Pre-service Teachers’ Experiences in Constructing and Redefining Conceptions of Language Teaching

Abstract

Beginning teachers are often left on their own to endure life at school perhaps as a result of the assumption that learning to teach comes from the experience of teaching, or that the theoretical knowledge gained in teacher education programs is sufficient to deal with such an endeavor. This narrative study investigated student teachers’ retrospective conceptions of English language teaching as they entered a teacher education program and as they completed their practicum at a public school, to better understand their process of learning to teach English. By analyzing participants’ reported experiences, we identified a growing awareness of the contextual circumstances regarding students’ needs and social realities which led to a confrontation of the theoretical insights’ participants had gained through the teacher education program. Findings also revealed participants’ overall dissatisfaction with the learning experiences during their English lessons in public schools and a rather positive view of their learning experiences in language institutes and in English vocational education and training courses.