Learning to Teach: A Descriptive Study of Student Language Teachers in Taiwan

Abstract

Studies have shown that many training programs are relatively ineffective in preparing prospective teachers for classroom teaching. Such findings suggest that teacher training programs might require improvement and that prospective teachers should be more thoroughly assessed during the training period. This study examined the learning process of a group of EFL teachers during their practicum at elementary schools. Our findings indicate that prior language learning experience and peer student teachers play a critical role in this period. Overall, the results suggested that student teachers would benefit from greater integration between field experiences, practicum, and lecture courses, which would enable the students to link teaching theory and practice more effectively.