Engaging Teacher Candidates and Language Learners With Authentic Practice

Book excerpt: Teacher candidates need authentic practice with language learners so that they can test and hone their skills based on the concepts learned in their teacher education programs with real students. These candidates need practice before and beyond student teaching and fieldwork. If they are given the chance to practice during as many teacher education courses as possible and have access to language learners throughout their programs, they can focus on applying the specific content of each class they take in a real-world context with real students. Engaging Teacher Candidates and Language Learners With Authentic Practice highlights strategies teacher educators can use to give their teacher candidates authentic practice attached to coursework. By focusing on ways that authentic practice has been integrated into teacher preparation programs and studies that have been realized, this publication will provide practical ways for others to provide this authentic practice, which is much needed in teacher preparation programs. This book highlights topics such as pedagogy, student engagement, and intercultural competence and is ideal for educators, administrators, researchers, and students.