A Case Study Of An EFL Teacher's Development Of Expertise In Teaching In An English Training School

In the field of teacher professional development,relatively little work can be found on the development of expertise in EFL teaching of the emerging EFL teachers in the off-campus training settings.This case study is conducted to explore the development of an expert EFL teacher's expertise in teaching in an English training school through examining her work and life experiences in different settings as well as factors influencing her developmental process over time and space.Semi-structured interviews,observations and case documents are used to investigate how this teacher grows into an expert teacher.The major findings of the study are summarized as follows:Firstly,this expert teacher experiences a continuous,dynamic and interactive process of developing expertise in teaching.Out of passion for education,she enters teaching with a personal conception of teaching as another form of learning,which leads her onto the journey of growing from a novice teacher,then an experienced teacher and finally an expert teacher.Secondly,this expert teacher's expertise in teaching is developed through selflearning and active participation in various teaching activities and training programs.The process reveals three ways of her developing expertise in teaching: theorizing practical knowledge,practicalizing theoretical knowledge and problematizing the unproblematic.Among the three,the third way seems to be more effective in her expertise development.It is in the process of continually problematizing the unproblematic that this expert teacher extends the growing edge of her expertise in teaching.Thirdly,the study identifies some distinctive factors facilitating or constraining her development of expertise in teaching.Her own professional agency,role models,colleague supports and well-paid salary facilitate her professional development while complicated relationships and rigid school management are two major constraining factors.Besides,the socio-cultural environment of respecting teacher and regarding teaching as a noble cause also supports her development of expertise in teaching.In the light of above findings,the researcher suggests that teacher professional agency and role models should be considered in teacher development programs.Meanwhile English training schools should create more favorable environment to support the teacher professional development.