Introduction

In this chapter, the focus of discussion is the relationship between Teacher Language Awareness and student learning: to what extent is any L2 teacher's effectiveness (as indicated by the learning outcomes of his/her students) attributable to his/her TLA? The chapter begins by setting out some of the difficulties associated with trying to make causative links between TLA and student learning. The remainder of the chapter discusses research that is relevant to any examination of the relationship between TLA and student learning. That research is discussed in relation to three themes: teachers' subject-matter knowledge; teacher engagement with the content of learning; and teachers' awareness of learner difficulties.

The basic argument throughout this book has been that Teacher Language Awareness is an essential attribute of any competent L2 teacher. The assumption underlying that argument is that there is a relationship between the language awareness of the L2 teacher and the effectiveness of that teacher as indicated by the language learning achieved by his/her students. Put simply, the book assumes that TLA has a positive impact on student learning: TLA is seen as a potentially crucial variable in the language teaching / language learning enterprise, in the sense that the language-aware L2 teacher is more likely to be effective in promoting student learning than the teacher who is less language-aware.

At the same time, however, all such statements about the impact of TLA on student learning have been cautiously worded and carefully hedged.