Abstract:

Empirical evidence has shown that English teachers who obtained the certificates perceived themselves to be more confident in their teaching. The in-service teacher training in Taiwan is all about the teacher preparation and professional development. The in-service teacher training programs were developed to ensure that there are enough qualified teachers. In accord with the “Developing Taiwan into a Bilingual Nation by 2030” in Taiwan, the Ministry of Education (MOE) has now set “implementing full scale bilingualization of Taiwan’s educational system and cultivating bilingual talents to bring Taiwan to the world” as its goal.

This study adopted single-group quasi-experimental design and investigated the effects of the in-service teacher training for fifty teachers who have joined and continued teaching in primary and secondary schools. For data collection, all participants had taken Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT), and focus group interviews were conducted and pre- and post-questionnaires were administered to investigate teachers’ attitudes toward the program as well as their teaching beliefs, knowledge, and practice of teaching, and the demographic information such as age, experiences or preparation techniques. The training was held online and face-to-face, and TKT was adopted as the international English language teaching qualification program. The training program specifically focused on the training for TKT in eight weeks which included intro, pre-testing, blended learning, post-testing and closing ceremony and was completed in the end of 2021. The training, designed as a pre-course, provided modules, such as “language systems and background to language learning and teaching,” “lesson planning and use of resources,” and “managing the teaching and learning process.” The participants were encouraged to develop ways to refine teaching methods.

In conclusion, the study showed that in-service teacher training can have a positive impact on the performance as English language teachers. Most had completed this in-service training course prior to taking the TKT. The study found that the overall effect of TKT pre-course was positive, especially on teachers' understanding of how to use learning resources within the English language classroom, and also on their teaching methods and skills through the pre-and post-questionnaire. There was a substantial improvement in teachers’ understanding of theory and method by the TKT and pre- and post-questionnaires. 8 participants (16% in 50) obtained the certificates for band 2 on the mock TKT (the past paper from Cambridge) as the pre-test (basic but systematic knowledge) to band 3 (shows a breadth and depth of knowledge) by the real TKT as post-test, 10 participants (20% in 50) got improvement with the certificates from band 3 to band 4 (being the highest and extensive knowledge), and the others were reached in band 3. Also, evidence indicating instructional improvement could be seen in the greater diversity of teaching materials used by teachers after the training, and also, there were more considerations and varied approaches to lesson planning, classroom activities, and student interactions.

Keywords:

Quasi-experimental design, in-service teaching training, blended learning.