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This paper describes a study in which one specific form of follow-up, the action plan, was used to assess the effectiveness of a teachers' course with 15 German teachers of English and offers an evaluation of the plan's potential as a program evaluation instrument. The course was taught for 20, 1.5 hour sessions, in the mornings; afternoons were composed of a self-directed project, optional lectures, and local educational site visits. The action plan was introduced to participants on the last day of the course, with the objective that in 2-3 months, they would be asked to report on their progress toward the objectives they had formulated for the action plan. After 3 follow-up letters/postcards to all 15 students, 11 responses total, had been received. Analysis and comparison of action plans and responses revealed that action plans do seem to offer a feasible and economical way of gathering information that is of value to course organizers, especially regarding input to course design. The most difficult thing for the teachers was to find the time to adapt materials or to think through a different way of doing things. The action plans proved to be useful instruments for both evaluation and awareness-raising. (NAV)

This paper describes a study of ICT-related teacher development in the context of a national reform of College English teaching in China. The reform, in which emphasis was placed on use of information and communications technology (ICT) in classroom teaching and self-access learning, had challenged teachers of English as a foreign language to adapt to new teaching materials, student-centred classroom teaching and to guide students in their autonomous learning. The study examined teachers' attitudes towards ICT use in education and ICT-related continuing professional development (CPD) policies and practices in a university in southern China. Mixed methods were used: questionnaires to teachers, classroom observation, interviews with teachers, management and administrative staff, and focus groups with both teachers and students. The findings indicated that limited ICT skills and pedagogic expertise were obstacles to the use of ICT in English language teaching. Moreover, although initially the majority of teachers had held positive attitudes towards ICT use in English teaching and the national reform, their enthusiasm was waning in the light of inadequate support and training. Implications for policy and teacher education are discussed and an ICT-based CPD model for language teachers is proposed. (Contains 2 figures.)

This article describes a case study conducted at an International Baccalaureate World School in mainland China in which the majority of faculty and over 98 per cent of students are Chinese. The purpose of the study was to investigate and compare the teacher-student relationships of Chinese and non-Chinese teachers, with a specific focus on the teachers' role and time spent with students. The study also explored students' perspectives on any differences. The overall intention was to provide an in-depth and systematic interpretation of the nature of any differences and the reasons for these in an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of co-constructed pedagogy. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

This paper builds on previous work on metaphor analysis from the perspective of a teacher educator working with practising teachers. The benefits for teachers and teacher educators of surfacing teachers' beliefs, as reflected in their use of metaphoric language, are outlined, and a collection of some 200 images (metaphors and similes) elicited from Brazilian teachers of English is presented and discussed. These images, representing teachers' views of their English-language teaching textbooks, suggest varying degrees of textbook dependence. The implications of this finding for in-service teacher education are explored and possible directions suggested for related research. (Contains 1 note and 1 table.)

If, as has been widely claimed, our attitudes and beliefs are reflected in the language we use, it should be possible to gain some insight into teachers' views of English-language coursebooks from the metaphors they use to describe them. A small collection of teacher metaphors (and similes), drawn largely from Hong Kong, is presented and discussed. This is then compared with metaphors supplied by secondary school learners in the same context. The conclusion is drawn that there is value in teachers researching their learners' beliefs and attitudes--in relation to coursebooks and other aspects of the teaching-learning environment--and reflecting on and comparing these with their own. Metaphors may be a conveniently economical way of focusing such reflection.

This paper re-visits, in the light of a recent survey in Hong Kong, issues in relation to how people are represented in educational materials for language-learners. Consideration is given to stereotyping in the way men and women are depicted and broader questions concerning the "visibility" of women, the divorced and other groups, and the possible effects of such representation on school-age learners.