מדינת ישראל
משרד החינוך
המזכירות הפדגוגית,אשכול שפות
הוראת האנגלית
September 22, 2016
Dear English Teachers,
We are delighted to inform you that the Ministry of Education (MoE) is launching the National Program for the Advancement of the Teaching of English ((התכנית הלאומית לקידום לימוד האנגלית this school year. In theDirector General letter sent to principals on September 6, it is stated that the program aims to advance the teaching of English at all grade levels.
To achieve this goal, several programs were designed, one of which is the establishment of professional learning communities (PLC) for English teachers. The concept of learning communities in education was coined in the 1990s. It is defined as "a group of people who share an interest in a domain of knowledge," and where " members of the community will interact with one-another, engage with one-another, talk with one-another, think with one-another and develop relationships with one-another" (De Cagna ,2001). Learning communitiesare the place where research and practice can be integrated (Buysse, Sparkman & Wesley, 2003).
Participants in these communities are expected to take an active role in a shared learning community, including being responsible for some of the content of the meetings. The emphasis here is on a bottom-up and not only top-down approach. The learning communities (or communities of practice) will consist of 15-20 participants, which will provide an opportunity for intimate and individual-tailored learning. The communities will also include peer observations, reflection on action, analysis of case studies and simulations.
Each community will be led by a lead-teacher, who will have the role of a facilitator. Learning will be a collaborative process, in line with 21st century skills. These learning communities will provide a vibrant location where matters of pedagogy, classroom management and issues related to the teaching of English can be discussed with emphasis on teaching speaking.
The Director General latest letter stresses that:
מערכת החינוך רואה עצמה מחויבת - להקנות לבוגריה את הידע והמיומנויות הנדרשים לשם רכישת השפה, ולא רק לזו הכתובה אלא כאמור, גם לשפה הדבורה.
And adds that the goal of the program is:
חיזוק מרכיב הדיבור בהוראה ובלמידה תוך חיזוק תחושת המסוגלות והביטחון העצמי של התלמיד.
Research indicates that output, which includes speaking and writing (Relating to the domain of presentation in the Israeli English curriculum), is important for language acquisition (Swain, 1985, 2000, 2005). Therefore, promoting speaking in the English classroom will be the focal point of these communities of practice. Teachers will together devise methods and activities that can encourage their students to speak in English and with confidence. It also raises the student's sense of capability using the language.
Meetings of these communities will take place in several Psagot (מרכזי פסג"ה) across the country, which will be announced by your regional English Inspectors. Teachers who take part in these learning communities will receive a 60-hour Gmul. 40 hours of these meetings will be offered F2F and the remaining 20 hours will be provided online.
We can all contribute to the success of the program and ensure that our students achieve a high standard of English that will enable them to integrate in today's technological world.
Sincerely,
Dr. Tziona Levi,
Chief inspector, English language education
Ministry of Education, Israel
העתקים:
ד"ר משה וינשטוק, סמנכ"ל ויו"ר המזכירות הפדגוגית
מר אייל רם, סמנכ"ל ומנהל מנהל עו"ה
מר מוהנאפארס, מנהל אגף תכניות לאומיות ומערכתיות
מר משה זעפרני- מנהל אגף שפות, מז"פ
גב' מירי גוטליב, מנהלת אגף א' (התפתחות מקצועית עו"ה)
References:
Buysse, V., Sparkman, K., & Wesley, P. (2003). Communities of practice: Connecting what we know with what we do. Exceptional Children, 69(3), 263‐277.
De Cagna, J. (2001) “Interview – tending the garden of knowledge: a look at communities of practice with Etienne Wenger”. Information Outlook, 5 (7), 6-12
Swain, M. (1985). Communicative competence: Some roles of comprehensible input and comprehensible output in its development. In S. Gass & C. Madden (Eds.),Input in second language acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Newbury House.
Swain, M. (2000). The output hypothesis and beyond: Mediating acquisition through collaborative dialogue. In J. Lantolf (Ed.),Sociocultural theory and second language learning(pp. 97-114). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Swain, M. (2005). The output hypothesis: theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Eds.).Handbook of Research in Second Language Teaching and Learning(pp. 471-483). Mahwa, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.