If you're a teacher researcher and you are sharing what you know, then you've found a voice for yourself.^*

Welcome to this edition of the PROFILE Journal, which contains twelve articles with a variety of issues and perspectives. As we can see by its contents, all of the articles have had a steering force: The authors' commitment to share what they know. Their knowledge derives, in turn, from what they have studied, and what they have learned as a result of teaching, research and reflective processes.

The quote above, taken from Smiles and Short (2006), sparks us to think about the role of teachers' voices in different scenarios. First, we can witness in the authors' decision to engage in publishing endeavours that they do not only want to find meaning to what they do and to keep knowledge for themselves. On the contrary, they are aware of the importance of making their understandings public through publishing so that they can add to the profession's existing knowledge and, hopefully, interact with other practitioners sharing similar interests. Second, participating in publication projects contributes to strengthening journals that have envisioned the possibility of giving a protagonist role to teachers who belong to different backgrounds, not only to the ones who are part of core or of the hegemonic countries that lead the production of reference literature and periodicals. Third, sharing what we know through publishing gives us the opportunity to explore and develop our writing skills, to discover our own voice as writers. In regard to this, we have witnessed how some authors have submitted their works to our journal in two or three different editions. In other cases, we have also learned about the publication of their works in other periodicals and seen how they persevere in their attempt to make their voices heard.

Although none of the said roles is an easy task, PROFILE maintains its resolution to serve as a forum for teachers and teacher-researchers to share their work, their reflections and thoughts with a wide audience like ours. Let us take a look at the contents of this edition.

In the Issues from Teacher Researchers section we can read ten papers. First, the article by the Colombian schoolteachers Marlén Rátiva Velandia, Andrés Leonardo Pedreros Torres and Mónica Núñez Alí provides an account of the action research they conducted in order to examine the role that some activities based on web materials had on the development of high school students' reading skills. We can also get acquainted with the pedagogical procedures employed by the research team as well as the data gathered through the use of questionnaires, surveys and artifacts along the study.

The following five articles address issues concerning English language teachers and shed light on implications for initial teacher education and professional development, among other areas. The article by Darío Luis Banegas, from Argentina, is an action research report about the insights of his personal research journal as part of a collaborative action research project he fostered in the secondary school where he taught English. The study, which involved other participating teachers, revealed information regarding the opportunities and tensions that emerged as a result of the participants' roles and interests. In this paper, the reader can also find rich and varied sources that were used by the researcher and which can illuminate other studies following, in particular, the action research method. Then we have the work authored by the Colombian teacher-educators Argemiro Arboleda Arboleda and Ángela Yicely Castro Garcés. They present the results of an investigation that examined how significant having a foreign accent is for non-native English as a foreign language teachers and learners at university level. The participants belonged to different countries and expressed their views by answering a questionnaire. They consider that it is important to have a native or native-like accent, but that this is not the most relevant qualification to teach a language, nor the sole criterion positively affecting learning.

We continue with an article that focused on teachers' perceptions of oral corrective feedback and their practice in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Edith Hernández Méndez and María del Rosario Reyes Cruz, from the Mexican Universidad de Quintana Roo, carried out a descriptive study whose results show that teachers in general have a positive perception of oral corrective feedback. They also concluded that unfocused oral corrective feedback and implicit strategies were predominant in practice; corrective feedback provided by the instructor is preferred to that provided by peers; and self-correction is the least popular form of correction.

Next comes the article by Rosalba Cárdenas Ramos and Fanny Hernández Gaviria, from Universidad del Valle in Colombia. They gather the results of an exploratory investigation that inquired into Colombian in-service teachers' perspectives in relation to an opportunity to teach and learn standards in English. There we can read about the three teachers' perspectives that emerged from the study: General considerations that underlie opportunities to learn; standards and conditions in educational institutions and other institutional factors such as human and material resources.

Understanding beliefs, teachers' beliefs and their impact on the use of computer technology is the theme of the theoretical review authored by Colombian teacher Héctor Alejandro Galvis. He highlights key definitions and examines works regarding beliefs in education and English as a foreign language, their impact when integrating technology, the effects of teachers' beliefs on the use of technology, and models attempting to explain human behavior and the use of computers. As Galvis expresses, it is hoped that the article can be of interest to EFL teachers and language program administrators.

Afterward, we can read the manuscript by Érica Gómez Flórez, Jorge Eduardo Pineda and Natalia Marín García, from Colombia. They report the findings of a case study about EFL students' perceptions about a web-based English reading comprehension course developed in a public university. Findings show that students have different opinions about the course, its content and objectives, its level of difficulty, the amount of time students invested in the course, adults' learning, and the role of the teacher.

Subsequently we will find two articles concerned with assessment. In the first one, Iranian teachers Sasan Baleghizadeh and Zahra Zarghami tell us about an experimental study that sought to examine the impact of conferencing assessment on university students' learning of English grammar. As the authors explain, the results evidenced that the experimental group performed significantly better than the control group on a given post-test. Likewise, the attitudes of the participants toward grammar learning in the experimental group significantly changed from the first administration of a questionnaire to its second administration. In the second article, Colombian Édgar Picón Jácome shares the findings of an action research project he conducted in a school located in the United States with the purpose of establishing the role of a teacher-student partnership on writing assessment in promoting high school students' autonomy. To do so, he used symbols as the form of feedback and a rubric containing criteria negotiated with the students as the scoring method. Results showed that the students developed some autonomy and that in doing so, the role of the teacher was paramount.

We close the first section of our issue with the article by Ana María Correa Díaz, from Colombia. This author informs us about an investigation she led to explore the use of the Moodle platform to teach foreign trade to university students who studied subjects in the English language in Colombia. As can be read in it, the pedagogical processes contributed to the development of students' writing, speaking and research competences in the target language as well as to their motivation, self-learning and the development of said competences.

In the second section, Issues from Novice Teacher Researchers, we find the paper by Laura Verónica Jiménez Guamán. It is based on a descriptive and interpretative qualitative study she conducted in a public school in Colombia as part of the last stage of her BA studies. In her article we can learn how a virtual community on Facebook let her examine EFL teenagers' social identity. As pointed out by the author, the teenagers' ways of expressing themselves were mainly manifested through conversations and posts and these, in turn, evidenced their social identity inside said community.

In the last section, Issues Based on Reflections and Innovations, we have the article by Leonard R. Bruguier and Louisa M. Greathouse Amador. The authors provide a description of an innovative course offered by four universities in Canada, the United States, and Mexico in order to broaden the understanding of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples primarily in relation to identity. As can be read in the portrayal of their innovation and in the testimonies from some participants, the interactive and experiential nature of the course motivated students to reflect on their own identity and enhanced their intercultural competence. It also played a paramount role in the improvement of their English skills. I am sure this paper will contribute to our understanding of aspects such as international partnerships and intercultural awareness, among others.

I do hope you find this second issue of PROFILE 2012 interesting and useful. As always, I should acknowledge the hard work of the PROFILE Research Group, who accompanies me in the various tasks we face day by day. Our gratitude goes to the members of the Advisory Board and Editorial and Scientific Committees too. Their collaboration -despite their busy agendas in different parts of the world- is very much appreciated.

Finally, I wish to point out that we have continued updating our guidelines for authors so that they feel clearer about aspects taken into consideration concerning the submission and evaluation processes that make up part of our publication policies. They can be consulted in the contents of this issue as well as in our website. Should you have any doubts when preparing your manuscripts, do not hesitate to contact us.

As always, your comments and contributions are welcome!

^* Smiles, T. L., & Short, K. G. (2006). Transforming teacher voice through writing for publication. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(3), 133-147.

Melba Libia Cárdenas B.
Journal Editor