6th June 2015, Fukuoka, Japan

JALTCALL 2015

A Reflexive Narrative of one Teacher’s Professional Digital Literacy
Richard Pinner rpinner@sophia.ac.jp

www.uniliterate.com@uniliterate

Abstract:
I have always combined my interest in technology
with my work as a teacher, thereby developing myown digital literacy to the extent that it has been avery influential factor in my professional
development and teaching beliefs. Whilst working
in London in 2007, I began teaching IT skills classes
to pre-masters students and at the same time I
became the eLearning coordinator for a large
chain of language schools with over 40
international locations. I was responsible formaintaining an online self-access centre andvirtual learning environment with over 10,000
registered users. I created my own consultancy
which offered technology training specifically for
language teachers. Since moving to Japan in 2011,

I have continued to utilise educational
technologies in my work. My story may not be
particularly unusual, and therefore in presenting areflexive narrative of my experience I hope toopen up a discussion with other practitioners who
have similarly developed their digital literacy inorder to improve their teaching and careerprospects. I will also discuss my views on EFL
teacher digital literacy in general, as well as myexperience of student digital literacy. Thispresentation takes the form of a narrative inquiry(Barkhuizen, 2013), based on data collected
through the process of reflexive practice (Edge,2011). I encourage others to utilise narratives as away of improving their practice.

Narrative Inquiry and Reflective Practice
Becoming a reflexive practitioner means being able to constantly improve on things,being able to act on things, heightening intuition and awareness. This is connectedwith the idea of intuition (Atkinson & Claxton, 2000), awareness (van Lier, 1996),
receptivity or basically being able to make decisions based on our experience,
knowledge and beliefs about how something should be done (Gieve & Miller, 2006). Growing emphasis onpractitioner research and teachers applying theory to what they do in the classroom (Allwright & Hanks, 2009;
Edge, 2011; Gregersen & MacIntyre, 2013; Holliday, 1994; Johnson & Golombek, 2002; J. C. Richards &Lockhart, 1994; K. Richards, Ross, & Seedhouse, 2012). “ESOL teachers are natural researchers” K. Richards(2003, p. 232)

Teacher and Student Digital Literacy
I am not at all confident with computers
My knowledge of computers is pretty basic but I can do…
I use computers but I am not really an expert
I am confident in everyday uses of computers
I am very confident about my ability with most aspects of…
0In a teaching context

10203040

For personal use

Teachers are not, as Kirschner and Selinger (2003) say, “road kill” but they
seem slightly less confident about using technology when it applies toteaching contexts (Pinner, 2010). Teacher training has a correlation withstudent uses of digital learning technologies (Pinner, 2011).
Digital literacy and English proficiency have both come to be termed as‘life skills’ (Graddol, 2006; Ushioda, 2011)

5060

70

8090

JALTCALL 2015

Pinner

References
Allwright, D., & Hanks, J. (2009). The developing language learner: An introduction to exploratory
practice. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Atkinson, T., & Claxton, G. (Eds.). (2000). The intuitive practitioner: On the value of not always
knowing what one is doing. Bristol: Taylor & Francis.
Barkhuizen, G. (Ed.). (2013). Narrative Research in Applied Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Davies, G. (2009, 6th November 15:18). Post-Doc in CALL? Retrieved 6th November, 2009, fromhttp://listserv.calico.org/scripts/wa-CALICO.exe
Edge, J. (2011). The Reflexive Teacher Educator in TESOL: Roots and Wings. London: Routledge.
Gieve, S., & Miller, I. K. (Eds.). (2006). Understanding the language classroom. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Graddol, D. (2006). English next : why global English may mean the end of 'English as a foreignlanguage'. London: British Council.
Gregersen, T., & MacIntyre, P. (2013). Capitalizing on language learners' individuality: From premiseto practice (Vol. 72). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.
Holliday, A. (1994). Appropriate methodology and social context. Cambridge Cambridge University
Press.
Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (Eds.). (2002). Teachers' narrative inquiry as professionaldevelopment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kirschner, P., & Selinger, M. (2003). The state of affairs of teacher education with respect toinformation and communications technology. Technology, Pedagogy and Education, 12(1),5-17.
Pinner, R. S. (2010). Teachers’ attitudes to and motivations for using CALL in and around thelanguage classroom. (Masters' Degree Dissertation), King's College, London, London.
Pinner, R. S. (2011). A Two Year Cross-Section of Student Use of Self-Access eLearning. Studies inself-access learning, 2(3), 30 -34.
Pinner, R. S. (2015). Trouble in paradise: Self-assessment and the Tao. Language Teaching Research,
1-15. doi: 10.1177/1362168814562015
Richards, J. C., & Lockhart, C. (1994). Reflective teaching in second language classrooms: Cambridge
University Press.
Richards, K. (2003). Qualitative inquiry in TESOL. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Richards, K., Ross, S., & Seedhouse, P. (2012). Research methods for applied language studies.
London: Routledge.
Ushioda, E. (2011). Language learning motivation, self and identity: current theoretical perspectives.
Computer Assisted Language Learning, 24(3), 199-210. doi: 10.1080/09588221.2010.538701
van Lier, L. (1996). Interaction in the language curriculum: Awareness, autonomy and authenticity.
London: Longman.