Listening to the Voices of Pre-Service Student Teachers from Teaching Practice: The Challenges of Implementing the English as a Second Language Curriculum

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8

English (Second Language); Curriculum Implementation; Preservice Teachers; Student Teaching; Mixed Methods Research; Questionnaires; Interviews; Content Analysis; Focus Groups; Knowledge Base for Teaching; English Instruction; Barriers; Language Proficiency; Elementary School Curriculum; Language of Instruction; Student Teacher Attitudes; Foreign Countries

Pre-service teachers in Zimbabwe face a number of challenges on their Teaching Practice (TP) usually because a second language (English) is the language of education. Challenges and experiences articulated by pre-service student teachers on TP therefore provide a strategic window into the practices of novice teachers. This study uses a concurrent mixed approach to examine the challenges faced by B.Ed. pre-service (Primary) student teachers in implementing the English as a second language (ESL) curriculum. Questionnaire, interviews, document analysis and focus group discussions were utilised. The study is based on Shulman's (1987) teacher knowledge framework to identify the worthwhile knowledges for teachers and Cummins's (2000) views on academic proficiency to establish what the ESL curriculum should entail for teachers to effectively manage classroom pedagogy. The teacher knowledge framework postulates that teacher professional competence can be viewed from seven interrelated knowledge strands. This study uses three most pertinent namely -- content, pedagogical and curriculum knowledge. Results of the study showed that student teachers face a lot of challenges in teaching ESL and that those challenges can be mediated by the adoption of critical developmental pedagogies that recognize teachers and learners' linguistic competencies as in need of support. [For complete volume, see ED567118.]

As Provided

20

2016

ED567128