Experiences Of Second Language Teacher Education

This book brings together the voices of teacher educators working in different national and educational settings. It Covers themes such as change in teacher education practices, the influences of context on practice, and of interculturality, to provide rich insights into the processes and effects of second 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.

The education of second language teachers takes place across diverse contexts, levels, settings, and geographic regions. By bringing together research, theory, and best practices from a variety of contexts (ESL/EFL, foreign language, bilingual and immersion education), this book contributes to building meaningful professional dialogue among second-language teacher educators. Featuring an international roster of authors, the volume is comprised of 18 chapters organized in four thematic sections: the knowledge base of second language teacher education; second language teacher education contexts; collaborations in second language teacher education; and second language teacher education in practice. Second Language Teacher Education: International Perspectives is an essential professional resource for practicing and prospective second language teacher educators around the world.

This book brings together the voices of teacher educators working in different national and educational settings. It Covers themes such as change in teacher education practices, the influences of context on practice, and of interculturality, to provide rich insights into the processes and effects of second language teacher education.

This volume uniquely looks at both adolescent L2 writing and the preparation of secondary teachers to work with this population of students. It takes a theoretically eclectic approach that can support a variety of pedagogies.

This text provides a detailed account of current approaches to the education of teachers of second languages. The paperback edition provides a detailed account of current approaches to the education of teachers of second languages. It offers valuable ideas on the observation and supervision of classrooms, on self-evaluation by teachers, and on teaching itself. Its emphasis reflects the shift in orientation from teacher training to teacher education, in which teachers are involved in developing their own theories of teaching, understanding the nature of teacher decision making, and developing strategies for critical self-evaluation. The book is aimed at teachers, teacher educators, and workshop facilitators involved both in pre-service and in-service education of teachers of second and foreign languages.

This book introduces a new field of educational research called teacher learning, as it applies to the teaching of languages. Up until recently, the study of second language teacher education has focused mainly on the knowledge base and specific skills needed for effective teaching. This book invites us to look at teacher education from a fresh point of view, through an exploration of the thinking and learning processes of individuals as they learn to teach. Seventeen original articles, based on studies done in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, provide examples of pioneering research into the ways that individuals learn to teach languages, and the roles that previous experience, social context, and professional training play in the process. The collection thus helps establish a research base for this newly developing field.

Donald Freeman examines how core ideas and practices in educating second language teachers relate to and differ from teacher education in other content areas. He weaves together research in general and second language teacher education with accounts of experience and practice to examine how background knowledge is defined in language teaching. Throughout, Freeman demonstrates how understanding the processes of teacher learning, knowing, thinking, and reflecting are ‘the same things done differently’ in second language teacher education. Educating Second Language Teachers reconsiders pre- and in-service teacher education, and proposes a detailed, comprehensive design theory for teacher education. “A masterful account of the landscape of second language teacher education and the development of its theoretical assumptions and practices. It offers a unique and original conceptualization of the field and will be an invaluable resource for teachers, teacher educators and researchers.” Jack C. Richards, University of Sydney and University of Auckland Additional online resources are available at www.oup.com/elt/teacher/eslt Donald Freeman is Associate Professor of Education at the University of Michigan. Oxford Applied Linguistics Series Advisers: Anne Burns and Diane Larsen-Freeman