TEFL course and what it prepares the teacher for. Teach English overseas in countries as Japan, Korea and others.

The chapter offers an approach for improving student participation in virtual or distributed Communities of Practice (vCoPs or dCoPs) through changes in the style of moderation. It describes some research into the possible effect of gender-bias on the duration and success of communities. Examples of male and female discourse styles and similar gender-influenced behaviour in Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) are given, and a classification of these is advanced. The research method involves a case-history analysis of the monitoring of four selected vCoPs, concluding that, in this type of environment (dispersed, CMC, and extended over a period), participants are more encouraged to learn from e-moderators who have been trained in, and understand, the importance of recognizing male and female styles of moderating.

This chapter looks at advances of Information and Communication Technologies and their effect on learning processes. The study is based on a large sample of students in a business school and the chapter provides a definition of on-line communities, especially in an educational environment. The chapter also addresses the issue of the difference between Networks and Communities, and provides guidance to teachers or professionals who need to create such environments. The main message of this chapter is that social bonds are essential for a community to emerge. This implies a total break with the traditional role of teacher as ?dispenser of knowledge?. One can extrapolate that the role of teacher might move towards that of coach dealing with complex environments and/or problems that require group solutions. The teacher, through course design, must also prepare a fertile environment where learning communities can grow ... in other words, learning communities will not just ?mushroom? in the absence of favourable conditions.

The rapidly expanding international field of Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) needs trained and experienced TEYL teachers. Thus, professionals entering this emerging field are seeking new ways of acquiring knowledge and skills appropriate in their cultural and national contexts. Online courses can provide unique spaces for collaboration and learning for working teachers and can facilitate the creation of communities of inquiry locally, regionally and internationally. The key to creating successful virtual Communities of Practice (vCoPs) of TEYL teachers is to build sustainable networks of professionals who disseminate their learning locally and continue to work and reflect together internationally. This chapter describes how participants from across sixteen time zones joined an online distance teacher development course - offered in both 2004 and 2005 with funding by the U.S. State Department?s Office of English Language Programs (OELP). Using Garrison, Anderson and Archer�s (2000) community of inquiry model to conceptualize the interaction among participants in the course, the instructor drew on culturally inclusive pedagogies to equip all participants as co-facilitators of the creation of new knowledge. Participants developed social and professional connections through open and critical discussion of teaching challenges in diverse educational and cultural contexts. Examples from the course illustrate how strategies to foster critical engagement and social connections promoted a shift in teaching presence from instructor to participants that set the basis for their subsequent teaching, training, and professional collaborations. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research on Virtual Communities of Practice among English teachers.

This chapter reports on a study that aims to explore the potential effect of Communities of Practice (CoPs) as a framework for teacher learning and professional development. The Community of Practice (CoP) created among a group of primary school teachers for this study aimed at enhancing teachers? knowledge and perceptions of teaching English to young learners. The findings strongly suggest that a CoPs approach to teachers? professional development is more beneficial than the so-called traditional learning opportunities envisaged by many in-service teacher training models. It creates a powerful learning environment where teachers can find opportunities to share, cooperate, understand, and support each other; become aware of their weaknesses and strengths; and enhance their perceptions of Teaching English to Young Learners through collaborative, dialogic and reflective learning.

Communities of Practice: Creating Learning Environments for Educators: Vol. 1 - contains links to authors and a full introductory chapter - deals with distributed CoPs

Communities of Practice: Creating Learning Environments for Educators: Vol. 1 - contains links to authors and a full introductory chapter - deals with co-located CoPs