Looking Back at the New Knowledge Bases of EFL Teacher Education

Hongmei Zhu

College of International Studies, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.

DOI: 10.4236/ce.2013.412106                

Abstract

This article discusses the trend of reconceptualizing EFL teachers’ knowledge base to avoid the separation between theory and practice, which is in particular reflected on the establishment of some new EFL teachers’ knowledge domains. However, the horizontal categorizing approaches of teachers’ knowledge establish another gap between theory and practice and the hierarchical approach formulates so much abstract knowledge for teachers. The construct of knowledge of EFL classroom interaction is a pilot inquiry to create an interface between “theory knowledge” and “practice knowledge” from the teachers’ needs. In the end of the article, a rough knowledge framework is constructed for EFL classroom interaction on teachers’ needs.

Keywords

EFL Teachers’ Knowledge Base; Knowledge Domains; the Knowledge of EFL Classroom

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Allwright, R. (1984). The importance of interaction in classroom language learning. Applied Linguistics, 5, 156-171. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/applin/5.2.156
[2]	Andrews, S. (1999). Teacher language awareness. Cambridge: Cambridge Press.
[3]	Education Ministry (2011). The suggestions on promoting teacher education curriculum reform. http://www.moe.edu.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/moe/s6136/201110/125722.html
[4]	Freeman, D. (1989). Teacher training, development, and decision-making: A model of teaching and related strategies in language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 28, 27-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3587506
[5]	Freeman, D. (2004). Comments on Robert Yates and Dennis Muchisky’s “on reconceptualizing teacher education. Readers React...Common misconceptions about the quiet revolution. TESOL Quarterly, 38, 119-127. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3588261
[6]	Freeman, D., & Johnson, K. E. (2005). Response to Tarone and Allwright. In D. J. Tedick (Ed.), Second language teacher education: International perspectives (pp. 25-32). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[7]	Freeman, D., & Johnson, K. E.(1998). Reconceptualizing the knowledge-base of language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 32, 397417. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3588114
[8]	Gong, Yafu. STEPSS—Standards for teachers of english in primary & secondary schools. http://wenku.baidu.com/view/7c8204210722192e4536f699.html
[9]	Graves, K. (2009). The curriculum of second language teacher education. In A. Burns, & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[10]	Han, G. (2011). Constructing pedagogical content knowledge for EFL TEachers. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
[11]	Jourdenais, R. (2009). Language teacher education. In M. H. Long, & C. J. Doughty (Eds.), The handbook of language teaching (pp. 647-658). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
[12]	Kumaravadivalu, B. (2011). Language teacher education for a global society: A modular model for knowing, analyzing, recognizing, doing, and seeing. New York, NY: Routledge.
[13]	Liu, J. (2009). A historical study on American thought of teacher education in 20th century. Beijing: Beijing Normal University Press.
[14]	Liu, X. D., & Meng, C. G. (2009). Investigation on EFL teachers’ reflection and its influential factors. Foreign Language Teaching in Schools (Middle Schools), 12, 1-7.
[15]	Meng, C. G. (2011). The investigation on EFL college and university teachers’ reflective teaching and practice. Foreign Language World, 145, 44-54.
[16]	New National Curriculum Standards for Senior English in China (2012). Pilot version. http://wenku.baidu.com/view/7ea6783443323968011c9253.html
[17]	Richards, J. C. (1998). Beyond training. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[18]	Richards, J. C. (2011). Competence and performance in language teaching. In Y. Wu, & L. Zhang (Eds.), Cultural construction and teacher development of foreign language teachers-papers presented at the third national symposium on foreign language teacher education and development (pp. 16-46). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
[19]	Shon, D. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. Oxford: JosseyBass Inc. Pub.
[20]	Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57, 1-22.
[21]	Tarone, E., & Allwright, D. (2005). Second language teacher learning and student second language learning: Shaping the knowledge base. In D. J. Tedick, (Ed.), Second language teacher education: International perspectives (pp. 5-25). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[22]	Tsui, A. B. M. (2003). Understanding expertise in teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.
[23]	Wang, R., & Han, G. (2005). Understanding pre-service EFL teachers’ ‘Reflective Practice’. Foreign Language Theory and Practice, 3, 8287.
[24]	Walsh, S. (2006). Investigating the classroom discourse. New York, NY: Routledge.
[25]	Xu, J. F., & Li, B. B. (2012). The investigation and research of the status quo of EFL college and university teachers’ reflection in China. Foreign Language World, 151, 6-15.
[26]	Zhao, G. (2009). Thinking of the curriculum system of primary English teacher education. In W. C. Zou (Ed.), The research of Chinese fundamental English teacher education (pp. 131-143). Shanghai: East China Normal University Press.