EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF CHATGPT FOR TRAINING FUTURE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHERS

This is a collection of essays dealing with ESL/EFL/FL teacher education by experienced ESL/EFL/FL teacher educators and student teachers of different cultural backgrounds, and from different countries. The essays cover topics that focus both on the teacher as learner and the learner as teacher. This book recognizes that the language classroom has a particular culture of its own while being part of a broader school culture. As a result, the multi-foci nature of the chapters serve to present the varied and diverse language education needs, programs, and approaches. Contents: The National Foreign Languages: Can we Get from Here to There?, Sophie Jeffries; FLES Teacher Preparation: Competencies, Content and Complexities, Gladys C. Lipton; Journaling: A Path to Reflective Teacher Development, Aleiline J. Moeller; Alternative Assessment in Foreign Second Language: What do we in Foreign Language Know?, Charles R. Hancock; Where are the African American Foreign Language Teachers?, Mark English; Foreign Language Teacher Education in a Professional Development School, Alan Garfinkel and Carol Sosa; Portfolio Design and the Decision Making Process and in Teacher Education, JoAnn Hammadou; Peer Evaluation in In-Service Teacher Education, Jeannette Morris; Professional Development for Japanese Teachers, Yoshiko Saito; Successful Listening Comprehension Strategies: Implications for Foreign Language Teaching and Teacher Training, Rhonda Chipman-Johnson; Emergent L2 Writing in the French Immersion Classroom: Implications for Teacher Education of Where are the Holes in Whole Language?, Stephen Carey and Rishma Dunlop; Multimedia and Foreign Language Teacher: A Humananistic Perspective, Josef Hellebrandt; Culture: How do Teachers Teach it?, Zena Moore.

The article describes the key features of the system of foreign language teacher professional training in Bukovina in 1918 to 1940. Bukovina is an area of present-day Western Ukraine, which in the period under study belonged to Romania. The study has been carried out in the form of an analysis of the components constituting the system of foreign language teacher education: the discussion begins with the preconditions for establishing pedagogical practices in training future teachers from the historical-social and administrative-territorial perspectives; then the structural aspects and educational policymaking issues of the institutions responsible for foreign language teacher training in Bukovina, as well as their activities aimed at providing professional support for in-service teachers, have been studied; finally, the structure and content of both the curricula and textbooks used in foreign language teachers’ education have been critically analysed. The deliberations brought the authors to conclude that the methods of teaching foreign languages most widely used and supported by the government in the period under study in Bukovina were the Direct and Mixed methods. At the same time, the analysis of governmental policy of the ruling state contributed to the process of Romanianisation of the Ukrainians, depriving young people of the opportunity to gain secondary and higher education in their native language, while discriminating against the school graduates on their ethnicity as the criterion for enrolment of university applicants for a degree in teaching foreign languages.

Should English Be Taught in Primary Schools in Kazakhstan?

In today's education system, regardless of the distinction between public and private schools, teaching English as a foreign language begins in the 2nd grade. In public schools, English teachers conduct English classes; in schools where there are no English teachers, they are conducted by primary school teachers. In private schools, English classes are conducted by English teachers. In this context, a course titled "Teaching Foreign Languages in Primary Schools" has been included in the 4th-year classes of the primary school education programs within the faculties of education at universities to enhance the knowledge and skills of prospective primary school teachers in teaching English. The current study examines the perspectives of prospective classroom teachers studying in the primary education undergraduate program at a public university in Türkiye towards English language teaching. The study collected qualitative data using a written, structured interview technique. The data shows that prospective primary school teachers do not find themselves sufficient in language proficiency for teaching English as a foreign language, believe that a course they took in their undergraduate program was insufficient for teaching English, and think that English teachers should conduct the English course. In the study, educational implications and recommendations were made based on the results obtained from the data.

This article proposes a refl ection on the status attributed by public schools to the compulsory teacher training taken by undergraduate students of Languages, as well as the role played by students-teachers and foreign language teacher training supervisors in the matter, based on the author’s experience as a teacher training supervisor in a university in the south of Brazil. The article starts with a description of the new teacher training courses set by the Language Institute of the university, and is followed by an analysis of the underlying reasons for the changes taken into effect. Both the description and the analysis take into consideration (i) the national policies to foreign language (FL) teaching and learning and (ii) the general context in which foreign languages are taught in public schools. Possible outcomes deriving from such changes are also discussed. Keywords: FL teacher education. Curriculum. National policies to FL teaching and learning. Language teachers’ professional development.

The scholarly interest in the field of foreign language teaching and learning has recently widened its scope within the competence-paradigm from learners’ competences to competences of teachers. Foreign language teacher education has thus been subject of many international and national publications and studies. Focussing on the situation of foreign language teacher education in Germany, results of international research can only partly be applied. This is primarily due to different standards in certain phases of teacher education. From a national perspective, one of the challenges in foreign language teacher education is rooted in the federal system: The 16 federal states of Germany have different regularities concerning the second phase of teacher education (in-service training). Looking at national research on foreign language teacher education, emphasis on investigating knowledge of foreign language teachers based on concepts of pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman) has to be noted. Throughout this article, we would like to critically evaluate underlying competence models, and establish lesson planning as a key category of identifying competence development of foreign language teachers. Lesson planning is conceptualised as an activity that requires language teachers to draw upon all areas of their knowledge. Presenting results of an empirical research study conducted with teacher trainees, the article concludes with relevant research foci that should be addressed in the field of foreign language teacher education.

This volume focuses on the teaching of English as a foreign language to young learners at primary school. The volume features an introduction that covers essentials of teaching English to young learners from a theoretical, empirical, and neuroscientific perspective while also discussing the notion of a principled mindset, competence development, transcultural learning, the use of materials and literature, and lesson planning. The subsequent contributions cover reading and writing, bilingual programs, the transition from primary to secondary school, storybooks, the importance of self-selected fiction, anti-bias education, ways of encouraging young learners to speak, and professional advice for primary English language educators based on a qualitative analysis of interviews. Based on an international TEFL lecture series, researchers, teacher educators, and practising teachers from Germany, Switzerland, and the United States share their insights into these central issues and offer theoretical concepts for the professional development of (pre-service) primary school English teachers. Practical ideas and examples included in this volume aim to make theoretical constructs accessible and relatable for future teachers of English. The afterword features a look ahead by critically examining future challenges of primary school educators and highlighting (1) the great importance of an early start with English as a foreign language and (2) the need for developing national educational standards. This volume provides a research-based and practice-oriented foundation for (pre-service) English teachers wishing to expand their knowledge and gain an insight into recent developments in foreign language learning theories and concepts. Although mostly aimed at primary school educators, particularly the introductory chapter will be equally relevant for university students or teachers focusing on vocational and secondary school teaching, so that they develop an understanding of specific features of primary English language education and, as concerns secondary school teachers, can contribute to a smooth transition in the fifth grade.

The Perception of Primary Stress in Initially Extended Simple Sentences: A Demonstration by Computer in Foreign Language Teacher Training

Having determined at the previous stages of our research the state of readiness of future foreign language teachers to use information technologies in their professional activities, we came to the conclusion that it is necessary to make some changes in the educational process in order to improve the training of students. Thus, the purpose of our further work is to test the methodology developed by us in practice. Source for us were the following provisions: formation of readiness of future foreign language teachers for using informational technologies in professional activity should be continuous, i.e. it is necessary to involve students from the first to the last course and note the contents of educational disciplines, pedagogical practices, NIRS; in the process of training of future foreign language teachers to use informa-tion technologies in professional activities necessary orientation to the object of professional activity of teachers of a foreign language and its features. In order to develop organizational, stimulating and managing skills for future teachers when learning to communicate in a foreign language, we offered students to study such issues as: the possibilities of information technologies for organizing communication in pairs and small groups using role-playing games (based on simulation programs); the role of information technologies in the formation of communicative, linguistic and instrumental motivation when learning a foreign language; teaching monologue and Dialogic writing in a foreign language using information technologies; the main aspects of verbal communication activities of students using information technologies.

The article is devoted to the topic of school professional competence formation in future foreign language teachers, who in short period of time will come to work with children in the New Ukrainian School. The main idea of the research is to analyze the modern scientific concepts conceptual aspects of future training teachers made by domestic and foreign scientists. Theoretical and methodological foundations of professional education of New Ukrainian School teachers, the features of their professional training and formation of foreign language competence are presented by the authors of this article too. Professional competence future teachers of the New Ukrainian School is defined as an integrative value and personal-professional trait based on special knowledge and skills, the teacher’s responsible attitude to professional communication activity, his\her awareness of its motives. It provides the ability of the individual to the implementation of adequate foreign language, intercultural communication in various forms. The basic components of the structure of this phenomenon are as: motivational (value and professionally important personal qualities); language (a set of formed foreign language knowledge as a means of activating consciousness and verbal expression of thought and speech in a foreign language); speech (formation of foreign language skills - cognitive actions aimed at solving communicative tasks that require deep knowledge foreign language). The integration of multi-subject knowledge in primary general education is especially relevant, since younger schoolchildren do not have a fragmented perception of the objects of the surrounding world, but a holistic one. Integration as a phenomenon of fundamental sciences is the opposite of differentiation. Differentiation is the separation, dismemberment of something into separate separate objects, and integration is the unification of something into a single whole. In Ukraine, in the draft of the New State Standard of Primary Education, developed in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Education», the Law of Ukraine «On General Secondary Education», it is emphasized that on the basis of the basic curriculum it is possible to carry out full or partial integration of various educational fields, which should be reflected in the educational program and curriculum of the general primary education institution. The content of primary education is developed on the basis of a competence approach: not knowledge for the sake of knowledge, but the ability to apply it in real life. Competences are also an integrated result of the educational activity of students and they are formed primarily on the basis of mastering the integral content of primary education.

Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to young learners has been implemented at primary school level in many non-English speaking countries. One factor that determines the success or failure of primary EFL programmes is pedagogical practices. Recognising this importance, this study explores age-appropriate creativity for the practice of teaching English to young learners in Vietnamese primary schools. The participants are six EFL teachers in six different primary schools in Vietnam and the data are collected from interviews and classroom observations. From the perspective of the participating teachers, there are four components constituting their age-appropriate creativity. These are English language use, artistic components, meaningful contexts and real-life practice created in the classroom. The age-appropriate pedagogies constructed by the participants, as discussed in this study, offer a source of reference for teachers of English to young learners, within and beyond Vietnam.

The introduction of the European Space for Higher Education imply changes in the work mode and learning processes in the pre-service training of foreign language teachers, in particular the use of strategies designed to stimulate the development of reflective thinking and learning autonomy. This paper presents a model that combines attention to the new demands mentioned above with learners-instructors rates at university that will remain high, by means of exploring ways in which group work supports the development of learning autonomy in future foreign language teachers.

The article deals with an urgent issue of necessity to enhance professional training of future foreign language teachers. It has been substantiated that the only way to assess its quality is to use a set of professional standards. Theoretical substantiation of the standards elaborated by TESOL, as well as their step-by-step process of elaboration, have been studied. These standards served as a model for developing standards of foreign language teachers’ professional training in other countries. On their basis the standards of foreign language teachers’ professional training, as well as indicators of teachers’ performance for each of them, have been formulated as a role model for other countries which pay special attention to foreign language teachers’ training. The main difficulties of the standards implementation have been defined, as well as their possible solutions. One of the most urgent issues raised in the article is the necessity to elaborate a detailed system for assessing teachers’ correspondence to the standards and to adjust the existing training programs to them. Conclusions about productivity and efficiency of the conducted research can only be made after the standards approbation throughout the complete foreign language teachers’ training program that is 4-6 years (depending on the degree - Bachelor or Master). Still, at this stage of our research it is quite clear that one of the possible solutions to the problem of the necessity to elaborate a detailed system for assessing teachers’ correspondence to the standards and to adjust the existing training programs to them is involvement of stakeholders of different levels to elaboration of the standards (from future teachers to educational authorities). The practical value of the presented material is that it can be used by other countries for elaborating their own national standards.

The aim of the paper is to present the results of a pilot project for foreign language (FL) teacher education, in which trainee teachers’ knowledge and awareness of intercultural and cross-educational similarities and differences between two cooperating institutions from socio-culturally and linguistically distant countries – Israel and Poland – are elicited. The data collected serves as a springboard for designing an international project for FL trainee teachers to be implemented as a part of a teacher training course. In the project the trainee teachers coming from geographically, culturally and linguistically detached backgrounds, Israeli and Polish, are to participate in tandem learning understood as paired sessions of knowledge and experience exchange between FL trainee teachers via online communicators. The pilot phase, therefore, is an initial but indispensable stage evaluating the extent to which trainee teachers are ready to confront and share their educational background, cultural and linguistic knowledge with their peers from a geographically and socio-culturally distant country. A group of fourteen trainee teachers of Opole University participated in the pilot project measuring the participants’ readiness to engage in crossing the aforementioned borders with the help of a closed and open-item questionnaire focusing on the degrees of awareness of a number of aspects, for instance, culture and L1-based differences in approaching FL teaching. The application of the instrument generated quantitative and qualitative data, whose analysis supported the design of the final Tandem Learning Teacher Training (TLTT) program.

Can we really talk about the education of foreign language teachers? Or, more accurately, are we dealing with the process of shaping future teachers of English, German, Romance languages, Slavic languages, etc.? Which fields of research should be considered in this context? Which discipline leads the way: the humanities, or perhaps, in parallel, the social sciences? What are the core disciplines that provide the foundation for acquiring knowledge, developing skills, and shaping the attitudes of future foreign language teachers? What is the interplay between these fields, and where do their scientific boundaries lie? What constitutes the optimal environment for preparing trainees? Furthermore, in which language should this process of developing foreign language teachers take place? This article seeks to answer these and similar questions by integrating insights from disciplines such as linguistics, psychology, pedagogy, and (glotto)didactics, as well as many other disciplines. The goal of this text is to highlight the unique synergy of this specific scientific environment in the contemporary process of educating foreign language teachers, and to explore the processes of learning and teaching these languages. The article is divided into three sections: a theoretical and historical part, which includes an analysis of selected documents and texts; a contemporary part, which examines the current state through the lens of practical educational research; and a prognostic part, which outlines future research perspectives and formulates new hypotheses.