ESL Student Teachers Research Articles

Aspects of Connected Speech: An Exploratory Study on ESL Student-teachers of the Higher Teachers Training College Maroua

Aspects of Connected Speech: An Exploratory Study on ESL Student-teachers of the Higher Teachers Training College Maroua

Developing Professional Engagement through ESL Student Teachers’ Reflective Writing

The objective of this paper is to examine how ESL student teachers identify their own learning needs, analyse, evaluate and expand their professional engagement as an individual or as a community of practice (CoP) through reflective writing. In addition, the written discourses of their reflective entries are studied to illuminate the macro and micro elements of the reflective entries. This study mainly employs a qualitative study with some descriptive quantitative analysis. The participants are 27 ESL student teachers in their 6th semester. The instrument used is primarily the student teachers reflective entries and the content analysis was carried out to analyse for convergent and divergent ideas which were then generated into categories and themes based on the research questions stipulated. The findings revealed that the reflective entries have addressed some pertinent issues related to the student teachers’ learning needs and how they have extended their understanding of those issues. The reflective entries discourses have exhibited in-depth professional thinking which served as a platform for student teachers to meta-cognitively think about teaching. This study implicates the importance of such professional learning engagement activity in order to assist student teachers to be thinking about teaching.

ESL Student Teachers Beliefs about Learning Arabic as a Foreign Language

Learning a foreign language is a daunting task for many especially adult learners. This is because their motivation to learn the languages varies from one individual to another. Some do it to fulfill graduation requirement from the institution they are studying in while others, for fun. Thus, owing to these differences, understanding their attitude and beliefs about the language they take up is important as the belief affects language learning performance. This paper is written to investigate the beliefs of student teachers majoring in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) about learning Arabic as a foreign/third language. The respondents were enrolled in Arabic as foreign language class to meet the graduation requirement. Data for the study were collected using BALLI, an instrument to measure students’ beliefs about language learning. As this is a descriptive study, the data gathered were analysed using percentage. In general, respondents held positive beliefs about learning Arabic despite having some unrealistic beliefs about the language. The findings have a number of contributions both pedagogically and practically. One pedagogical implication the study contributes is with regards to the needs to inculcate realistic beliefs among students in learning Arabic as a foreign language.

The construction and reconstruction of ESL student teachers’ professional identity

This study explores the construction and reconstruction of ESL student teachers’ professional identity at a teacher education university in Malaysia. A number of 23 student teachers were required to upload a journal entry in the e-portfolio to reflect upon themselves as prospective teachers when they were doing a pedagogical course in semester 5. Upon completing their teaching practice in semester 7 and while doing seminar reflective as a course in their final semester, the student teachers were asked to revisit their journal entry on their identity and to compare and contrast if their views have changed or remained the same after their teaching practice experiences. A content analysis was used to study the transformation of identity through journal entries. The study reveals that the student teachers were more realistic and practical as opposed to being idealistic in forming their professional identities after the teaching practice. There were many situational factors which have affected such changes. This study implicates the need for teacher education programs to provide platforms and learning to teach experience that would assist the student teachers formation of professional identity as prospective teachers.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills Through i-Think Maps: An Action Research

This paper aims to provide insights into the use of i-Think maps in developing the understanding of critical thinking skill among ESL student teachers. The i-Think map programme was introduced by the Ministry of Education in 2012 which aims to produce innovative learners including those in language learning field. Employing Kemmis and Mac Taggart’s (2000) model of action research, eight different types of i-Think maps were introduced to three trainee teachers for four months in order to obtain feedback concerning their learning experience and understanding of critical thinking skill. Throughout the four-month period, the participants were asked to opt for suitable i-Think maps to summarise the content of the lectures delivered in their teaching session. The participants were trainee teachers at a Teacher Training Institute in Malaysia and they were purposively sampled as they had been diagnosed to have problems in applying critical thinking for coaching. Analysis of the data which were generated from document analysis and semi-structured interviews with the student teachers, showed that the participants were interested in using i-Think maps and they perceived the maps as a useful tool in improving their understanding of critical thinking. This paper contributes to the existing literature on critical thinking skills in ELT classroom by highlighting the importance of using i-Think maps as a teaching aid in enhancing the critical thinking ambience among the students.

How Prepared are the Preservice ESL Teachers to Teach : Insights from University Supervisor Feedback

A central component in pre-service teacher training is teaching practice and feedback (Copland, 2010). The study reported in this paper examined the experience of ESL trainee teachers in Hong Kong during the practicum. In total, 74 field experience feedback forms and 74 classroom language use evaluation sheets were collected and analyzed. Data analysis showed that the dominant challenge this group of ESL trainee teachers encountered was an apparent lack of adequate pedagogical knowledge needed to translate their subject-matter knowledge into effective instruction. The study also revealed that a closer relationship between the university language education program and schools is needed to create the conditions that permit ESL student teachers to better contextualise their theoretical knowledge learnt in the university teacher preparation course in practice. Results of this study contribute to the current debate on how university second language teacher education programs can best equip trainee teachers with the knowledge and skills that will best enable them to participate in the actual experience of teaching.

Lessons from experience: ESL student teachers' reflection during practicum through reflective journals

Reflection is a prospective alternative in exploring student teachers’ thinking during practicum. The data gained from student teachers’ reflection are significant in informing teacher education programs on how to equip pre-service teachers to become quality teachers. It is also crucial in addressing issues and conflicts highlighted by student teachers when they interact with the real context. This study is conducted with six semester seven student teachers undergoing their Bachelor in Education with honors Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program. The student teachers were asked to write reflective journal entries throughout the 14 weeks of their teaching practicum experience. The aim of the study is to identify the focus of the student teachers’ reflection and the challenges faced by them during practicum. Data were gathered using the reflective journal entries and semi-structured interviews with all the participants. The data were analyzed according to emerging themes. The findings indicated that the student teachers focus on three main themes in their reflections, which are managing learning, pedagogy and teacher attributes. While the challenges highlighted were difficulty in socializing with members of the institution, lack of professional support and lack of ability to manage a classroom.

Erratum to: Understanding ESL Student Teachers’ Learning of Classroom Practices in the Practicum: A Case Study in Hong Kong

Erratum to: Understanding ESL Student Teachers’ Learning of Classroom Practices in the Practicum: A Case Study in Hong Kong

Understanding ESL Student Teachers’ Learning of Classroom Practices in the Practicum: A Case Study in Hong Kong

Although the importance of practicum for preservice teachers goes almost unchallenged, specific empirical evidence of growth in language teachers’ practical knowledge in the under-researched context of preservice language teacher education is limited. Informed by both the reflective approach to teaching and an activity theory perspective, this qualitative case study examines what types of classroom practices a group of ESL student teachers learned in practicum experiences, and what pedagogical strategies they appropriated to achieve their learning of those goal-oriented classroom practices. The study is different from the previous teacher reflective thinking studies in that the study participants reflected on their practice teaching experiences, and such reflections were further tested in real-classroom situations and resulted in transformational learning. The results show that the student teachers’ learning of effective classroom practices was essentially prompted by reflection of the challenges and dilemmas encountered in the learning-to-teach process. The study points to the importance of foreign and second language teacher preparation programs promoting and sustaining a culture of reflection to empower preservice language teachers to anticipate or cope with the uncertainties and challenges they will encounter in the practicum experience, which is essential to meaningful learning and knowledge construction.

Learning to Teach through Reflection: Observations of ESL Student Teachers' Recorded Macro and Micro Teaching

Learning to Teach through Reflection: Observations of ESL Student Teachers' Recorded Macro and Micro Teaching

Profiling language and culture strategy use patterns of ESL student teachers in study abroad by using self-reported data

This paper addresses a niche in studies on immersion programmes for English as second language learners. While studies on the impact of the experience of studying abroad are replete with reports about the enhancement of participants’ language proficiency or intercultural skills, the present study investigates the types of language and culture strategies used by a group of student teachers on an overseas immersion programme by coding their interview responses and documenting the types of strategies reported. It also traces changes in the participants’ perceptions of their strategy use before, during and after studying abroad. The findings show that while participants reported using speaking strategies and listening strategies much more than other language strategies, only a narrow range of both strategy groups are reported. Similar findings are found in their use of culture strategies. Different changes in strategy use before, during and after the immersion are reported. The paper interprets the findings. Both short-term and long-term pedagogic implications for strategy development on study-abroad programmes are proposed.

Level of Information & Communication Technology (ICT) Usage Among ESL Teachers in Malaysia

The current study attempted to identify the level of (ICT) usage among ESL teachers, the difference between the level of ICT usage based on gender and age, the teachers’ perception towards ICT usage and the barriers faced by teachers. This study was a quantitative study using the descriptive survey approach. The total number of participants was 90 ESL student teachers. Data collection involved the use of a questionnaire and the results were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings showed that the level of ICT among teachers was moderate to high. The findings also revealed that females used ICT more than males and younger teachers used ICT more than older teachers. In addition, the level of perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness was moderate to high and high respectively. The findings also indicated that the level of barrier among teachers was low.

Learning to Teach English Language in the Practicum: What Challenges do Non-Native ESL Student Teachers Face?

This study investigates the challenges sixteen nonnative preservice ESL teachers in a Bachelor of Education (English Language) (BEdEL) programme from Hong Kong experienced in an eight-week teaching practicum. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were collected from all 16 participants to obtain a detailed description of the participants' perceptions of their field-based practicum experiences. Results indicate that the preserviece teachers' practicum was characterized by a reality shock due to difficulties in experimenting with pedagogical practices they were taught in the BEdEL programme, and a lack of sense of control in class. This reality shock could destabilize the already anxious student teachers and have adverse effects well beyond the eight-week teaching practicum. Inadequacy in English language competence also appeared to affect not only these student teachers' teaching performance but also how they established and maintained their teacher role and relationship with their students. Implications of the results for strengthening current ESL teacher preparation programmes in non-native English speaking contexts are discussed.

ESL student teachers' perceptions of a short-term overseas immersion programme

In recent years there has been an increasing demand for teachers to develop the international knowledge and skills necessary to help promote their students' global perspectives. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has seized the initiative to provide mandatory overseas immersion programmes for pre-service English teachers to enhance their language proficiency and cultural understanding. This study involved a group of Hong Kong English language student teachers who joined a six-week immersion programme in Auckland. The aim of the present investigation was to address our dearth of knowledge as to the impact of such a programme on student teachers, and the benefits that they could derive from it. Several obstacles that might hinder maximal benefits were also identified.

Experienced and Student EFL Teachers' Instructional Thoughts and Actions

This study examines if experienced and student EFL teachers differ from each other in terms of: (a) their use of student performance cues, (b) their instructional actions in response to student performance cues, (c) their instructional goals and instruction-related knowledge they recalled applying during the process of EFL instruction. Transcriptions of videotaped lessons of five experienced and five student EFL teachers and explanations of their instructional goals and instruction-related knowledge were analyzed. The results indicated that there were patterns of similarities and differences between experienced and student teachers' instructional actions and thoughts. The results concerning the differences between experienced and student teachers confirmed the findings of previous studies conducted in instructional contexts with native speakers of English. Moreover, a comparison of the findings of this study with those of a previous study on the instructional thoughts and decisions of ESL student teachers indicated that there may be patterns of goals and instructional actions that are unique to ESL/EFL instructional contexts.