Summary

IEPs face challenges in a global context that is changing rapidly in terms of international political economy. The dominance of the United States in higher education is less overwhelming than before as other countries develop their own scientific and research infrastructure. Competition among world powers has made the world a less predictable place, and this can directly impact IEPs.

In addition, research in second language learning and teaching is evolving, but probably has stabilized around communicative learning supported by technology and increasing understanding of the tasks that IEP learners will face in their studies and daily lives. Thus, this book seeks to provide a volume of snapshots on various aspects of development in an IEP that is intended to provoke reflection on the part of administrators, curriculum supervisors, and teachers.

Each chapter begins with some review of relevant literature in the field on the topic of the chapter in order to provide some background for the questions being asked about the development of students in the program. These sections are designed for teachers to review recent research and to provide a schema to read about the type of research from the data in the IEP. Each chapter also contains a section that is designed as a framework or guide for administrators and teachers to consider the research background and findings presented in the chapter.

Topics for Administrators and Teachers to Reflect On

Questions and Issues Mainly for Program Administrators and Curriculum Supervisors

• 1. How do you keep up with international political developments that may affect your IEP?
• 2. Consultwww.iie.org/opendoors for your region or state if you are in the United States: www.iie.org/en/Research-and-Insights/Open-Doors/ Fact-Sheets-and-Infographics/Data-by-State-Fact-Sheets.

3. Download the .pdf for your state and fill out these questions:

a. Total number of international students in the state:

b. The dollar amount of international student expenditure in the

state: $ ___________

c. The top three countries of origin of international students

d. The number of American students studying abroad: (remember it’s not a one-way street)

4. What unit is your IEP housed in? Possibilities are:

a. Academic department

b. Provost area

c. Continuing education

d. Other

• 5. How does the reporting structure/administrative unit affect your operation as an IEP?
• 6. Is your IEP accredited by an accrediting agency such as CEA? If not, how is the IEP accredited?
• 7. What is the marketing plan for the IEP? What are the internal markets (if you’re a college- or university-based IEP), and what are the external markets?
• 8. Is the IEP a member of UCIEP or EnglishUSA? How does the administration of the IEP benefit from and/or contribute to the membership of these organizations?
• 9. Does the IEP have a written policy for its approach to second language learning and teaching? What research background does the policy refer to in order to justify its approach?

Questions and Issues for Classroom Teachers

• 1. Do you know if your IEP has a set of ‘best practices’? If so, what steps do you take to make sure you’re up to date with them and their basis in research?
• 2. What kinds of professional development activities do you engage in to keep up to date with developments in the field? Possibilities are:

a. Attending or presenting at International TESOL conferences

b. Attending or presenting at local TESOL affiliate workshops

c. Reading articles and/or books

d. Listening to/participating in webinars

e. Other

f. How many of the above have you done this year?

3. In the survey of IEP teachers reported in Gass et al. (2018, p. 1111), teachers reported a variety of responses to engaging in research

IEPs and Second Language Teaching Research 15 that included both personal and programmatic advantages, for example:

a. ‘Helped improve my own teaching’

b. ‘Feeling of accomplishment’

c. ‘See disconnect between student needs and curriculum’

d. ‘Helped my department understand student learning and possible ways of accelerating learning’

For you and your colleagues, reflect on how research helps both in your personal professional growth and in your program development. Can you list any specific examples in these two categories?

Notes

1. It is certain that programs for teaching English for academic purposes existed

even before this time. For example, English medium universities existed in China as early as the late nineteenth century (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ St._John’s_University,-Shanghai). My Chinese teacher and English teaching colleague in Hunan Province in the early 1980s, Zhang Zijing was a

graduate of St. John’s and a fluent English speaker. The famous architect I.M. Pei was an alum also. In addition, the Yale Mission in China established a medical school in Changsha, Hunan Province, in the early twentieth century. The legacy of their English medium education extended into the 1980s at Hunan Medical College, where the older teachers and professors still taught classes for medical students in fluent English (White 8c Juffs, 1998).

2. The term ‘native’ speaker has become problematic for many reasons (e.g., Graddol, 2003; Kumaravadivelu, 2016; Rampton, 1990). The term remains in use as a short-hand for a speaker of the very highest level of proficiency, but henceforward I will use Rampton’s (1990) term: ‘expert speaker’.