A Mixed-Method Study of Teacher Diary as a Reflective Instrument for the English Language Teacher Development

From the very outset, postmethod pedagogy has shaken the long-held concept of language teaching and has recognized the importance of contextualized language teaching in the field of TESOL. Furthermore, and to respond to contemporary English language teaching requirements, language teacher education programs have also tried to furnish postmethod language teachers with the much-needed development to have their own contextualized praxis. By the same token, the current study aimed to find out whether involving language teachers in writing diaries of self-practice and peer practice and then discussing their findings with circle members in regular gatherings would nurture the required self-growth and self-development in language teachers and help them with (the underlying components of ) reflective teaching. To do so, the present research employed a mixed method design whose quantitative part enjoyed a pre-experimental design consisting of three phases--a pretest, an educational treatment phase, and a posttest – and for its qualitative part the current researchers asked the participating language teachers to keep diaries of both self-practice and peer practice. The results of the study gained through both quantitative and qualitative analyses bore witness to the significant changes in the reflectiveness of language teachers who took part in these collaborative language teachers' diary circles.

Keywords:

postmethod pedagogy , reflective teaching , teacher diary , Teacher education