Abstract:

Although the Japanese government decided to make English a formal subject for fifth and sixth graders from 2020, there has been little discussion about how to prepare English teachers. In fact, Curtain and Dahlberg (2004) pointed out that lack of skillful teachers has been a serious issue in teaching foreign languages to elementary school students all over the world. Moreover, there is little documentation about how preservice teachers continue to learn to teach as novice teachers in their workplaces (Farrell, 2012). This longitudinal study keeps track on five novice elementary school teachers who received a yearlong preservice teacher preparation program and reveal how they try to “apply the teaching methods they were trained to use” (Farrell, 2012, p. 447) in their school contexts.

This longitudinal research includes two studies. First, using multiple data sources including surveys, journals, and interviews, the first study found that these preservice teachers transformed their beliefs from just fun English class to goal-oriented and skills-integrated class, developing their teaching skills through the yearlong preservice teacher training course. The second study attempts to reveal how they attempt to use teaching methods they had learned as novice teachers in their workplaces by analyzing interview and classroom observation data.

Such a study is expected to shed light on the dynamics of teacher development by bridging the gap between preservice and inservice teacher development. In fact, Farrell (2012) affirms that “It is important to ask how second language teacher (SLT) education programs could bridge this gap more effectively and thus better prepare novice teachers for the challenges they may face in the first years teaching” (p. 438).

Keywords:

Preservice teacher preparation, in-service teacher development, teacher learning in context.