Edge, J., & Mann, S. (Eds.). (2013). Innovations in pre-service teacher education and training for English language teachers. London, England: British Council.

On both the national and international platforms, numerous programs offer training and professional development for teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). These programs vary from program to program and offer certifications to graduate-level degrees. For instance, some programs allow minimal classroom observations, whereas others require 60 hours and in some cases up to 300 hours of field work experience. Course work in these programs may also vary in terms of focus on theory to applied practice or some combination of both. Given the multifarious nature of preservice teacher education in TESOL, this series provides a glimpse into contexts in international settings, where teacher trainers have identified areas of need amongst their preservice teachers and have implemented action plans to address those needs.

The underlying goal for each of the articles is to scaffold the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that teacher candidates will need as they transition into in-service classroom teaching. Innovations and their impact on preservice teachers presented in this series include teacher educators from Bulgaria, China, Cyprus, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As the editors state in the preface, it is important to remember that innovation in one context may be a long-standing practice in another. Nevertheless, the contributions provide a valuable lens on understanding the various approaches to English language teacher training from international perspectives.

Four themes can be extracted from these articles. One includes the importance of supporting teacher candidates in developing a deeper reflective capacity (Kurtoğlu-Hooton & Velikova). The second theme addresses innovative practices that meet the needs of teacher candidates in existing course work or professional development programs (Ashcraft & Ali; Cheng, Dick, Mercado, Özbilgin, & Neufeld; Samb & van Batenburg). Third, there are multiple articles on practices related to engaging students in field work experiences to bridge theory with actual classroom practice (Erkmen, Lengeling, & Oprandy; Addington, Brown, & Rutter). Lastly, several articles analyze the use of technology to enhance preservice teacher education (Gakonga, Hanington, & Ellis; Kurtoğlu-Hooton, Özbilgin, & Neufeld; van Batenburg).

Because they represent a variety of contexts and approaches, there is a considerable difference in the quality of rigor in data gathering, analysis, and evaluation used in each of the articles. Some are self-reflective pieces, and others are slightly more rigorous in terms of research design and methodology. Nevertheless, much can be gained by the intentional and thoughtful ways in which teacher educators approached and applied practical tools to meet the needs of teacher candidates in their specific contexts.

Dr. Sarina Chugani Molina serves as a faculty member in the Department of Learning and Teaching at the University of San Diego. She has taught ESL and EFL for over 15 years. She currently teaches courses in linguistics and second language acquisition and supervises practicums in the TESOL, Literacy, and Culture master’s program. Her research interests include preservice teacher training and development, and methods of teaching English as an international language.