Thomas Farrell

Thomas S.C. Farrell - Plenary Speaker @ KOTESOL 2023

  Plenary Session

Advancing Collaboration Among Teachers Through Reflective Practice

Gaining teaching experience as a teacher is not enough to provide automatic professional development, for we do not learn from experience as much as we learn from reflecting on that experience. Reflective practice involves instructors systematically looking at what they do, how they do it, why they do it, what the outcomes are in terms of student learning, and what actions they will take as a result of knowing all of this information. Such reflection is best completed in collaboration other teachers. Thus, experience combined with systematic reflection in collaboration with others can lead to professional growth so that we can become more effective teachers. In this plenary, I discuss what reflective practice is, how it can be accomplished, and what it can result in.

  Invited Second Session

Operationalizing Reflective Practice for Language Teachers  

We must enter, not evade, the tangles of teaching so we can understand them better and negotiate them with more grace, not only to guard our own spirits but also to serve our students well. This workshop invites participants on a reflective journey through the lens of the Reflective Practice Framework, which includes exploring a language teacher’s philosophy, principles, theory, practice, and critically reflecting beyond practice. 

  Special Session

Jack C. Richards and Thomas S.C. Farrell in Conversation

With two leading TESOL teacher educators presenting at this year’s KOTESOL conference, it seemed like an excellent opportunity to invite Professors Richards and Farrell to reflect on some of the issues they have explored over the years in their teaching, research, and writing. This session will take the form of an informal question and answer exchange between Jack and Tom as they discuss their understanding of some of the changes that the field of English language teaching has experienced over the years as well as some of the factors that are influencing current directions in both language teaching and teacher education in TESOL. 

  Biosketch

Thomas S.C. Farrell is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada. His professional interests include reflective practice and language teacher education. Professor Farrell is recognized on the World’s Top 2% Most Impactful Researchers’ List compiled by Stanford University (Oct. 2022). He has published widely and has presented at major conferences worldwide on these topics. 

Select Sites
Thomas Farrell Website: Reflective Inquiry 
Thomas Farrell Article for The English Connection (March 2023; PDF)
Interview with Thomas Farrell on Rants, Reviews, and Reflections Blog (Jan. 2023).
Book Series: Reflective Practice in Language Education, Thomas S.C. Farrell, Series Editor.
Invited Paper: Farrell, T. S. C., & Moses, N. (2023). "Class Is Like a Family”: Reflections of an Experienced Canadian TESOL Teacher. Korea TESOL Journal. Advance online publication.
Reflective Practice Column in The English Connection (2015-2020) by Thomas S.C. Farrell (PDF).

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