The Pedagogy of Pre‐service TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) Teacher Education

The pre‐service process of becoming an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher is influenced by a wide range of factors which combine to describe just what it means to teach students learning English as a second language in schools. Foremost among these factors is the pedagogy chosen by institutions or individual teacher educators. This paper presents two perspectives — management and reflection — and argues that a management perspective to pre‐service teacher education not only severely limits the professional development of teachers but helps to maintain the status quo in schools to the detriment of students learning English as a second language. In contrast a reflective perspective is examined for the benefits it offers for both developing teachers and students learning English as a second language in schools. The paper concludes with a description of a pilot project which sought to provide developing ESL teachers with a framework in which to work proactively during their initial teaching experience (practicum) with a view to encouraging an ongoing commitment to professional development.