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Research On Pre-service Teachers'Cognitions About An Effective EFL Teacher

Posted on:2013-01-08Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:Y L ChenFull Text:PDF
GTID:2217330374962513Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
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China has been initiating the reform of new curriculum since the beginning of this century, which calls for a great number of effective English teachers. And the characteristics of a highly qualified English teacher are definitely connected to the implicit cognitions they hold. Since the educational reforms call for changes not only in teacher behavior, but also, more profoundly, the relevant cognitions that teachers hold about language learning and teaching. So it is of great necessity to take a close look at language teachers'conceptions.The study of language teacher cognition, though relatively speaking a new educational domain of inquiry, has proved its potential in deepening our understandings of what it means to become and to be a qualified teacher. There have been a lot of achievements on language teacher quality, but only a few of them study from the perspective of language teacher cognition. Besides, few studies have compared the cognitions of pre-service teachers at different educational levels using a variety of investigative methods.The research investigated pre-service teachers'(N=226) cognitions of various levels at one normal university in China mainland so as to get a clear understanding of their general conception, cognition change at different stages as well as to find out the main factors cause such change. The study was undertaken to answer the following four questions:(1) What are the general cognitions that pre-service teachers hold to describe the effective EFL teacher?(2) Is there a change in agreement (disagreement) in perspective on effective EFL teachers at various educational levels?(3) Which variables among the five significantly influence pre-service teachers'cognition?(4) How do these variables significantly influence pre-service teachers'cognitions?The research adopted both qualitative and quantitative method, including free essay writing and a self-devised questionnaire. As for free essay, participants were asked to produce an essay on the subject'What is an effective EFL teacher and what qualities should he or she possess?'without any restriction. Then based upon the most frequent conceptual items mentioned in the free essay, a25-item7-point Likert scale questionnaire was designed. And the collected data was analyzed by using the SPSS17: PC Window Program. Based upon the obtained data, we can reach the following findings:First, pre-service teachers'cognitions cover all the five dimensions. More specifically, they put professional qualities at the top priority, and regard personality as the least important dimension.Second, among pre-service teachers of various levels, some of their cognitions remain stable. But it is more obvious that there are changes in disagreement between student teachers of lower level and those of higher level.Third, student teachers of lower level lay more emphasis on language knowledge&skills and language teaching ability; while student teachers of higher level pay more attention to teachers'self-development.Fourth, five background variables (ideal degree; classroom observation experience; teaching practice experience; job hunting experience and teacher training course) exert significantly influences upon pre-service teachers'cognition change.
Keywords/Search Tags:teacher cognition, effective EFL teacher, quality, pre-service teacher
PDF Full Text Request
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