Book Launch of SECOND LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION:
A Cognitive and Evidence-Based Perspective
IICS Public Lecture Series / 56th Confucius PhD Forum
Reshaping Language Teaching, Policies and Teacher Education
Programmes: The Role of Second Language Acquisition Theory and Research
Speaker: Professor Alessandro G. Benati, Head of UCD School of Education
Time: 5.30-6.30pm, Thursday 3 October 2024
6.30pm, Complimentary Chinese Dinner
Venue: 004 Theatre, UCD Confucius Institute for Ireland
Please register (opens in a new window)here if attending in person
Professor Alessandro Benati is a leading expert in second language acquisition, renowned for his research in processing instruction and the effects of focus on form across various languages. His innovative studies, including the use of online measurements like eye tracking, have significantly advanced the field. He became a full professor in the UK in 2012 and has held prominent roles at institutions such as the University of Portsmouth, University of Greenwich, University of Hong Kong, and the University of Sharjah. He is also the co-author of several influential books and articles, published in top journals, and his research has been recognized as internationally excellent.
The nature of language, its representation in the mind-brain of humans, and how language is processed and acquired should constitute the backbone of all language and teacher-education programmes. The lack of language experts teaching in these programmes has often led to the perpetuation of misleading beliefs about language and language teaching. For example, the belief that language is a list of rules, such as those found in textbooks and that ‘knowing a language involves knowing its rules’.
Perhaps one of the more critical sets of consequences of non-expertise in language and language acquisition involves a lack of understanding about how language develops over time. Some of the myths perpetuated include that teaching grammar explicitly and error correction is necessary or even beneficial, that first-language transfer is the source of all learning problems, and that adults learn languages differently from children, among many, many others. In this talk, the main consequences of the lack of experts and expertise in providing appropriate language teacher training will be discussed and several possible solutions highlighted.
