Reflective Practice Through Dialogic Interactions: Togetherness and Belonging Within a Collective of EFL Teachers in Mexico

Authors

Patricia Marie Anne Houde, Universidad de GuanajuatoFollow

Abstract

This study tackles the lack of collective models to analyze teaching practices by employing a bottom-up and collaborative approach for engaging in Reflective Practice (RP) for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in a Mexican context. The Collective Accompaniment Model (CAM; Guillemette, 2014) served to develop reflection with peers at the same hierarchical level, allowing for reflection to evolve over time. The research question was “What are the contributions of other colleagues’ interactions to support reflective practice via collective accompaniment with EFL teachers in Mexico”? The methodology employed during the inquiry was action research (AR) with nine EFL teachers who had graduated or were in the last year of the BA TESOL degree in a public university in Guanajuato in Mexico. Data collection instruments such as verbal and written accounts of reflection were employed via the CAM, and data were analyzed using inductive and deductive coding. The findings show that the CAM provided a dialogic venue strengthening the reflective process. Each participant analyzed individual aspects of their professional practice through sharing experiences, creating a sense of togetherness, and belonging. This study calls for dialogic ways to carry out RP with EFL teachers in Mexico to adjust EFL teaching practices.

Keywords

action research, collective accompaniment model, dialogic English as a Foreign Language (EFL), reflective practice (RP), socio-constructivism

Author Bio(s)

Patricia Marie Anne Houde (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3730-4828) is an Associate Professor who works in language teacher education and Teacher Development at the University of Guanajuato in Mexico and at the University of Sherbrooke in Canada. Her academic background includes a BA in Psychology, a Master’s in Education, and a PhD in Educational Studies in Language Acquisition. She has taught French and English as second and foreign languages from elementary to higher education in Canada and Mexico. Her research interests are predominantly about reflective practice for analysing teaching practices with language teachers. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Patricia Houde, Language Department, University of Guanajuato, Calzada de Guadalupe S/N; Zona Centro; C.P. 36000; Guanajuato, Gto., Mexico. Email: p.houde@ugto.mx

Publication Date

6-4-2022

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2022.4861

Recommended APA Citation

Houde, P. M. (2022). Reflective Practice Through Dialogic Interactions: Togetherness and Belonging Within a Collective of EFL Teachers in Mexico. The Qualitative Report, 27(6), 1485-1510. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2022.4861

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3730-4828