Abstract
In Japan the support structure for pre-service English teachers is less than ideal. Preparatory training for pre-service teachers at Japanese universities typically emphasizes pedagogical theory, the historical context of English education in Japan, and legal considerations, yet allocating only a limited timeframe to hands-on practical training. Consequently, the practical training component integrated into the teaching license course, especially the on-site teaching experience at junior and/or senior high schools which provides a short teaching practicum window of only two or three weeks, is wholly inadequate. This paper outlines a support structure for pre-service English teachers which is being developed at a private Japanese university. The paper will identify the main challenges which Japanese pre-service English teachers face, before going on to describe the support framework which has been constructed for them. The focus of the paper will then shift to the support which was provided before a cohort of pre-service English teachers (n=9) started their teaching practicums. The experiences of the pre-service English teachers’ practicums will be explicated through an analysis of the data that emerged from an online questionnaire and the participants’ teaching diaries. The post-practicum oral feedback from an online debriefing workshop will also be highlighted. The participants’ comments provide an insight into the challenges which pre-service English teachers face when being thrown into the teaching arena with minimal support. Lastly, suggestions are made as to how the support system for Japanese pre-service English teachers can be improved.
Author Information
Tony Cripps, Nanzan University, Japan
Takao Imai, Nanzan University, Japan
Sean H. Toland, The International University of Kagoshima, Japan
Paper Information
Conference: BCE2024
Stream: Teaching Experiences
This paper is part of the BCE2024 Conference Proceedings (View)
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To cite this article:
Cripps T., Imai T., & Toland S. (2025) Priming University Students for the Reality of Teaching English in Japan ISSN: 2435-9467 – The Barcelona Conference on Education 2024: Official Conference Proceedings (pp. 27-32) https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-9467.2024.4
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.22492/issn.2435-9467.2024.4
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