Carol Goldfus Abstract

theory, research and professional development” 
places English as a foreign language within the 
larger framework of literacy acquisition and 
language proficiency in at least two languages, 
the mother tongue and the foreign language and 
is manifested in ‘bilingual literacy,’ a term I have 
coined to address the situation where the levels 
of proficiency (attainment) of each language are 
at different levels: the mother tongue being more 
proficient than the foreign language, but also 
recognizing that the underlying cognitive processes 
for language learning are the same. This approach 
to foreign language acquisition builds on current 
research in bilingualism (Nicol, 2001) and assumes 
that “literacy is an extension of language learning 
to print which involves more than decoding” 
(Westby, 2002:73). Language learning involves a 
multitude of complex cognitive processes taking 
place in the brain (Berninger, 2004).
Bilingual literacy involves knowledge of both 
mother tongue development as well as foreign 
language acquisition. Therefore, teacher 
preparation, for example in reading, should 
include core requirements in a) conceptual 
foundations of literacy development, b) knowledge 
of the structure of language (i.e. phonetics, 
phonology, orthography and its relationship to 
sound and meaning, syntax, and text structure) 
and c) supervised practice in teaching literacy 
(reading, writing, speaking – formal and informal 
speech). It is argued that such theoretical courses 
are a crucial step in preparing teachers for 
literacy learning. This knowledge base is required 
for any language, regardless whether the language 
being taught is a first, second or third language. 
For example, the foreign language pre-service 
students learn how to teach beginning reading in 
English while the mother tongue teachers learn 
how to teach the mother tongue but the theoretical 
background has been provided to both cohorts of 
pre-service students.
Developing a new pre-service teacher preparation 
program in building the new structure for foreign 
language teacher education, five projects were 
developed and are being studied. The first project 
involved developing proficiency guidelines and 
assessment tools for determining students’ levels 
in English. This involved the standardization 
of our entry level criteria as well as raising our 
exit level criteria. The aim of both is to enhance 
the capabilities of our graduates and provide a 
high level academic programme based on clearly 
defined guidelines. Such criteria have enabled 
us to formulate objectives for each stage of our 
program from the first year entry level through 
the fourth year exit level and serve as a basis for 
development of proficiency examinations to be 
administered at the end of the degree. 
A second project investigated the effectiveness 
of the theoretical, content-based courses vis-a-vis 
their practical application. In order to upgrade 
English teacher education, promote pre service 
teachers’ linguistic sensitivity, and improve their 
teaching skills, English teacher trainees were 
required in their first year to take various courses 
in Applied Linguistics. As a means of giving them 
a sense of what language is, and how language 
is systematically structured as well as raising 
their sensitivity and awareness to phenomena 
in language, these pre-service teachers began in 
their first year to first learn and then practice 
the inherent features of language and the four 
language domains: phonetics and phonology, 
morphology, syntax and semantics. 
In their second year, they took more advanced 
courses in applied linguistics including courses 
in first language acquisition, second language 
acquisition and learning, language variation, and 
change and contrastive analysis. By the end of the 
second academic year, we hoped that the students 
should have a solid understanding of phenomena 
in language evolution, acquisition, and learning. 
They should comprehend the relationship between 
theory and practical teaching. 
We reasoned that having acquired background 
theoretical knowledge in language and linguistics, 
third-year students would be familiar with up-to-
date studies in applied linguistics and are ready to 
undertake courses in later language development 
and literacy and learn and practice the principles 
of text analysis and productive language measures 
A Proposed Teacher Education Model for EFL 

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Journal of NELTA, Vol. 16 No. 1-2, December 2011 
6
(Berman & Ravid, 2006). In this way, they would 
acquire the knowledge and tools to assess language 
and thereby improve their teaching skills.
The fourth year, during which students complete 
an internship in the field, was designed to provide 
pre-service students with experience of the 
relationship between research and practice. They 
were to take advanced courses in second language 
research methods, and, under the supervision 
of their lecturers, conduct a study in their EFL 
classes. Pre-service students would learn to 
evaluate L2 knowledge in two perspectives: 
grammar and literacy which together provide a 
rich picture of learners’ textual abilities in the 
second language. These pre-service students 
would practice analyses in different genres 
(i.e., expository vs. narrative) and in different 
modalities (i.e., written vs. spoken). They would 
learn how to form research question(s) and 
hypotheses, collect data, and analyze them. This 
evolution from practitioner to researcher and then 
from researcher to practitioner would qualify them 
as professional EFL teachers and researchers. 
The third project addresses the issue of 
methodology. Thus the field of TEFL (Teaching 
English as a Foreign Language), the applied 
science, was included in the new professional model 
as this area provides the pre-service students with 
the practical application of the theory. This aspect 
of teacher education involves hands-on workshops 
where the pre-service students develop teaching 
materials at the elementary and secondary school 
levels. In addition, courses in this field include 
formal and informal testing thus combining 
theory with practical knowledge. The interface of 
applied linguistics with the field of TEFL/TESOL 
provides the backbone to the theory cum practice 
combination. 
The fourth project provided another important 
dimension of language. It introduced literature, 
cinema, and the arts to pre-service students so 
as to broaden their horizons and knowledge of 
culture. It exposed them to the different genres 
of narrative, poetry, and drama and includes all 
expressions of language. The rationale for this 
project was that language is culture-based, thus, 
we cannot train teachers without having provided 
an understanding of the complexities of the 
cultures behind the language. 
The fifth project applied specialized training in 
learning disabilities and EFL. As noted earlier, 
the increased presence of children with learning 
difficulties in the regular classroom and the 
inclusion of children who have dyslexia, attention 
difficulties, and difficulty in processing language 
in foreign language classes requires that teacher 
educators provide their students with critical 
information and practice in the area of special 
education. At the end of four years, pre-service 
students should be able to attend to a child with 
learning disabilities in any EFL classroom from 
elementary school to the secondary school. 
The elementary school teacher should be 
knowledgeable about phonological awareness 
and how to teach reading based on a phonics, 
multisensory approach. The emphasis of 
preparation of teachers for the elementary school 
should focus on basic decoding skills, word 
recognition and vocabulary development, the 
strengthening of working memory, storage and 
retrieval together and should also provide intensive 
training in a multi-sensory, multidisciplinary 
approaches to teaching EFL.
The secondary school teacher should concentrate 
on reading comprehension as a higher level 
cognitive processing activity that includes 
knowledge of working memory, attention, and 
metacognition. Intensive training should be given 
to understanding language processing difficulties 
as well as ADD/ADHD, a learning difficulty that is 
not language specific. 
By the end of their fourth year, those students 
who are carrying out a supervised internship 
should be able to apply what they have learned in 
the classroom, adapt theory to practice, develop 
materials to be used in a heterogeneous classroom 
setting, assess their students’ knowledge, and then 
return to the college classroom for presentation, 
discussion, and evaluation.
Professional development of staff
Any curriculum plan should acknowledge students’ 
specific needs, expectations, proficiency levels 
and attributes. Moreover, it should account for 
specific institutional expectations and constraints 
(Woodward, 1991) and should make provision for 
ongoing professional development. On-going, in-
Goldfus

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Journal of NELTA, Vol. 16 No. 1-2, December 2011 
7
service training in small interest groups should 
be conducted so as to ‘retrain’ veteran teachers 
and absorb new faculty. In our setting, we have 
moved slowly. Every course is being researched 
so as to provide an understanding of both the 
pre-service students’ learning, the development 
of the academic course, as well as the effect of 
such action research on the lecturer developing 
the courses. In many cases, they have had to 
reassess their courses and to update themselves in 
their field. New faculty members with expertise 
and doctoral study in one of the program fields–
linguistics, special education, foreign language 
instruction, and literacy—have been recruited. 
Teaching loads have been adjusted to acknowledge 
the greater connections expected between theory 
and practice within the college classroom. 
Impact of the changes 
In a questionnaire asking the lecturers to reflect 
over the changes that have taken place over the last 
five years, (appendix 1) the following comments 
illustrate these changes and professional 
development. 
Proficiency courses
‘I have witnessed the immense improvement 
in student writing throughout the years. Very 
weak students who were unable to write a single 
sentence have become proficient essay writers. 
The writing and grammar courses in the last few 
years have produced excellent results.’
Literature and cinema
‘The students love these courses and have become 
acquainted with a variety of new texts and teaching 
strategies that can be used in the classroom. 
Following our departmental discussions these 
courses have undergone quite a change. The 
literature and cinema courses no longer have 
a purely academic character – we now put more 
emphasis on grammar and writing as well as on 
the relevance of these academic studies to the 
practical work in the field.’
In a question: “I would like to know the impact of 
changes in the department on the faculty staff. Are 
you teaching differently? Please explain and give 
examples,” these are a couple of comments:
‘During the past five years my teaching 
strategies have changed significantly. Thanks 
to Carol’s insistence on excellence and on up-
to-date research, I have made an extra effort 
to become acquainted with the latest research 
in my discipline. I have also understood the 
importance of an interdisciplinary approach to 
teacher education, and I integrate knowledge and 
strategies from different fields during my lessons 
(psychology, education, literature, philosopy and 
media studies).’
Other members of staff commented on the course