysis of the responses of large heterogeneous samples did not support preconceived links between items, strategies, and types of strategies. Moreover, the different numbers of items for the three types of strategies affected measurement properties. Re-analysis involving content analysis of inventory items, together with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis utilising a large data set, revealed a much simplified model of language learning. Clear differences between what LLSI scales were supposed to test and outcomes based on analyses of (a) item content and (b) responses elicited by these items indicate the need for caution when using inventories to measure strategies for learning a second language
iyanage carried out a major study to investigate the relationship between personality type and ch... more iyanage carried out a major study to investigate the relationship between personality type and choice of English as a Second Language (ESL) learning strategies for a group of 886 participants in Sri Lanka. Liyanage used the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) to measure personality type in that study. The manual of the EPQ (1991) indicates that participants can be assigned to four personality types (Choleric, Sanguine, Melancholic, and Phlegmatic) by comparing the total scores on two subscales (Extroversion; Neuroticism). However, in the Sri Lankan study, this total score method resulted in a gross imbalance in the assignment of participants to specific personality types. The present paper reports and compares outcomes based on the total score method with an alternative approach to computing personality type that produced more balanced outcomes. It discusses logical links between the use of these methods and the outcomes of previous investigations of the links between personality type and language learning strategies.
Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 2014
Australian teacher education programmes that prepare teachers of English to speakers of other lan... more Australian teacher education programmes that prepare teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) are confronting the nexus of two facets of globalization: transformations in the Asian region, captured in the notion of the 'Asian century', and shifting conceptions of professionalism in TESOL in non-compulsory education. In booming Asian economies, English language learning is integral to the demand for high-quality education. This has produced increases in TESOL Teacher Education Programme (TTEP) enrolments of both domestic Australian students and international students from Asia. Growth in demand for TTEPs has necessitated that they cater to student diversity, and the intended contexts of practice. This demand has coincided with a concurrent movement towards professional standards for TESOL that, we argue, confronts complexities around quality, accountability, and professional identity and achieving conceptual and contextual coherence. This paper explores tensions between increased student demands for TTEPs, professional standards discourses which are part of the global policy discourses on teacher quality, and the achievement of programmatic conceptual and contextual coherence from the perspective of Australian TTEPs. 2 2
Culturally specific language practices related to vernacular uses of taboo language such as swear... more Culturally specific language practices related to vernacular uses of taboo language such as swearing represent a socially communicative minefield for learners of English. The role of classroom learning experiences to prepare learners for negotiation of taboo language use in social interactions is correspondingly complicated and ignored in much of the language teaching research literature. English language teachers confront not only obstacles to effective development of sociolinguistic and cultural knowledge in classroom instruction, and failure of course-books to address taboo language, but also uncertainties they themselves have about addressing such obstacles and omissions. In this paper, we draw on interview data from three experienced teachers of English as an additional language, to explore their perceptions and classroom practices in relation to taboo language. In particular, we explore the situational appropriateness of mild taboo swearing using the lexical item, bloody, which has a strong positioning in Australian language culture. Dilemmas surrounding this potentially troublesome item of Australian English are foregrounded in relation to the extent to which often neglected, but widely used taboo language is actually ‘taboo’ in the classroom.
Strategic development of oral communication skills (i.e., listening and speaking) in English as a... more Strategic development of oral communication skills (i.e., listening and speaking) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in China is fraught with difficulties, including lack of contexts for authentic language use, examination-oriented pedagogy, and tacit educational practices. The quantitative study reported here was designed around a research question of how extensively three specific cognitive strategiestranslation, deduction, and contextualisation -are used when students are listening and speaking in class. It was conducted with a large sample (N = 1,440) of Chinese EFL learners at the tertiary level who were learning in class to speak and listen in English. Findings indicate all three strategies are used extensively in both modalities, but significantly more so in speaking. These findings are interpreted in relation to instructional objectives of preparing students for oral communication beyond the classroom and for passing the listening test in the College English Test Band 4 (CET-4).
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Papers by Indika Liyanage