Exploring The Process Of Pre-service Teachers Learning To Teach English Through Group Work In The Course On Teaching Methodology

While studies investigating group work in language learning have proliferated for the past decades,little attention has been paid 'to the role group work can play in assisting pre-service teachers in learning teaching methodology.To fill such a void in the research literature,this study explores how pre-service teachers learn to teach English from a group project to plan,deliver and revise a lesson in a course on teaching methodology through the lens of the sociocultural theory.Five participants were all 1 st-year MA student and formed a group responsible for a grammar and vocabulary lesson.Various data were collected,including individual interviews,group discussions,WeChat exchanges,individual reflections,group writings and assignments,and the course instructor's feedback,supplemented by classroom observations,field notes,and course materials.Data analysis was conducted using the qualitative research software Nvivo 12 focusing on pre-service teachers'interaction patterns,mediational means and learning outcomes through group work.My analysis revealed that various interaction patterns and mediational means exerted immense influences on learning outcomes.Throughout three stages,participants demonstrated three types of interaction patterns,which were collaborative,expert/novice and passive ones,with the former two yielding better learning outcomes.Eleven mediational means were identified:course materials,languages,the instructor,the researcher,labor division,lectures,participants'previous experiences,learning goals,capable peers,writings,and teaching practicums.The study also traced pre-service teachers' development in teaching ability,cooperative learning ability and foreign language skills.Finally,the thesis discusses the role of interaction in groups,factors as mediational tools and the significance of group work,which examines the effectiveness of group work in pre-service teacher education,providing pedagogical suggestions for teacher educators and indicating directions for future research.