scholarly journals TWO OBSTACLES TO ENABLING CHANGE IN ELF-AWARE TEACHER EDUCATION AND HOW TO OVERCOME THEM

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (65) ◽  
pp. 104
Author(s):  
Nicos C. Sifakis
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Teacher Reflection ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
Teachers Attitudes

<span lang="EN-GB">In this paper I discuss the possibilities, opportunities, challenges and (even) perils in applying the ELF-aware perspective in teacher education. I focus on presenting two obstacles in enabling this application, the first related to teachers’ attitudes, which tend to be fundamentally negative, and the second referring to an uncertainty about establishing, applying and evaluating appropriate ELF pedagogy. The obstacles are discussed with reference to examples from my personal experience as teacher educator, and argue (a) that these obstacles are also present in more “traditional” teaching and teacher education practices and (b) that they can be overcome if they are perceived as opportunities for integrating real-life interactions involving non-native English language users in the EFL classroom and prompting EFL teacher reflection and growth.</span>

Implementing tasks in young learners’ language classrooms: A collaborative teacher education initiative through task evaluation

2020 ◽  
pp. 136216881989470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education Program ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Empirical Evaluation ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Implementation Evaluation ◽  
Young Learners ◽  
Language Classrooms

Despite empirical evidence in support of the effectiveness of using tasks in young learners’ classrooms, task implementation has been repeatedly reported as a thorny problem. An essential but under-researched issue is how in-service teacher education programme can be conducted to facilitate teachers’ implementing tasks in their classrooms. This practitioner research article reports on a researcher and teacher educator’s action research study in which she worked with Lucille (pseudonym), a novice English language teacher, to design and implement two repeated task-based language teaching (TBLT) lessons for Grade 2 students at a Chinese primary school. During a six-week teacher education program consisting of two cycles of TBLT lesson planning, implementation, evaluation, and reflection, the teacher educator provided continuous support to guide and scaffold Lucille’s reflective endeavours at crafting TBLT practices in her classrooms. The teacher educator also conducted student-based, response-based, learning-based, and community-based task evaluations to facilitate the teacher’s reflective practices. The study illustrates how an in-service teacher education program, fuelled by on-going professional support and empirical evaluation, facilitated a practitioner’s task implementation in young learners’ foreign language classrooms.

scholarly journals Tomorrow’s EFL teacher educators

2011 ◽  
pp. 86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana González Moncada ◽  
Diana Isabel Quinchía Ortiz
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Ideal Teacher ◽  
Efl Teacher

Teacher education programs are an important alternative to raise standards in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, there are few studies that have explored the roles of teacher educators in this setting. Three main research questions guided this study: What actions have teachers taken to attain their professional objectives as EFL teachers? What experience have they had in professional development programs? What are the characteristics of an ideal teacher education program? This paper reports the findings concentrating on the ideal characteristics of an EFL teacher educator analyzing the testimonies of teachers from public and private schools. The study used four focus groups sessions and a questionnaire as the main data collection techniques. The results suggest that issues such as knowledge of local realities, broad experience in teaching EFL, command of the language, and experience in research are identified as the most desirable characteristics of EFL teacher educators.

Chinese Student Teachers’ Reticence in Teacher Education Courses

ELT Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-296
Author(s):  
Chunmei Yan ◽  
Chuanjun He
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Chinese Student ◽  
Postgraduate Level ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Efl Teacher Education ◽  
Education Courses

Abstract There has been a plethora of research on the reticence of Chinese EFL students at undergraduate level both in China and beyond; however, little attention has been paid to this phenomenon in content-based EFL teacher education courses at the postgraduate level. This study focused on a group of Chinese EFL MEd student teachers in a language teacher development course delivered by a Chinese teacher educator. Three triangulated qualitative methods were employed to gather data, including one-semester-long classroom observations, course evaluations, and group interviews. Reticence was found to have been caused by the interplay between dispositional and circumstantial factors related to both students and teachers. The study highlights a need for mutual adaptations to address reticence in content-based teacher education classes.

scholarly journals Learning from teachers and pupils in literature: case-based aesthetic reading in EFL teacher education

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Spann
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
Aesthetic Reading ◽  
Context Specific ◽  
Efl Teacher Education ◽  
Case Based

Abstract Claims for the value of literature in EFL teaching and learning traditionally centre around three models: the cultural, language, and the personal growth model (Carter & Long, 1991). In the context of EFL teacher education, the core question is: can literature also contribute to the professional development of EFL trainee teachers and, if so, how? Based on the assumption that school-related English-language literature can be used for professional case-based work this paper reports a context-specific interdisciplinary model of literature in education which synthesizes case theory (Steiner, 2004) and the theory of dialogic aesthetic reading (Delanoy, 2002), thus providing an educational setting for both literary experience and professional learning in EFL teacher education.

scholarly journals Views of Turkish EFL teacher trainees toward technology-integrated PBL practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Yasemin Kırkgöz ◽  
Burcu Turhan
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Real Life ◽  
State University ◽  
Dynamic Learning ◽  
English As Foreign Language ◽  
Teacher Trainees ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
Training Activities

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is increasingly becoming popular in teacher education, just like the prevalence in the use of Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) which is an instructional socio-constructivist online tool providing collaborative learning. PBL where learning occurs through real-life problem solving practices is also included in the constructivist approach. This study was designed as a mixed methods research which English as Foreign Language (EFL) teacher trainees were involved in PBL through Moodle with the aim of solving problems related to language teaching and learning which they encountered at practicum schools. Participants were 93 EFL teacher trainees studying at a state university in Turkey. The study aimed to reveal the participants’ views of their PBL experiences within the scope of a Materials Evaluation and Adaptation Course. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews; and analyzed through descriptive statistics and content analysis consecutively. Results demonstrated that the teacher training activities delivered through PBL yielded promising benefits for EFL teacher trainees’ professional development despite some minor flaws faced in the process. Thus, PBL can be considered as a useful method to deliver such courses offered in any branches of teacher education.

scholarly journals TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS: WHAT DO EFL PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS EXPECT?

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinh Thu Hien
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
English Language ◽  
Self Report ◽  
International Studies ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Efl Teacher ◽  
National University ◽  
Efl Teacher Education

Desirable characteristics of TEFL (Teacher of English as a Foreign Language) have recently presented a major concern for researchers, particularly in the realm of teacher education. However, no matter how large the number of research projects conducted in the field is, very few ever investigated the perspective of pre-service teachers. This mixed-method research was then conducted to identify characteristics of a good TEFL, as perceived by pre-service teachers. Participants were 117 students at Faculty of English Language Teacher Education (FELTE), University of Languages and International Studies (ULIS), Vietnam National University Hanoi (VNU), who were being trained to be English teachers. Self-report questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect quantitative and qualitative data respectively. As indicated by the results, remarkable pedagogical skills and excellent content knowledge are highly expected for TEFL. Further qualitative analysis shows that this ideal image stems from pre-service teachers’ conception of TEFL’ roles as transmitters of knowledge, and that teaching is considered a profession with certain sets of expertise required. Overall, the research has demonstrated FELTE pre-service teachers’ expectations of teacher qualities, which to some extent, also revealed their didactic beliefs. These findings are hoped to offer implications for both student teachers and trainers working in EFL teacher education.

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