Carol Goldfus Abstract

Cognitive Neuroscience and Language Acquisition 
given to the staff as in-service training during the 
year, 
‘I have gained a deeper awareness of the links 
between the brain systems and the components 
of literacy. Having been exposed to examples of 
effective instructional practices in literacy based 
on brain research has given me ideas of addressing 
my teaching from the point of view of the higher 
cognitive skills involved in language learning and 
teaching.
’
To the question whether the students are working 
differently than in the past, one answer said that 
the EFL/LD courses endow them with knowledge 
and heighten their awareness of the special needs 
of those learner populations who are LD students 
and give them tools to address the needs of this 
population of pupils.
‘However, as far as proficiency is concerned, 
more work needs to be done to promote, assess 
and determine the EFL proficiency of our students 
who are future teachers of English.’
About the students’ reactions
‘The students often complain about the number 
of assignments and their scope (as students do); 
however, most of them are happy with the courses 
given and pleased with the departmental staff and 
program.’
What do the graduates say?
‘I have spoken to quite a few students who 
graduated this year…… They claim that they have 
undergone an enormous personal and professional 
change during their four years in the department. 
In spite of their complaints about the long hours, 
the difficulty of the material studied and the 
A Proposed Teacher Education Model for EFL 

---

Journal of NELTA, Vol. 16 No. 1-2, December 2011 
8
numerous papers and exams to be written, they 
are pleased with their achievements and feel that 
they have experienced personal growth as well as 
professional excellence.”
One third year student studying combined 
special education and English wrote 
‘I would like to thank you for well-planned and 
effective courses in the English Department….. 
I feel that the material which I have learned and 
will learn have helped me in the field. The courses 
do not repeat themselves, are very interesting and 
expand my horizons. The lecturers are pleasant, 
helpful and give me a good feeling about myself 
and the subject that I have chosen to work and 
invest in for the rest of my life.’
Assessment of both teacher performance, 
curriculum development and research-supported 
instruction in teaching practice is still underway. 
While we can argue that many boundaries 
between disciplines have been broken down and 
that our graduates will go into the field as leaders 
and implementers of new ways of teaching, it 
is still too soon to make such claims. Further 
research assessing the program, implementing 
and monitoring the students’ performance in the 
field is necessary.
Conclusion
The ultimate goal of the program described in 
this paper has been to raise standards of teaching 
and teacher preparation to meet the challenges of 
education in the new global setting. In this paper, 
I described five projects as part of a new model 
in which the teaching of English as a foreign 
language is based on a concept of evolution that 
requires a dual approach to teacher education.
The first part of this approach calls for new 
methods for pre-service teacher education and 
continuing professional development; the second