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Description
Holding a sociocultural stance, teacher training is a considered as a transformative model of human mind, in which teachers would be encouraged to develop their own teaching method appropriate to their specific context and their teacher self-image or identity, which is regarded to be negotiated and developed through teaching experiences. This paper enlightens how a group of sixty Vietnamese pre-service teachers learning to teach English language to young learners (TEYLs) develop their teacher identity and TEYL methods through reflective teaching activities in their training program. The findings from a questionnaire reveal that they are highly aware of their various roles of TEYL teachers, namely a manager, a facilitator, an entertainer, an acculturator, a moral conductor and a learner. The qualitative data from reflective journals written by eight voluntary teachers during their teaching practicum at primary schools depict how these roles are exercised in their teaching practice. The findings provide pedagogical implications for promoting the development of teacher identity for pre-service teachers, thereby improving their teaching knowledge and performance.
