A Study On The Current Situation Of Professional Development Of Rural Primary English Teachers At The Initial Professional Stage

The study on foreign language teacher professional development started in the United States at the end of the 1960s and was extensively concerned in Europe and America in the 1970s and 1980s. At present, it has been a hot topic in education in all over the world. In China, this issue is getting more and more attention as well.Novice English teachers of rural primary schools belong to a special group in the process of professional development. The stage of professional development they are at is not only a critical period for their development, but also a transitional period full of frustrations. The situation of professional development at the initial professional stage determines whether these new teachers will continue working in the teaching position or not, which also has a profound influence on their validity of teaching and job satisfaction. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out a research on the current situation of professional development of novice English teachers at rural primary schools so as to promote their professional development and improve the quality of elementary education in rural areas.The participants of this study are English teachers within three years of teaching experience in the rural primary schools in Daiyue District, Taian, Shandong Province. The study analyzes the professionalism rural primary English teachers should have, the problems they are facing, the current situation of their professional development by means of questionnaire survey and interview. This study indicates that due to the subjective and objective reasons, the situation of professional development of novice English teachers of rural primary schools is not so optimistic at the present stage, especially in the respects of the consciousness for professional development, self-development capacity and developmental environment. The major findings are as follows:(1) Most of the rural primary English teachers at the initial professional stage have been equipped with English professional knowledge and teaching theories, but they have not thoroughly mastered the skills of managing a class. They also feel that it far exceeds their ability in dealing with students psychologically, helping students in learning difficulties and carrying out research, etc.(2) Most of the rural primary English teachers at this stage have strong consciousness and impetus for professional development, and they are dissatisfied with the current situation of their own professional development and show a strong desire to change the situation. However, few of them have really begun to make their future self-development plans.(3) At present, there are still some contradictions and problems that cannot be ignored in the process of their development. Most of the teachers are just basically satisfied with the present occupation as a teacher. Because of the poor teaching conditions, low income and no incentive mechanism available, this group is potentially unstable. Besides, most of them carry heavy workload and have no time to pay attention to professional development. Consequently, they have problems in adapting to the new requirements of new curriculum reform completely. Furthermore, schools do not provide a favorable environment and strong support for their professional development, and the monotony of present teachers' training can not satisfy their needs. All of these, to a certain extent, hinder their professional development. Based on these, some strategies and suggestions are put forward for improvement.