When Theory Meets Practice: Applying Cambourne’s Conditions for Learning to Professional Development for Elementary School EFL Teachers

• Main Authors: Isabel Cristina Cadavid Múnera, Claudia Patricia Díaz Mosquera, Diana Isabel Quinchía Ortiz
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2011-01-01
• Series: Profile Issues in Teachers' Professional Development
• Subjects: Cambourne's conditions for learning; teachers' professional development
• Online Access: https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/profile/article/view/20575

This article presents a reflection on an action research project carried out by a group of teachers and students at Universidad de Antioquia. The action research project aimed at determining the impact of a professional development proposal for elementary school English teachers in Medellin, Colombia. In the first section, the article describes the previous study that supported this project as well as its design and implementation. In the second part, Cambourne's conditions for learning are discussed from a theoretical and practical perspective. Researchers found that participant teachers improved both their use of the foreign language and their pedagogical practices as a result of having the opportunity to take risks and reflect as learners and teachers on holistic strategies for teaching and learning English as a foreign language.