Foreign Language Teacher Education. ERIC Digest.

Overview & Synopsis

Foreign language education professionals agree that the profession lacks an established theory and methodological consistency. Foreign language teacher education has not changed much since the 1960s. Most programs consist of subject-matter content, general education requirements, and specialized education courses. Teacher trainee supervisors do not always have experience in foreign language instruction. Legislatively and politically, foreign language teacher education shares many characteristics and problems with other teacher education areas, but competency to teach a foreign language differs in one fundamental way from most other subject areas in that a foreign language teacher cannot compensate for subject-matter (language) deficiencies through short-term research alone. This makes language competence a more crucial long-range consideration in teacher training. Indications of improvement in foreign language teacher education include a shift in emphasis from teacher training to teacher development, increased focus on teacher self-assessment, and an expressed desire for higher program accreditation standards. A tendency toward isolationism in foreign language teacher education points up the need for a unique knowledge base within the profession, leading to more enlightened teacher preparation. (MSE)