Abstract:

A critical incident is an unplanned event that occurs in the classroom (Farrell, 2008). Language teachers can uncover a new understanding of the teaching and learning process through reflecting on these critical incidents (Richards & Farrell, 2005). This study focuses on the analysis and discussion of critical incidents in professional dialogue with regard to nineteen elementary school English teachers’ professional learning and development in the northwest city in Taiwan. The analysis of 35 critical incidents, nineteen interview, and six observations was based on levels of language and levels of thinking, types of critical incidents, and three modes of reflective thinking. This study has the following major findings. First, the majority of the critical incidents were related to students’ behavior. Second, these critical incidents were written and discussed using simple layperson description and traditional or personal preference. Next, English teachers’ reflections were only at the technical level. Four suggestions are provided to foster a deeper level of reflection.

Keywords:

Critical incident, level of language, level of thinking, reflection, reflective thinking.