This paper is built on the assumption that sound language learning is based on high quality teaching, and that foreign language teachers therefore play a very important role in the effectiveness of foreign language education. This leads to several questions: How can foreign language teachers be prepared in their pre-service teacher education program to be capable of high quality teaching? How do teachers in other countries learn to teach foreign languages across their programs? What constitutes an effective pre-service foreign language teacher education program? This study compares and contrasts the similarities and differences of the Secondary Foreign Language Teacher Education Program (SFLTEP) at Indiana University in the United States with one at the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taiwan. The underlying assumptions of both teacher training programs are examined and challenged in the hope of learning from both programs' strengths and weaknesses to advance a current theory of SFLTEPs. There were four principle research questions: what are the components and sequences of the programs at IU and NTNU? What are the underlying assumptions behind the differences at the two programs that shape the differences? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each program? What recommendations can be drawn from this comprehensive and comparative examination? It is found that differences between the programs lie in the content, sequence, and duration of the programs, and that underlying assumptions about language learning shape these differences. Five tables and 31 references are included. (KFT)