
ERIC Number: ED497685
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Sep
Pages: 30
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1056-7879
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Reforming a Teacher Education Program for PRC EFL Teachers in Singapore: Sociocultural Considerations and Curriculum Evolution
Zhang, Lawrence Jun
Online Submission, International Journal of Educational Reform v13 n3 p223-252 Sum 2004
This paper explores curriculum evolution processes in relation to sociocultural considerations with respect to a (teacher-of-English-as-a-foreign-language) TEFL program conducted in Singapore for inservice (English-as-a-foreign-language) EFL trainee-teachers from the People's Republic of China (PRC). It reports on how curriculum evolution was motivated by sociocultural considerations to meet trainee-teachers' professional needs. The effort was characterized by curriculum realignment initiatives on the Postgraduate Diploma in English Language Teaching (PGDELT) program, which has trained consecutively for 18 years over 600 tertiary inservice EFL teachers from the PRC within the sociocultural and sociolinguistic context of Singapore, where multiculturalism and multilingualism are the norm. The paper starts with a review of the PGDELT, followed by a study of participant feedback and reflections on the curriculum change. Data collection was through questionnaires and interviews. The results suggest that the new curriculum was acclaimed to better serve the inservice trainee-teachers' professional needs and benefit their career advancement in their home country. Implications of such curriculum realignment efforts are also discussed.
Descriptors: Cultural Pluralism, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, Curriculum Development, Curriculum Evaluation, Language Teachers, English (Second Language), Second Language Instruction, Sociocultural Patterns, Inservice Teacher Education, Multilingualism, Questionnaires, Interviews, Feedback, Career Development, Second Language Learning
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: China; Singapore
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A