Early Professional Development in EFL Teaching

Perspectives and Experiences from Japan

By (author) Chitose Asaoka

Publication date:

10 April 2019

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781788923217

This book examines the perspectives and experiences of student teachers who are in the process of becoming secondary school English teachers in Japan. It reports on the trainee teachers’ attitudes towards theory and practice in their professional development. Through a discussion of what professional expertise should look like in this context, the book identifies the challenges faced by the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) system in Japan, and suggests support and mediational activities that should be included as components of the ITE curriculum. The book contains valuable rich descriptions of trainee teachers’ experiences, and will be of interest to those working in EFL both in Japan and elsewhere.

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Educational Reforms in Japan

Chapter 3. Professional Development in Initial Teacher Education

Chapter 4. Teaching Culture in Japan

Chapter 5. Case Studies

Chapter 6. Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives on Teaching

Chapter 7. Factors that Affect Initial Teacher Education

Chapter 8. Mediational Tools: Narrowing the Gap between Theory and Practice

Chapter 9. A Critical Reflection: Professional Development in Initial Teacher Education in Japan

Asaoka has ethnographically, psychologically, and socially described the early professional development of preservice EFL teachers in Japan in ways that will help teacher-trainers globally facilitate their own training courses. Readers will especially appreciate Asaoka’s detailed case studies which show the needs of new teachers and possible interventions at various stages.