Accountable professional practice in ELT

Frank Farmer

Professionalism is widely thought to be desirable in ELT, and at the same time institutions are taking seriously the need to evaluate their teachers. This article presents a general approach to professionalism focused on the accountability of the professional to the client based on TESOLs (2000) classication of adult ELT within eight general service areas. Both TESOLs attempt to ascribe Indicators, Measures and Performance Standards to those areas of service and recent attempts to form professional bodies in ELT are shown to be unable to provide effective protection of clients interests. Nevertheless, the TESOL approach to dening a full ELT service can be modied to adopt a clients perspective, leading to a proposal for a more complete and accountable professional ELT service. The analysis presented here will be of interest to all ELT practitioners seeking to understand the professional context of their own practice and how it may be evaluated.

The nature of accountable professionalism

Freidson (2001) subtitles his book on professionalism On the practice of knowledge. His main idea is that there are three ways of organizing, controlling and rewarding labour, namely free markets, bureaucracy, and professionalism, and his concise working denition of professionalism is . . . a set of institutions which permit the members of an occupation to make a living while controlling their own work (ibid.: 12). Freidson is particularly relevant because he is sympathetic to the professions and believes that the suggestion that they operate monopolies against the public interest is unjustied. He points out (ibid.: 214) that professions gain their protected status by successful persuasion, not by buying it or capturing it at the point of a gun. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that there is a sense in which professions do have an occupational monopoly. Freidsons view (ibid.: 198) is that the monopoly of professionalism is not over real property, wealth, political power, or even knowledge, but rather over the practice of a dened body of intellectualised knowledge and skill, a discipline (italics in original). I take this to mean that the knowledge held by professions is not secret: the science they use is available to all. But knowing how to apply that knowledge to solving problems does require skill of a different order, and that is the special province of the professions. As Dingwall and Fenn (1987: 61) put it; the

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judgement of the professional stabilises the unpredictable into a basis sufciently reliable for human action. The test is not just whether the knowledge is true, but rather whether it works and how well it works. If someone else can do the job better, the professionals claims are nullied, and in that way the public are protected from spurious claims to knowledge. Dingwall and Fenn (ibid.: 51) suggest that such creative tension between different occupations accompanied by litigation is indeed the only workable public safeguard licensing professional monopolies. They further point out (ibid.: 55) that there is an informational asymmetry in all professional activities, as only the profession is able to judge the quality of practitioners work, so that disputes between professionals and clients must be settled in court using expert witnesses to clarify the issues. ELT professionals are not normally sued for professional negligence, and that perhaps reects a vagueness about what they promise to do for their clients. We may now examine approaches to ELT which have some of the characteristics of accountable professionalism.

Sterns model of language teaching

Stern (1983: 44) proposes a three layer model of language teaching. The top layer, which is the part that puts theory into practice, is the one which contains classroom methodologies and the organizational setting for these. This grouping is of interest because it treats teaching acts and the institutions in which they take place together, which is surely how student clients really experience education. The top layer is supported by what he calls an intermediate layer of knowledge which may be subsumed under the general heading of educational linguistics. Educational linguistics has its own specialist disciplines: learning, language, and teaching. These are in turn informed by the core disciplines which form the foundation, the bottom layer of Sterns model: history of language teaching, linguistics, sociology sociolinguistics and anthropology, psychology and psycholinguistics, and educational theory. An attractive feature of this model is the way it packages knowledge. So much has been written about the learning of languages that it is a nearly impossible design problem to devise a teaching approach that takes into account all that is known about the subject, and in addition constantly updates that approach in the light of the ood of new information. Thus, the bottom layer disciplines do not have to worry too much about the impact their work may have on intermediate layer disciplines. That is for the educational linguists to work out. Similarly, educational linguists do not have to do basic research, and can take a multidisciplinary approach to providing the information in a form usable by the top layer, the educators who actually deliver the educational service to the student client. But here lies the problem. What is the nature of the top layer of Sterns model? If it is not more of the same, a scholarly re-combining of the work of the educational linguists, maybe it is a service industry like any other, requiring attention to the parameters set by a quality assurance programme, or perhaps it could be an accountable professional service. This is an important question. It affects what kind of people we hire to deliver the service, how we train them, what we ask of them and how we evaluate their work.
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ELT as a service industry

A service industry approach to ELT supposes a market-led service, where clients may insist on identiable actions leading to measurable results. Thus, government and institutions can expect evidence that investment is producing results and student clients can expect an education that can be selected for price and quality, like any other product. In some senses this is an attractive approach to ELT and it is the view presented in TESOL (2000) where Quality Indicators, Measures and Performance Standards for adult ESOL teaching programmes are given under the following headings: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Program Structure, Administration and Planning Curriculum Instruction Recruitment, Intake and Orientation Retention and Transition Assessment and Learner Gains Stafng, Professional Development and Staff Evaluation Support Services

Features of the TESOL approach

This document is interesting in four important ways. Firstly, many of these functions are not normally considered part of teaching, and are delegated to our institutions or to senior administrative or teaching staff. But according to Ramsden (1992: 5) The aim of teaching is simple: it is to make student learning possible. If we follow this line, perhaps EFL/ESL teachers should be competent to deliver all of these services. Stern (op. cit.: 21) in his exploration of the fundamental concepts of language teaching says that it is his intention to: . . . interpret language teaching widely so as to include all the activities intended to bring about language learning. Interestingly, Freidson (op. cit.: 1713) regards engineers as having weak claims to professionalism because of the incomplete and dependent nature of their service, so that completeness of service may taken as an indicator of professionalism. But taking the wider view of a language teaching service has important implications for the evaluation of that service. Teachers are often defensive about administrative demands to accept new responsibilities and submit to new evaluations, and with good reason. However, if teachers themselves can dene their service more exactly, evaluate themselves, and offer a clear statement of their competences, there is every reason to believe that teachers will benet. This has been the experience of other professions, who enjoy status and respect in society and considerable personal job satisfaction as well as receiving salaries compatible with their responsibilities. Secondly, not all the Quality Indicators listed, and perhaps even less the most signicant ones, are amenable to the specication of Measures and Performance Standards. For example, the suggestions given on Instruction (TESOL 2000: Appendix A1) show that out of thirteen Quality Indicators, only one can be measured and ascribed a Performance Standard. This must call into question how far this approach can guarantee the quality of service to the student client. Thirdly, there is a need for knowledge, skill, and judgement in writing the performance standards which a teaching programme should meet. If the

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appropriate knowledge skill and judgement exists only in the community of ELT, there is scope for a lack of objectivity as well as a possible failure to attend the real or perceived needs of the student client. And fourthly, it is not clear how far performance standards written by ELT specialists can be said to inform or facilitate decision-making or service evaluation by either institutional or student clients.

Outcomes of the TESOL approach

On this analysis, then, TESOL (2000) shows that as a service ELT has proved somewhat difcult to tie down to measurable performance standards. Clients, both institutions and students, have to take on trust much of the service providers good intentions and competence, much as we do when we consult a doctor, a lawyer, or an architect. Nevertheless, we should not be in too much of a hurry to dismiss it out of hand. It has done a valuable service in reminding us that giving classes is a tiny part of language education, one item out of eight in this case. And if the approach has not been too fruitful in the denition of classroom practice, it has proved quite helpful in other areas of the service. Assessment and Learner Gains, for instance, seems to be an area particularly well suited to measures and performance standards, with nine measurable performance standards identied for three quality indicators (ibid.: A1). In addition, in the current climate, we cannot afford to ignore legitimate demands for accountability. Evaluation bids fair to be the greatest growth industry in education . . . since the invention of printing (Candlin 1998: xiv).The authors of the TESOL document are fourteen teachers and coordinators of language programmes in the USA, with a coordinator and a representative of the US Department of Education, and it is encouraging that they are trying to respond in a realistic way to the pressure for measurable performance. Finally, it is interesting that no pretence is made at responding to market demands. Professionals are responsible for dening client needs, and this is the view that seems to be taken by the panel of expert authors of this document. Freidson (op. cit.: 122) states: Professionals claim independence of judgement and freedom of action rather than faithful service . . . due to devotion to higher values. Professionals may even violate their clients wishes. Walker (2001) investigated the wishes of TESOL clients in New Zealand and identied the ESOL teacher as the most important issue for clients. He offers a tentative suggestion for TESOL managers on the role of the ESOL teacher (ibid.: 194): In addition to teaching qualications and skills, effective ESOL teachers may need to possess a service orientation. TESOL managers may wish to specify personal attributes consistent with both service orientation and the counsellor/coach/mentor role in their criteria for hiring new teachers and developing existing staff. Teaching methodologies may need to be reviewed with respect to exibility. Time might be well spent on preliminary client orientation to the preferred methodology of the institution. Consideration might also be given to restructuring teaching
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programmes by reducing formal class time and substituting drop-in sessions when clients can access teachers on an individual basis. I have quoted this recommendation at length because it represents a client-orientated approach that is at the same time calling for a more professional role from teachers and a more complete service with the teacher as the prime service provider. Aspects of the client-led service approach, then, are worthy of further consideration, but it is evident that it necessarily leaves many important elements of the service without effective systems of quality control. If a client-orientated service industry approach as suggested in TESOL (2000) seems inadequate, perhaps a professional approach will be more helpful.

Towards accountable professionalism in ELT

ELT has in place internationally validated courses of preparation for teachers, such as the Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults (DELTA) and the In-service Certicate in English Language Teaching (ICELT), both validated through Cambridge ESOL. There have been initiatives towards professionalism by setting entry standards for practitioners, so that professional ELT becomes the service that accredited teacher education may dene (Haddock undated; Murphy-ODwyer 2002). It has an extensive knowledge base, and research continues to contribute to it. And as ELT practice is traditionally theory driven, there are mechanisms for change that are not entirely controlled by the administrative needs of employers. Perhaps the implications of this are best appreciated by comparing professional systems with those currently guiding ELT practice. In current ELT orthodoxy, the service given depends on the education of the teachers, which in turn depends on what has been researched. Figure 1 shows the chain of cause and effect in the systems: This gure shows a marked difference in the role of theory in the two systems. Good practice in a professional system is good because it works, and does not depend on whether or not a satisfactory theoretical explanation exists. The growth of professional bodies depends on the existence of good practice. First it is necessary to dene the ELT service, thinking about what practitioners must know and what they must be competent to do, having a clear view of their service from the clients point of view and a clear conception of who their clients are. These are not traditionally the concerns of ELT literature, yet they underlie all attempts to educate ELT professionals and to evaluate their work. It may be concluded that any attempt to form a professional body in ELT in the present state of knowledge would tend to freeze practice in current orthodoxy rather than address client needs.

An academic approach

If we take a strictly academic approach, we are unlikely to develop a suitable knowledge base. The large and growing literature on ELT is substantially unstructured, so that practitioners may be reading basic research in the hope that something may turn up which might improve their practice. Or they may be reading about classroom activities based on some new theoretical principle or technology without an overview of how these have been tested and evaluated. Perhaps we have not as a group been
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gure 1 Cause and effect in ELT compared with established professions

sufciently interested in who may be helped or harmed by a teaching procedure, how much and under what circumstances. This is evidently a matter which can be investigated by large scale trials which could be carried out much in the way that clinical trials of drugs are carried out in medicine. No doubt one reason for such trials not being carried out is that basic research has not yet dened the variables to the extent needed for controlled tests to be made, but it is also known that large scale trials are rather expensive. At any rate, this kind of knowledge is notably lacking. I think this suggests a much stronger role for what Stern (1983: 44) calls educational linguistics. Macaro (2003: 251) complains about a lack of focus in research, and educational linguists may be in a much better position than ELT practitioners to both indicate where research effort may best be directed and to assimilate existing research in a form in which it may inuence practice.

A client service approach

TESOL (2000) prescribes a wide range of services to the client, and perhaps these should be regarded as the responsibilities of ELT professionals rather than of institutions. We have noted the requirement for the completeness of a professional service, and we have seen that from the clients point of view their teacher is the main, if not the sole service provider. Perhaps the administrative procedures we are inclined to detest are really at the heart of our professionalism, provided they are ours and not imposed from outside. It is an additional burden to learn how to do the
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administration, but it is not too demanding and has the advantage of giving the professional a complete view of their work. Indeed, if we make a medical analogy, where ELT institutions function like a hospital whose administrators have assumed the role of doctors and employ only nurses to attend the patients, the service cannot in any meaningful sense be professional. Once mastered, the administrative role of the professional may be supervisory and the work delegated. Goode (1969: 284) suggests that it is compatible with professionalism to delegate the dirty work to less qualied staff. Professional teachers, accepting full responsibility for the service to the client, may delegate much of the administration to their schools under their supervision. Although professionalism as I have dened it is focused on service, it is a special kind of service, quite unlike ordinary service industries (Dingwall and Fenn 1987: 61). What distinguishes professional from service industry approaches to the clients needs is that the professional undertakes to help dene those needs, so that the client is not alone in making decisions that are outside their competence. The danger of having an education driven service, as may currently be the norm in ELT, is that the client gets what practitioners have been trained to do rather than what they need. And in the model of professionalism advocated here, needs have priority even though the skill, knowledge or facilities required may not be as complete as we would like at any given time or place.

Professional ELT service statements

Established professions offer plain language statements of what they promise to do for their clients, and TESOL (2000) has attempted a complete catalogue of ELT services. The suggestion for an ELT professional service that follows is based on the service presented in TESOL (2000) adapted to ensure that learning support is written into the system as fully as possible. Program structure, administration and planning Providing programmes with a mission statement, philosophy, and goals, with input from internal and external stakeholders. Providing effective administration and accountability in all programmes. Providing effective evaluation of programmes and planning for future needs. Curriculum Setting goals, objectives, outcomes, approaches, methods, materials, technological resources and evaluation measures that are appropriate for clients needs and goals. Evaluating and revising the curriculum. Instruction Promoting active client participation in the learning process. Taking account of diverse client needs and cultural backgrounds.

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Focusing on the functional use of language. Integrating the four language skills (reading, writing, speaking, listening). Taking account of different clients learning styles. Developing authentic communication skills. Preparing clients for formal and informal assessment situations. Recruitment, intake, and orientation Identifying and recruiting client learners to meet needs. Evaluating recruitment procedures. Planning recruitment programmes. Evaluating clients needs, goals, and language prociency level. Retention and transition Encouraging clients to stay in the system or transfer to other programmes in accordance with their goals and needs. Assessment and learner gains Assessing clients skills and goals for placement into the programme, documentation of progress within the programme, and exit from the programme. Collecting and reporting data on educational gains and outcomes. Providing appropriate facilities, equipment and conditions for assessment activities. Identifying clients needs and goals as individuals, family members, community participants, workers, and lifelong learners. Assessing clients language prociency level in the areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Using an appropriate variety of reliable and valid instruments for assessment. Obtaining information through needs assessment to aid in developing curricula, materials, skills assessments, and teaching approaches that are relevant to clients lives. Explaining and sharing assessment results with clients. Documenting clients progress towards attainment of other goals. Helping clients identify their short and long term goals. Helping clients demonstrate skill level improvements in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Helping clients demonstrate progress towards their short and long term goals. Helping clients demonstrate progress in non-linguistic areas identied as important toward their goals.
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Helping clients attain their personal short and long term goals within time frames compatible with client and programme expectations. Stafng, professional development, and staff evaluation Recruiting, hiring and inducting suitably qualied administrative, instructional and support staff. Developing a professional development plan based on staff needs and developments in ESOL, with suitable follow up. Training in assessment procedures and in the interpretation and use of assessment results. Maintaining an up to date resource library of materials on teaching methods and previous course syllabi. Evaluating administrative, instructional, and support staff. Giving clients the opportunity to evaluate programme staff anonymously. Support services Providing access to a variety of services related to barriers to learning directly or through referrals to other agencies. Identifying learner disabilities and providing appropriate services directly or through referrals to other agencies. The statements above come entirely from TESOL (2000), but much shortened and adapted to focus more on the client than on the programme. Expressed in this way, the service is comparable with that offered by other professions in documents such the Royal Institute of British Architects Plan of Work (RIBA undated). One aspect of this type of document is that the service offered is complete and stands alone, and is not dependent on other professions or services. The client may select a full or partial service, and negotiate the appropriate fee, but the professional may refuse to provide a partial service that they consider prejudicial to their clients interests or that may leave the professional vulnerable to claims of professional negligence. A further characteristic of this formulation is that it does not seek to limit the professionals liability by setting conditions in small print. The requirement is that each part of the service should be delivered as well as possible within the current limits of knowledge. This differs considerably from a service industry approach, as the standard of the service is not set by the provider, but by the client. In the case of an unsatisfactory outcome, the courts will determine whether or not there was something that the professional should or should not have done to protect their clients interests. If there are similarities between this reformulation of the standards set by TESOL (2000) and the service offered by other professions, there are also marked differences. The proposed ELT service statements are much more detailed and include aspects such as stafng and development that

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are usually dealt with separately in established professions that already enjoy a monopoly of title and practice. But without a professional body and no immediate prospect of establishing an effective one, the only workable option is to be openly accountable to the client on these matters too.

Conclusions

The professionalism advocated here is nothing more than the effective management of the clients learning, led by professionals claiming appropriate knowledge and competence, and accountable to clients. No other system allows the delivery of a service of comparable quality combined with an effective system of accountability. Perhaps the advantages of a professional approach to ELT can be outlined as follows: n Service to the client n Reduction in the impact of peripheral considerations such as the teachers personality n Accountable practice with no passing the blame for poor service between providers n Management of incremental change based on proven improvement in client service outcomes n Accommodation of career development within the professional system n Consolidation of teacher education n Valid systems of service evaluation n Clear directions for practice oriented research n Valid criteria for recognition of teacher excellence n Administrative procedures focused on client service rather than accountability to the teachers employers. Final revised version received August 2004

References Candlin, C. 1998. General Editors preface in P. Rea-Dickens and K. P. Germaine (eds.). Managing Evaluation and Innovation In Language Teaching. Harlow: Addison Wesley Longman. Dingwall, R. and P. Fenn. 1987. A respectable profession? Sociological and economic perspectives on the regulation of professional services. International Review of Law and Economics 7: 5164. Freidson, E. 2001. Professionalism, the Third Logic: on the Practice of Knowledge. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Goode, W. J. 1969. The theoretical limits of professionalization in A. Etzione (ed.). The SemiProfessions and their Organization. New York: The Free Press. Haddock, D. undated. TESOLANZ Professional Standards Project: core competencies prole. Available at http://www.tesolanz.org.nz/ Competency.htm (last accessed 26/05/04). Macaro, E. 2003. Teaching and Learning a Second Language. London: Continuum.

Murphy-ODwyer, L. 2002. The proposed key standards and guidelines for the recognition of pre-career ELT courses in Ireland. Available at http://www.acels.ie (last accessed 26/05/04). Ramsden, P. 1992. Learning to Teach in Higher Education. London: Routledge. RIBA. undated. Contracts and appointments. Available at http://www.riba.org/go/RIBA/ Member/Practice_306.html (last accessed 26/05/04). Stern, H. H. 1983. Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. TESOL. 2000. Program Standards for Adult Education ESOL Programs. Alexandria Va.: TESOL. Walker, J. 2001. Client views of TESOL service: expectations and perceptions. International Journal of Educational Management 15/4: 18796. The author Frank Farmer has been a lecturer at the Universidad de Quintana Roo, Mexico, since 1996. He holds the COTE qualication in language teaching,

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is an oral examiner for Cambridge ESOL, and has a Master of Education degree in Educational Technology and ELT from the University of Manchester. He is also an architect registered in the United Kingdom. His research interests include

professionalism in ELT, the use of technology in language education, and self-access. Email: frank@correo.uqroo.mx

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