Key Instructional Practices of Effective Elementary School Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

Educational improvement is at the forefront of ongoing international concern, with the quality of teaching recognised
as a crucial variable in this endeavour. While in the past, instructional practices identified as effective were thought
to be generic, it has become increasingly clear that the identification of contextually relevant practices is more likely
to inform the notion of what constitutes effective teaching in a given context. This study addresses this issue in the context of English as a Foreign Language in Israeli elementary schools. Placed within social and constructivist perspectives of learning, the qualitative, multiple case study explores the instructional practices of five effective teachers through classroom observations and interviews. The findings show that all teachers provide significant opportunity for knowledge construction using a variety of techniques and strategies. The notion of relevance was also a central facet of the instructional practices of some teachers. The enquiry concludes by suggesting that the findings could be used as a basis to explore the extent to which the aspects of instruction identified feature in the practice of effective teachers in a wider context, with a view to developing a national model of pedagogy to promote much-needed and sustainable educational improvements in Israel.