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Realigning the curriculum to meet the nonnative in-service trainee-teachers’ needs in TESOL education: A Singapore case
Citation
Zhang, L. J., & Skuja-Steele, R. V. (2002, December 16-21). Realigning the curriculum to meet the nonnative in-service trainee-teachers’ needs in TESOL education: A Singapore case [Paper presentation]. 13th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2002): Applied Linguistics in the 21st Century, Singapore.
Author
Zhang, Lawrence Jun
•
Skuja-Steele, Rita
Abstract
With an ever-growing need for a socio-political/ sociocultural awareness in the profession of teachers-of English-to-speakers-of-other-languages (TESOL), TESOL teacher-education programmes have to consider its implications. Some in North America have begun to see the importance of realigning the curriculum to cater to the linguistic and sociolinguistic demands of their TESOL clienteles (e.g., Horwitz et al., 1997; Kamhi-Strein, 2000). However, though outstanding, seldom documented are dilemmas in relation to what trainee-teachers really need, particularly in other contexts, for instance, Asia, where the biggest proportion of the world population learn English as a foreign language (EFL). This paper explores some of these problems by reporting on how curriculum reinnovation as a solution was motivated by sociocultural considerations in a bid to meet trainees' needs by keeping realigning the curriculum of the Postgraduate Diploma in English Language Teaching Programme (PGDELT), which has trained, consecutively for 16 years, 600-odd overseas tertiary EFL in-service teachers within the cultural, linguistic and sociopolitical context of Singapore, where multiculturalism and multilingualism are the norm. Questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data on the participants' reflections on curriculum change and its suitability. Findings are presented and discussed with respect to recent moves (e.g., linguistic indigenisation and diversification) and their implications are suggested.
Date Issued
December 2002
Description
This paper was presented at the 13th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2002): Applied Linguistics in the 21st Century, held in Singapore from 16 - 21 Dec 2002