Reflection On Professional Self-Development Of College English Teachers (CETs)

Since the 1980s, reflective teaching has been considered as one of the most effective ways of solving teachers' professional problems, and of improving and developing teacher education. In teacher education, reflective teaching suggests that both teachers and student teachers collect data about teaching, examine their attitudes and beliefs, and use the information to reflect on teaching. This information can also be used as a basis for teachers to understand their own teaching maxims and practices, and a basis for self- evaluation. Reflective teaching, therefore, is an important factor of a teacher's professional development. The main tasks of foreign language teacher education in China are usually the mastery of subject matter knowledge and the development of teaching skills. The biggest problem existing in foreign language teaching and learning is the great separation between theories and practices, and between teaching methods and approaches introduced from other countries and real situations in China. But since the second half of the 1990s, many Chinese English teachers, scholars, researchers, and teacher trainers have tried to make some changes in the field of English teaching by introducing and practicing reflective teaching.One of the core issues of successful reform of College English teaching and learning (CETL) in China is to enhance Chinese College English teachers' (CETs') all-around ability. The training and education of CETs is considered as the essential project of and a severe challenge to the reform. The ability of self-improvement is an inner requirement for highly-qualified teachers. And the competitive edge of college graduates in job market largely depends on their English proficiency. It is more urgent and more significant to improve CETs' professional qualities including their self-development ability in a relatively backward region such as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This dissertation is aimed at a study of the in-service CETs' professional self- development in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and it attempts an exploration of their subject matter knowledge, English proficiency, beliefs on CETL, self-evaluation, teaching research, practice of reflection on teaching, and their in-service education, etc. The purposes of this survey are as follows: (1) to look into the real situation in which the teachers reflect on their own teaching; (2) to inquire into their greatest professional frustrations and difficulties in teaching and in self-development; (3) to get an overall understanding of the main differences between the teachers in different length groups of teaching years; (4) to find out whether the teachers with a degree in TEFL or Applied Linguistics have more systematic subject matter knowledge than the non-majors, and whether they are more active in teaching exploration; (5) to investigate whether those with reflective teaching training are more active in exploring their own teaching than those without the training. The study is to inform the CETs of the present situations of their professional characteristics, to provide teacher trainers with some data basis for informed educational programs, and to call for more attention to CETs' professional development. This paper is composed of five parts. Part I, INTRODUCTION, describes the background and the scope of the study. This study is based on the theories of second language teacher education by Jack C. Richards and David Nunan, etc. and the theory of reflective teaching in second language classrooms by Jack C. Richards and Charles Lockhart, etc. Part II, LITERATURE REVIEW, addresses the theoretical background of the survey, including a brief history of reflective teaching and its definitions. Traditionally, the only form of "reflective teaching" is student teaching, which may not take place systematically. But within the framework of clinical experiences in teacher development, there are two approaches to reflective teaching, that is, technocratic and philosophic approaches. This part also looks at some factor...