| In view of the recommendation of the ministère de l'Éducation du Québec (MEQ) to revise the school/university system partnership in regard to the goal of improving teacher training, our intention was to examine the rhetorical systems (personal and professional values, theories and beliefs) of the two partners. Our research dealt with the initial formation in second language teaching. It has been observed from the reports of student teachers that the initial teacher formation offered by universities does not always correspond to that provided by the cooperating teachers in the school system. It appears that the student teachers often choose to ignore the pertinence of the academic training that is defined as theoretical and removed from the reality of the pedagogical situation. Certain studies (Alexander, 1991; Knowles, Cole et Presswood, 1994) do show that the student teachers, for pragmatic reasons, often reproduce the pedagogical methods of the cooperating teachers. Beyond the general dichotomy associated with academic theory and pedagogical practice, we did call into question the prevailing discourse in each of these areas of formation that share the same didactic.; Our research is essentially qualitative. We define it as «exploratory-descriptive», since its aim was to interpret the existing situation. The investigation was conducted by the use of semi-structured interviews based on a conceptual model stemming from the didactic of languages. It concerns the academic theory of second language teaching and the practical methods used, primarily in Quebec, by English language teaching specialists, at the elementary level.; The analysis of the types of discourse of the teachers and professors interviewed demonstrates several aspects regarding the inherent elements of second language teacher training. The first is the difference in the rhetorical systems—both convergent and divergent—of the two training partners. Secondly, and in addition, the second language didactic appears to be interpreted differently according to the educational background of the training partners. This prompts us to distinguish and define different types of didactic approaches to second language teacher training.; According to the results of the study, we have arrived at the possibility of proposing certain guidelines which might lead to a more harmonious continuity between the two modes of formation, the theoretical and the practical, as exists between the didactic approach and the pedagogy of languages. Thus, our study should naturally make a significant contribution to the initial formation of future second language teachers. |
