Pruebas de Calidad en el Proceso Productivo

Different views of the knowledge base of SLTE function as guidelines for developing the curriculum of English language teacher education. However, there are other variables arising from teachers that are critical in teaching: the personal and practical experiences of teachers, their communication skills and their personal traits. Such a wider consideration of what constitutes the English language teaching profession can enable ESL and EFL teacher education programs to envision a more complete framework of reference for future professional application. Research worldwide has shown that there are unique characteristics that pertain to English language teachers. In fact, language teaching is a profession that requires more than just a high level of proficiency in the language a teacher is teaching. A language teacher needs to undergo special training to obtain specialized skills besides knowledge of second language acquisition principles as well as language teaching methodology. Language teaching is considered distinct from the teaching of other subjects because the content that is taught also serves as the medium of instruction. As Hammadou and Bernhardt observe:

Becoming a foreign language teacher, too, is a different process from that which other future teachers experience. This reality is rooted in the subject matter of the foreign language itself. In foreign language teaching, the content and the process for learning the content are the same. In other words, in foreign language teaching the medium is the message. (1987, p. 301)

In the same vein, Pennington (2002) argues that English language teachers must develop a type of identity that aligns them with their profession and with the specific context in which they teach. There is an assumption that English language teachers possess some distinctive features both in personal traits and professional styles that distinguish them from teachers of other subjects and people of other professions. What makes English language teachers different has undergone extensive research both in ESL and EFL settings.

In a survey of 457 postsecondary foreign language teachers of various languages including Spanish, French and German in the USA, Bell (2005) finds that enthusiasm for the target language and culture, competence in the target language, extensive knowledge about the language and the use of group work to encourage a greater degree of learner involvement are the most common qualities desired of a language teacher. The study also showed a strong consensus on the types of knowledge and behaviours that language teachers need to have and display. Similarly, Mullock (2003) examined the perceptions of 42 postgraduate students of applied linguistics and TESOL of what constitutes effective English language teachers. The participants came from a number of cultural and L1 backgrounds at three universities in Sydney, Australia. The results recognized specific aspects of language teachers including language proficiency, and cross-cultural knowledge and skills.

Various research studies conducted in EFL contexts have endeavoured to identify the special traits of English language teachers. These researchers have identified distinctive features of English language teachers and the reasons for the uniqueness. A study carried out by Borg (2006) investigating the beliefs of over 200 pre- and in-service non-native English-speaking EFL teachers in various European countries uncovered five factors marking the difference between English language teachers and teachers of other subjects, including (i) nature of the subject, (ii) content of teaching, (iii) teaching methodology, (iv) teacher-learner relationships and (v) contrasts between native and non-native speakers. The study also raised the need to describe language teachers’ unique characteristics with reference to specific local contexts and the importance of conducting comparative studies of authentic instructional practices of language teaching and other disciplines.

Lee’s (2010) study conducted in Japan with 163 college-level EFL students by means of a questionnaire revealed that EFL teachers differed from other professionals due to four central aspects: (i) nature of the subject matter, (ii) content of EFL teaching, (iii) need for a good approach to EFL teaching to maximize student involvement and (iv) positive attitudes and enthusiasm. He further confirms that apart from some common characteristics, the characteristics of English language

carry out their work (Lee, 2010, p. 44). Moreover, according to Stronge (2007), English teachers should also be able to integrate all key components of the English curriculum through writing, reading and oral expression and need to be technology-alert and know how to apply software or computer programs to enhance their teaching in today’s changing technological world (p. 130).

Research in this line of inquiry indicates the distinctive characteristics of English language teachers arising from the demand of the profession. Although such dimensions are varied, a number consistently appear across several studies such as: teachers’ knowledge (language proficiency, teaching content), teachers’ skills (teaching techniques, technological skills, communication with learners), and teachers’ dispositions (positive attitudes, enthusiasm and rapport with students). While there have been numerous discussions on issues of what content should be taught to prospective language teachers, there are relatively fewer research studies into what skills and dispositions make them unique. In Vietnam, MOET (2010) and individual universities also refer to the three dimensions of knowledge, skills and dispositions as guidelines to evaluate the English language trainee teachers during their placements and the outcomes of teacher education programs but the elaborations on these dimensions are based on generic teacher characteristics rather than on English language teachers. This study, therefore, is an attempt to fill the gap in the literature and the current shortcomings of English language teacher education in Vietnam by investigating the process of knowledge, skills and dispositions construction of EFL trainee teachers during the teaching practicum.