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The English teacher education model is based on the concept of participatory action research, which includes reflective practice through its investigative and exploratory nature (→ chapters 5.4.2 and 5.4.3). It involves teachers directly in the processes of researching and reflecting on the teaching and the way it affects their children’s early foreign language learning. These processes are expected to promote professional development by encouraging the teachers to be responsible for their own learning. From the aspect of accommodating demanding contextual factors (→ chapter 3), researching the effects of introducing English in their groups of children can be the initial motivating factor for the teachers to become involved in the teaching process.

Wallace’s ‘Reflective Practice Model of Professional Development’ fundamentally informed the design of my model (→ diagram 3). His central focus is on the practice element that supports teachers to develop their professional competence by reflecting on their practical experiences through which their initial ideas and concepts are challenged and developed. Theoretical knowledge is integrated in the process of reflection (Wallace, 199, p. 56).

Figure 24:

Diagram 3: ‘Reflective Practice Model of Professional Development’ (Wallace 1991: 49)

This diagram is included again for further discussion in chapter 5.4.3.

My teacher education model is more comprehensive than Wallace’s because it needs to accommodate the specifically challenging context of a preschool learning environment. It would need to be tailored to meet the particular needs of preschool teachers and their learners in an interdependent process by providing a comprehensive support structure. Otherwise, teachers’ initial concerns and contextual constraints might have impeded the implementation of the project. Consequently, the model integrates three central features and provides a number of components that are expected to support participating teachers’ development. Features and components will be discussed below.

Figure 25:

Diagram 4: Preschool English teacher education model through participatory action research

NB: The numbering in the model is there for the convenience of referring to the corresponding features.

The English teacher education is situated at the workplace of participating preschool teachers throughout duration of the project, in other words, it takes place in situ (→ # 1) (→ chapter 5.4.1). The advantages of this basic feature are obvious: it allows participating teachers to explore their own teaching context and it provides a familiar environment for teachers to work in. Through this, the teachers are able to gain credible first-hand experience of the potential of introducing English within their contexts and it provides vivid and trustworthy insights into the teaching processes. While in situ education offers practical opportunities for the teachers to develop their English teaching competences, looking at it from the aspect of accommodating the contextual factors, it aims at providing the teachers with opportunities to reassess their reservations about introducing English in their context so that they become involved and motivated to participate in the teacher research project.

Stage 1 of the model indicates what the participating teachers and the teacher educator contribute to the teaching and learning situation. Participating teachers are qualified preschool teachers. Often the term ‘second or foreign language teacher education’ is used to refer to “how beginning language teachers acquire knowledge and skills and begin to build a working model of effective teaching” (Wright, 2010, p. 260; referring to Burns & Richards, 2009) – but in the study that is presented here participants are experienced preschool teachers in-service who are to be educated to teach English as a foreign language as an extra-curricular offer to their groups of children. In the project they are therefore considered to be professionals who cooperatively work with the teacher educator and develop their additional competences to teach English in the process. What they do is based on the experiences and knowledge that they have accumulated over the years (e.g., the rapport they have established with their children and the routines they have developed in their classroom management). It is therefore assumed that they will not lapse into the role of novice teachers who are largely dependent on the teacher educator. The teacher educator (→ # 4) supports the teachers to develop their English teaching competences and to implement the project in their preschool. S/he guides the teachers by taking on the role of a counsellor to build up a rapport that is best described as ‘collegial’, in order to avoid a hierarchical teacher-student relationship, which would be inappropriate given preschool teachers’ experiences. They will be encouraged to actively participate in teaching English to their groups. In the process of implementing the model the teacher educator has various responsibilities: s/he gives participatory demonstration lessons once a week to teach both the teachers and the children in their respective groups (→ chapter 5.7.1); s/he supports the preschool teachers in their independent practical work (→ chapter 5.7.3); s/he makes provision for teachers to develop their communicative English language competence (→ chapter 5.7.4); s/he familiarizes the teachers with and encourage them to engage in reflective approaches for professional development (→ chapter 5.7.5) and s/he integrates relevant theory which is related to teaching English to young learners (→ chapters 5.7.5.4).

Stage 2 of the model covers the reflective practice process during which the teachers reflect on their various practical experiences and develop experiential knowledge relating their experiences to their theoretical knowledge to make informed decisions about their teaching.

The core of the practice element of the reflective practice cycle of stage 2 is teaching the children cooperatively through participatory demonstration lessons followed by teachers’ independent practical work (→ # 5). These components are a fundamental support system for the teachers to develop their English teaching competences because they provide opportunities to gain experiences that may prompt reflective practice. The teacher educator and the preschool teachers share the responsibility of teaching the children cooperatively (→ chapter 5.7.2). The preschool teachers join in and teach in the lessons given by the teacher educator (participatory demonstration lessons → chapter 5.7.1) and continue teaching the children independently during the week (independent practical work → chapter 5.7.3). Through this cooperative work, the teacher educator enables participating teachers’ development to be centred on their practice and s/he provides opportunities for the teachers to observe the learning process and progress of their children, which they can subsequently build upon. This is expected to be much more credible and effective than if teachers would accumulate knowledge that they have obtained independently of their workplace, which they would need to try and transfer to their situation without any immediate support. It is expected that through this procedure a dynamic teaching / learning situation is created that gives momentum in the teaching / learning processes and keeps the education centred on practice. From the aspect of accommodating contextual factors, the teacher educator’s role of teaching the children her/himself and continuously assisting the preschool teachers in the process provides a powerful support structure in trying to introduce English into the preschool routine.

The reflection part of stage 2 covers the components that have been included to encourage preschool teachers’ engagement in reflective approaches for professional development (→ # 6). They include materials development and journal writing (→ chapter 5.7.5.1 & 5.7.5.2). The process is also stimulated through interviews that explicitly relate to participating teachers’ perspectives on the research questions. It is important that teachers reflect on their experiential knowledge and relate it to relevant theory that Wallace terms received knowledge to describe an established source of knowledge that has been published and / or is research-based. In my model I use the term relevant theory as it is integrated in reflecting on teachers’ development whenever it seems appropriate for teachers to understand the reasons for demonstrated or experienced practices or to develop them further. The reflective cycle that is connecting # 5 and # 6 indicates that reflection has neither a beginning nor an end. It signifies the continuous process of teachers’ professional development which the education hopes to achieve (→ # 7).

The next chapter will describe the three central features of the teacher education model in detail.