This article addresses the critical need to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills in pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education in Egypt. It argues that a more practical orientation in teacher preparation is essential for addressing the specific challenges and opportunities present in Egyptian EFL…

Student Teachers' beliefs and their teaching behaviors are interactive and closely related. Student teachers' any adoption of teaching methods in micro-teaching or teaching practicum is largely hidden behind their beliefs. In this paper, starting with the origin and changes of methods in language teaching method era, the author explains certain…

While a practicum is usually regarded as a place to "practice teaching," or as a place to turn what one has learned in the classroom into real practice, an "observational practicum" can also substantially further one's professional growth. Indeed, an observational practicum can be an ideal site for novice ESOL practitioners to…

Along with the expansion of computer technologies in education, an increasing number of academic degrees and professional development credentials in second-language (L2) education are offered online. Despite the rapid growth in the number of online language teacher education (OLTE) programmes, there is still a dearth of research about OLTE and its…

This article focuses on English language teaching in Brazilian public schools, based on experiences in primary and secondary education, as well as in Teaching Practicum courses at a university. Through these experiences, the article critiques the overemphasis on grammar and the lack of an intercultural approach. The author engages the reader with…

The government of the Sultanate of Oman actively promotes the value of English as a global "lingua franca" to support modernization and national economic growth. This policy, however, creates difficulties for many teachers, who find themselves implementing certain practices that conflict with a vision of English language teaching (ELT)…

This paper examines a good practice for service learning that has been implemented for years in TESOL Internship, a professional unit for students doing Master of Arts (MA) in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at a major university in Australia. The author has investigated and identified three key features of a good practice…

In line with the Ministry of Education's vision of the delivery of twenty-first century competencies amongst all students in Singapore, the National Institute of Education in Singapore employs service learning as a pedagogical tool to develop community outreach and engagement. This paper begins with a review of related literature on service…

This article analyses the process of supervision by teacher educators and its influence on English language student teachers during a practicum in Kenya. The student teachers were enrolled in a four-year Bachelor of Education course for teaching English at secondary school level. Drawing on the perspectives of teacher educators, co-operating…

This paper reports on a study of Chinese pre-service teachers' perceived problems in their teaching practicum. Reflective paper-writing was employed to investigate the views of 210 student teachers on an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher education programme in Central China. The findings highlight six major problems. The paper points out…

This article examines the teaching practicum in Thailand as it occurs in three settings: "Rajabhats"--four-year universities which offer an additional period of teaching practice, and where the vast majority of EFL teachers are educated; regular universities; and a TESOL short course certificate program for non-Thais preparing to teach…

The report, "The Ready to Teach Program: A Federal Initiative in Support of Online Courses for Teachers", describes the history of the Ready to Teach Program and its role as one of the solutions to the national need to increase the performance of teachers through professional development. The report describes selected findings from the Eisenhower…

Important features of practicums for teachers of elementary school language immersion programs include: mentoring and peer coaching; guidance in self-analysis, observation, and reflection on teaching practices; and experience with realities of immersion. A period of induction beyond the practicum is also recommended. (19 references) (MSE)