Teaching Practice Abroad for Developing Intercultural Competence in Foreign Language Teachers
Keywords:
intercultural learning, study abroad, intercultural competence, teacher trainingAbstract
Abstract
For foreign-language students, living abroad for a period of time during their studies is often a compulsory component of their university degrees. Similarly, European preservice teachers have the opportunity to complete a work placement at a partner school in a target language country. In this way, future English as a foreign language teachers have the chance not only to foster their linguistic and intercultural competence, but also to experience a different professional and institutional culture and ideally enhance their professional skills. The present study focuses on the perspectives of 35 undergraduate preservice teachers based in Germany who completed a 3-month teaching practice placement in Ireland or the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2014. In this research project, data from 5 years of reflective reports (n = 276) underwent content analysis, were complimented with focus group discussions (n = 6) after the preservice teachers’ stay abroad, and were analyzed for the potential of teaching practice placements for professionalization and intercultural learning processes. Results indicate that there seems to be an increase in cultural awareness in general, albeit to a different extent with different participants, with the professionalization aspect taking particular importance and being closely tied to intercultural development.
Résumé
Cet article présente les résultats d’une recherche menée entre 2010 et 2014 auprès de 35 étudiants se préparant à devenir professeurs d’anglais langue étrangère et ayant réalisé un séjour de 3 mois en tant que stagiaires auprès de diverses écoles primaires et collèges au Royaume-Uni et en Irlande. Dans le but d’analyser le développement de l’apprentissage interculturel tel que le perçoivent les futurs enseignants, une analyse de données provenant de 276 textes de réflexion et de six entrevues de groupe a été entreprise. Les résultats indiquent que les attentes des étudiants sont étroitement liées à l’idée qu’ils se font de leur perfectionnement professionnel. L’accroissement de la compétence interculturelle ne peut pas être décrit de façon linéaire, mais plutôt en tant que profil de compétence individuelle. Les résultats suggèrent que les stages dans les écoles se distinguent visiblement des séjours d’études universitaires à l’étranger.
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