Investigating "the Self As Source" EFL Teacher Professional Development In A Vocational College

EFL teacher professional development has been a major concern for many yearsin the field of language teaching. However, teacher professional development inChinese vocational colleges lags much behind due to less training and less teachereducation. Teachers in vocational colleges, in most case, have to explore practicableand effective ways to develop themselves by making use of sources around them.This study investigates the current situation of “the self as source” EFL teacherprofessional development (hereinafter: SSPD) in Yunnan College of BusinessManagement. Three main research questions are addressed as follows:(1) What arethe teachers’ attitudes towards SSPD?(2) What approaches do the teachers usuallyadopt in pursuing SSPD?(3) What do teachers benefit from SSPD?In order to collect data for this study, two research methodologies are adopted,such as questionnaire and interview.37EFL teachers from Yunnan College ofBusiness Management are involved in the questionnaire investigation, and fourteachers participate in interviews. The investigation has proved that most teachershold positive attitude towards SSPD and can pursue SSPD actively. Furthermore, amajority of teachers prefer peer observation, journal writing and case studies, whilefew teachers have experience of action research, team teaching and video recordings.Finally, teachers state that pursuing SSPD can broaden and update their professionalknowledge. It can also help develop their interests in research and involve inteaching activities such as case studies and action research. Their attitudes towardsteaching practice, and their teaching beliefs have also changed during pursuingSSPD. Meanwhile, their awareness about self-reflection has increased and theteaching techniques have been improved. The limitations of this thesis and suggestions for further teacher professionaldevelopment are proposed at the end of the thesis. Firstly, collaborative teachingshould not be ignored in pursuing SSPD. Secondly, the colleges should offer moretraining opportunities to help teachers do research. Thirdly, diversified approachesshould be conducted in the progress of pursuing SSPD.