Participants

4.4.1 Selection of the cases

I did not intend to select teachers or schools which were ‘representative’ of all Argentine state secondary school settings since I believe that all teachers and schools are unique in nature and the purpose of this study was precisely to explore and depict that uniqueness (see George and Bennett, 2004: 30-31; Small, 2009: 15-18; and Stake, 1995: 4). Yet it is also a fact that all state schools in Argentina share some realities such as a low budget, basic building facilities, limited materials resources for teaching and learning purposes, and staff’s full adherence to strikes, and, though to a lesser degree (see Chapter II), Cortázar School seems to be no exception. Therefore, the selection of the cases was based on individual teacher characteristics which I was interested in studying and not on stereotyped teacher profiles or contexts.

The three particular features which the units of analysis needed to have were: full qualification in ELT or any related fields (BA or more), at least ten years of L2 teaching experience in state schools, and proven engagement in teacher development courses. A fourth prerequisite was that they were currently working at a state secondary school, where they would be expected to deal with the aforesaid contextual realities and where observations would be carried out.

did it comply with all the requirements of a state secondary school but its entire EFL teaching staff met the characteristics pursued in this project and, therefore, represented potential participants for the study. After a meeting with all members of staff of the EFL department (one head of department and ten teachers), three agreed to participate voluntarily and gave their written consent.

Three methods had been administered with the three teachers (Emma, Sophia, and Lucy) when, soon before observations started, Lucy was forced to discontinue her participation since she had to go on a six-month leave due to problems in her vocal cords. Lucy’s withdrawal from the study was a great disappointment. She and I had established a good rapport in the first interview and through e-mail communication and we were both very excited about her participation in the project. Moreover, this teacher made a special contribution to the study since, unlike Emma and Sophia, she was not a teacher trainer and had specialised exclusively in teaching young learners. In addition, I was concerned that two case studies might not generate sufficient data. The research project thus consisted of two participants (see 4.4.2 and 4.4.3) and, fortunately, it produced rich information about the phenomena and issues under study.

4.4.2 Emma

Emma was born in Argentina in 1952 and has lived in this country for almost fifty years. She has also lived and worked in Spain (7 years, 1975-1982), the UK (3 months, 1975) and the USA (6 months, 2000-2001). She speaks Spanish as a mother tongue and English as a foreign language (see 5.2).

Emma holds BA degrees in ELT, English-Spanish translation, and English philology. Until 2004, she focused on her development as an EFL teacher, attending seminars, courses, and workshops, and giving presentations at conferences mostly in relation to discourse analysis, grammar, and lexis; materials design; syllabus design; reading strategies; and literature teaching. Since 2004 she has specialised in literature and all her conference talks, research, and publications have been connected with this field. She is currently completing her MA in Latin American Literature at a national university in Argentina. Her main areas of interest include discourse analysis, grammar, lexis, skills development, and literature.

Emma has taught EFL for more than 35 years. At the moment she is associate professor at an EFL TTC at a national university in Argentina. She

gives lectures on oral and written discourse and advanced English. She also holds a tenured position as an EFL teacher at Cortázar School, where she has worked since 1987. Her responsibilities in this school include: teaching EFL classes; designing syllabi, materials, and tests; testing; and running extra- curricular workshops.

4.4.3 Sophia

Sophia was born in Argentina in 1955 and has lived in this country for more than fifty years. She has also lived and studied part of her secondary school in Canada (2 years, late 1960s or early 1970s). She speaks Spanish as a mother tongue and English as a foreign language (see 6.2).

Sophia holds a BA in ELT. Since 1985 she has taken postgraduate courses on EFL teaching, reading comprehension, syllabus and curriculum design, second language acquisition, history and sociology, and higher education. She is currently studying for an MA in Language Education and Literature at a national university in Argentina. She has also given conference talks or run courses and workshops in the following areas: reading comprehension, assessment and testing, reflective teaching, literature teaching in ELT, motivation, didactics, and discourse analysis. Her main areas of interest include ELT methodology, specifically skills development, assessment and testing, and the teaching of EFL to children and adolescents.

Sophia has taught EFL for more than 30 years. At the moment she is associate professor at an EFL TTC at a national university in Argentina. She gives lectures on ELT methodology and teaching practice. She also holds a tenured position as an EFL teacher at Cortázar School, where she has worked since 2004. Her responsibilities in this school include: teaching EFL classes; designing syllabi, materials, and tests; testing; and running extra-curricular workshops. Moreover, she has worked as an EFL teacher at a primary and secondary school since 2003. Finally, she is an oral examiner in the English language tests administered by Cambridge University (KET, PET, FCE, CAE, and CPE).