Practicum in pre-service teacher education offers ample opportunities for developing a practical conception of teaching and learning. Yet it may also promote further worry for pre-service teachers if not sufficiently resourced and carefully structured. The present study intended to delve into pre-service teachers' perceptions of practicum…

This article explores the findings of a qualitative case study of journal entries by 10 final-year English pre-service teachers during their five-week practicum in disadvantaged schools in South Africa's Gauteng province. The study sought to investigate the nature and depth of reflection as well as student teachers' perceptions regarding the…

English teachers must be prepared to attend to the intercultural aspects of language learning. In Indonesia, this challenge is compounded by education policies that also require teachers to sustain Indonesian cultural values. Without explicit preparation or guidance, these two expectations could be quite challenging to novice teachers. The…

Second language pre-service teachers in their final field experience are faced with many challenges as they move from student to professional teacher. During a particularly intense period of transition, they confront new information and issues as they move forward into actual classroom teaching. Guided reflective journals provide pre-service…

In 2007, eleven diverse undergraduate students from Texas spent a month in Mexico on a study-abroad program sponsored by the School of Education at their university. A central goal of the program was to facilitate pre-service teachers' ability to articulate a critical understanding of the needs of second language (L2) learners in their future…

Among the coursework offered to preservice teachers at the first author's institution in 2007 was the course "Second Language Acquisition" (SLA). This course was designed to develop multicultural awareness by introducing the theory and practice of second language acquisition and helping future teachers become familiar with the struggles…

Structured reflection on practical teaching experiences may help pre-service teachers to integrate their learning and analyze their actions to become more effective learners and teachers. This study reports on 12 pre-service English as a second language (ESL) teachers' individual tutoring of learners of English language writing. The data of the…