Language Awareness

ISSN: 0965-8416 (Print) 1747-7565 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rmla20

Towards awareness of English as a professional

language

Tony Wright & Rod Bolitho

To cite this article: Tony Wright & Rod Bolitho (1997) Towards awareness of
English as a professional language, Language Awareness, 6:2-3, 162-170, DOI:
10.1080/09658416.1997.9959925

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09658416.1997.9959925

Published online: 26 Apr 2010.

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 Towards Awareness of English as a
Professional Language
Tony Wright and Rod Bolitho
International Education Centre, University College of St Mark and St John,
Derriford Road, PlymouthPL8BH
Much recent work on language awareness in teacher-training programmes has focused
quite rightly on teachers' knowledge about the language they are teaching. The authors'
work (1993, 1994 and 1995) has, by and large, dwelt on the development of methodo-
logical approaches to awareness-raising about language on teachers' programmes. This
paper discusses the potential extension of awareness-raising techniques to the wider
concerns of English as a professional language for teachers. The Appendix to the paper
also reports on the issues raised in a workshop which explored the nature and scope of
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English as a professional language held at the Dublin Conference for Language

Awareness (July 1996).

Language awareness on teacher training programmes for English language

teachers has tended in the main to concentrate on enabling teachers to develop
and refine their knowledge of how English works the grammatical system,
lexical system and textual systems. In Edge's (1988) terms, the focus has been on
the 'analyst' (see Wright & Bolitho, 1993, for a full discussion). This focus is
essential, as a teacher who is ill-informed and unaware of how the language
'works' is not in a particularly good position to deal with learners' inevitable
difficulties in mastering the language. In this paper, we shall briefly explore how
the 'teacher' focus of language awareness in Edge's terms might be considerably
wider than simply the awareness to interpret syllabus and materials, or deal with
learners' errors among other things. We shall propose an expanded view of
language awareness for teachers which we shall, for convenience's sake, call
'Language for Special Purposes [LSP] for Teachers'. We shall then outline the
domains of LSP for teachers. This goes some way beyond what Hawkins (1984)
has proposed. The paper includes examples of awareness-raising activities for
use with teachers and teacher trainers in sessions which aim to bring these issues
to the fore. The Appendix reports the main issues that these activities raised when
they were used as the basis of a workshop held at the Dublin Conference.

Defining LSP for Teachers

We begin our exploration of LSP for teachers in the classroom. With reference
to Figure 1, we begin with a working description of classroom language in terms
of content and use. We postulate a spectrum of possibilities from highly
predictable to entirely unpredictable, and we see both proficiency and awareness
needs increasing as we move through the spectrum. At the predictable end of the
spectrum, we might refer to 'overt' teacher language, prepared in advance, even
written down and read to a class as a prepared script. A prepared explanation of
a grammar rule, read to a class, would fall into this category. At the overt end of
0965-8416/97/02 0162-09 $10.00/0 1997 T. Wright & R. Bolitho
LANGUAGE AWARENESS Vol. 6, No. 2&3,1997
162
 English as a Professional Language 163
Note: Issues in teacher
training and professional
debate embrace all
areas of ISP for teachers
Issues in
Teacher
Training

Professional
Debate and
Dialogue

(HIGH) (LOW)
USER + USER +
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Language , ANALYST ANALYST

Awareness

Language
Proficiency

Classroom UNPREDICTABLE 'RITUAL' LARGELY 'OVERT'

Language PREDICTABLE
Content
and Use produced ansvxrs to prepared
instructions,
by Ss in 'closed" tasks explanations
'lubricating
role play, coursebook of grammar
language,
project instructions rules, scripted
fillers etc.
work etc. and texts talks etc.

Figure 1 Towards a definition of LSP for teachers

the spectrum, a teacher does not necessarily need a high level of proficiency in
the target language, and can survive with classroom content and process which
is based on a prepared script. Furthermore, the teacher's language awareness
in terms of grammatical awareness, for example is unlikely to be particularly
well-developed. A possible marker of high levels of language awareness is an
ability to improvise when talking about language and the ways in which it works
as a set of interlocking systems.
As we move through the spectrum of possibilities for classroom language, we
arrive first at a fairly predictable range of language which is sufficient to
manipulate the many 'closed' activities which feature in many coursebooks and
supplementary activities. We then reach what we might term as 'ritual' language
that is, instructions, language used to 'lubricate' the classroom process, to meet
and greet, crack jokes and so on. The far end of the spectrum is that area of
classroom language use which is entirely unpredictable and 'natural', such as the
language produced by students in doing role-plays and project work. At this end
of the spectrum, we anticipate a high level of both proficiency and awareness on
the part of the teacher, who needs to be able to operate in a fluid discourse world
 164 Language Awareness

which is created by the interaction of teacher, students and materials. Here, a

teacher must be prepared to respond appropriately to learner 'output' of a largely
or wholly unpredictable nature. At this end of the spectrum, it is likely that the
overall methodological thrust of lessons is 'communicative'.
There are two overriding training issues which we shall outline here, both
alluded to by Carter (1996) and Thombury (1996). (It is intriguing that James and
Garrett (1991) do not cover them in their overview.) The first is proficiency, and
the second awareness. We see them as very closely linked. It is often claimed that
current moves towards a language classroom which is characterised by impro-
vised dialogue and off-the-cuff interaction disadvantage so-called
non-native-speaker teachers (NNST). No matter how much proficiency work
there is on a training course, so the argument goes, the NNST is never going to
be as effective as the native-speaker teacher (NST). Medgyes (1995) has explored
this argument in depth and with passion. It does not follow, he argues, that the
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NNST is at a disadvantage. Indeed, the highly proficient NNST working in a

monolingual context may well be in a better position to deal with students'
difficulties and emerging interlanguage.
An example task to focus training participants on these issues in very broad
terms and to explore attitudes and beliefs follows:
Activity 1
Comment on the following statements about language teaching, with a
special emphasis on their implications for training foreign language
teachers.
(1) The more 'communicative' language teaching becomes, the greater
the demands which are placed on the teacher's knowledge of and
proficiency in the target language.
(2) Teachers and learners of language need a well-developed metalan-
guage with which to talk about the target language in classroom
activities.
(3) Teachers who speak the target language as a mother tongue are at an
advantage over teachers who do not when it comes to classroom
performance.
(4) Teachers often feel excluded from debate about language teaching
issues because the debates are often conducted in a 'foreign' profes-
sional language.
A response to these issues is to devise language improvement or proficiency
courses for teacher trainees which enable them to participate in communicative
activities as active producers of language. Cullen (1994) outlines a scheme which
may be of use to many trainers in devising suitable courses. It is certainly the case
that NNSTs often possess a better knowledge of language than NSTs, due to their
strong philological background, but becoming more proficient in the target
language poses its own particular challenges. We believe that one way to close
the gap between knowledge and proficiency is to involve teacher participants in
both talk about language (through language awareness activities Bolitho and
 English as a Professional Language 165
Tomlinson (1995) and Wright (1994)) and use of language as ways of extending
their awareness and proficiency.
These issues can usefully be examined in a number of ways, e.g. through study
of published materials designed to help teachers develop their language
proficiency. It is clear to us that a mechanical approach to the development of
classroom proficiency, which operates at the predictable or ritual level, is unlikely
to produce the types of proficiency and awareness that teachers may need to
develop in order to successfully operate in classrooms at he unpredictable end
of the scale we have outlined in Figure 1. A sample task to explore the types of
published material available to trainers and teachers follows.
Activity 2
Study the contents page and sample exercises from various coursebooks
produced for trainee teachers. (Suggest Willis, 1981; Hughes, 1981; Hicks &
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Woods, 1984; Spratt, 1994.)

(1) In groups (four per group) comment on the scope and content of the
sample (Suggest one Unit) you have been provided with regard to
their implicit view of the book's assumptions about the language
proficiency and awareness of foreign language teachers.
What language teaching issues does your group's sample address?
(2) In groups, compare your reactions to each of the books you have
analysed. Address the following questions:
What aspects of teachers' professional language are covered/not
covered? Is anything, in your view, missing?
What is the approach to learning about language implicit in the
materials?
Are there any 'hidden' messages about teaching and learning
languages in the books?

The Scope of LSP for Teachers

In Figure 2 we outline a spectrum of the potential areas of interest that a
programme of LSP for teachers might cover. At one end of the spectrum is the
direct classroom use of language and, at the other end, language required for a
teacher's professional development. At this end of the spectrum we see the
development of the teacher as a reflective practitioner. These two broad areas
complement each other and may be seen as the foundation of a teacher's ability
to handle classroom language learning. Beginning with classroom language,
which focuses on both the performance of learners and the different levels of
teaching (from beginners to advanced), we would wish to enable participants to
develop an ability to analyse the content of language classrooms via analysis of
syllabus, curriculum and teaching materials from the linguistic perspective.
These issues touch on the central focus of a Language for Teaching Purposes
(LTP) programme. The core of the professional's language consists of analytically
derived areas of interest which require a command of linguistic terminology and
appropriate metalanguage. The core of LTP thus covers what Language
Awareness programmes for teachers normally include, namely the nature of
 Teacher as reflective
practitioner
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dealing xvith choice and

learner language and use of
learners' questions; reference
recognition and materials professional
response to errors dialogue and
professional reading
DESCRIPTION
of
understandin LANGUAGE
Direct and analysis of Grammar etc.
classroom curriculum, for a teacher's
use of syllabus etc. professional
understanding
language and analysis of development
curriculum,
CLASSROOM syllabus etc.
LANGUAGE CONTACTS WITH
choice of TARGET LANGUAGE
textbooks, COMMUNITY;
evaluation of CULTURAL
tasks, writing AWARENESS Q
Teacher (in tests and
materials
practice)
CQ
User
Analyst
Figure 2 A possible spectrum of professional uses of language
1
 English as a Professional Language 167
communication, and the role and functions of language in general terms, and the
core of concepts and terminology of language description both form and use.
All this helps a teacher or a trainee teacher to gain access to the register which
operates within the profession. This 'core' feeds into both the classroom and the
wider professional awareness of teachers. In Edge's (1988) terms, we see the
teacher/analyst and the teacher/user as complementary, with the effective
teacher drawing from an analytical and a professional base for her development.
We would then wish to add an element of formal speaking and writing and
would also cover professional readingoften teachers are at a loss to make sense
of the professional literature. (Activity 3 which follows this section explores
different types of professional language which teachers may encounter either on
courses or as standard parts of their courses.) This ability to make best use of the
professional literature also adds to the teacher's capacity to take part in the wider
professional dialogue, institutionally, nationally and internationally. A spin-off
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of this ability to participate in the professional dialogue on language teaching,

coupled with classroom-derived experiential knowledge, is an awareness of
what reference materials can offer to teachers, and the development of working
criteria for the choice of suitable reference materials to support their own
knowledge of English as well as their learners'.
A further area of interest is a teacher's contacts with the target language
community, of a general cultural nature, and informally. These contacts are of
great importance to NNSTs, and are often felt to be the lifeblood of a NNST's
relationship with the language. Teachers like to be 'up-to-date' in their
knowledge of current mother tongue (native-speaker) usage. This extends far
beyond 'British Life and Institutions' and includes an awareness of how
contemporary English sounds and what it looks like in print, as well as issues of
contemporary cultural, political and social interest.
Activity 3
Read through the selection of quotes from various authors writing about
grammar and grammar teaching. (Suggest extracts from Lewis, 1986;
Mackay, 1985; Ur, 1996; Celce-Murda & Larsen-Freeman, 1983; Jackson,
1985; Nattinger & Decarrio, 1992). Comment on them as regards their
accessibility to teachers in terms of addressing teachers' concerns and of the
ways they are written.
What issues does this activity raise with regard to professional dialogue
about language teaching issues?

Implications for the Training of Language Teachers

We believe that an LSP-based approach to both the proficiency and awareness
components of pre-service and in-service training courses can help participants
to operate more effectively both as classroom teachers, and as members of the
language teaching profession at large (see Bolitho, 1988). This presupposes:
attention to the language which teachers will need in the classroom
(Hughes, 1981; Willis, 1981; Hicks & Woods, 1984; and more recently Spratt,
1994).
 168 Language Awareness

attention to the metalanguage teachers will need in order to talk about and
describe the language they teach (see Bowers et al., 1987; Wright, 1994;
Bolitho & Tomlinson, 1995)
and to the language they will need to actively participate in the professional
. debate about language teaching through attending and contributing to
conferences and courses and through professional reading and writing (see
Spratt, 1994).
In certain contexts, for example where literature teaching is an important part
of a language teacher's work, this range of concerns may need to be supple-
mented. The approach we suggest places a responsibility on trainers to engage
in appropriate groundwork in a number of relevant areas. For example, they will
have to research classrooms as they actually operate in any context in order to
establish the content and scope of language use in those classrooms. They will
have to help trainees, through appropriate awareness-raising activities, to gain
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access to the metalanguage and terminology used in reference books, syllabus

documents and coursebooks. Further, they might have to supplement profes-
sional reading assignments carried out in training (e.g. articles on aspects of
methodology) with questions and tasks which focus on the language used by the
writers, as well as the content of the readings. In English for Specific Purposes
terms, trainers will have to carry out both a diagnosis of their trainees' lacks in
these areas, and a target needs analysis which attempts to predict the future needs
of the professionals and future professionals in their care.
Our ideas are at a relatively early stage in their development, and we welcome
dialogue with other teacher trainers who are actively involved with issues in the
development of teachers' professional language awareness. We are, however,
fairly convinced that the appropriate methodology for engaging teachers and
trainers in these issues is one which works from training participants' existing
ideas and constructs about language as well as their current proficiency in the
target language, and their engagement in the professional discourse community
of language teaching professionals.

References
Bolitho, R. (1988) Language awareness on teacher training courses. In T. Duff (ed.)
Explorations in Teacher Training. Harlow. Longman.
Bolitho, R.G. and Tomlinson, B. (1995) Discover English (2nd edn). Oxford: Heinemann.
Bowers, R., Bamber, B., Straker Cook, R. and Thomas, A.L. (1987) Talking About Grammar.
Harlow: Longman.
Carter, R. (1996) How aware should language aware teachers and learners be? In Priorities
in Initial Teacher Training (CTEFLA Conference Report). Cambridge: UCLES/RSA.
Celce-Murcia, M. and Larsen-Freeman, D. (1983) The Grammar Book: An ESL/EFL Teacher's
Course. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Cullen, R. (1994) Incorporating a language improvement component in teacher training
programmes. ELT Journal 48 (2), 162-72.
Edge, J. (1988) Applying linguistics in English language teacher training programmes for
speakers of other languages. ELT Journal 42 (1), 9-13.
Hawkins, E. (1984) Awareness of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Hicks, R. and Woods, P. (1984) English for Teachers. Harlow: Longman.
Hughes, G.S. (1981) A Handbook of Classroom English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Jackson, H. (1985) Discovering Grammar. Oxford: Pergamon.
 English as a Professional Language 169
James, C. and Garrett, P. (1991) The scope of language awareness. In C. James and P.
Garrett (eds) Language Awareness in the Classroom. Harlow: Longman.
Lewis, M. (1986) The English Verb. Hove: LTP.
Mackay, S. (1985) Teaching Grammar. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice-Hall.
Medgyes, P. (1995) The Non-Native Teacher. Basingstoke: Macmillan.
Nattinger, J.R. and J.S. DeCarrico (1992) Lexical Phrases and Language Teaching. Oxford:
Oxford University Press.
Spratt, M. (1994) English for the Teacher. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Thornbury, S. (1996) Is there life after grammar? In Priorities in Initial Teacher Training
(CTEFLA Conference Report). Cambridge: UCLES/RSA.
Ur, P. (1996) A Course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Willis, J. (1981) Teaching English Through English. Harlow: Longman.
Wright, T. (1994) Investigating English. London: Edward Arnold.
Wright, T. and R. Bolitho (1993) Language awareness: A missing link in teacher education?
ELT Journal 47 (4), 292-304.
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Appendix: Language for Professional Purposes

Key Issues: Summary
The following is a record of the discussion during the workshop held on 5 July
1996 at the Dublin Association of Language Awareness Conference. Training
issues which emerged from the discussion and some further questions have been
added.
What do teachers need to know/do?
(1) Proficiency/awareness in the target language (TL) of Foreign Language (FL)
teaching depends to a great extent on roles adopted by teachers. 'Commu-
nicative' language teaching entails more roles than a traditional didactic
approach and may impose more pressure on teachers. Confidence is a key
issue (Where do language teachers get their confidence from?) as is the level
of the students' knowledge and proficiency. Open-ended tasks will prob-
ably call upon a teacher's powers of improvisation in ways that closed tasks
will not.
Training issue: How closely should pedagogic/methodological issues be
linked to linguistic issues in teacher training?
(2) Metalanguage is crucial but
(a) there are disagreements over descriptions of language and therefore
a plethora of terms
(b) there are different metalanguages for different learning groups (often
very idiosyncratic)
Teachers need a metalanguage links to their own knowledge base in the
TL.
Students don't necessarily need to share the details of that metalanguage.
Metalanguage is a valuable 'shorthand' for description of language in the
classroom.
Training issue: What sort of metalanguage do teachers-in-training learn? In
what ways are trainees taught to use their metalinguistic knowledge?
(3) Native speakers/non-native speakers: is this a valid description of reality
anyway? Here the issues seem to rest on the pragmatic/cultural awareness
 170 Language Awareness

levels of teachers (are younger teachers more culturally aware?) and the
ability to predict learning difficulties (the learning experience is a great
teacher in this respect). 'Proficiency' is the key issue here.
Training issue: Do training courses address the special professional needs of
different individuals and groups with regard to proficiency and awareness
of the TL?
(4) Professional debateoften teachers feel excluded from professional debate
about language teaching because its genre is 'foreign'. Either the teacher is
not the intended audience (writing goes over teachers' heads, or writing is
about academic research). Irony research is designed for teachers'
consumption. Or is it? The topicality of professional debate may also exclude
teachers. Perhaps this is a problem of teachers' status?
Training issue: On training courses, what do trainees read? What guidance
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is provided to help trainees negotiate their way through the professional

literature? (After all, 'the literature' is a means of teachers keeping up with
professional debate.)
Books and other materials on professional language
(1) A huge gap here. Existing materials focus on a very narrow band of
classroom linguistic proficiency. Danger of prescription.
(2) Spratt (1994) invites users to discuss professional issues in TL a more
satisfactory approach?
Final points and further questions
(1) Should LPP (language for professional purposes) build on 'general' or core
proficiency? AU FL teachers want to be good users of the TL.
(2) How do we help teachers (and learners) develop their metalanguage?
(3) Do different teacher groups (LI or L2 or 13) have different training needs?
What is the role of needs analysis on training courses? MT speakers need to
learn to simplify, for example.
(4) Professional debate is often about matters alien to teachers, or, quite simply,
does not communicate. How linguistically aware are professional writers?