Innovating the TESOL Practicum in Teacher Education

Design, Implementation, and Pedagogy in an Era of Change

Chang Pu, Wayne E. Wright, Chang Pu, Wayne E. Wright

• Editore: Routledge
• Anno: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000617870
• Edizione: 1
• Argomento: Didattica
• Categoria: Didattica delle lingue

Recognizing new opportunities and challenges brought about by technological and social change, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, this volume explores innovative design, implementation, and pedagogy for practica experiences in teacher education programs in the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages.

By showcasing research and practice undertaken in a range of teacher education courses and programs, the volume offers evidence-based approaches to enhancing pre- and in-service teachers' learning and cultural awareness. Chapters come together coherently to address issues and explore innovative structures revolving around high-quality TESOL practica. Particular attention is paid to emerging opportunities offered by virtual and simulated learning in online and in-person practica, as well as potential changes to best practice in community-based programs.

Using a diverse set of lenses to examine the practical, theoretical, and methodological aspects of TESOL practica, this volume will be of interest to students, scholars and researchers with an interest in TESOL education, as well as in open and distance education.

1IntroductionContextualizing the TESOL Practicum in the Field of TESOL

Chang Pu and Wayne E. Wright

DOI: 10.4324/9781003193937-1

Approximately 10% of students enrolled in public schools in the United States are English learners (ELs) (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2020). However, the achievement gap between ELs and non-ELs has remained unchanged in the last ten years (Office of English Language Acquisition, 2018). Many teacher education programs across the United States have made efforts to respond to the call to better prepare teachers to teach ELs, mainly through the infusion approach by modifying existing courses to add EL-related content or creating a stand-alone program (Li, 2018) such as teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) endorsement programs. Teacher education programs have sought effective, authentic, and meaningful practices to prepare profession-ready new teachers who can address learning needs of all students.

The TESOL practicum, sometimes called TESOL clinic practices, internships, or field experiences, is a compulsory component of most TESOL degree, certificate, and endorsement programs (Richards & Crookes, 1988; Santos, Olsher, & Abeywickrama, 2015). It is usually a supervised teaching experience, and traditionally takes place near the end of the TESOL teacher education programs (Cirocki, Madyarov, & Baecher, 2019) offering authentic experiences and a critical way to help teacher candidates (or pre-service/student teachers as used throughout this book) link theory to practice (Kent, 2005). It also helps candidates develop or reinforce TESOL professional skills, knowledge, and dispositions. Additionally, strengthening the support to teacher candidates as they move from clinical practices to the classroom and continuous professional development to in-service teachers is also one way to tackle the teacher shortage in content area such as TESOL across the states (Cole, Mitchell, & Anthes, 2017; Flannery, 2020).

Based on our research, K-12 TESOL licensure requirements vary widely across states. State-level education agencies usually offer accreditation guidelines and professional standards, but do not have specific policies that regulate the TESOL practicum such as length, settings, and teaching practices/activities. Hence, TESOL programs usually determine and define their TESOL practicum in terms of the content (e.g., teaching/tutoring ELs, observing classrooms), design (e.g., a built-in component of a TESOL course, a stand-alone course, and a capstone field experience/practice), duration (e.g., 25–60 field hours, two-semesters long), and assessments (e.g., culminative teaching portfolios, reflective journals). We included a typology of TESOL programs and practica in Table 1.1 to contextualize the nature of the complexity of TESOL practica and programs. The TESOL practica included in this volume also reflect the complexity represented in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1 A Typology of TESOL Programs and Practica

TESOL program type		• Undergraduate (UG) degree programs (BA, BS) • Minor or concentration area in UG or Graduate (Grad) degree programs • UG/Grad K-12 teacher education licensure/endorsement programs • TESOL certificate program (UG/Grad) • Master Degree programs (MA. Ed, MS. Ed, MAT, M.Ed) • Doctoral (EdD, PhD)
TESOL program modality		• Face-to-face • Online • Hybrid/blended
TESOL program academic home		• Colleges of Education • Mainly PreK-12 teacher education state licensure programs • Colleges of Liberal Arts • Typically non-licensure programs, but may have state licensure options in collaboration with a College of Education • Departments • English departments • Linguistics departments • Applied/educational linguistics departments • Foreign/world languages departments
TESOL program target employers		• PreK-12 schools (state teacher licensure/certification programs) • Stand-alone licensures • Add-on licensures • Adult Education Programs • University programs (e.g., intensive English programs, International Teaching Assistant programs) • Community Colleges • Adult Schools • Community-based organizations • Military (e.g., Defense Language Institute) • Refugee/immigrant service programs • Private companies • International settings • PreK-12 schools • University programs • Nongovernmental organizations • US Federal exchange programs (e.g., Fulbright English Teaching Assistants; Department of State English Language Fellows)
TESOL practicum sites		• PreK-12 schools • Local to university in face-to-face TESOL programs • Local to students in an Online/Hybrid TESOL programs • School or community-based after school programs for PreK-12 students • Adult Education Programs (university and/or community-based)
		• Oversea sites (e.g., international schools, universities) • Online settings (local and/or international) • Synchronous • Asynchronous • Hybrid (face-to-face and online) • Virtual simulations
TESOL practicum supervision		• TESOL course instructor • TESOL practicum course instructor • University supervisor/mentor • Local classroom teacher • Local site coordinator • Peer-supervision • None (self-reporting)
TESOL practicum supervision type		• Feedback on written lesson plans • Feedback on written reflections • Teaching observations • Live • Review of video-recordings • None
TESOL practicum modalities		• Observations of classroom teacher • Co-teaching with classroom teacher • Independent teaching • Whole class • Small group(s) • Individual student(s) one-on-one
TESOL practicum length		• Semester or year-long practicum or student teaching experiences • Short-term field experiences • One to several hours in one or more TESOL courses
TESOL practicum participants		• Undergraduate and graduate students who pursue their teaching licensure, ESOL/ELL endorsement, and/or TEFL minor. • K-12 in-service teachers who pursue an ESOL/EL endorsement • Graduate students who pursue a Master’s degree in TESOL

Traditionally, throughout the practicum experiences, TESOL teacher candidates are placed in a local K-12 classroom where ELs are served, and they are supported by a cooperating teacher (an ESOL teacher or home classroom teacher), a university supervisor/mentor (e.g., a former/retired classroom teacher), and/or a teacher education faculty supervisor. Candidates are usually engaged in varied teaching practices, including assisting and tutoring small groups of ELs, observing experienced teachers and ELs in class, and practicing lesson planning and teaching (Becker, Waldis, & Staub, 2019). In recent years, TESOL programs have been experiencing paradigmatic shifts and changes. Many traditional face-to-face TESOL programs have moved online or have adopted a hybrid/blended format (i.e., face-to-face and online). Unlike traditional K-12 classroom placements, some TESOL practica are set up in overseas settings and/or community programs; others use virtual simulations or virtual exchange programs to either enhance or replace a face-to-face practicum. However, simply placing candidates with ELs does not automatically help the candidates bridge the gap between theory and effective practice (Hennissen, Beckers, & Moerkerke, 2017); structured assignments designed for the practicum are essential for candidates to apply what they have learned in their coursework in real teaching settings (Zeichner, 2010). In addition, TESOL candidates need emotional, social, and technical support from cooperating teachers, school administrators, TESOL faculty, and TESOL programs during the practicum.

TESOL programs also face challenges in setting up their practicums. The limited time and space in the already-crowded curriculum may constrain faculty to create a stand-alone TESOL practicum course (Li, 2018). TESOL programs usually collaborate with one or more partners (e.g., local schools/districts, community-based ESOL programs) and place TESOL candidates in classroom where ELs are served. TESOL faculty must depend on their partners’ schedules, level of flexibility, and capacity to comply with the design of the TESOL practicum. However, it is also challenging to ensure expectations are shared by all the stakeholders and between the TESOL programs and their partner schools (Cirocki et al., 2019; Farrell, 2008; Numrich, 1996; Payant & Murphy, 2012). Additionally, the TESOL practicum can be easily affected by external changes. Changes include, but are not limited to, (1) the COVID-19 pandemic that forced many K-12 schools and classes to be closed, cancelled or moved to online learning, (2) the online delivery format as a way to recruit more candidates and/or accommodate candidates who cannot attend the TESOL programs in person, (3) the recently implemented teacher candidate assessment (i.e., the Educative Teacher Performance Assessment [edTPA]) in many states, and (4) newly emerging technologies (e.g., virtual/mixed reality). TESOL programs must work diligently and creatively to overcome such challenges and embrace changes. The chapters included in this volume present empirical and innovative examples of TESOL practica in TESOL programs across North Ameri...