Abstract
What the Book Micro-Reflection on Classroom Communication – A FAB Framework has to Offer Language Teachers
Micro-Reflection on Classroom Communication works as a guide and workbook for language teachers. Upon studying the title and leafing through the contents, it becomes apparent that the intention of the authors is to raise language teachers’ awareness of the significance of micro-reflection in teaching. The more teachers micro-reflect, the deeper they go into their psyche and understand their own value systems. Understanding these embedded systems is important as they can influence the teacher's thoughts and actions. Being aware of one's bias or assumptions and behaviour can persuade one to consciously attempt to develop more effective pedagogical strategies, and to become more neutral in one's teaching approach.
Through the micro-reflection tools, the authors have attempted to make English as a second language (ESL) teachers notice minute details in teaching. Being in the reflection mode, teachers can analyse what and how they teach, and can develop a much more informed teaching strategy. Therefore, the book becomes an essential read for ESL teachers who want to improve their skills.
The content includes elements of a workbook that teachers can readily use to micro-reflect as part of their language-teaching journey. In their presentation of the essentials of micro-reflection, the authors offer pedagogical reasons why teachers need to reflect. They also show that language teachers can use conversation analysis (CA) to analyse classroom interactions as part of their reflection. The book provides comprehensive steps on how to analyse interactions as an integral part of micro-reflection. This is helpful to ESL teachers who need to use CA as a reflective tool to hone their pedagogy.
While acknowledging the existence of other methods of reflections, the authors offer their readers an alternative framework called the FAB (fostering an inviting environment, attend to learner voices, balance competing demands) framework, which can be used by teacher educators to help their trainees enhance their pedagogical skills.
In taking readers through the journey of understanding micro-reflection, the authors have structured the content into six chapters. The first chapter, which encompasses the introduction, sets the direction on how the reader can approach the book. It incorporates the fundamentals of reflective discussions and sees them as integral parts of a teacher's pedagogy. It also suggests the timings at which reflections should take place, the type of questions to ask, what areas to reflect on, the length of reflection, how to reflect and the specific purpose of reflection.
Chapter 2 helps to create an awareness in ESL teachers of the importance of creating a positive and conducive learning environment. This chapter also emphasises that it is the teacher's duty to ensure that learners feel comfortable before any learning can take place. It stresses that teachers must be conscious of what they say and do in creating a learning environment and these should not engender confusion in the learners.
The focus of Chapter 3 is to create an awareness of the significance of listening to the learner's voice. Listening to the learner's voice means paying attention to both verbal and non-verbal elements of communication. As a practitioner myself, I agree with the authors’ suggestion for teachers to consciously build such micro-noticing skills to gain insights into their own teaching and to make changes to hone their pedagogy.
Chapter 4 focuses on how teachers need to keep their focus on all that takes place in the classroom, which includes teacher-talk and the need to balance it carefully with students’ needs. Language teachers may find it a challenge to meet the multiple needs of lessons, that is, the demands of lesson delivery and giving students the space and opportunity to learn. To overcome this challenge, the authors emphasise the importance of weaving in teacher-talk with student-talk to achieve this balance. When teachers are in the micro-reflection mode, they are conscious of their conduct and choice of resources. The authors stress that being aware of one's conduct is insufficient if it is not accompanied by a change in conduct. For a novice teacher it would be easier, as the awareness is created at an earlier stage in their pedagogical journey compared to an experienced teacher.
Chapter 5 provides readers with an opportunity to consolidate their learning, as the authors aptly refer to the chapter as ‘The FAB classroom-bringing all together’. By including bite-size tasks to guide the readers through a variety of suggestions and questions, the authors engage readers in using the FAB framework in its entirety. The suggested tasks direct the readers to observe verbal and non-verbal resources and to think of alternatives for teacher-turns, that is, what teachers need to do or say when their learners make a certain action or reaction. It is undeniable that the interactions in the classroom tend to be hierarchical in nature. The authors acknowledge that there may be instances when learners direct their own learning while the teachers co-facilitate it. Hence, micro-reflection using the FAB framework is crucial.
In the concluding chapter, the authors succinctly summarise the essentials of micro-reflection and reiterate the idea that the cycle of noticing–changing is core to the reflection process. They are hopeful that the exercises in Chapter 5 can help change the mindsets of teachers to lead them into presenting classrooms where students feel comfortable and become more engaged learners. They suggest that language teachers must constantly engage in a cycle of micro-reflection to see an improvement in their pedagogy, I agree, as teachers can see how they have progressed in their classroom practice.
Overall, this book gives ESL teachers the autonomy to start at any point in the book. The structure allows teachers to pace themselves according to their needs. The book has ready-made exercises for practice and a ‘checking for understanding’ segment. It provides specific terms used in CA for decoding classroom interactions, which can be used as references by ESL teachers for planning their own language lessons. In collecting information regarding activities in their classrooms and analysing them as part of their reflective practice, teachers can ascertain what has and has not worked, and think of reasons why it has and has not worked. Adopting these micro-reflection techniques helps ESL teachers become more conscious of their teaching and eventually improve their pedagogical skills, as they are constantly engaged in questioning, observing and analysing their classroom practices. This process is continuous and can be re-constructed for teachers to continue their reflective and reflexive practices, to gain insights for the future, throughout their teaching career.