Reflections on English Teacher Education

This book analyses English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) at Maseno University. The work assesses the implementation of the ELTE curriculum at the University, the students’ uptake of English Language and pedagogical knowledge, skills and attitudes and application of knowledge and skills acquired in the actual secondary school classrooms. The book describes in details the ELTE curriculum, its implementation, the classroom interaction by the teachers who had undergone ELTE at Maseno University, and their perception of ELTE in light of their classroom needs. The findings reveal the serious challenges facing ELTE at the University, which reduce the trainees’ confidence in the curriculum design and implementation. Given the fact that the typical Kenyan classroom was found to be characterized by severe shortages of English Language Learning resources in quality, quantity and variety; the ELTE courses were found to be lacking sensitivity to trainees’ classroom needs. This work, which contributes immensely to the understanding of University English Language teacher education in Kenya, recommends a re-think and changes to ELTE specifically, and to university teacher education in general.