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English Language Teaching and Teacher Education in Neoliberal Contexts

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English Language Teacher Education

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Abstract

This opening chapter presents an overview of the current status of English language teaching and teacher education in neoliberal contexts. It suggests that across the globe, English competency has been considered human capital for pursuing economic advancement, enhanced status and prestige, and transnational mobility. In the age of neoliberalism, it is essential for English language teacher education to prepare preservice teachers for working in dynamic and diverse contexts and to recognise the personal diversities that they bring to teacher education and shape their professional learning. The chapter highlights the need for empirical research to examine the complexities and diversities of the contextual and personal dimensions of teacher learning to better inform practice in English language teacher education in these contemporary contexts. Due to transnational flows, Australia presents an empirical setting to interrogate such complex issues because of its large culturally and linguistically diverse populations of English language learners and preservice teachers and a broad range of contexts for practice. Understanding how preservice teachers learn to teach English language in Australia can offer insights that could transcend the Australian context.

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  1. Faculty of Education, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

    Minh Hue Nguyen

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Nguyen, M.H. (2019). English Language Teaching and Teacher Education in Neoliberal Contexts. In: English Language Teacher Education. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9761-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9761-5_1

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