Revisiting Reading Aloud Through the Lens of Holistic Reflective Practice: A Trioethnographic Inquiry
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Interest in Reading Aloud (RA), once considered outdated in modern English language learning classrooms, has recently seen a resurgence. Based on a review of the trajectory of RA over the past seventy years, this article identifies a research gap regarding current practising teachers’ beliefs about its usefulness. To address this gap, the authors embarked on a collaborative reflective journey to examine their experiences and perspectives of using RA for second language literacy across various teaching contexts. Employing a trioethnographic approach, they shared narratives about their diverse RA practices with different ESL/EFL learners, then engaged in critical dialogues. The narratives were analysed in terms of the five aspects of Farrell’s (2015) Holistic Reflective Practice, comprising philosophy, principles, theory, practice, and beyond practice. The findings revealed the teachers’ evolving beliefs in relation to their RA practices, the dynamic relationships between beliefs and practices, and some useful practical techniques in utilising RA for second language literacy. Implications for teachers and researchers are discussed: teachers are encouraged to engage in systematic, holistic reflective practice while researchers are invited to further investigate this seemingly old-fashioned pedagogy using both quantitative and qualitative methods for new insights.
Source: rEFLections
Authors: Joy Yi Wang, Anna Mischefski, Jia Rong Yap
Institution: Waikato Institute of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4411245797