Chinese Student Teachers' Reticence in Teacher Education Courses. (2nd June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yan, Chunmei; He, Chuanjun
• Is Part Of: ELT journal. Volume 74:Number 3(2020)
• Page Start: 287
• Page End: 296
• Publication Date: 2020-06-02
• Subjects: English language -- Study and teaching -- Foreign speakers -- Periodicals; 428.0071
• DOI: 10.1093/elt/ccaa014
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0951-0893

Abstract

Abstract: There has been a plethora of research on the reticence of Chinese EFL students at undergraduate level both in China and beyond; however, little attention has been paid to this phenomenon in content-based EFL teacher education courses at the postgraduate level. This study focused on a group of Chinese EFL MEd student teachers in a language teacher development course delivered by a Chinese teacher educator. Three triangulated qualitative methods were employed to gather data, including one-semester-long classroom observations, course evaluations, and group interviews. Reticence was found to have been caused by the interplay between dispositional and circumstantial factors related to both students and teachers. The study highlights a need for mutual adaptations to address reticence in content-based teacher education classes.