Page 158 - LA ENSEÑANZA APRENDIZAJE DE LENGUAS

LA ENSEÑANZA APRENDIZAJE DE LENGUAS:
158 UNA MIRADA DESDE EL SURESTE MEXICANO

Otto, who was placed in the high school of the foster home (casa hogar) commented:

They didn’t have an English section in their library. But the INSET that was there, tried to bring

material. They just had, like five books in English, but no material. No listening, no verb list

vocabulary.... I made a book with many activities and with material for them, so they can study

verbs, vocabulary of the house, of their classroom and things like that.

Peer discussion within communities of practice (CoP) appeared to enhance teacher lear-
ning through joint discussion as PSTs developed their understanding of ‘self’ in context. When

confronted with challenges, participants expressed anxiety and apprehension about classroom

management, especially when working with younger learners.

Themes in this study are drawn from sociocultural theories of learning, specifically iden-

tity formation and situated learning theory within communities of practise (CoP). A number

of themes emerged from the data regarding how PSTs perceived their identity construction.

They included conflict between expectations and reality, lack of teaching resources, readi-

ness for work as EFL teachers and different roles. These will be discussed more fully in the

following section.

• Conflict between expectations and reality

Most PSTs believed that the practicum would be easy until they were confronted with a deman-

ding environment. Most participants mentioned having issues addressing classroom management.

Universidad Autónoma de Chiapas