To all practitioners

Rose Aylett

Articles

Articles

Articles

2013. Rose Aylett, Emma Halliday. IH Tripoli English for Libya Teacher Training Project. IH World. Issue 34. (source)

2015. Lessons in Planning – a Process Approach to Lesson Planning. Modern English Teacher. Vol. 24 Issue 3. (source)

2016. Digital Teachers’ Rooms - Using Online Platforms to Enhance Physical Space. Modern English Teacher. Vol. 25 Issue 2. (source)

2018. The Teacher’s Loom: Weaving Stories into Teacher Training. Modern English Teacher. Vol. 27 Issue 2. (source)

2018. Linda Ruas, Chris Sowton, Rose Aylett, Jen Taylor, Fatou Kine Ndiaye Gueye. Africa Panel Discussion: WhatsApp for Teacher Training and Support: Senegal project Report. Global Issues SIG. (source)

2018. #IATEFL 2018: Making PARSNIPs Palatable. Wandering ELT. (source)

2018. Move ‘em or Lose ‘em. English Teaching Professional. Issue 116 (May). (source)

2019. From the Ground Up… Integrating Criticality into Initial Teacher Training. (source)

2020.Coach potatoes: Alternative Advice to Combat Training Fatigue. English Teaching Professional. Issue 128 (May). (source)

2020. Paolo Friere and the Concept of Futurity. FUTURITY – IATEFL Global Issues Special Interest Group e-zine. Issue 1. (source)

2020. Tasty Taboos – Making PARSNIPs Palatable for Teachers and Students Alike. Modern English Teacher. Vol. 29 Issue 4. (source)

2023. Disrupting the Commonplace: Embedding Critical Literacy within Language Education. EAQUALS International Conference. Tallinn. April 2023. (source)

2023. Glass Slippers or a Glass Ceiling? Critical Literacy Strategies in Practice. EAQUALS International Conference, Tallinn. pp.27-29 April 2023. (source)

Rose Aylett

Recommended books

Pedagogy of the Oppressed

Paolo Freire

1970. London: Penguin Books. (source)

For Freire, teaching is a political act. He makes the case for dialogic education as a potential source of liberation, in contrast to traditional 'banking' methods of teaching and learning, which he believes are characteristic of oppression. Freire's work has heavily influenced my practice and since reading POTO, I have been critically aware of the power dynamics at play within my own classroom teaching - and the responsibility I have as a teacher educator to draw attention to, and challenge them.

Theatre of the Oppressed

Augusto Boal

1977. New York NY: Theatre Communications Group. (source)

I am a relative newcomer to Boal's work, but it has already had a big impact on my work in global citizenship teacher education. The book introduces a practice Boal calls 'forum theatre' in which audience members are invited to join and become part of the scene - in so doing, transforming from 'spectators' to 'spect-actors', and impacting the outcome. For Boal, theatre was a rehearsal to prepare participants to better address real-life injustice - and I have seen just how effectively this can work in the training room.

Taking on Critical Literacy: The Journey of Newcomers and Novices

Mitzi Lewison, Amy Seely Flint, Katie Van Sluys

2002. Language Arts Vol. 79 No. 5. Pp 382-392.Critical Literacy. (source)

In this journal article, Lewison et al. outline their 'Four Dimensions Framework' of critical literacy, drawing on 30 years of prior research in this area. The four aspects of the framework ('disrupting the commonplace'; 'interrogating multiple perspectives'; 'focusing on the socio-political'; 'taking action for social justice') are a lens through which I try both to view the world and act within it. Once the glasses are on, it's difficult to 'un-see' social injustice. The question is how we use the power we have to do something about it…

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

2009. TEDglobal. (source)

The central premise of Adichie's TED talk is the harm that can be caused through the reproduction of stereotypical or essentialist representations in discourse. Her TED talk is often cited at ELT conferences to highlight the importance of including a diverse range of voices and narratives within our teaching materials. I would argue this principle can and should be applied to all aspects of our work - de-centering our methodologies, teacher education and classroom management practices, as well.

You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters

Kate Murphy

2020. London: Harvill Secker. (source)

At a time when we are surrounded by so much noise (in both a literal and figurative sense), this book is an incredibly readable deep dive into how to listen better, and how developing this skill might actually make us happier people. I remember reading it and suddenly becoming acutely aware in my day-to-day interactions of how often we listen in order to speak, rather than listening to understand. Listening is something I am constantly striving to better as an educator, and as a human being.

Place in HLT

Rose Aylett has fully embraced the central tenets of humanising language education through her work on critical pedagogy, her engagement with global perspectives and social justice, and her exploration of the ‘unseen’ in educational approaches and materials. Her work with teachers in Egypt was strengthened with a Master’s degree and thesis on critical literacy within teacher education, which was awarded a commendation in the 2020-2021 British Council Master’s Dissertation Awards. In parallel, Rose became IATEFL Global Issues SIG Coordinator and editor of the Global Issues in ELT e-zine ‘FUTURITY’. She has since designed and delivered a Global Citizenship in Language Education teacher development course, which has run face to face and will soon launch as an online programme for teachers. She continues to work with pre-service and in-service language teachers from all around the world and speak at international language education conferences.

— Thom Kiddle
The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.