Teacher Cognition and Language Education

Teacher Cognition and Language Education
S. Borg.
Continuum 2008, 320 pp., £24.99
ISBN 978 1 8470 6333 5

While second language acquisition (SLA) has been thoroughly researched, much less research has been conducted into what second language teaching (SLT) involves. There is no ‘SLT’ to match SLA. Simon Borg's book on teacher cognition is an important contribution to our knowledge of what goes on inside teachers’ heads. It is, however, a book that also reminds us of how what goes on inside teachers’ heads is inextricably tied to what goes on outside their heads, in the social and educational context in which teaching takes place. It is a fascinating, if somewhat demanding, read.

Teacher Cognition and Language Education brings together research into teacher cognition from ELT and beyond. The book, a substantial volume of over 300 pages, will be an invaluable handbook for researchers in the field, teacher educators, and curriculum designers. Although not specifically targeted at classroom teachers, it is a mine of information for those seeking to enhance their knowledge of classroom practice.

The term ‘teacher cognition’ refers to what teachers know and think and how this affects their behaviour, especially insofar as it relates to what happens in the classroom. Much of what we think we ‘know’ about language teaching is based on anecdotal evidence or the work of inspirational educators. In ELT, if not in general education, very little empirical work has been done on how teachers think and behave. The work of Schön (1983), Richards and Lockhart (1994), and Wallace (1991) has encouraged a more reflective approach to teacher education. A small but important body of empirical work has also now accumulated on teacher cognition, though scattered as this work is in academic journals it is difficult for non-specialists to get access to it. Indeed, Borg's book is not the easiest of texts, but it has abundant insights for the classroom …

http://eltj.oxfordjournals.org/content/63/2/183.extract