ERIC Number: EJ1120966
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1916-4742
EISSN: N/A
Exploring Professional Development from Brief Experiences: Case Studies of Secondary EFL Teachers in China
Qingling, Yuan; Qunhua, Yuan; Ying, Wan
English Language Teaching, v9 n12 p109-116 2016
The current situation of educational reforms since 1990s has brought up a booming demand of competent EFL teachers because of economic globalization and further opening-up policy in China. So it's vital and significant to explore EFL teachers' professional development in order to promote English language teaching. Based on the Constructivism Perspective in educational psychology and new trends in Second Language Teacher Education, this research focuses on six secondary EFL teachers' critical incidents and narrates their brief experiences by deep interview and field notes. After categorized analysis through recurring themes, the discussions about four domains (i.e. learning experiences, knowledge & beliefs, teaching practice and social context) are summarized below. These teachers have experienced pre-service & in-service and formal & informal learning that has different features. Secondly, they hold some common knowledge & beliefs, which are always developing but fluctuate with realities. Next, their language teaching develops from initial to survival then to mastery and personalization, but each stage is distinctive in different situations. Social context facilitates or constrains their professional development, but their responses to it are various to seek personal and professional balance. In conclusion, it interprets five interactive factors in the process of teacher professional development: Normal education and professional programs play essential roles; Self-directed teaching & school-based activities provide diverse paths; Perfection of language & teaching serves as peculiar professional qualities; Love for students & love for teaching functions as original driving force; Chinese social context works as potential external stimuli. Finally, it presents some feasible suggestions.
Descriptors: English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Second Language Instruction, Language Teachers, Economic Development, Global Approach, Constructivism (Learning), Teaching Methods, Critical Incidents Method, Learning Experience, Teacher Education, Asians, Social Environment, Faculty Development, Teacher Motivation, Foreign Countries, Case Studies, Secondary School Teachers, Qualitative Research, Interviews, Teacher Attitudes, Teacher Characteristics
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A