The Curricula of Teacher Education Programs: What's Right, What's Wrong, and Is There a Gap?

Joy Reid
University of Wyoming

This page is intended to be a supplement for the lecture given by Joy Reid at the 1997 ASC conference, Approaches to Teacher Education. To for more information on the lecture topic see the Plenary Abstracts. You may also listen to the program via the conference RealAudio Page.

Contact Information for TESOL Convention and NAFSA: AIE Workshop Resource Speakers

The Curricula of Teacher Education Programs: What's Right,What's Wrong, and Is There a Gap?

• Ian Palmer's Survey Results (1S9 MATESL Programs)

* The most commonly offered of the 597 courses

• Methods and Materials 85 listings
• Phonology, Morphology, and Syntax 68 listings
• Pracffcum/Internship 62 listings
• Linguistics 56 listings
• Structure, Grammar 41 listings
• Language Acquisition 35 listings
• Research 33 listings

* Some surprising discoveries:

• at least a third of the programs had no required supervised teaching component
• about 40% of the programs offered combined courses in teaching Reading and Wriffng or just Reading; virtually none of the programs offered a course on teaching ESL/EFL Writing
• a course in tesffng / assessment / evaluaffon was offered in only a third of the programs
• only about a third of the programs even offered a course in culture or intercultural communication, and then it ~s almost always an elective
• only 15% of the programs offered a course in curriculum design and/or in foundaffons of educaffon
• fewer than 12% of the programs offered a course in educational technology

Problems in MATESL ProQrams

* Many of these new teachers have not been adequately prepared for classroom teaching. They learn "methodology in Isolation from the classroom context, students' perceptions, and the cultural and idiosyncratic learning styles of their potential students." That is, aspects of error correction and classroom management_pedagogy_ are often ignored in methods classes; some new teachers even feel that making lesson plans is beneath them and setting course objectives is too restrictive.

* While these graduates may have a solid foundation, for example, in theories of grammar(s). They have" an astounding lack of grammatical competence. That is, they are unprepared to teach grammar_pedagogical grammar_to ESL/EFL students.

* Many new ESL/EFL teachers are not ready to be employees in educational systems. They are often unwilllng to accept curricula, textbooks, and supervision. Instead, they believe that more traditional approaches are invalld "folkÄnotions about language learning." The resuU can be a teacher who is not considered a " colleague, " a "team player. "

* New graduates are verg often unaware of crossÄcultural communication, intercultural strategies, and even basic U.S. cultural assumptions and tenets. This can lead to insensitivity in the classroom and high levels of frustratlon and resistance on both sides of the desk.

Problems with IEPs

* IEP administrators are overly impatient with new teachers, expecting instant experience and maturity before new graduates have had time to develop.

* There is a substantial need for IEP administrators and experienced teachers in their programs to do more mentoring in both the teaching and the "employee" areas.

* Many jobs offered by IEPs to new grads are not high quality positions In terms of benefits, teaching loads, status, security, and salary.

FOCUS ON MATEFL CURRICULA

Directions: Please complete this survey about your teacher-preparation program:

1. Required courses: content vs pedagogy

CONTENT COURSES

PEDAGOGY COURSES

Length of each course:

Credit for each course:

Elective courses:

2. Approaches in the teacher preparation classes (percentages):

group work

class discussion

collaboration

lectures

2. Student teaching experience(s):