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>Efficacy of one elementary preservice teacher education program in Taiwan in preparing non-native speakers to teach English as an international language.
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Efficacy of one elementary preservice teacher education program in Taiwan in preparing non-native speakers to teach English as an international language.
Historically, Taiwanese students began learning English in middle school. However, due to the importance of English as an international language, the Taiwanese government now requires children in third grade to begin learning English. In order to meet the great demand for qualified elementary EFL teachers, English Education Departments were established in four teachers' colleges in 2000. As Taiwan's elementary EFL preservice teacher education programs graduated their first students in 2004, it was the opportune time to investigate the efficacy of these programs in 2005.; The purpose of the study was to determine how preservice teachers from Taiwan are being prepared to teach English. The researcher investigated the efficacy of one elementary EFL teacher education program in Taiwan in terms of students' self-images and perceptions about teaching English as an international language.; A single-case study design was employed because it was a typical case. In order to hear perspectives from different viewpoints, the researcher selected participants who differed in age, experience, and background. The researcher also used different methods to collect data, including interviews, observations, documents, audio-visual materials, and questionnaires.; The investigation has identified several findings. First, the transmission model was adopted in the program. Second, the program did not offer sufficient language training, especially oral training. Most of the students (69%) were diffident about their oral language proficiency, which negatively impacted their confidence as non-native speaker teachers. Third, the students' cultural content knowledge was limited to American culture, specifically American holidays. Fourth, language knowledge was limited to American English. Finally, the students felt empowered by one professor's short discussion about the native versus non-native speaker issues in ELT.; The findings from this study yield a number of implications. First, EFL teacher education programs should make students' language improvement, especially oral proficiency, the primary component. Second, English should be taught as an international language, and EFL teacher preparation programs should initiate the paradigm shift. Third, EFL teacher education programs should address native vs. non-native speaker issues with students to empower them. Fourth, in order to produce effective language teachers, both constructivism and the reflective teacher education model should be adopted.
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