Pre-service English Language Teachers Research Articles

Pre-service English teachers’ perceptions of newly arrived children from Mainland China

The research reported here investigated pre-service English language teachers’ perceptions of newly arrived immigrant children from Mainland China in Hong Kong. Seventeen participants, who had at least 10 weeks of experience working with these immigrant children during teaching practicum, participated in focus group discussions and shared their perceptions. The data analysis revealed that the participants widely perceived these children as deficit and consider them a serious professional challenge. Further examination of the data helped reveal media, life and teaching practicum experiences with immigrant children as crucial sources that contributed to the formation of these perceptions. The findings call for teacher education programmes to involve pre-service teachers in critical engagement with the mass media and their own experiences so that they can address the deficit model applied by teachers to immigrant children.

From learner to teacher: practice, language, and identity in a teaching practicum

This paper reports on a qualitative study that investigated the lived experiences of a group of pre-service English language teachers during a teaching practicum in Hong Kong. Multiple, in-depth interviews with student teachers were conducted during a 6-week practicum to understand the students’ experiences of becoming teachers. A contribution of this study is to use the analytic lens of teacher identity to understand the challenges, one group of pre-service teachers confronted as they positioned themselves, and were positioned by others, as particular types of teachers during their practicum. The results of this study suggest that a critical perspective, grounded in an identity-theoretic understanding of pre-service teachers’ practicum experiences, is needed to reveal and then overcome antagonistic relations that might threaten the identity work of trainee teachers. Endorsing calls to rethink the practicum, the types of support that might be offered to pre-service teachers are critically examined and suggestions for the ways in which stakeholders, such as teacher educators and school-based supporting teachers, can best facilitate the identity work of pre-service teachers undertaking a teaching practicum are offered. Implications for future research are also discussed.

The Effect of Writer’s Workshop Approach to Develop Functional Writing Skills of Primary Stage Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Egypt

The present study aimed at investigating the effects of using a program based on the writing workshop approach on developing functional writing skills of pre-service teachers of English in Hurgada faculty of Education. For that purpose, the researcher constructed and validated a teaching program based on the writing workshop approach, checklist of the skills and subskills of functional writing skills, and pre-posttest of functional writing skills. The sample of the study was forty students in Hurgada faculty of Education, English Division (prospective teachers of English). They were randomly chosen and assigned to an experimental group. The experimental group students were taught writing using the writing workshop approach after they had functional writing skills pretest. Findings of the study indicated the writing workshop-based program had significant effects on improving the subjects' functional writing skills.

Non-native Pre-service English Language Teachers Achieving Intelligibility in English: Focus on Lexical and Sentential Stress

The aim of this paper is to discuss the importance of ‘intelligible pronunciation’ Turkish pre-service English language teachers may need to develop as to both lexical and sentential stress patterns in English prior to their professional careers. Turkish language, a syllable-timed language, differs from English, a stress-timed language, and such a difference is likely to cause difficulties for Turkish pre-service teachers of English in mastering intelligible pronunciation in English. Thus pre-service English language teachers may need to receive specific training concerning the placement of lexical and sentential stress in English due to the diverse features of English language pronunciation. This paper therefore attempts to outline the major lexical and sentential stress patterns of English prospective English language teachers are expected to acquire before graduation from English Language Teaching (ELT) departments in the Turkish context.

Prospective English Language Teachers’ Views on Literature- Oriented Courses at Akdeniz University's ELT Department

Turkish Higher Education Council's recent changes in the curricula of Faculties of Education mandated Contextualized Grammar I and II courses for English Language Teacher Education programs in support of preparing teachers to teach in a rather constructivist and communicative language learning environments. This present study aimed at understanding pre-service English language teachers’ previous grammar learning experiences in terms of how grammar was studied/taught in their classrooms and their opinions on the content and delivery of Contextualized Grammar I course in comparison to their previous grammar learning experiences. Ninety-eight first year students who were taking Contextualized Grammar I course participated in this study with their written responses answering the two research questions mentioned above.

A Proposed Program to Develop Teaching for Thinking in Pre-service English Language Teachers

Students’ thinking is an integral part of English language pedagogy. Teachers need the pedagogical competence to teach thinking effectively. This research suggests a program to develop the teaching skills for thinking of pre-service teachers (fourth-year college students) in the English Department of the Faculty of Education at Princess Noura University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The program aims to provide the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary for preparing teachers of thinking to invite, maintain, and enhance students’ thinking in the EFL classroom. A classroom observation checklist was developed to assess teaching for thinking skills, to understand the student teachers progress in developing such skills. The program was pilot tested on five fourth-year student teachers during their field experience. Data analysis and results of the pilot test have shown that the proposed program can be effective in developing the pre-service English language teachers’ skills in teaching for thinking.

Pre-service English as a foreign language teachers' perceptions of the relationship between multiple intelligences and foreign language learning

The relationship between intelligence, language, and learning is a challenging field of study. One way to study how this relationship occurs and works is to investigate the perceptions of advanced language learners. Therefore, this paper reports a study that was conducted to explore 160 pre-service English language teachers' perceptions about which type(s) of multiple intelligence(s) play a role in foreign language learning. The findings of the study indicated that virtually all participants (97%) agreed on making use of all intelligence types in the process of foreign language learning and linguistic intelligence alone does not guarantee success in learning a foreign language. The results of the study also illustrate that multiple intelligences and foreign language learning have an ongoing, complex, and interactive relationship. Finally, a foreign language learning discipline MI profile is suggested.

Research engagement as identity construction: Hong Kong preservice teachers’ experiences of a compulsory research project

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study that examined the experiences of six preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong as they prepared for, engaged in, and reflected upon a compulsory research project during the final year of their Bachelor of Education degree program. Drawing upon in-depth interviews and using methods of discourse analysis, the study considers how the student teachers’ expectations and experiences of a compulsory research project shaped and were shaped by the construction of their professional identities. The results illustrate the identity conflicts the preservice teachers experienced as their research engagement required that they cross institutional and educational boundaries to confront, question, and reject various identity positions, including ‘student teacher’, ‘full-time teacher’, and ‘teacher-researcher’. Implications for how schools and teacher education programs that include a compulsory research component might support preservice teachers during such identity formation experiences as well as for future research are discussed.

‘Unruly pupils’ in pre-service English language teachers’ teaching practicum experiences

The teaching practicum is a pivotal event for pre-service teachers to experience the transition from being students to being teachers. This paper examines the emergence of ‘unruly pupils’ as a central concern for pre-service English language teachers in their teaching practicum. The inquiry relates the pre-service teachers’ perceived challenge of ‘unruly pupils’ to the mediation of contextual conditions and processes as well as the marginal positions in which they found themselves during the teaching practicum. The article also reports on the efforts that they undertook to address this perceived challenge. The findings suggest that pre-service teachers are encouraged to interrogate the contextual conditions and processes underlying the perceived challenge of ‘unruly pupils’ in their transition to being teachers, rather than treat it merely as a relationship challenge.

Using Metaphor to Explore the Professional Role Identities of Higher Education English Language Instructors

While the teacher professional role identity of pre-service English Language teachers has gained popularity recently, that of practicing teachers is less well-researched. This study aims to reveal how a group of Turkish university English Language instructors (n=35) perceived their professional role identities. To this aim, the participants were asked to describe how they saw their roles as English teachers using a metaphor of their own choice. Content analysis of the metaphors revealed 9 overall themes. The most common theme was'guide’; followed by’flexible’,’nurturer’,’frustrated’, and’authority’; then’entertainer’ and’challenger’; and finally’novice’ and’other’.

A comparison of pre-service English Language Teacher Training Systems in Turkey and Japan

This is a cross-national comparative education study which aims to define the similarities and differences between English Language Teacher Training Systems in Turkey and Japan. Correlational comparative survey method was used and horizontal approach was preferred. In the study, Higher Education Programs for Pre-Service English Language Teacher Training in Turkey including the entry requirements to these programs, the courses served and the certificate programs were examined. Then, Pre-Service English Language Teacher Training Institutions in Japan were studied within the same categories. The similarities and differences between the English Language Teacher Education Systems in both countries were defined

Pre-Service Teachers' and Their Instructors' Beliefs on the Effectiveness of an English Language Teacher Education Program

Abstract The present research aims to explore the beliefs of English Language pre-service teachers and their instructors on the effectiveness of an educational programme at a Turkish university within the evaluation framework by Peacock (2009). The participants were 200 senior students and 21 instructors from the ELT Department. Data was collected through two similar form questionnaires based on Peacock (2009), a focus group discussion, and semi-structured interviews with three instructors. The findings indicated that although the pre-service teachers were mostly satisfied with the program; the practice, needs and language proficiency components were reported to be the major concerns. The data from the instructors revealed some similar and differing attitudes towards the program.

Assessing pre-service English language teachers’ learning using e-portfolios: Benefits, challenges and competencies gained

Assessment in learning is always of interest to practitioners, academics and researchers, and is always evolving with new implications. Alternative forms of assessment such as e-portfolios have gained recognition in documenting students' learning, as it is synchronous with both product and process. Vast amount of literature narrates the relative advantages of e-portfolios across disciplines, institutions, and applications. In Malaysia, such alternative assessment practices are less explored so far in teacher education. In this study, 55 pre-service TESOL teachers from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) are required to create and maintain a personal e-portfolio. The aim of the study is to ascertain the future teachers' practices with e-portfolios in their learning and to determine if these practices lead to teaching competencies. In addition, the study also aims to identify the benefits and challenges of using an e-portfolio as a tool for learning and self-assessment. Findings indicate that participants are appreciative of e-portfolios, as their performance and achievements are traced over time. It is also found that e-portfolios function as a monitoring tool, which helps the teachers recognize their learning and identify their strengths and weaknesses. Challenges are also noted, which include validity and reliability, interrupted Internet connection, negative attitudes participants, time constraints, workload and ethical issues. In terms of teacher competencies, it is found that six competencies emerge from the teachers' practices of e-portfolios - (1) developing understanding of an effective teacher's role; (2) developing teaching approaches/activities; (3) improving linguistic abilities; (4) comprehending content knowledge; (5) gaining ICT skills and; (6) the realization of the need to change mindsets.

Emotional intelligence and teacher efficacy: a study of Turkish EFL pre-service teachers

This study investigated the relationship between emotional intelligence and teacher efficacy among 90 English language pre-service teachers from a university in Turkey. Data sources included Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy’s Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale and Reuven Bar-On’s Emotional Quotient Inventory. The findings indicated that Turkish EFL pre-service teachers felt more efficacious in managing the class rather than in making the class enjoyable. The findings also showed that the pre-service teachers scored highest in the stress tolerance and assertiveness competencies, but lowest in independence and self-regard in terms of emotional intelligence (EQ). Findings revealed a significant, positive relationship between EQ and pre-service teachers’ efficacy. The greatest correlation is between the interpersonal EQ subscale and the engagement efficacy subscale. On the other hand, both adaptability EQ scale and stress management EQ scale scores were not significantly correlated with the three efficacy subscales.

Democratic Values and Teacher Self-Efficacy Perceptions: A Case of Pre-Service English Language Teachers in Turkey

This study investigated democratic values of pre-service English language teachers in relation to their teacher self-efficacy perceptions in a Turkish context. It also examined the possible relationships between gender, grade and democratic values and self-efficacy perceptions. A questionnaire survey was conducted with 294 pre-service teachers. Findings show that they had a high level of democratic values while senior students reported the highest rate of democratic values. Results did not show a significant difference between democratic values and gender. Participants also reported a moderately high level of self-efficacy. Lastly, correlation was found between their democratic values and self-efficacy perceptions.

‘Four years on, I’m ready to teach’: teacher education and the construction of teacher identities

This article discusses the results of a qualitative study that aimed to explore how one group of preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong constructed their identities as teachers. Using in-depth interviews to gain a rich understanding of participants’ teacher identity formation in practice and discourse, the paper examines the perspectives of six preservice teachers about teaching and teachers at the completion of their undergraduate teacher education program. In contrast to the theorization of teacher identity construction, the results suggest that the participants often held rigid views about teaching and how they saw themselves, and others, as teachers. The paper argues that this rigidity may lead to antagonistic relations between these preservice teachers and their more experienced colleagues as the participants move into teaching and explores the implications for challenging this rigidity within the context of teacher education programs. Implications for future research are also considered.

Reflection at the Interface of Theory and Practice: an Analysis of Pre-Service English Language Teachers’ Written Reflections

This study was conducted to identify the characteristics of a group of Turkish pre-service English Language teachers’ reflective writing. A mixed method approach was taken in the analysis of their written reflections on a video-recorded microteaching experience at the end of a campus-based methodology course. First, qualitative analysis of the written reflections revealed the modes and themes of reflection. Second, the crosstabulations of the emerging reflective and thematic categories were calculated to investigate how each category interacted. The analyses revealed that while most of the reflection was descriptive and focused on the self, some of the participants engaged in reflection that showed a search for reasons behind and alternatives to their practice. Some also referred to past and hypothetical future experiences. This study contributes to the knowledge base on the reflective writing of non-native pre-service English Language teachers and emphasises the importance of tapping into reflections early on in pre-service teacher education.

Pre-Service EFL Teachers’ Attitudes towards ‘Language Acquisition Courses’

This study discusses the attitudes of pre-service English language teachers towards „Language Acquisition Courses‟ in English Language Teacher Education Programs. The data have been collected through a developed questionnaire of 20 questions given to 324 students in the department of Pre-service English Language Teacher Education at Ondokuz Mayis University. SPSS has been used for the evaluation of the data. The results indicate that the pre-service teachers of English believe in the importance of language acquisition courses for their career. However, they think that they need some preliminary courses on linguistics before they take “Language Acquisition Courses”. Otherwise, since they may not have any background knowledge in linguistics, they may have some problems in the comprehension competence.

The place of interest in pre-service English teachers’ choice of occupation: A study of selected Nigerian College of Education Students

The study was carried out on the basis of the fact established in extant literature that the impact of well motivated teachers right from the Universal Basic Education level can stop to the evil of perennial mass failure of Nigerian candidates in English language examinations. Two hundred pre-service English language teachers were randomly sampled from four colleges of education in southwestern Nigeria. A self-constructed thirteen-item questionnaire was validated and used to collect data. The analysis of the data revealed that (i) a much greater percentage of the pre-service teachers in the colleges of education in the southwestern part of Nigeria do not see teaching as a profession (ii) most Nigerian pre-service English teachers in colleges of education found themselves in teacher preparation programmes as a result of frustration rather than interest (iii) majority of the English language teachers would opt out of the profession at the next available opportunity (iv) the pre-service teachers do not believe in their prospective students (v) most of the pre-service teachers do not have adequate interest in teaching English language. These imply that when such people get into actual classroom practice, they cannot effect the much-needed positive change.

“My Two Masters”: Conflict, Contestation, and Identity Construction Within a Teaching Practicum

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study into the teaching practice experiences of eight preservice English language teachers in Hong Kong. Using in-depth interviews, the preservice teachers’ practicum experiences are explored in terms of their understandings of the requirements of their teacher education institution and their teaching placement school, their relations with full time teachers within their placement schools, as well as their own beliefs about the teaching and learning of the English language. A contribution of this study is to examine these experiences through the lens of teacher identity construction. Results indicated that participants constructed rigid divisions between different identity positions that they took on, resisted, and rejected during their teaching practice experiences, and that relations between these identity categories were often characterized by antagonism. It is argued that such antagonism may be detrimental to the preservice teachers during their practicum and as they move into full time teaching positions. How these divisions might be challenged is discussed and implications for future research are considered.