Towards guidelines for curriculum design and development in English language teacher education in Cambodian higher education institutions

In the current Cambodian higher education sector, there is little regulation of standards in curriculum design of undergraduate degrees in English language teacher education. The researcher, in the course of his professional work in the Curriculum and Policy Office at the Department of Higher Education, has seen evidence that most universities tend to copy their curriculum from one source, the curriculum of the Institute of Foreign Languages, the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Their programs fail to impose any entry standards, accepting students who pass the high school exam without any entrance examination. It is possible for a student to enter university with satisfactory scores in all subjects but English. Therefore, not many graduates are able to fulfil the professional requirements of the roles they are supposed to take. Neau (2010) claims that many Cambodian EFL teachers do not reach a high performance standard due to their low English language proficiency and poor background in teacher education. The main purpose of this study is to establish key guidelines for developing curricula for English language teacher education for all the universities across the country. It examines the content of the Bachelor‘s degree of Education in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (B Ed in TEFL) and Bachelor‘s degree of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BA in TESOL) curricula adopted in Cambodian universities on the basis of criteria proposed in current curriculum research. It also investigates the perspectives of Cambodian EFL teachers on the areas of knowledge and skill they need in order to perform their English teaching duties in Cambodia today. The areas of knowledge and skill offered in the current curricula at Cambodian higher education institutions (HEIs), the framework of the knowledge base for EFL teacher education and general higher education, and the areas of knowledge and skill Cambodian EFL teachers perceive to be important, are compared so as to identify any gaps in the current English language teacher education curricula in the Cambodian HEIs. The existence of gaps show what domains of knowledge and skill need to be included in the English language teacher education curricula at Cambodian HEIs. These domains are those identified by previous curriculum researchers in both general and English language teacher education at tertiary level. Therefore, the present study provides useful insights into the importance of including appropriate content in English language teacher education curricula. Mixed methods are employed in this study. The course syllabi and the descriptions within the curricula in five Cambodian HEIs are analysed qualitatively based on the framework of knowledge and skills for EFL teachers, which is formed by looking at the knowledge base for second language teachers suggested by the methodologists and curriculum specialists whose work is elaborated on the review of literature. A quantitative method is applied to analyse the perspectives of 120 Cambodian EFL teachers on areas of knowledge and skills they should possess. The fieldwork was conducted between June and August, 2014. The analysis reveals that the following areas are included in the curricula at the five universities: communication skills, general knowledge, knowledge of teaching theories, teaching skills, pedagogical reasoning and decision making skills, subject matter knowledge, contextual knowledge, cognitive abilities, and knowledge of social issues. Additionally, research skills are included in three curricula while society and community involvement is in only one. Further, information and communication technology, which is outlined in the Education Strategies Plan (2006-2010), forms part of four curricula while leadership skills form part of two. This study demonstrates ultimately that most domains that are directly and indirectly related to language teaching competence are not sufficiently represented in the current curricula. On the basis of its findings, the study concludes with a set of guidelines that should inform the design and development of TESOL and TEFL curricula in Cambodia.

Teachers in action : tasks for in-service language teacher education and development.

Ofrece un marco flexible para alentar a los profesores de lengua en la investigación de temas que son relevantes para su propio desarrollo profesional. Contiene una serie de recursos diseñados específicamente para ayudarles a desarrollar sus habilidades, conocimientos y actitudes. Estos recursos son extensas tareas presentadas en hojas de trabajo, que pueden fotocopiarse y que sirven para la formación continua del profesor y para el desarrollo de programas.

Beyond training : perspectives on language teacher education.

Trata sobre las creencias, teorías, conocimientos y prácticas de los profesores que imparten la enseñanza de una segunda lengua, y argumenta a favor de un enfoque más holístico en la formación del profesorado. A lo largo del libro se examinan una serie de cuestiones interconectadas que enfrentan a aquellos que están implicados en la formación continua de este profesorado ó en el diseño y evaluación de los programas. Ofrece muchas sugerencias prácticas sobre el tipo de actividades que pueden ser utilizados en éstos y analiza diferentes enfoques en la formación de los docentes.

The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education.

Colección de treinta artículos que ofrece una visión general de temas de actualidad, debates y enfoques en Formación de Docentes en Segunda Lengua (SLTE) presentados por investigadores, educadores y académicos. Los capítulos abordan cuestiones tales como educación a distancia, los profesores de habla inglesa no materna, la tecnología en el aula de idiomas, evaluación, normas, los distintos contextos de la enseñanza de la lengua y la formación docente.

Collaborative language learning in Teletandem: a resource for pre-service teacher education

This article presents some of the results of a qualitative research project about the influences of the pedagogic strategies used by a mediator (graduate student in applied linguistics) in the supervision process of a Teletandem partner (undergraduate student in languages) on her pedagogical practice. It was done within the project Teletandem Brazil: foreign language for all. Based on the reflective teaching paradigm and collaborative language learning, with special emphasis on tandem learning, we analyzed the contributions of the collaborative relationship established between the graduate student and the student-teacher in her first teaching experience. The results bring about implications for the field of language teacher education in a perspective of education within practice, evidencing the experience of collaborative learning in teletandem as an opportunity for reflective teacher education of pre-service teachers.

Competences in the classroom in the perspectives of foreign language teachers

In this article we raise some considerations about teachers’ competences, from the perspective of teachers in the Brazilian public sector. The theoretical framework includes articles by Paulo Freire (2001), Philippe Perrenoud (2012), Edgar Morin (2003) and Maurice Tardif (2002) and, based on these authors, we reflect upon issues concerning teachers’ competences taking answers provided by the Brazilian language teachers as a departing point. In a teachers’ course, followed by the same teachers, we posed the main question in our study: Which competences are necessary for a teacher to be considered a good professional at present? From the answers given individually and group discussions we proceeded to a comparative analysis with the adopted framework, and other issues concerning teachers’ competences were considered as well. All the participants mentioned the same two competences, the use of technology and sound knowledge of the course content, and other competences were pointed out by the various teachers as well. Such procedure, besides providing data for our study, also helped as a self-reflexive activity for the teachers involved, about their own professional performance. Given the issues raised in the theoretical texts and the answers provided by the teachers, we expect to revisit the competences necessary for foreign language teacher efficient performance.

A linguagem de sala de aula na formação do professor de língua estrangeira

A análise das gravações de miniaulas ministradas por professores de língua estrangeira em formação permitiu verificar a carência de um léxico específico para a situação de sala de aula. Essa evidência revela que o desenvolvimento de uma proficiência linguística geral não é suficiente na formação inicial de professores de línguas estrangeiras: é necessário que se realize também um trabalho sistemático sobre a linguagem específica de sala de aula. Com o objetivo de contribuir para a formação desses professores, este artigo apresenta um inventário de falas típicas de sala de aula elaborado a partir das dificuldades observadas no corpus de estudo. Propõe-se utilizar esse inventário como base para atividades que proporcionem ao professor em formação a oportunidade de adquirir proficiência lexical específica para sua prática profissional em língua estrangeira.

A autonomia no processo de ensino-aprendizagem para a formação de professores de língua estrangeira: espanhol

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

A formação inicial de professores de inglês como espaço para a (re)construção de identidades

Pós-graduação em Estudos Linguísticos - IBILCE

A educação de professores de línguas em CALL: histórico e perspectivas

Over the last years, the new technologies have changed the way we relate to information and communicate with other people, which has brought on impact to foreign language teaching and learning, and, consequently, to the area of foreign language teacher education. The abbreviation CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) has been used to designate the processes of language teaching and learning with the use of computers, and language teacher education in CALL to name teacher education for and with the use of new technologies, since a number of authors point to the interdependence of both processes. We intend in this article to present an overview of the literature of the area of language teacher education in CALL nowadays and discuss issues related to the use of new technologies concerning its integration to teacher education and the functional and institutional roles to be taken. We also present two proposals of teacher education with the use of new technologies which are being implemented and at the same time studied in Brazil, which we believe have essential elements for the development of language teachers for and with the use of new technologies currently.

O trabalho de licenciandos em alemão e inglês no PIBID: a construção da prática docente a partir das crenças de alunos do Ensino Médio sobre língua e cultura estrangeira

For some time, researchers in teacher education (ZEICHNER; LISTON, 1996; GIMENEZ, 2005) have been drawing attention to the need to place undergraduates in contexts of practice that help them make sense of the theoretical training they receive in the graduation course. In this article, we discuss the intersection between school and university for initial foreign language teacher education through activities carried out under the Brazilian Institutional Program for Initiation to Teaching – Language and Literature of a state university. These activities were aimed, on the one hand, to promote reflection about the concept of culture and intercultural language teaching during initial teacher education and, secondly, to deconstruct stereotypes of high school students about German and English language and culture. Based on the analysis of data on the beliefs of students of the school and the support of theoretical studies such as Kramsch (2006, 2009), Bolognini (1993), among others, workshops were designed to expand the cultural universe of the high school students in the partner state school, the concept of culture and to deconstruct stereotypes. It was found that the activity contributed to the reflective education of the undergraduate students in relation to the treatment of the subject culture in language teaching.

Variantes motivacionais de professores de língua Inglesa em um curso de formação inicial

This paper aims at discussing the relevance of student-teachers’ motivational variants in an English as a Foreign Language Teacher Education course whose syllabus proposes, since the beginning of the program, the development of students’ proficiency in the target language aligned to EFL teacher education theories. In addition, this study also intends to comprehend how this course structure has been developed, verifying how prospective teachers react towards its proposal. Results indicated relevant aspects related to motivation, since from all participants, many declared their interest in following the teaching career while others revealed interest in developing their English language skills, which indicates that both needs and expectations of these groups seemed to be attained, favoring their motivation to language learning and teaching.