English Language Teacher Education

This book examines a range of complex issues concerning the professional experience (i.e., practicum) in English language teacher education with regard to curriculum design and implementation, as well as professional learning. Drawing on a sociocultural perspective, it explores the context of the professional experience, preservice teachers as learners of English language teaching, and the activity of learning to teach English language in connection with interrelated contextual and personal issues: contextual issues such as policies, curricula, university-school partnerships, and mentoring relations are investigated in relation to personal issues such as the beliefs, expectations, prior educational experiences, previous teaching experiences, and cultural-linguistic backgrounds of preservice teachers. In turn, the book addresses professional learning issues, including professional identity development, emotional experiences, and pedagogical learning, in depth. The book delves into the qualitative “fine-grained” aspects of the professional experience while also making valuable conceptual contributions through a sociocultural analysis of the professional learning experience, which can also be applied to research in other teacher education contexts. The findings presented here hold practical implications for English language teacher education in terms of developing a knowledge base for English language teaching and an effective model of professional experience to prepare English language teachers for working in today’s expanded, diverse and dynamic neoliberal contexts.

This volume explores the defining element in the work of language teacher educators: language itself. The book is in two parts. The first part holds up to scrutiny concepts of language that underlie much practice in language teacher education yet too frequently remain under-examined. These include language as social institution, language as verbal practice, language as reflexive practice, language as school subject and language as medium of language learning. The chapters in the second part are written by language teacher educators working in a range of institutional contexts and on a variety of types of program including both long and short courses, both pre-service and in-service courses, and teacher education practice focusing variously on metalinguistic awareness for teachers, language improvement, and classroom communication. The unifying factor is that collectively they illuminate how language teacher educators research their practice and reflect on underlying principles.

The Routledge Handbook of English Language Teacher Education provides an accessible, authoritative, comprehensive and up-to-date resource of English language teacher education. With an overview of historical issues, theoretical frameworks and current debates, this handbook provides unique insights into a range of teacher education contexts, focusing on key issues relating to teacher and learner priorities, language and communication, current practices, reflective practice, and research. Key features include: a cross-section of current theories, practices and issues, providing readers with a resource which can be used in a variety of contexts; the use of data, transcripts and tasks to highlight and illustrate a range of practices, including examples of ‘best practice’; ‘snapshots’ of ELTE from a number of contexts taken from all around the world; and examples of current technological advances, contemporary thinking on reflective practice, and insights gained from recent research. This wide-ranging and international collection of chapters has been written by leading experts in the field. The Routledge Handbook of English Language Teacher Education is sure to be core reading for students, researchers and educators in applied linguistics, TESOL and language education.

Bringing together a comprehensive range of extended research-based chapters, English Language Teacher Preparation in Asia provides comprehensive insight into policy, research, and practical aspects of teacher preparation for English teachers at pre-service level across multiple contexts in Asia. Written by local and international scholars specialising in TESOL Teacher education, and acknowledging the increasingly complex demands made on teachers of English in view of globalisation, the book explores the multiple factors which are key to effective professional learning. Chapters consider how pre-service teachers are best prepared for the diverse contexts in which English is learnt and taught in settings throughout Asia and draw on in-depth research studies to provide rich, fully contextualised coverage of aspects of teacher preparation including curriculum design, programme development, policy, professional learning communities, assessment education, and teaching practicum. A timely contribution to the field of teacher preparation, this text will be an invaluable resource for teacher educators, pre-service teachers and academics involved in the preparation of English teachers in Asia.

The chapters in this volume outline and discuss examples of teacher educators in diverse global contexts who have provided successful self-initiated innovations for their teacher learners. The collection suggests that a way forward for second language teacher preparation programs is through 'reflective practice as innovation'.

Over the last two decades, Chile has been driven by an economic imperative to build the capability of citizens to be competent in the English language, resulting in a high demand for teachers of English. As a consequence, teacher education programs have modified their curricula to meet the challenges of educating teachers of English as a global language. This book explores EFL teacher education in order to further understand the nature of teacher learning in second language education environments, examining the varying motives, actions and mediating tools that shaped how a cohort of pre-service teachers learnt to teach EFL in Chile. Framed by a cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) perspective, chapters use key qualitative research to determine how specific factors can help and hinder the effective preparation of teachers, illuminating contradictory dynamics between local and national policies, teacher education programs, and pre-service views and classroom realities. The book makes an important contribution to the growing debate surrounding the design of EFL teacher education policy, curriculum and learning strategies, emphasising the importance of engaging pre-service teachers in learning to teach EFL, and the interrelated factors that shape this learning. English Language Teacher Education in Chile will be of key interest to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of teacher education, curriculum studies, and English language teaching (ESL/EFL), as well as policy makers, TESOL organisations, and those interested in applying a CHAT perspective to language teaching and learning.

This book uncovers the challenges posed by globalization to Asian jurisdictions in English language teaching and teacher education.

Applied Linguistics and Language Teacher Education is aimed at applied linguists who are interested in understanding more about the learning of novice teachers in their classes. The 21 studies in this volume provide information on the complexity of novice teachers’ learning and use of knowledge in a variety of applied linguistics classes such as SLA, Syntax, Pragmatics, Sociolinguistics, Phonetics and Phonology, L2 Reading and Writing, Testing, and Content Based Instruction. These studies were conducted in a variety of contexts, from North and South America to Europe, Asia and Australia, and look at the preparation of teachers of English, Spanish and Chinese. The book also includes a state-of-the-art summary of research on knowledge acquisition and use which provides applied linguists with a solid basis for developing their ideas about their students’ learning and use of the knowledge presented in their classes. Furthermore, valuable information for applied linguists interested in researching the learning in their own classrooms is provided by a chapter evaluating a variety of research methods. Each author also provides "insider" information on the advantages and disadvantages of the research tools they used for investigating questions they have.