KATSUHISA HONDA (FACULTY OF EDUCATION)
MIKU SUGAYA (the Graduate School of Education at Chiba University)

PRE-SERVICE TEACHER TRAINING PRACTICUMS IN TAIWAN: FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF TRAINING ENGLISH TEACHERS : TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The faculty of education at C University in Japan offers an overseas teaching practicum to graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a career in English teaching. The present study reviews and reports the significant features of this practicum in Taiwan. Participating students planned and conducted culture lessons in English at several schools in Taiwan and had the chance to observe English lessons and discuss the different educational approaches to English education in Taiwan with the teachers there. Throughout the practicum, students are encouraged to cultivate their intercultural understanding through their teaching experience, increase their communication skills using their English. After their return to Japan, semi-structured interviews were conducted with some of the participants, guided by several open-ended questions about their experience in the overseas practicum and their thoughts about teaching English. Transcript analysis was performed using a combination of the structure-construction qualitative research method and the modified grounded theory approach (M-GTA), which were developed as easily accessible methods of qualitative data analysis. The results of this analysis are finally represented with diagrams and story lines. From the M-GTA, twenty-three concepts (e.g., surprise at the educational environment in Taiwan; difficulties in teaching in English) and eight categories (e.g., the comparison of language and culture between Japan and Taiwan) emerged. The findings of this study propose a framework for overseas pre-service teacher training practicums and provide implications for English education in Japan. This experience abroad will enhance Japanese students’ competence in teaching English and encourage awareness of teacher development for promoting global partnerships.

Katsuhisa Honda is a professor in the Faculty of Education at Chiba University. He has addressed in empirical research on language learning motivation. He is currently interested in curriculum and teacher development programs at university level. He is one of the authors who redacted the MEXT-censored English textbooks in Japan.

Miku Sugaya is a graduate student at the Graduate School of Education at Chiba University, with a keen interest in CLIL practices in Japanese high schools. Her research will examine the effects of implementing CLIL lessons on learners.