Search

In language teaching, current understanding of complex classroom contexts and post-methods L2 pedagogy encourages us to adopt a situated and dynamic perspective of the language classroom. Exemplary teaching in such contexts is characterized by critical moment to moment decision-making for building L2 classroom environments that are engaging, demanding, and supportive of learners' development. Parallel to this, the notion of teacher reflection (aka. reflective practice) has gained considerable momentum in the field, evidenced by existing work on the topic and its continued popularity in scholarship on language teachers. However, a review of this topical area reveals inconsistencies and unresolved dilemmas, suggesting that notions of teacher reflection and reflective practice in our field are ripe for reconceptualization. In response, we propose that the field of L2 teaching adopt the superordinate notion of "teacher metacognition" in order to better address the links between language teachers' inner worlds, their classroom teaching, and students' learning. We discuss the implications of adopting a perspective that is informed by current evidence in teacher education research and the learning sciences for understanding the interface between teacher thought and action, and students' development.

Metacognition is a topic of increasing interest in the field of instruction and learning, but its relation to actual teaching behaviors is seldom investigated in second language (L2) classroom research. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how language teacher metacognition and executive function are linked to high-leverage teaching practice. We recruited foreign and second language teachers (N = 937), including bilingual/ESL teachers, from public schools across the southern United States. We obtained a direct measure of teachers' executive function and an indirect measure of metacognitive capacity. Using the Tripod (7Cs) framework, we also assessed specific aspects of high-leverage teaching practice under 3 broad conceptual areas: personal support, curricular support, and academic press. We examined the mediating role of teacher metacognitive capacity between executive function and exemplary classroom practice, and tested an alternative model. Analyses returned stronger support for our hypothesized model over the alternative, indicating that teacher metacognition--teachers' adaptive capacity to monitor, interpret, evaluate, and intervene on L2 classroom events--constitutes an important mediating condition for building classroom environments that are engaging, demanding, and supportive of learners' L2 development.

Two broad and seemingly contradictory perspectives exist on U.S. alliances with South Korea and Taiwan. One focuses on how Washington carefully designed the alliances to rein in its overly warlike junior partners, while the other focuses on the surprisingly big influence of Seoul and Taipei that belied the power asymmetry in their relationships with Washington. This paper shows the influence of small allies is not a static feature of asymmetrical alliances designed to restrain them; small allies might exert unduly large influence at the stage of alliance formation, but once the alliance is institutionalised, they may lose much of the initial leverage. The findings lend empirical support to the view of alliances as a stabilising force, rather than a force multiplier, in international politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metacognition is a topic of increasing interest in the field of instruction and learning, but its relation to actual teaching behaviors is seldom investigated in second language (L2) classroom research. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how language teacher metacognition and executive function are linked to high‐leverage teaching practice. We recruited foreign and second language teachers (N = 937), including bilingual/ESL teachers, from public schools across the southern United States. We obtained a direct measure of teachers' executive function and an indirect measure of metacognitive capacity. Using the Tripod (7Cs) framework, we also assessed specific aspects of high‐leverage teaching practice under 3 broad conceptual areas: personal support, curricular support, and academic press. We examined the mediating role of teacher metacognitive capacity between executive function and exemplary classroom practice, and tested an alternative model. Analyses returned stronger support for our hypothesized model over the alternative, indicating that teacher metacognition—teachers' adaptive capacity to monitor, interpret, evaluate, and intervene on L2 classroom events—constitutes an important mediating condition for building classroom environments that are engaging, demanding, and supportive of learners' L2 development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In language teaching, current understanding of complex classroom contexts and post-methods L2 pedagogy encourages us to adopt a situated and dynamic perspective of the language classroom. Exemplary teaching in such contexts is characterized by critical moment to moment decision-making for building L2 classroom environments that are engaging, demanding, and supportive of learners' development. Parallel to this, the notion of teacher reflection (aka. reflective practice) has gained considerable momentum in the field, evidenced by existing work on the topic and its continued popularity in scholarship on language teachers. However, a review of this topical area reveals inconsistencies and unresolved dilemmas, suggesting that notions of teacher reflection and reflective practice in our field are ripe for reconceptualization. In response, we propose that the field of L2 teaching adopt the superordinate notion of teacher metacognition in order to better address the links between language teachers' inner worlds, their classroom teaching, and students' learning. We discuss the implications of adopting a perspective that is informed by current evidence in teacher education research and the learning sciences for understanding the interface between teacher thought and action, and students' development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to ample attention on American military base closures at home, the consequences of base closures abroad remain under-examined even as the American military continues to adjust its global force posture. South Korea, the third biggest host of US military bases overseas, is an under-investigated case despite offering useful insights applicable to other US base hosts. This article examines short-term local-level consequences of US base departures in South Korea, with a focus on environmental and redevelopment challenges that shape the political and economic fate of former base sites. Detailed analyses and interviews on the oft-overlooked fate of multiple post-military sites draw a rather unsettling picture: Most sites remain empty, temporarily deserted and heavily contaminated spaces plagued by redevelopment difficulties. When overseas American bases are closed, they leave problems behind and those problems persist long after base sites return to host communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When do anti-base movements manage to influence policy, and when do they fail to do so? Base scholars have largely overlooked what I argue is a significant factor that can shape public and government response to anti-base movements: political opportunities associate with framing efforts by key actors involved. Based on two cases of anti-base movements in South Korea, I show how framing battles between activists and media shape political opportunities afforded to anti-base movements and can ultimately influence movement success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Literature in the past decade has shown that Achilles tendon-lengthening surgery in addition to total contact casting decreases the rate of plantar ulcer recurrence in the forefoot and midfoot; however, the risk of heel ulceration or recurrent equinus deformity with new forefoot or midfoot wounds is not insignificant. The purpose of this study was to compare the rate of recurrent ulceration between the patient groups who have undergone soft-tissue repair of diabetic forefoot or midfoot wounds either with or without concomitant Achilles tendon-lengthening surgery., Methods: All diabetic patients with plantar forefoot or midfoot ulceration who underwent soft-tissue reconstruction during two different time periods-from 1983 to 1991 or from 1996 to 2004-were reviewed. Multiple patient-related factors were compared. The "early group" consisted of 179 wounds in 149 patients who underwent wound closure surgery alone. The "later group" included 145 wounds in 138 patients who underwent similar wound closure procedures with the addition of Achilles tendon-lengthening surgery., Results: Twenty-five percent in the early group and 2 percent of patients in the later group developed recurrent ulceration requiring reoperation, which resulted in 94 percent relative risk reduction (p < 0.001), whereas the risk factors and demographic data were similar in each group. In addition, 12 percent in the early group and 4 percent of the later group developed transfer lesions (p < 0.001)., Conclusion: If one avoids excessive Achilles lengthening, the addition of an Achilles tendon-lengthening procedure can significantly reduce the risk of recurrent diabetic foot ulcerations., Clinical Question/level of Evidence: Therapeutic, III.