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L I T E R A C Y  &  N U M E R A C Y  S T U D I E S  V O L  1 5  N O  2  2 0 0 7  75 
 

REVIEWS  
 
  
  
 

TEACHERS VOICES 8: EXPLICITLY SUPPORTING READING 
AND WRITING IN THE CLASSROOM 

EDITED BY ANNE BURNS AND HELEN DE SILVA JOYCE 

National Centre for English Language Teaching 
and Research, Macquarie University, Sydney NSW 
2005, 77pp, ISBN 1 74138 103 7 

 
This is the most recent book in a series that 

deals with teaching and learning in the classroom.  
The specific focus of this book is the explicit 
support of reading and writing in adult ESL 
teaching, investigated through classroom projects 
within the framework of an action research 
approach. It consists of three sections: the first 
outlines the theoretical ideas underpinning the 
book, the second deals with the nature of action 
research, and the third and longest section 
presents the participating teachers’ own accounts 
of their research projects. It is accompanied by a 
DVD containing excerpts of their classroom 
teaching. 

The concept of scaffolding is central to this 
book. According to Vygotsky’s theory, learning is a 
social process, rather than an individual one. 
Students learn through working with their peers and 
other more skilled individuals, such as teachers, 
and by being challenged. Scaffolding refers to the 
learning support given to students as part of the 
learning process. This support is structured by the 
teacher, and can be withdrawn later, when it is no 
longer needed. The theory of scaffolding is 
presented and discussed in the first section, while 
the practical application of scaffolding to their 
teaching is discussed in the third section, with 
the teachers’ accounts and reflections on their 
projects. One practical issue raised by a number of 



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76 L I T E R A C Y  &  N U M E R A C Y  S T U D I E S  
 

teachers was the problem of judging the level of 
difficulty of materials, so that they were 
challenging, but within the students’ capabilities.  

This volume, with the accompanying DVD showing 
examples of the classroom practice of the teachers 
featured in the text, could easily be adapted to 
the needs of a professional development session. 
There are pre-readings on the theory and research 
method, a number of teacher accounts to choose 
from, and an illustration of the teaching practice 
of each teacher on DVD. It would make for a 
stimulating session, and one with a practical 
classroom focus.  

For the same reasons, this would be a useful 
tool for teacher educators. The teachers featured 
on the DVD are all experienced teachers, and would 
provide good models for student teachers. The DVD 
offers the student teacher some useful examples of 
teaching techniques, such as classroom organization 
and the structuring of a lesson, and the book has 
some examples of teaching materials. Each teaching 
sequence is divided into a series of steps, listed 
on screen at the beginning of each section, and 
this series of steps shows the basic structure of 
the teaching session through which the teacher 
gives the students a challenging lesson while 
providing learning support.  

For the practising teacher, the most useful 
and relevant sections of the book are likely to be 
the teachers’ descriptions of classroom activities 
and their reflections on their teaching practice, 
in particular the differing approaches to the 
perennial problem of finding appropriate teaching 
materials. A comparison of the different classrooms 
and teaching styles presented in the DVD will also 
be of great interest for all teachers.  

It is always interesting for a teacher to 
watch another teacher in action, and these teachers 
have been very generous in allowing us the 
opportunity to do so. The DVD offers a window into 
their classrooms, which is a rare and valuable 
resource, particularly when linked with the same 
teachers’ accounts of their objectives and 



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L I T E R A C Y  A N D  N U M E R A C Y  S T U D I E S 77 

reflections, as given in the book. This aspect of 
the book/DVD package is its most valuable feature, 
and should ensure that it is widely used in teacher 
training and professional development sessions. 

On a more general note, this volume reports on 
a project which involved teachers in the research 
process, and which linked classroom practice to 
theories of teaching and learning. The teachers’ 
accounts are the ‘teachers’ voices’ of the series 
title, voices which as Anne Burns points out, “have 
been absent too long from the research literature”. 
These voices deserve to be heard for the insights 
which they offer, not only into the practice of 
teaching, but into practice informed by theory. 

Sarah Ahern