A Review of literature about English language education preparation programs in EFL

settings

Introduction

In this globalized era, English has probably become the most widely spoken language in

the world. It is no longer exclusively spoken by people in English speaking countries (Jo, 2008),

but it is now learned and used worldwide (Xiaoqiong & Xiangxing, 2011). The power embedded

in English as a language of science and as a means of communication among people

internationally has possibly become one of the factors that drives people around the world to

learn and speak English. Even though the spread of English around the globe has long history

with British colonialization (Pennycook, 2001), English is becoming a global language because

of the power that its speakers have (Crystal, 1997). While the global role of English has been

viewed in various different frameworks including “colonial celebratory” (Pennycook, 2001, p.

59), the fact that English is now being learned and spoken in countries that were never been

colonized by England indicates that learners of English worldwide are cognizant with the

importance of the language. For many of them, the mastery of English means having access to

communicate with people around the world and getting access to science and technology.

Furthermore, with the status of English as an international language, English has become a

popular foreign language in countries where English is not commonly used for internal

communication (Matsuda, 2009).

Despite its widespread use, English, however, does not serve unitary functions in the

world. Kachru (1996) categorizes the functions of English worldwide into three concentric

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circles. The inner circle is where English is the mother tongue of its speakers. This include

countries like the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In the next circle, the outer

circle, English is used as an additional institutionalized language, and an official language even

though English is not the mother tongue of the people. The countries belonging to this circle

commonly have history of British colonialization in the past, such as Singapore, India, Malaysia,

and over other fifty countries (Crystal, 1997). Within these countries English is learnt as a

second language (ESL). The other circle is the expanding circle where the importance of English

as an international language is recognized, but English is rarely spoken in everyday life. The

countries belonging to this circle include China, Egypt, Indonesia and many other countries, and

in this circle, English is commonly learned as a foreign language (EFL).

Along with the spread of English, the number of people from non-English speaking

countries who learn English increases as globalization progresses. The demand for English

teachers worldwide is consequently increases as well. However, since the number of English

speakers from non-native English-speaking backgrounds seems to surpass the number of English

speakers, more and more English teachers are non-native English speakers. In fact, the majority

of English teachers worldwide are non-native English speakers (Moussu & Llurda, 2008). With

the growing number of non-native English speakers around the world, English language teaching

has also undergone variations. For example, how English is taught in outer and expanding circle

countries is not necessarily the same as it is taught and learned in inner circle countries. The

different contexts of English language teaching inevitably affect how prospective English

teachers are trained to teach English.

While research on English teachers has been documented for decades, little research

about non-native English had been documented until two decades ago. Moussu & Llurda (2008)

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claim that only a limited number of works focused on non-native English teachers prior to the

1990s. Even though the number of studies on non-native English teachers is continually growing,

little research about teacher preparation programs for non-native English teachers in outer and

expanding circle countries has been found in the literature (Moussu, and Llurda, 2008). In their

review of literature, Moussu and Llurda (2008) note that the largest part of literature discussing

non-native ESL/EFL teachers and students teachers has taken place in North American situations

and in the ESL context. This suggests the need for more research on non-native English teachers

and student teachers outside North America and in EFL settings. Considering that English will

apparently continue to be one of the popular international languages in this globalization era,

exploring how English teachers are educated will provide insights on how EFL language learners

learn English and how prospective EFL teachers learn to teach the language within EFL settings.

This, in turn, will contribute to the existing literature in the English language teaching, and

English teacher education. Since teacher education plays an important role in the development of

teachers’ teaching capability, understanding what has been going on in teacher education

programs will shed light on the connection between English language teachers and English

language teaching.

In an attempt to fill the gaps in research regarding to the teacher education of non-native

English teachers in EFL contexts as identified by Moussu and Llurda (2008), and to identify

future research directions on English teacher preparation programs in EFL contexts, especially in

the Indonesian context, the present review is aimed at investigating what has been researched in

English teacher preparation programs in EFL settings, or in the expanding circle countries in

Kahru’s classification, where the majority of the English teachers are non-native speakers of

English and teach English to non-native English speaker learners. Additionally, since the existing

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review about non-native English teachers was conducted in 2008, it needs to be updated. While a

review of literature on second language teachers has also been conducted (Alwright, 2010;

Velez-Rendon, 2002), a review of literature on EFL teachers’ education in EFL settings has not

been specifically addressed in detail. The current review will then be beneficial for researchers

who are interested in English teacher preparation programs, especially in EFL contexts. The

purpose of the present review is to answer the following questions:

1. What are the emerging trends of research on EFL pre-service teachers in English teacher

preparation programs in EFL settings?

2. How has research in this area been investigated?

3. What major findings are reported in the studies related to EFL pre-service teachers in

teacher preparation programs?

4. What are the implications of studies for further research in the field?

5. How do the studies specifically provide implications for Indonesian university contexts?

Methodology

Initially, the criteria for searching literature in the area of English pre-service teacher

preparation programs in EFL settings were limited to key words such as “EFL pre-service

teachers,” “EFL teacher” in combination with “education program” or “education training.” The

search only generated less than ten results, and these were not really related. It was then

broadened by adding key words such as “TESOL pre-service teachers” in combination with

“teacher preparation,” and “teaching practicum.” Thousands of results were generated from

Google Scholar and ERIC websites. This included both pre-service and in-service teachers of

EFL and ESL. It also covered various types of information including books, English magazines

and inaccessible journals. Since it is impossible to analyze thousands of articles, the search

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strategies were then modified. Additionally, since my intent was to investigate English teacher

preparation in EFL contexts, I excluded topics related to English pre-service teachers in inner

circle countries such as the USA and Canada, and in outer circle countries such as Singapore,

Malaysia, Kenya, and Hong Kong.

After limiting the scope of the intended analysis, I searched journals and articles from

databases such as Google Scholars, Academic Search Premier, ERIC Digest, and other journal

databases available on the UNL libraries website. I used key words such as “EFL pre-service

teachers,” “EFL teacher candidates,” and “EFL student teachers,” in combination with

“preparation program” or “initial training.” I limited my search only to published journal articles

that focus on empirical research. For the current analysis, I did not include dissertations, book

chapters, books, web pages, reports and conference proceedings. This was in accordance with the

purpose of my research, which was to find the gaps of existing research literature in English

teacher education programs in EFL contexts. In order to get a wide range of results, I did not

restrict the time period of the publications. The search included utilizing relevant electronic

databases, and consulting the lists of references in the articles found.

From searching the journal databases, I found around 80 empirical studies containing the

terms “EFL,” “ESL,” and “TESOL” in the articles. This included teachers and pre-service

teachers. However, after manually sorting the articles, I selected 15 articles that are relevant for

the current analysis. Additionally, from reading some of the articles had already found, I got 17

articles related to the topic being investigated. Therefore, 32 articles were selected and analyzed

in the present review. While the selection of the papers to be reviewed was done by carefully

analyzing the relevance of the studies to the topic being investigated, the present review may not

provide the whole picture of research done in pre-service teachers’ preparation programs in EFL

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contexts. This is because this review does not cover the articles that are written in languages

other than English, which can be the limitation of this paper. Additionally, the selection of

articles is solely based on the available full articles provided by UNL libraries, and free

downloaded full papers from Google Scholar, and ERIC Digest websites. Other related articles

that are not downloadable from UNL libraries are excluded in the present review, and this is

apparently another limitation of this review.

In order to answer the aforementioned questions, the selected studies were analyzed in-

depth using a grid template to collate data collected from the studies. This includes the topics

being investigated, their purposes, the research samples, methodologies, and their major findings.

To identify the trends of the research being conducted in teacher education programs in EFL

settings, the discussion is grouped into the foci of the studies, the methodologies, as well as the

major findings.

Findings

Research in pre-service English teachers’ preparation programs in expanding circle countries

reviewed in this paper has highlighted various foci, and used various tools of data collection, and

consequently suggested different findings. While differences exist in regard to the purposes of

the studies, in general the research foci in this review can be divided into five major categories.

1. Reflective practice

In the literature, the practices of reflection as part of teachers’ learning to be reflective

practitioners have become established components of second language teacher education

worldwide (Wright, 2010). This topic seems to continue emerging in the field of second

language teacher education, including EFL teacher preparation programs in expanding circle

countries.

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1.1 Purposes of the studies

In the current review, reflection is one of the research foci that researchers in this area

investigate (Birbiso, 2012; El-Dib, 2007; Liou, 2001; Tuzel & Akcan, 2009; Yan & He, 2010).

While Table 1 shows different purposes of reflection done by pre-service EFL teachers, all of the

studies focus on pre-service teachers’ reflection on their teaching practicum. Insight from various

expanding circle countries indicates that the investigation of pre-service reflection is not

necessarily about how the student teachers view themselves as teachers who need to do reflection

to improve their teaching practice.

Table 1. Chronological overview of studies on reflective practice

Author (s), Main purpose (s) Research Main data Major Findings
year, and sample collection
context tools
Liou To investigate the 20 pre- 20 Student teachers talked about
(2001) evidence of service observation topics mainly related to practical
Taiwan reflection in teachers and 20 teaching issues and evaluation of
teaching practice other teachers’ or their own
practicum courses teaching teaching, could do more critical
where the notion reports reflection than descriptive, but
of reflection was did not seem to develop much in
discussed in class their ability to reflect within a
but no systematic six-week period.
procedures were
used to practice
reflection-on- or –
in-action
El-Dib To examine 100 pre- 20 students’  At the overall level of
(2007) prospective service action reflection, 95% of the
Egypt teachers’ teachers research participants were at the low or
reflective reports low-intermediate level of
thinking as it is reflection.
exhibited in their  The results suggest that
action research prospective teachers in Egypt
during the may be unaware of the
teaching practice multiple reasons for problems,
experience nor their motives for
performing certain actions,
and not others.

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 Tüzel and To investigate the 5 pre- classroom  The study found that the
Akcan challenges that service observations common difficulties the
(2009) non-native pre- teachers , feedback student teachers encountered
Turkey service English sessions, related to certain grammatical
teachers semi- structures, explaining
experience in structured unknown words to students,
their target interviews, modifying language according
language use retrospectiv to students’ levels, and
when they do e protocols authenticity of classroom
their practicum in and language.
actual language discussion  The findings indicated that the
classrooms. meetings language awareness training
To raise students’ had a positive impact on the
language target language use of the pre-
awareness service English teachers.
Yan and To examine the 210 pre- 210 Student teachers encountered
He reflections of service Reflective various problems during their
(2010) English as a teachers paper- practicum, including the six
China foreign language writings most commonly endorsed ones:
(EFL) student tension between vision and
teachers on their reality, unreasonable time and
experience of length of teaching practicum,
placement practicum school’s distrust, little
regarding the supervision by the supervisor
problems they and cooperating teacher,
encountered in students’ lack of effort in
the practicum. preparing lessons, and the lack
of a sound assessment system.
Birbirso To explore how 10 pre- classroom  Lack of effective tools (only
(2012) the pre-service service observations checklist yes or no) for
Ethiopia teachers reflect teachers , reflective reflection is one of the
their teaching discussions constraints for pre-service
practice with the containing teachers’ inability to reflect on
help of university inquirer’s their teaching practicum.
inquirer feedback,  The intervention in the form
and of reflective discussions
reflective gradually led students to be
journaling more reflective in the sense
that they became more open to
reveal the constraints they
encountered in their teaching
practicum.
In Liou’s (2001) research about EFL students’ teachers’ reflection in a Taiwanese

context, for example, the pre-service teachers within this setting tended to reflect on practical

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teaching issues, and on evaluation of their own teaching or other teachers’, rather than making

critical reflection. From analyzing 20 observations and 20 reflective writings, Liou (2001) found

that EFL pre-teachers in this context did not seem to develop much in their ability to reflect

within the six week period of their teaching practicum. In another nearly similar context,

however, research on students’ reflections on their teaching practicum does not always have

similar foci. Yan and He (2010), situating their research in a Chinese context, focus their

research on students’ reflection to better understand the challenges or problems that pre-service

teachers encounter in their teaching practicum. Unlike Liou (2001), Yan and He (2010) used

students’ reflective writing as a tool to discover students’ difficulties in their teaching practicum.

Involving large a number of sample (210 pre-service EFL teachers), Yan and He analyze 210

students’ reflective essays to identify the challenges and to help enhance the teaching practicum

as part of teacher education components.

From another context, Birbiso (2012) provides insight about teaching practicums in an

Ethiopian setting. Recognizing the constraints that EFL pre-service teachers within this context

in reflecting on their teaching practicums, Birbiso (2009), who acted both as a researcher and an

inquirer, did an intervention to help pre-service teachers learn to reflect even though their

contexts hindered them in doing a reflection. By providing reflective discussion as an

opportunity for both student teachers and the inquirer to discuss their reflective practice, student

teachers in this context gradually learned how to reflect on their teaching practicums. The lack of

tools for reflection, which was previously considered among the constraints, gradually became

the opportunities for reflection. Similar to Birbiso (2012) in the utilization of an intervention,

Tuzen and Akcan (2009), who investigated student teachers’ reflection in a Turkish context, used

students’ reflections about their challenges in using target language within the context of their

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teaching practicum as a basis for conducting an intervention. Tuzen and Akcan (2009) provided

an intervention in the form of giving feedback and having discussion meetings with students to

increase their awareness about the language use. This intervention was found to be very useful

for student teachers in improving their language awareness.

Unlike the aforementioned studies on students’ reflections on their teaching practicums,

El-Dib (2007), situating his research in Egyptian teacher preparation education, focused his

research on the reflective thinking of pre-preservice teachers that was exhibited in their action

research as part of the requirements of the teaching practicum project. Reviewing 100 students’

action reports, El-Dib (2007) analyzed the level of students’ reflective thinking quantitatively,

and found out that 95% of students’ reflective thinking belonged to the low category and the

remaining 5% was at the medium level. Given the importance of methodology courses in a

Turkish teacher education context, El-Dib (2007) argues that established methodological courses

need to be supplemented with enrichment courses.

1.2 Methodology

In the studies listed in Table 1, different methods for the collection of data were used.

While all the studies used qualitative data collection such as classroom observations, students’

reflective journals, students’ reports, semi-structured interviews, retrospect protocol, researchers’

feedback, and discussion meetings, in one study the data were analyzed quantitatively. In the rest

of the four studies, the collected data were analyzed for emerging terms. In terms of the sample

size, the studies varied from involving 5 pre-service teachers to 210 participants. The overall

impression is that the studies differ greatly in the way the data are collected and analyzed.

1.3 Major findings

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 Research on pre-service teachers’ reflective practices in EFL settings varied from one

context to another. While the differences can be triggered by the differences in the main purposes

of the studies, the contexts provide clues about the tendencies that students’ teachers show in

doing reflection. In a Taiwanese context where students were asked to freely reflect on their

teaching practicum, the findings indicate that the students’ reflections tend to be descriptive

rather than critical (Liou, 2001). On the other hand, when the students were asked to reflect on

their challenges in teaching practicums (Tuzel & Akcan, 2009; Yan & He, 2010), the findings

reflect what pre-service teachers think regarding to their challenges in teaching practicums, and

they differ from one context to another. For example, In a Turkish setting (Tuzel & Akcan,

2009), the students found difficulties in using appropriate language for classroom contexts. On

the other hand, in a Chinese context (Yan & He, 2010), the findings reflect on six common

problems, including practical and interpersonal problems.

Findings from an Ethiopian context (Birbiso, 2012) indicated that lack of tools for

reflection and unsupported school systems for reflection characterized students’ concerns in their

reflective practices. The findings for the interventions, however, seemed to have the same effect.

For example, in both studies (Tuzel & Akcan, 2009; Birbiso, 2012) the interventions seemed to

help pre-service teachers in minimizing their problems. The findings from an Egyptian context,

however, differed from other studies, as this study differed in the purpose and the analysis. The

main finding from El-Dib’s (2007) indicated that the level of pre-service teachers in their

reflective thinking was low to moderate, as shown in their action research report.

2. Teacher Identity

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 Literature on teacher identity has highlighted the importance of teacher identity

development in the process of learning to teach (Britzman, 2003), and this field has been

scrutinized for the last two decades (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004; Izadinia, 2013). This

topic is also one of the emerging research foci in teacher education preparation in EFL settings.

2.1 Purposes of the studies

The studies related to teacher identity in the reviewed studies are framed in different

perspectives as can be seen in Table 2. Among seven studies related to identity, two of them

focus exclusively on the development of pre-service teachers’ professional identity (Dang, 2013;

Lim, 2011). Dang (2013), for example, framing his study in sociocultural framework in the form

of activity theory, investigated the evolution of professional identity in two pre-service teachers

as they completed pair teaching practice in a Vietnamese university context. From scrutinizing

the impact of a collaborated teaching practice on identity development, Dang (2013) concluded

that professional identity is unstable and is influenced by interrelated factors, such as individual

teachers’ identity and context. Unlike Dang (2013), Lim (2011) investigated professional identity

development of student teachers while these pre-service teachers were still taking university

courses in a South Korean context. Involving 90 pre-service teachers and using concept

mapping, Lim (2011) analyzed students’ essays quantitatively and concluded that teacher

identity formation is an ongoing process and develops along with the growth of knowledge,

based on experience.

Table 2. Chronological overview of studies on teacher identity

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Author Main purpose (s) Research Main data Major Findings
(s), year, sample collection tools
and
context
Lim To explore the 90 pre- Students’ Student teachers' identity
(2011) underlying structure service reflective develops along with the
South and dimensionality of teachers essays about growths in their knowledge
Korea Korean student (50 their base and experience, and
teachers’ undergra autobiographic identity formation is
autobiographical duate, al reflection as ongoing process of
reflections on their and 40 part of their identification and
professional identity master course project. negotiation with their prior
students) learning and experiences
Yayli, D. To explore a group of 21 pre- pre-service Prior to having internship,
(2012). pre-service teachers’ service teachers’ pre-service use of language
Turkey professional language teachers weekly field in relation to their future
use and their claims notes, profession was
for membership in reflective characterized by emotional
the teaching reports, and expressions. While changes
profession their written toward the use of more
response to professional language use
open ended seem to appear by the end
questions at the of their one semester
end of internship, pre-service
semester, as teachers use relatively
well as limited professional
researcher’s language associated with
observation EFL teacher membership.
notes
Dang, To examine how the 20 pre- Interview, The pre-service teachers’
Nguyen, teaching practices of service classroom practices were shaped by
and Le the pre-service teachers observations global forces manifest in
(2013) teachers in English as and artefacts, social and community
Vietnam a medium of such as pressure, the
instruction teacher instructional internationalization of
education context materials and education, and the
were shaped. policy availability of teaching
documents resources.

Dang To examine the A pair of Individual Individual's teacher's

(2013) evolution of the pre- semi structure identity influences his/her
Vietnam professional identities service interviews for cognitive and affective
of student teachers in teachers pre and post perception on an event.
a paired placement teaching Paired placement created an
teaching practicum practicum, environment where the
video student teachers' conflicting

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 recording, identities, associated with
observation different cognitive and
and field notes, affective perceptions of the
as well as experience, were challenged
artefacts leading to contradiction.
Resolving the conflict lead
to qualitative change in their
teaching professional
identities
Jang To explore pre- 2 pre- 2 weeks of  The teaching of speaking
(2014) service English service classroom skills during the
South teachers’ experiences teachers observations in practicum was limited to
Korea of classroom practice secondary oral practice by reading
period with regard to schools and in- aloud some segments of
the use and depth the textbook.
instruction of spoken interviews  Student teachers’
English in English personal language
classrooms preparation from their
childhood language
learning experiences and
teacher training, as well
as the various supportive
and hindering aspects of
the school contexts
during the practicum
seem to had an impact on
their learning.
Afrianto To explore the 10 pre- Interviews, Motives to be English
(2014) motivations behind service focus groups teachers were varied. They
Indonesia pre-service teachers’ teachers included altruism, religious
decisions to become values, the special status of
English teachers English, and a suitable
profession for females
Baum To investigate the 19 pre- semi-structure The students' professed love
(2014) sources and nature of service in-depth of English has to do with
Israel EFL pre-service teachers interviews their successful
teachers' attachment appropriation of various
to English facets of the English
languaculture for the
enrichment of their self-
identity, which remains
fundamentally rooted in the
local habitus.

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 Insight from other contexts indicate that teacher identity has also been scrutinized from

different perspectives, such as from the professional language use (Yayly, 2012), and motivation

to be English teachers (Afrianto, 2014; Baum, 2014). While Yayly (2012) did not specifically

address teacher’s identity in her research, her investigation on the changes of EFL pre-service

teachers’ professional language used and their claim to EFL teachers’ membership indicated an

identity development of students as English language teachers-to-be. In conducting her research,

Yayly (2012) scrutinized 21 pre-service teachers’ language use from their weekly field notes,

reflective reports, and their written responses at the end of semester as well as from her own

observational notes. Despite the changes in the professional language use of the pre-service

teachers, she noted that professional language use was still limited. Supported by data from

various data collection tools, she concluded that participants’ limited professional language use

fails to corroborate their claim as EFL teacher members.

Insight from an Indonesian context indicates that professional identity is also linked to

motivation to enter the English teaching profession. Afrianto (2014), interviewing 10 pre-service

teachers prior to and after their teaching practicum as well as using focus group discussions,

investigated pre-service teachers’ reasons for becoming English teachers and the possibility of

changes in their motivation after having teaching practicum. Another study related to identity

and motivation comes from Israel. Framing her research from sociocultural perspective, Baum

(2012) investigated 19 pre-service EFL teachers’ inclination to English and their motivation to

be English teachers. From analyzing 19 interviews, Baum found that students’ intrinsic

motivation which was manifested in their expression of love in English, and students’ exposure

to English in their lives has a connection to their attachment to English. While Baum (2012) does

15
not specifically address teacher identity development, her research findings indicate the

development of teacher identity.

Other studies that closely connect to teacher identity development are research on the use

of English as a medium of instruction in classroom settings (Dang, Nguyen & Le, 2013; Jang,

2014). Dang et al. (2013) situated their research in Vietnamese context where the ministry of

Education in the country was applying policy to improve English language teaching as the

impact of globalization. They investigated how pre-service teachers used English as a medium of

instruction in their teaching practicum in a university context. Involving 20 pre-service teachers

with high achieving English proficiency, Dang et al. (2013) analyzed data from interviews, class

observations, and artefacts. Their findings indicated that pre-service teachers’ use of English as a

medium of instruction was shaped by global forces, which was manifested in social and

community pressures. From the findings, they suggested the need for a teacher education reform

in Vietnam.

A similar study in the use of English as a medium of instruction, but different in its

context comes from South Korea. In an attempt to understand how pre-service teachers of EFL

use English in teaching speaking, Jang (2014) examined two pre-service teachers’ views and

how they use English in their teaching practice in a South Korean context. From observing the

student teachers in school context and conducting in-depth interviews, Jang (2014) found that the

teaching of speaking skills was limited to oral practice by reading aloud some segments of

textbooks. Her finding suggests the need for integrating communicative approach for classroom

contexts and the need of understanding contextual factors. While both studies on the use of

English as medium of instruction in the classroom from Vietnamese and South Korean contexts

do not specifically address teacher identity developments, they provide insight about the

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influence of globalization in pre-service teachers’ conceptualization of their identity through the

use of English in classroom contexts.

2.2. Methodology

In regard to the methodology, studies belonging to this group use various qualitative data

collection tools. From seven studies, two studies use a single data collection tool, such as either

semi- structured interviews or students’ reflective essays. The rest of the studies used multiple

data collection tools, such as a combination of interviews and classroom observations or other

research tools. In terms of the analysis, the collected data were analyzed for the emerging themes

even though the collected data in one study was analyzed quantitatively. The overall impression

is that the studies differ in the methodology and techniques of data collection.

2.3. Main findings

The seven studies belonging to this category show that teacher identity is an ongoing

process, subject to change, and the result of negotiation with prior knowledge and learning

experience (Lim, 2011). Other factors that influence teacher identity formation include learning

experience and contact with the language (Baum, 2012), motivation (Afrianto, 2014), and

interaction with peers (Dang, 2012). Teacher identity is also manifested in how pre-service

teachers use language in the classroom (Dang et al., 2013 Jang, 2014; Yayly, 2012).

3. Self-perception

Another important emerging research focus in EFL teacher preparation in EFL settings is

the importance of pre-service teachers’ self-perception regarding their language learning.

Research that belongs to this group includes pre-service teachers’ beliefs (Altan, 2012), belief

change (Mattheoudakis, 2007; Yuan & Lee, 2014), efficacy (Atay, 2008), and anxiety

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(Briesmaster & Briesmaster-Paredes, 2015). As seen in Table 3, self-perception studies are

comprised of different purposes.

Table 3. Chronological overview of studies on self-perception

Author (s), Main purpose Research Main data Major Findings

year, and (s) sample collection
context tools
Mattheoudak To investigate 66 pre- Horwitz’s The results indicate that while
is EFL student service BALLI there is a gradual and sometimes
(2007) teachers’ beliefs teachers questionna significant development in student
Greece about language ire, and a teachers’ beliefs during the
learning on short program, student teachers’
entering a 3- questionna engagement in the teaching
year teacher ire which practice seems to have a low
education was used impact on the development of their
program in to identify beliefs.
Greece, and to student
explore the teachers’
impact of backgroun
teaching d.
practice on
student
teachers’ beliefs
Atay, D. To find out the 78 pre- Self-report  Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy
(2008) effects of service efficacy Scale showed that at the end of
Turkey student teaching teachers survey, the practicum the efficacy
on the efficacy and focus scores for instructional
beliefs of group strategies decreased at a
prospective discussion statistically significant level,
teachers whereas the classroom
management and student
engagement efficacy scores
increased.
 Focus-group discussions
revealed prospective teachers’
awareness of their own teaching
competence, their beliefs about
teaching and learning, practices
of their cooperating teacher,
established classroom practices
and the practicum school as the
factors contributing to their self-
efficacy during the practicum

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Chiang To investigate 13 pre- Self-report Results indicate that field based
(2008) the effects of a service efficacy components help prospective
Taiwan language teachers survey, foreign language teachers to
teacher training semi become reflective of their
course that structured weaknesses and strengths and
integrated interviews enhance their teacher efficacy
fieldwork , and
components reflective
with traditional essays.
lectures toward
pre-service
teachers’
efficacy
Lin, Shein, To investigate 40 pre- Open- Findings revealed that the
and Yang pre-service service ended take teachers’ metaphorical
(2011) teachers’ beliefs teachers home conceptualizations appeared to be
Taiwan and survey more student-centered, reflecting
assumptions consisting beliefs about teaching practice and
about their 5 generally stemming from personal
teaching of EFL questions and school experiences
through the use
of metaphor
Altan To identify the 217 pre- Horwitz Findings indicate that prospective
(2012) overall trends in service BALLI teachers seem to hold unrealistic
Turkey beliefs about teachers questionna beliefs regarding accuracy and
language ire error correction, which, if not
learning of pre- challenged, may interfere with
service EFL their teacher training and
teachers. negatively affect the teaching and
learning process in these future
teachers’ language classes
Yuan and To investigate 3 pre- interviews  Student teachers’ beliefs
Lee the process of service , experienced different processes
(2014) belief change teachers classroom of change during the practicum,
China among three observatio including confirmation,
pre-service n, weekly realization, disagreement,
language journals elaboration, integration, and
teachers during the modification
the teaching participant  Drawing on sociocultural
practicum s kept for perspectives, this study reveals
the the processes of teachers’ belief
practicum change, which can be attributed
(10 to their situated learning in the
weeks) field school with sound
professional culture and expert
support

19
 Briesmaster, To identify and 249 pre- A five-  The NNPSETs are
and examine the service Likert- experimenting moderate to high
Briesmaster- anxiety levels teachers, scale levels of anxiety that according
Paredes, of non-native 7 English questionna to the affective filter theory,
(2015) pre-service teachers ire inhibit effective acquisition
Chile English teachers (48 consisting which could then lead to
(NNPSETs) in randomly 33 items, insufficient mastery of the
an for and Semi- language they will be expected to
undergraduate interview structure teach.
program in s interview  NNPSETs are experiencing
southern Chile, anxiety regardless of their
as well as to teachers teaching style cluster.
analyze their  NNPSETs with lower GPAs
relationship and experience more FLA than
patterns with NNPSETs with higher GPAs.
respect to
different
teaching styles.

3.1 Purposes of the studies

Three studies related to beliefs in the reviewed studies have been conducted on two

different continents. From a European context, for example, Altan (2012), framing his study on

the importance of beliefs on students’ language learning, conducted a study on 217 pre-service

teachers on their beliefs about language learning in seven universities in Turkey in an attempt to

understand the overall trends on beliefs. The results of his study, which indicate that EFL pre-

service teachers seem to have unrealistic beliefs regarding accuracy and error correction suggest

that English teachers need to be aware of their beliefs and their influence on language learning

and teaching situations. In line with the importance of beliefs, Mattheoudakis (2007) conducted a

longitudinal study on the pre-service teachers’ beliefs and how their beliefs change over time

during their teacher education program, including the impact of teaching practicums on student

teachers’ beliefs in a Greek context. While the results indicate the existence of beliefs that

20
change over period of time, the teaching practicum seems to have a low impact on pre-service

teachers’ beliefs development.

Still related to beliefs, Lin, Shen, and Yang (2011) explore the metaphors that pre-service

teachers used in a Chinese teacher education context in relation to their conceptualization about

teaching. Given this context is influenced by Confucius’ teaching, Lin, Shen, and Yang (2011)

considered investigating pre-service teachers metaphors to be important. By analyzing metaphors

used by 40 student teachers in their responses to an open-ended, take-home survey, the

researchers found that pre-service teachers’ metaphorical conceptualization about teaching

seemed to be student-centered teaching, reflecting their beliefs about their teaching practice,

which stemmed from their personal and school experience.

In addition to beliefs about language learning, self-efficacy, which also has a connection

to one’s ability to do something, appears to be an important topic in EFL teacher education. Atay

(2008), for example, recognizing the powerful effects of teachers’ sense of efficacy on their

instructional activities as well as student outcomes, investigated the change of pre-service

teachers’ efficacy over a one year period of a pre-service teacher teaching practicum. Unlike

beliefs that changed in Mattheoudakis’ (2007) study, pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy scores

decreased at a significant level, even though their scores on classroom management and

engagement efficacy scores increased. Findings from focus group discussions as additional

research tools indicate that factors related to school context and students’ beliefs about language

learning contribute to the changes in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy.

Another important factor that influences ability to learn a language is language anxiety,

and this topic has also emerged in the research on EFL teacher education programs in EFL

settings. Briesmaster and Briesmaster-Paredes (2015), situating their research in a Chilean EFL

21
teacher education program, investigated EFL pre-service teachers’ language anxiety in

connection to the teacher educators’ teaching styles. Involving 249 student teachers, and 7

teacher educators, Briesmaster and Briesmaster-Paredes (2015) found out that the level of

anxiety of pre-service teacher is moderate to high, and according to them, this may affect their

mastery of the language they expect to teach. The results suggest the need for changes in teacher

education courses with emphasis on reducing the level of pre-service teachers’ language anxiety.

3.2 Methodology

In Table 3, different methods of data collection were used. From seven studies belonging to

this classification, two studies use surveys as the sole method of data collection. The rest of the

studies used a combination of two data collection tools, such as survey and focus group or

interviews. Two studies used more than two data collection tools, for example, a combination of

interviews, classroom observation, and weekly journals or a combination of survey, interviews,

and reflective journals. While in most studies qualitative data were used to support quantitative

data, two studies in this group are purely qualitative in nature.

3.3 Major findings

As can be seen in Table 3, findings vary according to the purposes of the research. When

research dealt with pre-service teachers’ beliefs in their initial teacher education, findings

indicated that pre-service teachers seemed to hold unrealistic beliefs regarding accuracy and

error correction (Altan, 2012). However, when the investigation was related to belief changes,

the results indicated the change in beliefs about language learning over time period

(Mattheoudakis, 2007; Yuan & Lee). As for the investigation of beliefs and assumptions from

the metaphors used by pre-service teachers (Lin, Shein, & Yang, 2011), the findings indicated

that their beliefs were influenced by context and their personal and school experience. Findings

22
from self-efficacy perception show that this construct changes as pre-service teachers experience

their teaching practicums (Atay, 2008; Chiang, 2008). In regard to language anxiety, the result of

the study from a Chilean context shows that pre-service teachers’ level of anxiety was moderate

to high, and this indicated the need for teacher educators to address this situation in order to help

pre-service teachers better learn to teach the language.

4. Content and pedagogical knowledge

4.1. Purposes of the studies

While the studies listed on Table 4 can be categorized into similar foci, they differ in the

purposes, including content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge.

Table 4. Chronological overview of studies on content and pedagogical knowledge

Author (s), Main purpose (s) Researc Main data Major Findings
year, and h sample collection tools
context
Osam, and To investigate the 7 pre- video-taped  The vertical work
Balbay decision making service lessons, the relations prevented the
(2004) strategies used by teachers, interviews held student teachers from
Turkey experienced teachers and 4 at post- enjoying ‘equal
(cooperating cooperat teaching authority’ with the
teachers) and less ing meetings, the cooperating teachers.
experienced teachers teachers written  Cooperating teachers and
(student teachers) in retrospectives student teachers in our
making instant about their two study were motivated by
decisions on diverting lesson they some different concerns
from their lesson taught, and the and some shared
plans as they teach, questionnaire. concerns.
and what  The findings indicated
cultural/institutional that while ‘timing’ and
influences can be ‘classroom management’
related to these were major motives for
differences student teachers to make
changes in their plans,
cooperating teachers
were more concerned
about discipline
problems.

23
Tin To raise the critical 11 MA Questionnaire  The project put student
(2006) awareness of student- students was distributed teachers to multiple roles
Thailand teachers’ concerns after each in looking at their lesson
about their classroom demonstration plans form multiple
effectiveness, the lessons to the lenses as students, and
value of self- and teacher and the teachers.
team-resources when participants.  It encouraged the
designing teaching student-teachers to
materials through a become a learning
material development community and have
project in which opportunity to share their
students design leadership and
English teaching responsibility.
material, demonstrate  The project also enabled
it to their teaching them to learn from each
practicum other, discover and value
the diverse teaching
ideas and expertise of
their peers.
Hung To investigate the 18 MA Semi structure  The findings suggest that
(2012) washback effects of students interviews, e-portfolio assessments
Taiwan e-portfolio as an observations, generate positive
alternative document washback effects on
assessment on analysis, and learning, including
prospective EFL reflective building a community of
teachers’ learning of journals practice, facilitating peer
content knowledge learning, enhancing
learning of content
knowledge, promoting
professional
development, and
cultivating critical
thinking.
 E-portfolio assessments
also bring some negative
washback effects, such as
learning anxiety deriving
from larger audiences,
and resistance to
technology
Seleim and To enhance pre- 38 pre- Pre and post  There is a significant
Mahmoud service teachers’ service test difference between the
(2013) pedagogical content teachers mean scores of the
Egypt knowledge through in a experimental and control
the use of a studio- control groups on the post-
and an

24
 based learning experim administration of both the
classroom ental test and the rubric.
group  The proposed studio-
based learning classroom
was found to be of a large
effect size on enhancing
the pedagogical
knowledge of the targeted
topics of the experimental
group
Öz investigate pre- 76 pre- A five-point  Results from the survey
(2015) service teachers’ service Likert scale indicated that Pre-service
Turkey development of teachers survey and English teachers had
technological open ended highly developed
pedagogical content questions knowledge of TPACK.
knowledge (TPACK)  The qualitative analysis
in an English indicated that there is
language teaching discrepancy between how
(ELT) program professor and cooperating
teachers use technology in
their teaching

Kavanoz, To investigate EFL 120 pre- A web-based  Pre-service EFL teachers

Yüksel, pre-service teachers' service survey attained high scores on
and Ozcan perceptions of their teachers the Web-general
(2015) self-efficacy knowledge and Web
Turkey regarding Web Pedagogical Knowledge
Pedagogical Content subscales while lower
Knowledge (WPCK) scores were measured in
and attitudes towards Web Communicative and
web-based instruction Web Pedagogical Content
Knowledge sub-scales.
 The results of the analysis
indicate that frequency of
Web usage is positively
related to their WPCK
self-efficacy. That is, the
more they use the Web,
the more efficacious they
feel.

As can be seen in Table 4, three studies about content knowledge of pre-service teachers

were found in the current review. Research in this area is characterized by the use of technology

25
(Oz, 2015; Kavanoz, Yuksel, & Ozcan, 2015), and the use of intervention to improve students

teacher content knowledge in regard to EFL teaching. Both studies that use technology to

investigate pre-service pedagogical content knowledge took place in Turkish teacher education

contexts. In response to the growing use of technology for teaching English as a foreign

language, for example, Oz (2015) surveyed 76 pre-service teachers’ development in

technological pedagogical content knowledge. Similarly, Kavanoz, et al. (2015) using a web

survey and involving 120 pre-service teachers as the sample investigated students’ perception in

regard to the use of web pedagogical content knowledge and their self-efficacy toward web-

based instruction. Both studies from Turkish contexts underscore the importance of technology

implementation in teacher education programs.

Unlike in Turkish educational contexts, Seleim and Mahmoud (2013), conducted an

intervention study to enhance EFL pre-service teachers’ content knowledge. Involving 38 pre-

service teachers in a control and in an experimental group, Seleim and Mahmoud (2013) found

that a studio-based classroom has a significant impact on enhancing student teachers’

pedagogical content knowledge, suggesting that the studio-based classroom is beneficial for

students to improve their content knowledge in regard to teaching English. Another study related

to content knowledge is from a Taiwanese context. Hung (2012) investigated the washback

effects of e-portfolio as an alternative assessment on prospective teachers’ learning of content

knowledge. From analyzing data from 18 pre-service teachers in the forms of interviews,

observations, document analysis, and pre-service teachers’ reflective journals, Hung (2012)

found that despite the positive effects that e-portfolio brings, e-portfolio assessment also brings

negative washback effect such raising learning anxiety and reluctance to use technology.

26
 Another emerging topic in EFL teacher education research in EFL settings which can be

categorized into pedagogical content knowledge is the role of pre-service teachers in classroom

contexts. Two studies in this review belong to this category. Tin (2006), for example,

recognizing the existence of problems in pre-service teachers’ teaching practicums, designed a

project to raise students’ awareness about their classroom effectiveness and the value of self and

team resources in designing teaching materials. In the project, pre-service teachers were required

to design teaching materials for improving writing skills, demonstrate it to peers as part of their

teaching practicum, and exchange feedback. With multiple roles that pre-service teachers play,

Tin (2006) argues that the project provides opportunities for student teachers to look at their

lesson plans from multiple lenses and to learn to become a learning community.

The other study related to classroom effectiveness is from a Turkish teacher education

context. Osam and Balbay (2004) investigated the difference between pre-service and their

cooperating teachers in making instant classroom decisions to divert their lesson plan as they

teach. While logically, experienced teachers are more flexible in deciding what to do in their

classroom, insight from classroom practice can be beneficial, as this can provide clues on the

motives for what both pre-service and in-service teachers do in the classroom. From analyzing

video-taped lesson plans, interviews and questionnaires, Osam and Balbay (2004) found that the

different strategies in classroom decision making were triggered by different motives. For

example, pre-service teachers’ decisions to deviate from lesson plans was motivated by their

concerns with timing and classroom management. On the other hand, cooperating teachers were

more concerned about discipline problems when they diverged from their lesson plans.

27
4.2. Methodology

The six empirical studies listed in Table 4 vary in the methodology used. One half of the

studies use qualitative data collection tools such as open ended questionnaires, interviews,

retrospective writing, reflective journals, and artefacts such as video-taped lessons. The

remaining half of the studies were quantitative in nature with one experimental study and two

survey studies, and used tests and surveys as the bases for data collection. In term of the data

analysis, qualitative collected data were analyzed for the emerging themes, whereas

quantitatively obtained data were analyzed quantitatively, either to know the effect of the

intervention or to know the level of pre-service teachers’ content knowledge.

4.3. Major findings

Since the six studies in this category differ in the purposes of the studies, the major

findings revealed from the studies are not homogeneous. However, the main findings related to

content knowledge indicate that the use of technology-based assessments, such as e-portfolio

assessments, has both positive effects on promoting pre-service teachers’ professional

development and negative effects such as increasing learners’ anxiety and reluctance to use

technology (Hung, 2012). In relation to pedagogical content knowledge and the use of

technology, generally, more exposure to technology increases participants’ knowledge, and the

intervention possibly increases the students’ pedagogical content knowledge (Kavanoz et al.,

2015; Oz, 2015; Seleim & Mahmoud, 2013). Findings from the application of pedagogical

content knowledge in the classrooms indicate that pre-service teachers benefited from the project

they were required to do in enhancing their pedagogical content knowledge (Tin, 2006).

However, when pre-service teachers were compared with experienced teachers in their ability to

28
apply the pedagogical content knowledge in form of instant decision making in the classroom,

the differences were triggered by different motives (Osam & Balbay, 2004).

5. Perception toward Teacher education programs

In addition to specific investigation on the individual pre-service teachers, research on EFL

pre-service teacher education program in EFL settings has also been characterized by exploration

on how student teachers view components of teacher education programs.

5.1 Purposes of the studies

As can be seen in Table 5, studies belong to this category differ greatly in their foci,

despite their similarities in the purposes.

Table 5. Chronological overview of studies on perception toward teacher education components

Author (s), Main purpose Research Main data Major Findings

year, and (s) sample collection tools
context
Seferoğlu To explore 176 pre- an extensive  The findings indicate that a
(2006) teacher service evaluation close connection between the
turkey candidates’ teachers report course materials and practical
reflections on concerning all application in real classrooms
the the was sometimes absent.
methodology methodology  They also stated that they did
and practice and practice not have enough opportunities
components of courses that for micro-teaching and
a pre-service pre-service had practice teaching
English teacher taken as part of
training their pre-service
program in training
Turkey
Leshem To explore the 58 pre- Questionnaires, Although all trainees voted for
and Bar- preferences that service interviews, numerical assessment, there
Hama student teachers teachers personal diaries, were differences between
(2007) had towards and documents trainees in the choice between
Israel how they might that included holistic or analytical
be assessed in minutes from approaches, with the majority
their teaching meetings and choosing the holistic approach.
practice assessment
forms

29
Abdallah To investigate 10 pre- Semi structure Results reveal some difficulties,
(2011) the possibility service interviews challenges, and concerns
Egypt of integrating teachers, related to the process and some
the Internet for and 10 new forms of literacy needed
academic teacher for this context.
purposes in the educators
context of a
pre-service
English teacher
education
program in
Egypt
He and To examine the 60 pre- Reflective  Overall the microteaching was
Yan perspectives of service paper writing felt to be a beneficial learning
(2011) a cohort of EFL teachers from 8 week experience for the student
China student teachers micro teaching Teachers.
on their  Three major drawbacks of
microteaching microteaching emerged: the
experience. artificiality of the experience,
the lack of contribution of
schoolteachers to the feedback
form on the student teachers’
performance, and the limited
opportunity for each for
practice
Liu To examine the 21 pre- Video-taped  The findings showed that the
(2012) effectiveness of service instructions pre-service and in-service
Taiwan online teachers, with related teachers appeared to
videocase and 11 artifacts, online respectively play different
discussion on in- discussion roles in discussing teaching
both pre- service messages, semi- video cases online. Yet, what
service and in- teachers structured they noticed in the teaching
service EFL interviews, an events shifted from diverse to
teachers’ open-ended similar focuses after engaging
learning to questionnaire, in online video case
teach. and reflection discussion for almost one
journals. year.
 This study revealed that the
video case professional
development project not only
nourished pre-service EFL
teachers’ learning to teach but
also benefited in-service EFL
teachers’ continual
professional development

30
 Canh To explores 5 pre- diaries and  The student teachers were
(2014) pre-service service email are the strongly inclined toward the
Vietnam teachers’ teachers main data and cooperating teachers’ models
experiences in were analyzed of teaching rather than
the practicum qualitatively (6 attempting to adapt the
and how they week) theories they had been taught
made sense of in their practices and reflect
those critically on the process.
experiences  The results of the study
suggest that it remains merely
a great expectation rather than
an achieved reality that the
practicum provides the
student teachers with a good
learning opportunity to
become effective teachers
Merç To investigate 117 pre- A five-Likert Despite their satisfaction with
(2015) whether pre- service scale teaching practicum grades,
Turkey service EFL teachers questionnaire student teachers found certain
teachers are and semi criterion measures as effective
satisfied with structure means for assessing their
the way their interview performance such as planning-
performance in preparation, general
their teaching organization, and assessment by
practice is university supervisors while
measured and assessment by cooperating
their teachers, writing observation
perceptions and reflection reports, and
about the assessment by peer teachers
criteria that were found to be the least
measure their effective ones.
performance.

In relation to research in teaching practicums, for example, one study focuses on

exploring pre-service experience regarding their teaching practicums in general, instead focusing

on specific aspects of teacher professional development (Cahn, 2014). Situating the study in a

Vietnamese context, Cahn (2014) explores 5 EFL pre-service teachers’ experiences in their

teaching practice through their diaries and emails. Insight from Cahn’s research finding provides

clues on how pre-service teachers in EFL contexts, especially in Vietnam, learn during their

31
teaching practicums. For example, the student teachers’ inclination toward cooperating teachers’

models of teaching, according to Cahn (2014), suggests that the teaching practicum has not been

a place which provides pre-service teachers opportunities to become effective teachers.

Another exploratory study which investigates the student teachers’ perceptions is related

to micro teaching in a Chinese university context. Unlike school-based teaching practicums,

university-based teaching practice is not widely researched in teacher education programs in EFL

contexts. In the reviewed studies, only one study focuses on investigating this issue. Using

students’ reflective essays, He and Yan (2011) examined the experiences of 60 pre-service

teachers in a micro teaching context. While the findings show that micro teaching is a beneficial

learning experience for pre-service teachers, it has several drawbacks including the artificiality

of the experience and limited opportunity for each student teacher to practice.

Still related to the process of learning to teach, Liu (2012) investigated the effectiveness

of online video-cases on both pre-service and in-service teachers’ professional development in a

Taiwanese setting. In this study, both pre-service and in-service teachers who volunteered in the

study were required to post their videotaped lessons online. Both groups then gave comments on

the video and had discussions. From analyzing data from the videotaped lessons, online

messages, interviews as well as open ended questionnaires, Liu (2012) found that despite the

different roles that pre-service teachers played in discussing the video-cases, both groups

benefitted from it. For pre-service teachers, for example, the video-cases nourish their learning to

teach. As for the in-service teachers, they can be a form of their continual professional

development.

Closely connected to teaching practicum, voices from pre-service teachers on how they

prefer to be assessed in their teaching practicums have also been addressed by researchers in

32
teacher preparation programs in EFL settings. Two studies in this review were aimed at

exploring pre-service teachers’ preferences in how their teaching practice would be assessed

(Leshem & Bar-Hama, 2007; Merc, 2015). From an Israeli teacher education context, Leshem

and Bar-Hama (2007) investigated 58 pre-service teachers about their preferences for being

assessed in their teaching practice. While the researchers provided two options for assessments,

which were verbal and numerical, none of student teachers chose to be assessed verbally, such as

pass and fail. Findings from the interviews indicated that despite the students’ preference on

numerical assessment, they preferred holistic assessment to analytical assessment. Having

similar research purposes with Leshem and Bar-Hamma (2007), Merc (2015) conducted a survey

of 117 pre-service teachers’ level of satisfaction with their grades and on how they preferred to

be assessed in their teaching practicum. Supplemented by interviews with 12 pre-service

teachers, the findings of Merc’s study indicated that pre-service teachers within this context

found certain criteria of measures as effective means of assessment, while other measures were

considered to be less effective. While student teachers’ preferences in the two studies from

different settings indicate that pre-service teachers did not have the same preferences over how

their teaching practicum should be assessed, pre-service teachers seemed to prefer transparent

criteria for assessing their teaching performance.

Other studies belonging to this group are related to pre-service teachers’ perception

toward methodology and practice components offered in teacher education (Seferoglu, 2006) and

integration of the Internet in teacher education programs (Abdallah, 2011). While both studies

were intended as an assessment of teacher education programs, the studies differ in their

purposes. Abdallah (2011), for example, focuses his research on exploring the possibility of

using the Internet for academic purposes and its possible challenges in an Egyptian university

33
context. From interviewing 10 pre-service teachers and 10 teacher educators, Abdallah (2011)

came to the conclusion that the application of the Internet for academic purposes was not without

challenges. Seferoglu (2011), on the other hand, focusing his study on exploring student

teachers’ perceptions about the methodology and practice components during their teacher

training program in a Turkish university context drew the analysis from 176 extensive evaluation

reports written by pre-service teachers. Findings indicated that a close connection between

course materials and practical application was absent, and opportunities for microteaching

practice were not sufficient.

5.2.Methodology

The studies listed in Table 5 use various data collection methods. While the majority of

the studies are qualitative in nature, one study uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative

data collection methods. The qualitative data collection tools range from widely used tools such

as open ended questionnaires and interviews to the least widely used ones, such as email and

diaries. On the other hand, the quantitative data collection tool uses a Likert scale questionnaire.

With the differences in the use of the tools for collecting data, the obtained data were analyzed

differently. The qualitative analysis was done to find the emerging themes while the quantitative

data analysis was for identifying the trends.

5.3 Major findings

While it is relatively hard to compare the findings related to specific issues, in general the

findings of pre-service teachers’ perceptions toward components in teacher education programs

vary greatly from one specific study to another. In relation to student teachers’ view on their

experience in school based teaching practicums in a Vietnamese context, for example, the

findings indicate that pre-service teachers are inclined to follow cooperating teachers’ models of

34
teaching instead of putting theories they have gained in university courses into practice (Cahn,

2014). In relation to student teachers’ views on their university-based teaching practice,

however, the findings suggest that despites the learning experience that students gain from

teaching to their peers, microteaching has drawbacks such as lack of authenticity and

opportunities to practice (He & Yan, 2011).

For specific studies on the views of pre-service teachers’ perception in relation to their

teaching practicum assessment, the findings of two studies in this group indicate differences.

From Israeli context, the finding suggest that pre-service teachers preferred numerical and

holistic to verbal assessment in form of pass/fail grades (Leshem & Bar-Hama, 2007). On the

other hand, findings from a Turkish indicate that pre-service teachers view specific criterion

measures to be effective and less effective (Merc, 2015). Findings on the issue related to Internet

integration indicate challenges for both pre-service and teacher educators (Abdallah, 2011).

For the findings of the study related to perception on the specific use of technology for

professional development, it was found that video cases online were useful for both pre-service

and in-service teachers (Liu, 2012). On the study related to the overall students’ reflection on the

whole teacher education components, the findings indicate gaps between theory and practice and

the need for more opportunities for teaching practicums.

Implications for further research

Looking across the studies in EFL teacher education programs in different EFL settings

worldwide, research in this area has been growing. From the reviewed studies, 11 articles were

written between 2001 and 2010, and the rest of 21 articles were written in the last five years.

While the growing number of publications accessible online may be triggered by the rapid

advance of technology, this can also be an indication that issues related to EFL pre-service

35
teachers in the expanding circle have gained much attention from researchers. In terms of the

number of studies conducted across different contexts in this review, Asia and Europe are the

continents where the majority of studies took place. From 32 studies, 15 of them took place in

Asian contexts and 12 of them were in Europe contexts. Only one study was found taking place

in a South American context, and four studies were in Africa. While this uneven spread of

studies may due to various factors such as the number of countries belonging to the expanding

circle within each continent and the availability of online accessible online publications, this has

an implication for further research in the area of lack of publications. However, it does not mean

that further research is not necessary in continents with abundant publications. Even though Asia

and Europe are the place where most studies in this review were conducted, the spread of

publication is not even within these two continents. In Europe, for example, Turkey has the most

publications for studies conducted with pre-service EFL teachers with nine publications. The

same thing occurs in the Asian context. The Republic of China, which is comprised of Taiwan

and China in this review has 8 publications. This implies that more research is needed even in

Asian and European contexts.

In terms of the research foci, the reviewed studies have varied purposes. While they can

be categorized into four groups of research foci, a close examination on individual studies

indicates variations even when the studies belong to similar groups. This indicates that

researchers have various interests in understanding what is going on in teacher education in EFL

settings. However, despite the wide range of research foci, the reviewed studies show that

research has two concentrations, such as research that is related to practical and theoretical

components. From 32 studies, 20 of them focus on pre-service the teaching practicum and its

relation to other components of professional development. This implies the need for more

36
research about what is going on in teacher education programs prior to the teaching practicum

experience.

Additionally, all of the foci in the reviewed studies are about pre-service teachers. Only

one study includes cooperating teachers, and two studies involve teacher educators. This

suggests the need for more research involving cooperating teachers and teacher educators in

order to get more holistic views about the role of teacher education in shaping how pre-service

teachers learn to teach English in EFL contexts

Methodologically, research in teacher education across different EFL settings employs

various data collection tools, including the combination of qualitative and quantitative data

collection tools and data analysis, in addition to purely quantitative and qualitative ones. This

indicates that research in this area is no longer dominated by a certain research paradigm.

Looking across the 32 studies reviewed in this paper, the majority of the studies (20 out of 32

studies) are qualitative in nature in the sense that the data collection takes place in natural

settings, is obtained through non-survey tools, and the collected data are analyzed qualitatively

for emerging themes. This confirms previous findings in the use of methodology in the literature

of second language teacher education research, in which there is a paradigm shift toward more

qualitative oriented research approaches (Velez-Rendon, 2002). While qualitative research seems

to dominate research in teacher education in EFL settings, surprisingly only one study claims to

use qualitative case study methods. This has implications for the need to use other variants of

qualitative research such as ethnography, narratives, phenomenology, discourse analysis, and

other qualitative types of research to investigate issues from different perspectives. Similar to

qualitative data collection and analysis, the relatively low number of studies in quantitative and a

combination of quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis also implies the need for

37
more research applying these types of research. Looking across the studies that combine two

methods, all of the four studies used qualitative data collection tools as supplementary data for

quantitative analysis, instead of mixing two methods. This implies the need for more research

employing mixed methods.

In regard to the findings of the studies reviewed in this paper, generalization across

contexts is not possible, since research in each of these contexts is uniquely different from one

and another. Additionally, since the findings are directed by the purposes of the research, more

research needs to be conducted across different contexts, possibly with a different research

emphasis.

Implications for Indonesian university context

While the findings of reviewed studies provide implications for the need of further

research in EFL teacher education in EFL settings worldwide, they also provide important

insight that is useful for conducting further research in Indonesian university context.

Situated in Southeast Asia, Indonesia belongs to one of the expanding circle countries in

Kachru’s (1996) classification. Within this classification, English is considered to be an

important language which is learned as a foreign language. Since four out of ten countries in

Southeast Asia belongs to outer circle countries where English is learned as a second language

(Kam, 2002), research in English teacher preparation from outer circle countries such as

Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam are not necessarily relevant to

Indonesian university contexts, despite the abundant research from those countries, especially

from Singapore. This is because the different functions that English serves in outer and

expanding circle countries influence how prospective English teachers are trained. Accordingly,

38
in order to do research in an Indonesian context, drawing from existing research in other EFL

settings is necessary.

Relevant to the Indonesian context are studies in EFL teacher education in Asian settings,

because they have more similarities in terms of issues in their teacher education programs

compared to other contexts. Looking across the reviewed studies in Asian settings, there are still

research gaps that need further exploration and are relevant to Indonesian contexts. While there

has been much research investigating EFL pre-service teacher education programs with different

research foci, most research takes place in East Asian contexts such as South Korea (Jang, 2011;

Rim, 2011), China (He & Yan, 2011; Yan & He, 2010;Yuan and Lee, 2014), and Taiwan

(Chiang, 2008; Hung, 2012; Lin et al., 2011; Liou, 2001; Liu, 2011). Even though there is some

research in Southeast Asian contexts such as in Vietnam (Dang, 2013; Dang et al., 2013; Cahn,

2014), in Thailand (Tin, 2006), only one study took place in Indonesia (Afrianto, 2014). Viewed

from the number of studies reviewed within Asian contexts, the number of studies taking place in

Indonesian context is still relatively smaller compared to East Asian countries or even within

Southeast Asian contexts. Accordingly, this has an implication for the need of more research

from Indonesian context.

In addition to contexts, findings from research foci investigated in studies within Asian

context also provide insight for further research in Indonesian contexts. While there have been

many variations in research foci across Asian contexts, all studies within Southeast Asian

settings focus on professional development of pre-service teachers with regard to students’

teaching practicum, including one study conducted in an Indonesian context. This indicates the

need for further research focusing on prospective English teacher professional development prior

to the teaching practicum. While research on pre-service teachers’ learning to teach in university

39
in the form of microteaching has been the focus of one of studies in East Asian context, no

researchers in Southeast Asian setting have scrutinized such a topic. This suggests another area

for further research in an Indonesian university context. With consideration that research from

one context to another tends to differ its findings, conducting similar studies in different contexts

can extend literature in the field.

Looking at the methodology used in studies across Asian contexts, there is also lack of

specific qualitative methods such as ethnography, discourse analysis, phenomenology, and other

qualitative methods. While this is a gap in methodology across different settings in the reviewed

studies, this is a sign of a research gap that can be applied within the Indonesian university

context as well. Considering that Indonesia is an archipelago country with multiple cultures and

languages, utilizing ethnographic methods or discourse analysis in conducting research on pre-

service teachers’ professional development may possibly shed on a light on the interaction

between culture and language use, which can add literature on EFL teacher education, especially

in multilingual settings.

40
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