JAMES HALL (IWATE UNIVERSITY)
BRIAN GAYNOR (Muroran Institute of Technology)

EXPERIENCING DIVERSITY IN ELT: JAPANESE STUDENT-TEACHERS NAVIGATING PEDAGOGICAL DILEMMAS IN A TEACHING PRACTICUM IN THAILAND : TEACHER EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Puean Program or “Friendship Program” is a teaching internship in which student-teachers from a national university in Japan conduct English, Japanese, and Math lessons at secondary schools in Bangkok, Thailand over a period of two weeks. This paper focuses on the English teaching component of the program. Prior to going to Thailand, the student-teachers design English lessons based on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) principles, and match their student-learning goals with Thailand’s national curricular standards. However, the student-teachers usually rely on the pedagogical concepts they learned and experienced in Japan when beginning the practicum. Thus, they invariably encounter pedagogical dilemmas when they find that the teaching principles they developed in Japan do not completely transfer to the secondary school context in Thailand. Reconciling these differences requires them to reconsider their pedagogical concepts and formulate new ones. Using case studies of actual dilemmas experienced on the program, this paper will show how their resolution impacted on the student-teachers as well as their supervisors. Resolving these dilemmas required the student-teachers and their mentors to reconsider their (mis)understanding of English language teaching in Thailand and Japan. Through this process, they become aware of previously unnoticed features of the Thai and Japanese contexts resulting in a more diverse, transnational view of English Language Teaching. This paper will benefit those interested in, or already involved in, international teaching internships and faculty exchange.

James M Hall is a professor of English Education at Iwate University in northern Japan. He has been working in the field of English teacher education for over 20 years. His most recent academic interest is phenomenology as a means of understanding the novice English teacher experience.

Brian Gaynor has worked in Japan for 26 years. He has taught English at all levels of the Japanese educational system. He has a Doctorate in Education from the University of Stirling. His research interests include language policy, language and equality, and educational management.