Exploring the professional development activities of tesol beginning teachers: a case study

• Main Author: Nguyễn, Thị Hà Phương
• Other Authors: Trần, Thị Lan Anh
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Tiếng Anh; Giáo viên; Ngôn ngữ học
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/95598
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

The nature of teaching requires its practitioners to engage in lifelong learning to develop professionally. This is especially true for beginning teachers, who might be experiencing a difficult period of time in their career, to try out their beliefs and ideas, expand their teaching strategies, acquire practical knowledge, and formulate their professional identity. The professional learning activities and support are indispensable and invaluable for them in their first years of teaching. This study investigated the learning activity systems of two early-career teachers using activity theory (Engeström, 1987) to explore the features of learning activities, teacher’s perceptions of their learning and the factors that impact teachers’ learning. Two instruments, including semi-structured interview and non participatory observationwere applied to collect data over the period of two months. Findings reveal that (1) the range of experience and teachers’ orientation towards professional learning are two key features in professional development; (2) teachers’ perception of their learning activities considerably impacts their learning. Teacher’s positive belief in the values of learning activities drive them to effective learning approaches; otherwise, teachers’ feeling lost and lack of support demotivate them in their learning and teaching; (3) six elements in activities theory and its inner contradictions (Engeström, 1987) including subject, object, tools, rules, community and division of labor impact teacher’s learning. It is also clear from the findings that when the inner contradictions in activity system are solved, teachers experience a higher level of learning in the activity system. The findings from this study are useful for teachers, teacher educators and future researchers in the same field, especially in the context of Vietnam.