Title

Learning to teach in school-university partnership: tension, agency and identity

Author(s)

He, Peichang.; .

Citation

Issue Date

2013

URL

http://hdl.handle.net/10722/181876

Rights

The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works.

LEARNING TO TEACH IN SCHOOL-UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP: TENSION, AGENCY AND IDENTITY

by HE Peichang

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong January 2013
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Declaration
I declare that this thesis represents my own work, except where due acknowledgement is made, and that it has not been previously included in a thesis, dissertation or report submitted to this university or to any other institution for a degree, diploma or other qualifications.

(Signed) HE Peichang

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Abstract of thesis entitled Learning to teach in school-university partnership: Tensions, agency and identity Submitted by HE Peichang For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Hong Kong In January, 2013 This thesis explores the identity formation of three EFL pre-service teachers during their teaching practicum in a school-university partnership school in Mainland China. Drawing on the sociocultural perspective, learning-to-teach is conceptualized as student teachers participating in and becoming a member of the communities of practice (Wenger, 1998) which consist of boundary-crossing members from both activity systems of the university and the school (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001). Following a poststructural perspective, the student teachers learning-to-teach is also conceptualized as a process of arguing for (MacLure, 1993) their professional identities under dominant social discourses. Foucaults (1983, 1985) concept of ethical identity formation elaborated into a framework of four ethico-political dimensions for doing teacher identity (Clarke, 2009) is adopted to further analyse the interactions between social structure and individual identity transformation. An ethnographic qualitative case study approach was adopted. Data collection methods included ethnographic observations of classroom interactions, focus group discussions and routine school activities, semi-structured interviews of student teachers and mentors, and collectioin of documents such as university teaching practicum documents, lesson plans, reflective diaries and newsletters. Both content analysis and modified analytic induction (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002) were adopted to conduct within-case and cross-case data analysis. The multi-method approach
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allowed the researcher to collect and interpret data from both holistic and in-depth research perspectives which also enabled triangulations during data analysis.

The analysis indicated that historical, cultural, political and economic forces intertwined and formed general social discourses. Their influences permeated into the discourses of both the university and the school activity systems. Due to the contradictory discourses of ELT education between the two institutions, the boundary-crossing learning-to-teach activities were replete with tensions, asymmetrical power relationships, and interpersonal conflicts, which combined to become driving forces for the different transformations of the three student teachers identities within the school-university partnership activity system as a global community of practice (COP). Due to different individual backgrounds, inner tensions and interpersonal conflicts within the COP, the student teachers led dissimilar legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991) trajectories through identifying themselves with different local sub-cops (T-cop and S-cop) in various modes of belonging. Under the domination of contradictory institutional discourses, the student teachers exercised their creative agencies and managed to find the spaces for their own freedom of self-formation via four ethico-political dimensions. Through critical reflection on the relation between the care of self and the care of others, the student teachers clarified, readjusted and reinforced their telos which is part and parcel of the ongoing interactions among the four ethico-political aspects of teacher identity. Based on the contradictions identified in this research, a critical and ethical pedagogy framework for EFL teacher education was conceptualized for ELT and teacher education programmes. This thesis also serves as an attempt to address teacher identity issues from the integrated perspectives of both sociocultural and poststructural approaches (Morgan, 2007) and to introduce the concept of ethico-politics of teacher identity to EFL teacher education. (487 words)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The journey of this PhD study in the University of Hong Kong has been the most important period in my academic career. It provided me with an opportunity to learn to think and has changed my attitudes towards research, education, people and life. All these blessed changes would not have happened without the great support of many wonderful people whose kindness I shall never forget. First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my three supervisors: Dr. Matthew Clarke, Professor Stephen Andrews, and Dr. Angel Lin. It was Dr. Clarke, my first supervisor, who introduced to me this remarkable issue of teacher identity. His cutting-edge ideas enlightened me greatly in this study. Throughout this research journey, my second supervisor, Professor Andrews, has always been supportive and concerned about my research progress. His patient guidance and kind encouragement have been powerful spiritual support for me to keep moving along this difficult research journey. I feel extremely fortunate to have my third supervisor, Dr. Angel Lin, to guide me in the final years of my research journey. Dr. Lins emphasis on academic rigour and critical thinking, her passion for research, her generous sharing of resources and unceasing encouragement has had profound influence on my academic research and teacher education practices. My great thanks go to the cohort of student teachers, the school mentors and the university supervisors who participated in my research. Without their trust, support and encouragement, I would not have completed my data collection. Although I cannot mention their names here, they are forever in my mind. My special thanks go to Dr. Brian Morgan, Dr. Xuesong Gao and Dr. Miguel Perez-Milans for their very insightful and constructive suggestions for the revision of the final draft of my thesis. Their enlightening comments have broadened and deepened my thoughts both in this thesis and in future studies. I would like to thank many researchers and friends in the Faculty of Education who have provided me with helpful suggestions and precious friendship. They are: Professor David Carless, Dr. Waiming Cheung, Dr. Jasmine Luk, Dr. Lu Hangyan, Dr. Liang Xiaohua, Dr. Xie Ailei, Dr. Wang Ge, Dr. Yang Xinrong, Miss Huang Huizhu, Mr Zhang Kun, Miss Cai Jing, Miss Liu Yiqi, and Ms Nicol Pan. I am also thankful to the staff in the Research Office of the Faculty of Education for their help during my four-year study at the University of Hong Kong. I also wish to thank the following people who have provided me with support and assistance in various aspects: Prof. Zhu Xiaoyan who guided me to the field of EFL teacher education and has been always encouraging me during my research; the principals and directors in the placement school and the dean and colleagues
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in my previous university, who have offered me tremendous support during my fieldwork. My special thanks go to Lanshin and Robert, my good friends, who kindly proofread many chapters for me; and Ms Chen Yujuan, my landlady, who took good care of me during my last two years of study in Hong Kong. I reserve my deepest gratitude for my dear parents, He Ji and Zheng Nu, and my dear sisters, He Peiqiong and He Peijuan. Without their sacrifices, I could not have enjoyed the pleasure of education in my life. Last, but certainly not least, I am deeply indebted to my dear husband, Zhang Xingdian and my dear son, Zhang Chutian. They both are part of my life and my pride and joy. Without their love, I would not have completed the hard journey of this doctoral research.

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figures Figure 2.1: Model of the social theory of learning Figure 2.2: Vygotskys model of mediated act Figure 2.3: The reformulation of Vygotskys Model of Mediation Figure 2.4: The hierarchical structure of activity Figure 2.5: The structure of a human activity system Figure 2.6: The third generation of activity theory: Two interacting activity systems as minimal model Figure 2.7: A framework for pre-service teacher identity formation in school-university partnership Figure 4.1: A time-line of data collection in this study Figure 5.1: Ms Huis words to Kelly Figure 5.2: Kelly---Doing student teacher identity Figure 6.1: Maple---Doing student teacher identity Figure 7.1: Lynn---Doing student teacher identity Figure 8.1: The interweaving forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation Figure 8.2: Tensions in the school-university partnership activity system

Tables Table 2.1: Main factors affecting teacher professional identities at different stages of the teacher socialization process Table 4.1: An outline of background information of the cases Table 4.2: An outline of the university pre-service teacher education program Table 4.3: A brief summary of data Table 4.4: Time-ordered matrix of themes of the three student teacher cases Table 5.1: Kellys first lesson design according to the university-taught ELT principles and Ms Huis corresponding comments Table 6.1: Maples design of her first lesson and Ms Huis comments and suggestions during pilot teaching Table 7.1: Lynns design of her first lesson and Ms Poons comments and suggestions during pilot teaching Table 7.2: Episodes in Lynns seventh lesson (1) Table 8.1: Main forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in school university partnership Table 8.2: Contrast of ELT beliefs between university courses and school practice

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ABBREVIATIONS

COP EFL ELT GSU LPP MOE MT NEC PEP PRC SLA ST S-U Partnership TBLT TEFL TESOL TP UT

Communities of Practice English as a Foreign Language English Language Teaching Guang Shi University Legitimate Peripheral Participation Ministry of Education Middle school Teacher (school mentor) National English Curriculum Peoples Education Press The Peoples Republic of China Second Language Acquisition Student Teacher School-University Partnership Task-Based Language Teaching Teaching English as a Foreign Language Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Teaching Practicum University Teacher (university supervisor)

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ....ii ABSTRACT........iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.....................................................................................v LIST OF ILLUSTRATION....................................................................................vii ABBREVIATIONS...............................................................................................viii TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................ix CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Context of the research.......................................................................................1 1.2 Identification of the problem..............................................................................2 1.3 Rationale of the research....................................................................................6 1.4 Significance of the research.............................................................................10 1.5 Research questions...........................................................................................15 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Key concepts of teacher identity......................................................................18 2.1.1 Identity.....................................................................................................18 2.1.2 Teacher identity.......................................................................................21 2.1.3 The forces shaping teacher identity.........................................................26 2.2 Theoretical approaches to learning-to-teach as identity formation in school-university partnership.........................................................................34 2.2.1 Sociocultural perspectives on learning-to-teach as identity formation in school-university partnership.................................................................34 2.2.1.1 Learning-to-teach as legitimate peripheral participation............. 34 2.2.1.2 Learning-to-teach as identity formation in communities of practice.......................................................................................36 Participation and non-participation...........................................37 Modes of belonging....................................................................38 Identity formation as a dual process..........................................39 Teaching as identity formation in communities of practice........43 2.2.1.3 Learning-to-teach as identity formation in the school-university partnership activity system.........................................................44 Activity Theory............................................................................45 School-university partnership as activity systems......................51 Learning-to-teach as boundary-crossing in school-university partnership activity system.........................................................54 2.2.2 A poststructuralist understanding of learning-to-teach as identity formation in school-university partnership............................................59 2.2.2.1 Identity, discourse, power, and agency.........................................59 2.2.2.2 Teacher identity formation as ethics.............................................64 2.3 A conceptual framework for pre-service teacher identity formation as ethics in school-university partnership...........................................................................68
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2.4 Summary..........................................................................................................74 CHAPTER THREE: BACKGROUND

3.1 The social background of EFL teacher education............................................76 3.1.1 The impact of traditional Chinese culture on Chinese education............76 3.1.2 The impact of Chinese political and economic development on ELT education................................................................................................79 3.1.3 The ELT education reform in Guangdong...............................................82 3.2 The institutional background of EFL pre-service teacher education...............84 3.2.1 University progressive EFL pre-service teacher education.....................84 3.2.2 ELT basic education and the exam-oriented objectives in schools.........87 3.3 Summary..........................................................................................................92 CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY 4.1 An ethnographic case study approach..............................................................93 4.1.1 An ethnographic research........................................................................95 4.1.2 A qualitative case study...........................................................................99 4.1.2.1 A multiple-case design................................................................100 4.1.2.2 Case selection.............................................................................100 4.2 Research context............................................................................................105 4.3 Site entry, researcher position, rapport and ethics..........................................106 4.4 Methods of data collection.............................................................................112 4.4.1 Observation...........................................................................................112 4.4.2 Interview................................................................................................115 4.4.3 Document..............................................................................................120 4.5 Data collection procedures.............................................................................123 4.6 Summary of data............................................................................................129 4.7 Methods of data analysis................................................................................130 4.7.1 Chronological descriptive analysis........................................................132 4.7.2 Theme-based analysis............................................................................133 4.7.3 Theory-based analysis...........................................................................135 4.7.4 Cross-case analysis................................................................................136 4.8 Trustworthiness..............................................................................................137 4.8.1 Credibility..............................................................................................137 4.8.2 Transferability........................................................................................139 4.8.3 Dependability........................................................................................140 4.8.4 Confirmability.......................................................................................140 4.9 Summary........................................................................................................141 CHAPTER FIVE: THE STORY OF KELLY 5.1 Family background and prior education........................................................142 5.2 Learning to teach in school-university-partnership---Its both sour and sweet...........................................................................................................146 5.2.1 Being an English teacher for the first time---Coming out of a dark
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cave! .....................................................................................................146 5.2.1.1 Class Ten and Ms Hui.................................................................146 5.2.1.2 A lesson in the concepts of the university Method Courses.......147 5.2.1.3 A lesson in the traditional style...............................................151 5.2.1.4 A lesson in the style required by the mentor...............................157 5.2.1.5 Lessons in Kellys own style......................................................160 5.2.2 Being a class teacher of an Ordinary Class---Its like chewing chocolate, bitter first but sweet later....................................................................169 5.2.2.1 Routine class teacher tasks, the sports meet and class meeting lesson........................................................................................169 5.2.2.2 Free chats with students.............................................................172 5.2.2.3 Changing attitudes between mentor and mentee........................174 5.3 Analysis: Learning to teach with resistance---A rebellious self.................176 5.3.1 Student teacher identity formation in a community of practice............177 5.3.2 Doing student teacher identity as ethics................................................182 5.4 Coda...............................................................................................................188 CHAPTER SIX: THE STORY OF MAPLE 6.1 Family background and prior education........................................................191 6.2 Learning to teach in school-university-partnership---I was happier being an English teacher than being a class teacher..................................................196 6.2.1 Being a class teacher of a Special Class---I didnt get into the position of a class teacher or think actively.............................................................196 6.2.1.1 Class Nine and Ms Cheng..........................................................196 6.2.1.2 Maples routine class teacher tasks.............................................197 6.2.1.3 The carefully prepared but cancelled class meeting lesson....200 6.2.1.4 The extra tasks Maple received from her class teacher mentor..202 6.2.2 Being an English teacher of the Special Class---I gained a lot, but I was exhausted..............................................................................................204 6.2.2.1 Maples bewilderment before teaching---The purpose to learn English was no longer to learn the language, but to get good scores........................................................................................204 6.2.2.2 Maples first lesson---She must have devoted lots of energy in the lesson...................................................................................205 6.2.2.3 The following lessons--- I feel I teach more and more smoothly. ....................................................................................................213 6.2.2.4 Maples English open lesson---Although I didnt teach very well...I learned a lot from it......................................................217 6.3 Analysis: Learning to teach with compliance---An obedient and authoritative self..................................................................................................226 6.3.1 Student teacher identity formation in community of practice...............227 6.3.2 Doing student teacher identity as ethics................................................233 6.4 Coda...............................................................................................................238

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CHAPTER SEVEN: THE STORY OF LYNN 7.1 Family background and prior education........................................................242 7.2 Learning to teach in school-university partnership---I still find being a class teacher the most satisfactory TP experience.................................................243 7.2.1 Being an English teacher of an Ordinary Class---Its worthwhile...so long as theyre willing to!...................................................................244 7.2.1.1 Class Five and Ms Poon.............................................................244 7.2.1.2 Lynns first English lesson---Well trying out our university teaching concepts first.............................................................245 7.2.1.3 The following few lessons---This is the test point in Zhongkao! Copy it down! Be quick!..........................................................250 7.2.1.4 A post-lesson discussion attended by the director, Ms Qin........254 7.2.1.5 The last few lessons---The students were really cooperative...even those at the back were taking notes. ..........259 7.2.2 Being a class teacher --- I dont know why I really love them so much! ................................................................................................................279 7.2.2.1 Ms Mok---An acquainted stranger..........................................280 7.2.2.2 An embarrassing experience and the noon-rest tutorials............283 7.2.2.3 A touching class-meeting lesson.................................................288 7.3 Analysis: Learning to teach with ethical creative agency---A loving teacher self................................................................................................................291 7.3.1 Student teacher identity formation in the community of practice.........291 7.3.2 Doing student teacher identity as ethics................................................295 7.4 Coda...............................................................................................................300 CHAPTER EIGHT: DISCUSSION

8.1 Research Question 1: What are the major forces that shape pre-service teacher identities? How do they affect the process of formation of pre-service teacher identities?..........................................................................................304 8.1.1 The Main forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in school university partnership...............................................................304 8.1.2 The interweaving of personal, institutional and social forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation..........................................312 8.2 Research Question 2: What are the tensions (if any) and interpersonal relations in school-university partnership? How do these contradictions affect the development of pre-service teacher identities?........................................319 8.2.1 Tension 1 (Primary tension)..................................................................321 8.2.2 Tension 2...............................................................................................321 8.2.3 Tension 3...............................................................................................323 8.2.4 Tension 4...............................................................................................325 8.2.5 Tension 5...............................................................................................330 8.3 Research Question 3: How do pre-service teacher identities shape (and are simultaneously shaped by) the discourses in school-university partnership? ........................................................................................................................334
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8.3.1 EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in COP and sub-cops........334 8.3.2 Learning to teach as ethico-political identity formation.......................337 8.4 Summary........................................................................................................340 CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION 9.1 The significance of the study..........................................................................343 9.1.1 A conceptual framework integrating both sociocultural and poststructural perspectives..........................................................................................343 9.1.2 A critical and ethical pedagogy for EFL pre-service teacher education ..............................................................................................................351 9.1.2.1 Teacher identity as pedagogy.....................................................351 9.1.2.2 A critical and reflexive pedagogy...............................................353 9.1.2.3 A dialogic pedagogy...................................................................356 9.1.2.4 An ethical, creative and culturally responsive pedagogy...........358 9.2 Limitations of the research.............................................................................361 9.3 Suggestions for further research.....................................................................362 9.4 Recommendations..........................................................................................365 REFERENCES...................................................................................................366 APPENDICES
Appendix 1: OBSERVATION OF LESSONS..............................................................378 Appendix 2: INTERVIEW QUESTION GUIDES.......................................................385 Appendix 3: DOCUMENTS.....................................................................................399

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CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

This study explores issues concerning EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher professional development in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). It focuses on the process of pre-service teacher identity formation within the context of school-university partnership. In this chapter, I shall introduce the research context and the research problem, then address the rationale and the significance of the study, and finally present the research questions and the organization of the whole thesis.

1.1 Context of the research This research is contextualized in a collaborative partnership between a university and a school in Mainland China. A cohort of year-four (final year) fulltime undergraduate student teachers (henceforth STs) in the English Education Department of Guang Shi University1 (GSU) went to Xi Wan Middle School for teaching practicum (henceforth TP) for two months at the beginning of the fourth year. Before the TP, the STs had already finished three years of major courses in the university pre-service teacher education program. They had also learned one year of method courses which began from the third year of the program and provided courses of English language teaching (ELT) theories, pedagogical knowledge and skills as well as two school apprenticeships. This study explored the identity construction process of three STs among the cohort---Kelly, Maple, and Lynn during their learning to teach in face of the inner contradictions and interpersonal tensions amidst the school-university partnership context. The entire research study lasted for a total of nine months which focused on the two semesters when STs had opportunities to contact with practical ELT classrooms from observing classes occasionally in different middle schools to teaching as an EFL student teacher in the placement school during their TP.

All names of the institutions and the persons involved in this study are pseudonyms. 1

1.2 Identification of the problem With the impact of globalization on Mainland Chinas politics, economy, culture, and international status, a new National English Curriculum (NEC)2 has been launched by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in 2001. Teacher education has become one of the key issues in the countrys ELT reform (Wu, 2001). However, for a long time, EFL education is far from being able to meet the demands of national development (Y. A. Wu, 2005, p. 199). A review of Chinese basic foreign language education in the past three decades indicates that the development of EFL teacher education has lagged behind the basic ELT education curriculum reform (Wang, 2009, p. 3)3. The current situation of EFL teacher education in the country is thought to be still far from being optimistic after entering the twenty first century, and qualified English teachers are still in great demand in different regions of the country (D. Y. Liu, 2008)4. Although teacher training programs have been held frequently during the last decade, the effects have been thought to be far from satisfactory in view of the enormous national investment in teacher education (Wang, 2009; X. Wu, 2005). Two major aspects are considered to have caused the unsatisfactory results in the EFL teacher education reform. First, most of the theory-based in-service training programs cannot provide relevant guidance for the specific problems in the practical ELT classrooms. The gap between theory and practice has prevented teachers from applying the NEC concepts into their own teaching environment. Second, the pre-service teacher education programs in teacher education institutions are inconsistent with the demands of the basic ELT curriculum reform. This
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The National English Curriculum (NEC) in this study refers to the edition launched in P. R. China by the Ministry of Education in 2001. A revised edition of the NEC has been announced and will be implemented in the latter half of the year 2012. Professor Wang Qiang is the director of the Institute of Foreign Language Education and Teacher Education, Beijing Normal University and the key organizer of the design of the National English Curriculum Standard (MOE, 2001). She published the article Retrospects and prospects of Chinese basic foreign language education in the past thirty years after the implementation of the Open Door Policy on Foreign Language Teaching in Schools, one of the core academic journals in basic foreign language teaching in China. Liu Daoyi is professor of editorship in Chinese Peoples Education Press (PEP), former deputy chief-editor of PEP, and head of the MOE Primary and Secondary School Textbook Censorship Board. She is the chief-editor of the volume A Report of Basic Foreign Language Education Development (1978-2008) in the series Chinese foreign language education development after the implementation of the Open Door Policy in the past thirty years. 2

inconsistency is believed to have resulted in the novice teachers inability to understand the fundamental concepts and implementation requirements of the reform or to adapt to practical classroom teaching in schools (Wang, 2009).

EFL teacher education in China was mainly provided by teacher colleges or universities with Methodology, Pedagogy, and Psychology being the three primary courses in teacher education programs. In pre-service teacher education, the university method courses occupy most of the time with relatively little time for teaching practice in school classrooms (usually six to eight weeks), which has resulted in STs feeling unfamiliar with the middle school ELT situation. In in-service teacher education, the training courses have encountered problems of incompatibility of the recommended university ELT methodology theories with teachers practical classroom situation, which are mainly based on what has been termed three-centredness (Yen, 1987) in traditional ELT: teacher-centredness, textbook-centredness, and grammar/vocabulary-centredness (see in X. Wu, 2005, p. 5). The literature on teacher education in China has critiqued teacher education programs that train teachers by solely relying on a curriculum of subject matter knowledge plus pedagogy (Y. A. Wu, 2005, p. 204) and has pointed out that it would be difficult for traditional top-down expert-driven EFL education reforms to transform the ELT classroom teaching reality (D. Y. Liu, 2008; Z. J. Wu, 2005). Research studies on Chinese EFL teacher education have emerged in the last three decades including theoretical debates on the more effective ELT methods, learner strategy studies which are key research topics recommended by the NEC, and studies based on second language acquisition (SLA) theories by researchers who tend to rely on SLA theories for finding the solutions of problems in ELT classrooms. However, until recent years, not much research in Mainland China has been done on teachers thinking of their own methods, their relation with students, and their understanding of the classroom teaching process (X. Wu, 2005). Recent years have seen Chinese ELT researchers advocating a paradigm shift in teacher education and the need to take into consideration the social, political,
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economic, cultural, institutional and individual factors in EFL teacher education studies (Ouyang, 2000; X. Wu, 2005; Z. J. Wu, 2005). Wu Yian (2005), for example, points out that teachers views of their EFL profession as well as their professional ethics, both of which have been neglected in teacher knowledge and teacher cognition frameworks, are actually driving forces for teachers professional development. Wu Yian further argues that teacher professional views and ethics should be a key dimension in teachers professional quality framework.

It is against such an ELT education background that this study attempts to introduce the concept of teacher identity to the EFL teacher education context in Mainland China. As Wu Yian (2005) points out, the basic issue of EFL teacher education and professional development is What kind of EFL teachers should they become? (p.199, my translation). This reflects the importance of taking into account the issue of teacher professional identity which has become an important topic in teacher education studies in the field of TESOL.

In recent years, researchers in teacher education have proposed the notion of identity as an important analytic tool for understanding the relationship between education and society (Gee, 2000). There have been an increasing number of studies on teacher professional identities from different perspectives (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004; Britzman, 1994; Danielewicz, 2001; Flores & Day, 2006; MacLure, 1993; Olsen, 2008; Zembylas, 2003b) including second language teacher education (Clarke, 2008, 2009; Duff & Uchida, 1997; Lin, Wang, Akamatsu, & Riazi, 2002; Y. Liu & Xu, 2011; Morgan, 2004, 2010; Morgan & Clarke, 2011; Trent & Gao, 2009; Tsui, 2007; Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, & Johnson, 2005). The significance of teacher identity has been recognized by more and more researchers. Beijaard, Verloop, and Vermunt (2000), for example, point out that teachers awareness of their professional identities may influence their efficacy and professional development as well as their ability and willingness to cope with educational change and to implement
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innovations in their own teaching practice (p.750). The concept of teacher identity is regarded as an important factor for becoming and being an effective teacher and the sense of teacher identity is regarded as closely related to teachers self-efficacy, motivation, commitment and job satisfaction (Flores & Day, 2006, p. 220). The growing attention to teacher identity not only offers an approach to highlight the cognitive, affective, social, and cultural aspects in teacher education, but also provides a new angle for teacher educators and researchers to observe pre-service teachers knowledge, practices, and development (Ponte & Chapman, 2008, p. 243). In language teacher education, teacher identity issues are considered to be very important (Duff & Uchida, 1997) and a crucial component in teacher performance and decision making in EFL classrooms (Varghese et al., 2005). Clarke (2009) advocates teachers engagement in constructing their professional identities so as to exercise professional agency and maximize their potential for teacher professional development (p.187). Teacher identity becomes increasingly important in second language teacher education due to the great emphasis attached to teacher identity formation which is seen as an integral part of teacher learning (Tsui, 2011, pp. 32-33).

As teacher identity has become a critical research topic in EFL teacher education and professional development, this study is concerned with the processes of identity formation of the EFL pre-service teachers under the current ELT curriculum reform in Mainland China. Special attention will be paid to the following issues: How are EFL student teacher identities constructed and transformed during the pre-service teacher education program? What are the main forces shaping such identity formation processes? What are the contradictions and tensions between the school and the university ELT discourses in the school-university partnership context during the TP? How do STs perceive and understand the goals of ELT education, the university-taught ELT theories and NEC concepts, their subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills, their teaching methods in the placement school, their relation with the students as well
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as their selves as STs? How do STs negotiate their identities among the tripartite power relationships between STs, school mentors (hereafter MTs) and university supervisors (hereafter UTs)? And how do individual STs exercise their professional agencies under dominant institutional and educational discourses?

1.3 Rationale of the research In order to address the above research questions of EFL teacher education in Mainland China, I explore the construction and development of pre-service teacher identities by focusing on a school-university partnership context. I approach the research issues from both sociocultural and poststructuralist perspectives and draw on the following theories and research findings as the theoretical underpinnings for the conceptual framework and research design.

Firstly, the present study understands STs learning-to-teach process as part of the individuals ongoing historical development which is socially situated and inseparable from the socio-cultural and socio-historical conditions where the learning activities are embedded. This research therefore draws on the neo-Vygotskian sociocultural perspective (Lantolf, 2000b; Vygotsky, 1978; Wertsch, 1991) and locates pre-service teacher identity formation in a context of collaborative partnership between a university and a placement school. The concept of boundary-crossing (Engestrom, Engestrom, & Karkkainen, 1995; Wenger, 1998) is adopted to conceptualize the horizontal expansive learning process during which contradictions and interpersonal tensions emerged in the boundary zone hybridizing the dissonant cultures of the two collaborating institutions. Engestroms Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001) is also employed to address the dynamic complexities involved in the STs learning activities within the school-university partnership activity system, making it possible to analyze the direct or indirect interactions and interconnectedness among different components within and across the activity systems. According to Il'enkov (1977), the inner contradictions in learning activities may become the
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driving force of transformation in the activity system, and this standpoint has become one of the central principles of Engestroms Activity Theory (Engestrom, 2001).

Secondly, this research is grounded in the understanding that STs journey of learning to teach is a process of becoming (Britzman, 2003; Clarke, 2008) and a process of professional identity formation (Danielewicz, 2001; Sutherland, Howard, & Markauskaite, 2010). Drawing on both Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998), this study regards learning-to-teach as a social practice during which STs participate in TP activities, acquire competence and skills, and become members of the communities of practice (COP). The STs identity formation is a dual process involving both negotiation of the meaning of ELT education and identification of themselves as members of the school-university partnership COP. Both the negotiability and the identification have sources from three modes of belonging---engagement, imagination and alignment (Wenger, 1998). The STs identity formation process develops through a legitimate peripheral

participation (LPP) (Lave & Wenger, 1991) learning trajectory during which they start from a peripheral position as inexperienced apprentices approaching centripetally to a position occupied by their experienced MTs in the placement school. It is assumed that, through the learning-to-teach experiences in the COP, the STs not only acquire the competence valued by community but also change their own ST identities and contribute to the transformation of the COP as a whole.

Thirdly, apart from the neo-Vygotskian sociocultural perspective, this study also approaches ST identity formation from a poststructuralist theoretical stance to problematize the complexities embedded in the COP. Language is one of the key symbolic mediation-artifacts in Vygotskys sociocultural theory (Lantolf, 2000a; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006). However, there have been challenges that sociocultural
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theories cannot offer clearly a detailed view of language and it fails to consi der issues such as class, ideology, power, agency, identity and social inequity (Thorne, 2005). J. K. Hall (1995) and Luk and Lin (2007), for example, point out that the sociocultural approach to use of language needs to take into consideration the broader political or historical constraints. In Wengers Social Theory of Learning, the formation of identity is considered to have resulted mainly from learners practice, experience and participation in the activities in the COP, while their words, discourse and narratives are supposed to be less relevant (Wenger, 1998, p. 151). However, critical researchers have proposed the need to give more attention to the use of language in COP so as to highlight the dynamics of participation and reification, conflicts, contradictions, power relations, broader social structures (Barton & Tusting, 2005) as well as the resistance of individuals to the constraints, marginalization and their struggles for recognition in the COP (Trent & Gao, 2009). In Johnsons (2009) work of Second Language Teacher Education: A sociocultural perspective, the author valued the role of language in second language teacher education communities by emphasizing that, Language is an important resource in that it enables us to identify how participants understand the contradictions they face in an activity system (p.82).

In view of the insufficient attention to the use of language and the lack of concern on the socioeconomic and sociopolitical aspects in the sociocultural perspective, this study re-emphasizes the relationship between language and identity in STs learning-to-teach process by incorporating the construct of discourse---the poststructuralist theory of language (Norton, 2010, p. 349) into the sociocultural framework of school-university partnership activity system. From the

poststructuralist perspective, language is deemed to be key to the dissemination of discourses which determine and normalize the social institutions, rules, and practices and standardize the individual and social possibilities people may imagine temporally and spatially (Norton & Morgan, forthcoming). Thus, a discursive framework from the poststructuralist perspective makes it possible for
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this research to conceptualize the fundamental elements in the ELT practices during the TP, such as mainstream social and educational ideologies, national curriculum, high-stake tests, knowledge authorities, power relationships, interpersonal tensions, rules and disciplines, as well as inequities between students from different families or communities, through critiques on the dominant discourses---the principles, theories, and assumptions that are defining and regulating the norms and conventions of ELT practices in both the university and the school activity systems. To integrate perspectives of sociocultural and poststructuralist theories in the study of ST identity formation in the TP community, this study also draws on the model of critical language teacher education proposed by Norton (2005). In light of the model, the COP in this study is conceptualized as a site of unequal power relations among STs, their students, MTs, and UTs. However, by critiquing and problematizing the normalized teaching content and methods in the prevailing discourses as well as the identities of their learners and themselves, the STs may come up with alternative possibilities in their teaching, make choices regarding their professional identities, and then obtain a greater sense of legitimacy in ELT classroom practices (p.16-17).

Fourthly, in light of the poststructuralist perspectives, this study further addresses the ethico-political aspect of ST identities. Wengers (1998) COP theory sees the notion of identity as a pivot between the individuals and the collective and refuses to dichotomize the relation between individual and social development. Similarly, poststructuralists also view teacher identity formation as the interaction between the social structure and the individual (e.g., Clarke, 2009; Coldron & Smith, 1999; Miller Marsh, 2002). However, given the tensions arising from unequal power relations and conflicts between dominating discourses existing in the site of COP, it would be both crucial and significant to explore how STs, who are at the lowest hierarchy among the tripartite relationship (as compared with MTs and UTs), argue for (MacLure, 1993) their professional voices and search
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for their teacher identity options and obtain a greater sense of legitimacy as proposed in Nortons (2005) model of critical language teacher education (p.17). To address this issue, the present study draws on Clarkes (2009) framework for doing teaching identity work which is inspired by Foucaults (1983a, 1985) theory of self-formation as ethics. The exploration of ST identity formation in the present study is thus guided by the conceptualization of four ethico-political axes: the substance of teacher identity, the authority-sources of teacher identity (mode of subjection), the self-practices of teacher identity, and the telos of teacher identity (Clarke, 2009, p. 191). According to Foucault (1997a), even though various dominant discourses as normalizing modes of power exist everywhere, individuals may still struggle for the spaces of freedom for self creation. However, Foucault reminds us that when options are available, which means we have the freedom for our self-formation, they must be conducted ethically. Foucault (1986) understands ethics as care of the self and advocates that individual liberty results from concern for others; freedom is the outcome of acting ethically toward others and ourselves (Infinito, 2003a, pp. 162, emphasis in original). Foucaults theory of ethical self-formation helps this research avoid being reduced to dichotomies between individuals and social structure, self and other, and it also provides a new theoretical stance for interpreting the process of ST identity formation during TP in school-university partnership.

1.4 Significance of the research In recent years, teacher identity has become an independent research area which has attracted researchers and teacher educators from different fields. However, many problems have remained unsolved or undeveloped and have been open for further discussion. For example, there is still a lack of consensus about the definitions of identity (Beijaard et al., 2000). Although the forces shaping teacher identities formation have been investigated from different perspectives, for many decades the notion of identity was mostly investigated from a psychological perspective and was understood as the individualized self-image of
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a person (e.g., Freud, 1961). As Olsen (2008) points out, identity was framed as an autonomous and self-directed concept independent of the context. Beijaard et al. (2004) conduct a comprehensive review on teachers professional identity and suggest that more attention needs to be paid to the role of the context in professional identity formation, and that research perspectives other than the cognitive ones need to be adopted to explore the notion of teacher professional identity. Researchers on teacher education have not only highlighted the complexities of the classroom but also argued for the necessity to embed research in processes and practices which regard teachers as whole persons (Britzman, 2003).

Review of the literature indicates that, although the concept of identity has been explored in various disciplines, relatively little attention has been paid to the theorization of teacher education (Varghese et al., 2005, p. 21), and the research on teacher identities in TESOL occupies only a very small number of studies (Tsui, 2007, p. 657). In this sense, the field of identities of language teachers and language teacher educators is receiving increasing attention (Norton, 2010, p. 360). Previous studies also indicate that pre-service teacher identity formation is better understood in the context of school-university partnership which provides an opportunity for STs to associate their theory and knowledge acquired in the university method courses with the field experience in school practice (Clarke, 2008; Mayer, 1999; Sutherland, Scanlon, & Sperring, 2005; Tsui, Edwards, et al., 2009). However, there is still not much research on teacher identity formation conducted in the school-university partnership context and the topic of teacher identity seldom appears in Mainland Chinese EFL teacher education research studies. According to Edwards, Tsui, and Stimpson (2009), who review school-university partnership studies since 1990s focusing on countries including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, previous studies on school-university partnership of the above regions in the past few decades were generally predominantly descriptive, methodologically weak, questionable
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in validity and reliability, rarely triangulated, and little of the research had an explicit theoretical framework. The researchers advocate for more

sophisticated theoretical frameworks for school-university partnership research (p. 9).

The present study thus locates the investigation of pre-service teacher identities in the context of school-university partnership in Mainland China against the background of the National English Curriculum being launched and implemented in its first decade. Although more systematic case studies of teacher learning and identity formation in school-university partnership have been conducted in Hong Kong (Tsui, Edwards, et al., 2009), due to sociocultural and sociopolitical differences as well as the discrepancies in ELT education backgrounds, the effects of ELT and the requirements for teacher development are very different. For example, English is mainly a subject in schools (as a foreign language) in Mainland China and has become in great demand only after the Open-door Policy in China three decades ago. In Hong Kong, English is not only a school subject (disagreement remains as for whether English is a foreign language or second language in Hong Kong) but also has been the working language of many important official institutions and financial centres in the region for more than a century. This research assumes that with the above sociocultural differences between research contexts, the identity formation of EFL teachers may have different implications although similarities may also exist. The discrepancies of interpretations may produce a unique picture of EFL pre-service teacher identity development in school-university partnership within the Mainland China context and may also enrich the literature of second language teacher education in Asian countries as well as other parts of the world.

In line with the proposal that teacher education research should be based on teachers development as whole person (Britzman, 2003), the present study addresses teacher identity issues from a sociocultural perspective, which
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overcomes the positivist paradigm in the psychocognitive studies (Johnson, 2009) by focusing on ST identity formation in TP with attention paid to the interrelations among personal, intuitional, educational, cultural-historical, socio-political and socio-economic influences. In this study, Lave and Wengers (1991) Situated Learning Theory, Wengers (1998) Social Theory of Learning, and Engestroms (1999) Activity Theory have been incorporated in a sociocultural framework of school-university partnership activity system which is embedded in a learning-to-teach COP. The Situated Learning Theory, especially Wengers (1998) Social Theory of Learning which is thought to be perhaps the most powerful (Tsui, 2011, p. 33) framework for understanding identity formation, both provide useful concepts and cogent models for understanding the learning-to-teach trajectories as well as the dual process of negotiation and identification during learners identity formation. Activity Theory is another useful and productive framework for studying teacher education and identity (Grossman et al., 1999; Smagorinsky et al., 2004). In this study, Activity Theory is used to conceptualize the concept of school-university partnership---the research context of the present study. The adopting of the third generation of Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1999, 2001) has its theoretical significance in that it introduces the notion of boundary crossing into language teacher education research, which has been proved to be a broad and little-studied category of cognitive process (Engestrom et al., 1995, p. 321). Similarly, both the concepts of boundary crossing and Wengers (1998) boundary zone reflect the notion of third space (Bhabha, 1994) which has the richest potential for learning activity generation and the transformation of the activity system, and they remain a significant research topic that needs to be searched for (Tsui & Wong, 2009, p. 284). To explore language teacher identities from a broader and more in-depth theoretical framework, this study is conceptualized based on complementary approaches of both sociocultural and poststructuralist perspectives. Although in recent years the sociocultural perspective remains the guiding theoretical
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underpinning for research studies on teacher learning and identity formation (Tsui, Edwards, et al., 2009), second language teacher education (Johnson, 2009), and second language teacher professional development (Johnson & Golombek, 2011), researchers in language teacher education have argued for identity research conducted through interdisciplinary approaches (Morgan & Clarke, 2011; Norton, 2006) and from complementary perspectives (Morgan, 2007). Varghese et al. (2005), for example, suggest the juxtaposing of different theoretical frameworks and point out, While in isolation each theory has its limitation, an openness to multiple theoretical approaches allows a richer and more useful understanding of the processes and contexts of teacher identity (p.21). Similarly, Morgan (2007), proposes that, on the one hand, a poststructuralist perspective may provide critical insight to invigorate sociocultural theory, for example, Lantolf (2000b) and the COP model (Wenger, 1998), by engaging fundamental conceptions such as discourse, power, identity, resistance and agency; on the other hand, the sociocultural perspective may enlighten poststructuralists, who tend to overstate the dynamic nature of subjectivity, that while change has always been a recognized aspect of personal and collective experience, continuity and cohesion are far more prevalent phenomena and are thus more valid research priorities(Morgan, 2007, p. 1047). It should be noted that a new trend in second language teacher education has involved philosophical constructs such as values, morals and ethics in teacher identity issues (Crookes, 2009; Johnston, 2003; Lin, 2012; Lin & Luk, 2002; Morgan & Clarke, 2011; Norton & Morgan, forthcoming; Pennycook, 2001). Grounded in Clarkes (2009) framework for doing teacher identity, this study also attempts to interpret teacher identity from Foucaults theory of self-formation as ethics (Foucault, 1983a, 1986, 1997c), which may contribute to perhaps the most significant development in the current trend of language teacher identity research (Morgan & Clarke, 2011, p. 825). As for methodology, the present study addresses the research questions from an ethnographic interpretive epistemological perspective (Johnson, 2009) which
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allows the researcher to approach the STs and the other relevant COP members in more direct and socioculturally situated contexts and have more holistic views about the processes of identity transformation of every individual ST during a relatively long period within the community TP activities (Creswell, 2007). The multiple-case study design (Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002; R. K. Yin, 2009) enables the researcher to have more in-depth observation and interpretation of the STs and obtain richer information of ST identity development through the heterogeneous characteristics of the different cases and their corresponding TP sub-communities. The different types of qualitative data collection methods allow the researcher to collect a substantial set of data from ethnographic observations, semi-structured interviews, and various TP documents which further enable the researcher to have triangulation of the data analysis from different angles. Great efforts have also been made to achieve higher level of trustworthiness (Lincoln & Guba, 1985) of the research through adopting techniques such as rich description, original account, member check, audit trail, and peer review.

1.5 Research questions The above discussion has demonstrated the significance of investigating the issue of teacher identity formation within a school-university partnership context and the necessity to approach the issue from both sociocultural and poststructuralist perspectives. Based on the relevant theories referenced and the conceptual framework established, the present study addresses specifically the following questions: What are the major forces that shape pre-service teacher identities? How do they affect the process of formation of pre-service teacher identities? What are the tensions (if any) and interpersonal relations in school-university partnership? How do these contradictions affect the development of pre-service teacher identities? How do pre-service teacher identities shape (and are simultaneously shaped by) the discourses in school-university partnership?
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The three research questions are inherently interrelated. The first question probes the salient forces that influence the identity formation of the STs in the present study. It is assumed that these forces are multifaceted and can be derived from personal, social, cultural, and historical angles. Special attention will be paid to the interrelationship of these forces and how they affect pre-service teacher identity formation. This question needs to be analyzed based on the data collected throughout the entire research including the life histories of the STs before TP, their experiences and perceptions during TP, and their reflections on these experiences after TP.

The second research question focuses on the specific features of the research context. Based on Engestroms Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001), this question is related to the complexities among different elements involved in the activity systems which are further embedded in the learning-to-teach COP in the placement school. The analysis will focus on the interpersonal relationships and tensions that emerge during the TP in the school-university partnership. The complicated interconnected relationships that have emerged in this question are closely related to the personal, institutional, social and historical factors discussed in the first question. The data collected during the TP will comprise the interactions between STs and their MTs and peer STs before the lessons and during classroom observations, post-lesson tripartite conferences, focus group discussions among the STs, as well as semi-structured interviews with the individual STs and their MTs.

The third research question probes the identity formation processes before, during, and after the TP. The data collected will be compared with Lave and Wengers (1991) concept of legitimate peripheral participation as well as Wengers (1998) duality of identity formation---identification and negotiability. The data will be further analysed from the four ethico-political axes in Clarkes (2009) framework of doing teacher identity work. The relevant data needed to explore this question
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include the semi-structured interviews before TP about the STs understanding of ELT and their attitudes and feelings about the apprenticeship observation, the pre-lesson and post-lesson interviews with the STs, the fieldnotes of the class observations, as well as the documents collected at the end of the teaching practice which consist of the lesson plans, the reflective journals, and the TP newsletters published by the STs.

After a brief introduction to the present study in this chapter, the rest of the thesis will be structured as follows: Chapter 2 reviews the literature regarding the relevant theories which provide a theoretical foundation for the conceptual framework of the present study; Chapter 3 introduces the cultural, historical, political and economic background of this research; Chapter 4 addresses the methodology including sections of detailed introduction about the research site, participants, procedures, as well as data collection and data analysis methods; Chapter 5 to Chapter 7 present the within-case interpretations about the TP experiences of the three STs---Kelly, Maple and Lynn respectively; Chapter 8 presents an overall cross-case discussion of the analysis corresponding to the key research questions of the study; and Chapter 9 summarizes the theoretical and pedagogical contributions, limitations of the research as well as suggestions for future studies.

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, I shall first review the key concepts about teacher identity and the main factors affecting teacher professional identities, and then introduce the main theories adopted in this study---Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991), Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998), Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001), and Foucaults (1986,1997c) concept of ethics as self-formation. I shall further explain how these theories are interrelated and can be drawn upon to conceptualize EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in the school-university partnership context and conclude this chapter by presenting a conceptual framework of this study.

2.1 Key concepts of teacher identity To address the issue of teacher identity, I begin with the review of the definitions of both the concepts of identity and teacher professional identity, and then discuss the relevant concepts proposed by previous studies including the characteristics of teacher identity and the main factors influencing teacher professional identity

2.1.1 Identity Identity is a complex notion with a variety of meanings and definitions in the literature (Beijaard et al., 2004; Gee, 2000). The basic form of identity includes who or what someone is, our sense of self, or who we are (Beijaard, 1995; Beijaard et al., 2000; Lin, 2008; Olsen, 2008). The concept of identity tends to refer to the various meanings, knowledge, understanding and perception which people attach to themselves or are attributed by others (Beijaard, 1995; Beijaard et al., 2000; Clarke, 2009; Danielewicz, 2001; Lin, 2008). Beijaard et al. (2004) summarize the meanings of identity and point out that identity is not a fixed attribute of a person, but a relational phenomenon which can be regarded as an answer to the recurring question Who am I at this moment? (p. 108). The

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unstable characteristic of identity is also reflected in Gee (2000) who defines identity as a certain kind of person recognized as being that may change from context to context and is thus ambiguous or unstable (p.99).

In the literature, many terms have been found to refer to the different aspects of identity including self, role, positioning, subject position, and subjectivity. Self may refer to an organized representation of our theories, attitudes, and beliefs about ourselves (McCormick & Pressley, 1997, cited Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 108). Positioning is an important construct proposed by Davies and Harr (1999) indicating the discursive process whereby people are located in conversations as observably and subjectively coherent participants in jointly produced storylines (p.37), while role serves to indicate something static, formal and ritualistic (Davies & Harr , 1990). Subjectivity is used in poststructuralist conceptualization of identity understood as the conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions of the individual, her sense of herself and her ways of understanding her relation in the world (Weedon, 1997, p. 32). Gee (2000) distinguishes between subjectivity and identity by referring to the former as identity that is more unstable and subject to change from moment to moment and context to context while the latter as core identity which makes ourselves and others more static and consistent across contexts. Luk (2008) differentiates the different terms by illuminating their different foci: self is related to an individuals feeling; role stresses the more static, formal and ritualistic aspect of identity; and the terms subject position or subjectivity indicate agency, conscious action, and authorship (p. 122). While Hall (2004) distinguishes between subjectivity and identity by arguing that the former involves the self-reflexivity and the latter does not, Morgan and Clarke use both the terms interchangeably suggesting that the terms maybe, but not necessarily imply self awareness (Morgan & Clarke, 2011, p. 831).

Identity research dates back to early philosophy and social science discussions.
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Ever since the early twentieth century, psychoanalysis has paid attention to identity issues and the concept of identity was mainly understood as the self-image possessed by any individual (Freud, 1961). Psychologist Erikson (1968) stresses the interaction between the individual and the environment as well as the changing and developmental process during ones identity formation, and he proposes three key elements that compose the concept of identity---competencies (What one does?), communities (Where one is from?), and commitments (Who one is with?) (see Hoover & Ericksen, 2004 p.4; Lin, 2008, p.201). Based on the modern human condition background, linguistic philosopher Taylor (1989) argues for the indispensability of webs of interlocutions for the existence of self and emphasizes the social, discursive, and dialogic nature of self and identity as well as the role of interlocutors which enables one to achieve self-definition and self-understanding (p.36). Sociological studies focus on the structural factors which contribute to the impact of production and reproduction of social stratification of people and various capitals (Bourdieu, 1984) on the formation of identities. Drawing on previous studies, Norton (2006) highlights the main characteristics of sociocultural conception of identity and points out that identity is considered to be dynamic and constantly changing; it is a concept which is complex, contradictory, and multifaceted and never simplistic (p. 24). Similarly, Morgan (2004) understands the concept of identity in second language education as not fixed or coherent, but complex and contradictory and subject to change across time and place (p.172). Identity is constructed in language, and identity construction should be interpreted from the broad social context with consideration given to notions of power relations and discourse. Grounded in social science studies in the poststructuralist approach, Block (2007) concludes that identities are socially constructed, self-conscious, ongoing narratives that individuals perform, interpret and project in dress, bodily movements, actions and language...Identities are about negotiating new subject positions at the crossroads of the past, present and future. (p.27). Identities are not only related to traditional categories such as language, ethnicity, class, and
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gender, but also related to unequal power relations and social, cultural and economic capitals. Lin (2008) summarizes the properties of identity from studies of linguistic philosophers, sociologists, and psychologists and points out that identity is commonly understood as a kind of achievement through active, conscious efforts (or construction) of the individual, who is seen as always socially situated and constantly interacting with (significant) others in her/his communities (p.202). Reviewing identity studies from different theoretical perspectives indicates a shift of research focus from more individualized, autonomous, pre-given, fixed, and static psychological views of identity to the more sociocultural and poststructuralist views that regard identity as socially situated, dynamic, dialogic, and discursively constructed. Apart from the traditional demographic categories such as ethnicity, gender, and social class, studies on identity need to take into consideration other key concepts such as language, discourse, power, social structure, and agency.

2.1.2 Teacher identity Although a unanimous definition of identity is still lacking, there has been a proliferation of studies which investigate the concept in the field of education, and teacher professional identity has become a buzzword in teacher education studies (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Beijaard et al., 2000; Connelly & Clandinin, 1999; Hoffman-Kipp, 2008; Kosnik & Beck, 2009; Olsen, 2008; Ponte & Chapman, 2008; Rodgers & Scott, 2008). According to Ponte and Chapman (2008), teacher professional identity refers to teachers professional self or an instance of a social identity. Accordingly, pre-service teachers professional identity may be understood as the professional self they construct and reconstruct in becoming and being teachers (p.242). Similarly, Kosnik and Beck (2009) see teacher professional identity as how teachers perceive themselves professionally (p.130), and they identify the basic elements of teacher professional identity as comprising teachers sense of their goals, responsibilities, style, effectiveness, level of satisfaction, and career trajectory (ibid). Beauchamp
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and Thomas (2009) stress the relationship between a teachers self and the others in the social setting, arguing that A teachers identity is shaped and reshaped in interaction with others in a professional context (p.178). Beijaard et al. (2004) point out that one main category of teacher professional identity studies is about teachers stories. These studies define teacher identity as stories to live by (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999). Based on a summary of the literature on professional identities in learning to teach, Rodgers and Scott (2008) highlight four basic assumptions of the nature of identity:
(1) that identity is dependent upon and formed within multiple contexts which bring social, cultural, political, and historical forces to bear upon that formation; (2) that identity is formed in relationship with others and involves emotions; (3) that identity is shifting, unstable, and multiple; and, (4) that identity involves the construction and reconstruction of meaning through stories over time. (p.733, italics in original)

The researchers argue for the need to raise teachers awareness of their identities and the essential factors that shape their professional self and to call on teachers to claim for their self-authorship in teaching; namely, to be the author of their own identities instead of being silenced by authoritative and normative concepts of who teachers should be.

Drawing on the sociocultural theories, Olsen (2008) proposes the holistic, dynamic, and situated nature of teacher development and views teacher identity as a methodology lens, a pedagogical tool, and a research frame which treats teachers as whole persons in and across social contexts who continually reconstruct their views of themselves in relation to others, workplace characteristics, professional purposes, and cultures of teaching (p.5). From sociocultural perspectives, Freedman and Appleman (2008) investigate how beginning teachers develop their identity and agency through the interaction of self and others within a community of practice (Wenger, 1998). In the same vein, Hoffman-Kipp (2008) accentuates the indispensability of raising teachers awareness of the sociopolitical factors in teacher education and deems teacher identity as the intersection of personal, pedagogical, and political participation

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and reflection within a larger sociopolitical context (p.153). Grounded in Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Hoffman-Kipp explores the relationship between teacher identity and relevant concepts including identity consciousness, social interaction, tool mediation, as well as apprenticeship, participation, and appropriation. The researcher concludes that teacher identity formation may be constrained by various ideologies deriving from teacher education programmes, people such as superiors, mentors, and students, as well as other

school/community elements. He suggests that teacher educators should enable teachers to search for the power to change, redirect, or reject the identities that have been imposed on them and to argue for the power to construct by themselves the identities they have longed for (p.161).

The proposals of the above sociocultural studies to regard teachers as whole persons (Britzman, 2003), to raise teachers awareness of the micropolitics in teacher education, and to encourage teachers to shift from accepting authored identities to authoring their own identities (Rodgers & Scott, 2008) have echoed poststructuralist studies. MacLure (1993), for example, argues that identity is never stable, pre-given, or already possessed by teachers, but is a continuing site of struggle for teachers to argue for their self during interactions with others within contexts where they have teaching practice, and such argument and justification must be operated morally (p.312). Given the asymmetrical power relations in the TP of pre-service teacher education, the process of ST identity formation may be, in Britzman (2003)s terms, a struggle for voice (p.3).

A poststructuralist approach to identity is closely related to language, more specifically, to the concept of discourse. As Norton (2010) puts it, In order to understand the relationship between language and identity...it is important to understand the poststructuralist theory of language, which is defined as discourse (p. 349). Danielewicz (2001) highlights the inextricable relationship between discourse and identity---the former being the environment, method and process
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for the shaping of the latter, as she explained,

Since everything---social structure, institutions, communities, selves, social practices, identities, culture---is constituted by discourse, through discourse, and in discourse, then the issue becomes how to work deliberately and self-consciously within this universe of discourse to foster particular identities. (p.137)

Discourse is an important concept for illustrating the relation between identity and politics. Britzman (1994) proposes the concept, the politics of identity, which she refers to as what it is that structures identity and how identity is narrated (p.71). Borrowing the idea of ideological becoming of a person (Bakhtin, 1981), she regards learning-to-teach as a process of becoming which is not finished but in a constant process of formation and transformation (Britzman, 1994, 2003). Britzman (1994) argues that there are two conflicting discourses seesawing during teacher identity formation: authoritative discourse and internally persuasive discourse. The former refers to the centripetal force or movement towards the social norms, rules, or conventions such as the words of leaders, parents and teachers, et cetera, which demands ones allegiance and compliance, while the latter indicates a centrifugal force which turns against, rejects, or breaks away from the authority, and is more tentative, indicating something about ones subjectivity. To address the politics in the learning-to-teach practice, Britzman (1994) provides the following suggestions,
...We might move beyond the repressive cultural myths that attempt to construct the teacher as already completed, as an omnipotent knower, and as the key actor in the drama of education. To do this means that teacher education must uncouple the imperatives of social control from the teachers identity (Britzman 1986). (p. 71)

Britzman (1994) proposes to raise teachers awareness of the normative discourses in the social structure that shape their identities and position them in the dilemma which misleads them by dismissing concerns of the potential tensions in race, gender, sex and class. She also encourages teachers to resist such authoritative social normative discourses that are already replete with voices and meanings of others, but try to author their own identities through collective struggles instead. Britzmans advocacy is resonated in Rodgers and Scott (2008), Finding ones voice implies not having others (researchers, school boards, textbooks) speak for

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us, not being silenced by authorities or normative notions of who teachers should be, in effect, to be the author of ones identity (p.737). Seeing the learning-to-teach process as being dominated by discourses of social and institutional rules and norms from both the school and the university, Britzman (1994) suggests offering more space for STs to reflect critically on their identity and the kind of teacher they want to be so that they are able to better exercise their creative agency during teaching practice. Hence, she argues against synonymizing teacher role and teacher identity. Following Britzman (1994), Mayer (1999) distinguishes the two concepts: teacher role refers to function and what one should do while teacher identity relates to what one feels, investment and commitments, which is more personal and indicates how one identifies with being a teacher and how one feels as a teacher (p.8). The contrast of the two concepts reflects the differences between teachers obligation to respond to the functions and regulations required by the normative discourses (role) and their active feelings, investments, and commitments, and the exercising of active and creative agency during the formation of their own identity as teachers.

Based on a comprehensive literature review, Beijaard et al. (2004) summarize four main features of teacher professional identity. First, professional identity is an ongoing process that is not stable but dynamic. As teachers professional development is a lifelong learning process, the formation of professional identity implies not only Who am I at this moment? but also Who do I want to become? (p. 122). Second, professional identity is associated with both person and context. Teaches are supposed to behave and think professionally but not necessarily limiting themselves to the prescribed professional characteristics. They may have their own values, thoughts and behaviours that reflect their personal characteristics. Third, a teachers professional identity may include several sub-identities that are linked to various contexts, with some being peripheral while others at the core of the teacher professional identity. The researchers argue that STs in the beginning stage of TP may experience conflicts
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in their sub-identities; it is therefore necessary that they try to keep these sub-identities somewhat in harmony. Fourth, agency is indispensable for teacher identity formation. Drawing on Coldron and Smith (1999), the researchers propose that, since teacher identity is not something pre-given but something needed to be understood and argued for by the teachers themselves, teachers should exercise agencies that are guided by their goals in order to develop their professional identities. The identification of these features of teacher identity has guided interpretation of the various aspects affecting the development of teacher professional identities. I shall elaborate these aspects in the following section.

2.1.3 The forces shaping teacher identity The lack of a consensus definition of the concept of identity in the literature (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Beijaard et al., 2000; Rodgers & Scott, 2008) necessitates closer investigation into the forces that influence teachers perception and knowledge of their identities and their identity formation process. Learning-to-teach being a complex process involving the interaction between different values, beliefs, and practices, the development of teacher professional identity is embedded in a multi-dimensional, idiosyncratic and context-specific process (Flores & Day, 2006, p. 219).

Various factors have been reported to have an impact on teacher identities. For example, in exploring the concept of teacher professional identity, Beijaard (1995) focuses on three main categories: the subjects taught by the teachers, the student-teacher relationship, and the role or role conception of teachers. In his later research, Beijaard et al. (2000) describe the concept in terms of three aspects of teaching that are common to all teachers: teacher as subject matter expert, teacher as pedagogical expert, and teacher as didactical expert. Based on the

In Beijaard et al.s study (2000), pedagogy refers to moral and ethical dimensions in education, while didactics refers to the planning, execution, and evaluation of lessons, for example, teacher-centered or student-centered teaching. While this has not been explicitly pointed out in Beijaard et al (2000), the two are actually related: e.g., a moral belief in cultivating democratic participation in the classroom might lead to more student-centred teaching approaches. 26

literature, they further summarize three categories of factors which may influence teachers perception of their identities: teaching context, teaching experience, and the biography of the teacher. From their investigation, Kosnik and Beck (2009) find factors that may affect a new teachers initial identities including early teaching experiences, apprenticeship in the school, and early leadership opportunities. The researchers further identify other sources of novice teacher identities including their beliefs and perceptions of the general societal views on teaching (Kennedy, 2005), their recollections of their own previous schooling practices (Lortie, 1975), as well as their early expectations about future career. In pre-service teacher education, for example, pre-service mathematics teacher education, Ponte and Chapman (2008) understand professional identity as a complex notion involving interactions between individual and community. Pre-service teacher professional identity implies a complicated landscape with a series of components including pre-service teachers use of the values and norms in teaching; their core beliefs about their profession and their self as a teacher (also see in Walkington, 2005); their vision of the meaning of excellent teacher and professional expectations; as well as their feeling of self as a learner and their ability to reflect on the teaching practice (p.242). Within their framework of pre-service mathematics teacher education, individual prospective teachers professional identity is embedded in a teachers professional community which is simultaneously impacted by various factors including organization of the educational system, characteristics of pre-service teachers, programme instructors and other participants, programme elements, and research. Pre-service teacher identity is conceptualized as embodying both knowledge of the subject and knowledge of teaching that subject with inherent links and overlaps between the two types of knowledge (ibid). Such a framework provides useful conceptualization of the relationship between pre-service teachers as individuals and the COP where they learn to teach. It also suggests the key factors which influence pre-service teacher identities during their learning-to-teach journey within a broad sociocultural context.
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Apart from the social, personal and cognitive factors mentioned above, previous studies have also concentrated on the impact of teachers emotions on their identity formation (Flores & Day, 2006; Hargreaves, 1998, 2000, 2001; Lee & Yin, 2011; Rodgers & Scott, 2008; H. B. Yin & Lee, 2012; Zembylas, 2003a, 2003b). For example, Flores and Day (2006) enumerate a long array of emotional factors which may affect teacher identity formation including positive emotions such as love, care, joy, satisfaction, pride, excitement, and pleasure; and negative emotions such as sense of being challenged, erosion of trust and respect, vulnerability, professional uncertainty, confusion, inadequacy, anxiety, mortification and doubt, frustration, anger, stress, guilt, sadness, blame and shame (p.221). According to Hargreaves (1998), efficient teachers are not only equipped with the knowledge of the subject, qualified competence, and proper techniques, but are also passionate and able to make their lessons joyful and creative. The tactful teachers try to know their students inner life, establish rapport with them, and know when to engage with their life and when to keep a distance. Hargreaves (2001) emphasizes the significance of harmonious student-teacher relationship in successful teaching and learning and the importance of maintaining emotional understanding between the two sides. He proposes the concept emotional geographies to indicate the spatial and experiential patterns of closeness and/or distance in human interactions and relationships that help create, configure and color the feelings and emotions we experience about ourselves, our world and each other (p.1061). To Hargreaves, emotions are moral and are closely related to and initiated by ones pu rposes. The questioning of teachers purposes and expertise may become the most conspicuous trigger for their negative emotions. Zembylas (2003a, 2003b) has conducted a series of research on the relation between teacher emotions and their self-development and finds an indissoluble connection between teacher identities and teacher emotions. Following the poststructuralist perspective, Zembylas rejects the essentialist normalizations that teachers are experts or self-made
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but argues that the formation of teacher identity is affective and is constructed and reconstructed through the interaction of power and agency. The researcher also suggests that teacher emotions may become the locus of teacher resistance and self-transformation; hence, researching on the emotional components of teacher identity may lead to possibilities for the care and self-knowledge of the teachers and may also provide space for teachers to reflect on their personal and professional identities. Compared with the western context, studies on the relationship between emotions and teacher identities are still lacking in China (Lee & Yin, 2011). Previous findings indicate that the changing education policies may affect both school relationships and teachers perceptions of their professional identities. The Chinese traditional cultural beliefs may become burdens to teachers and lead to their professional vulnerability (X. Gao, 2008). The curriculum reform in China during the last decade has had a serious impact on teachers emotions which arose from both the adaptation to new textbooks and teaching methods and the bewilderment about the changes in the high-stake examinations (Lee & Yin, 2011).

The literature also suggests that learning-to-teach is a socialization experience and the construction of ST identity is thus a socializing process (Flores & Day, 2006; Williams, 2009; Zeichner & Gore, 1990). Flores and Day (2006) summarize the socializing factors which influence teachers perceptions on their teaching identity including the teachers early personal predispositions and anticipations for teaching, the impact of significant others such as family members and previous teachers, the characteristics of the initial teacher training programmes, their prior teaching experiences, professional interests, beliefs, and narrative biography, as well as the structural factors such as school norms, classroom ecology, and the micropolitics within the institution. In their comprehensive review on teacher socialization, Zeichner and Gore (1990) introduce various influencing factors on teacher socialization from a chronological order of the teaching profession: the stage prior to formal teacher education, the stage of pre-service teacher education,
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and the stage of socialization in the culture of workplace. Following such a teacher socialization sequence and the findings of previous literature reviewed above, I summarize the main factors affecting teacher professional identities at different socialization stages in Table 2.1

As illustrated in the table, the factors that may influence teacher professional identities are categorized according to both an axis of time (vertical order) and an axis of space (horizontal order). The former indicates the chronological process of teacher socialization as proposed by Zeichner and Gore (1990) from the stage prior to the formal teacher education, to the stage of pre-service teacher education programme, and further to the in-service teacher education stage, while the latter shows teacher learning at different levels of contexts where s/he becomes socialized and simultaneously (re)constructs and are (re)constructed by the various contextual factors in both the local institutions and the global social structure. It should be noted that, classified at different periods and loci as conceptualized in the table, the various factors are by no means meant to be compartmentalized, fixed, static or unchanged; rather, they are understood as continuums which are fluid, dynamic, constantly changing, and mutually affect and are affected by both the past, present and future and the personal, institutional and social levels (as indicated by the bidirectional arrows on the sides of the table). For example, the social factors may affect every individual teacher before, during and after the formal pre-service teacher education, which is mediated by the various institutions where they study and work; similarly, the imaginations of future teaching career and prior school education experiences may affect STs learning in the pre-service teacher education programme. After reviewing the key concepts of identity and teacher identity and the major factors affecting teacher professional identity formation, I shall start section 2.2 with a review of the key theories and studies in the literature about learning-to-teach as identity formation in the school-university partnership context.

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Table 2.1: Main issues affecting teacher professional identities at different stages of the teacher socialization process Personal institutional social
Before pre-service teacher education -childhood predispositions for teaching (Zeichner & Gore, 1990) -anticipatory socialization (Lortie, 1975) -motives, interests, knowledge, conceptions before entering teacher education (Pont & Chapman, 2008) During pre-service teacher education -cognitive/moral,/political/affective development; -age, gender, race, ability, social class, religious background; (Zeichner & Gore, 1990) -choice of teaching discipline (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009) -prior experience and beliefs about teaching (Beijaard et al., 2000; Bullough, 1997) -emotion (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Hargreaves, 1998;Zembylas, 2003) -early leadership opportunity (Kosnik & Beck, 2009) -research (Pont & Chapman, 2008) -curriculum: general education, academic specialization courses, methods and foundations courses, field-based experiences -size and geographical location of school, education funding, goals and priorities of the teacher education programme, intellectual/social/political character of institution, student-faculty interactions, curricular flexibility, academic programme, cultural facilities, sub-environments -academic courses/subject matter preparation, the differences between method foundation courses and ecological conditions in classrooms, students perspectives/conceptions of the teacher education courses -hidden curriculum(e.g., status/power of teachers, theory and practice of teaching, nature of the curriculum, role of teachers in making curriculum decisions; pedagogical practices, social relations and social organization in programmes) -field practice and practicum component (TP quality vs pre-service TE programme intention, programme components, characteristics of placement sites, school circumstances and requirements, impressions on the nature of teaching, freedom to construct or amend curriculum, level of collegiality and discussion (Zeichner & Gore, 1990) -sociocultural features of society -apprenticeship of observation at schools during prior education, positive/negative role models of former school teachers. (Kosnik & Beck, 2009; Flores & Day, 2006; Lortie, 1975; Zeichner & Gore, 1990) -influences of significant others (e.g. adults such as parents, teachers, etc.) (Zeichner & Gore, 1990)

(roles/values of MOE, school administrators, parents, media, and general public) -organization of the educational system (ways of entering teaching profession, certification, contracts, career features, and curriculum organization) (Pont & Chapman, 2008)

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-subject matter expert, pedagogical expert, didactical expert (Beijaard After pre-service teacher education (a teacher at school) et al., 2000) -professional craft knowledge (McIntyre, 1992) -teacher knowledge/expertise (Hendricks-Lee, 1993) -teaching experience (novice vs expert teacher) (Beijaard et al., 2000) -value, efficacy, commitment, emotion, knowledge, beliefs (Hong, 2010) -teacher biography (transformation of identity, adaptation to institutional realities, self-expression in teaching; personal life experience, critical incidents, relevant others, family life) (Beijaard et al., 2000; Flores& Day, 2006) -emotion (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Gao, X., 2008; Hargreaves, 1998; Hong, 2010; Lee & Yin, 2011; Yin & Lee, 2012; Zembylas, 2003) -sense of goals, responsibilities, style and

-significant role of pupils (teachers perception of pupils characteristics, expectations and behaviors) -ecology of the classroom (teacher-pupil ratios, declining of resources, limited time and coping strategies) -institutional level (policy decisions, political actions; characteristics of the school, internal spatial arrangements, authority relationships; influence of teaching colleagues and evaluators, diverse teacher cultures, conflicting pressure by colleagues, attitudes of evaluators, organization sanctions,) (Zeichner & Gore, 1990) -school culture (conceptions, norms, and values; expectations of community, students, colleagues, school board, physical/material environment) (Duffee & AIkenhead, 1992; Nias, 1989)

-cultural level (ideologies, practices, and material conditions at the macro-level of society; parental power, families, social class, community pressure; practices and policy initiatives outside school, material resources; bureaucratization of work, the de-skilling of labor, the social division of labor, gender discrimination; closeness of supervision, degree of reutilization; professionalization of knowledge, ideology of professionalism, cultural codes, culturally determined values and beliefs) (Hoffman-Kipp, 2008; Zeichner & Gore, 1990) -micropolitics (Flores& Day, 2006; Freedman & Appleman, 2008; Hong, 2010) -cultural scripts prescribing teachers thought and behavior (Reynolds, 1996) -career plans/teacher retention (stay/leave) (Hong, 2010; Olsen, 2008)

satisfaction,

teaching

effectiveness, and career trajectory (Kosnik & Beck, 2009)

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2.2 Theoretical approaches to learning-to-teach as identity formation in school-university partnership The literature has offered different approaches to understanding issues of pre-service teacher identity formation during TP in school-university partnership contexts. Based on previous studies, I address ST identity formation by conceptualizing student teaching in school-university partnership from both sociocultural (Olsen, 2008; Tsui, Lopez-Real, & Edwards, 2009) and poststructuralist perspectives (Britzman, 1994; Clarke, 2009; Zembylas, 2003b). The theories of both approaches are reviewed in the following sections. 2.2.1 Sociocultural perspectives on learning-to-teach as identity formation in school-university partnership Educational research about learning has been influenced by both cognitive learning theories and the sociocultural perspectives of learning represented by Piaget (1952) and Vygotsky (1978) respectively, showing a dichotomy of either the individual factors over the social ones or the social over the individual. Neo-Vygotskian researchers hold the view that individual development and social-cultural-historical activities and practices are mutually constitutive (Tsui, Lopez-Real, et al., 2009). New learning science emphasizes the importance of learners participation and engagement in activities of communities of practice (COP) (Wenger, 1998) which are central to their professional life, as Sawyer comments, one of the central underlying themes of learning sciences is that students learn deeper knowledge when they engage in activities that are similar to the everyday activities of professionals who work in a discipline (Sawyer, 2006, p. 4). The significance of learner participation and engagement in situated practices is echoed by the Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in the oft-cited concept of Legitimate Peripheral Participation (LPP).

2.2.1.1 Learning-to-teach as legitimate peripheral participation According to the Situated Learning Theory, the notions of learning and identity are inseparable (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 115), and learning is considered ...
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as a process of becoming a member of a sustained community of practice. Developing an identity as a member of a community and becoming knowledgeably skillful are part of the same process... (Lave, 1991, p. 65). The central idea of the Situated Learning Theory lies in the concept, legitimate peripheral participation, which characterizes learning as legitimate peripheral participation in communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991, p. 31). This concept describes a centripetal process during which learners as newcomers participate increasingly in COP from peripheral towards full participation, engaging in ongoing activities through which they master the competence valued by the communities and become oldtimers as members of the communities. The concept not only highlights the indispensability of participation in learning within COP but also entails two fundamental conditions: legitimacy of participation and peripherality of participation. The former indicates the granting of legitimate access to practice while the latter refers to the changing locations in the learning trajectory with newcomers located at a less intensive position and gradually approaching the oldtimers position of more intensive participation. According to Lave and Wenger (1991), legitimate peripherality is a complex notion affected by power relations in social structures and can thus be a source of power or powerlessness itself in affording or preventing articulation and interchange among communities of practice (p.36). At positions where one moves towards full participation, peripherality is empowering; while at those where one is prevented from participating further or kept from broader social perspectives, peripherality is disempowering. Lave and Wenger (1991) emphasize the crucial importance of access to legitimate peripherality, and they point out, To become a full member of a community of practice requires access to a wide range of ongoing activity, old-timers, and other members of the community; and to information, resources, and opportunities for participation (p. 101). Affected by the organization of access, legitimate peripherality may either encourage or prevent legitimate participation. This reflects a duality in the concept of LPP, namely, learners can have legitimate peripherality but without being granted
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legitimate participation; in contrast, they may also participate legitimately in the COP but without obtaining the legitimate peripherality which enables them to move toward the oldtimer position. Lave and Wenger (1991) stresses that legitimacy of access is critical for the learning process, and that both legitimate participation and legitimate peripherality are crucial for productive access to the learning activities in the COPs. Borrowing the concept of LPP in her research of learning in school-university partnership, Tsui (2009) argues that the concept of legitimacy in Lave and Wenger (1991) is other-oriented as it mainly emphasizes the legitimacy of access granted by the masters or the ones who control the resources in the COP. Based on her research findings, Tsui (2009) complements the interpretation of legitimacy by proposing the concept of legitimation of access---the self-oriented source of legitimacy which focuses on the agency of the learners, as the STs in her studies who, as newcomers, often want to legitimate their access to practice and their participation by showing that they possess the competence that qualifies them as a member of a community of practice (p.153). Tsuis proposal of the self-oriented source of access to COP provides a more holistic perspective for understanding the learning process and the identity formation of STs by attributing the concept of participation to elements of both the social structure and individual agency.

2.2.1.2 Learning-to-teach as identity formation in communities of practice Apart from the concept of legitimate peripheral participation, Situated Learning Theory puts forward another important notion, community of practice, which has been further developed by Wenger (1998) in his Social Theory of Learning. According to this theory, an individuals learning is based on his/her active participating in the social communities as well as the constructing of identities in relation to the communities. Wenger (1998) conceptualizes the Social Theory of Learning into the following model (Figure 2.1):

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learning as belonging community learning as doing practice

Learning

identity learning as becoming

meaning learning as experience Components of a social theory of learning (Wenger, 1998)

Figure 2.1: Model of the social theory of learning

As can be seen from Wengers model, learning is embedded in a web of four interrelated components---practice, community, meaning and identity. Accordingly, learning is conceptualized as a process of social practice during which learners participate in the pursuit of the common enterprise of the COP, negotiate meaning of experiences, acquire competence and skills valued by the community, and become a member of the community with transformed identities. According to Wenger (1998), the central concept of COP, linking the notions of both practice and community, entails three dimensions of practice as the sources of the unity of a community---the mutual engagement of participants, the joint enterprise, and the shared repertoire among the members of the community (p.73). The Social Theory of Learning attaches great importance to the issue of learner identities in education, as Wenger puts it,
Education is not merely formative---it is transformative...issues of education should be addressed first and foremost in terms of identities and modes of belonging, and only secondarily in terms of skills and information... (Wenger, 1998, p. 263)

According to Wenger (1998), identity may be understood as a way of talking about how learning changes who we are and creates personal histories of becoming in the context of our communities (p.5). It is a complexity resulting from the mutual constitution of both the person and the community and it serves as a pivot between the social and the individual.

Participation and non-participation Identity formation is interrelated with the concept of participation, which refers to both a process of taking part and the relations with others that reflect this

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process (Wenger, 1998, p. 55). According to Wenger (1998), we know who we are by what is familiar and by what we can negotiate and make use of, and that we know who we are not by what is unfamiliar, unwieldy, and out of our purview (p. 164, emphasis in original). Thus, we define our identities not only according to the practices we are able to participate in, but also according to those we are not. Our identities are affected by the combination of our participation and non-participation in the COP. It is the interaction of the two concepts that contributes to our understanding of the identity formation process. Wenger further proposes four notions related to the subtle relationship between participation and non-participation: insider---learners who have obtained full participation; outsider---those who have not participated at all, namely, non-participation; peripherality---the state of participation which has been enabled by

non-participation, it guides learners to full participation or a peripheral trajectory; and marginality---the state of participation that has been constrained by non-participation, it leads learners to non-membership or a marginal position (ibid).

Modes of belonging Apart from discussing identity formation from the conception of participation and non-participation which focuses mainly on learners engagement in learning practices, Wenger (1998) further introduces three modes of belonging which complement each other during the process of identity formation:
1 engagement---active involvement in mutual process of negotiation of meaning 2 imagination---creating images of the world and seeing connections through time and space by extrapolating from our own experience 3 alignment---coordinating our energy and activities in order to fit within broader structures and contribute to broader enterprises (Wenger, 1998, pp. 173-174)

Wenger points out that each of the three modes of belonging has its strengths and weaknesses. The concept of engagement has the power of meaning negotiation which affects the shaping of the community and contributes not only to defining the community enterprise but also to transforming the communities, the practices,
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the artifacts, and the persons. However, being bounded with the COP, engagement has its limitations concerning time, space, the scope and scale of involvement. Imagination has the characteristics which go beyond the limitations of engagement. Based on learners own experiences, imagination provides the creative power which enables them to connect their experiences with the world and produce new images of their self and different relationships without being constrained by time or space. However, as imagination requires the ability to disengage---to move back and look at our engagement through the eye of an outsider, it may have the weaknesses of neglecting the actual localities of practice while involving a sense of stereotyping, risk-taking, and playfulness (p.185). Similar to imagination, alignment is not restricted by mutual engagement; but unlike imagination, alignment has more focused power to bridge the local and the global efforts by coordinating participants energies, actions, and practices to invest in their broader common enterprises. Alignment is important in that it amplifies the effects of the participants actions, power, and their sense of possibility in the world. Nevertheless, it can also be vague and disempowering due to insufficient or improper interpretation of the discourse or the vision of the broader enterprises which leads either to some simple unquestioning compliance or to some biased coordination with some being powerful while others powerless. Considering the different strengths and weaknesses of each of the three modes of belonging, Wenger (1998) suggests that the three modes of belonging work best in combination and therefore should be regarded as complementary to each other to provide a framework for understanding of the shaping of the COP and the formation of identities (p. 187).

Identity formation as a dual process Integrating all the above concepts about learning in COP, Wenger (1998) establishes a framework of social ecology of identity. In this framework, identity formation is conceptualized as a dual process involving both identification and negotiability. Identification refers to the process during which
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learners invest their self in creating bonds or distinctions. It provides experiences and material for identity construction through an investment of the self in relations of association and differentiation. Negotiability refers to learners ability and legitimacy to negotiate meaning that is valued by the COP. It determines the degree to which we have control over the meanings in which we are invested (p.188). Either the identification process or the negotiability process may involve learners participation or non-participation, which results in four different identities, and each of the identity possibilities may have engagement, imagination, and alignment as their sources of identification or negotiability.

The process of identification can be both participative and reificative. On the one hand, learners participate in the ongoing practices and are constantly identifying with the members or things in the community which offer them the sense of who they are; on the other hand, they are also identified as someone, for example, apprentices, students, or interns with reified objects such as badges, uniforms, desks or offices which indicate their special identities in the COP. During the identification process, learners consider themselves as members of the community and are at the same time recognized by the others as members of the community; they do something for themselves and at the same time they do something for each other in the community. In this sense, identification is relational and experiential, subjective and collective. It can also be both positive and negative, as it may give rise to identities of both participation and non-participation. In Wengers framework, the process of identification congeals to forms of membership and reflects the association between the constitutive character of communities and the forms of membership for the participants identities (ibid, p.192).

While the identification process specifies the meanings which participants have invested in the community, the negotiability process defines their ability to negotiate the meaning. In Wengers framework, negotiability congeals to the
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structural relation of ownership of meaning which refers to the degree to which we can make use of, affect, control, modify, or in general, assert as ours the meaning that we negotiate (p.200). Negotiability is defined according to the social configurations and participants position in them. Wenger (1998) refers to the determination of the value of meanings as economies of meaning. Within a meaning economy, the meanings held by participants at different positions not only differ but also represent different status, which implies that some meanings do have special status due to their special locations in the community. However, although power and legitimacy relations exist among members, the actual ability to define meanings is still subject to negotiation in the community. According to Wenger (1998), negotiability of meaning is affected by ownership of meaning. Meanings may have different degrees of currency, participants may have different degrees of control over the meanings that are shaped in the community, and the negotiation of meaning may involve the claim for ownership. Since meanings are socially negotiated, ownership of meaning may increase if wider participation is involved in the process of meaning production and negotiation. Having a claim to owning the meaning of something demands the ability to interpret this thing which has currency and legitimacy in the economies of meaning. Wenger (1998) argues that, due to the interdependence of the values of meaning within economies of meaning, appropriation of meanings by some may lead to alienation of others. Constant inability to negotiate or claim the ownership of meanings may lead to an identity of non-participation and marginality. For example, in boundary-crossing learning-to-teach activities between university and school COPs where different systems of economies of meaning about ELT practices exist, STs aligning with one meaning economy (for example, in the university community) may encounter losing of currencies of meaning in the other meaning economy (for instance, in the school). The different values of meaning exist in the involving institutions may affect the STs ownership of meaning in the new meaning economy, which may further result in their weakening of negotiability and marginalized identities in the new community.
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The dual process of identity formation through identification and negotiability represents an inherent tension between the participants investment of self in the community through association or differentiation and their ability to negotiate for the ownership of meanings valued in the communities. Wenger (1998) argues that this tension reflects the inherent social conception of identity which is closely related to the issues of power and belonging, as he puts it, identity is a locus of social selfhood and by the same token a locus of social power (p. 207). On the one hand, through identification, participants obtain the forms of membership for their identities and are empowered by their legitimate belonging to the communities; on the other hand, the very process of identification also limits the participants negotiability as the power of belonging to the communities also becomes the power which defines who they are and confines what they belong to. Similarly, the COP is a community where participants are mutually engaged to share their practice and work together for their joint enterprise; however, it is also the very place which produces the economies of meaning that entails the negotiation of the value of meanings. The interplay between identification and negotiability provides a complicated picture of identity construction. The interrelatedness of the two concepts is summarized below:
Identification without negotiability is powerlessness---vulnerability, narrowness, marginality. Conversely, negotiability without identification is empty---it is meaningless power, freedom as isolation and cynicism. Identification gives us material to define our identities; negotiability enables us to use this material to assert our identities as productive of meaning; and we weave these two threads into the social fabric of our identities. (Wenger, 1998, p. 208)

Although tension exists between identification and negotiability, they both reinforce each other and thus cannot be replaced during the process of identity formation. Wenger (1998) stresses that, rather than being reduced to a dichotomy between collective and individual, the two concepts should be understood as a critical part of the intrinsic dual process of identity formation that shapes both the communities and the identities of the participants.

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Teaching as identity formation in communities of practice Both the Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and the Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998) have been applied in the studies on teacher identity formation in COP. For example, Tsui (2007) examines how an EFL teacher, Minfang, constructed and reconstructed his professional identities from being an EFL learner to an English teacher in the same university where he transformed his self from a resistant learner to the dominating Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach to a model CLT teacher and the custodian of CLT, and further to a teacher of eclectic approach after several years of English teaching. Based on Wengers (1998) framework of social ecology of identity, the researcher points out that Minfangs teacher identity formation was a result of the complex interplay between identification and negotiability. The teachers legitimacy of access to the COP was a critical factor influencing his identity formation, and this legitimate access to practice was mutually linked with his possession of the competence recognized by the COP. Based on the research findings, Tsui (2007) argues that Minfangs legitimacy of access was not only provided by the institution but also legitimated by himself who had tried to obtain the essential competence valued by the community and to align his practice with the requirements of the institution. Minfangs journey from (non)-participation to the negotiation of meaning of CLT during his teaching experience was crucial to his identity formation. However, whether he obtained the ability to negotiate and construct meaning and to claim his ownership of meaning was affected by the asymmetrical power relations within the institutional hierarchy which was in turn affected by the broader social, cultural, and political contexts beyond the COP.

Drawing on the learning theories by Lave and Wenger (1991) and Wenger (1998), Edwards and Tsui (2009) pay attention to the process of student teaching and identity formation in the COP under school-university partnership. Research findings indicate that STs development of their professional identities during TP reflected the tendency of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger,
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1991). Echoing Tsui (2007), Edwards and Tsui (2009) argue that legitimacy of access to practice was both participative and reificative, and that such legitimacy of access was both reified by others and self-reifying. The researchers also argue that mutual engagement was indispensable for both meaning negotiation and obtaining membership of community. Whether the STs competence was recognized by the community was a crucial factor which affected both the process of identification and negotiability. Due to different degrees of participation and non-participation, student teaching developed different learning trajectories and formed peripheral or marginal identities. The cultural dissonances existing between the placement school and the university resulted in the STs possession of multi-memberships, and the asymmetrical power relationship among community members also gave rise to the identity conflicts in the STs during the TP. 2.2.1.3 Learning-to-teach as identity formation in the school-university partnership activity system In the previous section, both the Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and the Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998) have provided productive conceptual tools for interpreting the key components of learning, modes of belonging, the dual process of identity formation as well as the different learning trajectories in COP. However, both theories seem to present a relatively simplistic view of learning without providing sufficient conceptualization of the interrelated tensions and contradictions involved in various levels of COP as a result of unequal positions or power relations (Bloomfield, 2009; Tsui, Lopez-Real, et al., 2009). Another sociocultural theory---Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001; Leont'ev, 1978, 1981; Vygotsky, 1978)---is adopted to explore pre-service teacher learning and identity construction in a wider social context. I shall first introduce the development of Activity Theory and then address the application of the theory in studies concerning teacher professional development in school-university partnership.

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Activity Theory Activity theory is an extension of Vygotskian sociocultural theory which has evolved through three generations (Engestrom, 2001). Originated from Lev Vygotsky s (1978) Cultural-Historical Activity Theory in the early 1930s, the theory was later developed by his students and followers including representative figures such as Leont'ev (1978,1981) and Engestrom (1987,1999). The main models of the three generations of Activity Theory are discussed one by one in this section.

The First generation The first generation of Activity Theory mainly builds on the concept of mediation which is the central thesis in Vygotskys thinking. One of the basic themes in Vygotskys writing is that higher mental functioning and human action in general are mediated by tools (or technical tools) and signs (or psychological tools) (Wertsch, 1991). According to Vygotsky, humans do not contact with the social physical world directly, but use symbolic artifacts to establish an indirect or mediated relationship between ourselves and the world (Lantolf, 2000b; Wertsch, 2007). As indicated in the following model of mediated act, Vygotsky (1978) argues that the simple stimulus-response process representing the elementary form of behavior is consequently replaced by a complex mediated act. This auxiliary stimulus process transfers the psychological operation to higher and qualitatively new forms and permits humans, by the aid of extrinsic stimuli, to control their behavior from the outside. The use of signs enables humans to progress from biological development to a culturally-based psychological process (p.40, emphasis in original).

Figure 2.2: Vygotskys model of mediated act (1978, p. 40)

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Mediation, according to Lantolf and Thorne (2006), refers to the process through which humans deploy culturally constructed artifacts, concepts, and activities to regulate (i.e. gain voluntary control over and transform) the material world or their own and each others social and mental activities (p.79). Vygotskys concept of cultural mediation is also represented in a triangular model with the triad of subject, object, and instruments (artifacts, tools and signs) as indicated in the following figure.

Figure 2.3: The reformulation of Vygotskys Model of Mediation (Engestrom, 2001, p.134)

Cole (1996) highlights the merits of the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as follows:
the incorporation of tools into the activity creates a new structural relation in which the cultural (mediated) and natural (unmediated) routes operate synergistically; through active attempts to appropriate their surroundings to their own goals, people incorporate auxiliary means (including, very significantly, other people) into their actions, giving rise to the distinctive triadic relationship of subject-medium-object (p.119).

While the first generation of Activity Theory provides the revolutionary concept of mediation which builds a link between the individuals mental process with the social, cultural, and historical world (Wertsch, 2007), the unit of analysis in the model of mediation is still individually focused (Engestrom, 2001). A new model which addresses the entire collective activity system as well as its internal relations in the social context becomes necessary (Engestrom, 1993, 1999, 2001).

The second generation To seek the appropriate unit of analysis for consciousness explanation, Leont'ev (1978;1981) proposes three distinct but interrelated levels of analysis which combine to form the explanatory framework of Activity Theory. As indicated in the following figure, the three levels of analysis include: activity, action, and operation.
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Activity

Object/ Motive

activity Action

Goal

Operation

Conditions

Figure 2.4: The hierarchical structure of activity (Daniels, 2001, p. 87)

An activity is a collective, systemic formation that has a complex meditational structure (Engestrom, 1999). Activity is not only doing something, but doing something that is motivated by a need which becomes a motive once directed at a specific object (Lantolf, 2000b). Accordingly, activities are distinguished by their objects, and the changing and development of these objects is related to the motives which drive them (Leont'ev, 1978). Activities are socioculturally defined rather than being determined or confined by the physical or perceptual context in which humans function (Wertsch, 1985). An activity system produces actions (Engestrom, 1999). According to Leontev, an individual (or group) action is guided by a conscious goal, but the meaning of the action is determined by the motive which guides the activity. While the same activity can be realized through different actions and with different forms of mediation, an action can vary independently of an activity, thus the same action can serve different activities. Goal-directed actions are instantiated in a real setting through operations that are driven by the conditions under which the actions are carried out (Leont'ev, 1978;1981). Lantolf and Appel (1994) summarize the basic concepts in the three levels of Activity Theory:
Motives energize an activity and goals impart directionality (Leont'ev, 1981, p. 60). The actual realization of the activity is achieved through specific material circumstances at the operational level. Thus, the level of motive answers why something is done, the level of goal answers what is done, and the level of operations answers how it is done. The link between socioculturally defined motives and concrete actions and operations is
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provided by semiotic systems, of which language is the most powerful and pervasive. (p. 22)

Activities can only be directly observed at the level of conditions; however, the motives and goals of particular activities cannot be decided only from the level of concrete doing, since the same observable activity can be connected to different motives and goals while different concrete activities can be associated with the same motives and goals (Lantolf, 2000b). Leontev opposes to the frozen notion of hierarchy in an activity structure, and the continuous transformation between the three levels of analysis is essential in the hierarchical structure of activity (Daniels, 2001).

In the Activity Theory discussed above, Leontev distinguishes the two concepts, activity and action, which has not been developed by Vygotsky. He also illustrates the characteristics of the fundamental concepts in the theory and expands the scope of the notion of activity by suggesting that motive can be collective while goals are individual (Daniels, 2001). Both Leontev (1981) and Luria (1976) further develop Vygotskys original mediation model and argue that individual actions are embedded in collective social activity systems. They also propose that the unit of analysis should be a collective activity system rather than an individual action. The concept of activity, according to Leont'ev (1981), implies a social collective system that is directed by a motive---the object which is achieved through a series of goal-directed actions. It is by the mediation of the artifacts including tools and signs that the subject(s) achieve(s) the object. Compared with the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, Leontev has conceptually enriched Activity Theory; however, he has not changed much of the model as its components are still represented by only the upper triangle of the figure below.

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Figure 2.5: The structure of a human activity system (Engestrom, 1987, p.78) Based on Leontevs (1981) theory, Engestrom (1987) expands the model into a structure of a human activity system. As indicated in the above model, besides the three original components, subject, object, and artifacts (tools and signs), three more components are proposed---community, rules, and division of labor. Community refers to the social basis in which the activity systems are embedded, and the subjects within the community share the same object. Both the two components community and subjects are mediated by another component---rules, which specifies explicitly or implicitly the norms and requirements that the subjects must follow within the community. The component division of labor mediates the community and the object, it describes the tasks which the different subjects in the community must fulfill to achieve the object, and also mediates the transformation of the object into an outcome. In Activity Theory, the contexts are activity systems. These various components within the activity system are not isolated from one another but are constantly being constructed, renewed, and transformed as the outcome and course of human life (Cole, 1996; Engestrom, 1987, 1993, 1999; Tsui & Law, 2007). By expanding the original subject-mediator-object triangle into a set of interconnected triangles, Engestrom both includes and enlarges the cultural-historical model of mediation. Daniels (2001) summarizes the significance of the second generation Activity Theory: on the one hand, the expansion of the model provides a representation of the social/collective elements in an activity system, which enables the observation of the activity system from a macro view of the entire collective community rather than a micro one which
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focuses on individual actors operating with tools; on the other hand, the new expanded model not only highlights the interrelations between subjects and community, it also provides a lens to observe the different sources of contradictions emerging in the activity system which, according to Il'enkov (1977), are driving forces of transformation and development.

The third generation The inactiveness of the second generation Activity Theory has been challenged. Drawing on Bahktins (1981) concepts, activity theorists see the necessity to apply the concepts of dialogicality and multi-voicedness to further develop the theory (Daniels, 2001; Engestrom, 2001). Engestrom et al. (1995), for example, argue that most of the previous learning and problem solving approaches mainly focus on a discourse of vertical development toward higher psychological functions, while it has not paid enough attention to the issue of the diversity and dialogue between different traditions or perspectives (p.319). Although the vertical view remains a fundamental theory in guiding empirical studies, the researchers argue for a horizontal and multi-dimensional view of human development (Engestrom, 2001; Engestrom et al., 1995). In view of the limitations of the second generation Activity Theory, Engestrom (1999,2001) proposes the third generation of the theory which is graphically represented as follows.

Figure 2.6: The third generation of activity theory: Two interacting activity systems as minimal model (Engestrom, 2001, p. 136)

The above model of the third generation of Activity Theory indicates an even more complex activity system which involves two sub-systems. The joining of two interacting activity systems resonates with the concept of bo undary
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crossing put forward by Engestrom et al. (1995). Based on the research findings of problem solving activities from different professional scopes, the researchers realize that solving practical problems demands expertise of multiple contexts. Therefore, it is necessary that subjects of activity systems who are embedded in different COPs collaborate and cross the community boundaries for

complementary or even contradictory cognitive tools, rules, and patterns of social interaction (Engestrom et al., 1995). Konkola (2001) also uses the term boundary zone to refer to a place where elements from both activity systems are present (Konkola, 2001, cited in Tsui & Wong, 2009, p. 284). It should be noted that, as the culture, norms and social patterns in the different activity systems differ, tensions and contradictions may emerge, and there may even be dominance of one activity system over another within the boundary zones. Therefore,

boundary-crossers or brokers (Wenger, 1998) need to face these vital challenges and try to achieve hybrid solutions through negotiations and adjustments. In the third generation of Activity Theory, Engestrom (1999,2001) enriches the theory and proposes five principles for interpreting research findings from an activity-theoretical view: First, activity system as unit of analysis; second, multi-voicedness of activity; third, historicity of activity; fourth, contradictions as driving force of change in activity; and fifth, expansive cycles as possible form of transformation in activity. School-university partnership as activity systems School-university partnership as an effective way of collaboration between institutions has been widely practiced in teacher professional development in many countries. According to Goodlad (1995), school-university partnership refers to the joining of schools and universities for the simultaneous renewal of both schooling and education of educators. Robinson and Darling-Hammond (2005) comment on the role of school-university partnership in teacher education, the joining of school and university forcescan create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, qualitatively transforming the possibilities for
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developing teacher knowledge and knowledge about teaching (p.204). Edwards et al. (2009) emphasize that the preferred relationship between schools and universities is one that is based on equal basis, because a symmetrical power relationship guarantees better learning conditions. However, according to the same researchers, it is difficult to achieve real partnership of equals due to various sorts of practical reasons. It is widely acknowledged that school-university partnership is essential and indispensable for the professional development of both pre-service and in-service teachers (Bloomfield, 2009; Darling-Hammond, 2005; Sutherland et al., 2005; Tsui & Law, 2007). For example, Sutherland et al. (2005) point out that one of the challenges for pre-service teacher education programmes is to provide STs with opportunities for authentic practice in the communities where they practise what they have learned in the university. Therefore, one of the purposes to establish school-university partnership is to provide such practising opportunities to pre-service teachers in order to improve their effectiveness in their future career. According to the researchers, the building of a school-university partnership has also provided both stimulus and opportunity for the development and implementation of legitimate peripheral participation activities (ibid). As a result, school-university partnership enables STs to participate in the COP in the partnership school and to negotiate with their MTs about the professional skills and knowledge that are fundamental to the community. Although school-university partnerships are both the necessary means and crucial opportunity for enhancing both pre-service and inservice teacher education, in practice, there are social and cultural factors which join together and weave a complicated tapestry in the school-university partnership context as an activity system. These complexities make the endeavor of school-university collaboration very difficult. The symmetry or asymmetry power relationship between the school and the university is a critical factor which affects the development of STs learning and identity formation in the school-university partnership. As
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Bloomfield (2009) points out, Trust and power provide an insistent backdrop to relations between universities and schools and between academics and teachers (p.36). Conventional conceptions suggest that schools are deficient in expertise and experience compared with their university counterpart; thus there may not be true equal status between the two parties. This asymmetrical power relationship may hinder the function and development of school-university partnership. As the cultures between the two parties in school-university partnership are usually very different, contradictions and tensions are common. The most significant cultural dissonances, according to Edwards et al. (2009), are the dichotomies in teacher education across the two institutes, which can be reflected in the assumptions that school contexts are more practical while those of universities are more theoretical, and that universities advocate a cognitive and social constructive view of teaching while schools tend to adopt a didactic way of teachin g (p.14-15). Many factors have been reported to constitute the difficulties and challenges in building educational partnership. For example, Sutherland et al. (2005) highlight the major challenges in developing peripheral participation initiatives in a school-university partnership. First, there are organization issues which include difficulty in the design of proper timetables, the inconvenience caused by the long-distance transportation, over-reliance on the goodwill of teachers without remuneration or teaching relief, and the overloading of pre-service teachers to practicing teachers. Second, it is difficult to extend the teacher education programme to include more authentic school-based activities as the existing university courses are comparatively full. Third, due to the limited knowledge and experience of pre-service teachers, it is demanding to create authentic learning activities so that they are not overburdened but at the same time are able to be engaged at a deeper level. Similarly, Robinson and Darling-Hammond (2005) point out that cultural dissonances including different uses of time, differences in norms and work styles, traditions regarding status, and the lack of parity may all cause misunderstandings and clashes between the two institutes, which often lead to disappointing results in school-university
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partnership.

Summarizing

the

challenges

and

opportunities

concerning

partnerships between schools and universities, both of which are facing increasing pressure, Bloomfield (2009) argues that it is necessary to take the following measures into consideration: first, more practicing opportunities should be provided to pre-service teachers; second, additional support should be given to both pre-service teachers and in-service teachers in personal professional development; third, the involvement of both practicing teachers and university supervisors should be reinforced and the value of such involvement should also be improved; fourth, more emphasis should be attached to the diversity and quality of the school-based experiences and activities; fifth, both the school and the university should continually develop more effective forms of collaboration according to the sociocultural contexts.

Learning-to-teach as boundary-crossing in school-university partnership activity system Activity Theory is considered to be a powerful framework for studies of learning activities in various social and cultural settings. In teacher education, researchers have proposed to use Activity Theory as a lens to understand teacher professional development from a sociocultural perspective (Grossman, Smagorinsky, & Valencia, 1999; Johnson, 2009; Smagorinsky, Cook, Moore, Jackson, & Fry, 2004; Tsui, Edwards, et al., 2009; Valencia, Martin, Place, & Grossman, 2009). Teachers professional development starts from pre-service teacher education programmes which consist of both university courses and student teaching in schools. The latter, according to Valencia et al. (2009), remains the mainstay of teacher education programmes (p.304). However, previous studies on pre-service teacher education have reported problems which emerge during student teaching as a result of the disjuncture between settings of the school and the university. Such disjuncture of settings arising from the cultural dissonances of the two types of institutions is reported to have brought about different tensions which have negative impacts on STs learning-to-teach in the placement school (Grossman et

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al., 1999; Johnson, 2009; Smagorinsky et al., 2004; Tsui & Law, 2007; Valencia et al., 2009). The ways in which student teaching is affected by the tensions and the ways in which STs manage to reconcile the goals of the two dichotomous cultural settings and survive their learning-to-teach journey are said to both shape and be shaped by STs identities (Grossman et al., 1999; Johnson, 2009; Smagorinsky et al., 2004; Tsui, Edwards, et al., 2009).

The significance of school-university partnership in teacher professional development can be reflected from the framework of Activity Theory. In second language teaching, Johnson (2009) investigates how teacher education is affected by macro-structures such as educational reform policies, high-stakes tests, and school rules and norms. She reviews Kims (2008) study and analyzes the problems involved in the implementation of English language reform policy in schools in South Korea. Drawing on Activity Theory, Johnson (2009) reveals the inner contradictions existing in the activity system of the schools second language teaching context. The new educational reform policy in South Korea which advocated curricular mandates of CLT and TETE (Teaching English Through English) was not compatible with the culture and norms of the school community whose goal was determined by the exam-oriented tradition in the South Korean society. As a result, the implementation of the new educational reform policy which supported learner-centred task-based communicative activities was met with insurmountable obstacles in South Korean schools where traditional teacher-controlled instruction practices were still dominating the entire activity system. Taking Ahns (2009) research as an example, Johnson (2009) further illustrates the impact of the new educational reform policy on the TP of second language STs. Research findings indicate that the extent to which STs applied the curricular mandates of the educational reform policy in their practices was largely affected by three factors: the mentoring STs received during the TP, their own language learning experiences, and the conventions and norms of schooling that were endemic in the Korean educational system. Grounded in
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Activity Theory, Johnson identifies the inner contradictions in the activity system of the TP context. The mentoring relationship between the STs and their MTs was said to determine the rules and the division of labor in the TP which further changed the original object and outcome of the student teaching activities. The situation of the TP might become even more difficult when the STs did not have much experience before the practicum and when they themselves were actually products of the traditional teacher-fronted approach.

In light of Engestroms (2001) third generation of Activity Theory, Tsui and Law (2007) focus on student teaching experiences in school-university partnership in Hong Kong. Drawing on the concept of boundary crossing (Engestrom, 1987; Wenger, 1998), the authors address the dynamic aspect of the theory by conceptualizing learning-to-teach as boundary-crossing between a school and a university. Research findings indicate that, as a result of the problems caused by community boundaries and unequal power relationships, learning in the boundary zone may generate contradictions and tensions. The researchers argue that instead of interpreting this as a failure the participants had actually come to new understanding of and also created new mediating tools for the learning-to-teach activity by resolving the contradictions through meaning negotiation between both the STs and their more experienced MTs and UTs. By doing so, they transform the function of the school-university partnership activity system from simply mentoring and supervising the STs to one that provides learning opportunity for all tripartite members involved. This research finding reflects the principles of the framework of Activity Theory as proposed by Engestrom (2001) that inner contradictions are sources of change and development. They not only generate disturbances and conflicts, but also innovative attempts to change the activity. In this sense, activities are open systems. With the contradictions of an activity system growing, an expansive transformation may be accomplished.

In the context of Australian teacher education, Bloomfield (2009) explores a new

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type of school-university partnership for Professional Experience programmes of both pre-service and in-service teacher education. Following Engestrom (2001), the author stresses that the conceptualization of school-university partnership must take into consideration the dynamic inner-contradictions, the complex interrelatedness, as well as the hierarchical power relationship within the school learning community. Inspired by Activity Theory, the researcher proposes a new model of Professional Experience within the learning community as an activity system. In this new model, both the STs and the MTs are subjects of the learning activities (subject), and the outcome broadens to include the professional learning of both the STs and the MTs (object). This object is mediated by the artifacts which extend from those standards specified only for STs to an overall standard framework for the professional development of teachers at different career levels (mediating artifacts). Similarly, the roles and responsibilities of the STs, the MTs, and the UTs also change from those only focusing on ST learning to those from a wider framework providing guidance for the professional development of teachers at all career stages (rules). Both the STs and the MTs are co-learners and the UTs act as facilitators for critical reflective learning in the activity system (division of labor). Bloomfield (2009) highlights two factors that contribute to the sustaining of the partnership between universities and schools: First, both institutions share the common responsibility of developing quality beginning teachers with quality Professional Experience learning; second, both UTs and MTs are facing the requirements of the accreditation measures. The school-university partnership thus provides a platform for teachers in all professional stages to work towards their own levels of accreditation during the co-learning and mutual sharing process. According to Bloomfield, it is necessary that universities provide more resources to the placement schools during the collaboration; for example, UTs should not only offer guidance and supervision to STs but also provide support and facilitation to the MTs, and help them reflect critically on the accreditation process and to adapt to the impact of the new political agenda. Bloomfield seems to emphasize that UTs may help the MTs reflect on their professional learning and
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the sociopolitical complexities; however, the supervision and mentoring may not necessarily be one-way beneficial but mutually facilitative as the MTs may also offer front-line practical knowledge and skills for the tertiary supervisors and researchers who may not be as familiar as they are with classroom practice and school ELT conditions.

A review of previous studies indicates that Activity Theory is a productive framework which offers a useful tool to address human development from a sociocultural perspective. Based on the Vygotskian sociocultural insights, Activity Theory helps us to understand human learning as goal-oriented mediated actions; it also provides us with a powerful framework to explore human learning from a broader angle. Appropriating Activity Theory as a lens, researchers are able to analyze the interrelatedness of the activity system which is further embedded in a social community whose cultures and histories bear important relations to the components of the activity system. Focusing on the interrelationship of the contextual factors, researchers can also identify the complex inner-contradictions within the activity system which are dynamic forces that drive the transformation of the learning community. The tensions arising from the contradictions may affect the formation of the subjects identities. The reviewed literature also illustrates that Activity Theory is useful in examining the learning-to-teach process which is essential for teachers professional development. With the Activity Theory Framework, the reasons for the disjuncture of settings between universities and schools may be explored. More elements are identified as essential factors influencing the learning-to-teach experiences including the mentoring relationship, the norms and rules of both the partnership institutions, the prior histories of the subjects, as well as the macro-social structures such as the educational reform policy and the high-stakes test culture. These studies serve as useful references for the present study, which is concerned with EFL pre-service teacher education in school-university partnership in Mainland China.

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2.2.2 A poststructuralist understanding of learning-to-teach as identity formation in school-university partnership The aforementioned theories from the sociocultural perspective have provided useful constructs and vocabulary for understanding identity formation during the learning-to-teach process within the school-university partnership context. However, although these theories all conceptualize learning and identity formation from a holistic and developmental perspective, taking into account the social, historical, and cultural factors during the interaction of the individual and the social structure throughout the process of learning, the sociocultural approach tends to understand identity as a relatively unified notion and see identity formation as either an individual or a social phenomenon unrelated to the political context in which ones actions take place (Zembylas, 2003b, p. 221). Wengers notion of COP has been criticized for being a relatively static model (Engestrom, 1999), offering inadequate theorization of the role of power relations and individual resistance, and paying insufficient attention to the role of language in the identity formation process (Barton & Tusting, 2005; Trent & Gao, 2009; Trent & Lim, 2010; Tusting, 2005). To enhance the sociocultural understanding of identity formation, this section further introduces the poststructuralist approach which emphasizes the cultural and political context of identity formation by using discourse as an important lens to explore the dynamic discursive construction of identity as interactions between individual and structural, ethical and political, with attention given to the intertwining relations between the concepts of identity, discourse, power, and agency.

2.2.2.1 Identity, discourse, power, and agency From poststructuralist perspectives the notion of identity is closely related to concepts such as language, discourse, power, and agency (Block, 2007; Clarke, 2008; Lin, 2008; Morgan & Clarke, 2011; Norton, 2000, 2010; Zembylas, 2003b). The concepts of language and identity are mutually constituted (Norton, 2000). Language is not a neutral tool of communication but is a site of struggles fraught
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with truth and power (Norton, 2010), as Weedon (1997) notes, Language is the place where actual and possible forms of social organization and their likely social and political consequences are defined and contested. Yet it is also the place where our sense of ourselves, our subjectivity, is constructed (p.21). The poststructuralist sees language as discourse which emphasizes the heterogeneity and conflicts in language as well as its social meanings including power relations, social changes, and inequalities in the world. Gee, Hull, and Lankshear (1996) distinguish the Discourse (the big D) in critical discourse analysis from the general term discourse (the small d). According to the authors, a Discourse refers to ways of being in the world, or forms of life which integrate words, acts, values, beliefs, attitudes, and social identities, as well as gestures, glances, body positions and clothes (p.137, emphasis in original). Thus the concept of discourse in social theory is not just language in its linguistic sense, but the resources and medium through which identity is constructed and developed (Block, 2007; Danielewicz, 2001).

Poststructuralist studies are concerned with the impact of discourse and power on identity formation and they highlight the complex interaction between social structure and human agency. Norton (2010) stresses that identity researchers should not only recognize the impact of the structural factors such as social class, race, gender, but also pay attention to the potential influences arising from the various kinds of individual agency. For example, Norton (2000) proposes the construct investment which enriches the psychological concept of instrumental motivation by adding social meaning onto the concept and linking learners desire and commitment to learn the language with their changing identities. Lin (2008) and Lin and Man (2011) provide vivid examples about how individual learners transformed their identities creatively by exercising creative discursive agency which destabilizes boundaries of the stereotyped identities imposed by the schools. In fact, the factor of human agency has received growing concern across identity studies in social science (Morgan & Clarke, 2011). Researchers on second
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language learner identities have identified different sorts of resistance by the ESL learners who exercised their human agency to resist the unfavorable identities imposed on them by the curriculum or the school (Canagarajah, 2004; McKinney & Van Pletzen, 2004; Talmy, 2008). In poststructuralist research of teacher education, Zembylas (2003b) finds that teacher emotions can become sites of both teacher agency and resistance which empower teachers to conquer the feelings of inadequacy or vulnerability during the formation of their professional identities. Clarke (2009) also explores teacher education from angles of the values, morals, and ethics of the individual teachers and argues for the importance of teacher ethical agency in the face of various impediments emerging in the dominating discourses. Compared with the sociocultural perspective which emphasizes the cultural, historical, and institutional aspects of the concept of agency, poststructuralists attach more importance to the cultural and political contexts where human agency is exercised. Thus, teacher identity is considered to be both the effect of prior power as well as the condition of possibility for a radically conditioned form of agency (Bulter, 1997, cited in Zembylas, 2003b, p. 225; emphasis in original).

Teacher identity studies from the poststructuralist perspectives emphasize the impact of the normative discourses in curriculum and school contexts on the construction of teacher identities. Teachers are inevitably subject to various rules and norms during their teaching in the school. Such normative discourses penetrate to their everyday practices and words and are embodied in the specific type of teaching objectives they should set, the kind of teaching material available to them, the teaching content they must finish, the teaching schedule they have to follow, the distance they should keep away from their students and the kind of emotion they are supposed to have or avoid, et cetera. Teacher identities are actually constantly shaped and molded by such routine rules and regulations in their professional practices. Apart from the requirements in teachers routine school behaviors, teachers are also fashioned by many of the social, cultural,
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professional, and moral norms and conventions; for example, the expectations of the students parents, the mandates of school administrators, the curriculum standards set by MOE, the cultural tradition and social criteria on teacher morality that have deposited historically. Embedded in such various rule-governed discourses, teachers may encounter senses of bereavement or paradox being both egocentric and selfless, and they may also step into the dilemma when their personal beliefs, perceptions, behaviors, teaching styles and competence are in contradiction with the cultural tradition, social ideology, administrational mandates, or student/parental expectations (Zembylas, 2003b). Failure to satisfy the various normative discourses may also lead to a sense of teacher professional vulnerability (X. Gao, 2008) which may arise from student/parent complaints, colleague/principle distrusts, public denouncement, inferiority, shame, loss of self-esteem, and even the doubt of their identities as teachers.

Under enormous pressure and impediments from the dominant education discourses existing in both the global social structure and the local institutional school settings, teachers may be positioned in certain pre-determined roles and subject to expectations with criteria already set for them about what count as normal and qualified teacher knowledge, beliefs, words, behaviors as well as acceptable and professional emotions and ethics which they should assimilate into and identify with. They may also be indoctrinated about what are the unqualified, denounced, deviant ones that they are supposed to avoid, abandon, or convert. However, poststructuralists reject such conceptualization of fixed, predetermined, and taken-for-granted teacher identities, but theorize the concept as constantly being negotiated, argued for, and given an account of within specific contexts. A critical issue which poststructuralists are concerned with is to address the problem: Is there any hope of subverting the oppressive discursive practices and of reconstructing new identities? (Zembylas, 2003b, p. 229). Informed by the works of Foucault (Foucault, 1983a, 1985, 1986, 1997a), a growing number of researchers have started to seek alternative conceptualizations
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of teacher identity and other possible spaces for teachers to resist the dominant normative discourses and to struggle for asserting their voices and self-authorship. Britzman (1994), for example, advocates teacher educators to inform their STs of the ideological process of teacher identity construction with the purpose to open spaces for a discourse that...can move beyond the normative discourse of who a teacher is and can become... (p.72). Drawing on a Foucauldian perspective, Zembylas (2003c) explores the relationship between teacher emotion and teacher identity and he argues,
Given the barriers and challenges impeding the formation of new teacher subjectivities, one might argue that there is little prospect for change. Still, teachers might at least use these strategies to contest the forms of subjectivities and the emotional regimes that have been invented for them. In contesting their subjectivities, teachers are engaged in an exercise of responsibility and resistance. This may not guarantee any kind of freedom, but it begins to offer strategies for the care of the teacher-self. (Zembylas, 2003c, p. 127)

Similarly, Niesche and Haase (2010) investigate how the teacher and the principal in their research dealt with the various normative discourses in education including behavior codes and administrative regulations facing them regularly and how they used strategies to circumvent the complexities and conflicts of the disciplinary power in schools through constant ethical reflections on their selves and others. The researchers argue that Foucaults framework of ethical dimensions contribute to illuminating how the two educators cope with the normalizations and power relations in their positions respectively and construct their identities by identifying their telos and engaging actively in working on them ethically and persistently. Following Foucaults four dimensions of ethics (Foucault, 1983a, 1985), Clarke (2009) outlines a framework for doing teacher identity and emphasizes the indispensability of consideration of the ethico-political issues in teacher identity formation under the current circumstances when teachers are encountered with various impediments on their way to exercise professional agency. Clarkes framework for doing teacher identity provides valuable references for exploring EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in this study and it will be further elaborated in the following section.

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2.2.2.2 Teacher identity formation as ethics Foucaults work has contributed enormously to the research on identity which he prefers to as subjectivity. According to Foucault, the word subject implies double meanings: a subject subjugated to another by control and dependence, and the subject attached to his own identity by consciousness or self-knowledge. Both meanings suggest a form of power that subjugates and subdues (Foucault, 1983b, p. 212). Throughout his lifetime, Foucault has been interested in the concept of subjectivity and the relation between subjectivity and the game of truth. In his later years, Foucault searches for the shifting focus of concern in history of the two closely related maxims---know yourself and the care of yourself, both of which emerged in his exploration of subjectivity issues. In his archaeological analysis of history, Foucault realizes that, for a long term in Western modernity, know thyself had remained predominantly the essential imperative which disproportionally emphasized the importance of knowledge while diminishing the care of the self and the common kindness, interest, and care about each other among people. For Foucault, it was one of our biggest wrong turnings to abandon all feelings, unity, support, and care for our selves and other people only for the sake of knowledge (Rabinow, 1997, p. xxv). Facing the loss of morality, Foucault rejects the modernity norms, virtues, and moral systems of renunciation of human natural feelings, words, and behaviors, and diverts himself from the dominating knowledge-based intellectual territory by focusing on the other maxim---the care of the self. He dedicates his later life to the research on the formation of self as an ethical subject. Inspired by the ancient Greeks pursuit of aesthetic life, Foucault tries to answer the question How is one to live? with the idea of the art of ethics which is based on an aesthetics of existence (O'Leary, 2002, p. 1). Thus, Deleuze elaborates, The key thing, for Foucault, is that subjectification isnt to do with morality, with any moral code; its ethical and aesthetic, as opposed to morality, which partakes of knowledge and power. (Delueze, 1995, p.114, cited Luna, 2009, p. 141)

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Foucault explains the concept of ethics by distinguishing it from morality. According to Foucault, the history of morality is concerned with both moral acts and moral codes, the former referring to the permitted or forbidden actual behaviors, while the latter deciding the positive or negative values of the different behaviors. Foucault suggests that there is another aspect of the moral codes which he deems as essential---how individuals are considered to constitute themselves as moral subjects of their behaviors, that is, the kind of relationship you ought to have with yourself which Foucault defined as ethics (Foucault, 1997c, p. 263). According to Foucault, ethics is
A process in which the individual delimits that part of himself that will form the object of his moral practice, defines his position relative to the precept he will follow, and decides on a certain mode of being that will serve as his moral goal. And this requires him to act upon himself, to monitor, test, improve and transform himself. (Foucault, 1992, p. 28)

Foucault further elaborates four main dimensions of ethics which he uses to answer the following questions: 1) Which aspect or which part of myself or behavior is related to moral conduct? 2) In what way are we invited or encouraged to observe our moral obligations? 3) By what means can we transform ourselves to be ethical subjects? and 4) What kind of being do we behave ethically to achieve? To answer the first question, Foucault refers to the ethical substance which he means ones will to truth, that is, the way that individual has to constitute this or that part of himself as the prime material of his moral conduct (Foucault, 1997b, p. xxix). It can be the behavior or the desire of a person, something in himself like material that he is able to act on and deal with ethically. Foucault calls the second dimension of ethics the mode of subjectivation which means to stylize or give a form to ones self. Foucault defines it as the way in which the individual establishes his relation to the rule and recognizes himself as obligated to put it into practice(Foucault, 1997b, p. xxx). The mode of subjectivation involves the ideas, rules, or discourses people are supposed to follow. The third dimension of ethics is what Foucault calls ethical work---the critical thinking and self-forming activity. It is the work one performs to attempt to transform oneself into the ethical subject of ones
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behavior (Foucault, 1997b, p. xxxiii). The ethical work may include various elaborations of a person to make him an ethical self, for example, controlling his behaviors, observing limits, practicing temperance, being self-disciplined. The fourth aspect of ethics is the telos which Foucault labels disassembling the self. It refers to The place an action occupies in a pattern of conduct. It commits an individual...to a certain mode of being, a mode of being characteristic of the ethical subject (Foucault, 1997b, p. xxxviii). Such intentions and goals may be different; for example, they may include goals to be the master of oneself, to be a pure man, a free or immortal person.

It should be noted that Foucaults shifting of his research focus to the care for the self, and rejecting the Western modern form of morality, should not be interpreted as going to the extreme of total abandoning all forms of morals, as O'Leary (2002) argues, Foucaults project is not one of immoral, or amoral, nihilism, his aim is to replace a certain form of morality with something which he prefers to call an ethics (p.15). In fact, Foucault emphasizes the interrelatedness between ethics and freedom, ...what is ethics, if not the practice of freedom, the conscious practice of freedom?...Freedom is the ontological condition of ethics. But ethics is the considered form that freedom takes when it is informed by reflection (Foucault, 1997a, p. 284). According to Foucault, freedom is in constant dialectic relations with power, as he says, ...in order for power relations to come into play, there must be at least a certain degree of freedom on both sides...This means that in power relations there is necessarily the possibility of resistance because if there were no possibility of resistance, ...there would be no power relations at all...(Foucault, 1997a, p. 292). O'Leary (2002) argues that the aim of Foucaults work of ethics is the art of freedom, as he points out,
To create oneself through an art of freedom does not involve pursuing an inner truth or a personal authenticity, nor does it involve freely submitting to a self-imposed moral law... Rather, it involves both the task of identifying those aspects of our lives where we are more free than we thought...and the task of creating new forms of life within those newly opened spaces of freedom. (O'Leary, 2002, p. 170)

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Foucault further elaborates the relationship between the care of the self and the care of others. Since the care of the self must be ethical and aesthetic, the person must take proper care of the others. When exercising the power on others, he ought to do so appropriately and also exercise the power over himself. Thus, proper governing of oneself in turn leads to better governing of others. Nevertheless, Foucault argues that, due to ontological priority of ones relationship with himself, the care of the self should be addressed ahead of the care for others (Foucault, 1997a). Foucaults theoretical work which explores the relation between ethical formation of self and freedom have been recognized as valuable for education studies. For example, Infinito (2003a) argues, Foucaults ethics is most promising for education (p. 171) because the concept of ethos proposed by Foucault provides a useful framework for education by highlighting three fundamental elements on self construction: the appropriate spaces for individuals to create alternative selves, the awareness of the discursive elements in both ones identity and the cultural historical conditions, and the critical attitude and stance in the individuals to re-create their selves and the world. In teacher education, Clarke (2009) advocates raising teachers awareness about the possibilities to transform their teacher identities by engaging actively in the teaching practice, encountering and negotiating with others, and reflecting critically on their selves. Concerning the various hindrance teachers are faced with during their exercising of professional agency, the researcher argues for the indispensability for teachers to deliberate on their ethical agency and care for their own selves. Drawing on Foucault (1983b;1985), Clarkes (2009) framework for doing teacher identity includes the four axes: the substance of teacher identity, the authority sources of teacher identity, the self-practices of teacher identity, and the telos of teacher identity(p.190). According to Clarke, teacher identity formation is an ongoing ethico-political process involving interaction of both the social and the individual. It is political as teacher identity formation inevitably encounters tensions and
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power relations in the dominating discourses. It is also ethical since teachers have their own choices to select the kind of teacher identities they intend to construct and such freedom of choices, according to Foucault, must be informed by critical reflection and should also take into consideration the care of others (Foucault, 1997a). Clarkes (2009) diagram of doing teacher identity provides a potentially instructive framework for exploring identity issues in pre-service teacher education. The questions explaining the four ethico-political axes of teacher identity also enlighten the investigation of teacher identities: 1) What aspects or parts of the teachers do they utilize to constitute their teaching selves? 2) What attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors do teachers consider as their authority sources as being a teacher? Why do they develop such discursive authorities? 3) What are the techniques and self-practices do teachers adopt to construct their teaching selves? and 4) What are the goals and purposes do teachers have concerning their teaching selves? What kind of teachers do they want to become?

2.3 A conceptual framework for pre-service teacher identity formation as ethics in school-university partnership The above sections reviewed the previous literature on learning-to-teach as identity formation in the school-university partnership context from both sociocultural and poststructuralist perspectives. Based on the theories reviewed, this section introduces a conceptual framework for exploring pre-service teacher identity formation in school-university partnership. The conceptual framework for the present study is conceptualized in Figure 2.7.

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Social structure
Mediating Artifact 1 Mediation Artifact 3 Mediation Artifact 2

Subject3 Subject1 Object1 Outcome1 Rules 3 Community3 Division of Rules 1 Community1 Labor1

Object3 Outcome3 Object2 Outcome2 Division of Labor 3 Subject2

Division of Labor2 Community2 Rules 2

University discourse

S-U partnership

School discourse

Legitimate Peripheral Participation Social structure

Engagement Imagination Alignment

Ongoing teacher identity

The substance of teacher identity The authority sources of teacher identity The self-practices of teacher identity The telos of teacher identity

Ongoing teacher identity

Figure 2.7: A framework for pre-service teacher identity formation in school-university partnership

As the framework indicates, learning-to-teach in the school-university partnership context is a complex process involving factors at the social, institutional, and individual levels. This study investigates the identity formation of STs during TP which took place as boundary-crossing between a university and a partnership school. Both institutions were in turn embedded in a broader social structure. Previous studies also indicate that learning-to-teach and the formation of teacher identity is a socialization process (Zeichner & Gore, 1990) during which the individual transforms him/herself at different stages prior to, during and after formal teacher education. In this sense, the forces affecting ST identity formation weave a web of time and space involving elements personally, institutionally, and socially; in the past, at present, and in the future. Accordingly, the identity formation of STs during TP in the school-university partnership may shape and simultaneously be shaped by the web of time and space intertwined by a series of forces: (1) at the personal level (the subject, as indicated by the inner smallest oval in Fig 2.7), such as their personalities and predisposition to teaching, past education experience, subject matter knowledge, pedagogical and didactical skills,
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prior teaching experience, teaching beliefs, emotions, as well as the biography and critical incidents in their life; (2) at the institutional level (both the school discourse and the university discourse as indicated by the two overlapping ovals respectively in Fig 2.7), such as observations during prior schooling, the impact of previous teachers, the curriculum design of the pre-service teacher education programme, field-based teaching experiences in the placement school, attitudes about the school culture and the goals/priorities of the school education programme, the ecological condition of the classroom, the students expectations, the relevance of school requirements and the university TP objectives, the tripartite relationship between STs, MTs and UTs, as well as the hidden curriculum which specifies the nature of the curriculum, the status and power of teachers, the pedagogical practices as well as the social relations and organizations in the school programme; and (3) at the social level (the discourses of social structure as indicated by the outer oval in Fig 2.7), such as family background, significant others in the society, the social, cultural, economic, and political features of the society, the organization of education systems, the societal and parental expectations, the ideology of teaching profession, professionalization of knowledge, cultural values and beliefs on education, as well as the micropolitics within and beyond the institutions.

The process of STs learning-to-teach and identity formation takes place in institutions including both the school and the university. This learning-to-teach experience begins with the pre-service teacher education programme in the university which, drawing on Engestroms(1987) Activity Theory, is

conceptualized as artifact-mediated actions motivated by the collective object-oriented social learning activities within a community of learning. Thus, the learning-to-teach process is embedded in the university community as a holistic activity system (Activity System 1) with the ST(s) being the subject(s) of the learning activity, his/her relation with the community mediated by the rules and norms within the university. Through division of labor among community
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members, the subject(s) achieve(s) the object of the activity system which is transformed into an outcome via the mediation of the task assignment and fulfillment within the organization of the community. Grounded in the third generation of the Activity Theory (Engestrom, 2001), the TP is conceived as an expansive learning experience when STs enter and learn to teach in the placement school which is a community of another learning activity system (Activity System 2) with the subjects being the middle school students---their teaching objects during the practicum. According to Engestrom (2001), the two interacting activity systems should be considered as a minimal unit of analysis with elements in both activity systems being considered together as a whole learning system. Due to cultural dissonances between the university and the school as two different activity systems (Grossman et al., 1999; Smagorinsky et al., 2004; Tsui & Law, 2007), the TP as boundary-crossing learning activities in the school-university partnership may give rise to contradictions between the objects of the two activity systems. As pointed out by Tsui and Law (2007), the object of the university activity system is to help the STs apply their university theory and knowledge to the classroom practice while that of the school activity system is to help the middle school students achieve better learning results. Engestrom (2001) argues that the new object of the boundary-cross learning activity is not fixed but a moving target which is collaboratively constructed so that it can be potentially shared by both activity systems. Following Bloomfield (2009), the members in the community of school-university partnership form a new co-learning activity system (Activity System 3). In this school-university partnership activity system, the community consists of STs, MTs, UTs, and their school students, with STs and school students being both subjects and the STs professional development and the improving of school students learning being both objects of the activity system. The learning activities in this new activity system are mediated by artifacts comprising syllabus, textbooks, teaching methods, teaching aids, et cetera; and the teaching activities are embedded in the community with both the university Teaching Practicum Scheme and the school regulations being the rules of the
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activity system. The division of labor as mediation between the community and the object specifies the duties of different community members: the STs enact the lessons, the school students receive the instruction, and the MTs and UTs both provide guidance and assessment for the TP activities. It is assumed that tensions and conflicts may emerge during the TP due to contradictions between interrelated components in the new activity system and the asymmetrical tripartite power relations between STs, MTs, and UTs (Bloomfield, 2009; Grossman et al., 1999; Lopez-Real, Law, & Rosina, 2009; Smagorinsky et al., 2004; Tsui & Law, 2007). These tensions and contradictions among the school-university partnership activity system are considered to be driving forces of change in the activity system (Engestrom, 2001; Il'enkov, 1977) which also contribute to the transformation of STs professional identities.

Based on the Situated Learning theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and the Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998), the TP experience in the school-university partnership is conceptualized as a learning trajectory during which STs participate and engage themselves in the practices and negotiations in the community, transform their identities, and become a member of the COP (Wenger, 1998). Following Lave and Wenger (1991), such a learning experience is characterized as a process of legitimate peripheral participation which illustrates different degrees of participations in their learning trajectories and different identities whether they are of marginal, peripheral or full membership in the COP. Both legitimacy of participation and the peripherality of participation are necessary conditions for individual STs to achieve their learning object and to claim the membership of the school-university partnership community. In light of Tsui (2007,2009), the legitimacy of access to practice is not only other-oriented---granted by the institution, but also self-oriented as the learners may legitimate their access by demonstrating their possession of the competence valued by the community. In this sense, the learners competence is dialectically related to their being offered the legitimacy of access to practice and their membership being recognized by the
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community. Participation is an important source of identity formation which is a dual process of identification and negotiability. The learners ability to participate in the negotiation of meaning and obtain ownership of the membership is shaped by the ideology and asymmetrical power relationship in the community. According to Wenger (1998), the dual process of identity formation has three modes of belonging as sources for both identification and negotiability: engagement, imagination, and alignment. These modes of belonging have unique strengths and weaknesses and they complement each other to contribute different aspects to the development of the COP and the STs identity formation.

As illustrated in the framework, the school-university partnership activity system is embedded in the boundary zone (Konkola, 2001, cited in Tsui & Law, 2007)---the place where elements of both the interacting activity systems coexist. Such a boundary zone has the characteristics of multi-contextualization and multi-voicedness and consists of contesting discourses of the involved activity systems which offer potentials for transformations of tensions and contradictions in the zones of learning (Tsui & Law, 2007). Accordingly, in the boundary zone of this study, the learning-to-teach activities in the school-university partnership may be affected by both discourses of the university and the school emphasizing either the progressive university knowledge, skills and theories in the former or the traditional school practical teaching rules, requirements, and conventions in the latter (Ahn, 2011; Kim, 2011; Lopez-Real et al., 2009; Tsui & Law, 2007).

To explore the STs identity formation under the two dominating discourses in the school and the university, I also turn to the poststructuralist approach which views identity not as already existing and predetermined by the social structure but as negotiated and argued for (MacLure, 1993) by the individuals and constructed discursively and continuously (Clarke, 2008, 2009; Miller Marsh, 2002; Morgan & Clarke, 2011). Drawing on Foucault (1997a), identity formation is closely related to games of truth and practices of power (p. 290). There is a
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dialectical relation between power and freedom: in order for power relations to come into play, there must be at least a certain degree of freedom on both sides (ibid, p.292). Freedom is intimately related to ethics. Foucault elaborates the relation between the two concepts, Freedom is the ontological condition of ethics. But ethics is the considered form that freedom takes when it is informed by reflection (ibid, p.284). In this sense, identity formation is not only political but also ethical. Foucault regards self formation as ethics which can be approached from four basic dimensions: ethical substance, mode of subjectivation, ethical work, and telos. Borrowing Clarkes (2009) framework of doing identity work which is based on Foucaults four axes of ethical self formation, I examine the ethico-political identity formation of the STs during their TP through the following four aspects:the substance of teacher identity, the authority-sources of teacher identity, the self-practices of teacher identity, and the telos of teacher identity. Adopting Clarkes (2009) framework of ethico-political identity formation, I address ST identity formation as interactions of both the individual and social, personal and political, and conceptualize ST identities as both shaping and being shaped by the discourses where their learning-to-teach activities are embedded. I also pay particular attention to how individual STs exercise their critical, ethical and creative agencies under the dominant discourses as pursuit of their freedom and the care of their self (Foucault, 1997a).

2.4 Summary In this chapter, I have reviewed the different theoretical frameworks informing research on teacher identity and the factors affecting the formation of teacher professional identities. In particular, I have discussed the theories on teacher learning and identity formation from two theoretical perspectives---the sociocultural approach and the poststructuralist approach, both of which I further adopted to establish a theoretical framework conceptualizing pre-service teachers identity formation in school-university partnership as a dynamic developmental process involving multifaceted factors in social, historical and cultural contexts on
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the one hand, and as interaction between dominant discourses and the STs individual agency on the other. Both of these highlight the transformation of the STs teacher self via ongoing struggles for voice and authorship under a series of personal and social, political and ethical interactions.

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CHAPTER THREE

BACKGROUND

This chapter introduces the social, cultural and historical background of the present study. I shall first present the social context of the research by reviewing the impact of traditional Chinese culture and the sociohistorical, political and economic development on Chinese EFL teacher education. I shall then describe the institutional context by unfolding the discourses dominating the partnership between the two institutions in this study, namely, the discourse of the progressive university EFL pre-service teacher education program and that of the school exam-oriented ELT education.

3.1 The social background of EFL teacher education Previous literature on Chinese education has indicated the tremendous impact of the Chinese cultural, historical, political and economic environments on STs professional socialization. The various forces at the social level further influence the STs conceptualization of the nature of ELT in Mainland China and their recognition of professional identities in the school-university partnership.

3.1.1 The impact of traditional Chinese culture on Chinese education From a cultural-historical perspective, the STs prior basic education in schools and their pre-service teacher education in the university are said to have been deeply affected by the traditional Chinese culture. Gu Mingyuan (2006), chief editor of Grand Dictionary of Education ( , 1998 Shanghai Education Press), points out that education is an integral part of culture, and therefore Chinese education has inevitably been influenced by the traditional Chinese culture which centred on the Confucian thoughts (p.169). The goal of traditional education in ancient China, as illuminated in the Confucian classics The Great Learning (Daxue), was to cultivate personal moral character, regulate home life, govern the country, and make the world peaceful (
Xiushen, Qijia, Zhiguo, Pingtianxia)---the four aspects which had been

regarded as the traditional moral ethics in Chinese ancient culture. The education
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objectives were to cultivate people to become sages ( Xianren)---a man with supreme virtue and authority among people of wisdom, virtue, and ability and men of virtues ( Junzi)---a man with principles of benevolence, justice, and integrity; a man with competence and supreme virtue (p.174). The content of education was Confucian doctrines composed of the Four Books (
Sishu) and Five Classics ( Wujing) , and the instructional method for
5

higher learning academies or research institutes was a heuristic approach. For example, one of the ways Confucius discussed issues with his disciples was recorded in the famous The Analects of Confucius ( Shuer), The Master said, Not until he is eager to know but feels difficult do I instruct; not until he wants to speak out but fails to express himself do I enlighten. If present him one corner and he can not infer the other three from it, I do not continue the lesson.
() (p.177). However, for

basic education in the general populace the pedagogy was mainly rote learning of Confucian classics and teaching for the imperial examination. According to Gu (2006), the imperial civil service examination system ( Kejuzhidu), the assessment system in ancient Chinese education, was an examination system for the imperial government to select scholar-officials for the public office (p.178). The imperial civil service examination system is said to have left an enormous impact on current Chinese education as reflected in both basic and higher ELT education that I shall further elaborate in the following sections.

The domination of traditional Confucian culture in ancient Chinese education has both positive and negative impact on the modern education in the country. As Gu (2006) summarizes, the traditional Chinese culture has left a precious legacy for

The Four Books include: The Great LearningDaxue, The Doctrine of the Mean

Zhongyong, The Analects of ConfuciusLunyu, and The Book of Mencius Mengzi; and the Five Classics include: The Book of Songs Shijing, The Book of History Shangshu, The Book of ChangesZhouyi, The book of RitesLijing, and The Spring and Autumn annalsChunqiu.

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current education in China, those educational thoughts such as education without discrimination ( Youjiaowulei), prioritizing moral goals ( Deyuweixian), teaching students in accordance with their aptitude ( Yincaishijiao), and combining learning with thinking ( Xuesibingzhong) are still fundamental education principles and instruction methods in current schools and education institutions. However, there are also obvious negative effects on modern education in China. For example, although education appears to be an essential means for the common populace to change the fate of their family by winning the opportunity to serve the ruling class and squeezing into the upper social stratification, education is primarily prioritized in the reinforcement of the authority of the government and governance of the citizens, which has been tainted with a strong sense of feudalism. The education objective---educating sages and junzis for the ruling class, has encouraged a utilitarian motivation that the ultimate purpose of learning is to achieve scholarly honor and official ranks ( Dushu Qiu Gongming). Through the indoctrination of the Confucian thoughts as the basic ethics, which has remained the dominating education principles in the nation for a long time, the common people have been thoroughly brainwashed by the ideas that men should follow the ethics of obedience: namely, the citizens absolute obedience to the imperial family, the subordinates compliance with the superordinates, the sons and daughters filial piety to parents, and the wives submission to their husbands. Gu (2006) illustrates the comment of some scholars in which he finds some truth,
Education in the past few thousand years in China could be summarized in the word of obedience. Those cultivated by this education dare not think, dare not speak, dare not take risks, and lack in pioneering and innovating spirit, which seriously hindered the progress and development of Modern China. (p. 173)

The uncritical character in many Chinese learners is also reflected in their uncritical respect and admiration for authoritative scholars who are commonly acknowledged as experts or masters whose authority is not supposed to be challenged. The compliance and piety to authority as virtue have their origin in ancient Chinese history. Confucius is such an unchallengeable spiritual and moral
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guru that his mottos are classics to be remembered, and what the Master says ( Ziyue meaning a quote from Confucius) is quoted as persuasive arguments in Chinese traditional literature.

Another conspicuous negative effect of the traditional Chinese culture is concerned with the imperial civil service examination system which has been in operation for about 1300 years, and its impact on current Chinese education seems unignorable. A major influence of the imperial civil service examination system is the credential value it has created in the Chinese society (Gu, 2006). For common people, education being the only means for secure and prosperous life as well as upward social mobility, pursuing the enrollment for more prestige schools and higher credentials becomes essential social practices among the public. When educational resources are still rather limited, examination seems to have become the only fair means for talent selection, which results in vicious competition among candidates. The requirements of the examination have become the baton of the teaching content and instruction methods in schools. The Confucius classics being the stipulated testing content in the imperial examinations, with the rigid eight-legged essays ( Baguwen, a writing style with very rigid titles and patterns) being the only model, the civil service examination system has led to the lifeless pedagogy of uncreative rote-learning of classics in Chinese traditional education for centuries, which has inevitably extended its adverse effects to the practices of current education in Mainland China.

3.1.2 The impact of Chinese political and economic development on ELT education Apart from the deep-rooted traditional Chinese culture which has been dominating Chinese education for a long history, ELT education in China has also been seriously affected by the sociopolitical and economic development of the country, its diplomatic relationship with the world, and its education policies enacted correspondingly at different historical ages (Adamson, 2004; Y. H. Gao, 2009;
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Han & Liu, 2008; Wang, 2007).

ELT in Mainland China dates back to the mid-19th century when China began its semi-colonization history after the Opium War (1840-1842) (Y. H. Gao, 2009). Due to political reasons, the status of English was an alien language with negative historical connotations, but viewed by the state as necessary for future prosperity (Adamson, 2004, p. 195). From the founding of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to the downfall of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, ELT had not accomplished much and its status at that period had shifted from being in disfavor to being emphasized with the changing of diplomatic relationships with the USSR and the US (Han & Liu, 2008). With the implementation of the Open Door Policy in 1978, the role of English has become very crucial for the implementation of the countrys modernization. A series of reforms took place subsequently including the issue of a new national syllabus by the MOE in 1978. More support for ELT in basic education was announced in 1979, and English was stipulated as the main foreign language taught in middle schools in 1982 (Lam, 2005). However, at this early phase of development, ELT did not achieve favorable results due to limited learning resources, lack of qualified teachers, an inflexible assessment system, and rigid teaching methods that were mainly based on a blend of grammar translation and audiolingualism (Adamson, 2004; Wang, 2007).

To improve the unsatisfactory EFL situation, the English syllabus for secondary schools was revised in 1986. This was followed by the rewriting of textbooks. Inspired by both past experience and international ELT theories, the new teaching syllabus proposed that English as a foreign language is communicative; hence, the teaching of English should emphasize not only the knowledge about the language, but also the use of the language in actual situations. The 1990s also witnessed a rapid economic boost in the country, which largely promoted the ELT reform. New drafts of English syllabi were published for junior and senior secondary schools in 1992 and 1993 respectively, and a revised version of the latter was
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published in 1996 (Lam, 2005). The economic development also brought innovative changes in national educational policies. The Nine-year Compulsory Education Law was promulgated in China first in coastal cities and later hinterland and remote rural areas (Adamson & Morris, 1997). The concept of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) was for the first time officially included in the 1993 syllabus. This reflected the co-existence of the traditional grammar-translation method, the audio-lingual method, and the new

communicative approach in the ELT context at this phase. It also implied a paradigm shift in ELT from the traditional structuralist syllabus to a more functional syllabus which emphasizes the meaningful use of the language in authentic communicative situations (Wang, 2007).

Entering the 21st century, China consolidated her international status by joining the World Trade Organization in 2001 and won the bid to host the Olympics in 2008. As part of the strategic plan to face the challenge of globalization, the Chinese government urged for the promotion of quality-oriented education (
Suzhijiaoyu) nationwide in both basic and higher education. ELT in China

was confronted with the task of enacting a new national curriculum based on the 1993 syllabus and new ELT theories. In 2001, the new NEC was launched officially in secondary education and was extended to primary education in the following years. It had received continuous revisions in response to the piloting feedback from schools nationwide. The 2001 NEC had made fundamental changes compared with the previous English syllabi in terms of teaching objectives, content, methods, and assessment. Based on the designing principles, a framework of objectives was established, with learners overall ability in language use ( Zonghe Yuyan Yunyong Nengli) being the ultimate goal of English teaching. The five objectives and their components include: language knowledge (phonetics, grammar, vocabulary, functions, and topics), language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), learning strategies (communicative, resourcing, meta-cognitive, and cognitive), affect
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(international perspectives, patriotism, confidence, and motivation), and cultural understanding (knowledge, understanding, and awareness) (Ministry of Education, 2001). According to Wang Qiang (2007), the key member of the NEC compiling committee, the NEC had the following main characteristics:
An emphasis on whole-person education through language teaching A new design to ensure continuity, flexibility and selectivity Advocating student-centered and task-based teaching with a proper increase in vocabulary Establishing a new assessment system Emphasizing the use of technology for language teaching (Wang, 2007, pp. 96-100)

3.1.3 The ELT education reform in Guangdong Being the South Gate of Mainland China, Guangdong was the forerunner of the countrys economic reform and opening to the outside world. In the early 1980s, due to its geographical advantages and economic priority policies, more and more sino-foreign joint venture enterprises appeared in the Pearl-River Delta. Effective communication with foreign investors and business partners became especially important for Guangdongs economic development. To meet the growing demand of foreign language (especially English) talents, ELT education reform was placed on the top agenda of Guangdong education departments.

The reform of foreign language education in Guangdong can best be exemplified by the various English language teaching (ELT) innovations in its capital city---Guangzhou (also called Canton). Compared with its inland counterparts, Guangzhou had much more opportunities and convenience of connecting with the outside world, owing to its geographical proximity to Hong Kong and Macau (Ouyang, 2000, 2003). In the late 1980s, CLT was introduced into Mainland China by Li Xiaoju, a pioneering professor in Guangzhou Foreign Language Institute (also called Guangwai, now Guangdong University of Foreign Studies). As a new teaching approach, CLT was said to have surpassed the limitations of the traditional methods that had been dominating the Chinese ELT context for

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decades, and it later became a buzzword in ELT nationwide in the following two decades due to its emphasis on student-centeredness, meaningfulness, and individuality in language teaching. In tertiary education, a set of course books based on CLT principles were used by the students in Guangwai which had endeavored to be the most pro-reform institution in Chinese tertiary education (Ouyang, 2003, p. 183). A number of qualified English majors had graduated from the university who were mostly backbone leaders in Guangdongs economic development and cultural exchange with the outside world. All these contributions by Guangwai had strongly promoted the ELT reform in Guangzhou as well as other Guangdong cities. Influenced by the new CLT approach, in junior English education, the Guangzhou English Curriculum was launched after the mid 1990s. This was accompanied by the compiling of the regional edition of English textbooks in the late 1990s by Guangzhou Education Commission as a joint project with Oxford Press, Hong Kong. The Guangzhou edition English textbook, according to its chief editor, was different from both the national edition and the other regional editions. Its unique features included the greater involvement of projects as communication-oriented tasks, the cross-cultural comparison between Guangzhou and some western and Southeast Asian countries, as well as the higher demand of vocabulary and grammar items than the national PEP edition (Lu, 1999 cited in X. Y. Zhu, 2003, p. 79).

After the launching of the NEC in 2001, Guangdong, together with Shandong, Hainan, and Ningxia became the first four provinces (regions) assigned by the MOE to be the piloting bases of the experimental draft of the curriculum (Compiler Group of English Curriculum Standards, 2003). As a result, a series of teacher training programmes at national, provincial, and municipal levels were organized in Guangdong higher teacher education institutions. The NEC training programmes were compulsory courses sponsored by local Education Bureau (EdB). School teachers must complete all the training courses before they were issued a certificate, without which they were not allow to teach the new
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NEC-based textbooks, as was a requirement by MOE---Train first, teach next. No training, no teaching ( ibid, p.4). The new NEC teacher training in Guangdong had been highly commended by Liu Zhaoyi, chief member of NEC compiling group, who summarized his impressions on Guangdongs ELT education reform based on his many visits to the province in the last two decades.
...Guangdong, which takes the lead in the countrys reform and opening, is the forerunner of the national economic system reform...Based on the educational concepts of the new NEC for senior middle schools and its teaching objective to promote students overall abilities in language use, Guangdong has implemented multiple innovating experiments including various aspects such as curriculum design, classroom teaching, and assessment...
(Liu Zhaoyis blog, written at 11:41:07, Nov. 12th, 2007
retrieved March 2nd, 2011 http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_4e191bc101000aab.html, my translation)

3.2 The institutional background of EFL pre-service teacher education In the previous section, the social level forces presented a complex picture of the thousand-year old traditional Chinese culture being deep-rooted in Chinese education on the one hand and the greater demand of ELT education towards modernization and globalization on the other as a result of Chinas growing national economic development and rising international status. Both forces have direct impact on secondary ELT education and tertiary teacher education which has been embodied in the discourses of the school and the university communities where STs acquire their teacher professional knowledge and carry out their TP.

3.2.1 University progressive EFL pre-service teacher education Chinese EFL Teachers acquire their professional training mainly from university teacher education programs. In her research about the change of EFL teachers, Wu Xin (2005) introduced the features of teacher training in Mainland China as follows: Most school teachers have received three to four years pre-service training, during which university/college-based courses occupying most of the time leaving only six weeks or so for teaching practice in the third or fourth year.

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These university/college-based courses generally take the form of knowledge transmission from trainers to trainees, resulting in graduates entering the classroom without much teaching experience. Since the 1980s, in-service teachers have also obtained opportunities to participate in training programs organized by teachers colleges/universities, but the training courses offered are not so relevant to their actual class situation. Based on an investigation of teacher qualifications in eleven universities, Shu (2004) summarized three aspects of the problems of EFL teacher qualification: First, the heavy workload had become a burden on teachers that hindered them from obtaining further professional upgrading. Second, examinations remained the sole criteria for assessing the performances of both teachers and students, while teachers and students did not have much say in teaching reform decision-making. Third, the quality of teacher professional training remained unsatisfactory, as many of the English graduates entered their teaching position without sufficient professional pedagogical training.

With growing demand for talents under the rapid national economic development as well as the challenges from globalization and revolution of technology and information all over world, Mainland China was facing an urgent need for teacher education reform. In 2004, MOE established the Higher Education Evaluation Center, which started a series of higher education teaching quality evaluations throughout the country. Against such background of national teaching quality evaluation, GSU (the university in this study) adjusted its training objective for English education majors as to train well-qualified practical English talents with high ideological and ethical quality, cultural attainment, professional capability, and sound physical and psychological health for the local political, economic, cultural and educational development in Guangzhou as the foothold, influencing districts within and beyond Guangdong province (
,

Self-evaluation report for National Higher Education Institution English Major

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Education Evaluation, GSU, 2008, p. 10; my translation). Accordingly, the aim of the EFL pre-service teacher education program in the English Education Department was set to train teachers and teaching researchers who are qualified for English teaching in secondary schools, with substantial basic English language knowledge and skills and strong language teaching ability, profound cultural knowledge and basic theories of English linguistics, as well as high English teaching qualifications (
Downloaded February,

2012 from GSU website; my translation). The STs in the English Education Department were faced with these mainstream discourses in the universitys pre-service teacher education programme, with their Method Courses being the most important agent influencing their teaching beliefs and understanding of ELT in Mainland China. When they were enrolled in GSU, the discourse of EFL pre-service teacher education in the university had been saturated with the ambitious goals to produce highly qualified English talents and English teachers and teaching researchers. These high-sounding objectives seemed to have been further boosted by the intense competition for upgrading in the national ranking among higher education institutions. Both the reputation and the comprehensive quality of a university were mainly defined by the results of the official national higher education evaluations which focused largely on the various figures ranging from the number and the level of staff education levels and professional titles as well as their academic research projects and publications, the number of technologically advanced teaching equipments and library collections, the number and level of quality courses () in the curriculum, the teaching effects as represented by the students scores in the national language proficiency tests (TEM 4 and TEM 8), the awards of various competitions obtained by the teaching staff and the students, the large-scale academic conferences or training courses organized at provincial, national or international levels, and even the fame and the power of the influence of alumni at different
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walks of life, et cetera. With the course of English Teaching Methodology being selected the university quality course, the STs in the English Education Department seemed to be able to boast the many advantages in their Method Courses; for example, their alumni were the main ELT teaching force in local schools and even leaders in the district or municipal Education Bureaus, and their UTs had been main organizers and trainers in the large-scale local and provincial teacher training courses. The teaching materials used in the Method Courses were national award-winning textbooks written by NEC compiling group experts keeping pace with the NEC teacher training, and the teaching content and methods of the courses were progressive and advanced with influential linguistics theories proposed by international scholars. Multi-media teaching equipments were adopted, with DVDs of excellent quality lessons in national or provincial senior/junior middle school ELT competitions (//) used as supplementary materials in most of the lessons.

With all high-key claims and ambitious objectives set for training qualified and updated young English teachers and teaching researchers, the pre-service teacher education programme in GSU encouraged the STs to apply the basic theories of English teaching to practical teaching (
quoted in the objectives of the Syllabus of English Teaching

Methodology, 2008; my translation). This could be reflected by STs endeavor to apply the progressive ELT theories and the bible-like (the STs words, indicating the importance of the document) NEC concepts and principles to their teaching and to show such theories in their lessons during the TP.

3.2.2 ELT basic education and the exam-oriented objectives in schools Although the university pre-service teacher education programmes tended to present ambitious progressive EFL teacher education discourse, the ELT basic education in primary and secondary schools did not seem to resonate with the high-aiming discourse of their tertiary counterparts. Research findings indicated
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that ELT in both schools and universities were facing problems which demanded urgent solution. Based on a series of investigations funded by MOE, Shu (2004) probed the ELT situation in Shanghai and other regions in the country and identified following problems: First, school teachers tended to ignore theoretical studies about educational principles and ELT methodology, which not only limited their professional improvement but also hindered them from systemizing their teaching experience and publishing their teaching effects. Second, the lack of qualified English teachers affected their students English proficiency. The enrollment expansion in schools and universities also added burden to English teachers, depriving them of the opportunity to upgrade their professional knowledge and skills. Third, the tendency of exam-oriented education was conspicuous, as could be indicated by the following figures: For ELT in secondary schools, due to the Zhongkao (Senior Middle School Entrance Examination ) and the Gaokao (College Entrance Exam, ), more than almost 90 percent of the schools had spent the whole year of junior three and senior three in helping students prepare for the two high-stake exams based on the tactics of sea of test papers (). Quoting the findings of surveys about the English learning objectives of college students, the researcher reported 64 percent of the students who considered that the school and the society had both overemphasized the CET 4 and 6 6 , and 59 percent believed that the current ELT was mainly exam/knowledge-oriented (Wang, 2002 cited in Shu, 2004, p. 5). Fourth, the teaching methods and means were inflexible and lacking innovation. Teacher presentation was the main teaching method in most primary/secondary schools and universities. In Shus study about the EFL teaching methods in a university in Jiangsu Province, among 40 young teachers who attended an MA postgraduate course, more than 70 percent admitted that they were still using Grammar Translation although they knew that Communicative Language Teaching was more popular. Similarly, in a nationwide survey by Xia (2002) about the
6

CET 4 and CET 6 refer to two different levels of College English Test, the national English proficiency test for non-English majors in Mainland China. 88

teaching concepts, knowledge, competence, research situation, and further education of collage English teachers, 90 percent of teacher representatives from 600 universities considered their role in the classroom mainly as an explainer or an exemplar. Fifth, many students in schools and universities do not have the interest or motivation in learning English. According to the researcher, reasons for this inactiveness in English learning could be manifold: apart from the students passive attitudes, the lack of meaningful teaching content and methods and the insufficient teaching guidance in language learning also led to the decline of learners enthusiasm. The final problem was related to the disjunction between different stages of schooling. There was a lack of a united organization which coordinates syllabus making, course designing, textbook writing and teaching appraisal in different education levels. Due to the uneven language proficiency of students and the differences in teaching methods, students might find it difficult to adapt to the new language learning environment when they move on to a higher level of education.

Although universities seemed to tailor their EFL pre-service teacher education programmes to one that keeps abreast with the NEC objectives and principles, in the ELT basic education contexts, school teachers had encountered enormous challenges after NEC was implemented. Wang (2006) summarized the key problems and challenges confronting school English teachers as follows:
Teaching ideas and methods are out of date Inappropriate textbooks Wrong expectation from the public Lack of language environment (insufficient exposure to the target language) Lack of interest on the part of the learners Teaching for the purpose of testing Teachers lack of training Too many students in one class Students high scores vs. low abilities Ones own language proficiency as an important source of confidence Already over-loaded work and responsibilities Lack of support and encouragement from the school principals and colleagues Lack of professional training on theories and practice of education and on ELT
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(Wang, 2006, p. 49)

A retrospective of ELT development in primary and middle schools in the past three decades reminds us of many of its achievements, as was recorded in A Report of Basic Foreign Language Education from 1978 to 2008. However, the chief-editor of the volume, Liu Daoyi (2008), also drew our attention to the various problems existing in ELT basic education reform in Mainland China: First, the unbalanced economic development in different regions had constrained the implementation of the new curriculum to some extent. The NEC objectives seemed to be still unrealistic for many less-developed regions. Second, the assessment system reform seemed intractable as traditional exam-oriented education remained a big hindrance to the objective of quality-oriented education. Third, the need to improve teachers academic research ability was urgent, as many teachers were reluctant to do educational research and high quality ELT publications by teachers in primary and middle schools were still lacking. Fourth, the neglect of the feasibility and democracy in implementing the national curriculum had caused problems such as incoherent transition from primary to secondary schools, unrealistic English lessons in primary schools that did not have the condition, and unfavorable teaching effects resulting from imposed use of new edition textbooks. Fifth, low quality ELT textbooks and misused teaching materials still appeared in schools as a result of improper profit pursuit, which demanded proper control in textbook quality and teaching resource selection.

Just like many ordinary schools in Mainland China, Xi Wan Middle School had been upgraded from a district level to a municipal level middle school after continuous efforts in improving teaching quality and management during the last few years.7 According to its teaching staff, the school was typical of the middle

Middle schools in the city are divided into district, municipal and provincial levels according to their

comprehensive instruction and management achievements. Students whose scores in the senior school entrance examinations are among the upper level are entitled to entering the provincial level senior schools whose graduates are mostly enrolled in the local or national famous universities. 90

schools in the city since the overall learning achievements of the students belonged to an average level among all students in Guangzhou. However, this partnership school, where STs were to try out their progressive university-taught ELT concepts, seemed to have been characterized by a dominant discourse that was suffused with the intense atmosphere of exam-oriented education. The exam-oriented discourse in the school was partially reflected by its stratification of students into different levels of classes---Special Class ( ) and Ordinary Class (), with the former consisting of students whose exam scores ranking the first 90 out of a total of around 450 in the grade, while the latter comprised of the rest of the students whose scores were relatively disadvantaged. Such artificial classification of students seemed to have exerted enormous pressure on both the teachers and students. According to the MTs, the students in the Special Classes enjoyed special privileges in terms of being taught by more experienced (or award-winning) teachers and instructed more teaching content compared with their ordinary counterparts. However, the students also had the stress and strains of being weeded out from the special classes if they did not study hard. On the side of the Special Class teachers, they faced high pressure from both the principal and the parents to make their teaching results worthy of the reputation of the special class. The atmosphere of the Ordinary Class seemed to be no less relaxed, but the situation was very different. According to the MTs in Ordinary Classes, although there were still some students who were eager to struggle for upgrading to the Special Classes or entering better senior high schools after graduation, a significant number of students in the ordinary classes had actually lost their interest in learning due to the self-abandonment that they would simply accompany their Special Class counterparts in the exams with little possibility to answer more test points8 correctly. According to the STs, some of their Ordinary Class students regarded upgrading to senior high schools as impracticable fantasies () rather than dreams (). As the
8

According to Ms Poons explanation, The items that are tested should be the test points ( ), for example, so...that... is a test point. 91

expectations of the principal, especially the parents, were equally high for these Ordinary Classes, the teachers had to try every effort to cater for a balance among those who were eager to learn and could learn well, those who were willing to learn but could not learn well, and those who could not learn well and did not even bother to do so. For some MTs in the school, the teaching of the Ordinary Classes somewhat meant to arouse the dormant students first before any attempt to deliver the knowledge. No zero-score papers! (!), as introduced by the head of the English teaching section, was one of the urgent teaching goals in their grade. The different learning attitudes and teaching requirements between the two different types of classes in the school seemed to be another product of the exam-oriented convention. As had been emphasized several times during the STs first visit to the school, the students in the Special Class were highly self-disciplined and diligent out of their intense instrumental motivation to enter prestigious senior high schools that usually guarantee entrance to the top-ranked local or national universities. While for those Ordinary Class students, classified and labeled as slow/poor/lower-achieving learners (
// ), most of them had been failing again and again (in the

MTs words) as early as in their primary school exams, based on which they were then enrolled in the less privileged junior middle schools where they were further sifted out and placed into the less privileged Ordinary Classes. 3.3 Summary This chapter introduced the contextual background of this research from both global and local perspectives. It provided us with information about the various impacts on ELT and teacher education from traditional Chinese culture and the ongoing social, historical, political and economic development in Mainland China. It also presented the discourses that were dominating the university and the school communities in this study correspondingly. I shall further introduce the different personal family and education backgrounds of the STs as well as the research methodology of this study in the following chapters.
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CHAPTER FOUR

METHODOLOGY

In this chapter I shall first delineate the ethnographic case study approach adopted in this study (4.1) and introduce the research context, the access to the research site, and the rapport with the participants (4.2 and 4.3). I shall then describe the data collection methods and the research procedures (4.4 and 4.5). After summarizing the data collected (4.6), I shall explain the procedures and the methods of data analysis (4.7), and then conclude this chapter by discussing the issue of research trustworthiness (4.8).

4.1 An ethnographic case study approach In this study I aimed at addressing the process of EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in school-university partnership against the background of the launching of the 2001 NEC in Mainland China. As introduced in Chapter One, there still existed the issue of incompatibility between the current ELT reform and the development of EFL teacher education in the country (D. Y. Liu, 2008; Wang, 2009; Y. A. Wu, 2005). Informed by previous studies, I addressed this issue by examining the process of teacher identity formation which has been regarded as an important aspect of teacher professional development (e.g., Beijaard et al., 2000; Clarke, 2009; Duff & Uchida, 1997; Flores & Day, 2006; Tsui, 2011; Varghese et al., 2005). As discussed in Chapter Two, both the sociocultural perspectives and the poststructuralist perspectives provide powerful analytical lenses to approach the issues of teacher identity. Accordingly, I have established a conceptual framework (See Figure 2.7) which draws on Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001), Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991), Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998), and a Foucauldian framework for understanding teacher identity work (Clarke, 2009). Based on this conceptual framework, I approach the research topic by posing the following research questions: What are the major forces that shape pre-service teacher identities? How do they affect the process of formation of pre-service teacher identities?
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 What are the tensions (if any) and interpersonal relations in school-university partnership? How do these contradictions affect the development of pre-service teacher identities? How do pre-service teacher identities shape (and are simultaneously shaped by) the discourses in school-university partnership? To address the research questions, I employed an ethnographic case study approach which is primarily qualitative in nature (Creswell, 2007; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002). Informed by the poststructuralist perspectives, I subscribed to the view that teacher identities are not stable homogeneous characteristics that have pre-existed in teachers. Teacher identities should not be reduced to isolated variables that are supposed to be unaffected by sociopolitical and historical factors; nor can they be easily controlled and measured by quantitative experiments or survey questionnaires, as is typical of the positivist psychocognitive studies (Johnson, 2009). I thus drew on both the Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and the Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998), both of which regard teacher identity formation as a result of the teachers participation in activities of COPs negotiating meaning of teaching and gaining membership of the school community. I also argued that the formation of pre-service teacher identities cannot be separated from the various dominant discourses of normalized knowledge, regimes of truth, community rules as well as asymmetrical power relations in the activity systems (Engestrom, 1987, 1999) where STs carry out their daily teaching practice. Teacher identities are not static or fixed entities but are constantly shaped by (and are simultaneously shaping) the social structures through the teachers ongoing ethico-political struggles, arguing for their voices of self through exercising creative agencies in the community. (Britzman, 1994; Clarke, 2008, 2009; Coldron & Smith, 1999; Lin & Luk, 2002; MacLure, 1993; Miller Marsh, 2002; Zembylas, 2003b). With these theoretical orientations, I deemed it necessary on the one hand to situate the research in the complex sociocultural settings and to research teacher identities from a holistic perspective taking into consideration the overall cultural, social, political and historical
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contexts in which the STs are situated, and on the other hand to observe closely and probe in depth the ongoing struggles and identity transformations of every individual ST. I therefore adopted two interrelated research approaches---an ethnographic approach and a case study approach in this study. Both approaches will be further elaborated in the following sections.

4.1.1 An ethnographic research Informed by sociocultural perspectives, this study aims at understanding how pre-service teachers participated in the school-university partnership community as learners and how they negotiated their professional identities during their learning-to-teach practices in this community. Given this aim, ethnography is an appropriate research approach for this study. According to Merriam (1998), an ethnographic study is characterized by its sociocultural interpretation (p.15). Culture is the main focus of ethnographic studies (Creswell, 2007; Duff, 2008; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002). Ethnographers are supposed to go native (Patton, 2002) in the community of participants and immerse in the everyday life milieu and cultural practices of the entire cultural group, being sensitive, observing closely their behaviors for a prolonged period, interpreting in depth the meaning of their language and interaction, and describing in detail the shared patterns of the values, beliefs, behaviors and language of the cultural sharing group (Creswell, 2007, p. 68). Among previous studies on ELT classroom practice, Luk and Lin (2007) adopted an ethnography approach to study native-speaking English teachers classroom interactions in Hong Kong, and the researchers pointed out, The ethnographic approach is by far the most appropriate research instrument to discover the implicit sociocultural norms and resources shaping social interaction patterns and interpretive meanings of naturally occurring human actions and interactions(p.6). I thus adopted an ethnographic approach in this study which guided me to observe not only the STs classroom teaching activities but also the other relevant practicum activities and incidents in the research context. I also aimed at achieving a holistic thick description of the ELT culture in
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the placement school and the day-to-day interactions between STs and the other members in the COP.

As this research was conducted in the context of a school-university partnership, it was likely that inner contradictions and tensions might emerge among the interrelated components in the boundary-crossing partnership activity system (Engestrom, 2001) as a result of the likely cultural dissonances between the ELT discourses in the two institutions, the inconsistent practicum objects of the community members as well as the asymmetrical power relations. To address these potential tensions and conflicts, the research approach of this study was also guided by some of the principles of critical ethnography (Creswell, 2007; Madison, 2005; Thomas, 1993). According to Thomas (1993), a critical ethnography shares some basic characteristics of the conventional ethnographic studies but it is distinct from the latter by moving forward from describing what is to reflecting critically about other conceptual alternatives and judgments of what could be. In this sense, critical ethnography is conventional ethnography with a political purpose (p.4). Drawing on Thomas (1993), Madison (2005) highlights the ethical responsibility and moral obligation of the researcher to address the unfair and unjust issues within the research context, to shaken the normalized assumptions and neutrality in the dominant discourses, and to advocate transformations for freedom and equity (p.5). It is worth noting that critical ethnography differs from conventional ethnography also in data interpretation. For traditional ethnographic studies, it is crucial that the data should be interpreted from the participants (emic) perspectives rather than the researchers (etic) perspectives (Merriam, 1998). However, recent ethnographic studies tend to doubt such total researcher detachment and explicitly discuss the sociopolitical positions from which the researchers interpret the participants activities (Miles & Huberman, 1994; Patton, 2002). For example, Creswell (2007) points out that,
(T)he final product [of an ethnography] is a holistic cultural portrait of the group that
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incorporates the views of the participants (emic) as well as the views of the researcher (etic). It might also advocate for the needs of the group or suggest changes in society to address needs of the group. As a result, the reader learns about the culture-sharing group from both the participants and the interpretation of the researcher. (Creswell, 2007, p. 72 original emphasis)

Creswells summary implies the involvement of the researchers voice and cultural resources in interpreting research data. Nevertheless, although the researchers voice is inevitably involved in the interpretation of ethnographic data, it is necessary that s/he pays attention to her/his positionality in the qualitative research. Madison (2005) highlights the concern with researcher positionality, which he explains by borrowing Davis interpretation reflexive

ethnography---a turning back on ourselves (Davis, 1999 cited in Madison, 2005, p. 7 original emphasis). Holliday (2002) proposes that reflexivity may offer a solution to the dilemma that, as qualitative researchers, we need to remain non-intrusive to data collection on the one hand; we need to admit on the other hand that our presence has inevitably been entangled with the activities and interactions within the setting and may have impacted on the setting. Therefore, the methodologist agrees with Hammersley and Atkinson that, rather than engaging in futile attempts to eliminate the effects of the researcher, we should set about understanding them and making these possible influences explicit in our research writing (Hammersley & Atkinson 1995, p.17 cited in Holliday, 2002, p. 146). Holliday argues that it is not necessary for researchers to pretend to escape subjectivity, but they need to explain their subjectivity wherever possible (ibid). Accordingly, researchers should acknowledge the presence of their power and possible biases and take ethical reflexivity on their subjectivity during data representation and interpretation. When reflecting critically on data collection, for example, interviews which are crucial in probing participant information, they should understand the interview process as a collaborated act of two parties rather than one way information gathering (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 8); Mishler (1986) also argues for the view that focuses on understanding interview as a discourse between speakers and on the ways that the meanings of

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questions and responses are contextually grounded and jointly constructed by interviewer and respondent (p.33-34). The author emphasizes that the interviewers presence constitutes an important part of the context which unavoidably exerts an influence on the production of the story of the participants. Therefore, it is necessary that the researcher provides detailed description about the interviewing process and extra-textual information during the analysis of the interview data. Similarly, in P rez-Milans (2011) critical sociolinguistic ethnographic research, the researcher highlights the necessity for researchers to make explicit the conditions under which the collected data are produced. He also rejects the view that regards the researcher as someone who captures data that exist autonomously out there but argues that s/he is actually acting as someone who constructs data in collaboration with his/her participants (p.168, emphasis in original). Echoing the critical ethnographers, Madison (2005) reminds us that it is crucial for researchers to allow readers of their research an open and transparent access to the background of the reciprocal dialogicality between the researcher and the others during data collection. Drawing on the above methodological comments, I realized the importance of the researcher s critical ethical responsibility and reflexivity in dealing with methodology issues. My position as a researcher during data collection was neither invisible nor neutral but had formed an inseparable part of the discourse co-constructed in collaboration with the participants in the research. I was therefore mindful of the importance of providing concrete temporal and spatial background information for reader interpretation and was also alert to the possible trap of imposing/presenting my researcher analysis on/to readers as facts in the positivist sense. In this thesis, I shall address my researcher position and rapport with the participants in section 4.3 in this chapter. Following Patton (2002, p. 495), I shall also discuss my researcher reflexivity including self-reflexivity, reflexivity about those studied and reflexivity about audience after my analysis of the data of each case in Chapter 5, 6, and 7 respectively.

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4.1.2 A qualitative case study According to Duff (2008), ethnographic studies focus on the understanding and interpretation of the behaviors, values, and structures of collectivities or social groups with particular reference to cultural basis for those behaviors and values while case study emphasizes the behaviors or attributes of individual learners or other individual/entities (p.34). In this study, I explored how individual STs constructed their identities during their practicum in the school-university partnership COP. Based on the conceptual framework, identity formation results from the interaction of personal, institutional, and social factors. Therefore, the identity formation of the individual pre-service teachers cannot be separated from the COP where s/he had the practicum activities, nor can it exist in a vacuum detached from the various sociocultural and institutional discourses. It is thus appropriate to combine both the ethnography and the qualitative case study approaches (Grbich, 2007; Merriam, 1998) so that both the sociocultural and sociopolitical conditions of the community and the STs personal development were probed and interpreted. In this sense, the different foci of each research approach provided productive complementary methods for data collection and data analysis in this study.

A case study is usually referred to as an inquiry/exploration of a case/single entity/bounded system over time within real life situation through detailed, in-depth analysis of data from multiple sources with intensive and holistic descriptions (Creswell, 2007; Duff, 2008; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002; R. K. Yin, 2009). The concept of case is defined as a phenomenon of some sort occurring in a bounded context and the case of the study is taken as the unit of analysis (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 25). In this study, the cases were individual STs and the case study approach allowed me to understand in depth the professional development and identity formation of the STs during their practicum in the school-university partnership activity system. The rich data sources collected and the thick description of the cases not only offered me insights for data analysis but
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also enabled triangulation of the data (Duff, 2008; Merriam, 1998). Although case studies are sometimes said to be lacking rigor and representativeness, their strengths outweigh their limitations and case studies have been reported to be particularly useful for educational studies (Merriam, 1998).

4.1.2.1 A multiple-case design According to methodologists, a multiple-case design is preferred over a single-case one (R. K. Yin, 2009) as the former provides compelling evidence (Duff, 2008) and produces even deeper understanding of processes and outcomes of cases, the chance to test (not just develop) hypotheses, and a good picture of locally grounded causality (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 26). In this study, I adopted a multiple-case design in order to achieve more varied data and more holistic information. I also selected a multiple-case design to add confidence to the findings and conclusions of the study (Miles & Huberman, 1994). According to R. K. Yin (2009), the rationale for multiple-case design follows the strategy of replication rather than a sampling logic. Each case may either predict similar results (literal replication) or contrasting results with anticipatable reasons (theoretical replication) (p.54). By using the multiple-case design, I aimed at deriving findings from contrasting cases which might enable me to test the preliminary assumptions in the conceptual framework and to further develop the theories by confirming or disconfirming the heterogeneous cases.

4.1.2.2 Case selection In order to obtain contrasting cases, case selection in this study was not random but purposive, and the case selection strategy of maximum variation is employed (Duff, 2008; Merriam, 1998; Miles & Huberman, 1994; Patton, 2002). According to Miles and Huberman (1994), multiple-case sampling should be based on conceptual grounds rather than representative grounds (p.29). Therefore, during case selection, I tried to choose STs who were conceptually information-rich and were potentially contrasting to each other (Merriam, 1998;
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Miles & Huberman, 1994). Case selection in this study was first conducted based on the following criteria: They were EFL pre-service teachers of GSU and they had apprenticeship and observed classes in Xi Wan Middle School before the TP They would have TP in the placement school during my data collection They were willing to participate in this study

As this research was concerned with STs identity formation in the context of the collaboration partnership between the placement school and the university, the first two criteria ensured that the STs selected had gone through the school-university partnership activities during the entire learning-to-teach process---before, during, and after TP. The last criterion was to guarantee steady availability of information from the cases. It is assumed that more valid and trustworthy data are obtained if the participants are willing to share their perceptions and opinions about their life and teaching experience and would regard the research process as a kind of beneficial reflection on their professional knowledge and skills.

After the preliminary selection of the STs, I narrowed down the number of cases according to the maximum variation sampling strategy. According to previous literature, factors such as teachers professional knowledge, personalities, prior experiences, social background, as well as school environment have all been reported to exert an impact on teacher professional identities (Beijaard et al., 2004; Flores & Day, 2006; Kosnik & Beck, 2009; Ponte & Chapman, 2008; Williams, 2009). Based on this conceptual framework, the various inner contradictions in boundary-crossing school-university partnership activity systems are said to be relevant to factors including the cultural dissonances between the school and the university, the disagreements in ELT practices, the inconsistencies of practicum objectives, the asymmetrical power relationships, as well as the various interpersonal tensions (Edwards & Tsui, 2009; Kwan, Lopez-Real, & Tsui, 2009; Lopez-Real et al., 2009; Tsui & Law, 2007). All these conflicting factors were assumed to be important forces affecting STs identity formation during the TP.
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Combining all the above factors with the teaching practice conditions in the school university partnership COP, I further elaborated the case selection criteria into the following: The STs reflected different social/familial backgrounds and prior education experiences The STs had different attitudes towards ELT and unique goals about whether they would become an EFL teacher after graduation The STs teacher professional knowledge and skills ranged at different levels as reflected from their academic achievements in the university The STs were to teach students in different classes (advanced students vs lower-achieving students) The STs were to be mentored by MTs teaching different classes, with different years of teaching experience, holding different attitudes towards ELT and student management, etc.

Based on the above criteria, case selection in this research was conducted according to the following procedures. First, a semester before the practicum, I contacted Ms Kong, the UT who taught the STs English Teaching Methodology and was in charge of practicum management in the university. I asked the UT about the latest university TP requirements and the general information of the cohort of STs who were to participate in the TP in the placement school. There were a total of eight STs in the cohort and they all agreed to participate in this research. Second, I interviewed all eight members at the beginning of the semester before the practicum inquiring information such as their family background, prior education, university life, comments on university study, attitudes towards ELT in the country and personal intentions after graduation. I then followed the STs to the apprenticeship in the placement school at the end of the semester and observed the MTs lessons with the STs. After class observation, I joined their post-observation discussions with the MTs. After that, I conducted a focus group interview among the STs about their comments on the MTs lessons. Third, a week before the practicum at the beginning of the next semester, I interviewed all eight STs about their reflections on the Method Courses they had in the previous semester as well as their expectations of the TP. This interview before the practicum helped me understand not only the STs perceptions of their university pre-service teacher

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education program, but also their expectations and goals for the TP. After preliminary analysis of the data collected, I was able to have a general understanding of the characteristics of each cohort member and also the changes that had already occurred to them. For example, one of the cohort member, Kelly, had somewhat changed her goal to become a teacher after graduation due to both personal and family reasons. These pre-TP data became important references for my ongoing case selection. Fourth, when the TP started, I was informed of the final assignment of the different STs to their corresponding classes and MTs, and I was finally able to decide on the focal cases of this research according to the case selection criteria above.

As qualitative researchers adopting a multiple-case design may have to face the tradeoff between breadth and depth in data collection and data analysis (Creswell, 2007; Duff, 2008; Patton, 2002; R. K. Yin, 2009), I reduced the cases in this research to a relatively modest number of three. This number of the cases was decided according to both theoretical and practical reasons. On the one hand, it is hoped that through in-depth research, more robust and insightful findings can be obtained through a multiple-case design which provides a potential increase of variations from heterogeneous cases (Patton, 2002). On the other hand, I also realized that qualitative case studies require enormous time and effort to deal with data collection and analysis with academic rigor. Considering the time constraint of this PhD thesis, I decided to focus my investigation on the three relatively more conceptually dense focal cases---Kelly, Maple, and Lynn. An outline of the cases based on the case selection criteria is given below (see Table 4.1). Table 4.1: An outline of background information of the cases
Kelly grew up in a metropolitan city with business parents, single child non-key-middle-school, English not regarded as Maple grew up in a small city with worker parents and a younger sister key-middle-school, English regarded as one of the key
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Lynn grew up in rural area with illiterate peasant parents, second child of the five-child family, elder brother did not finish secondary education upper-intermediate level school in rural community, no English lessons

important as science subjects. failed TEM 49 twice; below average level in academic achievements; little teaching practice

subjects passed TEM 4; obtained second-class scholarship awards10; rich teaching practice experience; winner of university teaching skill competition taught Class 9, one of the two Special Classes in the grade Ms Hui as English teacher mentor; Ms Cheng as class teacher mentor, experienced Chinese teacher, award winner in class management With strong determination to become a teacher after graduation

in primary school, no English listening before entering university failed TEM 4 for the first time, managed to pass it at the second attempt; obtained third-class scholarship awards; rich teaching practice experience; winner of university lesson design competition taught Class 5, one of the naughtiest Ordinary Classes in the grade

taught Class 10, a relatively better class among all Ordinary Classes11 Ms Hui as both English teacher mentor and class teacher mentor, experienced, head English teacher With indefinite intention to become a teacher after graduation

Ms Poon as English teacher mentor, experienced; Ms Mok as class teacher mentor, young teacher of Computer12 course, inexperienced, being class teacher for the first time. With strong determination to become a teacher after graduation

While focusing on the three focal cases that were relatively more information-rich and contrastive to each other from different aspects, I admitted that reducing the number of the cases might imply abandoning of some of the characteristics of the cancelled cases which might also be worth noticing. For example, it might be meaningful to consider the influence of intellectual parents, especially those parents who were teachers, on the STs identity formation during the practicum. Similarly, some STs decided to prepare for the MA entrance tests during the practicum as a backup choice for the unavailability of teaching positions after graduation. These might also be typical social factors affecting pre-service teachers identity formation during their TP. I therefore tried to remain mindful of these potential influences during data analysis.
9

TEM 4 (Test for English Majors bank 4) is one of the high-stake national English proficiency tests taken by year-2 university English majors, and TEM bank 8 is for year-4 English majors in Mainland China, both tests are key recruit requirements in job market. 10 Students whose total score ranks first and second are awarded first-class and second-class scholarships respectively by the university, and third-class scholarships are awarded to those ranking from 3rd to 7th out of around 30 students in a class. 11 Students in the school were separated into Special Classes (advanced-level class) and Ordinary Classes (lower-level class) according to their total academic scores. 12 Chinese, Maths, English, Physics, Chemistry, Politics, and Physical Education are important subjects in schools because they are tested in Senior Middle School Entrance Exam (Zhongkao ) while other subjects such as Computer, Music, Fine Arts, History, Geography are considered less important. 104

4.2 Research context The EFL pre-service teacher education program in GSU aimed at educating highly qualified English teachers and teaching researchers, an ambitious goal which is in accordance with the NEC teacher education objectives (quoted from the university webpage, downloaded February 2012, original in Chinese). Teaching Methodology was the most important course in the program as it was one of the selected quality courses () in the university. The syllabus of the course was to a large extent based on the progressive concepts of the NEC: the textbooks and teaching resources seemed to be in line with the most updated national NEC training courses and the UTs had been main organizers and trainers of the provincial NEC training courses. A major objective of the course was to encourage STs to apply the basic ELT theories to practical teaching (quoted from the Course Syllabus 2008, original in Chinese). Therefore, the TP in placement schools was highly valued by both STs and UTs. Table 4.2 below gives an outline of the curriculum the university TEFL pre-service teacher education program which includes both university-based courses and the TP. Table 4.2: An outline of the university pre-service teacher education program
Nature program Components of program of

Four-year TEFL undergraduate bachelor course (two semesters each year) The English Major Courses (for all English majors, year 1 to year 4) (English Phonetics, Grammar, Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, British & American History, Advanced Reading, Introduction to Linguistics, Pragmatics, Lexicology, Stylistics, Intercultural communication, British & American Literature, Translation, Academic Writing, etc.) The English Method Courses (for TEFL STs, begin from year 3) Semester V: Basic TEFL Skills, Second Language Acquisition; Semester VI: English Teaching Methodology,Middle School Lesson Analysis; Semester VII: Teaching practicum (8 weeks), ELT Testing; Semester VIII: Modern Education Technology; TEFL Schools and Theories The Educational Studies Courses (for STs of all subjects in the university) (Psychology, Pedagogy, Teacher Language, etc.) The Elective Courses (for all undergraduate students in the university) Semester V: 1 week (Apprenticeship class observation ) (observation of lessons, discussion with school MTs) Semester VI: 1 week (Apprenticeship class observation )
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Apprenticeship Observation and Teaching

Practicum

( observation of lessons, discussion with school MTs) Semester VII: 8 weeks (Teaching practicum ) (Teaching practicum at the beginning of year 4.)

The placement school, Xi Wan Middle School, had students whose academic scores belonged mainly to the medium to below medium level among all same grade students in the city. According to the MTs, only about fifty percent of the graduates were able to be promoted to senior middle schools. Exam-oriented education seemed to be well justified in the school, as the principal explained, tests were possibly the fairest instrument in basic education and the pursuit of higher scores was a social reality. Therefore, the students in each grade were separated into two Special Classes (advanced-level class) and eight Ordinary Classes (lower-level class) according to the total academic scores of the students to encourage competition among students.

GSU had established partnership with Xi Wan Middle School for almost a decade. The university official document, Teaching Practicum Scheme (See Appendix 3 DOCUMENTS), specified duties for the tripartite participants including STs, MTs, and UTs. The STs had two main practicum tasks: teaching English as student English teachers and managing and educating students as student class teachers. The MTs were required to demonstrate, guide, observe, and comment on their mentees teaching, and the UTs were supposed to coordinate TP arrangements between the two collaborating institutions, supervise TP activities, observe and give feedback to STs lessons. Both UTs and MTs were to give assessments on the STs performances at the end of the TP.

4.3 Site entry, researcher position, rapport and ethics My access to the research site during the TP was available mainly because of my long-term friendly cooperation with the principal, the director, and the school teachers in the previous years. Before I began this research, I had been a coordinator of school-university partnership between the two institutions for

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seven years. During that period, I had managed to apply for university funds for constructing the Teaching Practicum Base() in the placement school which resulted in some of the TP facilities being improved. Although I was no longer the coordinator of the partnership school or a teacher in the university, the teaching staff seemed to remain very supportive for my research as the principal and the school director told me that many of the teachers in the school were eager to do teaching research but were unfamiliar with research methodology. They hoped my data collection would help motivate the research atmosphere in the school. In fact, during the practicum, some of the MTs told me that they were somewhat surprised by my qualitative data collection (e.g., observing lessons and post-lesson discussions every day, interviewing STs and MTs) which impressed them as very different from the scientific testing and the statistical measurement they had expected and been scared of before. The MTs and I had known each other for seven years and had cooperated for several times in the previous TPs. The long term cooperation not only reinforced our friendship but also helped us understand each other s working attitude and style. In the previous cooperation, I seemed to have left an impression in the MTs that, being a young (10 years ago from now) and inexperienced university teacher, I had been modest and polite and would respect many of their teaching suggestions and comments as I had admitted many times that I actually knew far less than the frontline school teachers about the school discourses such as the latest local EdB (Bureau of Education) documents about English teaching and assessment, the parents requirements or complaints, the actual learning abilities of the students, as well as the many practical difficulties in ELT and student management in secondary schools. My acknowledgement of being less informed than the MTs about the middle school situation had been understood by both the director and the MTs and they had been very willing to share with me their recent plans and projects in the school development. I would also share information with the MTs about my ELT books or teaching materials and would invite the teachers to attend the lectures by ELT experts or large scale teacher training courses in our university. The MTs and
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the director seemed to appreciate my sharing the information as they told me that they had never been invited to the university to attend the lectures before. During data collection, the MT participants were very kind and encouraging for my research. They also seemed to be somewhat sympathetic to me and would always trying to offer me some assistance as they saw me carrying a large bag of camera, tripod, laptop, and notepad and staying at the school waiting for opportunities to interview my participants until very late every day. To reciprocate, I gave the MTs some gifts sincerely and shared with them some of the ELT resources and materials I have collected during my teaching in the university.

As I had left GSU before the STs were enrolled in the university, no STs had known me before data collection. With the help of Ms Kong, the UT of Teaching Methodology course, I was able to get in touch with the eight STs and keep friendly rapport with all of them ever since the first individual semi-structured interviews. Ever since the beginning of data collection, I had tried to create a comfortable relation with the young undergraduates by sharing with them my background, research interests, and my learning life in my current university. This self-introduction turned out to be beneficial as the shared background helped narrow the distance between the researcher and the participants---we came from the same university and had similar professional interests (e.g., ELT education). My being away from the university also to some extent reduced the potential threat of my data collection on the STs as they had been reminded by their UT that I was not the assessor of their TP performances and would not represent the university decisions during their TP. My leaving the university might also ensure them that the possibility was very low that I might affect their later university study after the TP.

During data collection, I acted as an ethnographer who took the position of an observer as participant(Gold, 1958, see in Merriam, 1998, p. 101). This means that my participant observation was known to the members in their TP activities
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but such participation was only secondary to my role as an information collector (Merriam, 1998). Taking such a position, I tried to reduce the possible interference caused by my presence or my words during both the ethnographic observation and interviews, and I tried to remain as unobtrusive as possible in my data collection activities. However, drawing on Madison (2005), I understood that it is vital for ethnographers to reflect on their positionality in reflexive ethnography. Madison reminds us to take into consideration our own privilege and authority during ethnographic study. Therefore, although I had tried every effort to reduce the possible interference, I was also mindful that my position as a researcher was never neutral but had already been value-laden due to my professional history as a UT and my current identity as a researcher. For example, being a UT once might be mistakenly interpreted as academically more powerful than the MTs and the STs (Edwards et al., 2009; Lopez-Real et al., 2009; Tsui & Law, 2007); being a researcher might also enjoy more social privilege than the non-researchers (in this research, the STs and the MTs) due to the more cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1984) they have been equipped with during their profession development. Both the unsymmetrical tripartite power relationship as well as the biased ideology for researchers might alienate my position with those of the STs and MTs which might result in their hiding actual thoughts and opinions. Without careful reflexivity, even I myself as a researcher might have stereotyped attitudes towards some of the ELT practice in the placement school. Considering all these, I found another piece of Madisons (2005) suggestions equally essential---Dialogue and the Other (p.8). Thus, I deemed it a fundamental principle to respect the ideas of all my informants. I tried to keep an open mind towards the many disputed concepts and phenomena that I had heard and observed, and explore the different interpretations and comments by standing in the participants shoes instead. During the interviews and the focus group discussions, I tried to remain modest and shift my position to one who was inquiring answers curiously from both the mentors and mentees, both of whom I considered to be the actual participants in the TP activities and thus were more knowledgeable than I as an outsider. I
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told myself to try to avoid giving subjective comments during the discussions, but I also reminded myself that it was impossible for me to become invisible to the STs. For example, when STs encountered tensions and conflicts regarding the inconsistencies of ELT practices between the school and the university discourses, with their UTs being absent, STs might turn to me who was once a university teacher for advice. It might be disappointing to the STs if I simply refused to answer their questions, but I would equally risk imposing on them my opinion as they might regarded it as voices representing the university. To cope with such dilemma, I tried to guide them to reflect on the situations of both the school and the university situations by asking them questions like What do you think?, What would your MTs/UTs think?, and Why do you think they would think in that way? instead of voicing out my position directly. I did not ask the STs those questions because of the intention to dodge their question, but because of my belief out of my previous experience that it would be more beneficial to leave some spaces for the STs to seek the answers through their practices rather than to impose on them my ideas and attitudes and deprive them of the opportunity of critical thinking. During data collection, I realized that it was not possible to remain absolutely unobtrusive or totally detached from what was happening around me. I thus found Madisons (2005) advice crucial for doing ethnographic studies, But critical ethnography...must not only critique the notion of objectivity, but must also critique the notion of subjectivity as well... [W]e take ethical responsibility for our own subjectivity and political perspectives, resisting the trap of gratuitous self-centeredness or of presenting an interpretation as though it has no self (p.8).

Researcher ethics is a crucial issue in qualitative studies with respect to data collection, data analysis and finding dissemination (Creswell, 2007; Duff, 2008; Merriam, 1998; Miles & Huberman, 1994). Therefore, at the beginning of this study, I explained to the participants in details about the topic, the purpose, and the procedures of this research. I also assured them that only pseudonyms would
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be used and all the data collected would be read by me for research purposes only. In addition, I informed them that participation in the data collection was completely voluntary and they had the right to withdraw at any moment and to require deletion of any data relevant to themselves. Before data collection, I had showed the informed consent form to the participants and explained clearly to them the content of the form. All the research instruments in this study had been piloted in the previous TP (2009) to reduce the possibility of sensitive questions that might invade participant privacy or bring about risks and discomfort. All participants had signed the consent forms for this research.

I realized that researcher ethics during data collection was based on a sense of reciprocation as well as mutual care and respect. Instead of regarding the data collection process as only serving the purpose of my own thesis, I preferred to consider it also related to the STs professional development and their quest for identity and freedom. Therefore, I did not confine my stay in the placement school to data collection only, but would also offer them a helping hand on condition that I would not interfere with their own professional decision-making. In some individual interviews, I would lend an ear to the STs complaints and a shoulder for them to cry on in their depression (for example, in interviews with Kelly in this study). I dealt with my data collection conscientiously to ensure the participants that I cherished my research and would value their thoughts and feelings. After the TP, my data collection seemed to have achieved some reciprocation I had expected because some of the STs told me that the process of interviewing had helped them better reflect on their teaching. After the practicum, I received their electronic newsletter---A collective work produced by the cohort, which was not for assessment but for circulating among different placement schools. One author wrote the following sentences in her article Good Teachers:
... There is such a lady, who wore an elegant dress but grabbed five pieces of our baggage and delivered them to our dorm at ninth floor on the first day, who fetched our supper from the canteen when we were very busy, who devoted herself to her work...She stayed with us every day during TP with her video-camera and mini-recorder, and she had
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always obeyed her professional ethics, she is our teacher, Emily... [E-Newsletter Teaching Practicum Impression, p.28, my translation]

Although I could not tell exactly with what purpose the author wrote this and what kind of information she wanted to convey to their potential readers (all STs, MTs, and UTs in different partnership schools), from these few words about me, I realized that the mutual respect and reciprocation might become beneficial rapport between my participants and me, and that my repeated emphasis on my researcher ethics and their power and right on controlling their own information during data collection seemed to have left an impression on some of the STs. My insistence on being true to the requirements of ethical consent form also seemed to help me win their trust. For example, although I helped them video-tape their lessons (which was actually a requirement of the university that they needed to submit at least one lesson video for assessment), when the MTs asked me for the videos, I insisted politely on their asking the mentees for permission first. Before every interview or group discussion at the beginning of the TP, I would explain to them that I shall use the recording for research purposes only until they all laughed at my repetitive explanations and told me that they would trust me with my ethics.

4.4 Methods of data collection Based on the conceptual framework and the research questions, I adopted an ethnographic and qualitative case study approach for data collection. The data collection methods consisted of three main types---observation, interview and document. In this section I shall introduce these methods one by one.

4.4.1 Observation Observation is an important data-gathering technique in qualitative research. Ethnographic observation takes place in a natural field as its cultural setting (Patton, 2002). Observation as a research tool produces first hand data of the phenomenon under research. Apart from hearing the language of the people being observed, the observer also sees directly their behaviors and the situation of the

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activities in which they are participating. Accordingly, the researcher may interpret what has been observed with his/her own knowledge of the phenomena (Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002).

As shown in the research questions, the present study explores STs identity formation in a school-university partnership context. I considered it necessary to have a holistic understanding of both the discourses of the university where the STs received their pre-service teacher education program and the placement school where the TP took place. I also deemed it essential to have detailed information about the STs activities, behaviors, emotions, as well as the interpersonal relationships, unexpected events, conflicts, and the various contradictions that might occur in the partnership COP during the entire TP process. I thus adopted the observation method as a research tool to collect the following data: (1) STs classroom teaching, (2) post-lesson group discussions among mentees and mentors, and (3) observation of participants routine activities in the placement school.

Just as methodologists propose, observation as a data collection method was very useful and important in this study. The direct contact and observation of the setting provided many advantages for this research. It enabled me to have a better understanding of the context of the TP so that I could have more holistic perspective about the STs learning-to-teach experience (Patton, 2002). With this research tool, I was able to obtain direct access to the context of case in real time (R. K. Yin, 2009), I was also able to observe the physical settings of teaching, the participants, the activities and interactions they participated in, and even some less conspicuous factors which might actually be meaningful for my research (Merriam, 1998). For example, I was able to witness what had happened in STs lessons and the other routine activities. I could listen directly to their discussions with their MTs and also their conversations with their peers and their students. I was able to obtained subtle information such as the STs complaints in their own
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office, the MTs routine topics and chats in their offices or in the canteen, and the funs and gossips in the STs dormitories. These first hand sources provided valuable references for my interpretation of the other data sources and also for the triangulation between different data collection methods (Patton, 2002). For topics which participants were not able or unwilling to discuss directly, for example, topics about their relationship with their MTs and their UTs, the method of observation offered a lens for me to approach the issues by seeing and interpreting the interpersonal relationship from another perspective; for example, from their behaviors, conversations, gestures and paralanguages (Patton, 2002). Observation data also provided references for the subsequent data collection (Merriam, 1998); for example, the design of the post-lesson individual semi-structured interviews was based on the observations of both the STs lessons and the post-lesson group discussions between mentors and mentees. The information from my observation of the lessons and their daily activities became the primary sources of my questions in the individual semi-structured interviews during the TP.

However, methodologists also highlighted the challenges for using observation as data collection method. For example, as I was the only observer in the fieldwork, my observation might be selective. As pointed out by critics, observation as a data collection technique tends to be subjective and is susceptible to observer bias (Simpson & Tuson, 1997). To avoid the potential biases, I had tried not to make haste judgments about what I had observed but made fieldnotes as detailed as possible and then tried to obtain further information about the phenomenon through semi-structured interviews with the participants and further observations of their language and behaviors. Apart from the limitation of potential researcher biases, another challenge to my adopting observation methods was related to my researcher position as an outsider/non-participant but in fact existed inevitably as an insider/participant (Creswell, 2007; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002). For example, in order to understand what happened in student teaching as well as the MTs comments and attitudes towards the STs performances, I had to sit in the
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classroom teaching and the post-lesson discussion with the COP members. However, I also realized that my presence during the observation might have an impact on the STs behavior; for example, at the beginning of their first lesson, they might feel a bit nervous being videotaped. Similarly, my presence at the post-lesson discussion might also affect the MTs feedback. I had tried to reduce the effect of my presence at different observations by selecting less a conspicuous spot in the classroom and behaving just as one of the COP members who was also observing lessons and taking notes. In this study, the influence of my presence in lesson observation and post-lesson discussion observation was to some extent mitigated due to the following reasons: First, according to the university TP requirement, the STs lessons were supposed to be videotaped as assessment references. This made my videotaping not only part of my research but also a favor for the STs themselves; second, due to many cooperation opportunities in previous TPs, the MTs seemed to have been used to my presence at the post-lesson discussions and they seemed to comment on the student teaching as they were in previous TPs. Keeping in mind all the potential threats to the validation of the observation data, I tried to analyze them from a holistic view and provide thick description of the situation being observed. I had also tried to interpret the observation data based on the triangulation of different data sources.

4.4.2 Interview According to methodologists, interview is a major data collection technique in qualitative research. An interview is a conversation with a purpose (Dexter, 1970, cited in Merriam, 1998, p. 71). The main purpose of interviews is to

access the perspective of the person being interviewed and to find out what is in and on someone elses mind, to gather their stories (Patton, 2002, p. 341). As interviewing involves speakers of both the researcher and the informant, Mishler (1986) conceptualizes interviews as jointly produced discourses by both the researcher and the respondent (p.96).

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The current research was concerned with the characteristics of STs professional identities and the forces influencing the process of their identity formation. As the concept of identity refers to peoples perceptions, understandings, and beliefs as well as others understanding and knowledge about themselves as being a certain type of person, it is necessary to collect data about the STs feelings, beliefs and attitudes about themselves as STs in the teaching practicum COP. Besides, as it is assumed that teachers past experiences and future intentions may have an impact on their understanding about their identities (Beijaard et al., 2004; Beijaard et al., 2000; Clarke, 2008; Knowles, 1992), it was also necessary to elicit STs reflections on their past experiences and their intentions about their future development. As researchers cannot observe directly the participants feelings, beliefs, and understandings, nor can they observe their past behaviors or future plans; in this sense, interviewing becomes an appropriate technique to collect such data. According to the research design, the present study adopted a qualitative multiple-case study approach. Merriam (1998) suggests that interviewing is also the best technique to use when conducting intensive case studies of a few selected individuals (p.72). For this purpose, interviewing was again a helpful data collection technique since I might not be able to observe different participants at different venues simultaneously (for example, when STs were having lessons at the same time). As this research employed different data collection methods, interviewing as a data collection technique was also supposed to enable triangulation of the data obtained via other data collection strategies.

According to the research design, two kinds of interviews were adopted in this study: individual semi-structured interview and focus group interview. First, individual semi-structured interview was used to collect STs pre-practicum background information, pre-lesson designs, post-lesson reflections, as well as their post-practicum reflections. Before each interview, I prepared an interview question guide according to both the conceptual framework and the analysis of data collected through previous observations or interviews. According to Fontana
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and Frey (2000), for interviewing whose purpose is to understand, it is paramount that the researcher establish rapport with respondents (p. 655). It is very important for the researcher to have a thorough understanding of the respondents as well as the setting of the interview. While conducting the interviews, I tried to maintain a friendly, comfortable and non-threatening conversation with the informant and at the same time paid attention to the line of my inquiry questions (Yin, 2009). I did not constrain myself to the interview questions on the prepared guide, but adjusted the wording or sequence of the questions flexibly so as to allow the informant to elaborate her answer, and I also generated questions from the informants answers with some information I had not expected. Second, a focus group interview is an interview with a small group of relatively homogeneous people who are asked to reflect on the interviewers questions. Participants of a focus group not only provide their own views but also comment on other participants opinions which they hear during the interview (Patton, 2002). According to Patton, the purpose of a focus group interview is to get valuable data in a social context where people can share and compare with others. Therefore, both consensus and disagreements are normal in this kind of interview (ibid). To probe the STs interactions with their peers on topics about their feelings, attitudes and even conflicts towards ELT beliefs and principles as well as their identities as STs, focus group interviews were also adopted which enabled me to extend the situation of one-to-one conversation to one that was among a group of people, so that richer information was obtained as a more complicated picture unfolded, and at the same time the interpersonal influence between participants of the interview was also revealed.

The two types of interviews were conducted in the data collection process according to their specific purposes. Before the TP, I conducted semi-structured interviews to inquire about STs background information, their feelings about being an EFL student teacher, their understanding of the pre-service teacher education program courses, their attitudes towards taking up teaching as their
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future profession, and their expectations of the TP. After the apprenticeship observation in the placement school before the TP, I conducted a focus group interview to probe their feelings and comments after they observed their MTs lesson for the first time and their perceptions about the first post-lesson discussion between the mentees and mentors. After the STs entered the placement school for one week and had finished their apprenticeship observation, I conducted another focus group interview and sought for information about the STs early perceptions about the TP, including their feelings of the students, MTs, school ELT norms and other routine student management rules and regulations. During the TP, I conducted semi-structured interviews to ask the individual STs about their design of the lesson they were going to take the next day. After observing the STs class everyday, I designed a post-lesson interview question guide based on my fieldnotes of class observation and also my observation of their post-lesson discussions with their MTs. Through the individual post-lesson semi-structured interview, the ST was able to reflect on their lesson and give answers to my questions. I also conducted individual semi-structured interviews with STs during their class teacher tasks and explored their feelings about being the student class teacher in their class and also about their relationship with their class teacher MTs. As the TP went on, the focus group interviews were replaced by my observations of their weekly group discussions because the regular weekly group discussion activity among the cohort was a requirement in the university Teaching Practicum Scheme. The discussion lasted around two hours each time with STs being the chair in turns. They had selected TP topics they wanted to discuss. The chair STs would prepare the topics before the discussion by exchanging ideas with cohort members and collecting topics from them. After I attended their first weekly group discussion, I found it overlapped most of the issues I wanted to probe, I also realized that they had raised even more critical problems than I had prepared because the topics were chosen out of their ongoing TP activities and based on the most relevant and typical incidents about their students and their teaching. Another objective reason to shift focus group interview to observation of their
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discussion was that, the STs actually had a tight schedule every day, and it would be very difficult for me to invite all of them to sit together for a focus group interview which might last around one and a half hour long. After the TP, I conducted individual semi-structured interviews with the three STs and their MTs respectively. These semi-structured interviews provided me important information about STs reflections on their TP activities including their relationship with the students and their MTs, their comments on their TP performances, the most (un)satisfactory experiences, their intentions about their future career as well as other participants comments on their professional knowledge, general abilities, and attitudes during the TP, et cetera.

Interviewing has been proved an essential qualitative case study data collection method (Duff, 2008; Merriam, 1998; Mishler, 1986; R. K. Yin, 2009). Well-informed interviews provide important insights about human affairs and behavioral events. Compared with other data collection means, interviewing is more targeted to the case and more insightful. However, as data collected from interviewing is mainly verbal reports, bias and inaccurate articulations or poor recalls, which may reduce the trustworthiness of the interpretation (Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002; R. K. Yin, 2009). Therefore, open access to the temporal and spatial background of the interview, especially the position differences and asymmetrical power relationship between the researcher and the informant should be transparent. Mishler (1986) offered a list of generally neglected questions which accentuate factors of both interview contexts and the interpersonal functions in focused interview narratives: [W]hat is the role of the interviewer in how a respondents story is told, how it is constructed and developed and what it means?, [H]ow do an interviewers questions, assessments, silences, and responses enter into a storys production?, How do stories told in interviews differ from those told in other contexts, such as naturally occurring conversations?, Do different types of interview and question formats produce different types of stories?, and How can the presence and influence of an interviewer be taken into account in the analysis
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and interpretation of a respondents story? (p. 96). These questions provided useful references for my analysis of the interview data which I also highlighted in my interpretation of the cases stories. Apart from providing detailed background information about the interviewing process, I also triangulated the interview data with other data sources for corroboration.

4.4.3 Document Documents were another source of research data collected in this study. According to Merriam (1998), documents refer to those ready-made data sources. Compared with other data collection methods, documents have unique advantages. R. K. Yin (2009), for example, summarizes four merits of document data: First, they are stable and easy to store and retrieve repeatedly; second, they are produced unobtrusively and are not created as a result of the case study; third, they record the exact time and procedures of different events and activities which provide corroboration for the data collected from other sources; fourth, they provide a broad coverage of events which take place at different times and at different sites. However, the limitations of document data are also very obvious. For example, when analyzing the documents, researchers are supposed to judge whether the documents collected are just purposeful or non-purposeful deception, and whether the data and the examples provided are authentic and accurate (Merriam, 1998). R. K. Yin (2009) also points out that the different kinds of documents are written for different specific audiences, it is thus crucial for researchers to identify the hidden objectives by constantly reading them critically. The documents in this research included the university Teaching Practicum Scheme/Syllabus/Manual; STs assignments comprising lesson plans, teaching reflection reports, self-appraisal reports, and education investigation reports; teaching diaries, pictures; university Teaching Methodology course book, school ELT textbooks and test-papers; and also an electronic-version TP newsletter.

The various kinds of documents were valuable for understanding the university
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TP requirements, school setting, student teaching activities, school ELT conventions, and STs reflections on their learning-to-teach experiences. Three university documents were collected: the Teaching Practicum Scheme, the Teaching Practicum Syllabus, and the Teaching Practicum Manual. As an official document, the university Teaching Practicum Scheme stipulated the TP objectives, requirements, managing organizations, practicum schedule, duties of tripartite participants (STs, MTs, and UTs), assessments, as well as disciplines for STs. According to the conceptual framework in Chapter Two, the Teaching Practicum Scheme was the component of rules in the school-university partnership activity system which mediated the relationship between the STs as subjects and all the participants as co-members of the learning community. Therefore, the Teaching Practicum Scheme was a crucial artifact in the research context which influenced STs teaching behaviors, interpersonal relationships, attitudes towards the TP, as well as their perceptions on their identities as STs in the partnership school.

When analyzing the documents collected, I reminded myself to reflect on their production purposes and the potential readers carefully and critically. Even though some of the TP assignments, for example, the three different reports, might appear helpful for my data analysis as they included writings of STs teaching reflections, self-appraisal, and education investigation during the TP, since the target reader of these reports were the UT who would treat these writings as reference for assessment of the STs TP performances, I could not decide whether there would be possibilities that the STs had enlarged their merits while lessening their demerits in the TP. However, I would regard these written documents as useful first hand references to corroborate the interpretation of the data collected through other sources.

The other documents collected in this study were all indispensable for understanding the STs teaching practice and their identity transformation. Although the lesson plans were also part of the TP assignment and were submitted
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for assessment, I would use them as important data for analyzing STs classroom teaching for two reasons: They had been checked and signed by the MTs before they were submitted to the UT after the TP; besides, I would compare the lesson plans with the videotaped lessons and also my fieldnotes of the lessons. The lesson plans not only guided me to review the lesson videos during data analysis, they also provided information about the STs self-reflection on each lesson and the corresponding feedback from the MTs and peers since there was a section of Teacher Reflection attached to the end of each lesson plan. Apart from the lesson plans, the Teaching Methodology textbook and also the NEC documents used in the university Method Courses, the junior English textbook, teacher references, student workbooks and test papers were also collected which served as important references for my understanding of the ELT discourses in both the university and the school activity systems.

The two partner STs in each class were supposed to keep a teaching diary in turns to reflect on the special or typical class incidents every day. Although I was not able to verify the authenticity of the content of the diaries, I supposed they might to some extent reflect some details of the routine work of the STs teaching and student management since what the diaries recorded was not supposed to be assessed by the UT but to be shared by their partner and sometimes even shared among the cohort peers in other classes. I assumed that the diaries might be vivid description of the teaching and learning life in different classes. Although the content was usually not very long, sometimes only a few lines in the shared diary, they actually contained very meaningful information which I might not observe; for example, the STs reflections on their changing relationship with the students, their teaching frustrations, discipline management problems, funny episodes or even thorny issues such as handling the fighting and bullying among students.

Among the documents collected, I enjoyed reading the TP newsletter and the album of TP pictures most because they were the least formal data which
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contained sources of the STs free creativity. As the production of the newsletter was a tradition for the university STs during TPs, it was not for assessment but functioned more like a platform and space for STs to exchange ideas casually and voice freely what they thought and felt about the TP experiences. As the newsletter was in an electronic version co-compiled by all cohort members, it could be shared and circulated very conveniently among STs, MTs, and UTs in different TP sites. Although the topics of the articles in the newsletter were all around teaching, student management, and student-teacher or mentor-mentee relationships (I realized that the mentor-mentee relationships described in the newsletter should be read critically as they might usually sound favorable to both sides), they were usually very relaxing with a wealth of pictures recording their TP life episodes which I might not have access to; for example, the STs encounters with their students outside campus or on the playground and also the many occasions when they shared ideas with their MTs in the teachers office. Both the newsletter articles and the pictures provided very essential information for triangulation of the STs perceptions and attitudes of classroom teaching, student management, and other TP activities.

4.5 Data collection procedures As can be seen from the timeline of data collection (Figure. 4.1), the data collection procedure in this study consisted of two periods (before-TP and during TP) and four stages (from stage1 to stage 4).

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Data Collection
(Mar.2010-Oct.2010) Stage 4
semester VII ( Sep-Oct. 2010)

Stage 3
semester VII ( Sep. 2010)

Stage 2 Stage 1
semester VI ( Mar. 2010) apprenticeship observation I before TP semi-structured interviews semester VI ( Jun. 2010) apprenticeship observation II before TP observations
(lessons, post-lesson discussion)

teaching lessons and managing students during TP (week 2-8) apprenticeship observation during TP (week 1)

focus group interview

general observations semi-structured interviews

observations (lessons, general observations) semi-structured interviews

(pre-/post-lesson; ST/MT general reflections on TP) focus group discussions (ST-MT post-lesson discussions; ST weekly group discussions)

documents

Data collection procedure

Figure 4.1: A time-line of data collection in this study The first stage data collection started at the beginning of the sixth semester (March, 2010) after the STs had their first apprenticeship observation in middle schools. At this stage, I was informed by the university that, due to a new MOE policy, the majority of the STs in the English Education Department were arranged to have TP in different country-side schools in the province as a response to the national call of providing aid to country-side education . This resulted in only a few STs staying in the city, among whom only eight were assigned to the placement school for TP. However, due to the sudden change of TP arrangement, the UTs taking charge of TP activities were also assigned to guide the student teaching in the countryside schools, and they could only visit the partnership school in this study for very few times. Due to the absence of UTs in class observation, the Department head asked me to help video-tape the STs lessons for them as they need the videos for later assessment of the STs classroom teaching. The Department also provided me full consent for my data collection in their partnership school and the UTs were also supportive. I was glad to receive the video-taping task, as it overlapped part of my data collection and became authorized by the university because of this special request. I also felt

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somewhat relieved as the UT introduced me to the STs by specifying that my role was only a camerawoman instead of a supervisor for the university which implied that I was not supposed to provide teaching guidance or assessment for the TP. To select cases and also to have an outline information of the STs and the university pre-service teacher education program, at the first stage of data collection, I conducted individual semi-structured interviews with all eight STs in the cohort (each lasted 70-90 minutes) to obtain information about their family background, prior education experience, university life, perceptions about ELT and being an English teacher in the future, as well as their comments on the university method courses and the middle school apprenticeship they had just finished.

At the end of the sixth semester (June, 2010), there was a second apprenticeship observation for the STs. I followed them to the placement school and observed the lessons by the two English teachers (Ms Hui and Ms Poon) who would mentor the eight STs during the TP at the beginning of the next semester. I then observed the post-lesson discussion attended by both the STs and the MTs (including other English teachers in the school English Teaching Section). The post-lesson discussion lasted for about 45 minutes and it was audio-taped under the consent of all participants. From the observation of the MTs lessons and the post-lesson discussions between mentees and mentors, I was able to not only witness the authentic ELT practices in the placement school classroom, but also hear how the MTs justified their practices and introduced to their mentees the school ELT norms and the learning situations of the students in their classes. During their discussion, I was intrigued by the STs reactions to their MTs introduction of the school ELT conventions because they all seemed to be very surprised by what they had observed during their apprenticeship observation which was actually their very first visit to this placement school (It was not the same middle school where they had the first apprenticeship observation in March). To probe the STs first impression on the lesson observation and their reactions to the MTs
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introduction of the school ELT situation, after they left the placement school, I asked for their permission to have a focus group interview with them. The STs also seemed to be so eager to voice the opinions on their apprenticeship experience as they all agreed to attend the interview and articulated their comments actively. Through the 84-minute focus group interview, I formed a preliminary understanding about both the STs responses to the school ELT discourses as depicted by the MTs. These discourses seemed to be somewhat contradictory to their university teacher education discourses as the cohort concluded their comments on the school apprenticeship observation with a popular catchphrase ---Ideal is plump, reality is bony .

The third stage of data collection (September, 2010) mainly aimed at collecting data about STs apprenticeship observation in the TP (week 1). I actually started data collection a week before the practicum in order to probe information about the STs reflection on the pre-service teacher education program courses and their expectations about the TP. After the TP started, I visited the school on a day-to-day basis according to the TP schedule and started ethnographic observation in the placement school context. After the school arranged the STs to different classes with specific English teacher mentor and class teacher mentor assigned, I was able to decide on the three focal cases (Kelly, Maple, and Lynn) in this study. In the first week of TP when the STs were having apprenticeship observation, I not only followed them to sit in their MTs lessons but also observed different participants in the COP: STs, MTs, school students, and the other staff in the placement school. At this stage, I conducted semi-structured interviews with the three focal cases to explore their perceptions about the school ELT requirements, the routine student management rules, and their relationship with the MTs and the students in their class.

The fourth stage data collection lasted seven weeks (from early September to late October, 2010: week 2-8) during which STs stood on the platform to teach lessons
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as a student English teacher and managed student activities as a student class teacher. During this stage, I participated as an observer in all TP activities specified in the Teaching Practicum Scheme including the English lessons, the post-lesson discussions between mentees and mentors, the routine student management tasks, the weekly group discussions among all STs, the open lessons, the regular staff meetings attended by the STs. I also observed general activities such as lesson preparation and assignments grading at the STs office, lunchtime chitchats in the canteen, as well as the gossiping and collective lesson planning at their dormitory in the evening (As my residence and the school were located at the same district, I was able to stay till relatively late so that I could interview the STs after they prepared their lessons in the evening.).

The classrooms in the school were not very big but they each accommodated 45 students which appeared somewhat crowded. When observing STs lessons, the MT and the peer STs usually sat side by side at the back of the classroom as occasionally the MT would whisper her reminders to her mentees during the lesson observation. I also sat at the back of the classroom but near one of the corner where I could not only observe the ST and her students but also notice the responses of the MT and the peers at the back. I had a tripod holding the camera beside me which freed my hands for note-taking. The gadget did attract the attention of some students at the first lesson, as some of them occasionally turned their head to the camera, but they obviously got used to it very soon. The STs told me that they felt somewhat nervous at the first few minutes of their first lesson, but that nervousness seemed to be due to their concern about student responses since they explained that they were so nervously looking at their students that they even neglected my video-taping of their lesson. The post-lesson discussion activities, weekly group discussions, and the meetings during TP were all audio-taped with the consent of the participants involved. When it was not lesson-time, I would follow the STs to their activities in campus or stayed at the STs office and had general observation about their routine TP language and
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behaviors. In all general observations, I noted down what had happened and what the people had said as soon as possible. When note-taking might appear obtrusive sometimes, I would keep their words and behaviors in mind and wrote them down as soon as I could find an opportunity to do so.

Besides observing TP activities, I also interviewed the STs and their MTs. These individual semi-structured interviews ranged from around 30 minutes to as long as around three hours. The individual semi-structured interviews with the STs focused on their feelings of being a ST in the school, including activities such as pre-lesson planning, post-lesson reflection, student management, as well as their relationship with their MTs, their students, and their peers among the cohort. The interviews with the MTs were conducted to elicit their comments on their mentees learning attitudes, professional knowledge and skills, accountability, mentor-mentee relationship, and also the MTs comments on the current ELT situation in local middle schools. The post-lesson discussions and weekly group discussions were conducted in the STs office. The semi-structured interviews with the STs were usually conducted at a corner of a big podium outside the STs office which was relatively quieter with fewer people passing by, or at one spare room in their dormitory when the interviews were conducted in the evening; while those with the MTs were conducted in the teachers office after work when there were relatively few teachers left.

A week after the TP, I had a post-TP semi-structured interview with the STs when they had come back to the university and had submitted all their TP assignments. These interviews were conducted in a quieter corner of a fast-food restaurant in the university. During the semi-structured interviews at this stage, I focused on the STs retrospections of the entire TP, the effects of their English teaching and student management, their relationship with different participants (mainly their students, MTs, and peers), their feelings of being a ST, the unforgettable persons and things, their plans after the TP and job-seeking intentions after graduation. I
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also conducted semi-structured interviews with all the MT participants and the school director (Ms Qin) about their comments on the STs performances in the school. The length of these individual semi-structured interviews ranged from 70 to 120 minutes. About a month after the TP, I was able to collect all the portfolios of the STs TP assignments (photocopy) and also the textbooks, teacher references, test-papers, and some photos about TP activities.

4.6 Summary of data Based the above methods, data collection in this study went through four stages and lasted for a total of nine months. The data from different sources were summarized in Table 4.3 as follows. Table 4.3: A brief summary of data
Observation Interview -General reflections (6 times, audio, total 8:38:14) -Lesson planning/reflection (9 times, audio, total 2:16:29) Document -9 lesson plans -3 practicum reports -22 diaries -3 newsletter articles -7 lesson plans -3 practicum reports -14 diaries -4 newsletter articles -11 lesson plans -3 practicum reports -14 diaries -4 newsletter articles -Teaching Practicum Scheme/Syllabus/Manual; -Syllabus of English Teaching Methodology; -NEC documents; -Textbooks and handouts; -Focus group interviews (2 times, audio, total 3:10:41) -TP Newsletter; -Pictures of TP activities

Kelly

-9 English lessons (9 videos; 9 observed in person)

Maple

-8 English lessons (8 videos; 6 observed in person)

-General reflections (6 times, audio, total 8:23:37) -Lesson planning/reflection (6times, audio, total 1:36:54)

Lynn

-12 English lessons (12 videos; 7 observed in person)

-General reflections (6 times, audio, total 6:37:43) -Lesson planning/reflection (9 times, audio, total 1:10:58)

others

-6 English lessons by mentors (6 videos; 6 observed in person) -Collective planning/reflection (27 times, audio, total 31:52:23) -Weekly group discussion (5 times, audio, total 7:08:26 ) -Field-notes of observation (167 pages of A6-size log book)

-Interview with mentors (audio) (Ms Hui, 2 times, total 3:35:21) (Ms Poon, 2 times, total 1:43:37) (Ms Qin, 1 time, 1:22:28)

As indicated in the table, a total of 35 lessons (28 were observed in person, each lasted 45 minutes) were video-taped, including 29 lessons delivered by the three focal case STs and 6 model lessons by their MTs. There were about 32 hours of

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audio-data of the pre-lesson and post-lesson discussions between mentees and mentors, 7 hours weekly focus group discussions among STs. The interview data composed of more than 3 hours focus group interviews, and 35 hours of individual semi-structured interviews among which 23.5 hours were about the three focal STs general reflections at different TP stages, 5 hours pre-lesson introductions and post-lesson reflections about language teaching and student management, and more than 6.5 hours MT comments on student teaching. All interviews were audio-taped with permission and were conducted either in Putonghua (the official language of the country) or in Cantonese (the local dialect) according to the preferences of the informants. The interview data sources were all transcribed by me solely. Apart from the audio/visual data sources, there was a researcher log book filled with 167 pages (A6 size) of fieldnotes and lesson observation records. The document data included the three focal cases TP assignment portfolios consisting of 30 lesson plans (27 English lessons and 3 class meeting lessons), 50 diaries (22 by Kelly, 14 by Maple, and 14 by Lynn), and 9 practicum reports (3 by each ST). There were 3 official documents from the university: The Teaching Practicum Scheme, the Teaching Practicum Manual, and the Teaching Practicum Syllabus. There was also an electronic TP newsletter with 26 short articles authored by the cohort members, among which 11 were written by the three STs (Kelly 3, Maple 4, and Lynn 4). Documents also included the NEC materials, a key Teaching Methodology course book, a junior school English textbook, and some reference-books, handouts and test-papers of the units taught by the STs, as well as an album of pictures which recorded most of the teaching activities during the TP.

4.7 Methods of data analysis Given that the present study adopted an ethnographic qualitative case study approach, the data analysis process was interpretive with detailed and holistic descriptions of the different aspects of case(s) and the setting(s) (Creswell, 2007; Duff, 2008; Merriam, 1998). As the main body of qualitative data was composed
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of interview transcripts, observation field notes, and documents, the technique of content analysis was employed to identify meanings and recurring themes and patterns (Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002). In order to refine the tentative conceptual framework of this study, the technique of modified analytic induction was also used to reformulate the original assumptions and develop the conceptual framework by comparing the original patterns and themes with contrasting and negative cases (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Patton, 2002). Drawing on methodologists of qualitative data analysis (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Holliday, 2002; Merriam, 1998; Miles & Huberman, 1994), I conceptualized the data analysis procedure into two main stages: (1) Within-case analysis. In this stage, the within-case analysis of each of the three ST cases was sub-divided into three levels: (a) chronological descriptive analysis, (b) theme-based analysis, and (c) theory-based analysis. After going through the three analytic levels in each of the within-case, the analysis of each ST was organized and narrated into ST teaching practicum stories which will be presented in Chapter 5, 6, and 7 respectively. (2) Cross-case analysis. After comprehensive analysis of each of the ST cases in stage one, cross-case analysis was further conducted in this stage to seek general explanation which accounts for different cases (R. K. Yin, 1994, p. 112) and to find out patterning of variables that transcends particular cases (Miles & Huberman, 1994, p. 206). By comparing the analyses of different cases and discussing answers to the research questions, I tried to reformulate the tentative conceptual framework and build up a new theory that explained the different trajectories of identity formation of the multiple cases in this study. The general analysis of cross-cases will be discussed in Chapter 8.

The data analysis of this study began with data organizing which was ongoing and started at the beginning of data collection. A case study data base (R. K. Yin, 1994) was built up which grew gradually with more new data coming in. I saved every newly collected data in separate files according to the different phases of data collection: before-TP, during-TP, and after-TP. For convenient access to the
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data, I named each file according to the date, the name of the participant, and the specific TP activity. There was a data base for each focal case which kept chronological record of their TP activities by different data collection methods at different time and sites. During data collection, I kept writing summaries of the field notes and the interviews. Based on these summaries, I was able to keep record of the procedures of data collection and prepare for ongoing analysis of the data. The writing of the summary also helped me to reflect on the data of each ST, including their behaviors, perceptions, attitudes about their teaching and student management activities as well as their relations with the significant others and the conflicts they encountered in the school-university partnership context. The systematic organizing of data as well as the memos and summaries of data collection helped me make good preparations for starting the within-case analysis of the three focal cases one by one.

4.7.1 Chronological descriptive analysis As the research questions of this study addressed both the complexities of the tensions and interpersonal relations in the school-university partnership context and the identity transformation of the STs during their TP, I conducted chronological descriptive data analysis at the beginning level. To explore the multiple forces affecting pre-service teacher identity formation from temporally and spatially intertwining angles, I needed to interpret the development of pre-service teacher identities holistically and historically. This demanded that I should not make haste arguments for the thesis but should first familiarize myself with the data, remember them and let my arguments emerge from them, as Holliday (2002, p. 102) suggests, during the beginning stage of data analysis, the researcher must be faithful and sincere to the language, behavior, thinking, interpersonal relations, and struggles of the participants so as to achieve a true dialogue between the data and the researchers argument. To analyse ethnographic studies, Miles and Huberman (1994) propose that the analysis task is to reach across multiple data sources (recordings, artifacts, diaries) and to
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condense them, with somewhat less concern for the conceptual or theoretical meaning of these observations (p. 8). Accordingly, all transcribed interview data and data from other sources of the same focal case were pooled together and connected into a chronological extended text. I read the data corpus of each ST again and again, and then based on the overall socialization process of each focal case, I wrote a detailed chronological description of the identity formation process of the ST without guiding by the tentative conceptual framework or trying to find out answers to the research questions. The lengthy narrations of each STs TP experience (Kelly 60 pages, Maple 99 pages, Lynn 107 pages) enabled me to familiarize myself with the details of the episodes during the process of their identity formation which helped me lay a foundation for identifying the themes and patterns of each ST story in the second level of within-case analysis.

4.7.2 Theme-based analysis The thick description of the data into ST chronologies at the beginning level allowed overall record and analysis of the identity development of each ST; however, the chronological description was lengthy and consisted of both potentially important and redundant information which needed to be reduced for developing the arguments of the thesis. Therefore, the second level of within-case analysis aimed at moving from chronologies to meaningful thematic structures. During the writing of the detailed description of each STs identity formation process, I also followed the guidelines of category construction (Merriam, 1998) and searched for the natural divisions in the data corpus (Holliday, 2002). I re-read the data texts and then started to code them by separating them into meaning units, generating tentative categories, and highlighting the salient themes. While coding data and constructing categories, I kept memos and notes of my preliminary interpretations. The categories, themes, and patterns were generated mainly from the collected data, which were interpreted based on both the characteristics of the cultural setting in the school-university partnership context (emic perspective) and my understanding of the people and things in the TP
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setting (etic perspective) (Creswell, 2007; Holliday, 2002; Merriam, 1998). Tentative themes kept emerging such as the STs prior education background, professional knowledge and skills, pre-TP teaching experience, TP expectation, collective lesson preparation, post-lesson discussion,

open-lesson, teacher-student relations and mentor-mentee relations, et cetera. With more data collected, the length of the data text increased and this process went on repetitively. During this process, I adopted the constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) to compare continuously the newly emerging themes with those already existing and group the recurring themes into similar categories. Thus, the initial categories were constantly refined and merged or omitted as new categories were generated, and the themes were also constructed and re-constructed into ongoing changing patterns. Table 4.4 below illustrates a time-ordered matrix of the themes identified about the three focal cases respectively. Table 4.4: Time-ordered matrix of themes of the three student teacher cases
Kelly
Pre-TP personal background

Maple -Family background -Prior education -Language proficiency and teacher knowledge and skills -Intention to be a teacher Being a class teacher -Class Nine and Ms Cheng -Maples routine class teacher tasks -The carefully prepared but cancelled class-meeting lesson -The extra tasks Maple received from her class teacher mentor Being an English teacher -Maples bewilderment before teaching -Maples first lesson -The following lessons -Maples English open lesson

Lynn -Family background -Prior education -Language proficiency and teacher knowledge and skills -Intention to be a teacher Being an English teacher -Class Five and Ms Poon -Lynns first English lesson -The following few lessons -A post-lesson discussion attended by Ms Qin, the director -The last few lessons -An open English lesson Being a class teacher -Ms Mok---An acquainted stranger -An embarrassing experience -The noon-rest tutorials -A touching class-meeting lesson

-Family background -Prior education -Language proficiency and teacher knowledge and skills -Intention to be a teacher Being an English teacher -Class Ten and Ms Hui -A lesson in the concepts of the university Method Courses -A lesson in the traditional style A lesson in the style required by the mentor -Lessons in Kellys own style Being a class teacher -Routine class teacher tasks, the sports meet and class meeting lesson -Free chats with students -Changing attitudes between mentor and mentee

TP Task I

TP Task II

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Grounded in the thematic structure that arose from the theme-based analysis, I revised the chronological description of each case and wrote their story again with the identified thematic headings. The revised stories narrated the following topics: (1) family and educational background, (2) personality and attitude towards being an EFL teacher in the future, (3) learning experiences in the university pre-service teacher education program and teaching experiences before TP, (4) preparations and expectations about TP, (5) routine and special activities during TP, (7) tensions and interpersonal relations during TP, (8) attitudes and actions towards the tensions and contradictions in the COP, and (9) post-TP reflections.

4.7.3 Theory-based analysis Based on the categories, themes and patterns constructed in the second level data analysis, I started to conduct theory-based within-case analysis. After coding different sorts of data, I examined closely for the interrelatedness among different categories and themes and tried to interpret the meanings of the patterns across the themes and categories. Following Tsui (2007), I highlighted the tensions and conflicts within STs learning-to-teach process and tried to make working hypothesis of these tensions and conflicts (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007). I then sensitized myself with the concepts in the theoretical categories and constructs proposed by the tentative conceptual framework, but at the same time remained open for new emerging themes and alternative explanations (Morita, 2002). For example, I associated the tensions and conflicts during student teaching in the context of school-university partnership with the concept of expansive learning in Engestroms Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001) and also with the concept of learning-to-teach as boundary crossing proposed by Tsui and Law (2007) in their school-university partnership context in Hong Kong. I tried to compare the STs journey of learning-to-teach and identity formation trajectory with the concept of legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and the model of community of practice (Wenger, 1998). I also formulated preliminary explanations of STs identity transformation according to the four
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ethico-political axes in Clarkes (2009) framework of doing teacher identity. However, I was mindful of the limitation in borrowing others categories from the literature as it might constrain the generation of new categories in my data analysis (Merriam, 1998). I therefore conducted the data analysis iteratively and critically re-examined assumptions against the data and searched for potential alternative explanations. After theory-based within-case analysis, I added an analysis of each STs identity formation after their corresponding stories, with the working concepts and assumptions in the tentative conceptual framework adopted as theoretical arguments.

4.7.4 Cross-case analysis Cross-case analysis was conducted by comparing the data of different focal cases. At this level of data analysis, I drew on Patton (2002) and Bogdan and Biklen (2007), and employed the method of modified analytic induction. The within-case data analysis of the three focal cases was conducted in a cyclical sequence. For example, when analyzing the first case (Kelly), I made tentative hypotheses of Kelly identity formation and put forward preliminary assumptions of the forces affecting her identity formation and the potential influences of the tensions and conflicts in the school-university partnership on the STs identity transformation. After analyzing the data about Kelly and narrating her TP experience, I started another case (Maple) whom I discovered had formed a negative case (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002) to the first case (Kelly). I thus modified my original hypotheses and reformulated my explanations. After the tentative analysis of the second case, I further sought answers to the research questions from a third case (Lynn) who seemed to be a discrepant negative case to both the previous two cases (Kelly and Maple). I kept re-defining the phenomena of the different TP tensions, interpersonal relations, actions and reflections as represented in the three focal ST cases, and reformulating my explanations and tentative hypotheses until I was finally able to establish a general explanation and common pattern which incorporated the
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different situations and experiences of the three focal cases. I then further conceptualized this framework into new diagrams (in Chapter 8). After re-constructing the conceptual framework, I started another cycle of analysis based on my general interpretation of the three cases, refining and verifying the ongoing emergent hypotheses and assumptions through constantly comparing the entire identity transformation process of different cases. During this process, I kept reminding myself of the possible biases and subjectivity in my data interpretation and presentation due to my researcher position. I also reread the original data carefully again and again and traced back to the different associations between the different categories of meanings. After further analyzing the cases based on repeated revisions of the previous drafts, I was able to improve my tentative conceptual framework and add new concepts to the original theories in the previous literature. I shall summarize the theoretical significance of the improved conceptual framework in Chapter 9.

4.8 Trustworthiness Trustworthiness is a crucial issue which determines the quality and credibility of qualitative research studies (Ary, Jacobs, & Razavieh, 2002; Duff, 2008; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Merriam, 1998; Patton, 2002). To discuss the trustworthiness of the present study, I adopt Lincoln and Gubas four concepts---credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability in lieu of the traditional concepts of internal validity, external validity, reliability, and objectivity respectively.

4.8.1 Credibility Ary et al. (2002) summarize the criteria and strategies for enhancing the credibility of qualitative studies. Following those criteria, I tried to improve the credibility of the present study through the following strategies. First, I tried to enhance credibility through different types of triangulation; for example, triangulation of data from different sources such as interview transcripts, observation field notes, and various types of documents. I triangulated viewpoints
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of different participants, that is, comparing the words of the STs, those of their peers and their MTs. As the present study involved four stages of extended fieldwork, it allowed triangulation of the same STs attitudes at different times and different sites. Second, I also tried to ensure the credibility of data analysis by obtaining member check. After data collection, I transcribed the interview data as soon as possible and emailed the interview transcripts (including my English translations of the transcripts) back to the three STs for review. Third, when analyzing the data, I kept associating the emerging patterns and themes with the previous literature and the preliminary theoretical framework to find out matched patterns. At the same time, I tried to keep constant reflexivity on my researcher position and its potential impact on the STs and the TP setting and also on the possible biases and overgeneralizations in my interpretations (e.g., whether I had treated my interpretations as facts in the positivist sense)(Patton, 2002). I also compared the data between different cases especially those of the negative cases. Fourth, after analyzing a case, I had presented my analysis to my postgraduate peers with some of the raw data provided and invited them for peer review on my interpretation. During the data analysis, I also presented part of the analysis at a postgraduate conference seminar and had received feedback from professors and postgraduate students who seemed to be interested in ELT teacher education and identities issues. Fifth, when reporting the findings, I tried to use direct quotations as arguments and provide thick description for the narration and discussion of each case. I also provided background information to the data adopted as arguments (e.g., the data collection time, people involved, and the specific occasion). Sixth, after the data analysis had finished and the first draft was written out, I invited the three focal cases for a detailed member-check individual semi-structured interview. During these interviews, I explained to each of them my narration of their TP experience, the tensions I had highlighted, and the conclusion I had drawn. I also invited them to point out the episodes which they found biased or misinterpreted. These interviews lasted from more than 1.5 hours to 4 hours (all audio-taped with permission: Kelly-1:42:26, Maple-3:12:34, and
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Lynn-4:17:25). I showed them the transcripts and fieldnotes to help them retrieve their memory and explained to them how I came to the interpretations. During the member-check interview, I was very grateful for their patience and active engagement in listening to my interpretations and offering comments. They also told me they had also been eager to know how I interpreted their TP experiences and were interested in reading my thesis. Each of the STs had basically expressed their agreement with my analysis of their TP experience. I then improved my original draft according to the additional elaborations provided by the informants during the member-check interview.

4.8.2 Transferability Transferability refers to the degree to which the findings of the research can be generalized to other research contexts (Ary et al., 2002). As this study was a qualitative research, I did not claim any statistical generalizability because the purpose of the study was to understand the particular cases in depth rather than to make abstract generalizations (Merriam, 1998). Nevertheless, I had tried to provide detailed information for reader/user generalizability (Merriam, 1998) and naturalistic generalization (Stake, 1995) through contextualization (Duff, 2008); that is, providing rich, thick description of the context and the cases to allow readers/users to make comparisons and judgments about similarities and differences. In this study, I had provided detailed introduction of the sociocultural, historical, and political background of ELT and EFL pre-service teacher education in Mainland China (see for example Sections 1.1 and 1.2, Chapter 3 and Section 4.2), I had also adopted a maximum-variant case selection strategy to probe a wider range of ST characteristics (see Table 4.1 for example for brief outline of the cases). As introduced, the placement school in this study was a non-key middle school instead of a more privileged key-school. This might provide somewhat more typical ELT situations in many schools in the country. Detailed narrations of the three focal STs TP experiences (see Chapters 5, 6, and 7) had also been provided to allow readers to have a clearer understanding of their
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background and make more appropriate transferability decisions.

4.8.3 Dependability According to Merriam (1998), qualitative research does not assume that the study of a single reality repeatedly will produce consistent results but rather seeks to interpret the data from an emic perspective. Therefore, dependability is preferred by qualitative researchers which aims at the extent to which variation can be tracked or explained (Ary et al., 2002). To establish dependability, I had kept case databases and maintained a chain of evidence to allow an audit trail (Yin, 2009). The case selection and data collection procedures had been introduced in detail (see Sections 4.1.2.2 and 4.5) and the interview guide, field notes, documents, as well as the audio/visual data were all kept well-organized with time/place/event clearly indicated for easy retrieval. The data of each ST in this study had been analyzed for three times. Each time of analysis was based on the raw data which had been coded and categorized carefully. When analyzing the data, I also tried to triangulate the different data sources and viewpoints of different persons at different sites to increase the dependability of the findings.

4.8.4 Confirmability Confirmability means the neutrality of the study, which refers to the extent to which the research is free of bias in the data collection and analysis procedures (Ary et al., 2002). As the study is a qualitative design, the findings of the study were based on the interpretation of the data which had been collected and analyzed by me as the researcher. I realized that I should not claim I had produced fact-based findings or achieved the sense of objectivity as sought by positivist quantitative studies. Instead, I had tried to increase the confirmability by being mindful of my researcher positionality (Madison, 2005) and relied more on the methodology of reflexivity against imposing ideas or potential biases I might have made during data analysis (see Sections 5.4, 6.4 and 7.4 for researcher reflexivity on each within-case analysis). I also provided original accounts of the STs to
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support my interpretation of the data. During data analysis, I had sent my tentative interpretations to the STs themselves for member checking. Again, other strategies such as triangulation, peer review, and audit trail had been used to enhance the confirmability of this study.

4.9 Summary This chapter has introduced the essential methodological concepts, research questions, designs, and procedures in the present study. It elaborated the design of an ethnographic qualitative multiple-case study and introduced the case selection, contextual background of the research site and rapport with the participants. The data collection methods and procedures, the data analysis methods, and strategies to achieve trustworthiness were also reported in detail. After a general introduction of the research designs and methods in this chapter, I shall present the analysis of the different cases in the following three chapters of the stories of Kelly, Maple, and Lynn respectively.

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CHAPTER FIVE

THE STORY OF KELLY

In this chapter, I shall introduce the analyses of one of the three cases in my study: the case of Kelly. My narration of Kellys story includes information on her family and prior education background and also her experiences as a student English teacher and a class teacher during TP in the placement school. After the narration of the story of Kelly, I shall analyse and discuss her TP experiences with reference to the theoretical framework of this study.

5.1 Family background and prior education Being the only child in a business family in the metropolitan city of Guangzhou, Kelly had wished to major in international trade and business in university, and this was also supported by her parents. However, due to serious competition in the Gaokao, Kelly was not admitted by the Business College of GSU, but enrolled in the School of Foreign Studies instead. In fact, as Kelly was not interested in English very much, the faculty was almost the last selection among the targeted faculties in her application.

Although Kelly was not very good at English herself, she did not reject the idea of becoming an English teacher and regarded teaching as a great occupation. In her opinion, teachers are as responsible and hardworking as gardeners who care for their flowers and plants. Kelly therefore selected English Education as her specialty in the university. She considered herself suitable to be a teacher because she thought she had the personality of being relatively attentive to the details of things; for example, she would observe peoples behaviors and listen to their words carefully. Kelly also thought that she could not only activate the atmosphere of the lessons but also be very strict with the students when its necessary. In her opinion, teachers should put their students in the first place and make their teaching methods more accessible to their students. Kelly wished to be a teacher who was both professional and capable of making the
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lessons interesting. She emphasized that, as an English teacher, she would focus on adding more activities which attract the students in order to arouse their interest in English. Kelly also highlighted the necessity to adjust the teaching methods according to the students and make them really able to acquire the knowledge. Having high regards for teachers sense of responsibility, Kelly underscored the care and effort that was demanded in the teaching career, as she summarized,
...I think being a teacher is more than just teaching knowledge, she should also focus on the growth of students in their character and their life... how they grow and how they learn are all related to whether the teacher can teach them effectively. Yes, the responsibilities are enormous! [Apr. 18th, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 59:00; underlining added]

Kelly seemed to be eager to experience the role of a class teacher which allowed her to have close communication with the students, as she later wrote in the TP Newsletter,
Even before teaching practicum, I set a goal for myself---I want to be a qualified class teacher...I love such a job very much because I can have more contact with my students and communicate with them. [E-Newsletter Teaching Practicum Impression, p.8 my translation]

After Kelly had taken the Method Courses for one semester she said somewhat affirmatively, I think I will choose English teaching as my first job...I would try other jobs only if I cant pass the interviews for teachers.

However, after becoming an English major in Teacher Education, Kelly seemed to live in a paradox. She found herself actually not professional enough either in her English proficiency or in English teaching skills. Having studied in a senior high school which was more science-oriented and would not attach much importance in English teaching, Kelly admitted that her English proficiency was not very satisfactory and she labeled her academic scores as mediocre in the university. Regrettably enough, she even failed the TEM 4 English proficiency test because she was very nervous and did very badly in the listening section. Kelly also admitted being really not hard-working in the first year of university, because after the high-stake Gaokao she played a lot with her classmates without
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learning the courses of English skills diligently. Kelly gave her friends the impression of a girl who appeared gentle and jolly, but would also easily get nervous, sentimental and unable to conceal her moods.

Having selected the specialty of English Education from the second year, Kelly found herself more hardworking than before. She went to the library to study in her free time, and she also discussed lesson plans and had micro-teaching with her peers. However, although Kelly had micro-teaching practices during the university Method Courses, she found that the opportunity to practice ELT was very limited as there was always a great deal of teaching content in the English Teaching Methodology course which did not actually allow much time for STs to do micro-teaching. Unlike some of her classmates (e.g., Maple and Lynn in this study), who had been recruited by private training schools and were thus able to have more teaching practice in their spare time, Kelly could only find part-time jobs as a family tutor. However, she found that the experience of family tutoring was very different from classroom teaching and thus could not help her improve her teaching. In order to have more practice, Kelly had tried to apply for some teaching practice work offered by the Department of English Education, such as the Teaching Skills Competition and the voluntary teaching activities during summer vacations. Kelly was very eager to participate in these teaching activities since she wished to improve her teaching skills, as she explained, Why participate? Its an opportunity!...Since such opportunities are usually limited...I really want to train myself! However, due to the limited places, Kelly was either weeded out at the preliminary round of selection or failed the interviews of the activities which were always competitive among STs. Not having much teaching experience, Kelly seemed to be very unsure about her pedagogical skills, as she said these words repeatedly before TP, I think I havent practiced enough, really...I still need more practice...Id like her (teacher of English Teaching Methodology) to give us more practice. Kelly felt inferior to her classmates in English pedagogical knowledge, as she said, Im not as good as others in
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pedagogical knowledge and its definitely my weakness. I am not, uh, not proficient enough. She explained that she was still not sure about lesson plan design or the lesson time control. Although she had two class observation opportunities in middle schools, she found herself still unfamiliar with student management. Therefore, Kelly was eager to have the TP which she imagined would provide her the practice she needed. She considered good pronunciation very important for an English teacher and decided to spend more time on her oral English and pronunciation through more practice in morning reading.

Lacking teaching practice and feeling mediocre and not proficient in her English subject matter knowledge, even though Kelly was interested in becoming a teacher, she did not seem to have the confidence in English teaching and her determination to be an English teacher gradually became less and less certain, especially when she compared her situation with those of her peers who had strong determination to be teachers and whom she always considered as outperforming her in English proficiency and teaching practice. The job market for teachers did not appear to Kelly as encouraging, as many senior students had told her that finding a teaching job after graduation would be both demanding and competitive in the big city of Guangzhou. Besides the social and institutional factors, Kellys intention to become an English teacher was also affected by familial and personal factors. For example, apart from feeling uncertain whether she could obtain a teaching job after graduation, she was also facing decisions whether to further her study abroad or to pursue her future career in trade and finance as she was the only child in her family. Kelly did not have a steadfast goal to be a teacher, as she admitted a week before the TP, My intention to be a teacher has always been wavering. When facing the TP, Kelly seemed to be quite at a loss. She seemed to have great expectation for the TP as she said, I wish I can find myself during the teaching practicum. Yes, this is what I want most. Kelly believed there would be setbacks during TP which would bring transformation to her in different aspects. She also wrote down this wish in her
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TP diary13 on the first day, In the following two months, I hope I can learn more in teaching and class management, and find what I really want for myself.

5.2 Learning to teach in school-university-partnership---Its both sour and sweet. As mentioned above, Kelly did not have enough opportunity to practice her ELT skills, she was eager to have more practice in the TP. Therefore, the learning to teach experience in the school-university partnership seemed to be an important opportunity for her. Besides learning in the ELT classroom teaching practices, Kelly also wanted to have more communication with her own students because she had the goal of becoming a qualified class teacher in the TP. In this section I shall narrate Kellys story in relation to her identities as both a student English teacher and a student class teacher during the journey of learning to teach which she described as a sour and sweet experience.

5.2.1 Being an English teacher for the first time --- Coming out of a dark cave! As for learning to be an English teacher, Kelly had hoped that her MT would give her more guidance in lesson design and lesson organization, which she considered to be her main weaknesses. She also wanted to learn how to handle discipline issues during lessons and how to solve the clashes between students. She wished to keep a relation with her MT both as friends and as student-and-teacher. As for her own students, Kelly would like to treat them as students in lessons but as younger sisters and brothers after class. The following sections depict Kellys experience as a student English teacher which she summarized in the metaphor, Coming out of a dark cave!

5.2.1.1 Class Ten and Ms Hui

13

According to the university TP requirements, the two STs teaching the same class should keep a teaching diary in turn. Thus, Kelly shared the diary with her partner. With the consent of all STs in the cohort, their TP diaries became part of the research data in this study. 146

During the TP, Kelly and her partner Sunny were to teach Class Ten whose English teacher and class teacher was the same teacher---Ms Hui, the head teacher of the Junior Two English Lesson Preparation Group (). The class, although not a Special Class, was said to behave better than the other seven Ordinary Classes both in learning and in discipline. The two STs took turns to be the English teacher and the class teacher, and Kelly acted as the English teacher first.

5.2.1.2 A lesson in the concepts of the university Method Courses Unlike some of the STs in the cohort who had already taught in schools before, Kellys first lesson in the TP was also the very first lesson in her life. Just like her peers, although having observed the MTs lessons for a week, Kelly decided to teach her first lesson according to the university ELT principles.
Table 5.1: Kellys first lesson design according to the university-taught ELT principles and Ms Huis corresponding comments
Kellys lesson design Warming up: Free talk Lead-in: A popular Japanese animation relevant to the text topic; ask Ss to talk about the story Vocabulary presentation: (about 20 words) using vocabulary teaching strategies: PPT pictures, word-network, word-formation, collocations Vocabulary consolidation: MC and matching exercises Ss read vocabulary and text aloud several times (different groups read in different roles variations) Read for gist; Discuss picture and predict; Check reading comprehension Teaching media: PPT, blackboard Ms Huis comments They talked rubbish ... Rapport is just unnecessary ... You should try to avoid giving them any chance to chip in. A bit too long and I think its not very meaningful...

But can you leave this part till next lesson? In this lesson, you simply focus on reading comprehension and its not necessary to explain the words... You just separated necklace into neck and lace, you didnt mention (they are compound words)...If you want to explain it, you must explain it clearly. Or you might as well leave it alone... if you ask them to read the text in roles, ... dont make them appear too uneven in voices... when you...heard that they pronounced them incorrectly, you may stop them at once and correct them You have only fifteen minutes for the text which was a bit insufficient so far as the text was concerned... The bell rang when you finished the second answer and when you wrote the third, you were a bit over time... You might have neglected the font size of the words in your PPT... you forgot to type the key of the exercises and then they talked nonsense... If you had used PPT directly, it would have been fine... you didn t write ... neither did you write... Or you simply wrote nothing, which could have saved some time here. Your voice is rather low... you cant cover their voices.

Teacher talk

Just as the other STs who were teaching the same lesson, Kellys design of the reading lesson mainly followed the style which they had often practiced in the university. It usually proceeds in a pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading teaching procedure with relaxing student-teacher rapport interactions in the
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warming up, interesting and attractive lead-in questions or activities, various vocabulary learning strategies to present and consolidate the new words, different exercises for practicing reading micro-skills such as predicting, skimming and scanning, reading-aloud exercises for several times and each time in different roles for variations, and also some post-reading discussion activities if time permits. Pictures and videos are supposed to be effective multi-media means to arouse students interest. Such lesson designs reflected the reading and vocabulary teaching strategies recommended in the STs English Teaching Methodology coursebook which was compiled by the key members of the NEC compiling committee and was thus a popular teaching material in many teacher education institutions in the country.

During her first lesson, Kelly found herself stuttering and her legs shivering. She could also see that some boys were laughing stealthily at her nervousness. For most of the lesson, Kelly dared not leave the teachers desk in the front of the classroom which hid her shivering legs. The students were generally cooperative in this lesson. They gave responses to all Kellys questions, although most of the time they could only answer in Mandarin Chinese. Occasionally, some shouted out funny answers, others laughed at their peers answers, still others talked jokingly about the PPT pictures; but most of these naughty responses seemed to be relevant to the teachers questions. Due to the large amount of lesson time spent in vocabulary learning and in reading the new words and the lesson, Kelly could barely introduce the main idea of the text which she needed to go into detail in the next lesson. Before the end of the lesson, when Kelly announced the assignments, the whole class became hushed, then burst into claps and Hurrahs when they heard Kelly repeat her announcement---The students were first surprised at the assignment being less than normal and then rejoiced at the teachers confirming of this. But their excitement was immediately cooled down and catcalls soon followed when Ms Hui, the real teacher, came to the front and announced another assignment ---You also need to translate the whole text!
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During the post-lesson conference, which was attended by both the two MTs and the eight STs, Ms Hui commented on the teaching of her two mentees---Jade, teacher of Class Nine---the Special Class, and Kelly, teacher of Class Ten---the Ordinary Class. Although Ms Hui had expressed her consent to the general teaching procedure of Kellys lesson, she did not seem to be satisfied with the way Kelly dealt with the lesson as she pointed out the weaknesses which appeared in almost every teaching step of the lesson (see Table 5.1). After a more than eight-minute long remark which consisted of mainly negative evaluations and modification suggestions, Ms Hui concluded her monologue with some encouraging words like Generally speaking, it doesnt matter, it doesnt matter. Well, I think, a first lesson like this is not bad. However, although Ms Hui seemed to be very considerate and repeated several times a first lesson like that was not bad, Kelly was somewhat sad and very disappointed about her first lesson. She cried after she went back home and began to worry about the class atmosphere and the students responses in the coming lesson the next day.
Class atmosphere? Yes, I am worrying about that. I have no confidence. Alas, the first lesson was so bad!...I had a good cry at home last night...In fact, I felt very unhappy all day yesterday, very disappointed...I couldnt cry inside (the office), could I?... [Sep. 17th, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 6:50]

Kellys sadness and disappointment seemed to be partly related to Ms Huis comments on Jades and her own lessons which appeared to her as if there was some hidden competition between Jade and herself. From Ms Huis comments on Jades first lesson, Kelly could hear obviously far more praising words than in hers, for instance, The questions designed were closely related to the text, which is good. The group competition was the shinning point., The students were active., The class atmosphere was exciting., Its effective., The dealing of new words was succinct and efficient., The knowledge extension was appropriate., The matching part was pretty good., The students could answer the questions very well., The structure of the lesson was complete., The PowerPoint design was good., The students can understand the text well., etc.
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Ms Huis favorable comments on Jades lesson seemed to have formed a sharp contrast with those she gave Kelly, which left Kelly the impression that her lesson was far from satisfactory while her peers was excellent.

Ms Huis feedback during the post-lesson conference seemed to have reminded Kelly of the distance between herself and her peers in ELT proficiency, which further deepened her sense of inferiority and gradually alienated her from the other cohort members. Being the only ST who resided in the city proper, Kelly commuted between home and school every day instead of living with her peers in the school dormitory. She did not have as much opportunity exchanging ideas with them. She actually needed to finish most of the lesson preparation by herself, as she explained, They said they made it (courseware) together and shared it among the three, but I made mine all by myself. Kelly did find herself upset by the sense of inferiority resulted from the comparison between herself and the other seven cohort members, as she elaborated during the post-lesson interview outside the Student Teachers Office.
Im not as experienced and excellent as those inside. In fact, when I knew that I would be in the same cohort with the seven peers, I felt, Oh, my gosh! Ive actually got some sense of inferiority...Its true! Really!... Because the seven of them, so far as I know, have all DE-TER-MINED to be teachers... In fact, among the eight people, only I have zero experience. Its only me who is actually zero-experienced! [Sep. 16th, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 1:15- 5:23; underlining and capitalization added]

Such a sense of inferiority as well as the geographical and psychological self-alienation from her peers became some mental burden on Kelly which made her feel both disappointed about myself and helpless. The first lesson seemed to be both special and important for her, as she had emphasized many times This is really the first 45-minute lesson in my life! and she even wrote down every sentence of teacher talk the night before. However, after the post-lesson discussion, Kelly evaluated this carefully prepared lesson as very ugly and unsatisfactory from beginning to end. She thought that the students were only a bit fond of nonsense but were actually active and obedient, which made her felt super guilty because she assumed the students might compare her
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teaching with Ms Huis and would find the big differences between them.

5.2.1.3 A lesson in the traditional style Feeling diffident and disappointed, Kelly seemed to have lost her enthusiasm in teaching. She decided to abandon the principles taught in the university Method Courses and go back to the traditional style which she thought would be more suitable for her. In Kellys opinion, the traditional teaching style implied translating the text sentence by sentence and explaining the language points at the same time. She admitted that teaching language points would be boring. By insisting on employing the boring traditional teaching style, Kelly contrasted her lesson design with that of her peers who she thought were capable of figuring out many fancy teaching ideas such as interesting games and exciting learning competitions. Kelly even became skeptical about her own qualification to be a teacher and claimed, I am really not the one to be a teacher! Apart from distancing herself from her peers, Kelly also abandoned the idea of following Ms Huis suggestion ---Try to use the PowerPoint. She insisted repeatedly that she would not use PowerPoint by arguing that I think I am not so suitable for PPT.

In Kellys second lesson, she did not use the PowerPoint, neither did she write much on the blackboard except only two language points: go to jail=go to prison and freedom adj.. She stood in the middle of the classroom most of the time, textbook in hands, translating the text sentence by sentence while explaining the language points to the students in an IRF

(Initiating-Response-Feedback) pattern (Sinclair & Coulthard, 1975). Such a pattern of teacher-student interaction seemed to be typical of the MTs lessons which Kelly had observed. She actually followed the teaching style of Ms Hui, as Kelly was the only one who claimed that she would imitate her MTs style mechanically soon after they entered the school. Although Ms Hui suggested STs should use PowerPoint, she actually did not use it very much herself as she told the STs after they observed her first lesson that the courseware would
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distract the students attention from the text and thus was actually more time-consuming than teaching the textbook content directly. She further justified her points by adding that students in Class Nine also prefer not using the PPT. In some of Ms Huis lessons, she also stood in the middle of the classroom, textbook in hands, explaining language points to the students through the IRF pattern. Blackboard writings in the MTs lesson could also be few as most of the teaching content was presented through her questions and feedback. The students, as Kelly described, were active and obedient, but they did not talk much nonsense in the second lesson. Instead, they followed Kellys directions and provided responses to her questions correspondingly although sometimes they might produce the wrong answers which were corrected by Kelly. There were a few more active participants in the class who could respond quickly and others who were less active and took notes silently. Occasionally, there would be boys talking to each other or laughing at their classmates answers, and then Kelly would cry out Silent! Listen to him! in raised voice which she had tried to make louder than in her first lesson. Kelly also reminded the students to take notes repeatedly. The second lesson seemed to proceed smoothly. Without the need for much blackboard writing or controlling the PowerPoint, Kelly was able to save the time for retelling the text with her students as well as completing the exercises on the supplementary textbook.

Kellys second lesson was in the last period of that morning. After the bell rang and she announced Class is over!, the students of Class Ten were all ready to rush to the canteen for lunch. However, they were stopped by Ms Hui who went to the front of the classroom right after Kelly was about to leave the classroom and asked the students to read in chorus the new words in the next lesson. Kelly left the classroom and headed for the canteen with Maple. She had no idea why Ms Hui would detain the class and assumed that it was because of the students laziness in doing their assignments. But when she walked past the playground below the classroom, Kelly suddenly cried out, Oh! Gosh! Shes correcting what
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I said!! She then asked her peer anxiously, Ah! Did I teach something wrong? Did I have grammar mistakes? I was so afraid! Did I have grammar mistakes? When she was told the mistake she had made, she became extremely worried and uttered the words nervously,
Fre, freedom? freedom is , Right?...Its a Noun:::?! Oh, NO!! I was so nervous I forgot:::!!! Oh my god! What should I do?!! I was so nervous, really!!!...Oh yes!! Freedom is a noun. Ahhh!!!... Oh, No! I asked them to write it down! I asked them to write it down!! Oh, my God!!...I remembered I told them its an adjective. Ahhh:::!!! I am dying!! Oh! I am dying now!!! [Sep. 17th, 2010 post-lesson discussion 0:58]

After a half-hour detention, the students of Class Ten were finally free. When they rushed to the canteen and met Kelly, one of them shouted at her, Laoshi14, Please! Dont teach us anymore!! Hearing the words, Kelly felt angry and humiliated. She seemed to be upset by Ms Huis detaining the class and was also annoyed by the students blunt complaint. On her way back to the Student Teachers Office, she grumbled, How can I face the students after you have taught them all these?!, What do you mean? Please dont come! Please dont teach us anymore!?! All right! I wont teach you! Do you think I really want to teach you?! but as soon as she arrived at the office, she could not help bursting into tears. The peers in the office all came to comfort her. They all seemed to agree that Kellys lesson was not bad and pretty good, as compared with the other Ordinary Classes her students were actually both smart and cooperative since they had tried to give responses to Kelly and most of them took notes during the lesson. The peers also highlighted the progress Kelly had made in her second lesson, which was reflected in her raised voice and moving to the middle of the classroom. As for her mistakes, Susan told her that other peers also made mistakes and she comforted her, We are only student teachers... After all, we are not real teachers yet. We are fortunate to find out the limitations in ourselves so that we can improve them. The peers also pointed out the language points which Kelly had elaborated in her lesson which they had all neglected, and they welcomed her to join them in the lesson preparation so that they could share ideas and help each
14

In Chinese, Laoshi () is a title which students address their teachers. 153

other to avoid the mistakes. They also suggested that Kelly should use PowerPoint and blackboard writing in her lessons to help her students better understand the lesson. Lynn, who also taught an Ordinary Class, encouraged Kell y, So long as your teaching suits your students, thats ok. You neednt worry too much.

The peers positive comments and suggestions seemed to give Kelly some support and encouragement which had to some extent alleviated her vexation from the embarrassing encounter with her students in the canteen. However, Kellys fragile and sensitive nerve was struck once again during the post-lesson conference in the MTs office that afternoon. Ms Hui first pointed out that she could see Kellys progress as she had noticed that Kelly dared to walk to the middle of the class and delivered the lesson in a louder voice. However, the MT seemed to be very unsatisfied with Kellys not using the PowerPoint and her insufficient blackboard writing.
...but if you had made good use of the PowerPoint, the students could have understood better... I suggest that you should still use our multi-media fully... Were you misled by me because I just explained the texts orally (without PowerPoint) in my lessons? However, since Ive been teaching them ever since they were in junior one, I know whats easy and whats difficult for them. Many of the language points you mentioned have been explained by me... but you didnt point out the key points of the text and grammar points which frequently appear... I think Ive somewhat misled you because I didnt type them out sometimes. But in an Ordinary Class like this, even I, I dare not write nothing on the blackboard...I suggest that you should use the blackboard...if you write nothing, ok, but you need to repeat them again and again and make sure that most of the students take notes...you should remind them frequently, Take out your pens! Pen in right hand! Underline them!...In Miss Shens (Kelly) lesson, you didnt type out the grammar points, uh, although you mentioned them, I found that sometimes students might not know what you were talking about...In a lesson like yours, no blackboard writing or PowerPoint, the students may not have any impression at all... [Sep. 17th, 2010 Observation of post-lesson discussion 5:00]

Ms Huis comments seemed to remind Kelly that she and her MT were different and the differences existed in their teaching experience and their knowledge of the students. Ms Hui could do without the Powerpoint because she was very familiar with her students. But even so, Ms Hui emphasized that she would not neglect the blackboard. Whereas Kelly was not familiar with the students prior knowledge,
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as could be reflected from her missing the key points and her repeating the points which had already been explained before. According to the MT, Kellys nonuse of the PowerPoint courseware and the blackboard had resulted in the negative outcome that most of the students could not understand the lesson clearly and did not have much impression about the text.

Apart from her dissatisfaction with Kellys failure to use the courseware and the blackboard, Ms Hui also seemed to be discontented with Kellys teaching design. She thought that the retelling exercise in Kellys lesson was beyond the students level and was too time-consuming to have any teaching effect. She also considered Kellys teaching organization and management as not efficient.
...You ask students to retell the story without reading it again, this is too difficult. I suggest you mustnt do so. Even we dare not do so, not even for Special Class...So, I suggest you should not assign such an exercise. If you do so, and the students cant make it, you just embarrass yourself and there will be garbage time... ...if you just ask someone (to answer questions) at random, again you waste your time since many of them are idiots of English( English illiterates)... Sometimes you repeated the answers twice and sometimes just once. This is not good. You should repeat two to three times and ask them to write down the answers, and youd better tell them I will check. You wont be dismissed if you dont finish them all! [Sep. 17th, 2010 Observation of post-lesson discussion 12:25; underlining added]

After the comments on Kellys lesson, Ms Hui gave another comparison between the two lessons taught by Jade and Kelly. Again, the comparison comments were obviously one-sidedly in favour of Jade. After commenting on the mentees second lessons, Ms Hui went on to summarize their performances in the first two days. She first gave a positive comment on Kellys progress, but then suddenly shifted to a kind of self-criticism for not being strict with her mentees. She thus reiterated the requirements for English teaching during the TP. When Ms Hui criticized herself, Kelly started to cry.
...As for the teaching in these two days, I think, I do see that, Miss Shen in particular, I see that youve been making progress all the time, which I think is quite good. Now first, I think I need to criticize myself. Maybe I was not strict enough (Kelly began to weep)...Not being strict, this is my fault... If I am not strict with you...when the TP is over and your teaching hasnt improved, people would question our mentoring ability and
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qualification... I think you should train yourselves... at least, first, when I go onto the platform I wont shiver; and second, I should try to avoid mistakes. Uh, therefore, you should prepare the lessons well...let alone you student teachers, even I myself dare not walk onto the front without careful preparation... So, I suggest, first, you must have a teaching plan which must have teaching procedures... Second, I strongly suggest that you should prepare the lessons together... [Sep. 17th, 2010 Observation of post-lesson discussion 18:55; underlining added]

To elaborate her suggestions, the MT compared again the lessons by Jade and Kelly, and the negative examples were mainly selected from Kellys lessons, including even the selection of pictures in the PowerPoint slides, the vocabulary teaching strategies, and the examples Kelly used to explain the language points. When Ms Hui accentuated the importance of accuracy in teaching content, she reminded Kelly in particular that she should be careful about this.
...There should never be any scientificity errors() . And for this, I might have to, uh, remind Miss Shen of this. Uh, this noon I detained the students and explained the lesson again for them...You explained like that and the students couldnt understand...If they took it seriously, they are still so young, if they got the incorrect input, it would be very difficult to correct them in the future.... If you make mistakes like these, they are very stupid mistakes. Such scientificity errors are never tolerable... If you are not sure, I suggest, you just leave it, which would be better. But if you explain it, Ill have to correct it. Or, if someone finds that you have errors of scientificity, this is absolutely unacceptable. Ah, you may avoid something you are not sure, which is not a problem, but if you say it, it is a problem. So, I suggest there should never, never be such problems again... [Sep. 17th, 2010 Observation of post-lesson discussion 21:25; underlining added]

When Ms Hui was making the suggestions, Kelly kept weeping among the STs and MTs. The MTs suggestions sounded like criticism, the target of which, though not aiming directly at Kelly, could be easily identified as only her name was mentioned twice emphatically by the MT. Ms Huis emphasis on the using of PowerPoint and blackboard, the necessity of collective lesson preparation, as well as the urge to avoid shivering and teaching errors all seemed to be directed at Kelly and her lessons.

Based on the MTs comments, we can tell that she seemed to disagree with Kellys first lesson designed in the university ELT concepts as she considered the teacher-student rapport interaction as unnecessary nonsense and rubbish talk, the lead-in animation video as a waste of time, and the vocabulary learning
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strategies as misleading15. She also somewhat announced Kellys shift to the traditional teaching style in the second lesson, which was basically a mechanical imitation of her style, as illegitimate due to the fact that Kelly had neither the prior knowledge of the students nor the experience and qualification which was demanded in handling the teaching. What seemed to be most intolerable in Kellys teaching were her grammar mistakes which were categorized as never tolerable scientificity errors as they could be harmful to the students future study and would also bring extra burden to the MT who had to spend time re-teaching the lesson and correcting the errors.

5.2.1.4 A lesson in the style required by the mentor Being complained about by her students and warned indirectly by her MT, Kelly decided to follow what Ms Hui had advised. Although it was only her third lesson, Kelly seemed to have almost lost her enthusiasm in teaching and even would not want to go to the school, as she said in a disheartened tone, In fact, I dont want to come at all...I dont have much feeling now. Getting into such a passive state, Kelly seemed to deem what she needed to do as only some task that was imposed on her by the MT, in which she was not motivated to invest too much passion, energy or time but simply comply cooperatively with what she was required to do, as she said openly before the lesson,
To be honest, I really think that if I finish the task, thats okay. I dont want to, uh, I mean, to aim too high or care about how others see me or give me whatever ideas...If Ive really tried my best, Ive been cooperative and done what you asked me to do, its okay for me. I mean, I dont want to invest too much passion, energy or time in it, coz I really dont think it necessary. [Sep.19th, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 9:43; underlining added]

However, when preparing the lesson, Kelly seemed to have rather complex and contradictory feelings. Although she decided to take a do-as-asked attitude towards her teaching, she turned out to have invested relatively more energy and time into the preparation of her third lesson, as she stressed, Ive really thought
15

For example, Kelly intended to help her students to memorize the spelling of carpet by separating it into car and pet, and linking them by the sentence, There is a pet car on the carpet. But the mentor insisted that carpet is not a compound word and could not be divided. 157

very hard on it... Yeah, I did spend a lot of time on it this time! For example, she asked her peers for comments and advice on her lesson and then spent a whole day preparing the lesson at home. In the third lesson, instead of just explaining the language points through the IRF interaction with her students, Kelly tried to use both the PowerPoint and the blackboard as suggested by Ms Hui. Rather than rejecting the fancy teaching ideas of her peers, she decided to try out a competition activity in her lesson. Apart from following others suggestions, Kelly had her own idea about the teaching design. For instance, in order to lower the difficulty level of the exercises, she explained the key words to the students first as scaffolding. She also designed a True or False exercise to help the students understand the text better, which turned out to make her teaching more detailed than her peers in that teaching step. For most of the third lesson, Kelly looked very serious and gloomy, as she later elaborated with choked sobs, I was so serious in the lesson and I could feel myself smile-less. When I saw them, they reminded me of the unhappy encounter and I could hardly smile. Kelly explained the lesson and gave directions in a loud but strict voice. When she asked the students to do exercises by themselves, she left the platform and moved around the classroom to observe how they were doing. But during this process, she frowned and tightened her lips occasionally. Her eyes looked as if tears could come out any moment. However, the students did not appear much different. They followed the STs direction, read the text and key sentences, and tried to answer her questions. The exercises seemed to be a little difficult for some students, but with the teachers guidance, they were able to finish the exercise step by step. Although there were occasionally some boys talking to each other, they soon returned to what the teacher was talking about and gave relevant responses. The class atmosphere was generally active, which seemed to have offered Kelly some consolation as she appeared somewhat less gloomy at the latter part of her lesson and she even smiled a little when she was amused by the students funny answers. With the students cooperation, Kelly was
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able to finish her teaching content smoothly.

Kellys third lesson turned out to earn more favorable comments from her MT. In the post-lesson conference that day, instead of making comments which sounded one-sidedly favorable for the Special Class, Ms Hui gave her approval to both the two lessons by pointing out the common merits of the two teachers and highlighting the features of each lesson respectively. There were far less negative comments in her feedback to Kellys third lesson than the previous ones. The MT actually approved Kellys design of the True or False exercise as quite good and recognized it as an example of Kellys personal creativity. She then pointed out that the True or False exercise might be somewhat difficult for the students and thus appeared time-consuming, but instead of overemphasizing this negative effect this time, the MT tried to provide the solution by suggesting that Kelly could try rearranging the sequence of the exercises so as to make them more accessible to the students. Just like the lesson in the Special Class, Kellys lesson was concluded as pretty good, well-handled, and very fluent and complete.

The criticism of the teacher and the complaint from the student seemed to turn out to be some positive pressure which forced Kelly to invest more time and energy in the lesson preparation which was fundamental for quality teaching, as Kelly admitted after the lesson, For me, I found sometimes its really got to be a result out of pressure. The pressure was also a blessing in disguise in that it urged Kelly to open her mind and try to exchange ideas with her peers instead of confining herself to her own ideas. The more active attitude towards lesson planning also forced her to forget her inferiority for a while but to try to activate her own creative thinking instead, which, in Ms Huis words, could become the personal creativity in her teaching. Kellys courage and confidence which seemed to have arisen from the MTs recognition of her own creative teaching design was further reinforced by the feedback of her peers during a group discussion afterwards. The peers all reassured Kelly that her third lesson was
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much better than her previous lessons. With a more open-minded attitude, Kelly no longer dismissed others encouragement as some unnecessary comforting words as she could identify that the peers comments tended to be objective which not only consisted of recognition of her merits but also sincere reminding of her weaknesses that were followed by suggestions in different aspects.

5.2.1.5 Lessons in Kellys own style The encouragement from the MT and the peers seemed to be very significant for Kelly. Unlike her first three lessons, in the rest of the teaching task Kelly did not appear as nervous as she once was nor did she need to hide her legs behind the teachers desk. She walked around the classroom when it was necessary. She d id not put on a stern look or appear cold and displeased, but spoke to the class gently with smiles occasionally, as she explained, I would rather smile than pull a long face and make my students uncomfortable, although I was still unhappy.

However, the geographical distance between Kellys home and the peers dormitory seemed to be an obstacle which prevented her from participating in collective lesson planning. Her lessons were almost always designed by herself with very little opportunity to discuss further with her peers and insufficient time for thorough preparation. Kelly was not able to make her lessons satisfactory enough even though she had to burn the midnight oil many nights before lessons regardless of her mothers objection. What seemed to be disappointing to Kelly was her MTs frequent comparing her lessons with Jades just as in the first two post-lesson conferences. Kellys lessons usually appeared problematic to Ms Hui who could always pick out some weaknesses in the post-lesson conferences. It seemed that each time she made the comparison, she tended to advise Kelly to follow Jades style. This seemed to have further discouraged Kelly who complained, Shes always comparing, day after day! Although Ms Hui had acknowledged that, Kelly has made progress lesson by lesson, her comments on Kellys lessons were again more negative than positive. For example, when
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teaching new vocabulary, there were interactions between Kelly and her students like Have you learned...? Do you like...?, and the students would make use of the opportunity to produce some naughty answers. Ms Hui considered these questions both non-nutritious and inducing disturbance, she therefore suggested that they should not appear any more in the rest of the lessons. When teaching listening, which was relatively difficult for the students, Kelly tried to simplify the text by explaining the key points of the comprehension exercises first, but this struck the MT as disclosing the answers and thus wasting the listening material. According to Ms Hui, Kelly was not able to identify the teaching focus, namely, the language points of the lesson but taught something beyond the requirements (of tests) which made her teaching less efficient. As for the teaching aids, Kelly had tried to follow her peers suggestion and wrote more language points on the blackboard, but she was advised by Ms Hui that these language points should be typed in the PowerPoint while those in the courseware should actually be written on the blackboard. When Kelly collected various types of background information (e.g., pictures) about the text and showed them on the Powerpoint, Ms Hui thought that they were more than enough and suggested that Kelly should have cancelled some of them. What seemed to be intolerable to Ms Hui was Kellys occasional leaving out or improper explaining of some language points. In the MTs opinion, Kellys unsatisfactory teaching was due to her laziness. She therefore demanded seriously that STs should prepare the lessons thoroughly and she kept repeating the popular saying, You can give your students a drop of water only when you have a bucket. As Ms Hui was concerned with the instructional pace of every unit, she hoped that the teaching progress of her two classes---Class Nine (Special Class) and Class Ten (Ordinary Class) could keep equal paces. She was thus worried about the relatively slow progress in Kellys lessons. She reminded Kelly that she could not make efficient time control and therefore must hasten her teaching pace. She also compared the speech rates of Kelly and Jade and thought that Kellys gentle voice and slow character had slowed down her teaching pace. She therefore suggested that Kelly should speak
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as fast as Jade did because the latter was so efficient that, in her Special Class, she managed to cover the language points of the whole unit just in one lesson. Ms Huis suggestion surprised all STs including Jade herself as her speech rate had been criticized by the UT judges in the Teaching Skill Competition as too fast to allow the students to follow her. However, Ms Hui seemed to have convinced her mentees by the persuasive example,
Ms Hui: It reminds me of my former colleague, Ms Kwo...Theres even more teaching content in her lesson...and she spoke even faster than Jade. Jade: Could her students follow her? Ms Hui: Sure! Not at the beginning, though. Her students could not follow her and were very worried at the beginning. They also complained. However, you cant just give in because of one or two objecting voices. Then she taught faster and faster until all were able to follow her, and then the scores of her class were much higher than the others, and then this capable lady left our school and was recruited by the District Teaching and Research Office(). She became the Teaching and Research Officialand is supervising us now... [Sept 28, 2010 post-lesson discussion on Kellys ninth lesson 6:34; underlining added]

Facing all negative comments, Kelly seemed to have become tougher than before, as she wrote in her diary, I hope I can be responsible for my students and also for myself. Ill just do my best. In Kellys latter lessons, instead of receiving all the criticisms without her own critical judgment, and then just feeling disappointed by them, she began to reflect on both her own weaknesses and others suggestions carefully. In the rest of the lessons, although Kelly admitted that she had many aspects which were not as good as those of her peers, she seemed to have developed little by little her own thoughts about teaching. For example, Kelly gradually realized that her MT was actually expecting her to teach Class Ten, the ordinary class, in the same way as Jade did in Class Nine, the Special Class. For this reason, Kelly had to teach as much content in her Ordinary Class as in the higher achieving Special Class, as she explained, Ms Hui would like us four16 to share the same courseware. Kelly seemed to find it unreasonable to handle the

16

There were four STs teaching simultaneously the same lesson to four different classes. Only Class Nine was the Special Class, and the other three were all Ordinary Classes. Ms Hui taught Class Nine and Class Ten, Ms Poon taught Class Three and Class Five. 162

teaching of her Ordinary Class in the same way Jade did in her Special Class, as she argued, Three Ordinary Classes plus one Special Class, its bound to be different in lesson preparation...The gap between the classes is so big that the design of the lessons should be different. Although Kelly had preferred to discuss her ideas with Lynn and Helen who were also teaching Ordinary Classes, she later found that the teaching content in her lessons were much more than the other two Ordinary Classes and thus she had to prepare the lessons basically on her own, as she sighed somewhat disappointedly, Ms Hui would teach Class Ten as if they were Class Nine. As for Ms Huis comments, although Kelly regarded most of them as relevant and adopted the suggestions in her lesson planning, she did keep some of her own ideas. For example, during her lessons, when Kelly showed a picture of the new word emerald, instead of criticizing the students naughty answers or their yellings, she seemed to be amused by their naughty creations of the words meaning as they shouted out funny expressions such as green glass, green ruby (they just learned ruby and creatively combined these two words) or translated it literally as grand-mother green (Literal translation of the Chinese
into English). Kelly seemed to prefer such disturbance to the

relatively obedient silent atmosphere when few of them seemed to be able to give her any response during grammar teaching. Although Kelly would remind her students repeatedly to underline the language points, which was the rule of thumb by Ms Hui, Kelly did not appreciate such a way of teaching as she was actually told by the students that they hated such mechanical underlining and copying of the sample sentences or phrases. With regard to Ms Huis suggestion to hasten her speech rate, Kelly did not follow suit because she seemed to worry about whether her students could understand her if she spoke too fast. Kelly also had doubt about her MTs insistence on cramming a lot of teaching content into one lesson because she felt very confused after the lesson which she had to teach very quickly to cover every bit of the teaching content within the limited forty-five minutes.
In fact, Ms Hui also hopes that we can really look at the students at their height instead
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of standing high above and overlook them...but I do think we should finish the Language Section in detail first instead of going on with Listening so soon...Why did I teach that way?! Because its Ms Huis requirement, combining Listening with the Language Section...But in fact, they couldnt really digest them, I think. I saw their responses and I knew they couldnt. Only some of them followed, but in fact most basically couldnt. [Sept 25, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 6:30; underlining added]

Kellys doubt seemed to be confirmed by the comments of Ms Qin, the director who observed Helens lesson and attended their post-lesson conference. After listening to the STs self reflections as well as the MTs comments, Ms Qin expressed her opinion that the MTs had crammed too much teaching content into a lesson.

In the post-lesson conferences of the later lessons, Kelly seemed to have got accustomed to Ms Huis comparing her lessons with Jades and she did not cry any more. However, such apparent calmness and obedience seemed to have concealed some resistance inside the ST which was to break out at any moment. After a post-lesson conference, Kelly said the following words,
She told me I must sit in Jades lessons...In fact, I am very rebellious. Yes, ever since I was a kid...I hate being controlled. I am the kind of people who love more freedom. So, the more you ask me to do something, the less Ill do it...Yes, I may listen to you. Okay. But what I think can be vey different from what I do... [Sept 20, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 16:02; underlining added]

The strict requirements of Ms Hui impressed Kelly as some frames which confined her teaching and which she simply complied with superficially but did not actually fully obey in her mind. She could actually expect Ms Huis negative comments, but she did not seem to care very much any more, as she claimed,
In fact, I could imagine she would have such reactions...I knew she would be very angry....Nothing for me to be afraid of. Its natural for her to get angry. Yes, I was not doing properly... [Sept 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 8:47; underlining added]

It seemed very difficult for Kelly to have her teaching approved by her MT as Ms Hui usually asked her to copy part of or even the whole of Jades courseware. But what seemed to upset Kelly was Ms Huis frequent remote controls during her lessons which made her a puppet as the MT would suddenly stand up at the back, gesturing how Kelly should change the teaching content or procedures, or
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even walked to the corridor outside of the classroom, holding up behind the window what Kelly described as a Big Character Poster ()---a large piece of paper full of prompts. Kelly said, every time Ms Hui was giving a signal, she began to worry about being laughed at by her students as she had already heard some naughty boys whispering, Oh, Ms Huis giving directions! These remote controls became a psychological shadow for her as she was afraid that the MT would detain the lesson later that day and the students would complain about her again. Feeling constrained and distrusted by the constant deprivation of her own autonomy and individuality, Kelly later teased herself as a rookie, a novice, and a puppet who is pushed around by others. Being compared and criticized repeatedly, Kelly later asserted before her peers and even in the face of Ms Hui that she did not want to be an English teacher after graduation and would only ask for a pass in the TP assessment. After she finished the English teaching task, she self-assessed her performances, In fact, I think Ill simply finish-the-task, kind of barely-finish-the task.

However, according to Kelly, she gave up her goal to be a teacher not because she did not like teaching but because she was not suitable for the occupation as she did not think she would adapt to the school environment which had too many rules and regulations. Judging from Kellys reflections, it seemed that she actually wanted to teach better as she had repeated several times I hope I can teach better too!, I, I hope I can do better, coz I did really poorly in the previous lessons. Sure, I certainly hope that I can improve my teaching. Kelly uttered these hopes after she finished her sixth lesson when she was surrounded by some students who raised questions about the exercises she had just explained. Kelly later explained that she was very delighted about this as she felt, So, they actually really want to learn! She therefore stayed and explained the exercises to them in detail before they went for lunch. Kelly seemed to feel pleasantly surprised when some students told her that, You teach even better than Ms Hui, but she did not believe their words even though she could find the students saying
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them seriously, Obviously theyre making fun of me! How will it be possible that I teach better than Ms Hui?! Although Kelly thought that the students were simply teasing her, she tried to find out the possible reason for their saying so by quoting their words, Oh, maybe, they said Ms Hui usually scolded them during lessons, she taught the lessons in a superfast way, and she also jumped around the teaching content from here to there. Although Kelly said she did not take her students comments seriously, she seemed to be somewhat encouraged by their positive remarks. As she reflected on her own teaching performances during the teaching practice, she gradually found she had become more familiar with lesson planning than she was in the first few lessons and had overcome her nervousness, In fact Ive made some progress, at least I am no longer so nervous, at least I dont have the stage fright any more... Even though Kelly still had to follow Ms Huis directions, as for the selection of teaching content, she did not just rely on other s ideas but preferred to have her own lesson designs. In her last few lessons, she did not plan her lessons according to the university Method Courses, as she said, They seem useless to me., nor did she base her teaching desi gn totally on what her MT suggested, since she found that Ms Hui taught Class Ten as if they were Class Nine. She did not agree with her MT in this aspect and she argued, The levels of the students were a bit different...In fact, I think the level of Cl ass Ten is not that high and its impossible to teach in that way, that is, spoon-feeding, I dont think they can accept that... With different teaching beliefs from her MT, Kelly later tried to design the lesson in her own way as she said, The language points were selected by myself. She did not speak much in the post-lesson conferences as she did not think herself did very well and therefore did not have anything worth mentioning. Kelly also found that she had become more mature about teaching not because of others comments and suggestions, but mainly because of her own self-reflection on her lessons, as she stressed, Its I myself who summarized them from my nine lessons. Although Kelly tended to be sentimental during her teaching task and appeared
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pessimistic about her teaching, her lessons did have some merits, although they were not frequently identified or highlighted. For example, when teaching the grammar infinitive, Kelly was able to motivate the students to use the grammar pattern to make sentences according to their real life situations. This shining point was recognized by Ms Hui, her peers, and also the director, Ms Qin. Kelly could teach some language points which her more experienced peers had neglected. She had been trying to improve her blackboard writing and the design of the courseware, although her effort had usually not been recognized by the community members. The atmosphere of lessons in Class Ten usually appeared relaxing and free with Kelly talking in a gentle voice, smiling occasionally, with most students taking notes and a few boys chitchatting to each other but returning to the lesson soon. One unique feature in Kellys lessons seemed to be the many funny occasions when she raised questions and the students yelled out amusing answers or naughty shrieks which Kelly explained to her peers, They knew very well that I wont get really angry with them. The shrieks and answers seemed to be somewhat relevant to the lesson and they sometimes even amused Kelly herself. The students who were asked to answer the questions were usually teased by their peers, but they did not appear too embarrassed as Kelly would allow them to think for a while and give them a gentle and polite Good! Very Good! Thank you! after they gave the answer. Kelly said later, she had changed her attitudes towards the students ever since the third lesson, because she found that, instead of disliking her, the students were actually eager to talk with her the day after the detention. When she apologized to the student, she was told, You dont need to say apology, because Ms Hui used to detain us until very late. The students understanding, especially their support during her lessons seemed to have provided Kelly great assurance, as she said thankfully, In fact, although they are fond of nonsense, they are the few ones who actually gave me the most support. Really! So, I, kind of, appreciate their cooperation.

With all the teaching tasks finished, Kelly felt relaxed and admitted that she h ad
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changed from totally uninterested in teaching to being gradually interested and had actually achieved a lot. When reflecting on the whole English teaching process, Kelly described her struggles along the journey in the metaphor--coming out of a dark cave.
For me, its like coming out of a dark cave...Because I, in English teaching, I had no experience, I had zero experience, I was so ignorant, so ignorant, I was so ignorant in the darkness...Yes, and then I kept groping for my way, and I finally came out. This is something of the enlightenment and practice Ive got from teaching. Aha, this is how a lesson is actually taught! Aha, this is how the teacher and the students actually interact! I mean, at the beginning, especially in the first two or three lessons, I was so resisting. But by and by, till now at the end of the lessons, I realize that Ive changed and Ive been growing... Maybe it is God who gave me the power. He empowered me, and I felt it. Because I told Him I want to be tough, I told God I want to be tough. No matter what happens, I would try my best to deal with it. And maybe God heard it, so He gave me the power and enlightened me. He made me understand, So, this is teaching! and He made me understand, Aha, this is how a class teacher should be! uh, how to interact with the students, and how to figure out what they think. Yes...He encouraged me to go on with the journey...and made me enlightened from this precious experience... [Sep. 30th, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 2:10; underlining added]

From Kellys explanation of the metaphor, it seemed that, rather than associating her change and professional growth with the co-learning with the co-members of the community (MTs and STs), she ascribed her development to her individual effort and the God in her inner mind---the power of Christianity which she believed had helped her conquer the darkness and enlightened her way out of the cave. Nevertheless, such a single-person journey in English teaching did not seem to have really guided Kelly to a clear destination as she felt that she was still unclear about her future goal.
...Yesterday, Emily (researcher) asked me whether I want to be a teacher and what my future goal is. I told her I dont want to be a teacher and for the time being I havent thought of any future goal yet... She wondered whether I want to be a teacher or not, and I told her I dont know myself... [Sept. 29th, 2010, Kellys teaching diary; my translation; underlining added]

Without strong intention to be a teacher or any definite goal about her future, Kelly started another journey for her class teacher task. The following section goes on with further narration about Kellys struggle in finding her teacher identity in the rest of the TP.
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5.2.2 Being a class teacher of an Ordinary Class---Its like chewing chocolate, bitter first but sweet later. After a difficult journey of learning to teach English in the placement school, Kelly started her role as a student class teacher. For Kelly, the feeling of being a class teacher was very different from that of being an English teacher, as she reflected on her second task in the TP and gave another metaphor---Its like chewing chocolate, bitter first but sweet later.

5.2.2.1 Routine class teacher tasks, the sports meet and class meeting lesson17 Being a class teacher in the placement school implied that there would be plenty of routine work and also trivial things to handle every day. However, facing different tasks simultaneously, Kelly did not seem to be upset or worried, as Ms Hui said, It seems that shes been totally relaxed after teaching the lessons. Compared with her teaching tasks, Kelly found that being a class teacher was far less stressful.
I think being a class teacher should have more work to handle...but I dont feel stressed at all... teaching brought me more pressure, much more pressure I should say...It came from Ms Hui, my peers, and the other teachers...The comparisons, unceasing comparisons, day by day... [Sept 28, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 34:05; underlining added]

Although Kelly did not tell the reason why she felt less stressed being a class teacher, she did emphasize that there was no more comparison between her as a class teacher and the other peer STs since there were not many regular discussions between class teacher MTs and the STs nor were there any specific requirements about class teacher tasks in the university Teaching Practicum Scheme.

Apart from feeling that it was less stressful, Kelly also seemed to be able to enjoy relatively more freedom of implementing her own ideas in organizing and managing the various routine tasks for class teachers. Although Kelly still needed
17

In middle schools in Mainland China, class meetings () are important lessons for class teachers to introduce school behavioral norms and academic disciplines and organize activities about moral education. 169

to ask Ms Hui for advice on some specific duties, she seemed to have more autonomy in the management of the school regular activities. From Kellys observation, she realized that, just like many teachers in the school, Ms Hui was very concerned about whether the discipline points18 of the class had been deducted because there was serious competition between different classes in the ranking of various student activities and discipline management. Kelly also kept in mind Ms Huis requirement that, If you are a class teacher, at least you must make them do the cleaning well for me, you know, our class has lost so many points in cleaning. Therefore, trying not to get points deducted became an important goal for Kelly as a student class teacher. She became fully engaged in the class management tasks, for example, she went to the class very often to keep an eye on her students or to remind them to behave themselves during their morning reading and cleaning, class-break exercises, afternoon cleaning, and their students self-learning periods. However, since there were some disobedient students in the class who would not do the cleaning as required, nor would they behave properly in other school regular activities, the frequent deduction of points in Class Ten had annoyed Ms Hui very much as Kelly could hear her complain angrily, We lose points again! According to the discipline rules in Class Ten, any student whose misbehavior led to deduction of points was subject to copying the text many times as punishment. Some naughty discipline violators would have to copy the text for dozens of times. To avoid more points being deducted and to save those poor violators from being punished by Ms Hui, when the students did not do their cleaning well, Kelly would try to pick up a broom and make up for the cleaning task for them, which sometimes made her appear silly and like a domestic helper. Nevertheless, although Kelly was somewhat troubled by losing points, she did not worry about handling the class discipline. In fact she seemed to be familiar with many tricks to keep th e naughty students under her thumb; for example, she would try to appear very
18

The number of points of a class was crucial for the class teacher mentors as they were important references for the election of Excellent Classes in the school every semester. 170

angry by straightening her face, scolding them strictly, or even using dictation and recitation of text as her effective threats. Apart from the routine tasks, Kelly needed to be especially devoted to the two major assignments in her role as a class teacher---the sports meet and the class meeting. As the sport meet would be held in only a few days, the first assignment turned out to be a big challenge for Kelly as there would be plenty of training and preparation for a series of competitions in the school sports meet. Unlike the other student class teachers, Kelly did not delay the preparation but started to train her students as soon as possible, as Ms Hui later commented, Our class was the first class that rehearsed the parade. In order to make the parade of the class more attractive, Kelly and her partner had designed a V-10 Shape for the parade which they had rehearsed with the students for several times. However, the idea was later abandoned by Ms Hui and they had to rehearse the parade again according to the MTs new design which impressed them as a bit childish. Kelly thus complained emotionally,
...She came yesterday, and the V-10 was gone! Two days work! And it was all gone! ...I cant remember how long weve been rehearsing...Yes, Ms Hui cancelled it...I felt a bit hurt...I rehearsed with them and you suddenly asked us to change! Isnt it a pity?!... [Oct 13, 2010 Weekly group discussion 10:20; underlining added]

Although encountering many obstacles, Kellys hard work in the sports meet preparation was rewarded by the encouraging results in the sports meet---the parade ranked the fifth out of a total of twenty-eight classes in the school, a result which Ms Hui was very satisfied with.

Kelly was also actively engaged in the second assignment---the class meeting lesson which was an important task for student class teachers. She prepared the class meeting lesson plan with her partner and made it a competition about knowledge of the Asian Games that were about to be held in the city. In order to make the competition more interesting and exciting to the students, Kelly had spent a long time preparing for the competition and even gave up her lunch time

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to buy a large bag of award gifts. During the competition, the students in different groups as competitors were so excited that they screamed out their answers which were followed by continuous cheering, catcalling, laughing, desk knocking, hand clapping, and foot stamping. Kellys voice was almost overwhelmed by all these noises, but luckily this time, Ms Hui did not stop the competition. In fact, the MT, who was also sitting at the back, seemed to enjoy this special class meeting very much as she was also attracted by the competition and she guessed the answers and laughed happily with her students.

5.2.2.2 Free chats with students Although being vexed by the students discipline troubles, Kelly seemed to find it enjoyable to be the student class teacher of Class Ten as she had plenty of opportunity communicating with her students. According to Kelly, one of the benefits seemed to be the close rapport she had developed with the students whom she treated as her younger sisters and brothers. Just as Kelly had admitted herself, she had the personality of being relatively attentive to the details of things through observing and listening to people around her. Therefore, Kelly was able to observe every one of her students closely and listen to various topics of the students through the chitchats either initiated by herself or by her students who also seemed to be fond of sharing their little secrets with the ST. She took pictures of the students whose behaviors attracted her and amused her, and played basketball with them during spare time. Compared with her partner, Kelly seemed to be very proud of her ability to remember the names of all the students in her class with no difficulty. She said she had an intention to write an analysis report of the characteristics of the students in her class. In fact, in her TP diary, Kelly had noted down in detail the characteristics of some of the students in her class,
...The kids in Class Ten are both talkative and naughty. They stood at the gate with listless looks. I think I must try my best to train them. But they are also very lovely, for example, ZYH is able to manage others very well except himself; HJY is simple, honest, and clever; ZJH is active and energetic but gossipy, anyway, this little boy is very clever! LZZ is rather upright and leader-like! WLS is very naughty, but this little guy is very

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smart, diligent, and promising. Every one in the class is special with their own personality. I actually think Class Ten is a class with huge potential. They not only learn very well but are also very united. [Kellys teaching diary on Sept. 29th, 2010, my translation; underlining added]

The careful observations, Kelly explained, might be due to her inherent curiosity of things around her as she said to be part of her personality. The sense of curiosity seemed to also lead to a sense of care for the students which grew steadily inside Kelly as she had learned more about them through the mutual sharing in the conversations:
I treated them equally. I tried to care for every one of them. I hope I can care for every student in my class by trying to observe each one...because personally I am fond of observing people, I mean, their behaviors, words, feelings and moods...Its my personality and I have the habit of observing things around me...In fact, I observed them every day... [Oct 22nd, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 1:40; underlining added] ...I talked with the students, not only about their study, but also different aspects. I was familiar with their personal relations and the little secrets of their family. They actually regarded me as a trash can of secrets and told me everything. My mind was stuffed with all their words, not only study, but everything. In fact, it isnt necessarily that what they said is non-nutritious rubbish talk. From their words, I can know their mind, their character, and different aspects...Some of them asked me, Miss Shen, will you chat with us today? maybe they also wanted to talk with me... [Oct 21, 2010 Weekly group discussion 51:30; underlining added]

Kelly tried to know more about the students ideas and attitudes through observing them and talking with them. She wanted to know how students in Ordinary Classes were different from those in Special Classes, and she also wondered why some students in her class could not enter the Special Classes in the grade. She had somewhat admired Ms Hui and had tried to ask the MT for advice on the moral education of students. She was attracted by Ms Huis work log which she read carefully several times and tried to remember the records of different students. It was worth noting that Kelly did not want to know more about her students simply to satisfy her curiosity; she actually made efforts to help her students. For example, she tried to offer them some suggestions during their free chats. She would teach them some ways to learn English and encourage them to recite more vocabulary. She told them not to judge people by their appearance and persuaded them not to fall in love at an early age. She even managed to handle

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some of the clashes among students and changed the little foes into friends. 5.2.2.3 Changing attitudes between mentor and mentee Kellys active participation in her routine tasks as a class teacher especially in the two special assignments had changed Ms Huis impression of her. Ms Hui gradually changed her attitude towards Kelly ever since she became the student class teacher. When commenting on their language teaching, Ms Hui kept making remarks like Among the four STs I mentor, Kelly is relatively weaker while the other three are quite good. or As for English teaching, the three STs are okay except Kelly. However, when she commented on their class teacher tasks, her remarks seemed to form a sharp contrast to the ones she made about their English teaching, and this time the comparison sounded more in favour of Kelly.
... Maybe Kelly is not so interested in teaching, but she is interested in the moral education of students...She was very enthusiastic about the class teacher work...Shes so proactive...In the end, she changed my attitude towards her... Kelly was very engaged in her class teacher tasks... Kelly turned out to be very enthusiastic in moral education, while the other three were not... she might have found the right stage to display her abilities...And our class got the fifth place in the parade competition, right? The fifth out of twenty-eight classes! Its not bad, isnt it? Hahahah... [Oct 25, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Ms Hui 31:30; underlining added]

Nevertheless, Kelly was actually unaware of her MTs changed attitude towards her until an afternoon before the end of the TP when the cohort had their last weekly group discussion together. When it was Kellys turn to voice her reflections about the practicum, she made a self-assessment on her teaching work.
I have to admit that I didnt invest much time and effort in it, maybe I have enough courage in myself which makes me dare to say so, because I dont want to be a teacher at all!... [Oct 21, 2010 Weekly group discussion 35:18; underlining added]

When Kelly made this short but emotional speech, she did not realize that right after she finished her words, Daisy continued with something that really surprised her.
Daisy: I overheard the following words. This person said, Oh, Kelly, this little girl has devoted all her time and energy to the class. The students love her so much and they are always gathering around her during the day! Can you guess who said this?
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Kelly: WHO said that??? Susan: Should be Ms Hui. Others: Ms Hui! Its Ms Hui. Ms Hui. Daisy: Yes, its Ms Hui. You werent here at that time, but many of us should be here. Jade: Yes, I heard it, too. Maple: And me too. Daisy: So, in fact, its not necessary for you to keep negating what you have done. You said you have got the courage to decide not to be a teacher, while in my opinion youve already developed a sense of love towards your class unconsciously, and youve already been fond of such a teaching job which you simply arent aware of at all...(All other clapped.) Cheer up, Kelly!! [Oct 21, 2010 Weekly group discussion 40:28; underlining added]

Hearing the words uttered not directly by Ms Hui but indirectly reported by her peers, Kelly seemed to be somewhat surprised but still somewhat skeptical as she tried to seek evidence from the peers. With a stereotyped prior impression about her MT together with a sense of guilt and self-criticism about her own unsatisfactory teaching, Kelly might find it difficult to believe Dais ys report of Ms Huis words. Feeling still uncertain about her MTs words, after the farewell ceremony the next morning, Kelly gave her notebook to Ms Hui and asked for some advice from the MT which she would keep as TP memory. On the notebook, Ms Hui wrote the following words (Translated into English by the author).
Dear sincere and conscientious Kelly: Your observations about the students are really very careful. The care you gave the students can be felt by all of us. Thank you and wish you all the best!

Ms Hui

Figure 5.1: Ms Huis words to Kelly

When the notebook with the MTs words was returned to Kelly, she read it and was moved by her MTs encouraging words. She seemed to be confirmed that Ms Hui had changed her attitude towards her, and in return Kelly also wrote a card to Ms Hui and expressed her sincere gratitude to the MT for her instruction and guidance in TP.

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In the interview at the end of the TP, Kelly reflected on her class teacher tasks and summarized her feelings in a metaphor of chewing chocolate, which she explained in the following words.
When you eat chocolate... it tastes a little bitter at the beginning, right? And when you almost finish it, youll find, oh, it tastes a little sweet and delicious...At the beginning, the student teachers in other classes all received flowers on Teachers Day except us (Kelly and Sunny). And then, in fact, I felt a little bitter, the kind of bitter feeling. Later we talked with the students, I felt there was a long distance between us and the students...A student wrote some words on my notebook and she told me that she actually didnt like me at the beginning...but later, she said, because my smiles and my gentle voice had moved her and she was fond of me gradually. So perhaps, its a process. I looked serious, smile-less and straight-faced at the beginning, but later I had more and more smiles, and they knew me by and by...Yes, it means you have the feeling which changes from bitter to sweet...Yes, its really a process during which the distance narrowed, with something far away approaching nearer and nearer... [Oct 22, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Kelly 2:40:10; underlining added]

Looking back on the whole TP, Kelly regarded her learning to teach in the school-university partnership as a process both sour and sweet. Judging from both her English teaching tasks and her class teacher tasks, she travelled the journey during which she had to struggle out of a dark cave and also encounter many bumpy ups and downs. The destination of the journey seemed to be pleasant and positive to the traveler, as Kelly summarized, the feeling changes from bitter to sweet. According to Kelly, such a transformation seemed to be deeply rooted in Kellys relationship with her students which was so crucial not only for the growth of the friendship between student and teacher, but also for the identity-formation of the ST. Kelly, who was so at a loss and so eager to find her own self before the TP seemed to find her TP goal fulfilled, as readers can find in the TP Newsletter the following words by Kelly, I am so grateful for Class Ten. Its their lovely smiles that made me forget my unhappy memories. Its their cheerful characters that helped me escape from my sad past, stand up again, and go on with my life.

5.3 Analysis: Learning to teach with resistance---A rebellious self

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After narrating Kellys story both as a student English teacher and a student class teacher, in this section, I shall analyze the identity formation process of Kelly in the school-university partnership placement school first from the Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998) and Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and then from Foucaults theory of self-formation as ethics (Foucault, 1983a, 1986, 1997a).

5.3.1 Student teacher identity formation in a community of practice According to the Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991), at the beginning of the TP, just like all cohort members, Kelly was granted legitimacy of access to practice both in reificative and participative forms. She was assigned to Ms Hui as one of the mentees and was allocated Class Ten, the Ordinary Class which she was to teach and manage. Kelly participated actively in lesson observation and preparation during the first week of TP when STs were supposed to have apprenticeship observation.

Within the school-university partnership placement school which was a boundary crossing activity system (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001) hybridizing discourses of both the university and the school, the cohort of the eight STs, the school students, the MTs as well as the UTs (though did not visit the school frequently) formed a community of practice (COP, Wenger, 1998). According to Wenger (1998), the notion of COP implies three fundamental properties: mutual engagement, a joint enterprise and a shared repertoire (p.73). Within the global COP, there was a sub-cop which consisted of teachers at different professional levels: STs, MTs, and UTs (T-cop). In Kellys case, her engagement in the T-cop activities, such as collective lesson planning and post-lesson group discussion, was relatively limited due to both objective and subjective reasons. Not living together with other members seemed to be one of the constraints preventing her from sharing more with other T-cop members about teaching planning and mutual checking. However, an even bigger obstacle hindering her from engaging more in the
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mutual sharing seemed to be the sense of inferiority existing in her mind which became the source of her diffidence and an invisible wall separating her and her peers as she was always subconsciously comparing herself with her peers with the feeling that she was not as experienced or excellent as others and that she did not have as determined a goal to be a teacher as others. The relatively less engagement in the T-cop and hence the less contribution to the shared repertoire both led to Kellys implicit sense of uncertainty or doubt about her membership of the community and her identity as a teacher in the school.

Identity formation is a dual process of both negotiability and identification Which congeal into the economies of meaning and the membership of the community respectively (Wenger, 1998). To obtain membership of the community, it is necessary to have the competence recognized by the community (Edwards & Tsui, 2009). However, in Kellys English teaching tasks, she failed to have her teaching designs approved by Ms Hui. The mistakes in her teaching as well as her failure to teach the lessons according to Ms Huis requirements had led to the MTs detaining the class, which further resulted in her being complained by her students. The lack of recognition by either her MT or the students had combined to cause Kelly to further question her membership in the COP and her identity as an English teacher, as she admitted that she was not professional enough to be an English teacher. The lack of recognition from the community also deprived Kelly of the currencies in the negotiation of meaning of teaching, which made the asymmetrical power relationship between Kelly and Ms Hui even more evident, as Kelly did not try to justify her teaching designs even though they were representations of her alignment with the university ELT principles or later the traditional designs she borrowed from the MTs. Kellys lack of confidence in her teaching also gave rise to her continuous self-depreciation which caused her to refrain from engaging further in contribution to the shared repertoire in the post-lesson conferences as she later explained, I did not say much in the previous group discussions, I dont think I have anything worth mentioning.
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Lave and Wenger (1991) point out that learning is a social practice in a COP which is characterized as a process of legitimate peripheral participation (LPP). Learning is inseparable from the sense of identity which is both the core concept of COP and the essential element for the notion of LPP (ibid). To develop learning and identity, two conditions are fundamental: legitimacy of participation and peripherality of participation. After the week of apprenticeship observation, Kelly was granted legitimacy of participation---Like other peers, she was allowed to go onto the platform and teach the lessons. However, Kelly did not seem to be able to obtain the peripherality of participation in her English teaching tasks; instead, she gradually developed an identity of marginality. From Kellys English teaching experience, such a marginal position was a result of both externally imposed and self-imposed factors (Edwards & Tsui, 2009). Even from her first lesson, Kelly was able to realize that her teaching designs and performances were actually not recognized by the MT, which could not bring in the meaning currencies that empowered her in the negotiation of meaning about ELT practice in the community. What seemed to be most discouraging to Kelly was Ms Huis constant comparison between her lessons and Jades which further added to her sense of inferiority and diffidence. Although Ms Hui seemed to have also said that Kelly was making progress, the sharp contrast between the comments as well as the constant disapproval of Kellys teaching could still make Kelly feel the differences between herself and her peers. Such differences were not only frequently emphasized in the comparisons during the post-lesson conferences, but also reified by Ms Huis demand that Kelly must observe Jades lessons and copy her PPT. The MTs feedbacks and requirements to some extent reinforced the alienation between Kelly and her peers, which was the externally-imposed factor that positioned Kelly on an outbound trajectory during her learning to teach. Apart from the other-imposed factors, Kellys marginalized identity was also self-imposed. Feeling that the MT had no intention to allow her to develop her own teaching designs, especially when she was annoyed and humiliated by Ms
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Huis remote control during her lessons, Kelly was disappointed by her identities as a rookie, a novice, and a puppet who is pushed around by others. The disappointment about her teaching self had further diluted Kellys enthusiasm to pursue the goal of becoming a teacher after graduation, as she decided to take on the simply finish-the-task attitude and aim only at a pass in the TP assessment. Based on their research on ST identity formation in the COP in Hong Kong context, Edwards and Tsui (2009) had warned that, if, however, the identity of marginality persisted, it could eventually put her (student teacher) on an outbound trajectory and lead to nonmembership not just of a particular school but of the teaching profession (p. 66 emphasis in original). In Kellys case, her constantly being reminded of her weaknesses and her own sense of inferiority in teaching had joined hands to corner her to the marginal position which became the trigger for her giving up of the teaching profession.

The misunderstanding between Kelly and Ms Hui had somewhat escalated to some intense tension. This had been reflected in Ms Huis stereotyped impression of Kelly as being lazy and fond of backchat and also in Kellys prejudice against her MT as being somewhat autocratic, as she commented emotionally,
She hoped we four student teachers would teach according to HER:::: style...She turned out to have really many requirements... If you couldnt do well, she would criticize you directly... What kind of person is she?! I felt whatever I do I had to follow in her footsteps... She came, and our previous ideas were 100% cancelled. [Oct 13, 2010 Weekly group discussion 9:05]

It should be noted that the various frames---the rules and regulations from Ms Hui had actually produced some kind of resistance in Kelly. Claiming herself a very rebellious person, Kelly adopted an outward compliant but inward resistant attitude as she stressed, The more you ask me to do something, the less Ill do it...Yes, I may listen to you. Okay! But what I think can be vey di fferent from what I do... and she even defied some of the MTs requirements as she explained, I knew she would be very angry...Nothing for me to be afraid of. Its natural for her to get angry. Yes, I wasnt doing properly.

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With a marginalized identity and increasingly intense tension with Ms Hui during her English teaching task, it was worth noting how Kelly resumed her enthusiasm toward teaching later. She even changed the MTs stereotyped impression about her and also changed her own attitude towards the MT in her class teacher task in the latter part of the TP. Although marginalized in the T-cop, being a student class teacher, Kelly was able to engage herself in another sub-cop which was composed of herself and students in Class Ten (S-cop). Kelly not only constructed identities of student English teacher and student class teacher, but also sub-identities such as sincere listener, basketball teammate, sports meet trainer, elder-sister, and friend. With relatively more autonomy in her class teacher tasks, Kelly had actually shifted her resistance attitude toward active investment (Norton, 2010). Even though her teaching was still not fully recognized by the MT, Kellys persistent active participation in the class teacher tasks as well as her care for the students gradually enabled her to regain confidence from the trust and support of her students as well as the progress she had made in class management. The students cooperation in Kellys class meeting lesson and the encouraging results of the class in the sports meet finally convinced Ms Hui that Kelly had the competence of class management and collective activity organization. Kellys active participation in the class teacher tasks could be traced from the three modes of belongings (Wenger, 1998) in herself: First, Kelly aligned with Mr Zhongs (head of the school English Teaching Section) advice that Classroom teaching should be integrated with class management. The school teachers remarks had reminded Kelly of the significance of her class teacher tasks and the potential power she might obtain from the S-cop with her Ordinary Class students. It also enabled Kelly to re-evaluate her competence as a pre-service teacher and rekindled her wish to become a teacher after graduation. Second, by imagination, Kelly had associated her work with the interests and needs of her students by putting herself into the students shoes. She was able to design class meeting lessons that attracted the students, to show sympathy for the students and forgive
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their rudeness, to treat everyone equally without discrimination and to have high expectation about their future. Third, Kellys alignment with Mr Zhongs advice and her imagination of the students needs were substantiated through her active engagement in the routine class management efforts including her frequent visits to the class, her efforts to help the class decrease the deduction of points, her tricks to manage the class discipline, as well as the moral education and individual communication she had devoted herself to. All these active investments---Kellys participation in identifying herself as a member of both the T-cop and the S-cop and negotiating the meaning of being a class teacher---not only helped Kelly and Ms Hui changed their prejudice against each other, but also transformed Kellys own identity as a ST as well as her perception and belief about ELT education in the school.

Kellys identity transformation in the TP led us to the insight that STs identity formation in the COP may be approached from their multi-memberships and from the interrelationships between the COP and the sub-cops. The identity formation trajectory may not be necessarily unidirectional LLP but may also be zigzagging with many obstacles, and the legitimacy of participation may not be only other-oriented but also self-oriented (Tsui, 2007, 2009).

5.3.2 Doing student teacher identity as ethics Growing up in a business family, both Kelly and her parents shared the common wish to major in trade and business in the university. However, the national education system did not provide the opportunity for the family to fulfill their goal as Kellys score of Gaokao was not high enough to enter the Business College and she ended up being assigned to the School of Foreign Studies specializing in English Teacher Education.

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Cultural, historical, social, political, economic, educational, institutional, familial and personal factors Substance
curiosity about people and things careful observer and listener

Telos: professional teacher

unclear about future goal

qualified class teacher teacher Mode of subjection
1. good professional knowledge/skills 2. student-centred, interest, accessibility 3. responsibility: attention to students growth 4. integrating English teaching with student management

Self-practices
1. from laziness to diligence, mediocre achievement in professional learning 2. lack teaching practice, apply but denied 3. inactive participation in collective lesson planning or discussion 4. teach according to students feedback 5. active participation in class teacher work 6. active communication with students

Figure 5.2: Kelly---Doing student teacher identity

However, without very strong motivation to be a teacher or a solid foundation in prior English learning, Kelly admitted that her goal to be a teacher was wavering and she did not seem to have a clear future goal herself. Kelly hoped she could become a professional teacher if she was able to obtain a teaching job. Although this telos of teacher identity seemed to be somewhat contradictory to Kellys background, it was a popular teacher criterion in the public discourses. Furthermore, Kellys another telos---to be a qualified class teacher was not so highly valued within the relatively more knowledge-driven university pre-service teacher education program.

Kelly regarded her curiosity about people and things and her careful observation and attentiveness to others as her substance of teacher identity. Without determined telos, Kellys self-practices of teacher identity seemed to be inadequate for shaping her teacher self. She had not worked hard enough at the

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beginning of her university study. With weak English proficiency, Kelly could only achieve mediocre learning results in the School of Foreign Studies where English language proficiency represented the most important aspect in English majors overall competence. Being professionally not competitive enough, Kelly could not obtain much teaching opportunity in the university. Since she was not highly motivated, she did not apply for the teaching practices out of campus, either. The lack of practice in teaching and the insufficient use of the professional knowledge and skills had resulted in Kellys diffidence in her own self-practices of teacher identity, since one of her authority sources of teacher identity (mode of subjection) was that Teachers should have knowledge and skills that are very professional. According to Kelly, being professional implied having a good mastery of the teacher professional knowledge and skills, which was the most fundamental qualification for a teacher. Such mode of subjection led to her aiming at being a professional teacher as her telos, which seemed to be contradictory to her insufficient investment in her own self-practices of teacher identity. However, although Kelly did not have strong motivation to be an English teacher, neither did she have ample teacher professional knowledge and skills, she did have her own understanding and values about teaching as a profession. Besides the more knowledge/skill driven belief, Kelly had other modes of subjection which included the public discourses that Kelly had once acquired and accepted, for example, she thought that teachers should put their students in the first place and make their teaching methods more interesting and accessible to their students. She also viewed teaching as a profession which demands enormous responsibilities. In her opinion, being a teacher means not only teaching knowledge but also paying attention to the growth of students in their character and their life.

Kellys inadequate use and practice of her teacher professional knowledge and skills (self-practices of teacher identity) which was the major disadvantage in her university study turned out to be a big obstacle during the TP in the placement
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school. The strict teaching requirements of Ms Hui somewhat bewildered Kelly who was not familiar with the ELT practices in the school. Kelly had not dealt with her teaching seriously enough at the beginning as she admitted that she had entered the TP with more a sense of curiosity to observe things and people than the readiness for learning to teach (substance of teacher identity). Ms Huis criticism on Kellys teaching as well as her constant comparisons between Kelly and her peers had led to Kellys sense of inferiority about her inadequate mastery of teacher professional knowledge and skills (self-practices of teacher identity) and her lack of determination to be a teacher (telos). Kelly found herself unable to adapt to the discourse of ELT conventions in the school as they emphasized mechanically cramming as many testing points as possible into the students, which was against her belief that teaching should be interesting and accessible to students (mode of subjection). Having a rebellious character in herself (substance of teacher identity), Kelly did not agree with and was not really willing to accept Ms Huis many frames---the strict rules and requirements on her which struck her as somewhat autocratic. The resistance in Kelly not only resulted in her dealing with her English teaching tasks with a simply-finish-the-task attitude, but also led to her marginalizing herself from her peers and non-participating in the collective lesson planning even though it was required by Ms Hui (Wenger, 1998). Ms Huis increasing negative comments, unfavorable comparisons, humiliating remote controls, detention of the students and re-teaching the lessons had all combined to reinforce Kellys sense of inferiority in teaching and further shaken her goal to become a teacher after graduation (telos). Kellys telos to be a professional teacher was abandoned soon after she began her English teaching task. She was still not clear about her future goal; nor was she able to know her own self.

It seemed that by totally abandoning her goal of being a teacher in the future (telos of teacher identity) and even declaring such a decision in the face of her MT, Kelly would not care too much about the rest of the TP activities as they might
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become unimportant to her. However, it was worth noting that, just as Kelly had stressed, she was fond of observing and listening to people attentively out of a sense of curiosity (substance of teacher identity). By observing her students carefully, listening to them attentively, and sharing kindly with them her own ideas in many free chats (self-practices of teacher identity), Kelly discovered something meaningful in her teaching---She found her students very lovely and had actually been very cooperative in her lessons. She realized that the students actually needed her to be the listener of their little secrets and also needed her to give them advice. She began to have sympathy for her Ordinary Class students and wanted to give them more encouragement in their learning and their growth. Although Kelly had been constantly discouraged by the MTs requirements and criticisms, she found herself regaining confidence from her students trust and support in her, as she wrote in the TP Newsletter, Its their cheerful characters that helped me escape from my sad past, stand up again, and go on with my life. Thus, the mutual sharing, understanding and support between Kelly and her students in their special community of practice not only empowered her and helped her re-discover her self, but also enabled her to re-identify her goal to be a qualified class teacher (telos of teacher identity). Through more friendly chitchats with the students, Kelly knew more about her students in the class. She sympathized with these Ordinary Class teenagers who were supposed to be inferior to their Special Class counterparts and she began to find out their strengths and weaknesses and tried to help them improve their English learning and establish the unity and friendliness in the class. Kelly became more responsible for the class management and invested more time and energy in the routine class teacher tasks especially the two specific assignments for her during her role as a student class teacher (self-practices of teacher identity). Kellys investment was witnessed by Ms Hui who was also moved by the mentees care and help for her students. The effective class meeting and also the hard-won results in the sports meet further convinced the MT that Kelly had her own competence of becoming a teacher. Kellys active engagement had changed Ms
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Huis prejudice against her which not only mitigated her sense of inferiority but also retrieved her lost confidence and enthusiasm in becoming a teacher (telos). Although Kelly had to comply with the MT in the decision making of her tasks, she actually kept her individual ideas about educating the students. In her opinion, the students were not English learning idiots as termed by Ms Hui, but smart kids with various lovely naughtiness; the students responses in her class may not necessarily be non-nutritious rubbish talk, they might be evidence of their creative thinking or some kind of rapport with the teacher or their peers. Kelly became gentle, kind and forgiving to the students and treating them according to her egalitarian principle (modes of subjection). The student-teacher

communication triggered by both Kellys curiosity in the students and her careful attention on them (substance of teacher identity) had reminded her of one of the beliefs she had held, Being a teacher is more than just teaching knowledge; she should also focus on the growth of students in their character and their life (mode of subjection). Kellys belief turned out to be in agreement with the remarks of Mr Zhong who provided her a new mode of subjection---Its necessary that classroom teaching be integrated with student management. Accordingly, instead of limiting her goal to be a professional teacher, Kelly had enriched the connotation of her telos of teacher identity by injecting in it the sense of care and responsibility---a professional English teacher and qualified class teacher. Analyzing Kellys story from the ethico-political framework of identity formation as ethics provided us the following implications. The STs ethical agency played a transformational role in re-identifying her telos of teacher identity as well as her own self. Infinito (2003b) summarizes Foucaults concept of ethical practice as follows:
For Foucault, such ethical practice or self-care, assumes both a positive and a negative form. In its negative form, our involvement in the construction of ourselves can be seen as an act of resistance to the unfreedom of normalization. Positively speaking, in attempting to live giving appropriate regard to the being of others and our own selves, we utilize our own power to produce a specific type of freedom. By forming ourselves as ethical beings, we activate our capacities for creation and potentially bring about an
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ever-evolving person (ourselves), as well as a new and different world. (Infinito, 2003b, p. 71)

By claiming herself a very rebellious person, Kelly resisted Ms Huis frames---the rules and requirements which represented the dominating social discourses and prevented her from exercising her own creativity in her teaching. However, this only reflected the negative form of ethical practice in Foucaults interpretation of care of the self. This negative freedom did not enable Kelly to find out her future goal or her real self. The positive ethical practice implies using our capacities of creativity to care for not only ourselves but also others so that we transform not only our own identities, but a new world as well. In Kellys case, without the care of her students and the investment in trying to know them and help them in the latter part of her TP activities, Kelly would not have won her students trust and support, nor could she be refreshed with the courage and creativity to devote herself to the teaching profession. For Kelly, emphasizing the mutual communication with the students, she need not reject completely the universitys progressive theories or Ms Huis

examination-oriented spoon-feeding ELT teaching practice. She may try to have thorough understanding about both discourses and then use them creatively, responsively, and responsibly with the learners so that she might better achieve her telos of becoming a professional and qualified teacher.

5.4 Coda In an interview after the TP, Kelly told me that she would try to apply for a teaching job first after graduation even though she knew that it would be very difficult for her to obtain such an opportunity. Kelly emphasized, If I can become a real teacher, I think I will be very happy. She explained to me that she had been interested in being a teacher but she was not confident enough, and therefore she would try to be more confident in order to apply for a teaching job. Kelly imagined that being a real teacher would be very hard, but she said she would find joy amid hardship because she believed that the most touching feeling for

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a teacher is to see his/her students growing up day by day and she enjoyed watching the lovely faces of the students who smiled to her and shared their feeling with her. When Kelly mentioned her students, she was moved tears again and she told me that she missed them very much. Kellys words reminded me of the words I had glimpsed in her QQ personal signature19---Miss my little friends in Class Ten.

I was not sure whether Kelly was able to find a teaching occupation after her graduation, but it seemed to me that she had been moved by her students support and trust during the TP. When I reflected on the whole process of data collection, I found that Kelly was the only ST who had shed tears several times during my interviews. Kelly had relatively more time talking with me as she was the only ST who lived out of campus and we took the same bus to the school every day. Kellys desk was next to mine in the Student Teachers Office which also allowed us more opportunity to talk to each other. The more interactions between us enabled me to establish a closer relationship with the ST. Although Kelly called me Laoshi, she seemed to regard me more as a senior friend who had more social experience. During our free chats, Kelly seldom talked about teaching but asked more about my family and the interpersonal relationships in the society (maybe this was related to her interest in observing people and things). She was also very willing to share with me what she had observed; for example, the funny or naughty students she had seen in the campus, the gossips among the teaching staff she overheard in the MTs office and even something about her boyfriend. As a teacher educator, I somewhat disapproved of Kellys not participating in the collective lesson planning or making sufficient preparation before lessons at the beginning (e.g., no PPT or blackboard writing). However, as a researcher, I tried to observe more patiently for the reasons behind this instead of showing my disagreement to her behaviours (Kelly alienated herself from the peers due to her
19

QQ personal signature is a popular function in the QQ instant messenger software which allows users to show their mood, feeling, or personality in a few words. As the eight student teachers are on my QQ buddy list, I could read their personal signatures whenever I used the QQ instant messenger. 189

sense of inferiority and she did not have much time planning the lessons at home; but she later tried to prepare for the lesson more carefully even though her mother did not want her to work until very late at night). I tried to encourage Kelly to have more confidence in herself and she seemed to be thankful for my encouragement as she once told me that, Sometimes I feel you are just like my mum who also always encourages me to cheer up, try my best and be brave. When I found Kelly felt sad and humiliated, especially when she decided to give up teaching during the TP, I felt somewhat guilty about my identity as a teacher educator as I seemed to be able to do nothing but to comfort her. Therefore, when Kelly told me she would try to apply for a teaching position after the TP, I was somewhat surprised and began to reflect on the causes of such a special transformation in Kellys attitude towards being a teacher.

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CHAPTER SIX

THE STORY OF MAPLE

This chapter introduces the story of another ST---Maple. I shall describe Maples family and prior education background first, and then report her experiences as a student English teacher and a student class teacher in the placement school, and finally analyze Maples TP experiences according to theories of both the sociocultural and the poststructuralist perspectives.

6.1 Family background and prior education Maple was born in Shantou, a small city in Guangdong, with worker parents and a younger sister whom she often tutored. Maple studied very hard and was able to enter the local key-middle-schools. She attributed her diligence partly to the hardworking and competitive atmosphere in her middle schools as she explained, If you didnt learn, you couldnt catch up with the others. Maple described her personality as conscientious, patient, confident and enterprising. She loved to receive new challenges to broaden her horizons and she had the motto that, Anything that Ive seldom tried must be tried. Maple had a profound love in the occupation of teaching which, she explained, was related to her admiration of one of her English teachers who was very studious. And then being an English teacher became her goal which had remained unchanged,
I wanted to be a teacher ever since I was very young. So, this goal has remained unchanged ever since then and I didnt consider any other options but selected English Education as my university specialties [Apr 16th, 2010 semi-structured interview with Maple 13:50]

As she had wished, Maple was enrolled by GSU, one of the two main teachers universities in the province. After entering the university, Maple had made full use of every opportunity to learn and practice teacher professional knowledge and skills. She was so diligent and conscientious in both professional learning and social practice that she had been awarded twice the second prize of university scholarship. Maple was very active in the Method Courses and she would try to improve her basic teaching skills in her spare time. She found the course English Teaching Methodology very useful as she had acquired practical teaching
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knowledge and skills from the course. In order to obtain more opportunities to apply what she had learned to practical use, Maple had participated in various in-campus and out-campus teaching practices. For example, she had won a third prize in the English Teaching Skills Competition in the university and was once recruited by a private institution in a less-developed small town. Before the TP, Maple had been teaching part-time for a private remedial school which not only allowed her to contact real middle school students but also to experience the teaching styles that were different from those she had learned in the university. Having gained various teaching experiences, Maple believed that she was more proficient and confident than some of her peers who did not have many teaching opportunities, as she explained, I have come across many problems which they havent, and Ive also thought of the solutions to those problems. Apart from participating in teaching practices, Maple would also reflect on her teaching and ask for advice from her UTs and senior classmates. She looked forward to the TP and would like to receive more practical advice from the MTs and share ideas with her peers.

Having taken the university Method Courses, Maple was eager to try out the new ELT principles and theories in authentic classroom practice. Comparing the more progressive ELT methodology she had learned in the university with those of her own middle school teachers, and she found the latter very traditional and not flexible. Being a product of the traditional ELT methods herself, Maple had very deep impression of what a traditional English lesson was like.
I think the teaching methods (before) were basically rather similar and they were all rather traditional...The teacher started from vocabulary, then pronunciation. If there were some key words, say, the collocations or some others, there would be further explanations about them. After vocabulary teaching, the teacher would move on to teach the text. Text teaching at that time was generally like this---the teacher explained the text, usually there would be listening, then a few questions, and then the teacher explained the grammar sentence by sentence...So, there were many, many notes at that time. After class, there would be notes page after page...Theres no PPT at that time. The teacher wrote and wrote and wrote, erasing the blackboard, and then wrote and wrote and wrote again. Wow, throughout the lesson we kept taking notes...As students, what we learned was something
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memorized mechanically...We wouldnt have any requirements. Whatever the teacher taught, we should just note down what s/he said... [Apr 16, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Maple 18:45; underlining added]

According to Maple, traditional ELT teaching referred to the kind of didactic lecturing consisting of explanations of key language items such as vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar points at sentence level, with students copying and memorizing the teachers lecture notes. Having learned the more updated progressive university Method Courses, Maple thought that the somewhat tedious traditional ELT method was surely not so suitable for those students who have no interest in English although it might be suitable for the exam-oriented learners as she once was, who were able to get good scores by listening to the teacher effectively and trying their best to cram in her notes. Nevertheless, Maple emphasized that even students might obtain high scores in the tests, their English proficiency was still problematic. She used herself as an example of a victim learner of the traditional ELT methods. Due to the neglect of oral practice in her previous ELT learning, Maple found her English getting worse and worse and she admitted, If you asked me to communicate with others (in English), it would be a problem. Maple emphasized that this problem was very common among primary or secondary students at that time.

After learning the university Method Courses, Maple started to distance herself from the traditional teaching methods. She had gradually developed her own teaching beliefs and principles which were mainly based on the concepts she had learned in the university English Teaching Methodology Course. For Maple, English teaching methodology was the most important knowledge for an English teacher. Although she found some of the NEC objectives advocated in the English Teaching Methodology course not so applicable in practice, she decided that she would try to apply them in the TP. Maple said she would regard students overall ability to use language---the central goal of the NEC objective framework---as the guiding principle in her teaching because she believed the objective would be beneficial for the students. With a strong belief that English
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learning should be relevant to the students real life and should take into consideration students affective factors, even though Maple could expect that the placement school would still be exam-oriented, she decided to follow the general requirements of the school while at the same time trying to apply the university Teaching Methodology principles and concepts to the TP classroom context.
Yes, I think theyll still emphasize exams...but now since you get into a school, you need to follow the schools direction...Well, I think I will give the students more authentic situations and more activities, to motivate them to, to learn, I mean, to activate their interest in learning English...when we studied in English Teaching Methodology, weve learned a lot about these and we should teach grammar, or reading, or speaking in a specific context so that students may find it more interesting...Yes, if Im the teacher, Ill design more activities for them to participate... [Sept 4, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Maple, 56:19; underlining added]

Maple regarded knowledge as one of the most essential elements in a teachers professional competence. Therefore, she would try to equip herself with more teacher professional knowledge, teaching methods and techniques as well as the knowledge of students in order to be a qualified English teacher. In order to know more about her students, Maple considered it necessary to have communication and mutual understanding with them, as she said, You need to know their mind, what they are interested in... what they care for, what they are concerned with these days. Besides teachers professional skills and knowledge, Maple also believed that teachers should have a sense of social accountability for their students. She held the view that, Since they are your students, your task is not simply teaching, but guiding them to conduct themselves and deal with the contradictions and problems in their mind. Nevertheless, Maple seemed to find it very difficult to keep a friendly student-teacher relation in real practice as it sounded somewhat contradictory to her. On the one hand, she agreed with some books that teachers should respect their students, know their students mind, and become their friends; on the other hand, according to her teaching experience she found it difficult and she thought she needed to try her best to do so. After listening to the introductions of the MTs at the first apprenticeship before the TP,
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Maple further reinforced her belief that the relationship between teachers and students should first remain sheer teacher-learner whose positions were not completely equal.
I think we should build up such sheer teacher-learner relationship first before we try to build up the kind of, like what some books said, the so-called friendly relationship or kind of equal status, because without the authority of a teacher, its very difficult to realize all those relations. This is the experience Ive summarized...If they are not afraid of you at all, feeling that they can negotiate with you about anything, you cant establish your teacher authority... I had been trying not to be so harsh to my students as my teachers before, and tried to be more friendly and nicer to them so as to narrow the distance between us. However, its actually impossible! I think this really wont do... No, you cant grant them everything requested and let them do whatever they wish. So, these ideas should be changed... [Sep 4th, semi-structured interview with Maple 1:13:44; underlining added]

Maples introduction of her prior education experiences and her active participation into the various teaching practices seemed to indicate that she had strong enthusiasm and passion in the teaching career, as she said,
Im passionate when I teach... even though Im very tired, Ill become very active when I get onto the platform and talk with my students. Ill become high...When I gave lessons, I forgot all my pain and fatigue. [Apr 16, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Maple 1:52:20; underlining added]

With such passion in teaching, Maple wished to be an effective and accomplished teacher who can help the students learn better and let them learn more happily. She had wished to be a teacher who is egalitarian towards her students, which could be reflected from the life goal she set before TP, to be an English teacher...a teacher who can get in touch with students, know more about them, and communicate more with them, rather than a teacher who is standing high above the students... However, Maple past experience as well as the MTs advice seemed to remind her that teachers should have a sense of authority before their students which implied an hierarchical difference between her and her students. Therefore, Maple decided to try her best to communicate with her students and try to be their friends in the TP. Having passion and a strong will in teaching, when asked about her job intentions after graduation, Maple emphasized that she would try to apply for a teaching position in middle schools. Although the job
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recruitment for teachers was very competitive, Maple still insisted, I am sure Ill still try to find a teaching job... Even though its just a school which is not so good, Ill still try. For me, I think teaching should be my first choice.

6.2 Learning to teach in school-university-partnership---I was happier being an English teacher than being a class teacher. For Maple, the TP is an opportunity which allowed her to learn to teach English and manage students in a real environment that was different from the imagined context in the university pre-service teacher education program. She emphasized that the TP would provide her the platform to really feel the experience of teaching the authentic students in an authentic classroom. Before the TP, Maple decided to try her best to fulfill her tasks and she hoped that her performances would be recognized by the teachers there. This section elaborates on Maples TP experiences in the school-university partnership placement school first as a student class teacher and then a student English teacher with particular focus on the factors that might lead to Maples reflection---I was happier being an English teacher than being a class teacher.

6.2.1 Being a class teacher of a Special Class---I didnt get into the position of
a class teacher or think actively

The first TP task for Maple was acting as the student class teacher of Class Nine, one of the two Special Classes (advanced classes) in junior two. Maples class teacher tasks included both the routine tasks specified in the university TP Scheme and some extra tasks required by her class teacher mentor. Although Maple felt very busy about her class teacher tasks, she found herself didnt get into the position of a class teacher or think actively

6.2.1.1 Class Nine and Ms Cheng Maple and her partner Jade were both selected from the cohort to be the STs of Class Nine. Being one of two Special Classes in the grade, Class Nine was
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supposed to be superior to the eight Ordinary Classes (lower achieved classes) in junior two whether in academic records or in student disciplines. Maple started as the student class teacher. She found her class as very orderly and in very good class atmosphere and condition. Ms Cheng, the class teacher mentor was a young Chinese teacher with nine years of experiences. She had mentored STs several times in the previous TPs. Maple admired her class teacher mentor very much and she found her very experienced and competent with great power and resolution.

6.2.1.2 Maples routine class teacher tasks According to the class teacher mentor, the students in Class Nine were quite good in study but they lacked the consciousness of learning autonomy and therefore needed teachers instructions in this aspect. In fact, the schools fundamental requirement for Special Classes management was to develop the students learning autonomy. Soon after Maple became the student class teacher, she began to realize that our class teacher mentor actually does not want us to stay with the students all the time. Maple said Ms Cheng had reminded both her and her partner, Its not necessary for you to stand there for too long. You just allow them to develop their sense of self-discipline... Go and check their discipline, then you may leave. Considering the special condition of the class, even Maple herself believed that she should not stay with the students for too long in order not to become a source of their chitchats, and she also assumed that her students would not like her overseeing them all the time, If you stay there, you may make them feel, well, this teacher has no trust in us, staying there all day long, without doing anything.. As students in the Special Class were relatively well behaved, Maple felt relatively more relaxed compared with her peers who were in charge of the Ordinary Classes. In her class teacher tasks, Maples role mainly included observing and checking the class discipline, reminding her students and urging them to learn. She also acted as an English tutor who tried to find out the students pronunciation mistakes, gave correction during their
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morning reading, and check their dictation at noon breaks. As suggested by the MT, Maple tried to leave as soon as she finished the task and keep away from her students in order not to disturb their study.

Maple managed the class discipline in various routine activities. For example, when she found that some students were not doing well, she would urge them to do better by using detention as a means of warning, If you still dont do well later, stay and do it again after school! Maple observed the students self-study period only when the teacher of the subject was not available. Although Ms Hui had reminded STs to check their students classroom cleaning after school, Maple did not seem to have listed the task on her daily work schedule, as she admitted, I sometimes go and urge them, but not every day. Maple assumed that her peers were just like her and her partner and they dont seem to have the awareness of checking students cleaning, but she actually did not notice that some of her peers had actually paid attention to students classroom cleaning both before morning reading and after school.

Maple did not seem to have been fully involved in her routine class teacher work. She argued that her MTs requirements were not strict and she thus did not think too much about the tasks but treated them simply as something we do every day. Maple thought she was able to finish the routine tasks according to the MTs directions. However, when reflecting further on her class teacher tasks, Maple seemed to be somewhat guilty of her not having been engaged in the work enough, and she admitted that at the beginning of the TP, neither she nor Jade had taken the initiative to ask Ms Cheng for assignments of class teacher tasks, We didnt ask her first...but she actually told us about it in details. In the preparation of the sports meet, an important event for the class, even though Ms Cheng had noticed them about the work at the beginning of the TP, neither of them was active enough in preparing the event. Maple recalled regrettably, She told us at the beginning of the semester, but due to some other things, we did not prepare for them until they
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almost took place. Apart from the routine tasks, Maple also organized some collective activities in the class. In training the students physical exercises before the sports meet, Maple tried to make good use of this activity to practice her own organizing ability. To her disappointment, Maple found her organization of the collective activity not as good as I had imagined, and she attributed the ineffectiveness of her work to both her lack of experience in drilling students in physical exercises and also to the uncooperativeness of some of her students, Maybe their attitudes... they were not serious enough...I found that when I paid attention to the girls on this side, I neglected those on the other side who slacked off over there. Comparing her own inexperience with Ms Chengs rich experience and effectiveness in organizing collective activities, Maple developed an admiration for Ms Cheng, I learned a lot from Ms Cheng...she has a set of tricks...she has a way to drill them. Through her observation of Ms Chengs working style, Maple also realized that the differences between her and her MT did not only exist in the years of experience---the knowledge, skills or techniques to train the students, but also something that was lacking in her---the sense of authority in Ms Cheng which enabled the MT to persuade her students effectively to behave well by encouraging or even by warning to punish them. The unsatisfactory result of Maples training of her students seemed to indicate that she had not established a harmonious relationship with the students since some of them were still unwilling to listen to her orders or refused to cooperate. When asked about her experience of moral education with her students, one of the tasks for STs as specified in the university TP Scheme, Maple admitted that the task of moral education was something out of her agenda. When she reflected on her interactions with her students, she concluded that, Oh, up till now, it seems that I havent talked with any of my students about such issues in particular. According to Maple, her individual education with the students was

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mainly about pushing them to learn by stressing that they must study as required without trying to explain to them why they should learn in that way. Just as Maple admitted, the kind of individual education she had with her students consisted of only commands---a relatively strict way of direct education which allowed no room for the students to bargain. It should be noted that Maples relatively strict attitude towards her students was to some extent an imitation of her class teacher mentor. Maple emphasized that she was deeply impressed by Ms Chengs sense of authority, as she explained with appreciation,
When she speaks, she was able to control the whole class...I think I admire her so much for her sense of authority...it seems that I have, ah, somewhat imitated her unconsciously, for instance, the tone of speech or some styles...Im so impressed by the way she explained the Chinese assignment.. Rather than explaining the term gently...She tried to urge the student to learn autonomously in a way that sounds very harsh... [Oct. 9th Semi-structured interview with Maple 57: 33; underlining added]

Although Maple had imitated her MT in pushing the students to learn, she also seemed to regret for not doing well enough in communicating with them in moral education. Nevertheless, it was somewhat contradictory that, on the one hand, Maple admitted that I didnt do very well in developing their moral qualities., I felt I didnt do well enough in the aspect of communication and mutual understanding with her students; on the other hand, when asked about her plan for moral education with the students in the rest of the TP, Maple asserted that I dont think I will put it into my plan. It seemed that Maple only considered individual moral education of the students as something

supplementary to teaching. Since she intended to talk with her students only when it was necessary, when Maple was going to start with her teaching tasks, her individual moral education with the students would be possible depending on what will happen to them.

6.2.1.3 The carefully prepared but cancelled class meeting lesson Compared with her relatively passive attitudes towards the class teacher routine work and the moral education of her students, one task seemed to have attracted
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much more of Maples effort and energy---the design and the preparation of the class meeting lesson plan. Maples dedication to the class meeting lesson could be evidenced by the favorable comments she received from her MT which seemed to have greatly encouraged her as she repeated several times Ms Chengs words such as she thought that the design of the lesson was pretty good and Shell use this plan when they have the open lesson. However, Maple was later notified by the MT that, due to the similarity between the topic of her class meeting lesson plan and the subject of the open lesson which Ms Cheng was about to teach in a large-scale lesson demonstration among the community, Maples class meeting had to be cancelled in order not to repeat the topic in the open class. Maple did not seem to feel very disappointed about losing the opportunity to have the class meeting; instead, she was a bit excited about Ms Chengs offer to adopt her lesson plan in the open lesson.

Although Maple still wanted to have a class meeting lesson that was entirely on her own, namely, planning, preparing, and implementing it all by herself; nevertheless, given a full schedule of TP routine tasks for each ST, Maple was also aware that, it would actually imply heavy workload in the coming days when she was no longer in the role of a class teacher but shifted to another even busier and more demanding position---the English teacher of a top class in the grade. Having a conscientious attitude towards life, Maple seemed to aim very high about the outcome of her work and would invest as much effort as she could to achieve the best results. Facing all the coming tasks---further improving Ms Chengs open class meeting lesson plan and another lesson plan for her own class meeting, both of which needed to be carried out simultaneously with the preparation of all her English lessons, Maple felt she had much more tasks than her peers who were also fully occupied every day. If she decided to prepare for another class meeting, she would have to squeeze time out of her busy schedule so that she could take the task seriously. Maple gradually withdrew her original insistence on planning another class meeting lesson plan. With more and more
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tasks emerging in the second half of her practicum life, for example, Maple was later assigned to have an open English lesson of her own in the grade of junior two; she finally abandoned her idea of designing a second class meeting lesson plan and ended her TP without giving a class meeting lesson that completely belonged to her own. The cancellation of her own class meeting lesson had deprived Maple of another important opportunity to approach her students or allow them to better know her as their class teacher, and the upcoming overwhelming workload seemed to further hinder her from communicating with her students for individual moral education.

6.2.1.4 The extra tasks Maple received from her class teacher mentor Due to the lack of clear definitions about class teacher tasks in the university TP Scheme, the work for student class teachers differed largely in different classes according to the different requirements of the class teacher mentors. For Maple, she had received more tasks than her peers since Class Nine was assigned with more important events or special activities on behalf of the whole grade or even the entire school. Although Maple was relatively more relaxed in managing the routine disciplines of the Special Class, she was actually not at all relaxed compared with her peers. According to Maple, Ms Cheng would only assign more tasks for those who want to be teachers very much with an intention to give them more opportunities to practice themselves. Since she had told the MT that she wanted to be a teacher very much and the MT also found her very active and very conscientious, she was allocated some extra work apart from the routine tasks for class teachers in general.

The extra work not only included the design of the open class meeting lesson plan for the MT, but also some trivial tasks like grading students Chinese assignments. Maple needed to improve the class meeting lesson plan for Ms Cheng according to her new requirements and also to offer assistance to her partner who was in charge of rehearsing the activities for the open class meeting lesson. Maple had
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taken her MTs extra tasks very seriously. In order to improve the class meeting lesson plan, she had invested a great deal of her time and energy into the task, as she said, The subject of the lesson was quite difficult...It took me very long time to think about it. Really! When she received the special task, she had almost finished her role as a class teacher. However, even though she was no longer in the position of a class teacher, Maple kept on trying her best to finish the task very conscientiously. In order to make it more novel, Maple had tried to search for more references and materials, which took her a great deal of time and energy. Just as other peers in the TP, even though Maple was fulfilling her class teacher tasks, she needed to sit in observing classes most of the day and had to prepare lessons for her coming English teaching tasks. Therefore, Maple could only fulfill her extra class teacher tasks in her spare-time which made her feel very busy.

Having more extra tasks from Ms Cheng, which meant she would be busier than the other student class teachers, Maple was not discontented or resistant. Unlike her peers who thought that Ms Cheng was taking advantage of Maple to work for her, she treated the extra tasks as some special offer from her MT who she found very responsible and generous enough to give us a free hand to try out our ideas. However, even though Maple had considered it necessary to help her MT with some extra work, she had to decline Ms Chengs offer to fill in the Class Teacher Work Plan for her. According to Maple, she was still new to the school and was unfamiliar with the class or the school requirements, she found the task too demanding and far beyond her own ability. She also realized Ms Cheng was supposed to sign her name on the form and she deemed it as such a very important document that she felt even unconfident to receive the task. After several hesitations, when Maple had to say no to her MTs assignment she felt both contradictory and confused as she was not quite able to say no to others. She also seemed a bit regretful for not being able to fulfill the task as she regarded her MTs task offer as some kind of trust in her.

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6.2.2 Being an English teacher of the Special Class---I gained a lot, but I was exhausted. From her experiences as a class teacher in the previous weeks, Maple was able to know the learning habits of her students and to summarize the ELT requirements in the school. She was also able to observe her peers lessons and to learn from their strengths and weaknesses through participating in the post-lesson conferences. As Maple expected to have her teaching recognized by the mentors, she devoted herself fully to her teaching tasks. At the end of the TP, Maple felt, I gained a lot, but I was exhausted.

6.2.2.1 Maples bewilderment before teaching---The purpose to learn English was no longer to learn the language, but to get good scores. Even at the beginning of the TP, Maple and Jade were somewhat astonished by the special conversation between them and their students. Some of the excellent students in the class had been questioning them about their plan to teach the lessons and they even proposed some requirements which made Maple felt under great pressure. From the conversation, Maple could notice that English teaching in the placement school was mainly exam-oriented. She was so surprised by the students comments that Most of the students in our class do not like English at all. Maple was even upset to find that the purposes of those who seemed to want to learn English were simply to pass the exams or to obtain better scores. This was mirrored in the requirements of the excellent students who insisted that all they wanted to learn in their English lessons were grammar because Grammar points are very useful in examinations! They are useful for cloze, and also useful for writing! Maple was disappointed to find that her teaching plan which consisted of some communicative activities only impressed the students as all useless. It seemed that grammar teaching had become a must in the regular English lessons in the school. Such an idea had been implanted so deeply in the students minds that they would not accept other teaching methods that were not grammar-oriented.
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Even before she began to teach, Maple had been trapped in a dilemma that, on the one hand, her teaching was not welcomed and even questioned by her students who were faithful supporters of the teaching style of Ms Hui and their requirements sounded too forceful to be ignored, as they demanded, We would like you to teach more collocations, grammar points, and such kinds of knowledge, just like our Ms Hui; on the other hand, Maple herself did not want to follow totally the teaching norm of her MT. With equally strong belief in her own teaching concepts, Maple would not intend to abandon her own teaching plans easily, as she said, Because we dont want to teach our lessons in that way either, which has to deal with so much grammar... their way of teaching is, uh, merely kind of explaining grammar sentence by sentence. But for me, I dont want to teach that way. From the special conversation, Maple could sense the tension between her students expectation of more exam-oriented teaching and her more progressive communication-based teaching beliefs. Maple knew that she would have to make decisions, as she said in bewilderment, How to make a balance? Do we need to meet their requirements?

6.2.2.2 Maples first lesson---She must have devoted lots of energy in the lesson. Before teaching, Maple felt somewhat nervous about the students reactions to her lessons especially after she heard Jade complained about a students direct criticism right after she gave her first lesson.
...A student said to me, Your blackboard writing looked terrible and it made me very uncomfortable...it made me very, very...uncomfortable...As soon as she saw Ms Hui, she said to their teacher, Ms Hui, could you please lend me your textbook immediately? I want to copy your notes. I couldnt find any notes in her lesson. She opened her textbook and turned to Unit One, the unit taught by Ms Hui, and said, Look at the notes! When Ms Hui taught us, the pages were all in red full of notes. But now, when you teach, theres only half!... [Sep. 17, 2010 Jades words at group discussion 1:08; underlining added]

Maple and Jade were later told by Ms Hui that the student could not adapt to STs teaching at the beginning and she told her parents, I will go to scold her, drive
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her away, and let Ms Hui come back! Being mindful of the students reaction, Maple tried to design the lessons as early as possible to avoid students complaints.

Being unsatisfied with and bored by the traditional teaching methods in her middle school education, Maple would like to try out the more progressive ELT teaching methods in her own teaching. According to the university English Teaching Methodology textbook (Wang, 2006, A Course in English Language Teaching, 2nd edition), the more progressive designs were able to overcome many of the inadequacies which existed in the traditional teaching methods. With a strong belief that anything that Ive seldom tried must be tried, Maple designed her first lesson with the more progressive teaching methods. These progressive teaching principles were reflected in the teaching objectives of the lesson plan including objectives of language knowledge, language skills, learning strategies, and cultural awareness. These objectives represented four out of the five goals in the framework of objectives in the new English Curriculum (National English Curriculum Standards, 2001). For the teaching procedures, Maple intended to follow a pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading sequence, a teaching procedure recommended in the course English Teaching Methodology which was typical of most of the reading lessons Maple had observed and designed in her university Method Courses. In Maples teaching plan, the pre-reading stage consisted of a brainstorming activity for predicting of the text topic, presentation of vocabulary with pictures on slides, and multiple choice exercises for the consolidation of the meaning of the new words. At the while-reading stage, there was a True or False exercise to help the students guess the general ideas of the text and a fill in the blanks exercise to help the students find out the specific information from the text. The design of these exercises was in accordance with the teaching suggestions in the Teaching Methodology textbook (Wang, 2006). It should be noted that, Maple
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designed a summary table in the third reading. This is a while-reading teaching technique called transition device in the textbook which was supposed to help L2 learners to transfer the plain texts into visualization forms and hence facilitate their comprehension of the texts (Tomlinson, 1998, Wang, 2006). In order to help her students learn more through the process of understanding the text. At the post-reading stage, Maple designed a group discussion activity which was to allow the learners to produce language based on what they learned (Wang, 2006, p.202). Similarly, this post-reading design was also one of the activities recommended in the coursebook which highlighted the superiority of the progressive design over the traditional ones.

Maple assumed that, since the students she was going to teach were in the Special Class, they should be more proficient in English than those in the Ordinary Classes, and the relatively more demanding group discussion activity should be relevant to her students level. In fact, as Maple had shared her lesson planning with her peers who taught the same lessons to the Ordinary Classes, she kept the design of the previous teaching steps very similar to those of her peers, but tried to design some extra activities for her Special Class students by adding both the summary table and the post-reading group discussion activity. Maple seemed to be keen on racking her brains to design these extra tasks because she admitted that she was a person who wanted to do something different. Maple seemed to be very confident of her teaching design of the lesson since she had once designed the same lesson as an assignment for the English Teaching Methodology course and the lesson plan had already been approved by her UT. Two days before her first lesson, Maple went to Ms Hui and elaborated the lesson plan to her MT. However, when Maple was presenting her lesson plan, the MT seemed to have some hesitations about some of the steps in the teaching design.
Table 6.1: Maples design of her first lesson and Ms Huis comments and suggestions during pilot teaching

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Maples design
Pre-reading brainstorming text topic vocabulary presentation (pictures/ multiple choices exercises) While-reading read quickly and do T/F exercises read and fill in the blanks read aloud, summarize the main ideas of the text by locating the topic sentences and supporting details and fill them in the table

Justifications
predict the general ideas of the text. present and consolidate meaning of new vocabulary skimming scanning understanding text structure by using transition device to transfer the plain text into visualization forms (e.g., tables) which facilitate L2 learners comprehension of the texts (Tomlinson, 1998; Wang, 2006)

Ms Huis comments and suggestions

You ask them to produce so much, which I am afraid... Would it be a bit too difficult for them?...Discuss? Urrr... Because weve never been upgraded to that level before... These have already been rather difficult... But what worries me is that, ur, if they dont answer, will it affect your classroom atmosphere?... If you want to make it look better and let more students answer your questions, you might have to make it easier, or, you need to give them more cue words. Have you estimated the time?... I am afraid you won t have enough time for the latter parts. Can you think of some kind of relevant exercise such as retell the story? I mean, something that has less blanks than this one... Just make it kind of, ur, retell the story...draw out a few blanks from it...the blanks are usually...the relatively more important words in the text. Um, you may have a try, have a try. Theres no harm to try something new!... Anyways, if they can t do it, you just give them the answers. You, you still, still have a discussion? Estimate the time youll need, if you can t cover the whole stuff, you just skip all these three slides and jump directly to the end.

Post-reading group discussion

Post-reading tasks should provide the students with opportunities to relate what they have read to what they already known or what they feel. In addition, post-reading tasks should enable students to produce language based on what they learned. (Wang, 2006 p. 202)

Both the summary table in while-reading and the group discussion in post-reading impressed Ms Hui as rather difficult and hence not feasible as far as the practical conditions of the students were concerned, even though they were in a so-called Special Class in the school. There was a long negotiation between Maple and her MT about their different views on the teaching of the text. For Maple, she had followed the concepts of the university Teaching Methodology course which advocated that the teaching of reading will be more effective if the students are provided opportunities to process and retain the text through transition devices (e.g., a visualized table in Maples design). Therefore, Maple insisted on her design of the table which she regarded as kind of development of text learning that was beneficial for the students further understanding of the text. While on the side of the MT, she viewed the summarizing information in the table as kind of production tasks which she believed would be a bit too difficult and a little demanding for the class because the students had never been upgraded to that level before. Accordingly, Ms Hui thought that the table required the students to produce so much which would not be suitable for them. She also expressed her worries about the students potential puzzlement about the activity. It seemed that the MT would like to persuade Maple to abandon
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her design of the summary table and to follow her suggestion to design a blank-filling retelling passage so that she could lower the difficulty level of the exercise and highlight the important words of the text. It seemed that the MTs design was not to help the students further understand the structure of text as Maple had intended, but simply to consolidate the key language points i n the text which might be possible test points in exams.

However, although Ms Hui had made the suggestion for changing the design of the exercise, Maple did not seem to be willing to give up her own idea. She tried her best to make adjustments in her lesson plan to smooth away the possible obstacles that might appear in her lesson. She had actually made a series of attempts to lower the difficulty level of the exercise; for example, by giving demonstrations and scaffolding to the students, rearranging the writing task into an oral group discussion, changing the summary table into blank-filling with some cue words. However, the revisions of the lesson plan still could not completely win her MTs support. Maple then tried to convince Ms Hui by emphasizing the necessity to raise the students awareness of both the global structure and the local details of the text which would still be lacking if she just finished the exercises in the textbook. She further reassured Ms Hui that the lesson plan had been discussed with her peers and the design of the table was actually shared by some teachers in the key-middle-schools. Seeing that Maple was very eager to try out her lesson plan, Ms Hui was willing to allow Maple to try out her plan by saying, Have a try then. However, there remained some uncertainty in Ms Hui as she added, Theres no harm to try something new! ...Anyway, if they cant do it, you just give them the answers. Ms Huis uncertainty became evident once again when she realized that there would be time constraint in Maples design. She thus reminded Maple to have a good estimate of the lesson time and to be realistic of the teaching content, which meant that Maple might have to be flexible about the teaching procedures---If time was limited, she would have to abandon her own design, that is, the summary table of text structure as well as the group discussion
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of an open question, and shift to the MTs plan---the blank-filling exercise of a retelling summary.

Realizing the essential concerns of ELT practice in the school, that is, the students proficiency levels, time limitation and lesson completeness, Maple became less insistent on her original plan but began to consider all the possible constraints in her lesson. After receiving feedbacks from Ms Hui, Maple revised her lesson plan and discussed it again with her MT the next day. Compared with her first plan, Maple seemed to have paid much more attention to the students proficiency level and was mindful of the difficulty of the exercises when she discussed her second plan with the MT, as she kept asking if the first sentence is too difficult, shall I just cancel it? , Are they too difficult? Actually, Maple had made great effort to make the exercises less demanding to the extent that she had rewritten it into a very different form, as she explained, Ive already separated the exercise into several parts which has become quite different from what it was yesterday. However, when Maple submitted her second plan to the MT, she realized that even though the exercises were no longer difficult to the students, it was still possible that she could not finish the plentiful teaching content in the limited lesson time. Maple could find Ms Hui became more concerned about the completeness of the lesson---whether the important content (i.e., key vocabulary and grammar and the exercises in the text) in the textbook was totally covered. In other words, Ms Hui seemed to deem it unnecessary for Maple to worry about cramming the extra exercises or activities into the already fully stuffed lesson since her lesson can be still called a complete one even without those extra parts. In this sense, Maples teaching objective that Students are able to understand the meaning of the text and its structure and to know the textural structure of expository writings did not seem to be consistent with the goals and requirements of the MT, the examination, or her students.

Although Ms Hui did not give further requirements on Maples lesson design in
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the second discussion, Maple still believed that it was necessary to help her students understand the text more thoroughly. She realized that it might be difficult for her students to finish the exercises as they were unfamiliar with the form of the exercises as a result of the lack of practice before. Maple decided to overcome the difficulty and considered it the responsibility of a teacher.
As a teacher, if I can give them some proper and sufficient guidance, they may be able to finish them. And I think this is a difficult task for me, how to guide them and help them understand the relatively demanding exercises and then finish them. [Sep. 28, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Maple 6:20]

Maple kept trying her best to improve her lesson plan again and again. In the evening before she gave the lesson, she was still reading reference materials and she finally got an idea from the lesson plans of other middle school teachers20. She added initial letters of the words to the blanks so that the exercises became a bit less difficult. She also made the exercise more attractive by organizing a competition among the students. In order not to waste time, Maple also tried to familiarize herself with the procedures of the lesson plan which she had been revising until almost the last moment. She even got up at as early as five oclock in the morning to rehearse all the teaching steps before the lesson.

In Maples first lesson, just as expected by the MT, she could not finish all the teaching content that she had planned. She had spent relatively long time on the presentation and consolidation of the new vocabulary and did not have enough time to teach the rest of the exercises. She followed Ms Huis suggestion and skipped the post-reading group discussion activity in her teaching plan. However, Maple did manage to finish all the teaching content required by the MT and she was also able to allow her students to have the competition on the exercise of the text structure which actually became the exciting moment of the lesson. The competition activated the interest of the students who had been somewhat dull without giving much response at the first half of the lesson.
20

There are local or national ELT websites and reference books for middle school English teachers to share teaching resources such as lesson plans, PPTs and open lesson videos. According to Maple, she often searched the Internet for teaching resources when she prepared her lessons. 211

Right after the first lesson, Maple felt a bit nervous as she saw the student who had complained about Jades lesson come up to talk to her. But she was relieved after she found that the student did not come to complain but to further discuss the lesson with her. Maple felt more confident about her teaching since she found that students got more involved in her lesson and gave more responses to her during the latter part of her first lesson.

During the post-lesson conference, Maple received some positive feedbacks from her peers and her MT. Ms Hui was generally satisfied with Maples first lesson which she found very clear, well-organized, fluent, and the timing was also right. Maples smooth and confident teaching impressed the MT that she doesnt look like a novice teacher. What seemed to have moved the MT was Maples very conscientious working attitude which Ms Hui emphasized as the premise for STs in their TP. She also appreciated Maples insistence on writing some notes on the blackboard which impressed her as some kind of self-discipline in the mentee.
And finally on the third day, as Maples class was in the afternoon, she sent it to me in the morning and asked, Ms Hui, I had another revision here, could you please have a look and see whether its okay? ...She has kept on improving it continuously... Above all things, her attitude is conscientious, and she must have devoted lots of energy in the lesson Originally, I dont think it matters if theres no writing on the blackboard, but she insisted that, besides a well-made powerpoint there must be something on the blackboard, which made me feel she aims even higher than I do...She has taken everything into consideration... [Sep. 30, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 9:09; underlining added]

It seemed that the MT was more satisfied with Maples hard-working attitude and her pursuit for perfection than her teaching skills and pedagogical designs. Compared with the other STs who had not prepared their lessons again and again, for example, Kelly in Class Ten, Maple had devoted far more time and energy to her lessons, which, in the MTs view, was not only a reflection of the professional attitude that she thought STs should have, but also a sign of respect they should
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have for their MT---an indication that Maple had followed her instructions and obeyed her requirements. Ms Huis satisfaction with Maples attitude could also be reflected from her forgiveness of Maples not being able to teach the reading comprehension tasks sufficiently (just like Kelly and other STs) and the errors of scientificity in Maples lesson---She wrote the title Modern Machines on the blackboard dropping the plural s by mistake. Just like Kelly, Maple was signaled to go to the back of the classroom during the lesson and was reminded of the mistake by the MT. However, during the post-lesson discussion, Ms Hui did not mention about the mistake in a scolding tone as she did about Kellys lesson, but pointed out the mistake understandingly using the term a tiny flaw and adding that there were such mistakes in other STs lessons.

6.2.2.3 The following lessons--- I feel I teach more and more smoothly. After the first lesson, Maple became more confident about her teaching. In the face of the new environment, she realized that she needed to adjust her original ELT thinking to the school context and she seemed to be somewhat determined to meet the new challenges, as she said, The teaching style needs changing, everything needs changing...I still hope that I can do my best to make it better...I need to achieve my own goal and I wont disappoint myself.

The COP which consisted of both middle school MTs and the peer STs turned out to be favorable to Maples learning to teach experience. There was some cooperation between Maple and her peers in lesson planning. They shared ideas and resources, and then designed their own lesson plan individually. Both Maple and her peers enjoyed this process during which every one benefited from each other. Maple found the collective lesson planning helpful for her teaching preparation as she could borrow ideas from her peers and increase her confidence in classroom teaching. Maples active engagement in the collective lesson preparation also impressed her peers very much as they agreed that, Maple has relatively more ideas and There are many shining points in Maples lessons.
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Apart from the pre-lesson sharing, Maple was also able to learn from the post-lesson conferences among the MTs and the peers. During the discussions, the STs who gave lessons reflected on their teaching and those who observed the lessons contributed their feedbacks. The MTs would also give comments after hearing their mentees reflections and feedbacks. Maple was very eager to accept comments from her peers and MTs, especially those offered by Ms Hui, and she regarded herself as a person whos able to accept others opinions.
Ill certainly listen to her (Ms Hui)...Ill listen to her ideas, after all, shes experienced. Ms Huis requirements, I mean, her suggestions are very relevant and beneficial to our teaching in the coming days. I wont mind how she comments on my lessons...I think Im a person whos able to accept others opinions. [Sep. 29, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Maple 22:30; underlining added]

With an eagerness to learn from others comments and suggestions and with the mutual sharing among the COP, Maple was able to make progress in her English teaching, as she summarized, I feel I teach more and more smoothly. The growing efficiency in Maples teaching was related to her gradual adaptation to the middle school teaching environment. Maples teaching designs and performances were more and more approved by the community members. In the later pre-lesson and post-lesson discussions, Maple had noted down more and more dos and donts which she summarized into the rules of thumbs in middle school teaching. Maple also reflected on her own shortcomings in her previous lessons and tried to overcome them in the following lessons. For example, Maple had some minor errors handling the PowerPoint in the first few lessons. In one lesson she pressed the button of the presenter so quickly that she disclosed the key of the exercises, and in another she missed a few language points as she prepared so many slides that she forgot their sequences. However, in the following lessons, Maple had corrected all her mis-operations in courseware use, and found herself more and more skillful in dealing with teaching. She paid close attention to Ms Huis requirements about the selection of teaching content and the design of the lesson; therefore, when preparing her lesson, she was able to choose the grammar items and language points almost the same as those required by Ms Hui.

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Maples efficiency in handling the teaching content as well as her ability to control the teaching procedures effectively was well recognized by Ms Hui and her peers.
Jade: Maples lesson was very fluent and she covered basically all the knowledge points since my book and the books of the students that I could observe were full of underlined notes. They should be able to learn the knowledge points... Sunny: Maples lesson was well-paced...Besides these, the grammar items and knowledge points in her lesson were explained clearly and appropriately. Ms Hui: The lesson was well-prepared, just like what some of you mentioned just now, she prepared the lesson very carefully... The teaching content was ample and every teaching step was very clear...The teaching focus was obvious. [Oct. 8, 2010, Post-lesson discussion 2:33; underlining added]

In the following lessons, although Maple had made adjustments in her teaching design which became more and more adapted to the school environment, she did not give up the idea to apply some of her university ELT concepts into her teaching. For example, in her latter lessons, Maple spent some time in the listening lesson introducing some listening strategies to her students. She made use of many teaching aids and some carefully selected pictures to facilitate vocabulary and grammar teaching. She tried to associate the teaching content with the students real life and design the activities according to what happened to the class at that time. For example, when teaching ordering things, she linked the topic with the ordering of class T-shirts for the sports meet as the lead-in activity of the lesson. She also showed the class T-shirt as teaching realia to illustrate the language items for ordering things such as size, color, material, price, and functions. Maples applying the concept of learning language by using it to her teaching design was an illustration of her efforts to introduce the university progressive ELT concepts into the school teaching practice. Her creative use of the university English Teaching Methodology theories had helped her win further favorable comments from her peers and her MT; for example, in the post-lesson discussions after Maples latter lessons, the COP members had made positive feedbacks to Maples lessons as follows, I think Maples lesson was very good because it has many shining points, I think shes teaching more and more smoothly... Shes really getting more and more mature, The lesson was
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carefully-designed., Well, Maples lesson today was very, very good. Ill use the word, excellent, and et cetera. These favorable comments became great encouragement to Maple which further boosted her self-confidence in her following English teaching tasks.

Apart from the positive feedbacks from the COP, Maple was also greatly reassured by the students cooperativeness in her following lessons. The students good discipline---being very quiet, taking notes seriously, and listening carefully to her lessons was interpreted by Maple as indications of effective class management that added to her sense of satisfaction, as she explained,
I saw them all taking notes seriously. The class atmosphere was very quiet, but that kind of quiet I meant was a positive one, I think, its not the kind of quiet when many people are falling asleep. So the discipline throughout the whole lesson was very good. [Oct. 8th Post-lesson group discussion 2:15; underlining added] The greatest satisfaction? Ah, its the feeling that you are giving the lessons and then the students are all listening to you carefully. Yes, thats, uh, what I am most satisfied with... [Oct. 8, 2010, Semi-structured interview with Maple 39:21; underlining added]

Maples adaptation to the school teaching context could also be reflected in her growing awareness to control the class discipline during her lessons. The students good discipline and attentiveness in class was also interpreted by Maple as an effect of her sense of authority before the students as Ms Hui commented on the effectiveness of her class management, The teacher kept dominating the class and forcing the students to follow her directions...I think all these are very good. Teaching efficiency in the school, according to the MT, seemed to be partly reflected in whether the teacher was able to keep dominating the class and forcing the students to follow her directions. Maple deemed it very indispensable to keep her students under her control during her lessons, which she regarded as the sense of authority for teachers that she had intended to equip herself with. Therefore, in Maples fourth lesson, when two students were chatting freely which she thought had affected her teaching, she paused and scolded them seriously,

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You two broke the class discipline! Stand up!! After she punished the two naughty students, she went on teaching patiently and after a short while, she asked the two students to sit down in a kind voice. Maples discipline control during the class somewhat surprised her peers and impressed them as very powerful and strict. However, Maples punishment of the students was supported by Ms Hui who commented, I think the discipline control was quite good...You should keep them under control in similar situations in the later lessons. For Maple, being serious and strict with her students was the style she intended to try out during the TP, as she emphasized, This is my style when I was in the class... because its such a serious attitude towards my students that I would like to try out during this practicum. I wonder what kind of effect will arise. Such an experimental strict attitude towards her students was related to Maples previous teaching experience from which she concluded, If they are not afraid of you at all... you cant establish your teacher authority. This intentional strictness with students was also related to Ms Cheng, the class teacher mentor Maple admired very much, as she explained, I must be serious and strict to them, which is also their class teachers style. Therefore, the punishment of the naughty students during her lessons was something belonging to Maples personal style in educating her students, just as she would look very severely at them when they talk, give him kind of a stern look or raise my voice to control the discipline when she was the student class teacher. According to Maple, her strictness with the students usually worked because the students would behave themselves for a while when they found the teacher getting angry, but she admitted that, unlike Ms Cheng, they would resume making noises after a while. Maybe Ive been here for only a short while but the building of the relationship demands a longer time.

6.2.2.4 Maples English open lesson---Although I didnt teach very well...I learned a lot from it. Although Maple was able to teach the lessons more and more smoothly and became more and more adapted to the middle school teaching environment in
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different aspects, she could also find something which she was unsatisfied with---she found herself using less and less English during the lessons, as she said,
They didnt think I spoke too much Chinese, but I still feel I was speaking Chinese all the time...It seems that I use Chinese so automatically in my lessons. Maybe its true that we dont have such really English-only lessons to teach...Theres relatively more Chinese, still Chinese...I still, still use Chinese unconsciously...but it seems that Chinese instructions may sound clearer. [Sep. 29, 2010, Semi-structured interview with Maple 11:05; underlining added]

It seemed that Maple had contradictory beliefs about the use of the right medium of instruction in her lessons. She was eager to have the opportunity to deliver the entire lesson through English. However, she found herself using a lot of mother tongue unconsciously in her lessons. Maples students did not seem to care too much about whether she could use more English in the lessons since they had been used to the Chinese medium of instruction in their previous lessons. For Maple, she also seemed to find that Chinese instructions may sound clearer.

This contradiction became obvious when the opportunity finally came that Maple was to give an open lesson. Both Maple and Ms Hui took the open lesson very seriously. In order to make the open lesson more successful, Maple had a rehearsal in another class (an Ordinary Class) to try out her lesson plan. As she was still having regular English lessons during the preparation of the open lesson, her rehearsal lesson was relatively hasty and not well-designed enough which somewhat dissatisfied Ms Hui.
You cant speak so much Chinese!! Almost the whole lesson was in Chinese!! No way!!! In an open lesson, you need to make a show, you know?! You must try to use simple English!... You must write down every sentence you are going to say in the lesson... Its okay if its only in an Ordinary Class, but itll look very bad if you show it out, too much Chinese! You need to write down each sentence, simple and clear instructions, and in English! I suggest you write down(:::) the whole(:::) procedure, e(:::)very sentence in English, and you still need to recite them and then show them out. [Oct. 14, 2010, Discussion between Ms Hui and Maple 0:05; underlining added]

According to Ms Hui, an open lesson is a lesson for show, which means everything in the open lesson, including the performances of both the teacher and

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the students, should look pleasant to the audience who would be professionals in the community---UTs, MTs, STs as well as leaders from both institutions. Hence, on the teachers side, Maple should show fluent English and clear instructions and remain smiling confidently throughout the lesson, as Ms Hui suggested, Just like the student teacher last year, she looked very confident and showed herself naturally...keep smiling nicely...Go home, face a mirror and practice your show! On the learners side, they should be able to do exercises and fulfill tasks cleverly. Therefore, to guarantee that Maple would not make any obvious mistakes in her instructions, Ms Hui suggested Maple should write down every sentence in English and recite them before the lesson. As she found the exercises a bit difficult for the students, she also advised Maple to have a big operation---an almost complete revision on her original design so as to guarantee that students act smartly in the open lesson.

It seemed somewhat contradictory that, on the one hand, the MT admitted that the proficiency of the students were not very high and therefore the difficulty level of the exercises should be lowered down; on the other hand, she tried to encourage Maple to design a post-reading activity in the open lesson, although she had once told Maple that the students in the class had never been upgraded to that level before. According to Ms Hui, the post-reading activity could be a role-play which showed that students were able to make good use of their imagination and to develop the plot of the story. To ensure that they were able to participate in the activity, the MT suggested that Maple should help them to prepare for the role-play before the lesson by providing sufficient prompts, explicit and detailed instructions. However, soon after Ms Hui made the suggestion, even she herself was a bit doubtful of her ideas as she realized that the activity might appear more like a sheer show than a demonstration of students creativity and their use of the language to develop their comprehension of the text. Ms Hui tried to justify her idea by emphasizing, Since its an open lesson, shows are normal. People understand that they are not true. She also explained the reasons for her
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worries, which was mainly due to the students relatively low language proficiency level.
But Im not sure whether theyre able to do the role play...It might be a bit difficult, because it sounds like you need to do the whole thing for them, that is, actually you design the whole role play and ask them to act it out. People certainly know that its just a show and not their true ability. But since its an open lesson, shows are normal, and people understand that they are not true. Hahahah...I mean, it would be difficult for the students to work it out at once... [Oct. 14th, 2010 Discussion between Ms Hui and Maple 10:15; underlining added]

When Ms Hui proposed to add a post-reading activity in the lesson, Maple was somewhat surprised. The MTs suggestions for the design of the open lesson seemed to be very different from those she provided for Maples previous lessons, as her ideas appeared more typical of the concepts in the university Teaching Methodology course and had somewhat been distanced away from the ELT teaching norms in the placement school context. For example, some routine teaching steps and behaviors in the regular lessons including dictation, vocabulary or grammar exercises, sentence by sentence translation and the typical note-taking reminders were all omitted; while the post-reading activity which was normally unconsidered due to the students low proficiency was in fact included as a necessary step in the design of the open lesson, and the medium of instruction which was usually Chinese plus English also shifted to English only. As for the presentation of new vocabulary, the MT actually encouraged Maple to apply the vocabulary teaching strategies they had previously learned in the university Teaching Methodology course, as she suggested, Id like you to follow your previous vocabulary presentation styles, such as presentation of some pictures or the like. Can you tell a story to link up all the new words in the text? ...Anyway, just use your previous strategies... then show, just show them...

The MTs suggestions on the design of the open lesson, which sounded more relevant to the concepts of the university Teaching Methodology course, became something both exciting and challenging to Maple. As she had longed for an opportunity to apply what she had learned in the university to the middle school
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context, the open lesson offered her the official permission to use some of the teaching ideas that she had once been cancelled by the MT due to various limitations in the practical situation of the placement school. However, the MTs feedback to the rehearsal lesson and her new requirements on the revision of the teaching plan turned out to be a burden on Maple who started to redesign and revise the lesson plan again and again. The ELT reality of the placement school which Maple had just adapted to, namely, Their purpose to learn English was no longer to learn the language, but to get good scores seemed to be incompatible with the kind of teaching effect that Ms Hui had expected in the open lesson---to allow students to have a post-reading role-play activity. The incompatibility between the more progressive university communicative language teaching (CLT) or tasked-based language teaching(TBLT) concepts and the more traditional grammar-translation exam-oriented ELT conditions in the placement school had been a topic that had been constantly bewildering the cohort ever since the TP started. The topic of Whether (oral) activities are possible in your class? had been discussed during one weekly group discussion among the cohort.
Jade: If we just keep asking them to take notes...What about their oral skills? ...I have a little regret that, after I taught all the lessons, it seemed to me I havent used many activities... Well, I did ask them to discuss, but did they really do so? Did they really speak English in their discussion?... Sometimes Id like to ask them to make a role-play or something, but they, do you think they stand up and really use English to express their ideas? It turns out that its still Chinese! Even though we are teaching the Special Class, I remember in my first lesson ZJF stood up and answered my question, But I dont know English, Laoshi! thats it! ...First, they lack the confidence; second, maybe in oral English, they are still so poor, super poor, including me before and even now. Maybe this is a common characteristic of the entire middle school English teaching, maybe its exam-oriented teaching or some other reasons. There were also not enough activities or practices in other skills. SusanIts not that we dont design activities or dont allow them to speak, but that we cant do so, coz they cant speak anything. [Oct. 13, 2010, Weekly group discussion 28:16; underlining added]

The cohort members, no matter teaching Special Class (like Jade) or Ordinary Class (like Susan) all seemed to agree that it was difficult, if not infeasible, for them to organize oral activities in their class under the exam-oriented lessons
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which were replete with teacher-centered language point explanations and note-taking. Although Maple also agreed with the mentor and her peers that the students, even though in the Special Class, had relatively low language proficiency, before the open lesson, she did not prepare everything for the students or ask them to rehearse the role-play activity before hand as Ms Hui suggested; instead, she intended to allow her students to try their best to fulfill the task under her guidance. Therefore, Maple preferred to revise the teaching plan again and again to adjust it to the students level.

However, the open lesson did not seem to live up to Maples expectation as she said regrettably after the lesson, I didnt do very well today...It was not very satisfactory. According to Maple, the factors which led to the unsatisfactory result of her open lesson were manifold. Apart from a few mistakes in her classroom English expression and her pronunciation due to her Shantou dialect, Maple tended to mainly attribute the weaknesses of lesson to the mismatch of the teaching design and the actual responses of her students. An open lesson, according to Maple, refers to a lesson which provides a formal demonstration,
...For us student teachers, this demonstration seems to refer to a demonstration of the Teaching Methodology and some other knowledge weve learned in the university...The open lesson is not only a kind of exchange but also a kind of demonstration, that is, to show So, youre a student teacher from the university!, Oh, what are the teaching methods youve learned in the university like? and ur, whether you can apply them in the open lesson and whether you can use them in the lessons so that they are not useless theories or methods adopted by those college students who havent learned the updated knowledge of teaching methodology... [Oct. 18, 2010, Semi-structured interview with Maple 22:49; underlining added]

According to Maple, she should be able to show her application of what she had learned in the university (especially the updated knowledge of English Teaching Methodology) in the open lesson. Bearing in mind Ms Huis requirement that the open lesson should be attractive since it was an open lesson for a Special Class, Maple could feel the pressure from preparing the lesson. However, after careful consideration and repetitive revisions, she felt very happy as she seemed to have applied many university methodology concepts in her open lesson teaching
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plan. In the final version of the lesson plan, Maple managed to incorporate different university ELT concepts and theories as well as the framework of NEC objectives into the teaching activities; for example, the vocabulary would be taught in a context of a meaningful story with picture slides presented vividly to motivate the students; reading skills would be practiced through exercises ranging from simple to difficult levels following the pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading procedure recommended in their Teaching Methodology

coursebook; reading skills would be further integrated with writing and speaking skills step by step; learning strategies were incorporated into the exercises to train the students different reading sub-skills such as predicting, skimming, and scanning; the affective objective could be reflected in the design of a role-play interview activity that was supposed to foster collaborative learning through making a dialogue in pairs; and the objective of cultural awareness was to be achieved through encouraging students to discuss the theme of an ancient story about the Greek scientist Archimedes---Great ideas are created from daily life.

Nevertheless, the open lesson teaching plan which was well-designed from the perspective of the university Teaching Methodology concepts did not seem to guarantee a satisfactory lesson, as Maple explained, there was a gap between what she had expected and the actual application.
I think I managed to use the university methodology concepts and I was very happy about that. But the effect of the lesson was not very satisfactory. As for the actual teaching effect and what I had expected, I think they are somewhat different. Therere still something different... Ideally, I hoped that they would speak out freely whatever they could think of, I mean, so long as its relevant to the topic, whatever will do. However, just as Ms Hui suggested, if you ask them to do it in this way, theyll say nothing. So she asked me to design some questions and some key words to help them talk it out, which was different from what I had expected. Theres a gap...I might have used the university teaching concepts, but I didnt use it appropriately, I didnt convert the ideas to a form suitable to them...Anyway, I still think theres some gap between what Ive expected and the actual application [Oct. 18, 2010, Semi-structured interview with Maple 31:39; underlining added]

Apart from being discouraged by the gap between expectation and reality, Maple said she also felt somewhat gloomy about the not-so-cooperative
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attitudes of her students during the open lesson and she was dissatisfied with it, as she complained,
I didnt feel very satisfied with the teaching effect, I mean, the performances of the students, I felt they didnt perform as well as I had expected. They werent conscientious enough. I found they didnt treat the lesson seriously. It seemed to me that their performances were nothing different from their common lessons. I wasnt very satisfied with their performances. Affected by them, I felt I didnt perform well, either. After the lesson, I felt so, so gloomy... [Oct. 18, 2010, Semi-structured interview with Maple 2:33]

Maple was dissatisfied with the students not only because of their not being able to fulfill the teaching tasks as she had expected, but also because of the lack of exciting responses from them which she interpreted as kind of uncooperativeness because their performances were nothing different from their common lessons. Following Maples logic, since the open lesson was so different from the common lessons, everything should be different including not only the design of the whole lesson, but also the performances of the teacher and her students. Seeing that both the teaching activities (e.g., There were many oral activities than usual.) and the behavior of the instructor (e.g., Maple herself had changed to English only medium of instruction) had changed according to the new teaching design, the students should also cooperate with the teacher, namely, be conscientious enough and treat the lesson seriously enough, but should not remain as indifferent as they were in their common lessons. In this sense, the students performances which appeared normal during the open lesson struck Maple as lack of due responses which disappointed her and even affected her own performances. Another main reason to which Maple attributed the unsatisfactory teaching effect was her own failure to make a final decision during lesson planning as her ideas kept swaying between comments and suggestions from different people and resources which represented different thoughts and concepts of teaching. Therefore, although Maple had spent several days redesigning the lesson plan after the rehearsal, she still felt that the preparation was not sufficient and she was even somewhat guilty for not spending enough time preparing for the open
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lesson.
...I felt so embarrassed...I didnt treat it seriously enough or spend enough time on it since its an open lesson which should demand much more preparation...I felt a bit sorry for this open lesson. I felt myself didnt get well prepared...I found I didnt have a fixed pattern, and I wasnt able to make a final decision, not yet fixed until the last minute, and I felt so confused... [Oct. 18, 2010, Semi-structured interview with Maple 3:42; underlining added] ...I am the kind of people, I mean, I will be easily affected by others opinions. Ill find your idea very nice...yes, a very nice idea, then I redesigned my original one...I revised it two to three times repetitively...Just because I couldnt have a steadfast decision of my own and I was easily affected by the ideas of my peers or my mentor. Of course, I mean their ideas were all very good. Its just that I couldnt screen out their ideas and make up my mind. So I felt, ah, yours is pretty good, yours is also good, and yours, too! And then I was unwilling to abandon any one of the ideas... I didnt have a definite view of my own and was easily influenced by people, which is not good. So just now I said I was confused when preparing the lesson, I meant I didnt have my own decision and was affected by others... [Oct. 18, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Maple 35:36; underlining added]

Considering the time and effort Maple had spent in revising and improving the teaching plan of the open lesson, it sounded somewhat over-demanding that she still felt so embarrassed and sorry for her not treating the open lesson seriously enough or spending enough time on it. However, further review of Maples interpretation of the meaning of an open lesson and the high expectation of the MT that the lesson should be attractive as it was an open lesson for a Special Class, it is not difficult to understand why Maple thought that since its an open lesson which should demand much more preparation, nor is it difficult to understand why the ST would revise the lesson plan again and again when she could not make up a decision of her own.

Although Maple felt very gloomy after the open lesson due to its somewhat disappointing teaching effect, her mood became more pacified as she later reflected on the lesson and realized that she had actually learned much more about teaching through the experience of participating in the open lesson, as she concluded, I felt I learned far more from todays open lesson than any other lessons Ive taught before. That is, uh, although I didnt teach very well...I learned a lot from it. With strong eagerness to learn which was inherent in her
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personality and her passion to be an English teacher which guided her throughout the TP, the professional knowledge and skills Maple had practiced during the preparation and the implementation of the open lesson became all valuable experience for her, as she had the belief that Anything that Ive seldom tried must be tried, then Ill make a good summary, and then Ill become better. Maple actually became very excited about the comments and suggestions she gained in the post-lesson conference---the only one tripartite discussion among UTs, middle MTs, and the STs. She was especially impressed by the feedbacks of Ms Kong, the UT of the Teaching Methodology course, who highlighted the need to raise middle school students awareness of the reading strategies, and also those of Ms Qins, the director of the Office of Teaching Affairs in the school, who emphasized the importance of teaching learners the textual structures of texts so that they can understand better. Maple was excited about the feedback she had obtained from the experienced MTs and UTs, especially Ms Qin whom Maple admired very much for her very updated ideas which were very close to the university concepts. It seemed that the feedbacks of the teachers echoed Maples principles and theories of the university Method Courses that she had believed in but could not apply most of the time during the TP due to the various constraints in the placement school. When Maple further reflected on the significance of her open lesson, she called it a harvest: Its a harvest...Although I didnt teach the open lesson very well, its still worthwhile...I can get so many comments and feedback, because you wont find these comments and feedback so useful until you really teach the lesson.

6.3 Analysis: Learning to teach with compliance---An obedient and authoritative self In this section I shall analyze Maples identity formation as a ST in the school-university partnership context. A review of the STs TP experience seems to indicate that Maple had developed an identity of compliance during her journey of learning to teach, and her teacher self had reflected characteristics of both
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obedience and authority. I shall explore such characteristics of Maples teacher identities in detail through the theories of community of practice (Wenger, 1998), legitimate peripheral participation (Lave & Wenger, 1991), and also the framework of doing teacher identity as ethics (Clarke, 2009).

6.3.1 Student teacher identity formation in community of practice Just like other peer STs, Maple had been granted legitimacy of access to various practices in the COP situated in the boundary crossing school-university partnership context. However, Maple had constructed distinct identities from her peers during the TP and the uniqueness of her ST identity seemed to be related to her different degrees of participation in the T-cop consisting of the STs, the MTs and the UTs as compared with in the S-cop composed of Maples students and herself.

When reflecting on her first TP task as the student class teacher of Class Nine, Maple admitted that, I didnt get into the position of a class teacher or think actively. Judging from her performances as a student class teacher in the TP, Maple had been granted sufficient legitimacy of access to practice in her class teacher tasks as a result of Ms Chengs readiness to provide opportunities for Maple to practice herself by finishing many of the class teacher tasks. Ho wever, even though Maple was offered plenty of opportunity to practice her role as a class teacher, she seemed to have been excluded from participation (Tsui, 2009, p. 153) in her class teacher practices. This lack of legitimacy of participation seemed to result from both other-oriented and self-oriented reasons (Tsui, 2007, 2009): On the one hand, due to the special status of her Special Class in the school, hence the special requirements for her as the student class teacher, as advised by Ms Cheng, Maple was not supposed to visit the class too often or stay with the students for too long since a major school requirement for Special Classes was to train the students learner autonomy; on the other hand, Maple herself also believed that the students had been self-disciplined enough that it
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was unnecessary for her to go to the class so often. Even when Maple came to the see the class, she would align with her MT that she should not stay with the students for too long in order not to become a source of their chitchats and not to make herself appear like an overseer before the class. As a result of such a relatively non-participation position, Maple did not try to find opportunity to have individual communication with her students during their spare time. In fact, with an understanding that her role as a class teacher was simply to manage the students routine behaviors and to control the class discipline, Maple would leave her students as soon as she finished her work and her role as a student class teacher had been somewhat reduced to a discipline monitor and controller, a tutor, a class teacher assistant, and a substitute of subject teachers in self-learning lessons. Maple did not seem to have much intention to engage herself actively in the class teacher tasks. She felt somewhat sorry that neither she nor her partner had taken the initiative to ask Ms Cheng for task assignment and it was the MT who told them about the tasks first. Nevertheless, even though the MT had noticed them at an early stage about the major tasks in the class, neither Maple nor Jade had prepared for them early enough, and their hasty preparation for the sports meet had made Ms Cheng somewhat unsatisfied. Maples lack of engagement in her class teacher tasks was also evident in her indifferent attitude towards the routine class teacher tasks. For example, compared with her peers, Maple had been less involved in routine class teacher tasks, and she actually found herself more relaxed in handling class discipline issues. Maple was less concerned about the routine class teacher tasks and she seemed to view them as commonplace as something we do every day. Compared with her peers who were more actively participating in their class teacher tasks, Maple argued that since her MTs requirements were not strict, she thus had not thought too much about the tasks. Maple thought that she was able to finish the routine tasks according to the MTs directions. For Maple, she seemed to deem the routine class teacher tasks simply as some TP assignments she needed to fulfill according to the MTs directions rather than as some practical tasks for her to experience the
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fundamental responsibility of becoming a teacher. As for the individual communication and moral education with the students, Maple asserted that I dont think I will put it into my plan. Even though individual communication and moral education with students were part of the essential class teacher duties specified in the University Teaching Practicum Scheme, Maple did not intend to include them into her agenda but simply regarded them as something supplementary depending on what will happen to the students. Maples neglect of the opportunities to communicate with her students seemed to be an indication of her abandoning of the self-oriented legitimation of access to practice (Tsui, 2007, 2009). Her decision to give up the chance for designing another class meeting lesson for herself became another factor which added to Maples non-participation in the S-cop---the community of Class Nine consisting of Maple and her students which might become a platform for her to perform her role as a class teacher in the real environment. However, Maple seemed to have neglected the significance of such a platform. Her non-participation position in the class teacher tasks resulted in her somewhat marginality identity in the S-cop as she realized that her organization of activities among the students was unsuccessful and some students were even unwilling to cooperate. Maple seemed to remain at a peripheral trajectory without further approaching the insider position of her class teacher mentor as she found herself still could not handle some of the class activities but had to wait for Ms Cheng for a solution.

Compared with her relatively non-participation in the class teacher activities of the S-cop, Maple seemed to have engaged very actively in the tasks assigned by her class teacher mentor even though they were extra tasks such as grading the students Chinese assignments. However, Maples engagement in such extra tasks did not seem to be out of the purpose of experiencing the responsibilities of becoming a teacher but seem to be more like a return to the MTs guidance or an avoidance to say no to her MT (though with little complaint at first, after struggling, still accept the task). However, for the task of finishing the Class
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Teacher Work Plan which might be a beneficial opportunity for her to learn more about the nature of class teacher tasks, Maple hesitated and finally declined the task as she assumed it beyond her own ability. Maple did not seem to have thought about finishing the task under the guidance of her MT which might be beneficial dialogue for her to learn the ropes of being a class teacher. Among the extra class teacher tasks, Maple had invested most time and energy in the preparation of the open class-meeting for her MT. Rather than regretting her losing the opportunity to have the class-meeting for herself, Maple was somewhat proud of her ideas being accepted by the MT and to be tried out in an important school event. Seeing that Maples expectation for TP was to have her teaching ideas recognized by school teachers, it seemed that she was more willing to identify herself with the T-cop among both her MTs and peers as her engagement in the T-cop might entail opportunity of her competence (e.g., her many ideas in designing lessons) being recognized by the community which enabled her to gain the MT authorized ownership of meaning during the negotiation of lesson design.

In the negotiation of meaning of English teaching, Maple had tried to identify herself as a ST who was able to teach with more progressive university ELT theories and principles. However, although she was granted legitimacy of participation to prepare her lessons and teach them to the class, she could not obtain the peripherality of participation as her more theory-based ELT design, even though previously approved by her university teaching methodology UTs, turned out to be incompatible with the school ELT context and her lesson plans were not entirely approved by Ms Hui at the beginning of the TP. To obtain peripherality of participation, Maple tried to engage herself more in the lesson design by reconciling her university ELT teaching principles with her MTs local ELT teaching style. In fact, even though Maple herself still had some reservation about Ms Huis teaching methods, she tried to align with her MT in lesson design and even gradually adopted more and more of Ms Huis teaching ideas. By
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investing most of her energy and time in her English teaching task and finishing the work assigned by her class teacher, Maple was able to develop her teaching skills and her identity in a legitimate peripheral participation trajectory and her engagement and competence were valued by all T-cop members, as the MT commented, Maples teaching impressed people that she doesnt look like a novice teacher. This indicated that Maple was granted the membership of the T-cop which she had been striving for as her TP goal. Maple had also earned her ownership of meaning during the negotiation of teaching among the T-cop, which was reified by her being selected to teach the English open lesson before the audience of STs, MTs, UTs and leaders from both institutions.

Although Maple had managed to have her teaching competence recognized by the T-cop members and had identified herself as one of the two ST representatives who were to give an open lesson at the end of the TP, she turned out to find her open lesson not very successful and she even felt somewhat gloomy after the lesson. Maple had attributed the unsatisfactory teaching effects to the lack of due cooperation from her students. This seemed to indicate that Maples non-participation in the S-cop might affect her participation in the T-cop. Without engaging in the communication and moral education with her students in the S-cop, Maple might have lost the opportunities to help her students realize the misleading results of exam-oriented learning and to persuade them to learn English with a communication goal. Without mutual understanding and support, however obedient or highly-achieved the students were, they failed to understand the enterprise and the repertoire of the T-cop in the open lesson which was typical of the university ELT discourse and was very different from their regular lessons and their exam-oriented goals. With such conflicts between the enterprise of the T-cop and that of the S-cop, it seemed natural for the students not to engage in Maples T-cop-oriented open lesson. Furthermore, with the imagination from her past experience that being too kind to the students would not help her manage the students as they would take advantage of her kindness, Maple had decided to
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try out the image of an authoritative teacher before her students. Such an imagination was reinforced even at her first visit to the placement school because she was advised by all the MTs that Being gentle to the students doesnt work in the placement school. During the TP, Maple was deeply impressed by Ms Chengs management of the Special Class, and she decided to align with the MTs sense of authority. The sense of authority and the alignment with the MTs had further alienated Maple from her students. She scolded them and even punished the naughty ones during her lesson which scared the students, as she later admitted, one of the students had written a note to her, Laoshi, please, dont be so harsh to us! Although Maple later realized the insufficient attention she had paid to the communication and moral education with her students and she tried to engage herself more in establishing rapport with them, the topics of their communications focused mainly on learning issues or urging students to finish their assignments, as she explained, the conversations were only commands or relatively strict way of direct education to students which showed an unequal power relationship between her and her students. Without compatible objectives of teaching and learning or the mutual trust and support between teacher and students, it seemed understandable that the students would not give their due cooperation to their teacher as Maple had expected in the open lesson.

According to Maple, another factor that had affected the effects of the open lesson was her inability to make a final decision during her lesson planning. Judging from Maples interpretation of the meaning of an open lesson, she understood the lesson as an opportunity to demonstrate the university ELT concepts so that the audience might identify from the lesson that the teacher was a student teacher from the university who had learned the more progressive university Teaching Methodology theories. With showcase of methods being her teaching objective, it was understandable that Maple would try her best to show in the lesson as many as possible the updated theories, concepts, and strategies which were based on the university Method Courses so as to make the lesson as attractive as
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Ms Hui had expected. However, although Maple claimed to be a person whos able to accept others opinions, when there were many ideas from others which appeared equally progressive and attractive, Maple was not able to decide which ones to align with, because without clear and confident knowledge of her students, Maple seemed to have lost her goal of teaching, which resulted in her being unable to make a definite decision in her teaching design.

The unsatisfactory teaching effects of Maples open lesson as well as her gloominess after the lesson seemed to imply that although by active engagement and participation in the T-cop, Maples goal of TP was realized since her performances had been recognized by the T-cop members including Ms Hui and Ms Cheng, without participation in the S-cop---the community of Class Nine, all her knowledge-driven competence that was well recognized in the T-cop could not help her arouse the students awareness of the misleading exam-oriented reality or improve their learning, neither could it help her construct the ST identity she had strived for---to be an effective teacher. This further shares with Wenger (1998) that [I]ssues of education should be addressed first and foremost in terms of identities and modes of belonging and only

secondarily in terms of skills and information (p. 263).

6.3.2 Doing student teacher identity as ethics Being the eldest daughter in the family with her father being away from home for work most of the year, Maple needed to be very self-disciplined and to take responsibility of taking care of her younger sister. Learning in local key middle schools with a competitive atmosphere of exam-oriented education, Maple was very diligent and conscientious about her study and work. Although Maples wish to be an English teacher had never changed, when she became a ST in the university, she realized that the competitive exam-oriented spoon-feeding English teaching in her previous schools could not help her learn the authentic use of the language. Therefore, Maple was very eager to change the traditional style of
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ELT teaching and to apply in her teaching the concepts of the progressive university English Teaching Methodology which she regarded as the most important knowledge for English teachers. For Maple, her life goal was to become an effective teacher who can help the students learn better and let them learn more happily. (telos of teacher identity). During her study in the university pre-service teacher education program, Maple was impressed by some public discourses that friendly student-teacher relationship and communication are indispensable for effective teaching, and her reflections on the lack of close rapport between the teachers and the students in her own school days also convinced her that she should be the kind of egalitarian teacher who can get in touch with students, know more about them, and communicate more with them, rather than a teacher who is standing high above the students. (telos of teacher identity).

With a high motivation to be an effective and egalitarian teacher, Maple was very diligent in learning the teacher professional knowledge and skills in the university and she managed to obtain well recognized learning results, such as being awarded university scholarships, being awarded in English Teaching Skill Competition, and being selected to teach the Special Class in the placement school---a relatively more demanding task during the TP (self-practices of teacher identity). In order to be a more effective teacher, Maple seemed to be thirsty for different sorts of more progressive teaching methods, designs, techniques and activities (modes of subjection), which she made great efforts to search and collect from the English Teaching Methodology coursebook---the Bible as STs called it, the videos of the National Excellent Lesson Competition, the insightful comments by expert teachers and judges in teaching competitions or open lessons, the suggestions by UTs, the lesson plans by experienced teachers downloaded from the internet, and even the advice by senior peer students in the university (self-practices of teacher identity).

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Cultural, historical, social, political, economic, educational, institutional, familial and personal factors

Substance passion and enthusiasm in teaching

Telos: effective teacher

egalitarian teacher ?

Mode of subjection
1. good professional knowledge/skills 2. progressive teaching methodology 3. knowledge of students 4. compliance to superordinates 5. sense of teacher authority 6. responsibility: appropriate student conducts

Self-practices
1. active and diligent, high achievement in learning professional knowledge/skills 2. active participation in teaching practice 3. active participation in collective lesson planning and discussion 4. compliance with S mentors/U supervisors 5. establishing sense of teacher authority 6. insufficient communication with students

Figure 6.1: Maple---Doing student teacher identity

Having acquired many new progressive teaching concepts, Maple was very anxious to implement her teaching ideas in the actual classroom teaching. Therefore, even before the TP, Maple had applied for various opportunities in and out of campus to practice her teaching concepts and skills (self-practices of teacher identity). Through the teaching practices, Maple had obtained more teaching experience and become more confident about her teaching. However, Maples previous teaching experience seemed to inform her that she could not be too kind to her students but should establish a sense of teacher authority before them (modes of subjection), such practical knowledge from her teaching practices seemed to enlighten her that although teachers should obtain student knowledge through communication with them, she should remain a distance from her students in order not to allow the students to take advantage of such closeness
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during teaching and learning. As a result, Maples telos to be an egalitarian teacher was overthrown with her acquisition of the new mode of subjection, we should first build up such sheer teacher-learner relationship before we try to build up...the so-called friendly relationship or kind of equal status.

Having learned and practiced plenty of ELT skills and strategies, Maple seemed to cherish the TP opportunity and she expected to have her teaching recognized by the MTs in the placement school. With a hardworking, modest, and eager-to-learn attitude in her personality, Maple was very active in engaging herself in different kinds of TP tasks (self-practices of teacher identity). Her proactive participation in her role as a student English teacher was appreciated by Ms Hui who held the Confucian principle of obedience that teachers should readily receive their leaders assignments, work hard, speak less and do more so that their performance could be seen by the leaders. Maple seemed to totally appreciate Ms Huis principle of obedience (mode of subjection), and carried out her TP tasks according to the MTs advice. For example, she would try to prepare her lessons before hand, discuss in peer groups before asking for Ms Huis advice; she also tried every effort to improve her lesson plans again and again so as to have them approved by the MT (self-practices of teacher identity). Compliance being an important mode of subjection, Maple seemed to align with many of the rules of thumb offered by different MTs including the education principles and attitudes of the class teacher mentor, Ms Cheng, whom she admired and whose style she tried to imitate deliberately. From Ms Cheng, Maple learned that teachers should not be too gentle to their students lest they take advantage of the kindness; she also followed the MTs suggestion that she should not stay with the students for too long and leave them more spaces of autonomy (Mode of subjection and self-practices of teacher identity). The new modes of subjection gained from the MTs not only reinforced Maples original belief---teachers should establish a sense of authority, but also caused Maple to abandon another of her original mode of subjection---the knowledge of students is important and only available
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from egalitarian communication with them (telos of teacher identity). Contradictions of modes of subjections existed not only in whether to have equal relationship with the students but also in various dilemmas, for example, whether to decline some of the class teacher mentors extra tasks or to accept and finish them even though time for other tasks might be sacrificed, and whether to follow completely the English teacher mentors traditional exam-orientated

spoon-feeding teaching methods or to apply those more progressive and updated university ELT concepts which she had been eager to use in her teaching. However, compliance to the superordinates seemed to be the most dominant mode of subjection in Maple, when the UTs were absent most of the time, their voices gradually muted by the more dominating local exam-oriented ELT discourse. Under such circumstances, Maple found herself gradually complying with the commands and suggestions of her MTs, even though she sometimes felt somewhat unwilling when reflecting on her decisions (self-practices of teacher identity). At the end of the TP, even though Maple had the MTs suggestion and encouragement to show as much as possible the more progressive university teaching methodology concepts into her open lessons, Maple felt herself depressed by the lack of due cooperation from her students which led to her carefully planned and progressively theory-based open lesson failed to achieve the expected effects. It seemed that Maples telos to be an effective teacher could not be separated from the telos to be an egalitarian teacher. Unfortunately, although Maple had once embraced the telos of being an egalitarian teacher, she gradually abandoned it as a result of her gradual acceptance of the cruel kindness argument in the exam-oriented middle school discourse which had forced the students to learn without any mercy and justified it on the argument that these methods will enable students to get good examination results. The failure to insist on her telos had caused Maple to comply with her MTs school conventions which were incompatible with the teaching effectiveness she had pursued in her university theory-based open lesson.

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An analysis of Maples story seemed to indicate that the ST had gradually formed an identity of compliance to her MTs during her learning to teach experience in the school-university partnership context. Maples complying with the dominating discourses of both the progressive university Teaching Methodology theories and concepts and the more traditional ELT school practices had shaped her contradictory teaching selves---As an obedient student to her UTs and MTs while an authoritative teacher to her students. Maples TP experience illustrated that neither of the selves enabled her to achieve her telos---to be an effective teacher. Drawing on Foucaults notion of ethical self-formation and ethic of care of the self, Infinito (2003a) summarizes Foucaults ideas as follows:
[W]hile concern for others ought not be forgotten in our quest for individual freedom, it is crucial that we not sacrifice our freedom to live fully and authentically while giving care to others. (p.156) [E]thics is not about obeying fixed moral precepts; rather, a subjects own life and his or her thinking about that life is the stuff of ethics...[E]thics as freedom means that we must fashion for ourselves a mode of being that emerges from our own history and our own critical and creative thinking and action. (p.160)

In the case of Maple, it seemed that she need not give up her own creative ELT thoughts and ideas in order to comply with the more dominating norms and rules in ELT education, rather, she may try questing her own freedom of becoming an English teacher by reflecting critically and ethically on the identities of both her students and her self, searching for alternative potentially effective teaching approaches that may be compatible with the practical conditions of the students. She need not appear authoritative before her students, but may try to teach (or learn from) them creatively in a more egalitarian and dialogic style and to win their trust by caring for them and transform with them the reality as well as the identities of both her students and herself.

6.4 Coda When reflecting on her learning-to-teach experience after the TP, Maple told me that she had invested more effort in English teaching than in her class teacher tasks. Although Maples teaching competence had been well recognized by both
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her MT and her peers (she was elected Excellent Student Teacher), she felt regretful about her insufficient communication with her students since she found her peers had made more effort than her in this aspect. Nevertheless, Maple emphasized that she would not talk with her students about other topics than learning as her peers did but preferred to communicate with the students through teaching and tutoring them in English study. Even though Maple found that some students wanted to be her friends at the latter part of the TP by trying to have some free chat with her (e.g., They praised her hairstyle and dress, but Maple would answer them briefly and then ended the conversation.), she insisted that she would only be their teacher or simply an elder sister who would help them with their English learning. Maple seemed to believe that apart from being a teacher and facilitator in students learning she should not have other relationship with them including being friends. She explained to me that she was impressed by Ms Poons sharing of her past experience: She was once too friendly with her Special Class students who would not regard her as their teacher but treated her as their peer, which resulted in the dropping of their grades since they negotiated too much with her and did not respect her authority. Nevertheless, it seemed to be somewhat contradictory that, although Maple insisted on the indispensability of maintaining the sense of authority, she admitted that it was impossible to establish the sense of authority in front of her students because they would not really regard her as their real teacher. Maple believed that her identity in the school was none but a student teacher and she quoted her students words to illustrate such an embarrassing ST identity---STs were simply swiftly passing travelers () to the school who stayed for a short while and then left.

Another regret Maple had about the TP seemed to be the feeling that she could not apply the progressive university-taught ELT concepts in her classroom teaching effectively however hard she had tried. Although Maple seemed to be eager to have some reform in classroom ELT in the school, she thought it inappropriate
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to voice her own opinions when she disagreed with her MTs. She therefore seemed to rely on her UTs for potential solutions, but the absence of the UTs during the TP disappointed her as she said, I find weve been just following (the teaching style of) our MTs, which is more like kind of compromise to the current education model! For Maple, the tripartite relationship among STs, MTs and UTs was not equal, as she said, Although we are also teachers, the levels are different. Maple emphasized an implicit rule that the people who were entitled to commenting on lessons during tripartite conferences should be of equal positions; thus, STs who were not equal to their MTs and UTs should have a modest learning attitude.

Reflecting on the whole data collection process during which Maple had worked diligently in both the university courses and the TP, I seemed to be able to sense the feeling of regret in the ST. Maple seemed to regard me as one of her UTs who were familiar with the pre-service teacher education program. From the interviews before TP, I could see Maple introducing very enthusiastically her previous teaching experiences and her ideas about ELT education in schools. Maple also seemed to have great expectations for the coming TP. However, after she entered the placement school, I seemed to find her somewhat upset by what she had experienced in both her class teacher tasks and her English teaching. In the interviews during the TP, I seemed to feel Maples sense of helplessness in fulfilling her class teacher tasks or trying to apply her progressive university ELT theories in her English lessons. Standing in Maples position, I could imagine that the ST might want me to provide answers to many of her puzzles, especially for a ST as studious as Maple. However, as a researcher, I also understood that my advice might be interpreted as the voices from the university and thus become imposing on her. Although I tried not to comment on the STs teaching activities, I would allow myself to be a sympathetic listener and a researcher who was eager to know the causes for many tensions and conflicts the STs had encountered during their learning-to-teach in the school-university partnership. I seemed to
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find such an attitude being accepted by the STs. For example, Maple seemed to understand that, on the one hand I was not in the position to give suggestions in the middle school since everything seemed to have been arranged by the MTs and the UTs; on the other hand, they seemed to need someone who could understand them and were even willing to listen to their complaints about the school or the university. Although I intended not to impose my thoughts on the STs, I realized that my questions to the STs during the interviews might inevitably influence the STs; for example, Maple told me my questions had in fact helped her reflect on her lessons, as she said, In fact, if you didnt ask us about teaching objectives, we would really neglect them...Maybe we had just focused on how to present the lesson but neglected what we wanted them to learn from our lessons. As a teacher educator, Maples story had posed an even challenging question for me---Why did Maple, a ST who had been recognized as award-winner in the university teaching competition and a ST who was so enthusiastic about teaching and had invested so much in teaching practice, had such feelings of regret, disappointment and gloominess during her TP in the school-university partnership? What else can we do for them in our teacher education program?

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CHAPTER SEVEN

THE STORY OF LYNN

In this chapter, I shall narrate Lynns teaching experiences in the school-university partnership context. I shall provide background information about Lynns family and her prior education in section 7.1, and describe in detail her tasks as a student English teacher and a student class teacher in section 7.2, and then provide an analysis of Lynns identity formation process in Section 7.3 based on the Social Theory of Learning, Situated Learning Theory, as well as the framework of doing teacher identity delineated in Chapter 2.

7.1 Family background and prior education Born in a rural family in Guangdong with illiterate parents and community members of little education background, Lynn had struggled along a more difficult journey than her peers during her early education. Due to backward ELT education in the rural area, Lynn did not have English lessons in the primary school nor did she have English listening practices before she entered the university. The lack of educational guidance from the family and the backward education in her hometown made Lynn understand that education is a crucial source of positive influence in the development of children, especially for those in rural areas. Therefore, Lynn was highly motivated to become a teacher in the future. Although she had been enrolled in a diplomas course college after her first Gaokao, she abandoned the offer and spent a whole year preparing for another high-stake Gaokao in order to achieve scores high enough for the teacher education program in the undergraduate university.

After getting enrolled by GSU, Lynn cherished the opportunity to learn the courses of the pre-service teacher education program in the university. She considered teacher professional knowledge and skills very important for teachers and was very diligent in learning the subject matter knowledge and pedagogical skills. Although Lynn was relatively poor in English listening and had to take the TEM 4 twice before she could pass it (she was only one score lower than the
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passing mark in the first test), she did not stop working on improving her English proficiency. Lynn prepared for the more demanding TEM 8 very early for fear that she could not become a teacher without the TEM 8 certificate. In fact, Lynns diligence could be proved by her being granted a third-class scholarship every year. Bored by the spoon-feeding ELT in her prior education, Lynn considered it very necessary for teachers to make their lessons interesting, diversified, and accessible to the students. She found the ELT Methodology theories and the NEC concepts indispensable for English teachers, but she also emphasized the necessity to try them out in practical teaching. Therefore, Lynn participated actively in various teaching practices and she managed to obtain a second-prize award in the Lesson Design Competition organized by the English Education Department. Lynn was eager to have the TP and she expected to have new understanding of classroom practice, become more proficient in English teaching, and make transformations in both her students and herself. She hoped she could not only teach her students knowledge but also have some positive influence on them. For Lynn, teaching knowledge is not the most important, it is educating people that is the most important because she believed that education entails very great responsibility. Lynn interpreted her goal of becoming a teacher as follows:
I wish I could be a teacher who can have a relatively deep influence on her students...not only in terms of learning, but also in the way how they should behave and deal with social relations properly...In my opinion, its educating people that is the most important. [Mar 21, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 1:21:33; underlining added]

To implement her TP expectations, Lynn decided to keep an appropriate distance with her students with strict but friendly relationship. She also hoped that her MTs would be nice and willing to help and teach STs and the school would not give them too many restrictions in their teaching practice. 7.2 Learning to teach in school-university partnership---I still find being a class teacher the most satisfactory TP experience. During the learning to teach experience in the school-university partnership
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context, Lynn was both a student English teacher and a student class teacher. When reflecting on the two different TP tasks, Lynn seemed to be more proud of her identity as a student class teacher, as she said, I still find being a class teacher the most satisfactory TP experience.

7.2.1 Being an English teacher of an Ordinary Class---Its worthwhile...so long as theyre willing to! Lynns story as an English teacher for the Ordinary Class turned out to be full of bewilderment, hard work, frustration, encouragement, and also a little bit of excitement, which, as reflected on by Lynn, was something worthwhile since she could feel the change of the students in her lessons---the students responses to her had increased gradually .

7.2.1.1 Class Five and Ms Poon Lynn and her partner, Daisy, took turns to be the English teacher and the class teacher of Class Five, an Ordinary Class which was supposed to be uneasy to handle both in teaching and in student management as the students were frequently announced among the lists of poor performance or punishment. Lynns English teacher mentor, Ms Poon, was a young English teacher with experiences of both teaching and mentoring STs in previous TPs. Unlike the class teacher mentor who seldom communicated with Lynn and Daisy, Ms Poon was friendly and very willing to teach, and she had shared with her mentees plenty of information about the school and the students. Based on her past mentoring experience, Ms Poon had high expectations for her mentees as she explained, Id like the student teachers to help them improve their scores...arouse the students interest, and push those whose scores at 40 to 50 up to a higher level. Thats what I expected... Such a strong urge to increase the students scores and to encourage them to learn, according to Ms Poon, was an irresistible norm in the country because students scores were the appraisal criteria and thus teachers should also work for it. Hence, during the TP, Lynn and her partner were supposed to be
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good help to the MT and tutors for their students during their spare time.

7.2.1.2 Lynns first English lesson---Well trying out our university teaching concepts first Even after the apprenticeship observation at the beginning of the TP, Lynn could sense the tension between the progressive theories and principles taught in the university Method Courses and the traditional spoon-feeding exam-oriented school ELT practice, as she said in surprise, Ah?! Why do they teach that way?! Are those theories weve learned in the university useless?!...Theres kind of tension, I think. Lynn did not intend to imitate Ms Poons teaching style but preferred to follow her previous university practices as she claimed before her first lesson, Well try out our university teaching concepts first...Its impossible for us to accept all their teaching style here and abandon what weve learned before. Lynn and her peers decided to add some communication activities to their teaching. Luckily, Ms Poon seemed to be supportive enough to allow them to try out their teaching ideas.
Table 7.1: Lynns design of her first lesson and Ms Poons comments and suggestions during pilot teaching
Lynns lesson design Warm up and lead-in show pictures and discuss brainstorm the job of detectives, lead in new words discuss solving a case, lead in more new words Presentation use pictures to present new words (14 words) competition: guess word meaning (MC Qs exercises) Ms Poons comments and suggestions Chinese or English?... Chinese or English?...English?...,Ah? English? Oh, if you speak English, you must translate them into Chinese. Could you speak a little bit more slowly? Because the level of Class Five can t be good enough to follow so fast a speech. Arent there too many? They cant remember them all at once, do you think so?... Separate them, ok? ...Because I think itll be a bit difficult for them. Do you need an assistant?...But your assistant needs to be fair, he doesnt belong to any group...We need to find one whos neutral. Let me see whos better...Oh, you need to tell them the rules...You may ask him (Big Brother ) to be your assistant, but you must tell him that he won t belong to any group...so that it can be fair. Hell be very happy if you give him the reward...Yeah, you know kids, they love that!...Yes! SWJ is ok. He sleeps all day long. It ll be better to give him something to do so that he won t feel sleepy and hell be happy, too. Hahahah... You should guide them to read out the words here...youd better guide them to read out the words...guide them to read out the words again...Every time a new word appears, you teach them how to read it at once so that they can have some impression about the word. Their proficiency level makes it necessary that you must make the exercise as simple as this way. Give them some confidence...many students had already lost their confidence. So wed rather make it easier, yes, make it easier... Those difficult exercises should be assigned to the high-achievers and the easier ones to intermediate or low-achievers... Every student has the desire to show himself. If you give them the chance to answer your questions, it doesn t matter whether they answer them right or wrong, you arouse their interests...If students can be divided into different levels, so can the questions. Sum up and assignment sum up winners of competition: winners will do less homework assignment: copy new words; read the text after the tape Hahahah... Theyll be very interested, if you cut down their homework.

Practice match words with their English meanings skim passage for general ideas and finish T/F Qs read passage after the tape

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According to Lynns introduction of her first lesson plan, instead of starting directly to explain the phrases and to translate the text sentence by sentence, as was the typical style of Ms Poon, Lynn would focus on the meaning of the new words and the general comprehension of the text through interactions between her and her students as she insisted that I like more interactions. To arouse the students interest, Lynn planned to lead in the topic of the text by showing some relevant pictures and raising some questions. She would then further develop the themes the job of detectives and solve the case by brainstorming and discussing the answers with the students. Lynn would also draw a mind-map and a simple flow-chart to illustrate the associations of the key words and phrases in the text. Through the student-teacher interactions, Lynn intended to introduce the topic of the text and lead in the key vocabulary in the text. After the lead-in stage, Lynn would make good use of the PowerPoint to present the new words with pictures. She also designed a word meaning guessing game to present some other vocabulary. To consolidate the meanings of the new words, Lynn would give the students a matching exercise to help them reinforce the Chinese meanings of the new English vocabulary. After teaching all the vocabulary in the text, Lynn would give her students some time to read the text. In order to train the students reading skills, she would ask them to skim for the general ideas of the text first and then check their reading comprehension through True or False questions. Lynn would then give her students another chance to read the text after the tape21 for further understanding of the text. To make the competition more exciting and to encourage students to participate actively in the teaching activity, Lynn wanted to reduce some of the assignments for the winners of the guessing game, but she knew that she had to ask for Ms Poons permission to do so. With such a lesson plan which was based on the university ELT principle of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), Lynn planned to focus on the comprehension of both
21

There are tape-recordings as supplementary teaching materials for the texts in the English textbook. The speakers in the tape-recordings are usually native-speakers of English. According to the mentors, they would allow their students to listen to the recording of the text even in reading lessons, in order to familiarize the students with the native English pronunciation which is normally regarded as correct pronunciation. 246

the new words and the text first and then leave the explanation of key phases and key sentences till the next lesson, so that the teaching of the whole text would follow a meaning first, form second principle without neglecting the explanation of the key language points.

After designing the lesson in collective preparation, Lynn and Helen (another mentee of Ms Poons Class Three) introduced their shared lesson plan to Ms Poon and had the pilot teaching in front of the MT. After listening to their elaborations of the lesson design, Ms Poon gave comments and suggestions accordingly (See
Table 7.1). She approved Lynns lesson design on the whole but offered some

suggestions. For example, when she heard that Lynn would lead in the lesson through interactions, she was very concerned about the medium of instruction Lynn would use as she asked repeatedly Chinese or English? and reminded Lynn that if you speak English, you must translate them into Chinese. Ms Poons emphasis on the low language proficiency of the Ordinary Class also affected Lynns speech rate in teaching, as Ms Hui suggested, Could you speak a little bit more slowly? Because the level of Class Five cannot be good enough to follow so fast a speech. The MT also emphasized the necessity to ask students to read out the new words and the text as many times as possible and she kept reminding Lynn and Helen to do so by convincing them that Every time a new word appears, you teach them how to read it at once so that they can have some impression of the word. She further stressed the need to lower the difficulty of the exercises and make teaching accessible to students so as to help students build up their confidence.

Compared with the STs lesson plans which focused more on the application of various progressive teaching techniques and learning activities, Ms Poons suggestions seemed to be more oriented to the students actual learning levels and involving more concrete considerations in classroom teaching. For example, she doubted the effect of teaching fourteen new words to the students all at once and
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suggested some adjustments: Arent there too many? They cant remember them all at once, do you think so? ...Separate them, ok? ...Because I think itll be a bit difficult for them. Ms Poon also proposed that the teachers questions at different difficulty levels should be assigned to students at different learning levels instead of being assigned to students randomly. Although Ms Poons suggestions were somewhat inconsistent with the concepts of the university Method Courses, she did not object to Lynns lesson design which was largely based on the university ELT principles. In fact, Ms Poon turned out to be very encouraging when she was told that there would be a vocabulary learning game in the STs lessons. Rather than dismissing the idea as time-consuming which was a strong argument under the serious exam-oriented school atmosphere, Ms Poon actually joined her mentees in improving the content and the rules of the game: she suggested selecting an assistant (a student judge) to help maintain class order and record the scores; she emphasized the fairness of the game which was especially important for the kids. She also agreed to invite the Big Brother () and the habitual sleeper to be the judges of the game but reminded the STs to give encouragement to these special students. Seeing that the amount of homework was never too much for MTs in the exam-oriented middle school context, Lynn and Helen were very thankful for the MTs permission to reduce some assignments for the game winners. Compared with Ms Hui, Ms Poon was rather generous and supportive, as she agreed with their request laughingly, Hahahah...Theyll be very interested, if you cut down their homework.

With the university style first lesson plan approved by the MT, Lynn carried it out in her first lesson. According to Lynns post-lesson reflection, the first part of the lesson was rather smooth and still okay as she could feel responses from the students during her presentation of the new words through the mind-map and the flow chart of the story clue. The vocabulary guessing game in the first part of the lesson also engaged students to win the competition by putting up their hands to answer questions. However, in the second part of the lesson, the responses from
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the students became very few which disappointed Lynn, as she complained, I asked them to listen to the recording while they were reading, but they didnt read. They couldnt read the text...Their responses were relatively poor in this part. Although Lynn complained repeatedly They didnt read, she later admitted that she had not arranged the lesson time appropriately, There wasnt much time left at that moment. Helens comments on Lynns lesson also showed that the teaching of reading comprehension was not handled thoroughly enough as she pointed out, Only one student was giving you the answers. From commenting on each others lessons, Lynn and her peers seemed to realize that it was necessary to give their students more reading opportunities before they were asked to finish the reading comprehension exercises. A dilemma thus emerged even in Lynns first lesson that her students actually needed more time to focus on text comprehension which seemed to imply that the presentation of the vocabulary in the first part of the lesson had to be direct and highly efficient. It seemed that some of those mechanical and boring ELT conventions in the school such as the read and read and read emphasized by Ms Poon were necessary practices under the Ordinary Class condition as these would not only familiarize the students with the text but also force them to concentrate on the text. The tendency to adapt more and more to the school teaching conventions became even obvious as the MT commented on Lynns lesson, Maybe you didnt notice that youd spoken too much English...Did you hear ZZJ say, I dont understand at all! The MTs comment was echoed by her colleague in the teachers office who added, The problem is that they couldnt understand you! Hahahah...You may speak English, but they cant understand you. Although Ms Poon did not object to using English as the medium of instruction, she insisted that each English sentence must be followed by its Chinese translation, which would be less direct compared with her Chinese-only style. She also suggested a more direct way to teach vocabulary which seemed to dispense with the use of PPT in presenting the new words, Write all the new words onto the blackboard so that you dont need to use the PPT as it takes time to go back to the previous slides
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again and again. It was worth noting that apart from suggesting teaching methods that were more adaptable to the school, Ms Poon also gave the following comments on Lynns lesson,
The lesson was well prepared and the students were well engaged. Apart from this, you praised them just in time, which is very good. Actually, let me tell you, the students in the ordinary classes have already lost their confidence about English learning...and theyve already been seriously struck by one after another failure in the tests. So, any praises from you, how little would it be, may make them very happy...Just like those students at lower middle level, you may praise them individually, theyll feel, Oh, thats so nice! and then theyll follow you. You know students, they want to listen to praises. Just give them the praises if theres the opportunity and let them follow you. [Sep. 16, 2010 Group discussion after Lynns first lesson 6:00; underlining added]

Ms Poons advice seemed to be untypical of the contexts the STs had observed in the model lessons of the university Method Courses which consisted of mostly key-middle-school classrooms with students who were actually very good at English learning and would be self-disciplined and cooperative in the English open lessons. However, in the placement school where there were more Ordinary Class students who were mostly below average in their academic attainment among all students in the city, the MTs advice seemed to be more relevant to the school context. Therefore, although Lynn thought that Ms Poons teaching styl e was very traditional, she seemed to find her advice helpful for encouraging the low-achievers to learn as Lynn could find the students more respectful to Ms Poon.

7.2.1.3 The following few lessons---This is the test point in Zhongkao! Copy it down! Be quick! Although Lynn found the vocabulary teaching rather smoothin her first lesson, she realized that she actually did not have enough time to teach the text thoroughly as many students still could not answer the comprehension questions. In the second lesson, Lynn had to help her students review the text again and teach the language points---a teaching approach never practiced in the university Method Courses but Lynn knew very well its importance to the students in the
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school.

Due to Ms Poons illness, Lynn and her peers had to give the following few lessons without the the MTs guidance. They managed to finish the teaching tasks assigned by Ms Poon; however, Lynn was not satisfied with her teaching ever since her second lesson and she started to feel gloomy and bored and she shared her feelings with her peers during post-lesson discussion.
Well, I felt rather gloomy coz the lesson looked so boring...and the gloomy thing was... the response of the students was not so good. Maybe my design, the questions I asked were a bit difficult and not direct enough...and maybe the students in our class are unwilling to open their mouths... [Sep. 17, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 2:00; underlining added]

In fact, Lynns feeling was also shared by her peers who taught the other Ordinary Classes. For example, Susan insisted that the teaching of language points itself is boring and it was the problem of students who did not give due responses, In my opinion, your lesson would be quite good if we forget all the students, because the teaching of grammar itself is quite boring...So like your teaching today, I think its very normal...Maybe theres one thing thats not so, uh, the factor that made the lesson less perfect was the students, their responses were really a bit slow, or I would say most of the students dozed at their desks. [Sep. 17, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 6:15; underlining added] It seemed that the peers who were also teaching Ordinary Classes had gradually adapted to the local ELT convention in the school. Ms Poons teaching style had already affected her mentees. During the post-lesson group discussion, although the MT was absent, her teaching methods were still voiced by her mentees as assessment criteria for their teaching. For example, when commenting on Lynns lesson, Helen began to quote Ms Poons words to point out one of Lynns weaknesses.
Oh, theres a little weakness in your lesson. When you explained the grammar points, you actually forgot all about the textbook. (Lynn: Oh, youre right!)...You only focused on your PPT without telling the students, uh, where these grammar points are in their textbook...If you just asked the students to take notes, and they might not know where they should note them down. You know, many of them didnt take notes. You should have told them, uh, for example, which page and which line in the textbook (Lynn: Ah! Yes, yes, yes)...Coz at that time she (Ms Poon) reminded us, You must tell them which page, which line, and which word. [Sep. 17, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 8:54;
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underlining added]

From Helens comment on Lynns weakness and Lynns awareness of her own negligence accordingly---Oh, youre right!...Ah! Yes, yes, yes!, it seemed that there had already been some change in the STs attitudes and beliefs about ELT in the placement school. Those who were teaching Ordinary Classes seemed to have abandoned some of the university teaching concepts but gradually taken up the teaching methods of their MTs instead. This seemed to represent their gradual adaptation to the placement school ELT norms and conventions; for example, urging their students to underline and copy the grammar notes repeatedly, the practice they once rejected as mechanical and boring, had become part of learning the ropes which the STs should remember in their teaching.

In the following few lessons, Lynn had made constant efforts to make her lessons accessible to her students. For example, in a listening lesson, Lynn guided the students patiently and managed to help more students understand the main idea of the text. When she found some of the low-achievers were still unable to get the answers, she decided to let them listen to the recording once again and guided them to find out the key words patiently. Although the patient guidance for the low-achievers took up a bit more lesson time, Lynn seemed to think it worthwhile as she said she actually felt gratified by a little more responses from her students. Lynns careful guidance to the students impressed her peers who offered her their appreciation during the post-lesson group discussion by giving comments such as Lynn is a teacher who is good at guiding her students...She gave them tips...then they knew how to answer the questions and at least they spoke a little, Lynn is teaching more and more naturally now, and You guided the students step by step...I think its good to do so. However, it should also be noted that, due to the lower language proficiency of the students and their lack of motivation towards English learning, there were still quite a number of students who were not interested in their English lessons however hard Lynn had tried to guide them. As Susan commented very frankly on Lynns lesson,
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...But I felt that the involvement of the students was still rather low...I still found that many students had fallen asleep during the lesson until Ms Poon arrived and woke them up one by one...Actually the whole teaching procedure of Lynns lesson was pretty good, but it made me think that you taught with great effort...It seemed to me its very difficult for you to guide then to answer your questions. So youve thought about various ways and I found you taught them somewhat laboriously...You might feel, Ah, how come Ive talked so much while you still pay no attention to me?!... So it made me feel that you didnt teach in a really, uh, enjoyable way, it appeared a bit hard and painstaking. [Sep. 20, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 16:14; underlining added]

Susans comments seemed to agree with the other peers that Lynn had made great effort to guide her students to respond to her teaching; however, she also pointed out Lynns laborious effort appeared to be rather futile as the involvement of the students was still rather low.

Under the circumstances of the unmotivated students, it seemed that even though Lynn was reluctant to abandon all university-taught designs and techniques which she had adhered to, she gradually found it really difficult, if not impossible, to apply them into her Ordinary Class teaching reality. On the contrary, even though the teaching styles of Ms Poon had struck her as traditional and cram-school-like, she seemed to have increasingly acquired the teaching repertoire of her MT which was typical of the local exam-oriented discourse in the placement school. Such a change in Lynns lesson, although unintentionally, had surprised all her peers and even somewhat perplexed the ST herself.
Helen: Hey, I noticed you said one sentence. Lynn: Which one? Helen: When you explained the grammar, you said, This is a very important test point in Zhongkao! Copy it down in the margins of your books! All STs: Hahahah... Yes! Yes! Yes! Lynn: I said that on purpose. Daisy: We both looked at each other and smiled. Hahahah... Lynn: I couldnt help smiling myself, This is the most important in Zhongkao! When I walked to Group Four, I suddenly thought of such a sentence as it occurred to me that I should ask them all to take notes. When I said that, I couldnt help smiling. I found it very funny to say to them, This is the test point in Zhongkao! Copy it down! Be quick! Hehehe... Helen: Right. I think, in fact, this sentence may really work for them. Hehehe...And then maybe well also speak it out unconsciously in our lessons. Its possible!

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...... Lynn: I said it because I thought of Ms Poons sentence really suddenly... I felt very unnatural when I said the sentence and I spoke it out with titter, This is the test point in Zhongkao you must remember it! I couldnt help laughing after I said it. [Sep. 19, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 11:39; underlining added]

Although Lynn seemed to have gradually adapted to the school exam-oriented teaching style as she had actually copied Ms Poons words when she wanted her students to take notes; she highlighted the funniness of saying her MTs pet phrases during the lesson since neither she nor her peers had prepared such reminders when they planned the lesson. Although such an exam-oriented teaching approach was disapproved of in their university Teaching Methodology courses, both Lynn and her peers seemed to find the words useful tricks just as Helen commented, The sentence may really work for them. Lynn was fully aware that the exam-oriented teaching style was not advocated by what they had learned in the university; however, she actually found it necessary to apply it in the school context. Such a paradoxical fact had made her somewhat feel unnatural as she explained to the peers that she couldnt help laughing herself and even laugh at each other with Daisy, her partner, when she really had to utter the words to attract her students to note down the key language points.

7.2.1.4 A post-lesson discussion attended by the director, Ms Qin In the following lesson, Lynn became more perplexed about whether to insist on applying the university Methodology concepts or to follow the local school teaching conventions after Ms Qin attended the post-lesson discussion and gave her comments on the STs lessons. Ms Qin was the director of the school Office of Teaching Affairs () and an experienced English teacher herself who had once taken a short TESOL training course in Britain. At the beginning of the post-lesson discussion, the STs who had lessons that day reflected on their teaching and summarized the merits and weaknesses of their lessons one by one. Then the peers and the MTs made comments and suggestions on the lessons respectively, and finally Ms Qin commented on the lessons according to their

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reflections and their PowerPoint courseware, and she also offered her advice on dealing with various problems in the lessons.

The teaching content of the lesson was about the revision of the collocation verb +gerund/infinitive (e.g., practice/deny/admit + doing; decide /plan/refuse + to do; forget/remember/stop + doing/to do; and begin/start+ doing/to do). The students in junior two had already learned some of the grammar structures, but most of them could not master them well. Both the three Ordinary Classes and the Special Class were supposed to finish distinguishing the various collocations of verbs followed by infinitives or gerunds within a lesson of forty-five minutes, but after the lesson, the STs all seemed to feel too rushed to cover all these grammar points in just one lesson since they still needed to teach other teaching content in the textbook. Even Jade could not finish the content in her Special Class, and she told her peers in a worried tone, Our mentor told us that we must cover all the exercises in the textbook!

After teaching the grammar, Lynn was very unsatisfied with her lesson as she reflected during the discussion, Theres no response... It wasnt smooth... They kept silent...They reacted very slowly the whole lesson... Lynn attributed the lack of student responses to the difficulty level of the exercise (correct the grammar mistakes in the sentences) at the beginning of her lesson which she did not assume would be demanding for the Ordinary Class students, as she explained, I think their enthusiasm had been cooled down even at the beginning since the exercise was too difficult for them. It took me quite some time to guide them...I couldnt finish the teaching task. When Ms Poon commented on Lynns lesson, she pointed out that Lynn should consider the difficulty level of the exercises and should not scare the students. The MT also told the STs frankly that the teaching of grammar itself is boring, but she stressed that the most important thing was to let the students understand the key points of the grammar and then ask them to do more exercises so that the students might associate the
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knowledge points with the exams. Therefore, she suggested that, Grammar teaching in ordinary classes should be, actually, you generalize the rules first, and then ask them to practice, generalize again and then practice again. Ms Poon seemed to propose that it was not necessary to spend too much time on guiding the students through explaining examples, but she did emphasize the need to allow the students to practice and understand the grammar immediately through more exercises,
Actually you neednt spend so much time on LANGUAGE 22 here. The most important thing is that you tell them which verbs are followed by to do and which by doing, and then you give them the exercises immediately. Practice the grammar at once and understand it at once. Then in the rest of the time, you may teach the part in LISTENING B which had not yet been covered...I think there isnt enough teaching content in this lesson, its a bit too little...maybe you need to add more and speed up the pace... [Sep. 21, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 17:09; underlining added]

After listening to all teaching reflections and the STs and MTs feedback on others teaching, the director contributed with a long comment on the lessons and the discussion. With respect to the teaching of grammar, Ms Qin seemed to have an opinion just opposite to that of Ms Poons, as she asserted,
...I dont think grammar teaching must be very boring. It might depend on our teaching design and how many ways we can think of to motivate the students...For the teaching of the grammar, if its only the teacher who tells the language phenomena to the students, Oh, these verbs are followed by to do and those by doing. and then asks the students to note them down at once and remember them, its impossible for the students to remember them! They cant remember them! They cant remember them at all!!... ...After all, if you ask the students to do it by themselves, they may not understand it, but if theyre allowed to study it together, they might become clearer. Of course this may take time, since you ask them to do the group work, it definitely takes time. So just now we talked about the problem of the volume of teaching content, that is, what we mean the problem of the trade-off between whether to present everything in a lesson or to make it more slowly and explain the lesson more clearly. This is an issue of value, that is, how we define the value of the lesson. However, in my opinion, it should still be understood based on the situation, the context, or the pictures... ...If I were to teach the lesson, I should have left this part (the distinguishing of some more demanding collocations such as stop/forget/remember + doing/to do) till the next lesson because, in my opinion, itll be a bit difficult to explain everything in LANGUAGE
22

LANGUAGE and LISTENING B are sections in every unit of the textbook. LANGUAGE is a section for teaching the key grammar rules in the unit. 256

clearly just in one lesson. I cant do so even if I taught the Special Class. So just now Ms Poon said LISTENING B should also be covered, it sounds really, wow, I think this is really... ...For junior students, they should be taught in an inductive approach; that is, starting from the situation, then the language phenomenon, and then the rules. This should be smoother....You show them the rule before giving them the examples, you actually let them analyze these... But I still think that it should start from the situation and then the rule which would be better. So here, ur, I still think that it was taught a bit too fast, Ah, maybe the students were still not able to understand it. Hehe, they might not have understood it thoroughly. Well, maybe just now teachers were all talking about trying to catch up with the teaching schedule and they would like to make the grammar lesson relatively more complete. But I think, it depends on how you design the lesson and how you set your teaching objectives. For me, this is really too much. It cant be finished all in one lesson. Look at the PPT slides! Itll take you quite a few minutes just to show all of them one by one like this (She moved the mouse quickly so that the PPT slides scrolled down one by one), to say nothing of teaching the lesson, right? You still need to explain it and let the students understand it. Its not easy, really not easy to do so. [Sept. 21, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 1:27:51--1:59:16; underlining added]

In the directors opinion, grammar teaching is not necessarily boring and she seemed to object to Ms Poons direct teaching style of mechanical drilling exercises and memorizing rules as she asserted, Its impossible for the students to remember them! They cant remember them! They cant remember them at all!! Ms Qin seemed to propose a more progressive style of grammar teaching and shared some of the vocabulary of the university Teaching Methodology course, for example, interaction, guidance meaningful examples, contexts, situation, picture, activities, games, group work, and inductive teaching, etcetera. Although she understood that the MTs were under the pressure to catch up with the teaching schedule, she seemed to consider it an issue of value and teaching objectives. She personally insisted that she would rather slow down teaching to allow the students to better understand the lesson.

Ms Qins long comment on the grammar lessons seemed to be very impressive to both the STs and their MTs. They all expressed their appreciation of the directors suggestions, some even said they wanted to observe Ms Qins lesson. After the director left, both Ms Hui and Ms Poon sang high praise for Ms Qins teaching
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ideas, In fact, her ideas are very good, Actually, I think her ideas sound pretty good!, and Theyre really excellent!! I mean her ideas. However, even though the MTs both admitted that Ms Qins ideas were excellent, they regarded them as only suitable for open lessons or limited to Special Classes and therefore did not intend to really follow suit in the Ordinary Classes:
Ms Poon: But I really think that her ideas are very good! Ms Hui: Yes! Yes! Ms Poon: I think the open classes should be taught in that way. Ms Hui: So what teaching style should you choose? Say for example, I think you may follow her style in the Special Class as the students are cleverer and understand more quickly; but if you teach the Ordinary Classes, you may think, Ok, I wont follow this, I might as well use my own way of grammar teaching, that is, I explain the grammar, you students take notes, then recite them, and then do the exercises. Well, this is also okay. Ms Poon: Yes, I think so. Ms Hui: Anyway, Ill try to let them understand the grammar, know how to solve the problems, and do the exercises correctly. This is the teaching purpose! Ms Poon: Yes! Ill ask them to read aloud repeatedly those phrases like refuse to do, Ill ask them to read aloud and read aloud and read aloud all these! Ms Hui: Yes! Yes! Ms Poon: You must ask them to read aloud. They must read aloud like, ...to do and ...doing several times. Yes, then they may become more familiar with them. Ms Hui: Right, they must read aloud like finish doing, practice doing, they must read them aloud in this way. [Sept. 21, 2010 Group discussion after Ms Qins comments 5:20; underlining added]

Ms Qins comments and the somewhat conflicting voices from the MTs seemed to have a strong impact on Lynn who reflected on Ms Qins proposals and the MTs reactions and shared her feelings with her peers:
She (Ms Qin) mentioned many ideas just now, but we would also do so before. For example, when designing a lesson, we would also think of many ideas. But we hadnt really entered the classroom before, and so we would think of many many ideas without being constrained by anything...When we come here, what are our tasks? Were supposed to teach them to finish all these. So when we prepared the lessons, we seldom thought of these ideas. [Sept. 21, 2010 Discussion on Ms Qins comments among peers 0:02; underlining added]

What seemed to be rather perplexing to Lynn was not the shortage of teaching ideas, but the applicability of the ideas to the actual situation she was faced with. Both the school ELT conventions which demanded the completion of a substantial

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volume of teaching content within a tight schedule and the unmotivated lower-achieving Ordinary Class had already upset Lynn in her previous lessons. It seemed that Ms Qins teaching ideas had mirrored those progressive university ELT principles and methods; however, after observing both the MTs and her peers lessons, especially after teaching several lessons in her own class, such progressive teaching concepts which had once occupied her mind seemed to gradually fade away during her lesson preparation, while those teaching conventions of the MTs, for example, Ms Poons directness in teaching, her mechanical read aloud and read aloud and read aloud reinforcement, and even her pet phrases This is the test point in Zhongkao! Copy it down! Be quick! became the teaching assessment criteria among the COP. It seemed that Ms Qins teaching proposals, however compatible to the university Teaching Methodology or highly praised by the MTs, would be constrained by the reality in the school ELT context, as Susan pointed out:
In fact I think weve thought too much. As you can see, they actually couldnt finish their teaching today. Because Ms Poon had asked them to teach even more, but actually they couldnt manage to finish the task, right?...It takes time if you ask the students to find out the rules. So they presented the rules directly at first, as time was limited...some of the activities, including the leading in, were omitted. [Sep. 21, 2010 Group discussion about Ms Qins comments 00:22; underlining added]

As indicated by Susan, the applicability of the university concepts had been discounted by the overwhelming exam-oriented school discourse that was actually contradictory to the university progressive ELT methods. Stuck in such a dilemma, Lynn seemed to find herself tired of the kind of classroom teaching she was having and would like to change the unexciting state she had been trapped in, as she said to her peers in a somewhat steadfast tone, I found myself unexcited and without enthusiasm in this lesson. Maybe Ive already had some lessons. I hope Ill have a breakthrough, since I dont really like being stuck in such a state.

7.2.1.5 The last few lessons---The students were really cooperative...even those at the back were taking notes.
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After the post-lesson discussion attended by Ms Qin, Lynn did not give up the teaching style suggested by Ms Poon, that is, presenting the grammar points and then allowing students to practise the grammar rules by providing relevant exercises immediately. Lynn seemed to have adapted to such teaching requirements and had gradually mastered the teaching skills which were part of the school ELT conventions. This was reflected from Ms Poons recognition of Lynns progress in dealing with Ordinary Class English teaching:
Now you are able to teach in a more and more mature way. In fact, for the students in Ordinary Classes, this is the way to teach them---As simple as possible. Otherwise, they cant understand you since their proficiency levels are so low. For Lynns lesson, I think shes mastered the teaching method for Ordinary Classes. Yes, this is the way Ordinary Class should be taught! [Sept. 25, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 00:12; underlining added]

However, although Lynn had kept on following some essential requirements of Ms Poons teaching style, she did not seem to be satisfied with the traditional ELT conventions in the placement school. Actually, after listening to Ms Qins comments, Lynn still had the intention to try out the ideas more typical of the progressive university ELT methods as proposed by the director. Inspired by Ms Qin, Lynn assigned a group discussion activity to the students in the following lesson, but unfortunately, the effect of the group-work turned out to be disappointing:
Ms Poon: You asked them to do a group-work activity, right? Although this group activity appeared to have made the lesson less boring, the problem is, whats your purpose of doing so? Lynn: Id like to let them discuss the content of each picture. Ms Poon: But did you realize that the time you gave them wasnt even as long as one minute? Hahahah... Lynn: Because I found that they didnt give any response. Hahahah, and I found it really boring. So I just wanted to ask the whole class to discuss together directly. Ms Poon: Ok. So next time when you arrange such kind of activities, you need to be flexible. If you really ask them to discuss, you must give them the time. In fact, for Class Five, I think they may discuss something. You need to approach them, give them a pat, offer some suggestions, and then they may say something. But youve given them too little time. So your purpose must be very clear---what are you trying to achieve, right? Lynn: Because I found that there isnt enough time left. And then I looked at them, but they gave me no response.
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Ms Poon: They should have. But you need to walk around them and give them a pat, and then they should be able to give you the response. [Sept. 25, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 4:45; underlining added]

In discussing the reasons for the unsatisfactory group-work, both Ms Poon and Lynn had realized that the limitation of lesson time was an obstacle to carrying out the group discussion activities in the Ordinary Class. Ms Poon did not object to the design of the group-work, but she advised Lynn to reflect on the purpose of doing so. Lynns intention to use group work as an opportunity for students to discuss the content of the text was not fulfilled as she found: they gave me no responses. Ms Poon emphasized that the students in the Ordinary Class should have responses, but that the teacher should have a clear purpose. According to the MT, to engage the students in the group discussion, the teacher must give them the time to think, but what seemed to be even more crucial were the encouragement (to approach/walk around them and give them a pat) as well as the guidance from the teacher (offer some suggestions). As the post -lesson discussion went on, it seemed that to provide students enough time for discussion was somewhat infeasible since Ms Poon seemed to have an even more important teaching objective than to encourage the students to say something during the limited lesson time---she proposed to her mentees an even more urgent need for teaching in the Ordinary Class---the teaching of test points:
Concerning their level, I only wish they are able to understand the texts, and thats okay. Then maybe both of you need to reinforce the explanation of grammar points here. You must grasp the test points and focus on them... Maybe both of you didnt grasp the test points...Yes, they are very mechanical. But we must let them understand these, and we must teach the test points. The teaching of grammar should include the explanation of test points... [Sept. 25, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 13:54; underlining added]

The MTs proposal further indicated that the exam-oriented discourse was so overpowering that test points were real musts for lessons however mechanical the teaching might appear. With such a tight teaching schedule, there seemed to be no more space for games or activities. Under such teaching reality in the school, to increase students responses---their willingness to listen to the teacher and participate in the teaching interactions seemed to become the biggest challenge for Lynns breakthroughs in the rest of her teaching practice.
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It is worth noting that the rest of Lynns lessons did not seem to be very different from her previous lessons in terms of teaching design and teaching organization. Nevertheless, they seemed to differ to some extent from the previous ones concerning the students responses, which were reported both in Lynns self reflection and the comments by both the MT and her peers. In the first lesson when this change occurred, Lynn summarized her teaching by mentioning that the teaching process of the lessons had been moving very smoothly and quickly. She was somewhat surprised by this as she found that they were different from the previous lessons. It seemed that Lynn did not expect the kind of change which appeared so suddenly, as she admitted, I felt that it was moving on so quickly and I didnt know why. Lynns puzzlement during her reflection attracted Ms Hui who also sat in the discussion and offered her explanation to Lynn and her peers. The MTs explanation turned out to be enlightening to the STs.
Ms Hui: Was it because the students were relatively cooperative? Lynn: They, I mean, some of them were rather cooperative and responded relatively quickly. And I also found that they responded fairly well in this lesson and gave relatively better responses than in the previous ones. Besides, what delighted me was that, when translating the sentences, some students were able to follow me and do the translation together. Susan: The boy in the first row? Lynn: Yes, yes, yes. And then because they had difficulty translating the sentences, I helped them translate the words first, one by one, and then I gave them time to string up the words into sentences themselves. This was, I think, a relatively better part in the lesson. [Sept. 26, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 32:35; underlining added]

Ms Huis assumption served as an important cue which guided Lynn to reflect on her teaching process as well as her students responses during the lesson. Intrigued by the MTs suggestion and Lynns reflection, I reviewed Lynns lesson after the discussion and I found the following episode elaborating how Lynn and her students cooperated to finish the translation of a simple sentence into English.
Table 7.2: Episodes in Lynns seventh lesson (1)
Teacher-student interaction transcript 20:04 T Ss: 20:04 TWhat did he do at the end? Ss: 262 My translation

T Ss: Admit T: Admit, Show the photo to him Show sth. to sb. I show the photo to him, () T: show sth. to sb.. (

T: Right, How to say ? Ss: Admit T: Admit, right! He admitted robbing the bank and being the criminal himself. Ok, lets see show the photo to him. Take down the phrase show sth. to sb., . I show the photo to him. Where is it? First line or second line? Take it down at once. Underline it. (The students were taking notes. The teacher walked past the students and checked their notes.) T: Show sth. to sb. For example, how to translate the sentence ? How would you translate ? (The teacher turned to the screen which showed the PPT slide 4. show sth. to sb. (1st line, in red); (2nd line, in blue);(3rd line, in blue)) Who? Ss: THow to say then? S1: Should be he. Ss: He:::: T: He, and then? Ss: Show he... S2: Show the... T: Show what? Something. S1: Photo Ss: Photo::: T: Whose photo? Ss: Her::: Photo. T: Her photos Ss: Her::: photos. T: To whom? Ss: Me::: T: To me. So what about the whole sentence? Let read the whole sentence. One, two, begin! He::: Ss: He::: show::: her::: photos to::: me:::. T: Very good! But when we use it, we must pay attention to the tense. For example, shows is in third person singular, we need to add s. Ok, underline it. Note it down. (The students were taking down the notes.)

PPT 4. show sth. to sb.

( );

)
Ss: T S1: He . Ss: He:::: T: He Ss: Show he... S2: Show the... T: Show Something. S1: Photo Ss: Photo::: T: photo Ss: Her::: photo T: Her photos, Ss: Her::: photos T: To Ss: Me::: T: To me. One two begin! He::: Ss: He::: show::: her::: photos to::: me:::. T: Very good! shows s ()

From the teacher-student interactions during the lesson, it appeared that the students became comparatively more attentive and more willing to participate in the learning activities (e.g., responding to the teacher and taking notes) than in the

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previous lessons as Lynn felt the unusual class atmosphere herself, they responded fairly well in this lesson and gave relatively better responses than in the previous ones. When observing the lesson for the first time, although I could find the students began to give Lynn their responses, I was not impressed much since it struck me as nothing more than the teacher doing grammar-translation exercise with her students. However, according to Lynn, even such an inconspicuous change in the students learning attitudes had delighted her. Compared with the students silence regardless of her laborious guidance in the previous lessons, the students responses in this lesson seemed to be some kind of recognition of Lynns patient scaffolding which facilitated them to fulfill the learning task step by step. From the somewhat difficult process of word by word elicitation during the construction of the simple sentence, I seemed to realize how difficult it would be to encourage the students to speak English in their school environment where the MTs were faced with huge amount of teaching content but a tight schedule and they just poured their notes into the students in their mother tongue without even the bother of letting them speak the basic English (or even speak Chinese, as that might be regarded as rubbish talk by Ms Hui, e.g., in the interaction between Kelly and her students.).

During post-lesson discussion, I was surprised by the comments of Susan who used to be somewhat critical about the students responses in Lynns class. She seemed to have also realized the change in students learning attitude during the lesson and she gave the following comments:
The students were so cooperative in Lynns lesson today, as it seems to me that they normally gave no responses whatever you said. But today, is it because you came to the classroom earlier today? ...When you ask them to write down the words from memory, they appeared so happy and said, Wow! Miss Liang, youre so smart! You use PPT to do the dictation! Then I thought, Aha, the class atmosphere should not be bad today! ...And then the climax of the whole lesson was the moment you ask them to distinguish the genuine and the forged banknotes. They seemed to be especially excited and they were in very high spirits. Hahahah...They looked very happy...The teaching procedures were very smooth, and the students were especially cooperative, I think you taught very well! [Sept. 26, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 38:43; underlining added]
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Apart from the distinguishing of the banknotes mentioned by Susan, the climaxes in Lynns lessons that were highlighted by her peers also inclu ded her interactions with the students about the topic What do bank clerks do in case of robbery? (See Appendix 1A and 1B for Episodes in Lynns seventh lesson (2) and (3))

The change of the students learning attitudes seemed to also arouse the curiosity of Susan who tried to hypothesize about the reasons for the change based on her observation that Lynn had arrived at the classroom earlier than before and that the students might welcome the teachers variation in checking their vocabulary learning---not the same as in former dictations. Susans comments seemed to somewhat confirm Lynns feeling that the students in Class Five were more cooperative and had made better responses to their teacher than in their previous lessons. Such a change of student responses in the lesson, from a state of passive silence to that of active interaction with their teacher had also assured even the observers of the lesson who did not actually participated in the teaching, as Susan predicted, Aha, the class atmosphere should not be bad today! It should be noted that apart from the more friendly relationship with the students, Susan also mentioned the climax of Lynns lesson which she found had aroused the students interest in the lesson, as she described, They seemed to be especially excited and they were in very high spirits. Hahahah... They looked very happy. The occurrence of such a climax seemed to be due to something extended from the text which Lynn had added to her lesson deliberately, as she explained, Id like to teach them some more common sense knowledge. For example, when the text was about bank robbery, Lynn tried to insert a discussion of What do bank clerks do in case of robbery? to arouse the students interest; similarly, after finishing the reading comprehension exercise about a forged banknote crime, she made use of the topic and designed an activity about distinguishing between genuine and forged banknotes, and she even showed her students the real money to remind them of the features of genuine banknotes.
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Such climaxes of a lesson also appeared in Lynns later lessons. For example, in the next lesson which was about an extract from The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Lynn made use of the story clues to build up the climax of the lesson--- Guess the murderer, at the end of the story (See Appendix 1C for Episodes in Lynns eighth lesson).

During the post-lesson discussion of the eighth lesson, both Lynn and her peer Helen found her explanation of the text fascinating since it attracted most of the students attention as Helen observed, ...almost all students in the class were attracted by her. Such a teaching effect impressed Helen as an observer and also made Lynn herself feel so happy:
Lynn: I found the whole lesson fairly smooth...The climax of the lesson lies in the ending of the story, coz I found the students seemed to be all fascinated by my explanation of the text, and I felt, um, I was so happy about this lesson. Yes. Yes. Yes. ...... Helen: The part of the lesson that impressed me most was the moment when she explained the case. Its just fascinating! I mean, almost all students in the class were attracted by her, of course, except the few ones who were sleeping, hahahah... When shes explaining the text, they were fully guided by her thoughts as if they were solving the case together with their teacher. [Sept. 27, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 1:13; underlining added]

Lynns later lessons had not only impressed her peers, but also received the recognition of Ms Poon who pointed out the obvious progress Lynn had made in her teaching. The MT gave her appreciation on the teaching design and the teaching organization of the lesson as very clear and smooth and really very good. Ms Poon also highlighted the exciting points () Lynn had designed and added to the lesson which she viewed as an effective way to motivate the students and attract them to follow her teaching. Apart from the exciting points which led the learners to the climax of the lesson, Ms Poon also valued Lynns patient guidance to her students which enabled them to follow the lesson and which, according to the MT, made them very happy and listening very attentively to the teacher in the rest of the lesson:
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I think Lynns lesson today was really very good. Shes making progress lesson by lesson, which is very obvious. As we can see, the teaching procedures were very clear and smooth. Besides, theres always an exciting point in each of her lessons, which served to motivate the students and to attract them to follow her teaching...Lynn really kept guiding her students who kept listening to her until they got the final result of the case at the end of the text. It made them very happy and they listened very attentively to the teacher in the rest of the lesson. [Sept. 27, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 5:43; underlining added]

During the post-lesson discussions in Lynns last few lessons, though I could see Lynn and her MT and peers had been impressed by the exciting points i n the lessons, I did not seem to share the same feeling with the STs and their MT. Having been a UT myself, I found the episodes of the exciting points somewhat teacher-centered as Lynn spoke most of the time and the students could only join occasionally with very short answers. The topics Lynn introduced in the seventh lesson (the bank robbery prevention and the banknote distinguishing) seemed to have extended somewhat beyond the lesson and all the explanation was in Chinese. From the perspective of the middle school ELT convention, I also thought the discussions (e.g. the background information of the murder provided in the eighth lesson) somewhat a waste of time since lesson time was very limited considering the volume of teaching content and the test points. However, Lynns feeling delighted about her lessons, the appreciation of her critical peers as well as the MTs recognition of the lesson all seemed to remind me to reflect on the lessons from their positions, and above all, from the school students perspective. For Ms Poon, she had the expectation that the STs could not only help the students improve their test scores but also arouse their interest in English learning. Although she could not know whether the students could improve their test scores, she did find more students taking notes and less falling asleep and she could also find more students attracted by Lynns lessons. For the STs, especially those in the Ordinary Classes like Lynn, having been annoyed by their students discipline problems and bored by the mechanical exam-oriented spoon-feeding in the previous lessons, they might be eager to see the students being cooperative in class on the one hand, and to add something meaningful to the lesson rather than
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teaching the tedious grammar rules all the time on the other. For Lynn, the students cooperative responses to her lessons seemed to be the breakthrough she had wished to achieve concerning the silent responses she had encountered in her previous lessons. From the interaction between Lynn and her students, although the teacher spoke Chinese most of the time, the guidance and explanation of the text in their mother tongue seemed to allow the students to understand what the text was about which would be otherwise abandoned due to its large amount of new vocabulary (the text in the eighth lesson was the most difficult part in the unit). Although the topics of bank robbery and distinguishing banknotes might somewhat extend the text, Lynn used the topics to attract the students attention after they learned some boring language points and she seemed to have managed to do so as students began to offer their suggestions about bank robbery prevention and show their interest in the banknote identification in the seventh lesson. The background information and the comprehensible explanation of the story clues in the eighth lesson enabled the students to join in the logical guessing and judging of the guiding questions Did Adair kill himself or was he murdered? Who killed him? and Why and how?. They were also able to say something on the harm of gambling. As the story itself was full of suspense, the students had been fascinated by the teachers explanation and had thus joined in the guessing of the ending of the story as Helen described, When shes explaining the text, they were fully guided by her thoughts as if they were solving the case together with the teacher. As described by Susan and Ms Poon, the students looked happy in both the two lessons. I could see students contributing answers of their own thinking instead of just repeating the teachers English words or sentences. The familiarity of the topics and the comprehensible input seemed to provide them the legitimate access to participate in the negotiation of meaning with the teacher. The special ideas from the teacher (e.g., the more high-tech prevention of bank robbery, identification of banknotes, and the truth of the crime) seemed to have excited the students and made them happy. They also attracted some of the naughty and drowsy students (e.g., both
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the little fat boy and the boy with white-frame glasses sitting on the plane-wing seats) to listen to the teacher and allowed some students to get involved into the lesson actively (e.g., the student who wanted to tell her classmates more features about banknote identification, the students who made interesting guesses about the weapon that killed Adair and what Adair was thinking before he was killed). I also noted that Lynn did not simply tell stories during the lesson but tried to teach the language points and remind the students to take notes in both lessons. In the eighth lesson, for example, she had inserted some language points into the explanation of the criminal cases which allowed her to teach both meaning and form together (e.g., be angry with sb, kill oneself, lose money (in) doing sth., and win-won). Reflecting on Lynns lessons from the MTs, the STs as well as the school students perspectives, although I was still not fully convinced by Lynns teaching in her two lessons, I gradually understood that I could not judge the STs lessons simply by my own criteria of good lessons, especially when I realized that it was unfair for me to dismiss Lynns teaching design as teacher-centered and a waste of time as I actually could not provide any more feasible and effective teaching methods myself without ever teaching such Ordinary Classes in middle schools or reading any teaching methodology about ELT under such circumstances. I even became somewhat puzzled about the concepts student-centered and teacher-centered. In the sixth lesson, Lynn had tried to be student centered and allow her students to discuss the pictures in groups (as suggested by the director, Ms Qin), but she soon realized that it was not feasible since she could find no response from the students; in the seventh and eighth lessons, she seemed to have to provide so much scaffolding guidance that she appeared teacher-centered, but she seemed to have a sense of satisfaction because of the increased responses from her students. I still could not understand the causes of the change of the students learning attitudes: Why didnt they respond to Lynn in the previous lessons? Besides Lynns adjustments of her teaching designs, were there other elements that might contribute to their change in Lynns later lessons?
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During the post-lesson discussions in the last few lessons, apart from the reflections and feedback on pedagogy about teaching design, teaching effect and student-teacher interaction during the lessons, there was also something that had been noticed and highlighted by the MT. Ms Poon seemed to appreciate the efforts Lynn had made in the aspect of classroom management---an action that seemed to be too inconspicuous to be noticed by the STs:
For Lynn...I wont worry about her teaching, but in the aspect of classroom management, I think she has become more and more mature...In todays lesson, she could remind those students who fell asleep! Hahah...She reminded them and gave them a pat! She didnt do this normally, but today, she walked to them, gave them a pat unintentionally without attracting others attention...and then she went on teaching...Hehehe, I think she dealt with the problem very well!... [Sept. 26, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 33:30; underlining added]

Although the teaching design in Lynns later lessons, for example, the guidance, scaffolding, motivating activities, and exciting points, reflected some of the teaching concepts proposed by Ms Qin whose teaching beliefs were largely consistent with the university Methodology concepts, Lynn seemed to be mindful of the actual situation of her Ordinary Class whose students usually fell asleep in lessons due to poor language proficiency or low learning motivation. Under such circumstances, Lynn also followed Ms Poons suggestion that ELT in Ordinary Class should not neglect such students. Accordingly, during the lessons when Lynn assigned some exercises to the students, she would try to walk around the classroom observing how the students were doing, stop beside those who appeared to have difficulty in finishing the exercises, offer them some guidance patiently and try to help them solve the problems before they felt too discouraged to go on listening to the rest of the lesson. For those who fell asleep during class, Lynn seemed to have understanding of them. Instead of criticizing them overtly, Lynn offered them her encouragement by giving them a pat, and she paid attention not to do so too obviously, but in a rather unintentional way so as not to attract others attention.

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The various assumptions above, including Lynns early arrival at the classroom to establish more rapport with the students before the lesson, her careful guidance and patient scaffolding during the lesson, her teaching designs inserted with some exciting points, and also her understanding and encouragement of those unwilling to learn, all seemed to be possible reasons for the increasing responses from the students. The changing of students learning attitudes seemed to be so impressive that Ms Poon seemed to be somewhat touched, as she said:
The teaching steps moved on very smoothly and the students were very cooperative, too. Apart from the two or three who used to fall sleep in class, the others were really cooperative. Frankly speaking, even those sitting at the back were taking notes. In your previous lessons, you might find that, Oh, some of those at the back didnt respond or take notes! but today I sat at the back and I saw most of them listening to you without falling asleep23 during the lesson which was at the first period in the afternoon, the time when students tend to feel most drowsy, but they didnt today, and they were all taking notes very seriously... Maybe we need to spend some time communicating with them occasionally, and Im sure you must have spent quite some time talking with them, right? In this aspect, if they accept you and adore you, and then theyre willing to follow you. Im impressed by todays lesson because even those students at the back were motivated...In fact, for classroom management, if students are willing to follow you, they listen to you, and then most of the knowledge will enter their mind. I hope you can keep on trying your best... [Sept. 26, 2010 Post-lesson group discussion 35:06; underlining added]

The reason Ms Poon offered (Im sure you must have spent quite some time talking with them, right?) sounded plausible. According to the MT, the communication between the teacher and the students seemed to be more essential for Ordinary Class students than any other attempts to adopt the more advanced teaching methodology, as she had accentuated many times that most of them had lost their confidence or interest in learning English. In this sense, Lynns encouragement through occasional communications with her students seemed to be helpful for motivating these special learners who regarded themselves or were regarded as lower achievers or, quoting Ms Huis term, idiots of English learning. Ms Poon argued for the necessity to have friendly rapport with the students and lending them a helping hand in English learning. The MT further
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Even though Ms Poon sat in the classroom, students also fell asleep without taking notes in Lynns previous lessons. 271

justified her argument by asserting that, ...If they accept you and adore you, and then theyre willing to follow you...If students are willing to follow you, they listen to you, and then most of the knowledge will enter their mind... Ms Poons hypothesis for the cause of the increasing student responses in Lynns lessons seemed to be confirmed by the regular informal tutorials that Lynn and her partner did with the students at the noon-rest24 period. In a semi-structured interview, Lynn told me the various communications she had had with her students:
Researcher: Do you try to communicate with your students after class? Lynn: After class? Yes. Researcher: How? Lynn: Hehe, I ask them to recite the texts...or chat with them. Um, for those who prefer to play and have fun, I chat with them, just kind of chit-chats, or talk with them through QQ25...while for those whose scores may be improved, I ask them to recite the texts... Researcher: You dont have a nap at noon? Lynn: No, I dont. Researcher: Do you think it worthwhile to sacrifice your noon nap to tutor them? Lynn: Yes. Its worthwhile. Researcher: Are you really willing to do so? Lynn: Yes. So long as theyre willing to. Hehe... Researcher: I saw you buy candies for them that day, didnt you? Lynn: Yes. Because, uh, because if you ask students to recite the texts, they may be unwilling to do so. So I bought some awards for them and they should be happy about that. Researcher: Are there any effects after you tutored them? Lynn: Effects? Uh, just now when I corrected their test paper, it seems to me, I found one of them doing very well. I asked them to recite those sentences which are actually the key points in this unit. Out of ten test points, she got nine correct. I felt so happy about this. [Sept. 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn (part two) 4:10; underlining added]

Ms Poons proposal that Maybe we need to spend some time communicating with them occasionally seemed to have been implemented by Lynn and her partner. As both Lynn and Daisy wanted to know more about their students, they tried to communicate with them by helping them solve some learning problems during noon-rests which seemed to be the only time available for informal tutorials during the day.

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Noon-rest refers to the period of time after lunch and before afternoon lessons in th e school. All students staying in the school during that period must remain in the classroom and keep silent. The noon-rest inspector is a teacher in the school who is in charge of discipline issues during noon rest. QQ is a popular instant messaging service in Mainland China developed by the corporation TENCENT. 272

Although Lynn realized the significance of the tutorials for the communication between her and her students, it was unrealistic to meet too many students at each tutorial, as Daisy pointed out, Frankly speaking, its impossible to ask a large group of students to come to the tutorial every day. Apart from the noon-rest period, there did not seem to be other time available for Lynn to have contact with the students. However, with an intention and a wish to do something for the students, Lynn tried to find other opportunities to communicate with them. She made use of grading students homework during which she did not just give a score 72 or 86, a letter A or B+, or simply a word checked, but tried to write some comments or encouraging words to those whom she intended to help. Such teaching behaviors beyond the 45-minute classroom instruction seemed to become a means of written communication between Lynn and her students, with the teacher providing feedback and the students responding to their teacher with adjusted learning attitudes and even positive learning effects:
Researcher: When you mark their homework, did you find anything interesting? What kind of feeling do you have? Lynn: I find that they dont have very good attitudes towards their homework and they make mistakes even when they copy the words... Some of them have nice handwriting and do the assignment seriously even though they cant get good scores in the test, but some are careless... Ill write some comments on their exercise-books, for example, kind of encouraging words like Keep trying!(!) I think it really funny; for example, if a student only had one word correct in his dictation last time but has two this time, I would write, A big progress! Hahah...In fact,find myself a bit stupid sometimes, hahahah... Researcher: What do you think your students may think of it Lynn: If I were the student, I would feel happy about that. But for some students, those who dont like study, they might think it stupid to do so. Hehehe... Researcher: So, but you think students might feel happy except those... Lynn: Yes. Yes...For example, if they wrote two words correct this time, and I give them some comments and tell them that theyve made some progress, next time they may write three. I hope this can encourage them...For example, as I kept writing comments on their homework, one day when I flipped over their exercise-books to see what would have happened after I wrote those comments, and I found that it worked for some students; for instance, they would have better handwriting or get one or two more words correct in their dictation, but for other students, it didnt. Researcher: Why did you add one or two of those comments in the homework instead of just writing a letter A or B, or a figure like 80 or 90? Lynn: Because normally we seldom have communication with the students. I hoped, uh,

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because when I was a student, I preferred, because, ah, if theres a teacher caring about me in a silent way, I mean, a teacher who wont neglect me but is really concerned about me, I would regard it as kind of potential driving force. Yes, and Ill feel happy about that. Researcher: So you imagine the feelings of your students by putting yourself into their shoes? Lynn: En en, yes, yes. Researcher: So this is your written communication (Lynn once mentioned this.) with them? Lynn: Yes. [Sept. 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn (part two) 6:10 underlining added]

Lynn explained that she herself was not sure about the effect of such a special way of communication with her students and she even imagined she might appear a bit stupid to those who dont love study. However, for Lynn, such written communication might be induced by the goodwill anticipation that students might do better the next time as she was delighted by her unintentional discoveries that, after she wrote the encouraging words, some students treated their homework more seriously with neater handwriting or more correct answers in dictations. Although the effect of such apparently unidirectional written communication might appear trivial or even proved to be futile for some students, the inconspicuous effects did not discourage Lynn or make her abandon her well-meaning intentions, as Lynns effort to communicate more with the students was driven by her imagination that the students might share the same wish as hers in her own school days that, I preferred...if theres a teacher caring about me in a silent way... a teacher who wont neglect me but is really concerned about me, I would regard it as kind of potential driving force. Yes, and Ill feel happy about that. With such imagination, Lynns motive to write some comments on the students homework was not only an expectation of the change of the students attitudes or the improvement in their learning results, but also a message filled with some kind of silent care and concern that she attached to her students homework, with the hope that the warmth of the words such as Keep trying! and A big progress! might become the potential driving force that spurred her students in their learning, as Lynn told me, I hope this can encourage them.

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Teaching such an Ordinary Class for the first time, Lynn was actually not very confident about the teaching effects which, as expected by the MTs, were supposed to be reflected in the scores of the unit tests. When the result of the unit test came out, the scores of Class Five seemed to be a bit surprising to Lynn:
...I was so worried after I corrected all the papers! Its so strange that the scores of those who used to get high scores had dropped a great deal, whereas those who were low-achievers had made much progress. I found it so strange! [Sept. 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn (part two) 12:48; underlining added]

It turned out that the average scores of all classes in junior two, including the Special Classes and those taught by the other MTs, had decreased tremendously in the unit test. It might be because the test paper was more difficult than those of the previous units---a reason both MTs agreed on, and it might also be due to the different teaching effects between the STs and their MTs. The STs were very concerned about How to increase students scores during the weekly group discussion among the cohort, and they seemed to be also interested in the results of the noon-rest tutorials by Lynn and Daisy:
Susan: Have those you tutored made progress or not? Daisy: Aha, good question! Only one. Susan: Oh? Jade: Is it true? Daisy: Yes. But then therere some who are able to remain at the original level, can I say so? I mean their scores, uh, literally, they remain at the same level, say for example, they got a 50 in the last test and also get a 50 this time. I think their scores are okay. Its okay for them. Helen: Wow, thats progress then. Susan: This is already kind of progress. Daisy: Right! This should be kind of progress. Helen: Because the test is more difficult this time. Kelly: Because its more difficult. Susan: Because the test is made more difficult. Jade: Right! You should think about this factor. Its the problem of test difficulty. Sunny: Its great even though theres only one making progress. Susan: Youre right. In fact, it indicates that your tutoring is still effective to some extent. [Sept. 30, 2010 Weekly group discussion 38:24; underlining added]

It seemed that the STs were somewhat affected by the result of the test which they understood would be the main concern of their MTs. They seemed to attribute the decrease of their students scores to the difficulty level of the test and judge their
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teaching effect simply by the scores of the test, which resulted in their goodwill interpretation of the scores remaining at an original level as kind of progress in Lynns students. However, although the STs, including Lynn and Daisy, tended to equate the test scores with the improved teaching effects, they seemed to have neglected the quality of the test itself and somewhat overstated the meaning of the scores. It seemed to be unreasonable to judge the learning effect of the students just by their test scores. It also seemed to be unrealistic to judge the teaching effects of the STs simply by their teaching of only one unit of the textbook. The average scores of a class might not necessarily indicate the true learning of the students since the result of the test might be affected by many factors including the design of the test itself. The test might not have tested what the students had fully mastered and the difficulty of the test might have affected its discrimination level which might not help distinguishing the higher-achievers from the lower-achievers. However, from the discussion of the STs, I seemed to realize the strong impact of the exam-oriented education on the STs who did not have much experience or knowledge about the complexity of teaching and assessment in the school ELT practice. Although I could not totally agree with Susan who seemed to regard Lynns and Daisys tutorial as effective based on the test scores, her association of the two did cause me to reflect on something behind the test: Why were the school students willing to join the tutorials since participation was mainly voluntary? What potential influences did they receive in/beyond English learning? How did the students think of these noon-rest tutorials and their STs?

At the end of TP, Lynn was selected to have an open lesson as a demonstration in the tripartite teaching exchange between STs, MTs and UTs. Lynns open lesson represented ELT in Ordinary Classes and it turned out to receive many favorable comments from the MTs and her UT of the Teaching Methodology course, because she was able to show many of the progressive ELT methods and concepts in the open lesson: the teaching objectives reflected the goals of the NEC;
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Lynn was able to use almost all English to teach the lesson; there were collaborative group-work activities and competitions; learning strategies were introduced; and modern multi-media equipments and teaching realia were adopted, et cetera. However, it somewhat surprised me when Lynn told me the well-recognized open lesson was not the most satisfactory lesson for her during TP; instead, she regarded it as something risky and unrealistic which made her felt, Its just like teaching in the air! Lynn explained to me some details of the open lesson preparation: due to the habitual lack of response in Class Five, Lynn was advised to teach another more active Ordinary Class in the open lesson; due to the lack of English medium of instruction in the regular lessons of Ordinary Classes but the need to show the use of English in the open lesson, the students were pre-taught some basic classroom English language such as Listen to me carefully. and Look at the blackboard.; in order to include more updated and progressive NEC concepts, Lynn, her peers as well as Ms Poon had planned the lesson together and then Lynn kept on revising it again and again for three days. Lynn did not seem to be proud of these what she called pseudo images in her open lesson as they did not bring her any sense of achievement. According to Lynn, the lesson which she was really proud of and felt most satisfied with was the last lesson in her own teaching tasks26 (the eighth lesson), and she elaborated the reason as follows:
Because I found the lesson more complete, its following a procedure, I mean, uh, its kind of step by step guidance...Because, it seemed to me that, although the design of the previous steps in the lesson was a bit difficult, I found the students were all, kind of, fascinated during the whole process, I mean, the students seemed to be fully fascinated! Especially when I was introducing the ending of the story, I found the students all seemed to be kind of very eager to know it. I mean, because at that time, I was standing on the platform, with the students looking at me, expecting eagerly to know what the ending would be, and I suddenly felt a sense of achievement! [Oct. 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 12: 46; underlining added]

The sense of achievement, as interpreted by Lynn, seemed to arise from the

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Lynn was assigned eight lessons at the beginning and then assigned four more lessons including an open lesson, an extracurricular English lesson, and two regular lessons: one was a review lesson in her class and the other was given in another class where she took the place of her peer who was preparing for a Master Degree entrance exam. 277

teachers ability to captivate students interest in her lesson, receiving their responses, even though they were simply some silent responses such as looking at her attentively, and expecting eagerly her words.

In this section, we can see the continuous adjustments by Lynn in her teaching following both Ms Qins proposals and Ms Poons advice. Her noon-rest tutorials with the lower-achieving students, as well as her written communications in grading assignments, all seemed to be Lynns attempts to improve her own teaching as she had been determined to make a breakthrough in her later lessons. A review of these later lessons seemed to indicate that Lynn had tried very hard to find out an approach that might be suitable for English teaching in her Ordinary Class. Rather than taking an essentialist either...or attitude, limiting herself either to the more progressive university ELT methods or the more traditional teaching conventions in the school---a biased route which she had selected in her previous lessons, Lynn seemed to have shifted to a flexible both...and... approach in her later lessons. For example, she still followed the school ELT conventions recommended by her MT: Chinese was the main medium of instruction, grammar-translation was the basic teaching method, language points (grammar rules and vocabulary) were the main teaching content, and the students were reminded to underline key phrases in the text, take notes and read the text and vocabulary again and again. However, some of the university-taught ELT principles and NEC concepts could also be identified in Lynns later lessons, such as following the pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading procedure, presenting the text through student-teacher interactions, focusing on both the meaning and the form of language, setting information-gaps, providing sufficient scaffolding and elicitation, associating language teaching with authentic life, teaching learning strategy (e.g., retrieving information in the text quickly by skimming), paying attention to the students interest and motivation, introducing background information of the popular novel in western culture, as well as using multimedia, PPT courseware, teaching realia, pictures and internet resources. The
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above analysis also seemed to illustrate that Lynn did not simply borrow the MTs proposals indiscriminately, but also made her own critical judgments on the feasibility of designs based on the actual situation of her students. Such a transformation in Lynns beliefs of ELT in her Ordinary Class seemed to be the result of a difficult process, as she reflected on her breakthrough in the last few lessons in an interview after the TP:
I gradually got the feeling in the last few lessons, anyway. Maybe Id taught more lessons and I knew what my own teaching style was like, and then in the later lessons, I got some kind of feeling, some sense of achievement, I seemed to have, uh, found out the way to arouse their interest...It was difficult at the beginning as I might be not so familiar with the teaching here...but later, I was gradually able to teach the lessons according to my own thoughts. [Oct. 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 20:03; underlining added]

From Lynns reflection, the breakthrough in her teaching during the last few lessons had brought to her some sense of achievement which seemed to be largely related to her growing knowledge of her students (I seemed to have, uh, found out the way to arouse their interest), above all, the discovery of her own thoughts and own teaching style. Lynns unceasing efforts to pursue her own freedom of thinking and teaching seemed to remind me that the availability of some space for teacher autonomy is crucial for Lynns teacher identity formation, as she deliberated on the breakthrough in her last few lessons a week after the TP, In my opinion, its very important to follow my own thoughts of teaching, I find my teaching smoother because its my own ideas and I can teach it in whatever way I prefer.

7.2.2 Being a class teacher --- I dont know why I really love them so much! After the narration of Lynns experience as an English teacher in the placement school, this section further explores the development of Lynns ST identity formation by tracing her tasks as a class teacher of the Ordinary Class. I shall focus on the different tensions Lynn had encountered in dealing with the interpersonal relationship between her and her class teacher mentor, and the implication of such tensions on Lynns identity formation.
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7.2.2.1 Ms Mok---An acquainted stranger The class teacher mentor, Ms Mok, was a young teacher in her early thirties. As she taught the class basic computer knowledge which was a minor subject, she did not meet the students as often as other teachers and she only came to the class for routine discipline management. It happened that Ms Mok was in her first year to be a class teacher and it was also her very first experience to take up the mentoring task, she did not seem to have as much experience as other MTs in mentoring STs. As Ms Mok was at the final stage of her MA course, she seemed to be very busy preparing for her thesis during the TP.

As a student class teacher, Lynn had experienced a process, as she described, from a sense of excitement to disappointment and even depression. At the beginning of TP, as both Lynn and Daisy would like to do something for the students, they were very excited about the opportunity of being class teachers and they assumed such a position would allow them to try out many ideas they had planned together. Even during the apprenticeship observation period, they had begun to ask for the permission to sit in not only the English lessons but also the lessons of other subjects, since there was not much time to talk with the students who had a full schedule every day. The STs were eager to know more about their students and get involved in the class activities as soon as possible. Lynn seemed to be very interested in observing her students and she took notes about their special utterances and behaviors, and then wrote them into her diaries and shared with her peers during the weekly group discussions.

However, to their disappointment, although Lynn and Daisy were very eager to carry out their plans to help their students either in English teaching or in moral education, they were surprised and even somewhat embarrassed about their positions as student class teachers. The MTs of other classes had all introduced their mentees to their students right after they entered the placement school, but
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Ms Mok did not seem to pay enough attention to such an introduction, which left Lynn quite at a loss in the face of her students because she felt neither she nor Daisy had been officially authorized by the MT. They took the role of class teachers and managed to carry out the discipline duties with their identities not yet officially announced, which also astonished the students as Lynns first encounter with her students was somewhat embarrassing, Maybe we suddenly ordered the students, Keep silent! and they found it so strange, Gee! Why did they ask us to keep silent?!

From her observation of Ms Moks classroom management, Lynn seemed to find a lack of democracy in the MTs attitude towards her students. Lynns first impression about Ms Moks classroom management was her scolding, as she told her peers during the first weekly group discussion, Her attitude towards the students is like, no matter what happens, she scolds them first...I mean the kind of tone, kind of scolding them.

Lynn told me she did not align with the MTs scolding and yelling at the students because she believed in the principle which she had read in the book The Management Work of Class Teachers---teachers should treat their students and communicate with them from the angle of children. Affected by the book, Lynn thought that a teacher should know her/his students before any attempt to teach them or change them. She seemed to have an innate curiosity and love for her students which she was not able to explain herself. When I asked her perceptions of her students at the beginning of her class teacher tasks, Lynn answered,
What do I think of them? Me? Hehe, I love them very much. Although some of them are really lazy. I dont know why I really love them so much. I dont know why...I loved them even at the beginning, because Ill love my students when I see them...I love those naughty ones even better. Hehehe, I prefer talking with those naughty ones. [Sept. 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn (part two) 21:05; underlining added]

Lynn explained that the students, especially their naughty behavior reminded her of her own school days in the rural middle schools. The imagination of being a

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student herself helped Lynn interpret her students feelings, Students are forever afraid of their teachers. So teachers should take the initiative to contact them.

Having a profound belief that the knowledge of students is indispensable for establishing rapport with the class, both Lynn and Daisy would like to observe Ms Moks class meeting lesson in order to obtain more information about the class management and collective activities. However, their request was turned down by Ms Mok which somewhat discouraged Lynn and her partner. Both of them were disappointed not only because the class meeting lesson was supposed to be a demonstration lesson that MTs should present to their mentees according to the university Teaching Practicum Scheme, but also because the class meeting was an important activity in Class Five that allowed the STs to know more about their students background as well as their general performances in their school life. Such background knowledge about the class, as pointed out by Daisy, might become some useful topics and implications for their language teaching as well as moral education to the students. In order to engage herself in the community of the Ordinary Class, when it was Lynns turn to be the student class teacher, she tried to ask Ms Mok about her routine work and the special tasks in the class. She also asked student leaders about the situation and the characteristics of their class. However, Lynn could realize that Ms Mok was not very willing to assign work to her or her partner, as she explained, Our class teacher did not assign tasks to us readily... So we sometimes took the initiative to ask her what we could do...She answers something like, Oh, nothing more, actually.

Due to the lack of interaction with Ms Mok, Lynn seemed to find some kind of communication problem between the MT and Daisy and herself as mentees. She even got the feeling that the MT did not like what she and Daisy usually did. This feeling made Lynn very nervous. Although they had many plans which they were eager to carry out during the TP, they realized that they could not gain the support from Ms Mok and this did not allow them to fulfill their goals. For
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example, Lynn told me her difficulty as a student class teacher when she elaborated her experiences in the school sports day preparation:
Just like before the sports day, since I wanted to establish a sense of solidarity and mutual assistance in the class, I suggested designing the Camp of Class Five together and then I told our class teacher mentor that I would ask the students to do it. But it turned out that she later assigned the students to do so herself. And then, theres another thing. I assumed that during the sports day, if I ask a couple of students to accompany the athletes and take care of them, itll make the students feel warm and being cared...As I assumed every one could do so, I asked the students to do so directly. But what puzzled me was that, the students kept asking me many times, Laoshi, have you told our class teacher that youd like us to take care of the athletes? At first, I told them, Well, no problem! Go ahead! Its common sense! But later, after they asked me so many times, I guessed there must be something wrong. So I asked the class teacher, and she told me, Ah::: in this case, urrrr, well it sounds pretty good, but, you know, we cant allow students to walk around. I mean, she wouldnt allow us to do so. Um, um, I mean she spoke in the kind of tone. So actually it wouldnt be carried out. No! Maybe the school has the regulations about that. But, I mean, I simply wanted to create some warm and touching atmosphere, something really touching...I find it really hard to achieve these, really! [Oct. 20, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 44:35; underlining added]

Lynns encounters with the obstacles on her position as the class teacher to prepare for the sports day seemed to reflect the nature of relationship between Lynn herself as a student class teacher and Ms Mok as the class teacher in the real sense. The lack of trust and the deprivation of power had exerted an impact on the relationship between Lynn and her MT, which had aggravated the tension between them to the extent of being embarrassed as described by Lynn herself. The dearth of communication seemed to have frozen the atmosphere of their daily meetings, which left an impression on Lynn that her class teacher mentor was simply an acquainted stranger.

7.2.2.2 An embarrassing experience and the noon-rest tutorials Seeing that there was not much opportunity to communicate with the students, Lynn tried to make use of the noon-rest to know more about the students by tutoring them. However, she did not expect the noisiness of the students and their defiance against her as a newly arrived ST. Her discipline control failure had added to the evidence of the noon-rest inspectors doubt about her capability of

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managing the noon-rest discipline. She was persuaded to leave by the inspector who said to her in a tone of distrust, Youd better not come here. Otherwise, you make them even noisier.

Being driven out of the classroom, Lynn felt very embarrassed by her unsuccessful attempt to manage the noon-rest discipline. The lack of trust or support from the MTs made Lynn feel very depressed:
I was so excited at the beginning...and then I felt a bit depressed...Some teachers in this school seem to have no confidence in us. When we try to do something, therell be lots of inconvenience...They might think, Anyway, youre a student teacher and they wont recognize you. You arent their class teacher, so its no use for you to be there. She said, Youd better not go, otherwise, you make them even noisier...In fact, I wanted to argue, but I thought, Well, shes right! I really am a student teacher! In fact, its true! So I said, Ok, I understand....I find it so strange. I mean everything was inconvenient, like the class teacher work, it seems to me that its very difficult for us to take part in it. Our mentor wasnt quite willing to let us know anything or let us do it...Yes, I feel a bit disappointed. And I think, you asked us to be the class teacher, and then we went to see their noon rest, and we just wanted to see whether therere some students who need help and then tutor them! So it seems to me weve got stuck here, should we go ahead or should we step back?!...I find it really hard to do it well, coz its not our problem, but the students. If they want to do so, we cant stop it...This makes me a bit sad...Yes, Im depressed because of this. [Sept.15, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 1:24; underlining added]

As reflected by Lynn, she shifted from a feeling of excitement to one of depression just a few days after she entered the placement school. It seemed that such a change of emotion was not only due to the situation of the students which seemed to be too tough to achieve much improvement in a short period of time, but also due to a series of inconvenience: the lack of trust from her class teacher mentor and other teachers, the limited contact with the students, Ms Moks unwillingness to share information about the class or to allow them to participate in more class activities, as well as her indifference to the students. These obstacles seemed to make Lynn disappointed, sad, and depressed as they had led Lynn to conclude in despair: We havent made much progress in this aspect.

Nevertheless, disappointed as she was by the dilemma of being stuck at a state

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of whether to go ahead or to step back in her attempt to do something for the students, Lynn was not completely discouraged by the apparent difficulty she had encountered. Rather, she adjusted her plan according to the actual situation of the class and the school requirements. Reflecting further on her embarrassing experience, Lynn realized the improperness of her attempt to communicate with the students in the classroom at noon rest, and she admitted the immaturity and impracticality of her plan after reflection. In her new plan, instead of tutoring all the students together in the classroom, Lynn invited just a few students at a time and shifted the venue to the balcony outside the Student Teachers Office where she and Daisy could help the students solve their English learning problems and also chat with them:
If I cant do the great jobs, Ill do the minor ones, hehehe... Really, yes, I really think so. If I cant deal with the big matters, I can do the smaller. Anyway, so long as I have time, I can start from small things one by one...Ill do those things which wont be objected to or criticized by people...And something that is in fact helpful for the students. [Oct. 20, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 57:49; underlining added]

Lynns new plan seemed to include more carefully made decisions and more responsible deliberations on the schools actual situation since she had found the crux of class management---Coz its not our problem, but the students. To help the students, she must not break the regulations. Facing the many constraints in the school, Lynn had to start from something small and minor but in fact helpful for the students and wont be objected to or criticized by people.

According to Lynn, the noon-rest tutorials not only consisted of tutoring of English knowledge but also some kind of moral education which she and Daisy wanted to share with their students. The students participating in the tutorials were of different learning levels, and they offered their suggestions based on their different learning abilities and intentions. It should be noted that the topics of their talks not only included the advice and encouragement on English learning but also the suggestions on the students searching for their life goals and pursuing them:
Researcher: Are the students in the tutorials the same or different? Lynn: Theyre different. At the beginning, we mainly tutored them about the English
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knowledge taught in their lessons. And later, because we wanted to have some close talks with them and then we divided them into different groups as they belonged to different levels. For those high-achievers, I gave them some suggestions on their study, the kind of suggestions about what they could do in the future; for those at the intermediate level, I gave them some encouragement and cheered them on; and for those low-achievers, Id see whether they really want to learn. I mean, Id suggest they get a clear understanding about their own future by different means instead of getting into a standstill in the school. That is, Id communicate with them from different perspectives and encourage them to search for their own dream... ... Researcher: What did they tell you? What was their feedback? Lynn: They would, if I talked with just one or two of them, they might say, they might tell you very seriously something like, In fact, Ive also thought about going to the college in the future. Yes. And sometimes they would also tell me what problems they have and something like that. And then I would tease out their ideas and give them our suggestions according to what weve observed ourselves... I would then give them some psychological guidance according to their own actual situations. [Oct. 20, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 19:51; underlining added]

From Lynns introduction, it seemed that the noon-rest tutorials, although just among a couple of students, turned out to be a useful opportunity for Lynn to listen to their serious sharing of their inner mind which they might be unwilling to mention in the face of a large audience (If I talked with just one or two of them...). Such words might include the hopes, perplexities, and difficulties of these Ordinary Class students which they had been encountering but were unable to find the way out as they seemed to have no one to talk to before Lynn and Daisy invited them to do so. Through listening to the students thoughts and concerns, Lynn was able to understand their troubles and needs and to give suggestions from the students angle. From the students questions, it can be seen that they regarded the STs not only as someone who taught them the English subject, but also someone who cared about their future and could give them the advice they would need, as their inquiries had gone beyond simply English learning but something encouraging them to search for their own dream. Such a result of the tutoring seemed to have satisfied the goal which Lynn had intended to achieve in her position as a class teacher---to let them learn something from us, Id like them to see their future, see something farther away:
Researcher: Why did you take all the trouble to tutor them? Why did you do so? Lynn: Because, I dont know, because I think, if I were their class teacher, I would be the
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kind of teacher who not only teaches them the knowledge but also educates them. Normally after the lessons, we seldom get in touch with them, but I really want to teach them something, because, anyway, I am here being their teacher, I really dont want to simply teach them the lessons, because I may, I find that sometimes when I teach them in the lessons, I am not only teaching them the knowledge, but also improving myself... and then I am the class teacher, I think, I should do something, right? I mean, not necessarily something that involves all students or on a large scale, but something that is aiming at some students. I really want to let them learn something from us, and I mean, Id like them to see their future, see something farther away because after talking with them, I find that many of them have limited their vision here and have no idea what they should do in the future... ... Researcher: Why are you so determined to do so? Lynn: I dont know, maybe because I think its my duty. Researcher: You think this is your job, your duty? Lynn: Yes. Because I think its very fundamental and I think Ive simply done the most basic thing. I should have done more. Yes, I think this is really basic. Think about it, when I saw the situation of the class, every one is just like that, and I would surely have a very strong psychic reaction that I must deal with it. Hehehe...I mean, as I didnt want to see such a situation, I had to try to communicative with them, I mean, try to make progress together. [Oct. 20, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 21:47; underlining added]

It seemed that Lynns sacrifice of her noon rests and her somewhat determined devotion to both the English tutoring and the moral education of her students have derived from a series of factors including her understanding of what it means to be a class teacher---If I were their class teacher, I would be the kind of teacher who not only teaches them the knowledge but also educates them.; her sincere eagerness to do something for her students as she reiterated, I really want to teach them something, because, anyway, I am here being their teacher, I really dont want to simply teach them the lessons...I am the class teacher, I think, I should do something, right?; her strong sense of teacher responsibility, because I think its my duty...this is really basic...when I saw the situation of the class...I would surely have a very strong psychic reaction that I must deal with it.; as well as her insistence to communicate with them and to make progress together. In fact, such hard efforts in the tutorials and chats during the noon-rests turned out to be worthwhile as it was later proved to be beneficial to both the students and the STs. On the side of the students, the care and attention from Lynn and Daisy had encouraged them to some extent which could be reflected from their better

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responses in the latter part of Lynns lessons as well as their improved learning effect as indicated in some of the students test results; on the side of the STs, Lynn, for example, was encouraged by the students cooperativeness in her later lessons and she also built up her confidence in searching for her own teaching style. Such mutual sharing and communication in the noon rests also provided Lynn with some spiritual satisfaction as she found these noon-rest tutorials a key element which enriched the meaning of her TP:
If I hadnt had such a noon-rest activity, I might have found the teaching practicum very empty! Yeah, yeah! Very empty! It seems as if theres nothing, how to say, theres no close contact with the students! Its only kind of Im standing high above on the platform while youre sitting below down there. I mean, its just the kind of contact between teachers and students. [Oct. 20, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 29:41; underlining added]

Lynns explanation of her sense of satisfaction from the noon-rest tutorials seemed to highlight the contrast between the feeling of simply teaching students in classroom which represents an unequal teacher-student relationship and that of the tutorials which shows relatively egalitarian student-teacher status and more friendly rapport. The former feeling struck Lynn as very empty, while the latter---the talking with students at different levels, had become something she was really proud of, as she claimed, The proudest thing is... I talked with students at different levels and gave them some suggestions. I think its relatively effective. Its effective as its kind of aiming at students particular conditions. According to Lynn, such talking with students at different levels also became an important reason which made her find her class teacher role more satisfactory in the TP---If her English teaching tasks helped her find her own teaching style, the class teacher tasks enabled her to fulfill her TP expectation---to have transformation in the students and in herself. 7.2.2.3 A touching class-meeting lesson The tutorials and encouragements for the students at noon rests had helped Lynn establish a student-teacher rapport for her class-meeting lesson at the end of her TP tasks. As taking charge of the class meeting is one of the key student class teacher tasks required by the university Teaching Practicum Scheme, both Lynn
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and Daisy had invested plenty of time and energy to organize class-meeting activities in order to consolidate solidarity in the class. For example, in Daisys class meeting, they selected an instructive topic Expressing Thanks, made a short video of a touching play on that topic and acted roles in the play. However, although Daisys class meeting had been carefully designed by both of them, it turned out to be unsuccessful and upsetting. Ms Mok did not attend the class meeting, although it was her duty to observe her mentees class meeting and give comments. Seeing that Daisy was exhausted trying futilely to calm down all ungrateful yelling, laughing and catcalls, Lynn was both disappointed and sad. She summarized the causes for the failure of Daisys class meeting: first, they had not established rapport with the students who were very defiant against their STs at the beginning; second, without the presence of the MT, the disobedient students became even more uncontrollable. Therefore, when preparing for her own class meeting, Lynn tried to involve the students in the activities and invite Ms Mok sincerely to attend her class meeting. Although the MT stayed only half the class meeting, Lynn was so grateful that she thanked the MT afterwards and obtained her comments on the lesson. Apart from the MTs support and the cooperation of the students, the success of Lynns class meeting seemed to be also attributed to the well selected activities which she had insisted on starting from the students position rather than from a very high position, as she explained, Maybe its really designed from their angle, because many of the examples can be seen by them and felt by them. Its all about people around them. Maybe this made it more touching. According to Lynn, the theme of the class meeting, Reach For Our Dreams, was selected based on her observation of the students who did not seem to have goals as she stressed, Everyone should have a goal, I really want to remind them of this. She designed various instructive activities related to ones struggles for dreams including the cartoon One Piece which was encouraging and popular among teenagers, a review of the goal of the founder of the school---a persevering philanthropist, the discussion of the dreams of the children in poor remote areas, the viewing of the Oscar winning video Kiwi
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which depicts how a bird tries to fulfill its dream to fly at the cost of its life, the popular song Making Dreams Come True, and an interaction game Say out your dreams starting from the STs sharing of their dreams, setbacks, and struggles. In order to help her students remember their dreams, Lynn asked all of them to write down their dreams on a piece of paper which she later collected and stuck on a large delicately decorated cardboard and posted it on the back wall of the classroom as a farewell gift for the class.

The success of Lynns class meeting formed a contrast to Daisys which could be mirrored from the involvement of the students and their cooperative responses during the lesson. Instead of making noises and catcalls, they were very quiet, listening to the ST and fulfilling their tasks attentively. Lynn gave a description about her students responses in an interview after the class meeting:
I asked Daisy to introduce her own experiences, the process how she fulfilled her own dreams. I found this part really great, because everyone was listening very quietly...really very quietly. Its very convincing as its introduced by someone really around them... I asked them to write down how theyre going to fulfill their dreams, and played a song about dreams when they were writing...Many students were trying their best to write down their plans, even those naughty ones who asked, Laoshi, I dont know what to write? I mean, they also wished to write something even though they didnt know how. And I told them, Oh, just write whatever youd like to do then. And then they wrote their words, kind of very seriously...The students were really very calm at that time, especially when I asked them to think about their future plans during the viewing of the video Kiwi, they were all very involved, I mean, they were kind of being moved... [Oct. 20, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 1:03:12; underlining added]

From the students involvement in the activities during the class-meeting, it seemed that Lynn had achieved the objective of her class meeting---Let them feel something. This intention was derived from her goal that she would try to move the students through the various touching activities and to encourage them to imagine their life goals and try to find out the way to achieve them. After the TP, when reflecting on her class meeting and that of her partners, Lynn made the following conclusion.
If we want to teach better, we really need to focus on moral education, I mean, the students should be very self-disciplined. They must be very cooperative so that we can

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make progress together...Although we invested so much and were very eager to help them, well, I think the root cause of the problem remained unsolved. Its the students, the root cause lies in the students themselves...If we want to have a good class meeting, we must first talk with the students and let them understand the topic first...Yes, we must really think about our students first. Really. [Oct. 30, 2010 Semi-structured interview with Lynn 26:16; underlining added]

The reflection on her partners unsatisfactory class-meeting turned out to be a good lesson for Lynn which stimulated her to dig out the root cause of the problem in educating students in the Ordinary Class. For Lynn, a successful lesson not only depends on the investment of the teachers, but also on the cooperation of the students which is actually the fundamental factor. To achieve the cooperation and support of the students, teachers must really think about our students first and talk with the students to help them become self-disciplined and cooperative, and then to make progress together with them.

7.3 Analysis: Learning to teach with ethical creative agency---A loving teacher self In section 7.2, I narrated the TP experiences of Lynn first as a student English teacher and then a student class teacher based on different sources of data collected in this study. In this section, I shall further analyze the identity formation process of the ST drawing on Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991), the Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998), and Clarkes (2009) framework of doing teacher identity.

7.3.1 Student teacher identity formation in the community of practice Being one of the COP members in the university partnership school, Lynn was granted legitimacy of access to practice which was reified by her being assigned to be the student teacher of Class Five and both Ms Poon and Ms Mok being designated to be her MTs. However, although the school-university partnership COP afforded legitimacy of access to practice to STs, it did not guarantee them the legitimacy and peripherality of participation for their practices in COP (Tsui, 2009). According to Lave and Wenger (1991), learning is a social practice which
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goes through a legitimate peripheral participation process. During Lynns learning-to-teach process, she was very excited at the beginning and would like to participate in the collective activities of Class Five and do something for the students. However, she was soon disappointed because Ms Mok did not officially introduce her and her partner to the students---a signal which Lynn interpreted as their not being authorized to be the class teachers of their students, and her perception was proved by the students doubt and defiance against their discipline management. Lynn gradually became depressed as she found that Everything was inconvenient...Its very difficult for us to take part in it. Our mentor wasnt quite willing to let us know anything or let us do it. Lynns imagination of the noon-rest inspectors words Anyway, youre a student teacher and they wont recognize you. You arent their class teacher, so its no use for you to be there. to some extent revealed Lynns sense of being marginalized by both the MTs and her students as she was denied both legitimacy and peripherality of participation. In fact, at the early stage of her class teacher work, Lynn could find herself remaining at the relatively inhibiting peripheral trajectory without being able to participate further in the class activities. For instance, her instructions for sports day preparation were questioned and unimplemented by the students as her plans had actually been denied by Ms Mok; her plan to manage the classroom discipline and tutor the students at noon rests was prohibited by the inspector. All these made Lynn realize her marginalized identity in the COP, as she said helplessly, Weve got stuck here, should we go ahead or should we step back?!...We havent made much progress in this aspect.

Compared with her class teacher tasks at the beginning stage, Lynns English teaching tasks received more support from Ms Poon who was very willing to share her experiences and provide suggestions and support for Lynns teaching designs. Lynn and her peers also had the opportunity to listen to the directors advice on the teaching techniques of lesson design. All these showed that Lynn had been provided legitimacy of participation in the ELT activities within the
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T-cop. However, Lynns English teaching tasks indicated, even though Ms Poon had been facilitating her teaching and providing her guidance and comments, Lynn still could not manage to approach further towards full participation as she was not able to obtain more responses from her students however hard she had tried to improve her teaching methods by shifting back and forth between the progressive university ELT methods and Ms Poons traditional teaching style. Lynns ineffective attempts to involve students in her early lessons showed that she was only participating legitimately but not peripherally.

Facing all the tensions in both English teaching and student management, Lynn had tried to identify the root causes for her setbacks. Reflecting on her embarrassing experience in the noon rest as well as her partners unsuccessful class-meeting, Lynn was able to learn that it was the students that actually affected the effects of teaching and class activity organization, as she concluded, The root cause lies in the students themselves...If we want to have a good class-meeting, we must first talk with the students...We must really think about our students first. Lynns awareness that students being the root cause of her teaching and class management problems persuaded her to communicate with the students in various means---noon-rest tutorials, encouraging words on assignments, and also gestures of approaching the students and giving them a pat. From Lynns efforts to establish rapport with the students, her attempts to adjust the lessons according to the students interests and actual proficiency levels, as well as her investment in having moral education with the students---the egalitarian dialogues about future goals, we can see that Lynn had gradually found her own way of thinking and teaching and her own means of doing class management and moral education with the students. By helping her students change their learning behaviors and attitudes towards study and life, Lynn found her own self and transformed her identity as a ST in the process of constantly engaging in the activities of another community of practice within the Ordinary Class---the S-cop co-constructed by Lynn and her students which allowed her to exercise her
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creative agency both in teaching and in class management.

The increasing students responses in Lynns later lessons and the successful class meeting at the end of the TP seemed to both indicate that, although Lynn had not been granted the legitimacy of participation by the other-oriented (Tsui, 2009) sources which represented the more powerful social/institutional structure---the school rules and norms of routine student management, Ms Moks control of the access to and resources for practising class teacher tasks, as well as the hegemonic meaning economy in both the university and school conventional ELT discourses. Nevertheless, Lynn legitimated her participation in the activities of the student-based S-cop which enabled her to obtain the membership recognized by the community of the students and herself. Lynns struggles for participation in improving her teaching and the rapport with her students echoed the argument that apart from legitimacy that is other-oriented, there may be legitimacy from other dimensions (Tsui, 2007, 2009); for example, Lynns legitimation of access (Tsui, 2009) to the S-cop was basically self-oriented---her own creative thinking and unceasing attempts to adjust her lessons and activities according to the students actual needs had been recognized by the community members as they contributed to the joint enterprise of the S-cop as a whole---to help the students find their life goals and make progress together.

Lynns identity formation as a ST involved the dual processes of both identification of herself as a member of the COP and negotiation of the meaning of ELT and student management in her Ordinary Class. When Lynn encountered different setbacks which prevented her from participating and even cornered her to a marginalized position, she did not abandon her efforts to change the unfavorable situations. In fact, the different modes of belonging in Lynn had empowered her to persist in searching for her own goals---to have positive influence on the students and to change the situation of the class. These modes of belonging included her never-ending engagement in adjusting her different
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teaching designs and improving the relationships with her students and with Ms Mok, her imagination of the strong craving for teachers care and concern in her own school days which she projected onto her own students, her imagination of the interests, needs, concerns of the students by putting herself into their shoes, her alignment with the book, Management Work of Class Teachers, which enlightened her with the maxim that teachers should treat their students and communicate with them from the angle of children as well as her critical alignment with Ms Poons and Ms Qins teaching suggestions, to both of which she made creative and culturally responsive adaptations (Lin, 1999), so that these became more relevant and student-oriented teaching ideas. These different modes of belonging became indispensable sources for Lynns negotiability because the recognition by the members in the S-cop---the better cooperation of the students in Lynns later lessons and her class meeting became convincing reifications in the T-cop that changed Ms Moks indifference to the efforts of her mentees and impressed both Ms Poon and her peers. The improved teaching competence and skills in her later lessons and her class meeting also illustrated Lynns increased ownership of meaning in ELT and student management which enabled her to re-identify her membership in the T-cop among both STs and MTs.

7.3.2 Doing student teacher identity as ethics Growing up in a rural illiterate family, educated in a backward community, Lynn had undergone much more hardship in English learning than her peers. The longer and tougher journey resulting from the unequal education conditions between rural and urban areas made Lynn realize the critical role of education in changing the fate of rural children. After entering the university and becoming a ST, Lynn was very diligent in learning the subject matter knowledge; especially in improving her English language proficiency (self-practices of teacher identity).

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Cultural, historical, social, political, economic, educational, institutional, familial and personal factors Substance 1. love of students and teaching 2. good model for students

Telos: educator
1. positive influence on students 2. qualified teacher

Mode of subjection
1. good professional knowledge/skills 2. practical, accessible teaching, culturally compatible methodology 3. Responsibility: Educating people is more important than teaching knowledge 4. teachers should think about students first 5. teachers should talk with students at their level (i.e., horizontal interaction)

Self-practices
1. active and diligent, upper-intermediate in learning professional knowledge/skills 2. active participation in teaching practice 3. active participation in collective lesson planning and discussion 4. adjusting rules/norms between university and school, from dichotomy to creative integration 5. active participation in raising Ss awareness student-teacher communication

Figure 7.1: Lynn---Doing student teacher identity

In Lynns opinion, the knowledge of and s skills in English language were very important for English teachers (mode of subjection). After she learned the Method Courses in the pre-service teacher education program, Lynn was very excited about the more progressive theories in the English Teaching Methodology course as she could feel its many differences from the monotonous traditional spoon-feeding teaching in her previous schools. Therefore, Lynn was eager to apply the more updated university ELT concepts and methods in school classroom teaching. However, when learning the new teaching theories and concepts in the university, Lynn would also reflect on her previous learning experiences which reminded her of the actual conditions of the unprivileged students in less prestigious schools. Having witnessed the authentic situation of education in the disadvantaged areas, Lynn realized that for those low-achieving students who could not obtain proper guidance from family or community just like her in her school days, it would be insufficient simply teaching them
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knowledge or skills. Lynn found it essential to change the sense of inferiority and the negative attitudes towards education in those students so as to raise their consciousness of the indispensability of education in their future life, as she emphasized, Teaching knowledge is not the most important...Educating people should be the most important. (mode of subjection). Therefore, Lynn had a goal of becoming a qualified teacher who could exert some positive influence on her students (telos of teacher identity). It seemed that, as a ST, Lynns telos embraced two folds of meaning: besides teaching the English knowledge and skills to her students, Lynn also aimed at being an educator who would regard the education of people---leading students to positive future goals---as the most significant part of her mission to teach. With her telos of teacher identity being two-fold, Lynn emphasized the necessity to be a positive model to the students which she believed her well-behaved performances as well as her love for the students and her devotion in teaching could enable her to be the kind of teacher she aimed at (substance of teacher identity). To become a qualified teacher, Lynn worked very hard to prepare herself for learning the teacher professional knowledge and skills which she considered essential for an English teacher (mode of subjection). Knowing very well that she had relatively weaker language proficiency than her peers, especially in listening and speaking, Lynn tried very hard to improve these skills. Although she failed the TEM 4 test for the first time at just one point lower than the pass mark, she spent another whole year preparing for the second exam and managed to pass at her second attempt (self-practices of teacher identity). Not competing at the same starting line, it seemed to be rather difficult for Lynn to catch up with her peers in learning the professional knowledge and skills. However, with a strong motivation to be a qualified teacher (telos of teacher identity), Lynn would make every effort to pass the various exams, as she explained, if I cant pass TEM 8, I cant become a teacher after graduation. In fact, it turned out that Lynn was able to study the teacher professional knowledge and skills even better than
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many of her peers; for example, she had been granted lower rank university scholarship every year and was also awarded in the department Lesson Design Competition (self-practices of teacher identity). Apart from learning the teacher professional knowledge and skills, Lynn would participate very actively in the teaching practices in and out of the university (self-practices of teacher identity). Through the various teaching practices, Lynn was not only able to train her teaching skills and techniques but also get to know students of different proficiency levels. She further realized that the progressive university ELT methods may not be readily applicable to the actual situation in middle schools. Therefore, Lynn believed that English teachers should not only make their lessons interesting and diversified, but also practical and accessible to the learners. She also argued for the need to pay attention to the exam requirements in the schools and try to persuade the students to learn (mode of subjection).

Having been assigned to teach the Ordinary Class during the TP, Lynn was not upset by the naughty students or their relatively low language proficiency. On the contrary, she seemed to have an interest in her students as she said, I loved them even at the beginning, because Ill love my students when I see them...I love those naughty ones even better. I prefer talking with those naughty ones. (substance of teacher identity). In fact, during the TP, Lynn intended not only to teach her students English lessons but also to do something for the students and have some changes in the class through various communications and collective activities (telos of teacher identity). Lynn had very close observation of her students words and behaviors and would try to create more opportunities to approach her students (self-practices of teacher identity). Although her attempt to tutor the students in the classroom had been inhibited by the noon-rest inspector, Lynn and her partner had tried to think of more suitable ideas to have the activities conducted somewhere else so that they will not violate the school noon-rest rules. When Lynn realized that without the presence of the class teacher mentor, the class meeting lesson would collapse, she tried to invite Ms Mok to sit in her class
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meeting even though the MT would just observe the lesson for a while (self-practices of teacher identity). During the TP, Lynn had encountered many obstacles; however, she would discuss all the problems with her partner and try to think of a more feasible way to handle them, as she believed, So long as I have time, I can start from small things one by one...Ill do those things which wont be objected to or criticized by people...And something that is in fact helpful for the students. (mode of subjection and self-practices of teacher identity). As for English teaching in the Ordinary Class, even though the students were not interested in her lessons at the beginning, Lynn did not give up her efforts to try different teaching styles. Although the absence of the UTs had led to their ELT practice following a teaching style more typical of the school traditional exam-oriented convention, Lynn did not get trapped by the dichotomy between dominating ELT discourses in the school and the university. Through collective lesson planning with her peers, Lynn proposed the integration of different teaching styles in their English lessons based on the actual situation of the students in different classes (self-practices of teacher identity and mode of subjection). It was worth noting that Lynn did not limit her attempt to improve her teaching only through the adjustment of the teaching methods or activities, she had also tried to make transformations through raising the students awareness of the relationship between their learning and their future (self-practices of teacher identity). Unlike her peers who either distanced themselves from the students (like Maple) or treated the student-teacher relationship as one between brothers and sisters (like Kelly), Lynn believed that, really good teachers know the right distance between them and their students. Lynn built up an image as a teacher in class and as the students friend during tutorials and free talks (mode of subjection). The topics of the communications between Lynn and her students were carefully prepared and made relevant to the situation of different students, as Lynn described, the topics would be different according to the different categories of students they had classified. The means of communication was also creative, instead of focusing only on oral talks, Lynn could think of writing encouraging
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comments on assignments or some small notes which she found more powerful and touching. As for the content of the talks, Lynn did not simply share with her students their life experiences or problems, but also encouraged them to seek their own dreams---their life goals, and to reflect on the possible means to fulfill their dreams. In this sense, the noon-rest tutorials became multi-functional: it not only helped the students solve their learning problems, but also called on the students to think about their own future and start with actions (self-practices of teacher identity). The more student responses and more students taking notes in Lynns later lessons seemed to be a result of the constant adjustments of her teaching designs tailoring to the students situations, and above all, a reward to her creatively planned activities and awareness-raising communications with the students during the TP (self-practices of teacher identity). The students improved learning results as reflected from the test, the changes in their learning attitudes and the progress in their classroom responses and assignments all seemed to prove that Lynn had fulfilled her telos of teacher identity---to be a qualified teacher who is able to exert positive influence on her students.

7.4 Coda At the end of the TP, all STs in the cohort had their final weekly group discussion and they had a vote on electing the Excellent Teaching Practicum Group and Excellent Student Teacher. When the result of the vote came out, I was a bit surprised. The dyad of Lynn and Daisy was elected the Excellent Teaching Practicum Group and Lynn was elected the Excellent Student Teacher. What surprised me was not their being elected, but the cohorts unanimous recognition of Lynn since all the peers had cast their votes to her for both the awards of the excellent group and the excellent ST. When I reflected on my observation of Lynns lessons, her conversations with the members of the T-cop (both STs and MTs), as well as her conversations with me during the individual semi-structured interviews, I started to wonder why Lynn had not abandoned her efforts even though her English teaching tasks appeared so boring at the beginning as the
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students produced so few responses and her class teacher tasks had not received as much attention as those in the Special Class (for example, Maple and Jade helped Ms Cheng with the large-scale open class meeting on behalf of the school). In fact, Lynn and Daisy were frustrated at the early stage of the TP by not being able to participate in the collective activities in the class. I tried to search for the driving force that has sustained Lynns unyielding efforts to make teaching adjustments again and again shifting back and forth the teaching methods between dominating ELT discourses in the university and the school (self-practices of teacher identity). It might be due to her goal to become a qualified teacher (telos of teacher identity), her love and devotion to teaching (substance of teacher identity) and her belief that teachers should make their lessons interesting, diversified and accessible to their students (mode of subjection). All these various pieces of information from my interviews with Lynn seemed to be confirmed by my observations of the process during which Lynn tried to make a breakthrough in her later lessons through constantly adjusting the teaching methods and creatively adapting them to the students actual situation, especially in the many afternoons when I could see at the corner of the corridor Lynn and her partner tutoring her students (self-practices of teacher identity). I also seemed to find the answer for Lynns persistence in her determination to try to do something for the students, something that is in fact helpful to the students even though they were not great jobs but minor ones---Lynn told me that it was her duty, something very basic because she assumed that people seeing the situation in her disadvantaged class would surely have a very strong psychic reaction and I must deal with it. Such a sense of responsibility implied in Lynns interview answers at the end of the TP reminded me of her responses when I first interviewed her---She wished to become a teacher who can have positive influence on her students (telos of teacher identity). Lynns TP expectation---to have a new transformation in both her students and herself was implemented via her efforts during TP to share her life struggles with her students and to encourage them to strive for their goals so that both she and her students could make progress
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together. When Lynn told me that she loved her students, especially those naughty ones, I was somewhat reluctant to believe it. However, I was gradually convinced by the many episodes about Lynn which I collected during the two-month long TP. Lynns detailed description of the naughtiest student (Master Wai ) to her peers even at the very beginning surprised her peers, just as Jade commented admiringly, Well, you must have observed very carefully. You have so much to share about your class. I also read in the TP Newsletter Lynns short article in which she reported her encounter with one of the students who was smoking outside campus. Lynn did not criticize the student but chatted with the student about his smoking history. However, Lynn wrote her concern about these students and would like to discuss with her peers the solution for this phenomenon, The nature of our students is not bad. But when we find there are some bad habits in them, how should we deal with it? Should we pay no attention to them? Criticize them directly? Or guide them properly? And How? I seemed to have read between the lines the words Lynn had told me, Its educating people that is the most important. Lynn once told me the naughty behaviors of the disadvantaged students had reminded her of the mischievous students in her own school days. I later realized that Lynns sympathy to the students had become a sense of responsibility in her which was a strong psychic reaction that urged her to help the students search for their future goals instead of getting stuck there in the non-key junior middle school. When I looked at the picture in the TP Newsletter---Lynn was lifted up to the air by seven students, each of them smiling sweetly, I began to understand why Lynn loved her students, because through loving and caring her students she was loved and cared by them. This mutual care and love enabled Lynn to find her teacher self. It is in transforming her students that Lynn transformed her own teacher identity.

Lynns identity formation during the TP seemed to resonate with Foucaults concept of care of the self. Foucault advocates that [I]ndividual liberty results from concern for others; freedom is the outcome of acting ethically toward others
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and ourselves (Infinito, 2003a, p. 162, original emphasis). In the process of learning-to-teach within the school-university partnership context, Lynn might inevitably encounter asymmetrical power relationships and interpersonal tensions; thus, identity formation in the school-university partnership COP is political. However, as Infinito (2003a) summarizes Foucaults purposes of care of the self,
[I]n attempting to give appropriate regard to the being of others and our selves, we produce a specific type of freedom. By forming ourselves as ethical beings, we activate our capacities for creation and potentially bring about an ever-evolving person (ourselves), and thereby a new and different world. (Infinito, 2003a, p. 162)

Lynns learning-to-teach experience in this study has provided ELT teacher education with an example that the search for STs professional freedom may also be both ethically, creatively, and positively transformative: a new self and a new world can be created in the process.

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CHAPTER EIGHT DISCUSSION In chapters 5, 6 and 7, I narrated the different practicum experiences of the three STs and analysed how they constructed and reconstructed their professional identities under dominant discourses through processes of resistance, compliance, or critical reflection and reconstruction. In this chapter, I shall revisit the tensions and contradictions identified along the different learning-to-teach trajectories as exemplified by Kelly, Maple, and Lynn, and probe answers to the research questions by discussing the complexities in the school-university partnership activity system and the process of ST identity formation within hybridized discourses in the partnership school.

8.1 Research Question 1: What are the major forces that shape pre-service teacher identities? How do they affect the process of formation of pre-service teacher identities? The STs stories in the previous chapters indicated that pre-service teacher identity formation was embedded in a complex sociocultural background of ongoing ELT reform in Mainland China. As emphasized by Cummins and Davison (2007), language teaching should be observed from a global scope and take into consideration the complexities of the sociopolitical and economic realities rather than provide simplistic prescriptions that focus on effectiveness in a vacuum (p.3). Accordingly, there should be no simple answer to the issues of teacher identity formation. In this section, I shall highlight the multifaceted forces affecting pre-service EFL teacher identities through a brief recapitulation of the three STs learning-to-teach in the school-university partnership and then discuss the interweaving of social, institutional and personal tensions and contradictions based on a temporal-spatial conceptual web.

8.1.1 The Main forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in school university partnership Drawing on previous studies on the factors affecting teacher professional
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identities (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Flores & Day, 2006; Kosnik & Beck, 2009; Ponte & Chapman, 2008; Zeichner & Gore, 1990), I reviewed the socialization stages of the three STs from a holistic perspective and identified the main forces affecting their identity formation in the partnership context (see Table 8.1). Although the main forces affecting ST identity formation are classified graphically to facilitate data analysis and interpretation, they are by no means fixed at corresponding nodes in the time-space web but are mutually shaping each other dynamically as indicated by the bi-directional arrows. Table 8.1: Main forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in school-university partnership Personal Institutional Social
Before pre-service teacher education -personalities and characters -predispositions for teaching (interests and motivation) During pre-service teacher education -teacher knowledge/skills -prior teaching experience -teacher belief/awareness -student teacher emotion After pre-service teacher education (A teacher at school) -intention to be a teacher after graduation -teacher emotion (job vulnerability and retention) -College Entrance Exam (Gaokao) -apprenticeship observation: positive/negative role models of previous school teachers University ELT discourse (pre-service TE programme) vs. School ELT discourse (teaching practicum) -school education objectives -school ELT requirements -teacher-student relationship -hidden curriculum, school culture, power relations, and school micropolitics -cultural, historical, political, and economic development -national education policies -family background -significant others -social ideology on education -national education policy -MOE curriculum (NEC) -the status of English and English teachers in society -recruitment opportunity for teaching occupation -teacher salary and life expense -professional upgrade/appraisal -social expectation and recognition

Born in Guangdong at the end of the 1980s when the Open Door Policy had been implemented for a decade, the three STs had been all affected by the social, cultural, political and economic development in the country even at their early education period. As introduced in Chapter 3 (the background of this research), the national economic boost as well as the political stability in Mainland China had promoted its international relationship and status in the world since the 1990s. The slogan Science and technology are the primary productive force. (
), proposed by the national paramount Deng Xiaoping, was followed as
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the guiding principle for the countrys improvement, and it also consolidated the vital status of education in the national strategic developmental orientation. The upgrading of the education level of labor force became crucial for the country and to achieve higher grades in Gaokao, the national matriculation examination for university enrollment, had become the chief objective for all students ever since they entered primary school. English as an important world language had become an essential tool for the countrys communication and cooperation with the outside world, especially in Guangdong---the province which took the lead in the countrys opening and economic reform. As a result, the reform in ELT curriculum had been carried out nationwide in early 1990s, with more progressive English teaching methodology theories such as Communicative Language Teaching recommended in foreign language institutions as more effective ELT pedagogy than the traditional Grammar Translation Method. Teaching materials and assessment in basic education had also been changed, with textbooks co-compiled by the national publisher (Peoples Education Press) and its western cooperators such as Oxford and Longman, and English listening and speaking27added in the entrance examinations for senior high schools or universities.

Under the global background of social, political and economic development in the country, the different families and communities of the STs that were located in different regions in Guangdong Province had also exerted different influences on their school life and their later professional development. Due to the discrepancies in different levels of cities and counties, the economic development was very unbalanced, and accordingly the education fund and school conditions of the local basic education varied enormously. In this study, Kelly was from the capital city of the province, which allowed her to enjoy more favorable education facilities than her peers who were from smaller cities or rural areas, especially in ELT education which could be reflected from the more progressive and advanced
27

English reading, writing and listening are all required skills in exams like both Zhongkao and Gaokao. Speaking is required for all candidates in Zhongkao but is only required for English major candidates in Gaokao. 306

edition of textbooks (using the Guangzhou edition instead of the national PEP edition as in Maples and Lynns schools) and more well-qualified English teachers (as the two main teacher education institutions were both located in Guangzhou). However, unlike urban students such as Kelly and Maple, in the backward rural schools, Lynn did not have English lessons in her primary school nor could she practice English listening before she entered the university. Such inequalities in education, especially in ELT education, somewhat resulted in Lynns having to take the Gaokao twice before she was enrolled by the university and her having to take the TEM 4 proficiency test for a second time after she became an English major. The inequalities and discrepancies in family background and community culture also partially explain the differences in STs personalities, attitudes towards education, motivation in English learning, as well as their future professional and life goals. Among the three STs, the business family and the science-oriented school background of Kelly did not guide her to plan for an English teacher occupation, and her being the single child in her relatively well-off family also allowed her to foster the somewhat rebellious character. For Maple, the special family condition (Her father was always working in other cities and she had to help her mother take care of her younger sister) had made her develop an independent and conscientious personality, and the competitive and self-disciplined class atmosphere in her key middle schools had helped her form the diligent learning habits. The charm and the studious learning spirit in Maples English teacher also moved her and made her choose English teaching as her future occupation. While for Lynn, her rural family background had made her relatively shy and silent before the public, and her illiterate family members, the backwardness of education in her hometown, and the hardships she had suffered in schooling all somewhat influenced her and made her set her goal to be a teacher in the future. Despite all above differences existing between the STs at the stage before their pre-service teacher education, their memory of the previous English lessons arising from their early apprenticeship of observation (Lortie, 1975; Zeichner & Gore, 1990) in school days seemed somewhat similar to
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each other. They all reported some kind of boring traditional exam-oriented grammar/vocabulary-based language teaching in their previous English lessons whether they came from urban or rural areas, key or non-key middle schools.

During the stage of pre-service teacher education, the STs coming from different family and education backgrounds all shared the same EFL pre-service teacher education offered by GSU. At this stage in the latter half of 2010s, Mainland China had further established its international status as could be interpreted from its entry in the WTO, its tremendous progress in national aerospace industry, its successful hosting both the Olympic Games and the World Expo, and its becoming the second largest world economy entity. To meet the challenges of globalization, informatization and technicalization in the 21st century, the MOE launched another curriculum reform in basic education in the first decade of the new millennium, and in higher education large-scale national education quality evaluations were carried out in universities and colleges all over the country. When the STs were enrolled in GSU, the university was preparing for the national evaluations in both its undergraduate education and teaching quality for English majors. To demonstrate its high education quality, the School of Foreign Studies had adjusted its teaching objectives and aimed at training well-qualified practical English talents. In English Education Department, the teaching materials and methods were updated and tuned to meet the national English curriculum reform. Apart from the requirements for different Major Courses, the STs English language proficiency was one of the key indicators of teaching quality which was assessed by two national proficiency tests---TEM 4 and TEM 8. With English Teaching Methodology being an important quality course, the Method Courses had tried to provide the STs with the progressive and advanced ELT principles and models as well as the well-known linguistic theories and concepts around the TESOL world, and the NEC was also advocated as guiding principles and key references for STs teaching practices. The mastery of ELT professional knowledge and skills was not only reflected by the assessment of the Method
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Courses but also by STs eligibility to participate in the competitions of English teaching skills or teaching designs organized by the department. The three STs in this study were differently influenced by these high-stake national English proficiency tests and the crucial competitions in the department: Maple showed her good mastery of English and solid foundation in ELT knowledge and skills by passing the TEM 4 smoothly and winning an award in the English Teaching Skill Competition. She was also very confident about herself for having obtained the university second-class scholarship twice and also for her relatively rich teaching experience in school ELT practices. For Lynn, although she had encountered failure and hardship in English study, she managed to pass the TEM 4 in a second attempt and she was able to maintain a third-class scholarship in the general assessments. Just like Maple, Lynn had obtained an award in the English Teaching Design Competition and she also had various experiences from part-time teaching in private schools or family tutorials. The achievements and experiences in English teaching during the pre-service teacher education had deepened Lynns interest in ELT education. However, compared with the two peers, Kelly was less proficient in her ELT professional knowledge and skills. She could not pass the TEM 4 even for the second time, nor was she selected to participate in the English teaching competitions (even though she had applied for the opportunity). The lack of a solid foundation in English study and the disqualification for the competitions and other ELT activities in the department somewhat discouraged Kelly and also led to her diffidence in the TP.

It is worth noting that although English proficiency was still supposed to be very important during the TP, the university-taught progressive ELT concepts and principles did not seem to be highly valued in the common English lessons in the placement school with only the exception of open lessons. Unlike the ELT practices in the university, the objective of ELT in the school was not to apply the university-taught theories and concepts (such as the NEC or the progressive theories in the Method Courses) to the school classroom but to improve the test
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scores of the students at different levels. To achieve such an exam-oriented objective, the ELT practices in the school were based on a direct principle which targeted at teaching as many test points (grammar and vocabulary) as possible within limited lesson time. Such school ELT principles were suggested by the MTs based on both the social and the school realities. According to employment recruit requirements, the education level of job applicants and the reputation of the institutions they graduate from usually decide the chance of being employed and the level of salary they will be offered. Higher scores in high-stake exams like Zhongkao and Gaokao decide the level of education the students (future job-seekers) may achieve and the type of institutions they may enter. Under such employment competition, the parents of the students tend to judge school teaching quality by the rate of students being enrolled by better reputed higher level schools or universities. Due to the popularity of shadow education in the country (Bray, 2007), many parents even paid for private cram schools wishing to improve their childrens scores in the entrance exams. When exam-oriented education was somewhat recognized by the society, both the principal and the teachers in the school were under the pressure from the parents and their competitors. As introduced in the school background (in Chapter 3), besides the social pressures, the school was also facing actual difficulties such as the poor learning and the lack of autonomy in the majority of the students, the discipline problems, as well as the limited lesson time and the large volume of teaching content. These actual problems arising from both the social pressures and the school difficulties seemed to prevent the STs from applying their progressive university ELT concepts to the school routine classroom teaching, as their first lesson plans which were supposed to be based on university Teaching Methodology concepts were either commented negatively by the MT (e.g., Kellys) or subject to revisions again and again (e.g., Maples and Lynns).

Apart from the dissonance in English teaching resulted from the different ELT discourses between the two institutions, the interpersonal asymmetrical power
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relationship between UTs, MTs and STs (Lopez-Real et al., 2009) also exerted a strong impact on the STs identity formation. According to the traditional Chinese culture which is deeply rooted in Confucianism (Gu, 2006), being students of the UTs and mentees (apprentices) of the MTs, the STs should show their respect to both their UTs and MTs and comply with their suggestions and requirements. This tradition seemed to have affected the normal practices in the school as it was emphasized by Ms Hui when she introduced her work experience to her mentees that teachers should obey their superiors and similarly STs should be obedient to their mentors. This tradition of strict hierachical relationship between superordinates and subordinates had also extended to the unequal relationship between teachers and students within the school. When facing the pressure of high-stake exams and classroom discipline problems, teachers were supposed to resort to their sense of authority to control the students and force them to obey the class disciplines so as to maintain normal teaching order.

Although the STs had not arrived at the in-service (after pre-service) teacher education stage, what they had witnessed and experienced in the TP seemed to have a strong effect on their understanding of teacher identities (Edwards & Tsui, 2009). For example, the asymmetrical power relationship between STs and MTs had affected both their attitudes towards the teacher profession and their intention to become a teacher after graduation. For Kelly, being somewhat rebellious at the beginning, she decided to quit her plan to become a teacher as she did not believe she would adapt to the many rules and frames in middle schools. In contrast, Maple seemed to align with such a tradition very well as during the TP she exercised the sense of authority which she borrowed from her MTs. Apart from such interpersonal asymmetrical power relationships and the micropolitics (Flores & Day, 2006) in the school culture, teachers social status and the social recognition and expectation of them might also become critical issues which affect STs decision about whether they should become a teacher and what kind of teachers they want to become after graduation. For example, Ms Qins
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administrative position in the school and her rich experience in ELT had inspired the STs respect for her, and the status of Ms Cheng and Ms Hui as teachers of Special Classes had somewhat attracted Maple to follow their behaviors unconsciously and regard the MTs as her future models. Besides the social ideology about teachers, the practical difficulties in the school, such as heavy workload (each teaching two classes of about 100 students and being the class teacher of one class), the limited professional upgrading opportunities and the pressure of professional title appraisal (for example, Ms Moks preparing for her MA thesis during her school work), the competition between classes about teaching results (one of the criteria for teaching awards and pay rise), and the need to face parents and participate in school-based activities (for example, open lessons or teaching research meetings) et cetera, all seemed to have to some extent affected the STs identity formation in the school-university partnership.

8.1.2 The interweaving of personal, institutional and social forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation By reviewing the STs socialization at different professional stages in the previous section, I highlighted the major forces that had influenced ST identity formation in the partnership school. In this section I shall further discuss how the multifaceted forces interwove to shape student teacher identities at personal, institutional and social levels.

From the learning-to-teach experiences of the STs, it can be seen that the profound history of traditional Chinese culture as well as the sociopolitical and economic development in Mainland Chinas modernization and internationalization had all been embodied in the educational systems and policies as well as the institutional norms and conventions implemented in universities and schools. Both the social and the institutional forces were found to shape the entire process of teacher professional development and identity formation. As both the global and local background of this study indicates, the long existing traditional cultural elements
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had become more and more complicated with the emerging sociopolitical and economic forces in the modern social structure. They then penetrated into the institutional discourses in both the university and the school in various discourses of educational policies and curriculum reforms (Orton, 2009), which in turn influenced the identity formation of every individual ST. By practicing teaching and negotiating the meaning of ELT within the school-university partnership, the STs exerted their influences back on the school and the university communities and further on the social structure via various forms of individual agencies. Such interweaving of the multifaceted forces is illustrated in Figure 8.1 as follows.
Social structure
Mediating Artifact 1 Mediation Artifact 3 Mediation Artifact 2

Subject3 Subject1 Object1 Outcome1 Rules 3 Community3 Division of Rules 1 Community1 Labor1

Object3 Outcome3 Object2 Outcome2 Division of Labor 3 Subject2

Division of Labor2 Community2 Rules 2

University discourse

S-U partnership

School discourse

Social structure
Figure 8.1: The interweaving forces affecting EFL pre-service teacher identity formation

First, the social public discourses have shaped the education objectives of both the universities and the schools. The emphasis on moral ethics in the traditional Chinese culture as represented in the principle of prioritizing moral goals remains a primary objective in both the discourses of universities or schools either in the frontpage of the brochure or website of introduction to the instititution, or the slogans on the walls of the campus, or the speeches of Teachers Day celebration every year. While all these moral education goals remain in the most

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conspicuous propaganda discourses, what has been concretized in the classroom seems to be the teaching and learning for various types of credentials ( Wenping). Diplomas has become the ID card of talents or the pass to success, which leads to a current diplomas craze in the country (Prosecutorial View Editorial, 2012, p. 8). The utilitarian education objectives in ancient Chinese education have taken on a modern sense---the goal to train sages and junzis has become the goal to foster various sorts of talents ( Rencai). Although many people still seek opportunities to serve the government by taking the popular exams for civil service exams ( Gongwuyuan Kaoshi), most of the students aim at obtaining various types of certificates and diplomas which are keys to occupation recruitments. Universities seem to have become diploma mills whose products (graduates) with certificates, such as the TEM 4, TEM 8, and Teacher Qualification Certificates in this study, are delivered to different talent seeking enterprises in the job market. Schools are thus the sites to provide sources of potential talents to the univerisities for processing. As education funds are still limited today, university enrollment (especially prestigeous universities) becomes the education objective of school principals, teachers, students and their parents. The actual inequalities in economic development, hence in education resources, existing between rural and urban, coastal and inland districts, Gaokao as a strict, open, and unified assessment system (L. B. Gao, 2003) seems to be a relatively fair and reliable means of competition for the limited university enrollment, as Gu (2006) points out, The biggest impact the imperial civil service examination system had on Chinese society was the credential value it created (p.180).

Second, the credential-pursuing education objective becomes the vane for classroom teaching which leads to the exam-oriented teaching content and pedagogy being legitimized in schools. In fact, such a craze for utilitarian credential value has aroused serious debates among professors about whether

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ELT goals in universities should aim at training composite talents28 (

Fuhexing Rencai) to cater for the needs of rapid economic development and

globalization, or fostering liberal and humanistic scholars who are qualified translators and interpretors (Y. H. Gao, 2009, p. 67). In basic education, the national curriculum reform was the most influential foundations for educational practice (Wang, 2007, p. 87). Implemented top-down from the MOE, the national curriculum reform had added pressure to the universities to reform the teacher education programmes for both pre-service and in-service teachers and to prepare them for the new challenges arose from the curriculum reform (Ryan, 2011). In teacher education higher institutions, in order to facilitate the implementation of ELT reforms in basic education, teacher educators became the trainers of NEC at national, provincial and local training courses and they advocated the progressive ELT theories and quality-oriented education objective to both pre-service and in-service English teachers. For the university STs in this study, on the one hand they were preparing for the TEM 4 and TEM 8 proficiency tests for future job-seeking credentials, on the other hand they were regurgitating the NEC concepts indoctrinated by their UTs which criticized the exam-oriented education and demarcated its objectives with the traditional ELT practices. While in the school in this study, the MTs were still pursuing enrollment rates ( Shengxuelu) as demanded by their principal, the parents and the entire society, and they dared not abandon the exam-oriented objectives. They took the NEC training courses and then showcased the new progressive ELT concepts they had mastered in the open lessons attended by the EdB teaching and research officials ( Jiaoyanyuan), but when they had their regular lessons, they returned to the traditional exam-oriented cramming and rote-learning teaching style, especially when they realized that the assessment system did not seem to have reformed much. For the STs, they were so familiar with Gaokao
28

An official guideline following Vice Premier Li Lanqings address in the 1996 conference in Beijing that the objective of English language Education was to produce composite talents, meaning a combination of English language skills plus knowledge in specific fields such as business, law and medicine(Gao,2009, p.67). 315

which had exerted a huge impact on their early education and had even changed their life. They could identify the sharp contrast between the traditional spoon-feeding ELT methods in their previous middle school lessons and the progressive teaching concepts advocated in the NEC demonstration lessons. In fact, the STs had witnessed the development of ELT in China. When they entered primary school in the middle 1990s, the CLT concepts were introduced into China and new textbooks were compiled to meet the communicative teaching objectives. When they entered junior middle school in 2001, the NEC was launched and later experimented in Guangdong. Nevertheless, after six-year observation of the teaching methods of their own previous English teachers, except for a few open lessons (for example, Lynn mentioned an open lesson rehearsal in her senior one lessons), the STs could not find any differences from their familiar exam-oriented spoon-feeding teaching in their English lessons. This paradox seemed to explain Kellys resistance to follow the progressive NEC concepts and her discarding the NEC Bible as useless; however, it might also explain why both Maple and Lynn were so earger to see some change in their own lessons by trying out the more progressive NEC concetps during their TP.

Third, in this study the overwhelming utilitarian education objective in the modern society intertwined with the deep-rooted traditional Chinese culture, which had created the particular school culture where the partnership activities were embedded. During TP, STs could not only observe the regular ELT classroom practices which have been designed and required by the formal curriculum of the university practicum documents, they could also witness the general behaviors, discourse strategies, values, judgements, moods and expectations of the teaching staff in the partnership school which had combined to form a hidden curriculum (Britzman, 2003) in the school. Within this hidden curriculum, STs might interpret the various types of hierarchical power relationship among people---not only those taken-for-granted ones between teacher and students or the explicit ones among the principal, the director, and the
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teaching staff, but also those less explicit ones between EdB officials and the school staff and between the parents and the teachers. There were even those implicit power relationships between Special Classes and Ordinary Classes and between those parents who may come from different social status with various economic, social, cultural or symbolic capitals (Bourdieu, 1984). Within such school discourse, students must obey the rules of their teachers who should keep a sense of authority before their students so as to suppress them. Among teachers, those with more years of teaching experience, higher professional title or administration position were supposed to be respected by those novice or inexperienced ones. In this sense, Maples obediance to Ms Huis suggestions seemed to have followed the norm, while Kellys negligence to Ms Huis advice was supposed to be defiant and impolite. As a teacher, a good mastery of teacher knowledge and high teacher qualifications were valuable currencies in the meaning economy of the school COP (Tsui, 2007; Wenger, 1998). For example, Ms Qin was admired both because of her administrative position and her ability to make higher level comments on teachers lessons; while Ms Mok was inexperienced and had to obtain an MA degree for professional upgrading. The currencies of the teachers were more commonly derived from their teaching results which were represented by the students improved average scores and the increased number of students enrolled by key senior middle schools. In the exam-oriented discourse, teachers ability to raise students scores seemed to be an even more powerful teacher currency that was well recognized by the social public. The relationship between teachers, students and parents in the school community was very subtle. Teachers have been conventionally regarded as the authority of knowledge in Chinese traditional culture, but this may become a burden on their professional life as they are also subject to stricter public scrutiny (X. Gao, 2008). In this study, parents were the social scrutinizer who would examine closely whether the teachers were qualified and experienced (in producing high-score students). Maple and her partner Jade were questioned by two top students in their Special Class (Their academic scores ranked the 2nd
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and the 4th among around 450 students) about their teaching plan. It seemed that, when students high scores became a kind of symbolic capital(Bourdieu, 1984), the relationship between teachers and students was no longer taken-for-granted. This could be reflected by the episode when one of the parents informed Ms Hui of her childs complaints about Janes insufficient notes on language-points in her English lessons. When the teachers teaching proficiency was not recognized by either the professional or non-professional public, there might be a sense of vulnerability in the teacher which might further lead to his/her abandoning of the profession (Jeffrey & Woods, 1996). This seemed to be exemplified by Kellys emotion in her earlier lessons. After she had been complained by her students, Kelly felt so sad and guilty that she decided to abandon teaching out of her sense of inferiority and self-criticism.

The discussion above indicates that the social, institutional and personal forces intertwined and condensed into two different curricula---an explicit formal curriculum and an implicit hidden curriculum. The formal curriculum informed the STs a publicly recognized ELT education goal---to train talents for the social, political and economic development of the country. The various talents are represented by different credentials as a result of competitive screening and selection through assessment systems such as Zhongkao and Gaokao. The credential-pursuing teaching objective and the high-stake assessment system in the formal curriculum are matched with different discourses of teaching content (What to teach?) and teaching methods (How to teach?) in the university and the school respectively, with the former advocating progressive ELT concepts and quality-oriented education while the latter following traditional exam-oriented practices. Apart from the impact of the regular formal curriculum, the STs identity formation was also constantly fashioned by the hidden curriculum which implies various subtle norms in terms of asymmetrical power relationships as well as various forms of teacher currencies in the meaning economy within the practicum COP (Wenger, 1998). As
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we can see from the above analysis, each of the three STs was consciously and subconsciously affected by both types of curricula. They either encountered tensions of unrecognized teacher professional competence or unharmonious interpersonal relationships with their MTs or students. I shall further address these various tensions and interpersonal relationships in the school-univeristy partnership in section 8.2 and the mutual shaping between STs identity formation and the dominant discourses in section 8.3.

8.2 Research Question 2: What are the tensions (if any) and interpersonal relations in school-university partnership? How do these contradictions affect the development of pre-service teacher identities? In this section, I shall explore the potential tensions and interpersonal relations in the TP by conceptualizing the school-university partnership community in a learning-to-teach activity system (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001) which hybridizes both institutional discourses as a result of the boundary-crossing expansive learning activities (Engestrom, 2001; Engestrom et al., 1995; Tsui & Law, 2007).

Instrument/mediation artefacts curriculum (NEC), lesson plans, teaching materials, teaching aids, ELT activities, notes, assignments, exams; class observation, post-lesson discussion, open lesson, class meeting, and other TP activities

Subjects STs/Ss

Object: ST professional development; Ss learning Outcomes: ST: teach according to university theories with improved management ability; Ss: pass tests with improved scores

Rules University TP document requirements School routine regulations and TP requirements

Community ST/MT/UT, Ss in different classes

Activity system of school-university partnership and contradictions (after Engestrom,1987)

Division of labour Ss: learn lessons and finish routine school activities ST: enact lessons, manage Ss and respond to MT/UTs comments MT: provide pedagogical/ management guidance & assessment to STs UT: provide supervision/ guidance /assessment to STs

Figure 8.2: Tensions in the School-University Partnership Activity System

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The above framework of school-university partnership activity system (Figure 8.2) helps us probe the complicated interrelatedness of the potential tensions and interpersonal relationships among the different components in the activity system. This new activity system (activity system 3 in Figure 8.1) was formed as boundary-crossing partnership embedded in the COP consisting of members of UTs, MTs, STs, as well as the students in one Special Class and three Ordinary Classes (community 3). Within this new activity system, both the STs and their students were co-learners in the new learning community (subjects 3). The object of the former was supposed to aim at their professional development through a process of applying the university theories to the school practicum context (object 3a, outcome 3a); while the object of the latter was the school students improved learning represented by increased test scores (object 3b, outcome 3b). To achieve these objects, the learning actions were mediated by a serious of artifacts including both the ELT instruments (e.g., NEC, English textbooks, teaching aids, classroom interactions, assignments, tests, et cetera) as well as the TP instruments (e.g., NEC documents, Methodology textbooks, lesson plans, class observation, post-lesson discussions, open lessons, et cetera)(mediation artifacts 3). The learning-to-teach process consisted of a series of goal-directed collective activities that was embedded in the partnership school COP, with the sociocultural relations between the subjects and the community mediated by the university Teaching Practicum Scheme as well as the school ELT teaching requirements and routine school management norms and regulations (rules 3). The division of labor among the community members mediated the transformation of the objects into outcomes through defining the duties and roles of the community members. In the teaching and learning within the practicum activity system, the school students learned the lessons and fulfilled their learning tasks, the STs delivered the lessons and tutored their students, the MTs offered pedagogical guidance, comments and assessment to the STs, and the UTs provided practicum supervision, suggestions and assessment to the STs (division of labor 3).

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8.2.1 Tension 1 (Primary tension) Echoing Tsui and Law (2007), the primary tension in the school-university partnership activity system existed in the inconsistency between the objects of the two collaborative institutions. In the university community (activity system 1), as was specified by the university Teaching Practicum Scheme, both the UTs and the STs aimed at pre-service teacher professional development which would be represented by the STs ability to apply their university-learned knowledge and skills into the school classroom practice (object 1, outcome 1). However, in the school community (activity s ystem 2), the MTs would put their own students learning at top agenda and focus largely on their students test scores (object 2, outcome 2). Such inconsistency between the objects of the two activity systems being the primary tension, other tensions as well as interpersonal conflicts seemed to be unavoidable.

8.2.2 Tension 2 It was worth noting that under the primary tension, inner contradictions further emerged which were first reflected from the tension (tension 2) between the STs (subject) ELT teaching beliefs and expectations about the teaching content (what to teach) and methods (how to teach) and their every day classroom teaching represented by their implementation of the MTs requirements on teaching objectives, teaching designs, teaching methods, selection of the teaching materials, medium of instruction and even teaching aids (mediation artifacts). With strong beliefs in the more progressive and advanced university ELT theories and NEC concepts, the STs did not seem to be ready for their MTs traditional teaching styles represented by the exam-oriented cramming on the side of the MT and the mechanical rote learning on the students. The incompatibility between the STs progressive ELT beliefs and the school traditional conventions could be identified from the contrasts elaborated in Table 8.2.

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Table 8.2: Contrast of ELT beliefs between university courses and school practice ELT in university Method Courses quality-oriented () foster students overall ability in language use pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, language functions and topics; language skills (L, S, R, W); cultural awareness; learning strategies emphasize learner affects (interest, motivation, confidence), using encouragement CLT/TBLT student-centered interesting learning (active learning by fulfilling meaningful tasks: games, discussions, pair/group-works, competition activities) formative and summative assessment English as main MOI modern multi-media teaching aids, PPT rich learning resources (internet learning websites, pictures, DVDs and CDs) flexible class-hour, unspecified teaching content high-English-proficiency, cooperative students ELT in school classroom practice exam-oriented () help students increase English test scores test points(grammar, vocabulary); mainly reading and listening, limited writing, no speaking; test-taking strategies ignore learner affects, using criticism and punishment Grammar-Translation Method teacher-centered monotonous learning (passive learning by underlining and copying notes, memorizing test points, reciting notes, vocabulary and texts, finishing assignments) summative assessment Chinese as main MOI traditional talk-and-chalk, blackboard textbook, supplementary exercises, English Weekly (a newspaper with unit tests) limited class-hour; plentiful specified teaching content low or intermediate-English-proficiency, (un)cooperative students

The contrast between the STs teaching expectations and the actual classroom ELT practices seemed to be so conspicuous that it could be felt even at the beginning of the practicum. However, with more and more teaching practice and growing understanding of the middle school context, the feeling that the university ELT theories were not readily applicable to the school classroom seemed to have aroused a sense of doubt about what they had learned in the university. It also made the STs feel confused and helpless about the situation, as one of the peers, Susan, complained with a sense of disappointment during the weekly group discussion.
I find it really contradictory. For example, when the teacher introduced Teaching Methodology in the university, she seldom talked about how to teach grammar points or how to teach these exam techniques. She would only teach you the techniques for reading and listening, but those techniques are never exam techniques, never! She taught you how to read and listen, but the mentor teaches you how to do the exam and get high
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scores. So, I think the two sides are a bit disjointed. The university seemed to teach us to pay more attention to the development of students quality, but in the school practice, the mentors urge their students to get higher scores, of course, the higher the better. So, I find the two sides are actually a bit different. What we were taught and what we are to use are different. So it seems to me that the university has made every one of us feel very na ve and simple, and it now gives us a push and tries to make us very sophisticated, and become kind of very, very different from what we thought before...Yes, I got very confused, because many things seem to have been kind of Well, theyre just inapplicable!, but I also have the feeling of helplessness about this... [Oct. 21, 2010 Weekly group discussion (part two) 58:44 underlining added]

The contradictory feeling of whether to insist on the university teaching theories or to simply follow the teaching conventions of their MTs seemed to become even obvious when the STs started to realize that the kind of mediation artifacts (mediation artifacts 3) they were to choose would directly affect the objects (object 3) of the students learning activities which was again related to the primary tension---the inconsistency between the object to improve the learning of the STs themselves by adopting their university ELT theories (object 1) and the object to help the school students improve their exam scores by following the local ELT conventions (object 2). The STs seemed to face the dilemma to decide which side they should take during their teaching. The students low proficiency level and the urgent need to improve their test scores seemed to have made them more sympathetic to the MTs traditional teaching style. However, they also assumed that tuning to the teaching style of the local exam-oriented teaching conventions would not be appreciated by their UTs, which might lead them to the risk of getting lower scores in their TP assessment.

8.2.3 Tension 3 During the practicum, tension also emerged between the STs (subjects) and the many rules in the partnership activity system including the school requirements and regulations and the university TP requirements (rules). Within the partnership activity system, the various rules were supposed to mediate the relationship between the subjects and the community. As the norms and regulations of an activity system were closely related to the culture of the community, when the STs
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entered the school activity system, they might not adapt to the school regulations and norms, which gave rise to the tensions. For example, the noon-rest regulation was not only a means of student management in the school but also an item of the class teacher tasks that would be assessed by the school as part of the class teachers student management performance. An inspector checked the noon-rest discipline who would deduct the points ( koufen) when s/he saw the students out of order. As the students had a rather full schedule of lessons during the day, the two-hour noon-rest seemed to be the only suitable time for the STs to obtain more information of their students through tutoring and free chatting with them. However, such activities were considered improper as the class teacher MTs assumed that the STs were not able to control the discipline. The MTs then set a new rule that STs were not suggested to observe the noon-rest discipline of their classes. Being informed of such a new requirement (rules) by both the MTs and the head teacher of the grade, the STs (subjects) became somewhat upset by both their students and the new rule as it might be a signal of the MTs distrust in their class management ability or even a gentle complaint that STs were the sources of the students noises since their stay in the classroom might arouse their students curiosity and gossips. The tension between the STs and the school norms had to some extent constrained the STs creativity and agency; for example, Lynns noon-rest tutorial in the classroom was misinterpreted as the cause of students discipline problem, her suggestion to assign students to take care of the athletes in the school sports day was denied by Ms Mok as improper, and Kellys carefully designed class alignment pattern for the sports day was also cancelled by Ms Hui.

It should be noted that the tension between STs (subject) and the school requirements (rules) was not only related to the STs own inadaptability to the school norms but also related to the malfunctioning of the university Teaching Practicum Scheme as a foreign regulation for their MTs. Due to the MTs disregard of their mentor duties specified by the university practicum documents, the STs did not receive their due guidance and practice. When the UTs seldom
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visited the placement school, the requirements of the university Teaching Practicum Scheme were practically ignored by the MTs, as both Ms Hui and Ms Poon admitted that they seldom referred to the university documents during the practicum. I shall further elaborate on the MTs neglect of their duties in tension 4.

8.2.4 Tension 4 According to Activity Theory, both rules and the division of labor are very important in an activity system as they specify the requirements among different community members in terms of who should do what and how they are supposed to behave to achieve the object of the activity system (Engestrom, 1987; Tsui & Law, 2007). To guarantee the TP activities, the university had described in bullet points the division of labor in the university Teaching Practicum Scheme (See Appendix 3), which had been issued to all STs, MTs and UTs. According to the university documents, the STs were to enact the English lessons, manage the students regular activities, and respond to the comments from both MTs and UTs; the MTs were to provide pedagogical and management demonstrations and guidance and assessment to their mentees; and the UTs were to offer their supervision, guidance and assessment to the STs. Based on the specifications of the TP documents, the STs were both learners and performers (subject) and they were supposed to follow the suggestions and advice of both their MTs and UTs who were demonstrators, guides, supervisors, and assessors for their learning-to-teach activities (division of labor). However, even though the duties and the roles of all community members had been specified in the documents, it seemed to be no guarantee that every members duties were duely performed. During the TP, there seemed to be practical reasons that did not allow the STs to have all due guidance, suggestions, and advice from their assigned guides, supervisors, and assessors. The UTs and some of the MTs did not perform their duties as specified. As a result, there existed another tension between STs (subject) learning to teach and the missing of guidance and supervision which they had expected and were supposed to have (division of labor). For example,
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due to the geographical location of the placement school, the MTs, like Ms Hui and Ms Poon, could stay with the STs almost every day. They not only observed their mentees lessons, but also offered pre-lesson suggestions and post-lesson feedbacks and comments. While compared with the MTs, the UTs could not have as much influence on the STs since they seemed to have more practical hindrance including heavy teaching workload in the university, different administration meetings and activities, inconvenient travelling, and above all, the need to travel to the countryside to observe lessons by the STs who taught in rural schools. With heavy workload, the two UTs could only manage to visit the school three times, observe three lessons, and attend only one tripartite post-lesson conference. The cohort did not have even one pre-lesson discussion with their UTs, nor did they have their lesson plans confirmed before class or their teaching commented after class, even though all these were supervisor duties specified in the university TP documents. The absence of the university teachers and the silence of their voices had actually affected the STs teaching experiences and their professional development (object 3). The primary tension between the object of the university activity system (object 1) and the object of the school activity system (object 2) dominating the TP activities, the STs seemed to be very eager to have their UTs help them justify their designs and clarify their puzzles and confusions during the TP. The contrast between the STs keen expectation for the UTs guidance and the practical unavailability of such support seemed to have constituted a sense of disappointment and complaint, as again reflected in Susans words and the unanimous empathetic applauses during the cohort weekly group discussion. Susan: ...Because now were still not so experienced, if theres a teacher giving guidance
beside us, I think the effect would be very different. So, it seems to me theyve thrown us aside like this and then just come to see our open lessons once, which really strikes me as a bit irresponsible, and frankly speaking, they really are. And I also find something particularly regretful. That is, like what Mr Xia (one university Method Course teacher) said, Its very difficult to change those stuff for the time being, maybe we can only use them in the open lessons or in classes whose students are better learners. But what if I wont teach a better class or wont have an open lesson in my life?! Does it mean what Ive learned is all in vain?! So I think theres something, if youve already expected the reality is actually not like that, why did you teach us in that way?! And then if youve
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expected the reality is not like that, why didnt you teach us how to deal with it?! So I really think this way, alas, theres really a big problem in it! (All applauded)

Jade: Wonderful speech! Maple: Bravo! All: Hahahah...

[Oct. 21, 2010 Weekly group discussion (part two) 59:28, underlining added]

The STs disappointment seemed to arise from the lack of confidence in language teaching during the practicum due to the lack of experience and the dissatisfaction about their teaching effects that mainly followed the local exam-oriented style. They seemed to intend to initiate some change in the traditional cramming and spoon-feeding of ELT in the school, but they were unsure about their under-practiced teaching theories, immature teaching designs, and unfamiliarity with the authentic school context. All these reflected the tension between the object and the mediation artifacts in the university activity system (object 1; mediation artifacts 1) and the exam-oriented motives in the school community (object 2). The ELT theories and practices in the university pre-service teacher education program seemed to represent discourses that were disjointed from the school ELT context. The STs had strong motivation to consolidate their university theories and the ELT methods, strategies, and techniques they had acquired by allowing them full play during the TP. However, after they entered the school, they realized that many of their previously learned theories, concepts and methods were discounted (as in Maples lessons in the Special Class) or even almost inapplicable (as in Lynns and Kellys Ordinary Classes). In this sense, UTs seemed to play an indispensible role in offering suggestions. For example, Maple regarded the UTs as a bridge between the theories and practice that helps us connect the two aspects. She wished to have such a bridge accompanying them and assumed that the UTs would not agree with their abandoning the university progressive ELT concepts, as she imagined their words, Why didnt you use them?! Youve learned Teaching Methodology theories, why didnt you use them?! Maple also expected that the UTs would propose this or that theory to support them. According to the STs, the comments of their UTs would be very
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different from those of their MTs. However, during the TP, without the presence of the UTs, for most of the time the STs had to design the lessons by themselves with the ELT theories and concepts still vague in their mind. Under a busy schedule and the pressure from both the MTs and the school, the STs could not afford the time to think about the university theories but just followed their MTs requirements instead. In fact, the STs had found themselves somewhat assimilated into the local ELT conventions that they deemed as inadequate. Reflecting on their UTs words, Susan felt particularly regretful as she seemed to realize that even the UTs themselves had admitted the limitation of the university theories and that they might not be readily applicable to the general classroom contexts. This implied that even if their university teachers were in the placement school, they might not be able to propose more effective answers as they had expected. As a result, a sense of dissatisfaction arose. Combined with the disappointment, it grew into irritated complaints that the UTs had actually taught them something very idealized with clear awareness of their impracticality in classroom teaching but without any intention to help them go out of the already expected dilemma they were facing, as Susan elaborated on her feeling with the metaphor, Its just like the feeling that after you had taught us, you threw us here, and then let us stew in our own juice. Such complaints about the UTs irresponsibility seemed to have been shared among the other members, who gave Susan the unanimous applauses. It was worth noting that the tension between the STs (subject) wish to have the UTs supervision and guidance and the actual missing of their voices due to their failure to perform their duties (division of labor) was closely related to the other tensions in the school-university partnership activity system; for example, the tension between the objects of the school and the university activity systems (primary tension) and the tension of the inconsistencies between the university progressive theories and the local spoon-feeding ELT conventions (Mediation artifacts) (tension 2). The emerging of tension 4, represented by the UTs failure to visit the school regularly, seemed to have further discouraged the STs to find solutions for the previous tensions (primary
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tension and tension 2); hence, the inner contradictions further interwove to produce complexities that were more intricate in the partnership activity system.

On the side of the MTs duties, due to their focus on English teaching, class teacher tasks seemed to be relatively less concerned. The class teacher tasks were vague and they varied between different MTs. As a result, the tension between the subjects and the improper division of labor occurred. For example, being relatively inexperienced in mentoring STs, Ms Mok failed to perform her duties specified in the university TP documents. She did not introduce Lynn or Daisy to her students officially, nor did she provide sufficient class information to her mentees. She did not assign class teacher tasks clearly to the STs, and even somewhat discouraged their attempts to organize more activities for the class. She did not allow her mentees to observe her class-meeting lesson, nor was she willing to participate in the class meeting organized by Daisy. Ms Moks failure to perform her duties not only resulted in her abandonment of her class teacher mentor position, but also led to the possible deprivation of her mentees opportunities to practice their role as class teachers, since Lynn and Daisy had to try very hard to compensate for the lack of guidance from Ms Mok.

Contrary to Lynn, Maples MT was very generous in assigning work to her. However, due to the lack of a clear definition about class teacher duties, Ms Chengs work assignments to Maple and Jade appeared to be far more than those of their peers in other classes. Some of the tasks, for instance, the grading of the Chinese assignments, seemed to be somewhat irrelevant to the STs duty; other tasks might be too demanding for STs to accomplish without the guidance of the MT, for example, the filling in the official document Class Teacher Work Plan which consisted of many items that were beyond the knowledge and experience of Maple who had just entered the school. Without much concrete instruction and suggestions, the class teacher tasks might become very difficult for Maple who did not have such practice in the university. As for Maples class meeting, Ms
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Cheng was very encouraging and adopted her mentees class meeting lesson plan as part of the content in her open class-meeting lesson; however, for the preparation of the class meeting, it seemed that the MT could have provided guidance in revising and adding teaching content during the lesson planning, instead of just asking Maple to design it all by herself. It also seemed to be improper for Ms Cheng to suggest cancelling Maples own class-meeting to compensate for the lost time spent in preparing her open class meeting. As class meeting was one of the major duties for the STs and an important opportunity for them to communicate with their students, the cancellation of Maples own class meeting seemed to be regretful for Maple as the lack of rapport with her students had somewhat affected her teaching during the practicum.

As Tsui and Law argue, The division of labor... mediates the transformation of the object of the activity system into the outcome (2007, p. 1291), the tension between the STs (subject) learning to teach and the UTs failure to perform their duties as well as the MTs improper work assignments or ignoring of their mentoring duties (division of labor) had to some extent affected the professional development of the STs (object). The unreasonable division of labor as well as the UTs and MTs failure to obey the TP rules all exerted an impact on the relation between the subjects and the community---the tension of interpersonal relations within the COP, which I shall discuss in the coming section.

8.2.5 Tension 5 According to Lopez-Real et al. (2009), UTs tend to be placed in the position of authority figure among tripartite relationship in the practicum. In this study, the long time absence of UTs resulted in somewhat special tripartite conference and it also implied a sense of asymmetrical power relationship among the tripartite members. The UTs attendance to the open lessons had changed the MTs requirements in lesson planning. Unlike in the regular lessons, the MTs encouraged Maple and Lynn to use as many university theories and concepts as
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possible and insisted on the principle of teaching English through English. The higher position of the UTs and the more authoritative intellectual power they were expected to possess seemed to be also identified from the somewhat tacit arrangement on the sequence of speeches made by different attendants; namely, the STs reflected on both the pros and cons of their lessons first, then the MTs provided suggestions for improvement, the director made her comments next, and finally the UT, respected to be as important as the school leaders or experts, made her conclusive remarks after listening to all other members reports. Comparing the comments on student teaching by MTs and UTs, the STs could find that the MTs seemed to focus more on concrete details such as lesson completeness, organization clarity, task difficulty appropriateness, student participation and response, time control and basic teaching skills, et cetera; while their UTs would concern more about whether the STs followed the teaching procedures recommended in the university Method Courses. For example, Ms Yip said the STs had mixed the teaching of reading with the teaching of grammar which were different according to the Methodology book. Similarly, Ms Kong suggested that STs should not neglect teaching reading strategies and should arouse students awareness of the affective factors in the lesson. The UTs suggestions reflected the major NEC objectives (e.g., learner strategy and affect). The presence of the UTs added more current and advanced theories and concepts to the post-lesson tripartite conference, which seemed to impress the STs as more fruitful and beneficial as it reminded them of their university courses. Again, echoing Lopez-Real, Law and Tang (2009), the STs in this study seemed to prefer a more passive position during the post-lesson tripartite conference, they seemed to be more responsive to the comments and suggestions of their UTs or MTs and did not intend to raise issues for discussion. During the tripartite discussion, STs seemed to prefer to remain silent, which was very different from their heated discussions after the routine post-lesson conferences. Ms Hui, the head English teacher in the grade, realized the STs different attitudes toward their MTs and their UTs, They become very nervous when they know that their university teachers are coming to
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observe their lessons. Some of the STs later said they wanted to allow more time for their MTs and UTs to make more valuable comments and suggestions, while others said they were afraid that they were not qualified enough to make any contributions. For Kelly, she admitted that she did not like commenting on others and she had the worry that she might say something wrong in her comments.

The asymmetrical power relationship did not only lie in the tripartite conferences but was also obvious in the mentor-mentee dyad relationships. Although the university ELT concepts sounded more authoritative and popular among tripartite conferences, there seemed to be the tendency that university voices became gradually faint although not totally muted as the TP moved on. After a few lessons, the university theories gradually gave way to the school ELT conventions, which could be reflected in some STs fully adopting the more traditional Grammar-Translation Method (like Kelly), others unconsciously imitating their MTs exam-oriented instruction (like Lynn), and still others abandoning the university theories helplessly after unfulfilled attempts (like Maple). Without the presence of the UTs, the asymmetrical relationship existed mainly between the MTs and the STs, which seriously affected their teaching behavior and decision-making.

While the STs gradual abandonment of their university theories showed an implicit tension existing between the STs (subjects) and their UTs who were the infrequent participants of the activity system (community), an explicit tension also emerged in the different dyad relationships between STs and MTs, and the absence of the UTs might even place the two participating sides in directly contradictory positions. Given the role and the duty of the MTs specified as guides and assessors in the university TP documents, STs were supposed to be in more passive and responsive positions (Lopez-Real et al., 2009), and such unequal power relationship might be somewhat related to the traditional Chinese virtue of obedience. This being the case, there seemed to be a norm beyond dispute that
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MTs were entitled to having their own rules over their mentees apart from the common requirements in the macro school-university activity system. When such public discourse was imposed on STs with different personalities, a complicated situation appeared. In Kellys story, Ms Huis many rules and regulations, implicit criticism in post-lesson discussions, remote control in Kellys lessons, and her abrupt cancelling of Kellys alignment pattern design combined to arouse Kellys humiliation, sadness and disappointment. All negative emotions led to the STs claim to the public her intention to abandon the occupation as a means of resistance to her MTs authority. In Maples TP experience, she dared not say no to Ms Chengs somewhat unreasonable extra tasks even though she had to sacrifice her own class-meeting lesson. She did not try to negotiate with Ms Hui about her well-thought ideas but mainly followed what the MT suggested. In fact, Maple seemed to be very willing to follow her MTs advice, for example, Ms Chengs sense of authority before students and Ms Huis instruction for novices to speak less and do more. Maples alignment with the hierarchical relationship between teachers/mentors and students/mentees not only became a guiding principle for her TP but also an obstacle to her rapport with the students. For Lynn, she felt very lucky to have Ms Poon as her English teacher mentor who were friendly, very willing to share, and very generous to allow her to try out her own thoughts. However, in her class teacher tasks, Lynn was puzzled, disappointed, embarrassed and even depressed by the many hindrances she encountered when she was trying to do something for the students. In fact, Ms Moks indifference, nonparticipation, and refusal to inform or support had added to Lynns difficulty in carrying out her TP goals. The misunderstanding and the lack of communication between Lynn and Ms Mok also reflected the asymmetrical power relationship between MTs and STs, which seemed to be negative to the latters professional development.

Grounded in Activity Theory (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001), in this section I have conceptualized five different tensions and interpersonal conflicts within the
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school-university partnership activity system. In Section 8.3, I shall further explore how the multifaceted social discourses and the institutional tensions and interpersonal relationships combined to shape and were at the same time shaped by the STs identity formation during the TP.

8.3 Research Question 3: How do pre-service teacher identities shape (and are simultaneously shaped by) the discourses in school-university partnership? The above discussion on the interconnected tensions and interpersonal asymmetrical power relationships within the school-university partnership activity system has illuminated the ongoing hybridizing of the norms and rules of both the formal and the hidden curricula within the social and the institutional discourses. On the one hand, the dominant discourses had led to various disagreements, conflicts, resistance, and compliance between STs, MTs, and UTs, which had exerted tremendous impact on the STs identity formation during their practicum in the partnership school; on the other hand, their later transformations in ELT and student management practices had also exerted noticeable influence on the school-university partnership as a whole. The mutual shaping between the STs identities and the dominating discourses seemed to have arisen from the different STs identity negotiations within both the global COP and the local sub-cops (Wenger, 1998) and their continuous arguing for their voices through reflections and ethical creative agencies (Clarke, 2009; MacLure, 1993).

8.3.1 EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in COP and sub-cops Within the community of practice (COP) of school-university partnership, the members of UTs, MTs, STs and school students participated in various teaching and learning practices and formed different sub-cops: the sub-cops of teachers (T-cops) which consisted of STs, MTs and UTs engaging in the collaborative ELT practices and professional reflections in the partnership COP, and also the sub-cops of STs and their students (S-cops) which had classroom ELT activities, routine school tasks, extracurricular activities as well as casual conversations and
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interactions together.

A review of the STs teaching practice indicates very different identity formation trajectories. Although they had all obtained legitimacy of access to practice in the COP at the beginning of the practicum, their participation and peripherality in different sub-cops were largely different, which resulted in their forming different identities during the TP. For example, due to inexperience and insufficient preparation, Kellys teaching ability was not recognized by Ms Hui. When Ms Hui tried to remind Kelly of her teaching limitations by making constant comparisons between Kellys lessons and her peers, she aroused Kellys inferiority and aversion, which resulted in Kellys non-participation in the T-cop activities and her marginalized identity as the TP tasks went on. Contrary to Kelly, Maples proficient teaching and active engagement in teaching planning and group discussion activities helped her achieve favorable comments from both Ms Hui and her peers. Her capability to design activities for the open class-meeting lesson also enabled her to obtain the recognition of her class teacher mentor. Both competencies legitimated Maple to participate centripetally towards the full-participant position and to form a peripheral identity in the T-cop. Although Maple felt somewhat regretful for not being able to implement her university ELT concepts, she seemed to fully align with her MTs advocacy of non-egalitarian teacher-student relationship and she followed their advice to establish a sense of authority before the students and tried to keep a distance from them. For Lynn, her skillful teaching designs and active participation were both valued by Ms Poon and the peer STs. Although the student involvement in her early lessons was very low, after great efforts, Lynns engagement and teaching competence had been well recognized by the T-cop of English teachers, which legitimated her to lead a trajectory of peripheral identity. However, in Lynns early class teacher tasks, due to the lack of support from Ms Mok, she actually could not obtain legitimate peripherality in her class teacher tasks. Although she had tried to engage in student management, she could not make much progress as she could
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find herself stuck in a non-participation state. This implied Lynns marginalized identity in both the S-cop of Class Five and the T-cop of class teachers.

Within the practicum COP, the practices in the T-cops seemed to be inseparable from those in the S-cops. This interrelatedness between sub-cops also affected the STs identity formation. For example, Kellys unsatisfactory teaching at the beginning led to her students being detained by Ms Hui, which became a cause of alienation between Kelly and her students that hindered her from participating in the S-cop. Kellys imagination that she was not suitable for teaching further led her to the marginalized identity among the T-cop. However, after reflecting on her teaching, Kelly changed her attitude towards the students and engaged more actively in her teaching as well as communicating with her students. Kellys engagement in student-teacher communication also enabled her to participate in the S-cop. Her later teaching that was based on both her engagement in the class teacher tasks and her imagination of the students needs helped her win the recognition and support of her students and regain her confidence in teaching. Kellys later achievements in her class teacher tasks, such as the results of the sports day and her class meeting, helped her change Ms Huis attitude towards her gradually and re-gain the MTs recognition, which was an indication of her re-participation in the COP peripherally.

Unlike Kelly, Maples participation in the S-cop was very limited due to both objective and subjective reasons. Objectively, her class teacher mentor did not encourage her to stay with the students too much to foster autonomy in the students. Maple also found her Special Class students very self-disciplined. Both the MTs attitude and the students behavior seemed to legitimize Maples non-participation and she thus considered it no need to engage in individual education with the students. As a result, Maple limited her communication with the students mainly in the ELT classroom. She did not have her own class-meeting lesson, which further resulted in her missing the important chance to establish
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rapport with her students. Subjectively, Maples indifference and lack of engagement in individual moral education with the students as well as her alignment with the MTs advice to keep a distance with the students all contributed to her non-participation in the S-cop. Her sense of authority not only hindered her from identifying herself as a member of the S-cop, but also hampered her English teaching and student management as she could find some students defied her instructions, violated discipline during her lessons, and refused to cooperate in her open lesson. Maples failure to obtain the S-cop membership also led to her marginalized identity among her students.

Similar to Kelly, Lynns participation in the S-cop was limited at the early stage due to both Ms Moks indifference towards her mentorship tasks (her negligence in introducing Lynn and Daisy to the class and mentoring their later work) and the Ordinary Class students habitual inertia in English lessons and unruliness in routine school activities. Under such unfavorable situation, Lynn was stuck in a marginalized identity among the S-cop. However, with a wish to change the inanity state in her Ordinary Class, Lynn tried hard to participate in the learning and leisure activities in the S-cop. Through engaging in communication and various means of encouragement, Lynn established rapport with the students. She also imagined the students interests and difficulties by reflecting on her own previous English learning experience. Lynns growing knowledge and gradual understanding of the students enabled her to design more culturally compatible English lessons and class meeting for her students. Her active participation and her progress in ELT and student management were valued by both her students and her MTs (including Ms Poon and Ms Mok), which enabled Lynn not only to obtain the membership in the S-cop but also enhance her peripheral identity in the COP as reflected from her improved teaching effects in the later lessons and her being recognized as the Excellent Student Teacher at the end of the practicum.

8.3.2 Learning to teach as ethico-political identity formation

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The discussion of the STs different identity formation trajectories enables us to conceptualize the process of how EFL pre-service teachers negotiated their identities in the COP and the sub-cops and how the different discourses in the global and local communities shaped their professional selves. In the following paragraphs, I shall further discuss the different identity formation trajectories from an ethico-political perspective by focusing on the impact of STs critical, ethical and creative agencies on their identity formation.

Addressing ST identity formation from Clarkes (2009) framework of doing teacher identity indicates that, among the four ethico-political axes of teacher identity, the telos of teacher identity has the crucial force which affects teacher s awareness of his/her substance, selection of modes of subjection, and adoption of self-practices. In Kellys story, we can see how her vague and fluctuating telos of teacher identity had affected her identity formation within the intertwining social and institutional discourses. Without strong telos to become a teacher, Kelly did not have sufficient motivation to consolidate her teacher professional knowledge, nor did she have adequate understanding of teaching methodology (e.g., She simply regarded the Methodology textbook as useless.) (mode of subjection). Her neglect of teacher professional knowledge resulted in her lack of active participation in professional learning and her non-participation in teaching practice before the TP (self-practices). However, the STs story also indicates that the telos of a teacher can be constantly affected by the discourses around him/her. Kellys vague telos seemed to have been clarified through her frequent interactions with the students and her increasing care about them (self-practices). The clearer telos allowed Kelly to realize her concern about people and things as well as her keenness on listening to and analyzing people (substance). With lucid telos of teacher identity, Kelly activated her belief that English teaching should be integrated with student management and that teachers should be responsible for students growth (mode of subjection). The changed attitude also allowed her to engage more in her teaching and student management activities in the latter part
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of TP (self-practices). The trust and support of her students and the later recognition by Ms Hui both helped Kelly identify her telos of teacher identity---to be a qualified class teacher.

Like Kelly, Maples telos of teacher identity had also been somewhat waving in her identity formation trajectory. Although Maple wished to be both an effective and egalitarian teacher before the TP (telos), her telos was adjusted soon after she entered the practicum as the school discourses around her (especially the discourse of her Special Class) had persuaded her to change her belief that teachers should have a sense of authority in front of their students and should remain a distance from them (mode of subjection). The change of mode of subjection resulted in its contradiction with her telos to be an egalitarian teacher, which Maple discarded to allow herself to concentrate on her telos of being an effective teacher. Maples passion and enthusiasm in teaching (substance), her strong belief in the importance of teacher professional knowledge and the progressive ELT concepts (mode of subjection), her unceasing engagement in improving teaching, as well as her compliance with the MTs advice (self-practices) all combined to facilitate her achieving the telos of being an effective teacher to some extent. However, her sense of teacher authority (mode of subjection) and her neglect of communication with her students (self-practices) also somewhat impeded her progress to become a real effective teacher (telos), as was reflected from her depression for her unsatisfactory open lesson at the end of the TP.

Compared with her peers, Lynn had developed a relatively clear and strong telos---to become a qualified teacher with positive influence on her students (telos). However, Lynns story showed that neither aspect in her telos was easy to attain. Lynn found that she had a special fondness of the students and the teaching profession. She was also somewhat confident that her being a good student in early education might become a positive model for her students (substance). Lynn
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had deep belief that teacher professional knowledge and the progessive ELT concepts are indispensable for teachers (mode of subjection). She participated very actively in collective teaching planning, adjustment and discussion among the T-cop (self-practices). However, under the special situation of her Ordinary Class, all these seemed to be only necessary but insufficient conditions for fulfilling of her telos because she neither activated the students motivation in her teaching nor helped them become disciplined in her early class teacher tasks. Nevertheless, Lynns sincere wish to have some positive influence on her students (telos) seemed to have caused her to reflect on her students situation and the efforts she could make. It was in the various friendly, encouraging, and enlightening communications with the students, either in noon-rest tutorials, grading assignments, or the meaningful class-meeting lesson (self-practices) that Lynn realized the traditional Chinese motto (Jiaoshu Yuren, meaning teaching knowledge and educating people) still has its significant meaning in the modern society, and she interpreted the motto as, Educating people is more important than teaching knowledge (mode of subjection). Lynns critical reflection and her ethical and creative agencies had enabled her to see the potential to achieve her telos as she could find the minor but gradual progress in her students improvement both in learning attitudes and the awareness of their future goals. Lynns endeavor to make teaching and moral education adjustments (self-practices) seemed to have derived from her love of the students and the teaching career (substance) as well as her strong sense of mission to exert positive influence on the students (telos). The four ethico-political axes of teacher identity in Lynn both interconnected and interacted to enable her to struggle for her professional self under the dominant social and institutional discourses and to exercise her individual agency in ELT transformations within the practicum COP.

8.4 Summary In this chapter I have discussed how the overwhelming national and international sociopolitical and economic development and the deep-rooted mindsets of
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traditional Chinese culture intertwined to normalize and stereotype the public discourses in the social structure, and how they further permeated into both the university and the school activity systems and shaped the STs identity formation by means of formal curriculum and hidden curriculum (Section 8.1). It is against such a background of complex interactions of social, institutional, and personal forces that I observed the STs identity formation within the partnership activity system that had been replete with tensions, interpersonal conflicts, asymmetrical power relationships as a result of the STs struggles for identities in the contradictory discourses between the university and the school (Section 8.2).

The discussion of the mutual shaping between ST identity formation and social discourses (Section 8.3) showed that, under the control and constraints of the public norms, rules and regulations, STs multi-memberships in different sub-cops, for example, their participation in the local S-cops, might become potential spaces for those STs at marginalized positions to negotiate for their identities and struggle for their membership in the global COP. The discussion of the STs learning-to-teach experience from Clarkes (2009) framework for doing teacher identity revealed that even under the domination of the discourses from both social structure and institutions, STs might still have their choices for pursuing their own freedom of identity formation. However, the different TP experiences of the three STs also reminded us that such choices were not indulgent or made at their free will, but were based on their critical and ethical reflections of the relationship between the STs themselves and their own students. These critical and ethical deliberations as well as the creative agencies they might exercise demanded the STs to have clear and strong telos of teacher identity, which exerted impact on the other ethico-political axes within the framework and triggered the interactions between each other during the STs continuous arguing for (MacLure, 1993) their professional identities.

By teasing out the STs identity formation from the complexities of the
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intertwining social, institutional and personal forces, I seemed to have identified more issues that demand my critical reflection as a researcher and teacher educator in the theoretical and pedagogical field of ELT education and teacher professional development: for example, the goal and the pedagogy of ELT education and teacher education, teacher identities and their pursuit of freedom, the relationship between freedom and ethics, as well as the inseparable unity between the care of the self and the care of the other (Foucault, 1983a, 1986, 1997a). I shall further elaborate on these issues in Chapter 9.

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CHAPTER NINE

CONCLUSION

After an overall discussion of the complexities of interaction between ST identity formation and the dominant discourses in both the school and the university, in this chapter I shall further highlight the theoretical and pedagogical significance of this study for future teacher identity research as well as teacher education in school-university partnership context. I shall also point out the limitations of this study and propose some suggestions for future research that focus on EFL pre-service teacher identity studies in school-university partnership.

9.1 The significance of the study This section discusses both the theoretical and the pedagogical significance of this research by further elaborating on the integration of the two theoretical approaches which underpin the conceptual framework of the present study and proposing a critical ethical pedagogy for EFL pre-service teacher education programmes and school-university partnership practices for ELT teacher professional development.

9.1.1

A conceptual

framework

integrating

both

sociocultural

and

poststructural perspectives In this study, I have adopted a conceptual framework that was based on the integration of two complementary theoretical perspectives---the sociocultural and the poststructural approaches (Morgan, 2007) to address issues of pre-service teacher identity formation under the ELT and teacher education reform in Mainland China in the first decade of the 21st century. The sociocultural approach was adopted to conceptualize EFL pre-service teachers learning to teach as a social practice through a process of boundary-crossing (Engestrom et al., 1995; Tsui & Law, 2007) within a school-university partnership activity system (Engestrom, 1987, 1999, 2001) which was embedded in a COP (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) consisting of members from different community

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backgrounds. Within the COP, identity formation was a dual process of meaning negotiability and membership identification (Wenger, 1998) which developed in a trajectory of legitimate peripheral participation towards the full-participation insider position (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Based on Engestroms (2001) Activity Theory of expansive learning, I probed the interconnected tensions and interpersonal asymmetrical power relationships that arose from the

inter(intra)-institutional cultural dissonances and inconsistencies and then explored the impact of these tensions and contradictions on the STs identity formation. From the poststructuralist perspective, I interpreted the notion of teacher identity from its interrelation with discourse---the poststructuralist theory of language, and the related constructs of power and agency (Britzman, 1994; Clarke, 2009; Norton, 2000, 2010; Weedon, 1997; Zembylas, 2003b). I thus explored the various social, cultural, historical, political and economic discourses which were interwoven into the complexities of both a formal curriculum and a hidden curriculum (Britzman, 2003) in the school-university partnership communities that were constantly shaping/being shaped by the STs identities during their teaching practice. Accordingly, I conceptualized pre-service teacher identity formation as a process of interaction between social structure and individual agencies (Clarke, 2009; Miller Marsh, 2002) during which the STs argued for (MacLure, 1993) their professional self within the tensions of dominating discourses between university progressive ELT concepts and the school traditional exam-oriented pedagogy.

The integration of both the sociocultural and the poststructural perspectives may serve as a potentially promising theoretical and methodological conceptual tool for the investigation of teacher identity formation in school-university partnership contexts (Morgan, 2007; Morgan & Clarke, 2011; Varghese et al., 2005). The present study provides implications for EFL teacher education research that teacher identity formation cannot be isolated from the sociocultural, historical, political and economic environments where teachers grow up and develop through
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an entire professional socialization process. The sociocultural and poststructural approaches are integrated to provide a more comprehensive theoretical lens for exploring teacher identity formation from a holistic and developmental perspective, taking into global and local, temporal and spatial forces, all of which intertwine into a social ecology of complexities between individual and social, personal and political, self and other, and structure and agency.

Drawing on the sociocultural Activity Theory of expansive learning (Engestrom, 2001) and situating the research in a school-university partnership context (Tsui, Edwards, et al., 2009), researchers may have more immediate and holistic ethrographic observation as well as more in-depth and reflective interpretation of the inter-institutional cultural dissonances, the theory vs practice, traditional vs progressive and exam-oriented vs quality-oriented conflicts, the asymmetrical power relationships (between teaching staff, school administrators, student parents and EdB officials), the interpersonal tensions (between UTs, MTs, STs and school students) as well as other contradictions emerging during the learning-to-teach and mentoring activities within the boundary-crossing partnership context. By identifying the complicated interconnectedness of the components within the school-university partnership activity system, researchers may avoid being trapped by the over-simplistic and decontextualized nature of the positivist epistemological perspectives (Johnson, 2009).

Analyzing teacher identity formation from a poststructuralist lens, which gives more attention to the possibility of transformation of social and identity structures through individual agency, the ST identity should not be understood as something predetermined like role, function or duty (Britzman, 1994); nor should it be interpreted as a fixed stage at the lowest professional hierarchy that is supposed to be, in Ms Huis terms, obedient subordinates. In this study, we can see STs constantly suspecting, critiquing, rejecting, and transforming the normative discourses in the COP which was affected by the UTs uncritical
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advocacy of the progressive ELT theories to the (student) teachers regardless of the specific classroom conditions on the one hand, and the MTs refusal to reform the traditional exam-oriented mechanical classroom spoon-feeding on the other. Although some STs (like Maple) chose to comply with the various normative institutional rules, others (like Kelly and Lynn) did struggle very hard to resist them and at the same time find alternatives to face the challenges arising from the dominant discourses. Therefore, researchers should not be trapped by the taken-for-granted view that Maples professional agency as embodied in her institutionally recognized competence as well as her historically and culturally compatible obedience must help her achieve not only the currencies of negotiability but also the identification of membership, as we could also find Maples sense of gloominess and disappointment at the end of the TP even though she had invested a great deal of time and effort in her teaching. A poststructuralist view of agency seems to provide a richer understanding of the concept. Instead of understanding it as a somewhat continuous property that is socially distributed or shared as understood in the sociocultural approach,

poststructuralists associate the concept with the cultural and political context which is infused with dynamics of power (Zembylas, 2003b, p. 225). In this sense, Maples agency might be culturally compatible to the T-cop context which encouraged competence-orientation, sense of authority and obedience; while such agency might not be favored by the S-cop who did not respect her sense of authority or welcome the alienating distance between her and her students. A poststructuralist approach may also invite us to turn a skeptical eye on those naturalized or normal events in a community. For example, Pennycook (2007) notices how Foucault problematizes the normalized concepts around him,
Foucault brings a constant skepticism towards cherished concepts and modes of thought. Taken-for-granted categories such as man, woman, class, race, ethnicity, nation, identity, awareness, emancipation, language or power must be understood as contingent, shifting and produced in the particular, rather than having some prior ontological status. (Pennycook, 2007, p.39 cited in Norton, 2010, p. 352)

Following this poststructuralist view, the value of competence, criteria of

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effective teaching and even the meaning of power might not be taken-for-granted as those assumed by the normative rules in the university and the school discourses. Similarly, teachers may not necessaril y be the absolute authority as stipulated by the traditional Chinese culture, nor should Ordinary Class students be treated as cognitively deficient idiot English learners (in Ms Huis term ). It might also inform us that the progressive liberal pedagogies may be practiced, adapted or appropriated even in classes of disadvantaged students (Lin & Luk, 2002, p. 101). In light of such a non-deterministic view, the idea that Kelly had zero experience and her feeling that her teaching competence was not recognized by Ms Hui should not be an excuse for her to abandon teaching, as Kelly later realized herself, her teaching could be recognized by the students in her later lessons. Similarly, Lynns students should not be diagnosed as forever dormant in class and her noon-rest tutorial ideas should not necessarily be discarded after the MTs declared the rule that STs were not encouraged to visit their students in the classroom, as Lynn still found the possibility to have tutorials outside the classroom so long as they were not against the rule and were welcomed by the students. Although the STs transformative attempts had been inhibited by the dominant discourses, there seemed to be always some other options or spaces where they might exercise their ethical agencies. We could find the many counter discourses (Norton & Morgan, forthcoming) in the STs which showed their resistance to the normative discourses; for example, Kelly often emphasized, In fact, I found the students in Class Ten are very clever. (They arent idiot English learners.); Lynn also wrote in the Newsletter, Our students are not born with bad habits (They arent necessarily bad students.); both Lynn and Kelly had organized very successful class-meeting lessons in their Ordinary Classes; Kellys class obtained very good results in the school sports day, and Lynns students began to realize the importance of having a goal for their future life and they became more attentive in the later lessons.

Drawing on the poststructuralist perspective, the COP in the TP activities was no

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longer only a static collectivity with MTs being more authoritative old-timers occupying the central position while STs being powerless new-comers at the peripheral. Observing the STs teaching practicum from a poststructuralist angle, the internal cohesiveness of the sociocultural COP should not be overstated (Morgan, 2007), nor does individual identity formation necessarily follow a simplistic unidirectional centripetal legitimate peripheral participation trajectory (Bloomfield, 2009). We may find the STs dynamic, creative and agentive actions between different local sub-cops within the global COP which did not seem to follow this structural norm. The S-cops seemed to become potential spaces for STs (like Kelly and Lynn) to reflect critically on their professional identities and to exercise their potential agencies in adjusting the relationship between their own self and the significant other---their students. STs may also navigate a route that was slightly diverging from the norms (e.g., approaching and communicating with students actively rather than keeping a distance from them; having meaningful small talks with the students during lessons instead of non-interacting cramming of language points; slowing down teaching to allow students to digest the content rather than rushing for the schedule; using pictures, videos, games and stories in lessons instead of using talk-and-chalk and textbook only, teaching language points to help students understand basic grammar and vocabulary instead of neglecting language form or exam totally, using Chinese plus English as medium of instruction rather than teaching English through English, et cetera.). The S-cops might not necessarily become another lab for students to experiment on the type of technique/strategy-driven, theory-based, or quality-oriented pedagogy for their students, but it might provide opportunities for more friendly and culturally responsive practices that were grounded in elementary levels of English remedial tutorials, and above all, it might offer a channel for egalitarian mutual sharing and free chats that were comprehensible to the disadvantaged Ordinary Class students who seemed to be resistant to their MTs non-egalitarian preaching of the ideological norms and rules in the social public discourses.
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On the other hand, being informed by the sociocultural perspective, the conceptualization of ST identity formation as a process of pursuit for the freedom of ethical self-formation would not become overly individual, as reminded by O'Leary (2002),
I am also alert to the fear that Foucaults ethics is too individualist, that it fails to address one of the central questions of ethics, how should I relate to the other? in framing this work around the question how is one to live? (rather than the alternative formulation, how are we to live?) ...In Foucaults work however, it is almost impossible to separate the problems and tasks of individuals from the problems and tasks of collectivities, the tasks of ethics from the tasks of politics. (p.173, emphasis in original)

In this study, the four Foucauldian ethico-political axes of teacher identity in Clarkes (2009) framework were not parallel but mutually influencing and interacting each other as a result of the ongoing tensions and contradictions in the local sub-cops and the global COP as a whole. The processes of STs individual self-formation were constantly shaping/shaped by the collective COP and the significant others in both the T-cops and S-cops. For example, Maples telos to become an egalitarian teacher was soon abandoned due to her shifting to the mode of subjection to the dominant discourse that teachers should remain a sense of authority in front of students. Such a mode of subjection was one of the normative rules in the school community that she had acquired from her MTs. Kellys discovery of her own telos to become a qualified class teacher would not be possible without engaging herself in establishing rapport with her students in her S-cop practices. Similarly, Lynns telos to exert positive influence on her students and her expectation to transform both the students and herself could not have been implemented out of the vacuum of goals and expectations only. Therefore, the STs individual agencies seemed to be inextricably related to social structure, institutional system, as well as community culture. The two aspects seemed to be both interacting and influencing each other constantly, as suggested by the Structuration Theory which offers a way to overcome the macro-micro and the structure-agency dichotomies by proposing that the macro and the micro, social structures and agency are mutually shaping and constitutive (Giddens, 1984
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cited in Lin, 2010, p. 127). Thus, while we emphasize the STs individual agencies in ongoing struggles for their professional identities, we do not necessarily have to neglect the interconnected tensions and interpersonal power relationships within institutions and the social structure since these contradictions, as indicated in this study, might become fundamental driving forces (Engestrom, 2001; Il'enkov, 1977) for the STs identity formation and the potential innovations in the COP. For example, apart from the transformation of the individual STs, the Ordinary Class students had also raised their own awareness about learning and life goals, the MTs (e.g., Ms Hui and Ms Mok) had changed their somewhat biased attitudes towards the STs (e.g., Kelly and Lynn), the open lessons had provided resources for STs as well as their UTs and MTs to reflect critically on the futility of simply showing the progressive university ELT theories without considering the local cultural conditions in the school. Similarly, the circulation of the TP newsletter and the STs post-TP reports might also have an impact on the university community (e.g., Lynn said she would share her experience as an Excellent Student Teacher to the fellow STs in the university). By problematizing the inner cohesiveness of the COP and conceptualizing the different local sub-cop memberships, we might focus on the individual STs different investments (Norton, 2010) as well as their identity formation trajectories to attain their memberships in the communities (be it T-cop or S-cop). Both the Situated Learning Theory (Lave & Wenger, 1991) and the Social Theory of Learning (Wenger, 1998) regard learning as a social practice which results in both the changing of the individuals identity (become a member of the COP) and the transformation of the community as a whole. In this sense, when both the individual and the community are under ongoing transformations, the relative cohesiveness of the COP enables us to better understand the different trajectories of ST identity formation as well as the relationships between the participating members and the entire community of practice.

In light of previous theoretical arguments and insights, the conceptual framework

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based on the integration of both the sociocultural and the poststructural perspectives seemed to be significant for the study of ELT classroom practices and teacher identities. Such an attempt is worth further discussions in future research on teacher identity issues in ELT theory and practice. Another theoretical significance of this study may be reflected from my borrowing the concept of ethical self formation as care of the self (Foucault, 1983a, 1986, 1997a) in the discussion of the three STs identity formation and their different practices for freedom. Although this remains only a theoretical attempt and needs further research for its validity and viability (Clarke, 2009), it somewhat represents what Morgan and Clarke (2011) propose, the most significant development in language teacher identity research (p. 825). It also echoes the proposals of some ELT teacher educators and researchers in Mainland China to re-emphasize the sense of professional ethics in teachers (Y. A. Wu, 2005; X. M. Zhu, 2003). I shall elaborate on the significance of the ethico-political aspects in teacher identity formation by proposing a critical and ethical pedagogy in the following section.

9.1.2 A critical and ethical pedagogy for EFL pre-service teacher education This research on EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in school-university partnership has opened up a window for researchers and teacher educators to reflect on the various tensions, interpersonal conflicts, asymmetrical power relationships, as well as normalized practices in ELT teacher education. Based on the analysis of the STs learning-to-teach experiences, in this section I attempt to propose a critical and ethical pedagogy for EFL pre-service teacher education.

9.1.2.1 Teacher identity as pedagogy To address the issue of pedagogy for ELT teacher education, I shall first reflect on the current EFL teacher education in Mainland China. As introduced in Chapter 3, the historical, social, cultural, political and economic development in the country has exerted tremendous impact on the education policies which aim at fostering knowledge/technique driven talents to fit in the national and international
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development. In ELT teacher education, pre/in-service teachers are supposed to become well-qualified English talents and professional teacher-researchers. Such knowledge/technique-oriented education seems to be typical in the pre-service teacher education programme in the present study. Although tensions existed between the school and the university discourses in ELT concepts and practices, both STs and MTs attached great importance to teacher professional knowledge and skills, as reflected from all three STs modes of subjection that teacher professional knowledge and skills are crucial for English teachers, and also from the MTs strict criticism on the teaching errors of the STs. However, from the stories of Kelly, Maple and Lynn, it seems that the current teacher education programme which only emphasizes the acquisition of more advanced and updated knowledge and skills (Y. A. Wu, 2005) cannot help the STs solve the problems in their school ELT practices (even though some STs have solid foundation of teacher professional knowledge and skills, like Maple). The dilemmas of the STs seemed to provide practical evidence to Wenger s (1998) emphasis on learner identities in education, ...issues of education should be addressed first and foremost in terms of identities and modes of belonging and only secondarily in terms of skills and information (p. 263). Echoing Wenger, Norton (2005) proposes a model of critical language teacher education, which she elaborates as follows,
...[T]eaching is not just about content and that teaching is not just about methods. We have to ask the question, Why do we teach what we teach? and Why do we teach the way we teach? Of central interest is who the student teachers are, what histories they bring with them to the classroom, which communities they desire to be part of, and what learners they will have to teach... The challenge for language teacher educators is to better understand the communities of practice in which student teachers work, and to provide a wider range of identity options for both pre-service and in-service teachers. (Norton, 2005, pp. 16-17 original emphasis)

According to Norton, identity is the central element of language teacher education. The researcher highlights the fundamental question Why do we teach what/the way we teach? in language teacher education, which not only reminds us of the crucialness of the objectives of education, but also draws our attention to

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the core of education---Who is teaching whom?---the identities of the persons involved in the school community, namely, the (student) teachers as well as their own students. From his bilingual and second education practice, Morgan (2004) shared his experience of how teacher identity may be transformative potential for language education. Inspired by his proposal of teacher identity as pedagogy (p.172), I argue for a pre-service teacher education programme that takes into consideration the identities of all members in the school-university partnership ---UTs, MTs, STs and the school students. Only after teachers reflect critically on the question of Who am I as a teacher (educator)? will they begin to reflect on the tensions between institutional discourses, the educational ideology, power and inequality, and hence the necessity to understand their own students identities. It is worth noting that the force of UTs alone will not be enough for the reform of ELT and teacher education. University teacher educators may try to arouse both the MTs and the STs awareness of their professional identities as well as agencies and invite them to work with each other to improve both the teacher education programme and the ELT pedagogy (Lin, 2004).

9.1.2.2 A critical and reflexive pedagogy In order to address the central issue Who are (student) teachers?, we need to reflect on a more fundamental question What is the objective of (teacher) education?. The learning-to-teach experiences in this study seem to indicate that teachers need to have critical awareness of the social inequalities and power relationships in order to identify the objectives in their ELT practice. They also need to problematize the many taken-for-granted norms and rules in education. In this sense, the ELT teacher education pedagogy needs to be critical and reflexive.

In teacher education in Mainland China, the goal of education specified in the national curriculum for basic education aims at improving the quality of the citizens, developing their creativity and practical abilities, facilitating the healthy physical and mental development of students, cultivating good moral
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character, meeting the demands of students lifelong development, and fostering students aspiration and ability for lifelong learning (The Basic Education Department of Ministry of Education , 2002, p. 2 my translation). In ELT education, these quality-oriented objectives have been conceptualized in an ultimate goal of developing students overall ability in language use (Wang, 2007). However, the present study seems to indicate a gap between what the NEC aims at (the formal curriculum) and what is actually practised in the school classroom (the hidden curriculum). As can be interpreted from the primary tension in the school-university partnership activity system (See section 8.2) ---the fundamental contradiction the STs encountered was the bewilderment of whether they should follow the progressive university ELT concepts which were in accordance with the NEC or their MTs traditional teaching styles leading to an opposite direction of the NEC objectives. Such a contradiction has also been pointed out by Morgan (2004): the ways that language teacher education programmes teach, and the ways teachers teach (and learn) are in many ways incompatible pedagogies (p.177). The dilemma of the STs---Which teaching style to follow? seemed to be rooted in the primary tension What should be the object of ELT in the school-university partnership activity system?

According to Nortons (2005) model of critical language teacher education, the discourses of the school and the university in this study seemed to indicate that, apart from the concerns about what to teach and how to teach, the goals of ELT education in the school were related to the social reputation of the school, the social recognition and economic rewards of the teachers, and the success of the higher-achievers in the high-stake exams; while the goals of the university ELT education were to apply the advanced and progressive NEC concepts and ELT strategies to salvage the middle school students who were thought to be drowned in the sea of test papers and the notes spoon-fed by their teachers in the traditional way. Nevertheless, the university-based culturally incompatible
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ELT seemed to be somewhat disturbing to the MTs normal teaching, as teachers needed to re-teach the missed test points after the TP, namely, to clean up the mess, as Tsui and Law (2007, p. 1292) call it. The university progressive pedagogy also appeared irresponsible for the higher-achievers (e.g., the student complained about Jades insufficient notes in the Special Class) and even humiliating for the lower-achievers as they might not understand what the teacher was teaching (e.g. Lynn spoke too much English in her first lesson). From these unsatisfactory teaching effects, it seems that some of the naturalized and taken-for-grounded progressive university concepts advocated as the

fundamental ELT principles, such as the student-centeredness, teaching English through English and TBLT, need to be problematized critically. In fact, STs were puzzled even at the beginning of the practicum by the incompatibility between what had been taught in the university and what was happening in the school. They became skeptical about the feasibility of adopting the university ELT methodology directly in their school teaching, as Daisy (Lynns partner) shared her dilemma with the cohort during their discussion,
Because we are not their real teachers, its none of our business whether they get good scores in tests or not. But, if you say it from your conscience, youll feel ashamed of teaching the students like that. If you ask me to teach them a month, itll be easy for me to teach in the way such as what they called pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading with handsome PPTs. I think I can do that, but they definitely learn nothing, nothing at all... [Sept. 9, 2010 Weekly group discussion (II) 55:30 underlining added]

Daisy had raised a critical and ethical question for her peers (and also for researchers and teacher educators) to reflect on. If education is an action out of teachers conscience, it should pay attention to students needs, concerns, and future development; that is, be student-centered. Applying what they had learned in the university into their school lessons (e.g., following the pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading procedures recommended by the Methodology textbook and using fancy PPTs as shown in the Quality Lesson Competition) without caring about the students feeling and the potential negative impact on them seemed to be no longer teaching but experimenting their teaching methods on the students and treating them as guinea pigs. Such kind of
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education, however progressive/advanced/updated, seemed to impress the STs as conscienceless or immoral.

When critical analysis of the discourses in schools and universities informed us that ELT education has been penetrated by material-driven competitions for personal achievements, social reputations, economic benefits, administrative commands, or academic show-offs, it is not a neutral or fair classroom activity, but a political and ideological instrument that is usually manipulated by privileged classes with power and resources. In pre-service teacher education where STs are basically outsiders of the powerful and privileged circles, how can they be really culturally responsively student-centred in their practices that are dominated by contesting discourses of the two institutions? We know it should be student-centered, but how? To such a question, which STs have raised with eager eyes but somewhat discouraged voices out of the dilemma, how can researchers and teacher educators provide an answer without further depressing them?

9.1.2.3 A dialogic pedagogy As a researcher and teacher educator myself, I have to admit: There is no easy answer! However, from communicating with the STs, reading their teaching reflections, and deliberating on their identity formation process, I seemed to have found an answer emerging: If culturally irresponsive student-centeredness in the ELT pedagogy was no more than an empty slogan propagated in the official education documents and university methodology courses, student-centeredness in its practical sense needs to be culturally compatible and ethical. Johnston (2003) inspires us with the implication of the values in ELT:
Language teaching, like all other teaching, is fundamentally moral...First, teaching is rooted in relation, above all the relation between teacher and student...Second, all teaching aims to change people...the change will be for the better...Third, although science in the form of research in various disciplines...can give us some points...the decisions we make as teachers...have to be based on moral rather than objective or scientific principles... (Johnston, 2003, p. 5)

Johnston reminds us that, apart from the mainstream objective or scientific

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principles which have dominated school and university curricula most of the time, we may also turn to other even more crucial perspectives---the moral goal of education, the transformation of human wellbeing, and the most fundamental human relations in education---the relationship between a teacher and his/her students. Johnstons suggestions somewhat echo Freire (1972), who emphasizes the primary necessity to reconcile the teacher-student contradictions in education. Freire denounces the banking model of education as dehumanized, which he refers to the education that treats learners as containers to be filled with motionless, static, compartmentalized and predictable content while teachers as depositors who deposit such content for their learners to memorize mechanically (Freire, 1972, p. 45). According to Freire (1972), the goal of education is to arouse learners awareness to participate in the practice of freedom. To achieve such a goal, the sense of teacher authority in the contradiction between students and teachers must be overcome. He proposes the dialogic problem-posing education to raise learners consciousness of their relations with the world by posing problems and having dialogues with them about the transformation of both themselves and the world. Accordingly, such problem-posing education demands the changing of student-teacher relationship from domination to dialogue. It is worth noticing that the dialogic relation advocated by Freire (1972) is more than a kind of communication between students and teachers, because the word which is essential for dialogue is at the same time praxis involving both action and reflection of the participants upon their critical consciousness and their creative transformation of the world.

Following Freire (1972), the unveiling of the banking education and the proposing of the dialogic student-teacher relation seem to have provided potential answers to the two fundamental questions emerged in this study---The goals of education may be the practice of freedom, in this sense, the object to improve the learning of the students in the school (object 2 of activity system 2) and the object to support professional development of the STs (object 1 of activity system
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1) are no longer contradictory to each other but are coordinated into a same dialogic process of mutual teaching and learning during which both sides enhance their critical awareness of self and the social reality and participate in the creative transformation of the self and the world. Only when the objects of both interacting activity systems reconciled into a consistent common goal, can the pedagogical principle of student-centeredness be implemented in its practical sense; namely, the design of the lessons is truly based on a culturally compatible curriculum (Lin, 1999). Such student-centered teaching cannot be achieved in the banking education which is still dominating many ELT classrooms, it must be based on the development of dialogic student-teacher relationship which will be further based on the dialoguers love for the world and the men, humility, mutual trust and faith in men, hope for future, as well as critical thinking (Freire, 1972, pp. 61-64).

9.1.2.4 An ethical, creative and culturally responsive pedagogy The critical and reflexive pedagogy as well as Freires (1972) dialogic education discussed above have provided us with significant implications in ELT and teacher education with regard to raising (student)teachers critical awareness of the educational ideology, naturalized norms, power relations, tensions, inequalities as well as the reconciliation of contradictions between students and teachers. However, as reminded by education researchers, when borrowing the concepts of critical pedagogy into our educational practices, we need to overcome some of the potential blind spots as represented by the uncritical and taken-for-granted intention of teachers to empower their students through culturally incompatible curriculum which resulted in the reproduction of another kind of domination relation in the classroom (Delpit, 1988; Ellsworth, 1989; Gore, 1993; Lin, 2004). Delpit (1988), for example, is skeptical about the uncritical and simplistic dichotomy between process-oriented or skill-oriented instruction as well as the democratic or authoritative class atmosphere. Rather, the researcher advocates a pedagogy that must be culturally responsive as she argues that it is
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impossible to create a model for the good teacher without taking issues of culture and community context into account (p.291). In this study, we can find both the STs and the MTs had tried to apply the more democratic and progressive university ELT principles to the school classroom uncritically and culturally incompatibly. For example, Maple tried very hard to insert some oral discussion activities in her lessons which were later abandoned due to the time limit of the lessons; Lynn tried to follow Ms Qins progressive suggestions and asked her Ordinary Class students to discuss the picture without much scaffolding which turned out to be too demanding for the students and abandoned very soon; both Ms Poon and Ms Hui insisted on their mentees using total English and oral discussion activities during their open lessons which produced lessons that look more like a show. All these unsuccessful attempts seem to echo Ellsworth (1989) that the unproblematized essentializing assumptions and goals of the critical pedagogy may not only be unhelpful for achieving emancipation but may also perpetuate relations of domination (p.298).

Deliberating on the STs struggles for their identities in this study, I find Foucaults argument of self-formation as ethics (Foucault, 1983a, 1985, 1997a) enlightening for teacher educators and researchers to avoid the pitfalls of being over-simplistic about the progressive or traditional, democratic or authoritative, and the self or other dualisms. Both Foucault and Freire advocate individuals pursuit of their freedom by raising their critical awareness of their self and the reality. However, unlike Freire, who regards freedom as paradoxically related to authority and holds that without authority it is difficult for the liberties of the students to be shaped. Freedom needs authority to become free. It is a paradox but it is true (Shor & Freire, 1987, p. 91), Foucault sees freedom not as a substance, a universal historical constant or an essential feature of a transcendentally grounded human nature, but a condition of our striving that exists only in the concrete capacity of individuals to refuse to be governed or govern oneself in a certain way (O'Leary, 2002, p. 159). Foucault
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understands freedom as co-existing with power, as he puts it, in order for power relations to come into play, there must be at least a certain degree of freedom on both sides... (1997a, p. 192). Contrary to the critical pedagogues, like Giroux (1988) and MaLaren (1989), who consider power as property controlled by the dominant classes and learners are em-powered (given power) by those who possess power (Gore, 1993, pp. 94-95), Foucault regards power as not repressive but productive, as he argues that The liberty of men is never assured by the institution and laws that are intended to guarantee them...liberty is what must be exercised (Reynolds & Martusewicz, 1994, p. 224). Freedom thus emerges as a condition of possibility (O'Leary, 2002) or choice (Clarke, 2009) which demands our dealing with it with ethics. In this sense, freedom and ethics are closely interrelated, as Foucault (1997a) explicates, [E]thics is the concerned form that freedom takes when it is informed by reflection (p.284). Freedom is the ontological condition of ethics while ethics is freedom in its deliberated form. For Foucault, the aim of ethical self-formation, the telos, can be characterized as freedom. The central concern of ethical self-formation is to transform ones self and to be free and to engage oneself in making change in the world (Infinito, 2003a; O'Leary, 2002). According to Foucault, ethics is embodied in the expression care of the self. Both care of the self and care of the other are inseparable to each other and they both derive from the relation between ethics and freedom. Foucault encourages the view that individual liberty results from concern for others; freedom is the outcome of acting ethically toward others and ourselves (Infinito, 2003a, p. 162 original emphasis).

By proposing the practice of care of the self, Foucault sheds light on the ethical-aesthetic possibilities for individuals to search for their own artistic existence within spaces of the dynamics of power and truth. It thus unfastens us from the either...or... dichotomies such as democracy or authoritativeness, domination or subordination, empower or disempower and silence or voice. Foucaults inspiration of the relation between ethics and freedom is of vital
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significance in ELT teacher education. Under hegemonic ideologies, normative systems, codes, or scientific truths in the public discourses that have been dominating (student) teachers pursuit of their professional freedom, Foucaults theory of self-formation as ethics may serve as encouragement for teachers to participate in the struggles against the dominant discourses and to argue for their professional selves through critical, ethical and creative agencies.

9.2 Limitations of the research This research addressed the issue of EFL pre-service teacher identity formation in school-university partnership. Reflecting on the whole research process, although I seem to have provided some potential implications to the answers of the research questions, I am also aware of its limitations which I shall introduce as follows.

Firstly, the length of time for data collection in this research was not long enough, which could not provide more information for illuminating a more holistic transformation trajectory of ST identity formation. The study mainly focused on the impact of the TP experiences on the identity formation of the STs. I therefore had tried to start data collection a semester (six months) before the practicum and then stayed in the research site with the participants doing ethnographic study for two months (the official time length requirement for practicum in teacher education institutions in Mainland China). Due to the time constraint of the PhD research, only one more month was spent in collecting the STs reflections after the TP. It is assumed that more follow-up data might be collected to allow for the probing of more potential influences and lasting impacts of the TP on the STs identity formation after they returned to the university activity system.

A second limitation is concerned with the limited types of participants included in this research. Previous studies indicated that tripartite relationships between STs, MTs and UTs might be major sources of tensions and conflicts within interpersonal relationships (Bullough & Draper, 2004; Lopez-Real et al., 2009;
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Tsui & Law, 2007), which in turn exert influences on the identity formation of the STs. Due to unexpected official assignments, the UTs who were responsible for the TP could not visit the school as was scheduled in the university Teaching Practicum Scheme. The research findings indicated that, without the presence of the UTs, the tripartite relationship could not be further elaborated, and their voices representing the university ELT teaching theories were inaudible. On the other hand, due to ethical reasons, this study did not collect data from the middle school students. However, the research analysis indicated that the school students attitudes towards their STs might not only provide useful triangulation for the STs perceptions of their identities and their relationship with the students but also offer potentially rich information for our interpretation of ST professional development in the school-university partnership context.

The third limitation of this study is related to the focus of data analysis. In order to explore the possible contradictions and tensions during the learning-to-teach process and their effects on the STs identity formation, I concentrated most of the analysis on the STs individual pre-lesson planning and post-lesson self-reflections, group discussions between mentors and mentees, weekly group discussions among peers in the cohort as well as the observation fieldnotes of interpersonal relationships and tensions. The observation of the STs lessons was also analysed. However, these classroom-based data were used as important supplementary information for the individual semi-structured interviews about the STs post-lesson reflections and the topics of the post-lesson group discussions. Due to the limited time during data analysis, the student-teacher classroom interactions were not chosen as the main research foci for detailed analysis. However, such classroom interactions could be very useful detailed and authentic data for the evidence of the STs understanding of ELT practice, their pedagogical content knowledge and teacher awareness, as well as their attitudes towards becoming an English teacher.

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9.3 Suggestions for further research To overcome the above limitations, I shall propose the following suggestions which future studies may take when designing their research studies about teacher identity formation in school-university partnership collaborations.

It will be more beneficial for the further research to lengthen the time span of data collection so that it covers more information of the STs professional learning. For example, it may start from the beginning of the pre-service teacher education program in the university to the TP in the placement school and then further extend to their job application before graduation as well as their first year teaching as a novice teacher. After the TP, it is still meaningful to have follow-up observations in the later professional development of the STs and the transformation of their identities. There are still a series of questions which deserve our attention: Under the fierce competition in the job market as a result of the decreasing positions for English teachers in urban state-own schools, will the STs still insist on becoming a teacher? Will the later personal, institutional, and societal changes affect their attitudes towards teaching? This research has illustrated that the three STs had all transformed their teacher identities during the TP. However, will the impact of the fundamental contradictions in the school-university partnership sustain to the STs later studies in the university and their future work in a new school community of practice? How will their novice teacher identities differ from their ST identities in the TP? And how will these identity transformations relate to their learning to teach in pre-service teacher education programmes?

Apart from extending the data collection process to a later stage, future studies may also probe for more in-depth information from other relevant members in the communities of practice in the school-university partnership. As ST identities are constructed among members of a community, apart from the peer STs and their MTs, the school students and the UTs are also important participants of the
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learning activities who can affect STs decision making during classroom teaching. For the studies involving the UTs, the research may concentrate on the power relationships and the possible tensions between the tripartite relations among STs, their MTs, and their UTs. While for those which involve the school students, researchers may pay attention to the various identities of the school students in the community, the student-teacher communications and conflicts, and the ways teachers try to solve the problems through communication. Those studies investigating the potential problems and solutions of student-teacher relationship may enrich our understanding of Freires (1972) proposal of dialogic education which in turn enables us to identify the emerging constraints in its implementation and also the impact it might have on STs identities.

Further studies may also focus on the classroom verbal or non-verbal interactions between students and teachers. Teacher identities are constructed in a process of participating in the activities of the school community and negotiating meaning of teaching and learning. Among these activities, classroom practices should be the core practice of teachers professional life. Hence, it would be more insightful and fruitful for future studies to focus on teachers classroom practices and their classroom interactions with their students or those among students themselves which may provide more detailed ethnographic data about the classroom complexities during teaching (Morgan, 2007; Norton & Morgan, forthcoming). It should be noted that the classrooms are not neutral physical locations in the school. Ethnographic classroom observations allow us to observe the unobservable information which helps us understand the complicated situation in the teaching process (Luk & Lin, 2007; Tsui, 1995). In this research, the various kinds of classroom interactions reflected the students identities, school status, family background, and their future, for example, whether they were idiot English learners who often fell asleep and remained voiceless most of the time in class, or those English objectors who yelled at the STs to shift back to the mother tongue as the medium of instruction, or those high-achievers who
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demanded the STs to give more notes of grammar points. In fact, the different kinds of teaching awareness and attitudes of the STs can also be mirrored in their classroom interactions with their students which may serve as indispensable primary sources for the interpretation of their identities; for example, whether they were gentle and considerate teachers who slowed down their speech rate to allow the students to understand their explanations (e.g., Kelly), or those who are serious but strict teachers with a sense of authority who would punish the undisciplined students during lessons (e.g., Maple), or those who have the awareness of waking up the sleeping students imperceptibly by patting them gently without hurting their self-esteem (e.g., Lynn).

9.4 Recommendations By conducting this research, I intended to approach the notion of teacher identity and use it as a conceptual lens to observe and address the practical problems and dilemmas in current EFL teacher education in Mainland China and other regions in the world. Reflecting on the research process and the implications of this study, I keep reminding myself that the answers to the research questions in this thesis are by no means the answers to the many thorny teacher education issues in the sociopolitical and cultural-historical complexities in diverse ELT contexts. However, it is my sincere invitation to my colleagues and fellow researchers who might (or might not) once be (student) teachers to join me in this ongoing bumpy journey of teacher education to address the tensions and the many normative practices in ELT education that had once been naturalized but have been problematized in this research. I hope that, via co-learning on a dialogic platform discussing what we have critically reflected on and then taking ethical, creative, and culturally responsive actions in our ELT and teacher education transformations, the results of learning should not only be beneficial for our students, STs and MTs, but also for our own selves as researchers and teacher educators in this global ELT community of practice.

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APPENDICES Appendix 1: OBSERVATION OF LESSONS

Appendix 1A: Episodes in Lynns seventh lesson (2) Teacher-student interaction transcript
22:40 T: Ken Ss: T ( Ss: Call the police. T: What else can they do besides calling the police? (The students spoke out their ideas with some answering the teachers question in Mandarin and some talking to each other in Cantonese.) S4: S2: T: , S5 T S6. T S4: Take away the gold S2: Videotape it. T: Oh, you mean use video recording? S5: This sounds better than taking away the gold. T: Uh-hah, you would send the video to the police. What else? Can anyone think of anything even more high-tech? S6: She said Anything more high-tech. T: Ok, lets see what other ideas they have. (The teacher changed the PPT slides to a picture of bank robbery) T: S7: ! S8: ? T S7: T, Ss: !! S7: T: For example, first, the gate will be closed automatically, and the alarm will start, and they have placed many rolling balls at the withdrawal counter. Do you know the rolling balls? The little balls. In this case, the robbers will slip on the floor easily, so that the robbery can be obstructed. S7: Not necessarily! S8: What if he is holding a machine gun? T: Do you think this is helpful? S7: No use. T: If not, ok, lets see the next one. The police wi ll set a tracker in the money that may be taken away so that they can track the robbers. Ss: Oh...Wow!! S7: Oh yeah, this sounds pretty useful. 22:40 T: Ok, this is Kens first case. We know that there are often robberies in banks, right? For example, robberies in gold jewelry shops, right? Do you know how bank clerks deal with such occasions?

My translation

PPT

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Appendix 1B: Episodes in Lynns seventh lesson (3) Teacher-student interaction transcript
34:30---37:05 T: Susan Ss: T Ss: T Ss: T: S6: . 34:30---37:05 T: So the second case is mainly about what? What did Susan did? Ss: Printing forged banknotes. T: Right, printing forged banknotes. What did she do then? Ss: Went to buy the vase. T: Yes, she went to buy the vase. So, forged banknotes. Have you ever seen forged banknotes? Ss: No. T: Do you know how to identify forged banknote? S6: Yes. (The teacher showed a picture of banknotes and a picture of an RMB 100 yuan banknote. The students started to talk about how to distinguish real banknotes from forged ones. The interactions were in Cantonese and Mandarin) S7 !! S8: 10 S9: ( RMB 100 PPT S7: Wow! Just give me one!! S8: Can we distinguish 10 yuan? S9: Just rub and feel the collar (of the figure on the banknote) (The teacher took out an RMB 100 yuan banknote from her file and change the PPT slide to a picture of an enlarged RMB 100 yuan banknote with indications of the features of real banknotes ) T: Ss: !! S7: S10 ! T: Lets look at here. When you see a 100 yuan note, how did you... Ss: Wow:::: Wow!!! S7: Give me one, give me one!! S10: Wow, she really shows us the note to distinguish the real from the forged ones. Hey, tell me how to make it, I really dont know how! (Two school boys were sitting at the plane-wing seats*, one was sleeping, and the other who had been gawking at the blackboard with cheeks in hands suddenly turned and looked at the teacher as if attracted by her explanation) T: Who knows? Hands up! ...So first, we can find a 100 here, right? S11: It changes colors T: Yeah, shifting from golden to blue, right? (When the students went on discussing, the teacher walked to the front of the screen with the money, explaining and demonstrating the features of the banknote.) S5() S5: Hey, Laoshi, the guy over there is pretty sharp (at

My translation

PPT
RMB100

T 100 S11 T

, PPT

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identifying banknotes) ! T: 100 Ss:::: T Ss: T Ss T Ss!! S3 S4: T S10: !!! () T: 100 S4 T S10!! S4 T A2 A2 Ken Yesterday, one, two, begin! () S4: There are still other (features). T: All right, so much for distinguishing banknotes. Anyone who still cant understand this may ask me after class. S10: Good!! S4: In fact, therere still others. T: Lets look at A2. A2 below. These are Kens notes...Lets read them aloud together. Yesterday, one, two, begin! (The students started reading the text aloud in chorus.) T: And then beside it there is a 100... Ss: Watermark T: Watermark, you are right. We can see it in the sun. And here, what kind of figure can we find? Ss: Mao Zedong:::: T: Yes. What if were blind? You cant see it. What can we do? Ss: Fee::::l it. T: Feel where? Ss: There!! S3: Mao Zedong S4: Lower right corner. T: Feel here, the national emblem, and also the characters The Peoples Bank of China. S10: Aha!!! (He sounded as if he suddenly understood) T: Anywhere else? We can also feel Chairman Mao, right? Hehehe, feel his collar. And also there are some Braille dots. You may find them a bit uneven. And still here, there is a hidden 100.

* plane-wing seats, are the two seats at both sides of the teachers desk in the front of the classroom. Students sitting at these seats are usually naughty because they need the teachers special attention.

Appendix 1C: Episodes in Lynns eighth lesson

Teacher-student interaction transcript 32:33 T Adair 30 B4 32:33 T: Ok, here, do you have any idea who the murderer was? Or Who killed Adair? And where? Can you guess? Open your books and turn to P.30, B4 (an exercise in the text which was about two students, S1 and S2, guessing the ending of the text). Lets see what they guessed about how Adair was killed. B4, can you find it? (Teacher read the exercise) I think Adair killed himself because he lost money playing cards. What did he say? How did he think about it? What did I think about Adair? What is kill himself? My translation

S1 S2 ,
Adair B4

I think Adair killed himself because he lost money

playing cards. Adair kill himself

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Ss: T: S1 TMaybe he thought his parents would be angry with him. be angry with angry? Ss:, T: be angry with sb. S2: Ss: . T: Adair Ss: T He wanted to kill himself, ... Ss T lose money (in) doing sth. in 30 B4in doing sth. doing in Jason lost a lot of money in gambling. gambling gambling S3, S4: TJason Ss: TJason . doing gambling I dont think so. There was money on the table in Adairs room S2 ... S5: T S1 Oh, thats true. S2 Adair murdered probably by someone from the club.

Ss: . T: Why did he kill himself? S1: He lost money. T: Yes, he lost money. He said, he lost money and killed himself. And then, Maybe he thought his parents would be angry with him. What does it mean be angry with? Angry is...? Ss: T; Then what about be angry with sb? S2: Ss: . T: Right. Then, (S1 said) I think Adair killed himself because he lost money playing cards. Maybe he thought his parents would be angry with him. Do you think so? Ss: No:::! T: Impossible, right? Ok. Lets see the language points. (The PPT) Kill oneself, . For example, He wanted to kill himself. He wanted to... Ss: T: Yes, . Then next one, lose money (in) doing sth.. What is it? How to translate?...Right, , the preposition in can be omitted. Take it down. On p.30, B4. in doing sth., here, doing is an action right? in can be omitted. For example, Jason lost a lot of money in gambling. Whats gambling? Say for example, playing Mahjong is a kind of gambling. S3: , S4: T: Right, Then how to translate this? Jason...Why did he lose money? Ss Because of gambling. T: Yes. Jason lost a lot of money in gambling. So, here doing is an action replaced by gambling, you cant just dont think so. There was money on the table in Adairs room Then S2 said, I dont think so, because... Because what? Whats there on the desk? S5: A lot of money. T: There was a lot of money. So its impossible for him to lose money, right? Then S1 said, Oh, thats true. And S2 said, I think Adair was murdered. What is murdered? , probably by someone from the club

PPT kill oneself teacher showed the phrases and sample sentences on the

doing S2 write doing, see? Ok, lets see how S2 goes on guessing: I

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 S4: T S1: TYes. Maybe they were angry that Adair won their money. Adair S5 S1: TWon their money. win (

, Do you agree? S4: Maybe he was poisoned. T: Maybe. He said its the friends in the club who killed him, do you agree? S1: Yes. T: All right. Lets read on. Yes, Maybe they were angry that Adair won their money. Yes, maybe they were angry about Adair doing what? S5: Won his money.\ S1: Won his money. T: Won their money. Whats the past tense of win? (The teacher went to the blackboard and wrote win---won). Won their money, right? Ok, here are two guesses: (The teacher wrote the key words kill himself and was murdered on the blackboard) The first guess is, for example, killed himself. Was he right? Do you agree? Ss: No:::!! T: No, you dont agree. Right? Why? Ss: There was no gun in the room. right? But there wasnt. Another thing, did he kill himself because he was ashamed? Ss: No::: T: No, youre right. And he was born in a wealthy family and would not have lacked money, right? So, this is impossible. (The teacher wrote a cross beside the first guess on the blackboard). Next one, was murdered , Do you think it possible? Ss: Yes. T: But do you know who killed him? Ss: The friends in the club. T: The friends in the club, right? Umm... Could be. (The teacher drew a tick beside the second guess on the blackboard). But why did the friends kill him? S6: They wanted to get his money. T: You mean he won their money and those who lost money wanted to kill him? Ok, lets have a look whether it was true. (The teacher showed a picture of the novel on the PPT) Look, this is a stage photo of the novel. Who killed Ronald Adair? (The students started discussing the case according to the PPT. The little boy with white-frame glasses sitting at one of the plane-wing-seats, who kept sleeping in the previous lesson, did not sleep in this lesson. Instead, he seemed to be listening very attentively to the case. Since he was sitting

winwon)
, (

killed himself, was murdered)

killed himself, Ss: T, Ss: Ss: ::: T

T T: Right. First, if he killed himself, there should be a gun,

was murdered Ss: . T Ss: T

S6 : T PPT

Who
killed Ronald Adair?

PPT

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at the very front of the classroom , when the teacher walked around, he had to turn himself side to side in order to watch the teachers explanation) S6: T Adair Adair Adair Adair Adair, Adair Adair S6: Did he really die? T: First, you are right. Its the friends in the club who killed him. But they killed him not because of they lost money, but because of what? Adair had a friend named Moran. He was a character in the novel, a gambler who relied on gambling for his living, that is to say, if he didnt gamble, it would be very difficult for him to live on? Understand? Can you understand? Ok, he was a man who made a living on gambling. Then, Adair and Moran went to the club and gambled there. They won, as you can see in the picture (there was a lot of money). However, Adair came from the money. So he did not agree with Morans tricks, and this made him (Moran) very angry. They therefore had a quarrel, right? But Adair was young and it was impossible for him to disclose Morans treating tricks. So he did not tell people about that and closed the door when he went back home. Why did he close the door? Because he was counting money, he was afraid that people might enter and found that he went gambling. He knew gambling was not good behaviour and he did not want his mother knew this. Then why did Moran kill Adair, how did he do so? Moran was a gambler, he was afraid that Adair would tell people about his tricks and he could not make a living on that any more, right? So he planned to murder Adair. Ok, here is a question, how did he kill Adair? If he used a handgun, he could not make it at such a far distance. Then what weapon did he use? Yes, he must have used a gun, but what kind of guns? S7: T Ss: T S7 ( S7: Sniper rifle T: A sniper rifle makes some noise when it shoots, doesnt it? Ss: Ye:::s T: In that case, it would be discovered by people. S7: You might use a cushion (to reduce the noise). (The students began to discuss the possible weapons, and then a student gave an answer, Its an air-gun.) T: Youre right! Air-gun. Moran shot him with an air-gun. Ss: Wow!!!!! S7: Oh yeah::: He could use an air-gun! T: Because an air-gun has two characteristics: one is, it allows shooting from a far distance; the other is, it makes no noise. So Adair was killed without being known.

upper-class, right? He was fair-minded and he did not lack

)
Tair-gun, . Ss: !!!!! S7! T Adair

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S8 S7!! TAdair Adair S9 T! ! S7 T Ss T* Ss T? Ss T ( PPT ) because of, one two begin! Ss: because of, because of, because of; say goodnight to (someone), say goodnight to (someone), say

S8: Where was he shot? S7: Wow:::: So cool!! T: But the question is, what was Adair thinking at that time? Just now, I said Adair did not want to get others money by treating, right? So he went home at once, took out the money and tried to remember whose money he had won, how much it was, and he made a list. S9: Oh I see, maybe he wanted to give the money back to those people. T: Aha, right! Youre so clever! S7: But he was finally killed. T: All right. This is the story of Empty House. Can you say something about your feeling? First, what do you think was the cause of the case? Ss: Gambling::::: T: Gambling, right, gambling. So, we say, occasional small gambling is... what? Ss: Relaxing and fun. T: Then what about addicted gambling? Ss: Ruins people physically and mentally. T: Right! So when you play cards, you must also pay attention to this. Just play cards for fun. Ok, this is the ending of the story. (The teacher showed the phrases of on the PPT). Now, lets have a look at the phrases in this lesson. Read them aloud, because of one, two, begin! Ss: because of, because of, because of; say goodnight to (someone), say goodnight to (someone), say goodnight to someone)...

goodnight to (someone...)

* is a popular saying among people meaning Occasional small gambling is relaxing and fun; addicted gambling ruins people physically and mentally.

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Appendix 2: INTERVIEW QUESTION GUIDES

(1) Meeting the STs for the first time (individual semi-structured interview 21/03/2010)
-Could you please tell me what kind of family are you from? -What traits do you think you have in your personality? -When did you begin to learn English? -When you began to learn English, did you like it? What about now? -Did your family have any influence on you in your English study? Could they give you any help? - Did you attend other extra English training classes apart from taking English lessons in school? -Among the English teachers who had taught you, are there any who have impressed you deeply? Why? -Could you say something about your primary/middle schools? Was English emphasized in these schools? - How was English taught in your primary/middle schools? Did you like having those English lessons? -Were there any learning modes or activities in primary/middle school English lessons that were especially unforgettable? - What kinds of English textbooks did you use at that time? How did you like them? - How would you comment on your primary/middle school English study? - ( ) What English level (in different skills) could you achieve after you graduated from senior middle school? Could you communicate with others fluently on simple topics? -Why did you choose English as your major after senior middle school graduation? Was it a decision made by yourself or your family? -How did your friends think about your choosing English as your major? -How was your university life in the first two years? How would you comment on your English study? - What were your English academic records in the first two years of university study? Were you awarded scholarship? Why? Have you passed the TEM 4? -How did classmates and teachers comment on your English study? - Why did you choose English Education at the 2nd semester of year-one? Was it your own choice or suggested by your family? - How do you think of teaching as a profession? What kind of metaphor would you use to describe the profession? -Has there been any difference between teachers now and before? Are there any changes in student-teacher relationship? How?

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-How do people in the society view teaching? -Are there any differences between English teachers and teachers of other subjects? -Are there any differences between English teaching and other professions? -Do you think English teachers are under pressure? -Were you familiar with middle school situations before you began year-three study? Do you have any teaching experience? - Have you been a family-tutor or participated in summer vacation volunteer teaching activities organized by the School of Foreign Studies? Are these experiences helpful for your professional learning? - What kind of expectations did you have when you first knew the two courses Basic TEFL Skills and SLA? -What are your deep impressions of these two courses? - After learning the two courses, have you changed your views on ELT? Do you think there are still something unsolved in ELT? -Do you like the micro-teaching activities in the course Basic TEFL Skills? Why? - How did you feel after you had the first apprenticeship observation? What was your impression? Do you want to have more apprenticeship observation opportunities? -How would you comment on the lessons in the apprenticeship observation? Were there any merits and demerits? - Did you agree with the teaching of the lesson you observed? Why? - When observing the lesson, can you find any similarities between the teaching styles of the MTs and those suggested by your UTs? Can you give some examples? -When you started the course English Teaching Methodology at the beginning of year-three, how did you think of this course? -How does the UT teach this course? Are there any assignments and activities? Do you find them helpful? -If you were to give some suggestions to the UT, how would you like the teacher teach to help you master ELT better? - Are you busy now in the 2nd semester of year-three? Why? Do you feel stressed? How is your learning in different subjects? - How do you master your professional knowledge /skills? Are you going to participate in the teaching competition? Why? -Do you have any expectations about the TP in the coming semester? Will you have any preparation for it? -So far, do you still want to be a teacher? Why? -Among the quality/conditions in yourself, which aspect(s) do you think would be very suitable for you to be an English teacher?

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- In which aspects will you try to improve yourself to become a better English teacher? How? -If you become an English teacher, what beliefs/principles will you have to become a better English teacher? -What life goals do you have now? -If you are employed as a teacher after graduation, what kind of teacher will you become? -Compared with your classmates, what (dis)advantages do you have in ELT practice? -What difficulties do you think ELT in China is now facing? Why?

(2) Before TP, discussion after the first apprenticeship observation in the school (focus-group interview 22/06/2010)
- What did you expect to learn before this apprenticeship observation? Why? - What are your general feelings about the first apprenticeship observation in this placement school? - Can you talk about your feelings on the following items: the school environment, the staff attitudes, student performances, and the teaching of the mentors? Why do you have such feelings? - Ms Qin After listening to Ms Qins introduction of the school situation, what feelings do you have about the coming TP? - What lesson type do you think the 1st lesson you observed was? How did the teacher organize her teaching? Did she have any teaching activities? How were the students responses? How would you comment on the lesson? Why? - What lesson type do you think the 2nd lesson was? How did the teacher organize her teaching? Did she have any teaching activities? How were the students responses? How would you comment on the lesson? Why? - Do you have such teaching styles in your university Method Courses? - Do you think the MTs teaching design the same as those of the UTs in the relevant lesson types? Are there any differences or anything very special? How do you think of these discrepancies? Which teaching design will you follow? Why? - How do you think of the self-reflections of the two MTs about their lessons? Can you learn something from their reflections? Why? -Can you learn something from the fellow senior students reflection on his TP experience? Why? - How do you feel after you meet the MTs who are going to mentor you in the coming TP? Why?

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- Do you find the apprenticeship observation today fruitful? Whats the most helpful aspect? -Does the apprenticeship today meet your expectations? Why? -What expectations do you have about the TP in the coming semester? Why? -Will you make any preparations for the TP during the summer vacations? Why?

(3) A week before TP: reflections on teacher education program and expectations for TP (individual semi-structured interview 02/09/2010)
: Year-3 1st semester courses: -/, Which English Major Course impressed you most? Which one did you learn best/worst? Why? -/, Which English Method Course impressed you most? Which one did you learn best/worst? Why? : Year-3 2nd semester courses: -/, Which English Major Course impressed you most? Which one did you learn best/worst? Why? -/, Which English Method Course impressed you most? Which one did you learn best/worst? Why? After learning SLA, Basic TEFL Skills, Middle School Lesson Analysis, English Teaching Methodology, what are your understandings of the courses? - What is the significance of these courses for English teachers? Do you find them helpful? Why? -How were the Method Courses assessed? How do you think of these means of assessment? Why? -How was your performance in the Student Teacher Basic Teaching Skills Benchmark Test? Were you satisfied with your own performances? Why? -Did you attend the English Teaching Skills Competition? Why? How do you think of the contestants and their teaching? - How do you think of the objectives in the NEC? Will you teach according to its requirements? Why? - After learning the Method Courses for one year, what do you think are the major problems ELT in China is facing? -Do you think you will face these problems in the coming TP? How will you deal with these problems? - Generally speaking, compared with your university study in Year 1 and Year 2, what are the differences in year 3? Why? -How do you think of choosing English Education as your major? Do you regret about that? Why? -After being a student teacher for one year, in which aspects do you think you are ready for being a teacher? -In which aspects do you think you are still

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not doing very well? How are you going to make up for that? -Compared with the in-service teachers in the middle schools, are there any differences? What are they? -What expectations do you have for the coming TP? Can you summarize it in one sentence? - What expectations do you have for your MTs? How do you like them to mentor you? Why? -What kind of relationship do you wish to maintain with your MTs? Why? -What expectations do you have for your students in the TP? What kind of relationship do you want to maintain with them? Why? -What expectations do you have for the school heads (e.g., principals, directors)? Why? - What expectations do you have for the UTs? Now you know that they will not go there or supervise you, what do you think? What relationship do you want to maintain with them? Why? - ? What expectations do you have for your peers? What relationship do you want to maintain with them? Why? -How did you prepare for the TP? - / What difficulties (in English teaching/Student management) do you expect you will encounter with in the TP? How are you going to solve these problems? Why? -Do you have part-time jobs as a family tutor or a teacher in schools? What influences do you think these experiences will have on TP? Why? -What is your personality? Will it have any influence on being an English teacher? - What are the main learning activities in Year-4? (TP, TEM-8, Graduation Exam, Thesis) -What will be the possible difficulties in your study? Why? -What expectations do you have after graduation? Why? -Will your job application be affected by social factors? What are the factors? Why? - Do your family members have any suggestions and expectations on your job application? Why? -Will teaching profession your first selection? Why? -Will it be difficult to find teaching jobs? How are you going to seek jobs? - How is the common salary of middle school teachers? Are you satisfied with it? Why?

(4) During TP, after STs finished class teacher tasks (individual semi-structured interview 30/09/2010)
- After finishing the

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class teacher tasks, how do you feel? What kind of metaphor will you use to describe such a feeling? Why? - Had you made any preparations before you were assigned the class teacher tasks? Why? -What were your routine class teacher tasks? -How did you manage your routine work such as morning reading, exercises, noon-rest, self-learning lessons and cleaning? Why? -Have you organized any collective activities in your class? How was the effect? Why? - Have you organized moral education activities (about moral ethics/future ideals)? How was the effect? Why? -?Have you communicated with your students individually? In which aspects? How was the effect? Why? - What kind of class-meeting lesson did you design? How did you think of the effect? Was your class teacher mentor satisfied with it? Why? -Do you think you were conscientious about your class teacher tasks? Why? - Did you have any achievements in your class teacher tasks? Why? -?What were the merits and demerits in your class teacher tasks? Why? -Were there any unforgettable things in your class teacher tasks? (e.g, sth made you feel upset or proud)? Why? - How was your class teacher mentors guidance? What was the most unforgettable thing? Why? Did you have any unhappy experience? Why? -Was the guidance of your class teacher mentor helpful? Why? -Do you admire your class teacher mentor? In which aspects? Why? -What metaphor will you use to describe the relationship between you and your class teacher mentor? Why? -Did your peers have any influence on you during your class teacher tasks? Why? - ? What was the relationship between you and your students during your class teacher tasks? Were there any interesting/unforgettable things? - Did the students ask you any interesting questions? What do you think of the students you managed? - ? Did you make any progress in class teacher tasks after you became the student class teacher? - Were there any differences between you and the class teacher mentors? Why? How will you describe your identity as a student class teacher in the placement school? Why? -Do you still like being a teacher? Will you want to

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become a teacher after graduation? Why?

(5) During TP, after STs finished English teaching tasks (individual semi-structured interview 30/09/2010)
-How do you feel after you finish your English teaching tasks? What metaphor will you use to describe such feeling? Why? -How did you prepare your lessons before class? - Did you write a lesson plan before your lessons? Generally speaking, was your mentor satisfied with your lesson plans? How many times did you need to revise them? Were they much different from your original plans? Why? - Did you attend collective lesson planning? What was the biggest benefit of collective planning? Why? -What made you most nervous during your lessons? Why? - ? How do you think of the correctness of your subject matter knowledge? Did you have scientificity errors in your lessons? Why? -?ppt, How do you think of your teaching skills (teaching manners, blackboard writing, ppt, teacher classroom English, tones and intonations, clarity of explanation )? Why? - How do you think of your teaching objectives, lesson type, teaching focus, teaching procedures and transitions? Why? - What kind of teaching activities did you organize in your lessons? Were students mostly involved? Why? - Did you consider factors such as students affective factors, cultural awareness and learning strategies in your teaching content and design? Why? -How do you think of your classroom management (dealing with disciplines/unexpected incidents in class) effects? Why? -What kind of homework did you generally assign? Was it your own decision or suggested by your mentor? Why? -What did you usually do after lessons? Why? - Did you like the post-lesson group discussions with your peers and mentors? Could you learn anything from it? Why? -Did you approach your students and try to understand them after lessons? Did you give them extra tutorials? Why? - Did you discover anything when grading your students assignments? How did you feel? Why? -Do you think you were conscientious about your teaching? Why? -? What do you think were the strengths and weaknesses in your lessons? Why? - Were there anything especially unforgettable (embarrassing/ proud of) in your lessons? Why?

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- Are you confident about the effects of the unit you taught? Are you afraid of the results of the unit test? Why? - During your English teaching tasks, how do you think of the guidance of your English teacher mentor? What was the most unforgettable thing during her guidance? Why? Were there any unhappy experiences? Why? -Do you think your MTs guidance helpful? Why? - Do you admire your English teacher mentor? In which aspects do you admire her most? Why? -How would you describe the relationship between you and your mentor? Why? - During your English teaching, what influences did your peers exert on you? Why? -What kind of relationship did you maintain with your students during your English teaching? -Was there anything interesting/unforgettable between you and your students? Did they ask you any interesting questions? -What are your opinions on the students you taught? Were these opinions the same as those you had before the TP? -? After finishing your English teaching tasks, have you made any progress in English teaching? What are the aspects that still need improvement? Why? -Compared yourself with the MTs, are there any differences? Why? ? How would you describe your student teacher identity in the placement school? Why? -Do you still like being a teacher? Will you still apply for teaching jobs after graduation? Why?

(6) During TP, MTs comment on STs performances (individual semi-structured interview 08/10/2010)
-What expectations did you have for the STs before TP? Why? -Now in the middle of TP, do you find the STs performances meet your expectations? Why? -Generally speaking, which aspects of the STs performances do you think are satisfactory? Why? -Which aspects of their performances do you think have not met your requirements or expectations? Why? -How do you think STs should improve the aspects they have not performed well? -In the coming TP guidance, how are you going to help your mentees improve their weaknesses? Why? -Are you satisfied with the test results of the

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unit taught by the STs? Why?

(7) After TP, English teacher mentors comments on STs performances (individual semi-structured interview 25-26/10/2010)
- Xi Wan Could you tell me how many years have you taught in middle schools? How many years have you taught in Xi Wan Middle School? How many TPs have you participated in? -What are the general situation and the characteristics of the students in this grade? - How is being a teacher in this school like? Are teachers very busy? Do you have regular opportunities for upgrading your professional knowledge? Why? - What are the features of the English Teaching Section and the Grade of Junior Two? How are the teaching research conditions in the English Teaching Section? -How is your personal teaching style? - Do you think the STs clothes, words and behaviors appropriate for a middle school teacher? Why? -How would you comment on the STs learning attitudes? Did they participate actively in their TP tasks? Were they modest? Did they respect you? -?Did they conduct their teaching according to your requirements? Have they finished their tasks? Have they violated the TP disciplines such as being late for work, leaving early or being absent? -Do you think the STs were conscientious about their lesson planning? Were their lesson plans detailed? Did they ask for pilot teaching actively? Could their teaching meet the school requirements? - Do you think the STs have solid foundation of teacher professional knowledge? Did they have scientificity errors? How do you view such errors (mistakes)? Wh y? -? How would you comment on the STs English teaching skills? Have they mastered the necessary teaching skills for ELT in middle schools? Why? -Did the STs apply some teaching methods in their teaching during the TP? What were their major methods? Why? -How do you think of the classroom management ability of the STs? Did they need your facilitation during lessons? Why? - Could the STs teaching meet your requirements? Did you need to re-teach the texts to your students? Why? -What are the advantages of the STs in English teaching? What about their disadvantages? Why? -What advice and suggestions would you give the STs to improve their teaching? Why? -Do

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you think the students like these STs? Do you think the STs maintain appropriate student-teacher relationship with their students? Why? - Are there any differences between your own teaching style and those of the STs? Why? How did you deal with these differences? Why? - How would you comment on the performances of the STs? Why? Compared with their performances before the TP, can you identify any changes in their teaching? Why? - Do you think the STs teaching and that of the MTs similar o f different? If different, what are the differences? Why? - How would you view the identities of the STs in the placement school? Why? - ? Are open lessons different from regular lessons? How would you comment on the recent open lessons in the school? - ST-MT-UT lesson study How do you think of the tripartite discussion after the open lessons? Do you think STs, MTs and UTs can conduct lesson study research together? Do you think the relationship between the three sides equal? Why? - In which aspects would UTs and MTs have inconsistent opinions during the TP? Why? How did you deal with such inconsistencies? - What do you think are the significances of TP? How do you view the STs teaching practice in this school? Why? -What are the possible weaknesses in the organization, management, and arrangement of this TP? What suggestions would you provide? - How do you understand the Mentors duties specified in the university Teaching Practicum Scheme? How did you perform such duties? - Comparing MTs with UTs, which side do you think has invested more in the guiding STs in the TP? Why? - What are the characteristics of STs in their professional knowledge, teaching skills, and classroom management? Why? - Do you think MTs can obtain some professional implications from the STs performances in the TP? Why? - Are there any differences between the STs university knowledge and their practical teaching in the school classroom? If yes, what impact did these discrepancies exert on the STs teaching? As a MT, how did you deal with such differences? - What are the contradictions do you think STs would meet when they leave the university and enter the school? How would you help them face these contradictions? - What kind of relationship did you maintain with your mentees? Can you use a metaphor to describe it? Why?

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-As far as interpersonal relationship is concerned, could the STs communicate actively with the MTs in the school? - What are the characteristics of ELT in Guangzhou? What problems and difficulties are teachers faced? How do you deal with such difficulties? - How do you think of the impact of the national basic ELT education reform on the practical classroom teaching in schools? Does exam-oriented education have an impact on your teaching? Why? How would you deal with such an impact? Why? - How is the job recruitment situation for English teachers? Do you think the STs have met the requirements of a middle school English teacher? Why? As a mentor, what suggestions do you want to give them most? Why?

(8) After TP, class teacher mentors comments on STs performances (individual semi-structured interview 25-26/10/2010)
- Xi Wan How many years have you taught? How many years have you taught in Xi Wan Middle School? How many TPs have you participated in? -What is the general situation of the class you manage? What are the characteristics of the students? - What kind of class teacher tasks did you generally assign to the STs? Will you assign all your class teacher tasks to them? Why? - How do you comment on the STs learning attitudes? Have they violated the following TP disciplines including being late for work, leaving early or being absent? Were they involved in the class teacher tasks actively? Were they responsible for their tasks? Did they respect you? -Could they finish their routine class teacher tasks according to your requirements? How were the effects of their class-meeting lessons? - How do you think of the STs class management ability? What were their merits or demerits? Could they meet the requirements for class teachers in the middle school? Why? - Do you think the students like their STs? Do you think the relationship between the STs and their students appropriate? Why? - In class management, did the working style of the STs different from yours? If yes, how did you deal with these differences? Why? - How would you comment on the performances of the STs? Can you find any differences between their performances before TP and after TP? If yes, what are the differences? -Do you think there are some differences between the ST class teachers and the real class teachers in the school? If yes, what are these differences?

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-How do you view the identities of the STs during the TP? Why?

(9) After TP, STs self-reflections on their own performances (individual semi-structured interview 31/10/2010)
- Do you think you had clear objectives during the whole TP? What kind of objectives were they? - Do you think you were deeply involved in the TP? Why? In which aspects? - / / / How would you comment on your English professional knowledge/ELT skills/student management/interpersonal relationships during the TP? Why? -In the TP, what gave you the greatest sense of achievement? What was the most unforgettable thing? What was the most regretful thing? - What metaphor would you use to describe the entire TP process? Why? - What changes have happened on you during the TP? What is the biggest change? Why? - / / / How were the relationships between you and your English teacher mentor/class teacher mentor/your students/your peers? Was it the relationship you had expected before the TP? Why? - How was the guidance of the MTs during the TP? Do you think you have a lot of freedom? Why? Have you organized teaching activities by yourself? Do you like such a style of guidance? Why? --- How was the relationship between you and your UTs during the TP? How do you think of the tripartite relationship between ST-MT-UT? Are they equal? Why? - ? Do you think the ELT concepts of the MTs and your UTs the same or different? Why? If not, in which aspects? If the UTs came to observe your lessons, what do you think they would comment on your lessons? Why? -Do you think the MTs guidance helpful in the TP? Why? - Do you think the UTs provided you enough support in the TP? Why? -How would you comment on the organization, arrangement, management and the coordination between the school and the university in this TP? Why? - How was your opinion on ELT in middle schools before the TP? What about after the TP? Are there any changes in your opinions? Why?

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- ? Could you apply your university-taught knowledge (SLA, Basic TEFL Skills, Middle School Lesson Analysis, English Teaching Methodology,) in the TP? Why? - Had your understanding of the university-taught professional knowledge changed during the TP? If yes, how did you deal with the differences? Why? -2009 Xi Wan In the newsletter 2009 TP in Xi Wan Middle School, a UT commented on STs performances as somewhat neither fish nor fowl, how do you understand this? Do you agree with him? Why? - Are there any differences in the regular lessons and the open lessons? If yes, what are they? Why? How would you comment on the open lessons you observed? - What are the difficulties ELT in middle schools is facing? Why? - Do you think Exam-Oriented Education has its impact in middle school education? How did you deal with such impact? Why? -// After this TP, have you changed your understanding in the following aspects: the ELT situation in China/ELT in middle schools/the profession as a middle school English teacher? Why? - After the TP, do you think you are a real teacher now? Why? What do you think are the differences between the STs and the real MTs (Teacher knowledge, Teaching Skills, Class management, etc.)? What do you think are the causes of these differences? - How do you view your identity as a ST in the placement school? How do you think others would view your identity as a ST? - Before the TP, you told me about your expectations for the TP, do you still remember what they were? Do you think your expectations have been realized? Why? - Did you want your class teacher mentor assign more tasks to you? Why? How did you finish the tasks? Why? -Did you have any unhappy experiences with your students or mentors? Why? - Was your English teacher mentor satisfied with your teaching? Why? Are you satisfied with your teaching? Why? Do you think you had the sense of authority before your students in English teaching? Why? - Was your class teacher mentor satisfied with your class teacher tasks? Why? Are you satisfied with your class teacher tasks? Why? Do you think you

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had the sense of authority before your students in class management? Did they obey your rules? Why? - interview Judging from the latest information, is it difficult to find a teaching job after the English majors graduate? Why? Is being an English teacher still your first choice? Why? After the TP, are you more confident in the job recruitment interviews for English teachers? Why? - Does the comprehensive assessment in the university mean a lot to your? Why? Are you confident about the coming TEM 8? Why? What does this proficiency test mean to you? Why?

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Appendix 3: DOCUMENTS
()
() 1 2 2 3 4 1 4 2 3 20 1 2 3 4 1) 2) 3) 1) 2) 3) 4) : A.

B.

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C 1 2 4

University Teaching Practicum Scheme (excerpts)

III. Teaching practicum requirements (the same for all placement schools) 1) To attend opening and closing meetings as well as the exchange meetings about Excellent English teaching and Class management 2) 3) 4) To attend open lessons, comments and discussions; observe two demonstration lessons To attend weekly group summary discussion, finish TP group diaries, publish a TP newsletter To organize various activities such as learning competitions, sports and labor

ST duties: 1) 2) 3) To teach at least four English lessons, finish lesson plans To finish one-week class teacher tasks, finish class-meeting lesson plan To observe at least 20 lessons by MTs and peer STs; take notes of class observation; submit a teaching reflection report, an education research report, and a TP summary report ST cohort head duties: 1) 2) 3) To prepare and post the notice of STs who have lessons To coordinate between MTs in different departments and UTs To organize collective lesson planning, pilot teaching, class teacher plans and summary, chair weekly summary discussion among STs 4) 5) To coordinate between STs and school administration, and the relationship among the cohort To arrange ST list of class observation for UTs and inform the UTs a day before the lessons

UT head duties: 1) To organize TP preparation: Introduce TP tasks to STs, supervise group pilot teaching, organize TP video viewing and discussions about TP documents, confirm TP plan with placement schools. 2) To organize TP tasks: Communicate with the placement school about TP conditions every week, organize TP seminars, comment on group teaching diaries, visit different placement schools regularly, observe STs lessons and give comments, keep in touch with the Office of Teaching Affairs in placement schools 3) To finish follow-up TP tasks: Listen to comments and suggestions in different placement schools, pay for TP expenditure, collect TP reports and comments, publish Education Teaching Practicum Report, finish TP summaries and written reports UT duties: 1) To observe STs lessons according to the notice of the list of class observation

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2) To provide guidance for the STs after lessons (comments on lessons, read their lesson plans and teaching diaries) 3) To assess STs English teaching according to the lesson observation criteria 4) To deal with emergencies Guidance by the placement school: A. Office of Teaching Affairs: To organize STs to participate in exchange meetings about excellent teacher education and teaching experience Section of Grade: To organize STs to participate in activities in classes in the grade, e.g., class-meeting lessons, open lessons, sports, competitions, visits, and labor Section of English Teaching: To organize STs to participate in English competitions, unit tests and other English teaching activities B. Class teacher mentor duties: 1) 2) 3) 4) To introduce the general situation of the class to the STs To demonstrate a class-meeting lesson To check STs class-meeting lesson plans and comment on their written remarks on three students performances To assess the STs class teacher tasks and give written appraisal

C. English teacher mentor duties: 1) To introduce the general English learning situation of the students to the STs

2) To demonstrate several English lessons to the STs 3) To provide guidance to STs in pilot teaching and post-lesson discussion 4) To check the lesson plan for each lesson 5) To assess the STs teaching performances and give written appraisal

V. Commendation items 1) Excellent Teaching Practicum Group 2) Excellent Student Teacher

VI. Assessment requirements Student teachers in different placement schools should submit the following assignments after the TP (personal appraisal, class observation notes, lesson plans (at least four), Teaching Reflection Report, Teaching Practice Summary, Research Report). They should also submit at least one video of their English lessons for assessment of their English teaching.

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