Language Teacher Preparation Programs Research Articles

The Role of Pragmatics in the Master's TESOL Curriculum: Findings From a Nationwide Survey

Recent years have seen an increase in the number of publications about pragmatics and second language learning and teaching. Yet the extent to which English language teacher preparation programs incorporate explicit instruction about pragmatics into their curricula remains unknown. A nationwide survey of master's‐level TESOL programs was conducted to determine where and how pragmatics is covered in the TESOL curriculum, what resources are used to teach graduate TESOL students about pragmatics, as well as to determine some of the prevalent attitudes, beliefs, and opinions about pragmatics held by TESOL graduate program directors and faculty. Individuals from 94 master's‐level TESOL programs in the United States participated in the study. Participating programs represent a variety of geographic regions, institution types, and departments. The findings of the study indicate that pragmatics is covered in a wide range of courses across programs (Sociolinguistics, Discourse Analysis, Introduction to Linguistics, Teaching Methods, SLA, etc.), and that the time spent covering pragmatics varies from no time at all, to more than 8 weeks, depending on the program. A great deal of variation was also found in graduate program directors' and faculty members' beliefs about the role of pragmatics in the TESOL curriculum.

American Sign Language Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States

Even though ASL isn�t as easy to learn as it may seem at first, more and more students are enrolling in ASL courses at both the secondary and university levels and choosing ASL as a primary area of study. For this reason the demand for ASL teachers is increasing, and the need for ASL teacher-preparation programs (ASL TPPs) has increased. Therefore, to assess present and future standards, an examination of the current ASL TPPs in the United States was called for. This article compares three ASL TPPs and examines them for compliance with national teaching standards. The analysis of each site highlights four areas: (a) the program, (b) curriculum development, (c) admission and enrollment requirements, and (d) the courses. Following the curricular narratives of these schools is a comparison of their programs with the trends in national standards. The article ends with some recommendations for upgrading the existing and new ASL TPPs.

Learning to Teach: Instructional Actions and Decisions of Preservice ESL Teachers

This study examines the instructional actions and decisions of preservice English as a second language teachers during their initial teaching experiences. Six preservice ESL teachers viewed videotapes of their own teaching and provided recall comments that detailed their instructional decisions while teaching. Transcriptions of videotaped lessons along with corresponding recall comments were examined to determine the ways in which these teachers perceived and responded to student input during second language instruction, the instructional decisions they made, and the prior knowledge they considered while making those decisions. The results suggest that preservice ESL teachers' instructional actions were directed by unexpected student responses and the desire to maintain the flow of instructional activities. Their instructional decisions were overwhelmingly influenced by the need to ensure student understanding, to increase student motivation and involvement, and to maintain control over instructional management. The findings of this study highlight the cognitive demands placed on preservice ESL teachers and support the need for second language teacher preparation programs to provide opportunities for preservice ESL teachers to understand the dynamics of how they think and act as they learn to teach.

Beyond Prescription: The Student Teacher as Investigator

ABSTRACT In preservice foreign/second language teacher preparation programs, prescriptions about how to teach have certain limitations. The most outstanding is that direct transfer of information does not necessarily afford student teachers chances to gain insight into how they can investigate their teaching processes and make decisions about what they can do in classrooms after the teacher preparation program has ended.In this paper we present a multiple‐activities approach to teacher preparation through which student teachers are provided with opportunities to investigate their teaching and to make decisions about what and how to teach. In this approach student teachers experience classroom teaching, observe other teachers, conduct investigative projects of their teaching and its consequences, and discuss teaching in several contexts.A multiple‐activities approach has been shown to provide student teachers with opportunities to develop their decision‐making skills. However, communication within these activities is complex and opportunities for student teachers to develop decisionmaking skills can be blocked as well as facilitated through the type of interaction which goes on within and across each activity. Thus, in our discussion we are sensitive to interaction within each activity and to the connections which can be made between them.