Teachers talking

Abstract

Having listened to what boys in different contexts have to say about the learning of languages, we now present comments from some of the teachers of these boys. These commentaries clearly come from different perspectives to those of the boys themselves, reflecting different investments and understandings, speaking through different discourses; but they have many points of connection with what the boys had to say. They were collected from various sources: some the result of impromptu conversations at conferences or professional development workshops with teachers who identified as having a particular interest in the boys–languages issue; others with teachers who had worked with me during their pre-service programmes, or who had responded to an invitation which I sent out through a language teachers‘ electronic discussion forum. They varied considerably, but probably represent a fairly typical cross-section of the language-teaching community. Some were recent graduates, others nearing retirement. Some had taught all their careers in single-sex schools, some in independent schools only, while others had taught across sectors and in a variety of institutions. All had an identified interest in the boys–languages issue – several of them talking about it as the ‘sleeping dog’ issue of languages education.