Constructing Effective Teacher-Training Workshops for Japanese Pre-Service English Teachers

Abstract

This paper elucidates a research project that aims to understand and support the practical needs of pre-service English teachers who intend to teach at junior and senior high schools in Japan. Each day, novice English teachers who work in the Japanese public school system are facing challenges for which their pre-service training has failed to prepare them. Regrettably, the support structure for English teachers in the public system is sadly lacking. As part of this research project pre-service teachers of English (n=20) were asked through an online questionnaire to identify what topics they would like to be included in teacher-training workshops designed to address their needs. A series of one-day workshops were then developed based on these perceived needs. This paper explores the efficacy of the first two workshops based on the participants’ (n=28) informal and written feedback. The authors map out the design of future workshops and argue that practical support is essential considering the current teacher-training structure in Japan. This research project aims to provide realistic solutions to many of the common problems that Japanese teachers of English encounter in their professional practice. It is hoped that fellow educators will find this paper useful when considering making changes to their own educational contexts.