Although the overall mission of second language (L2) teacher education has remained relatively constant, that is, to prepare L2 teachers to do the work of this profession, the field's understanding of that work—of who teaches English, who learns English and why, of the sociopolitical and socioeconomic contexts in which English is taught, and of the varieties of English that are being taught and used around the world—has changed dramatically over the past 40 years. This article examines the epistemological underpinnings of a more general sociocultural turn in the human sciences and the impact that this turn has had on the field's understanding of how L2 teachers learn to do their work. Four interrelated challenges that have come to the forefront as a result of this turn are discussed: (a) theory/practice versus praxis, (b) the legitimacy of teachers' ways of knowing, (c) redrawing the boundaries of professional development, and (d) "located" L2 teacher education. In addressing these challenges, the intellectual tools of inquiry are positioned as critical if L2 teacher education is to sustain a teaching force of transformative intellectuals who can navigate their professional worlds in ways that enable them to create educationally sound, contextually appropriate, and socially equitable learning opportunities for the students they teach.
There is a tendency to argue for or against bilingual education in terms of productivity (student attainment expressed as test scores), and that productivity is discussed in terms of division of time, curriculum and speakers. Although this orientation has produced some valuable macro- level accounts, it does not address the need for close-up interaction data showing how language(s) are used by teachers and students in classroom activities.
Bilingual education, in its many manifestations, can be used to
serve a number of educational and social goals which include:
• promotion of a majority language in a linguistically diverse society;
• promotion of a minority language in a linguistically diverse society;
• promotion of both majority and minority languages in a linguistically diverse society; • revitalization of a local minority language in a linguistically diverse society;
• promotion of foreign language in a foreign language learning context.
Leung focusses on two less commonly discussed areas: (a) the ways in which the notion of language as medium of instruction is abstracted in scholarly discussions and research; and (b) pedagogic integration of curriculum learning and language learning, foregrounding the need to attend explicitly to issues of language learning, particularly second language/additional language learning in bilingual education.
Language learning, especially second/additional language learning, is not an automatic and universal process for all learners p.11
Examination of how the chosen medium of instruction has been used and exploited in teaching materials and classroom processes would open up new angles of research. Combining these two aspects of language use is likely to enrich the classroom research agenda within bilingual education. p. 12