EFL Teacher Professional Development Through The Perspective Of Reflective Teaching

The new national curriculum reform and the increasing demands for qualified English language teachers in China are urging us to find out an effective way to promote EFL teacher professional development. In recent years, as the international research on reflective teaching goes further, educators in China have also probed into reflective teaching and teacher development. However, in the field of vocational education in our country, such research is comparatively rare. Teachers in vocational schools are busy working and teaching everyday and have few chances for further education or in-service training."Reflective teaching", as an important aspect in teacher development, is a reflective process for developing teacher expertise in problem solving, decision-making, and complex thinking. In this sense, reflective teaching is an alternative way for those vocational school EFL teachers to promote their teaching and professional development.This study explores into the general situation of reflective teaching practiced by EFL teachers in two vocational schools: Suzhou Tourism and Finance Institute and Suzhou Institute of Construction and Communications. Through quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data collected we can see that the situation of the vocational school EFL teacher professional development is not satisfactory, and most of the EFL teachers haven't forged a habit of systematic reflective teaching. The sixteen-week long case study conducted with the help of one EFL teacher from Suzhou Tourism and Finance Institute shows the changes in her process of reflection and professional development. And a conclusion is drawn at last that reflective teaching is really an effective way for vocational school EFL teacher professional development.