The relationship between the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) and translation have been loosely entwined for a very long time. However, in the past decade, a number of academics have developed a renewed interest in the interplay between the two, and some teacher education universities offer translation courses to their student teachers. This paper presents findings from a preliminary study in which a questionnaire survey was used to identify the motives and perceived benefits of learning translation of 40 non-native EFL student teachers whose first language is Chinese, in a teacher education university in Hong Kong. The findings indicate that the pre-service teachers decided on taking translation courses or taking the subject as a minor because of their interest in both Chinese and English and their eagerness to improve their proficiency in these languages. The belief that learning translation might help non-native EFL student teachers secure a job in a language-related field is another prime motive for them to learn translation. It was discerned that they perceive learning translation to be beneficial to both their Chinese and English proficiency, especially in the knowledge of English grammar, and they have benefited in bilingual competence and career options. The paper concludes that although EFL student teachers tend not to work as professional translators after graduation, learning translation is deemed to have provided them with multifaceted benefits and increased their competitiveness in language-related fields.A relação entre o ensino de Inglês como Língua Estrangeira (EFL) e a tradução está entrelaçada há muito tempo. Contudo, na última década, diversos acadêmicos têm desenvolvido um interesse renovado em sua interação e algumas universidades de formação de professores oferecem cursos de tradução para os seus professores em formação. Esse trabalho apresenta os resultados de um estudo preliminar no qual um questionário foi utilizado para identificar

This study used border theory to understand the learning experiences of student teachers transitioning from campus-based learning to classroom teaching. For teacher candidates learning to teach English as a second language in primary schools in Hong Kong, crossing institutional borders during practicums was highly complex, due to the conflicting expectations, agendas and cultures of university classrooms and elementary schools. School-based mentors played an important role in maintaining or dismantling institutional borders, thus enabling or constraining knowledge transfer across domains. The findings may help educators to create a third space in which student teachers can connect campus-based learning to school practice.
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This article presents a qualitative study which presents professional competence development in an undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) programme in Hong Kong. Fifteen student teachers participated in two rounds of interviews, one after the first ITE fieldwork and another after the second ITE fieldwork in a five-year Bachelor of Education Programme. The interviews placed focus on the ‘context-specific’ aspects of professional competence, namely Competence in Classroom Teaching and Competence to Work in Schools, as well as student teachers’ experiences in different aspects of the ITE fieldwork context. The findings provide important insights into re-conceptualising professional competence development with an integrated analysis which explicates the dynamic interaction between the teaching context, the school context and the student teacher’s approach to learning. Three distinctive patterns of competence development in terms of student teachers’ perceived change in the two ‘context-specific’ aspects of professional competence were identified. The insights from the integrated analysis also extend Mutton, Burn and Hagger’s (2010) study by connecting different patterns of professional competence development with the interaction between student teachers’ approaches to learning from experience and factors in the ITE fieldwork context. Enhancing and constraining conditions for professional competence development and implications for ITE stakeholders are discussed. Copyright © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Competence to work in schools is an important dimension of professional competence, although it is often a neglected dimension of teacher development. This article reports a qualitative study that examined student teachers’ learning experiences in initial teacher education (ITE) in relation to competence to work in schools. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 student teachers on an undergraduate ITE programme in Hong Kong. The findings of the study show that competence to work in schools is characterised by student teachers’ deep contextualised learning. In addition, it offers a deeper understanding of this competence in the ITE context by identifying its three facets, namely understanding of the micro-political realities of schools, social capital building and social strategies. The study provides insights for ITE and schools to support student teachers’ development of their competence to work in schools, including the design of ITE curricula, ITE processes and co-curricular activities in undergraduate studies. Moreover, it suggests the importance of developing schools as growth-fostering and positive micro-political sites for ITE fieldwork and teacher induction.
[Copyright © 2016 Taylor & Francis.]

Education systems around the world need to recruit highly motivated individuals to become teachers and prepare professionally competent teacher education graduates to take up these broadened and deepened roles and responsibilities with a deep and lasting engagement to the profession. This article reports on a mixed-methods study that examines types of teaching motivation in relation to various facets of professional competence and planned engagement in future teaching. One hundred and thirty-two student teachers of a postgraduate diploma in education programme participated in the quantitative survey of whom seven were interviewed. The quantitative data analysis shows the positive association between 'intrinsic-altruistic motivation constellation' and selected facets of professional competence, with 'intrinsic-multifaceted and stimulating job nature' as the most distinctive type of teaching motivation. To complement the quantitative findings, the qualitative data analysis reveals two professional orientations of the 'intrinsic-altruistic motivation constellation', namely (1) student-centred orientation and (2) subject-centred orientation. In addition, three types of professional development aspirations are identified: 'classroom engaged careerists', 'highly engaged persisters' and 'pessimists'. The study provides insights into the design of appropriate ITE practices to support professional learning in the light of student teachers' motivations. It also suggests the importance of matching career opportunities and beginning teachers' professional development aspirations and supporting 'pessimists' in the face of the stringent job market.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Teaching is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2015.1010875]

This article reports the results of an attempt to integrate a collaborative technology, a wiki, into learning within a course in a teacher education program based on social constructivist learning theory. The current study aimed to explore student-teacher acceptance of the proposed pedagogy and to identify specific learning style preferences that might be favourable to accepting the proposed pedagogy. A total of 56 student teachers studying a General Education (GE) course in a teacher education institute in Hong Kong participated in the study. They completed a number of collaborative tasks using a wiki during the learning process, and were then invited to complete a questionnaire designed to solicit their perception on the usefulness of wikis and their attitudes towards using a wiki, and 39 of them also returned a learning styles inventory which was used to identify the learning styles profile of the student-teacher samples. The findings reveal favourable perceptions of the use of a wiki as a collaborative learning tool in the course. Qualitative data collected from open-ended questions also reflects similar favourable results. Active learners were also found to be significantly different from reflective learners in accepting the wiki as a learning tool.
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Understanding student teachers’ development of conceptions of teaching and learning is critical for teacher educators. Drawing from the findings of a four-year longitudinal study in Hong Kong, this paper examines the trajectories of the student teachers’ changing conceptions of teaching and learning approaches throughout their undergraduate programme. Three types of trajectories: guided touring, experiential detouring and self-guided touring, as the changes in both conceptions of teaching and learning approaches, are presented. The results suggest that three factors: faculty, learners’ attitudes towards learning and ability to integrate different learning resources, influenced the development of the student teachers’ trajectories. This study adds to the international body of knowledge on the interconnected development of conceptions of teaching and learning approaches. The paper concludes with the implications for teacher education.
[Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis.]

The relative contributions of higher education and schools, and hence the conceptual and practical aspects of ITE, to student teachers’ professional learning have been an issue of concern in teacher education. This article reports a mixed-methods study showing the relationship between student teachers’ engagement with the practical and conceptual aspects of a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Programme in Hong Kong and different facets of their perceived professional competence. One hundred and thirty-two student teachers participated in the quantitative survey of whom seven were interviewed. The findings reveal that experiences associated with learning the pragmatic facets of professional practice were more valued by student teachers compared to learning the conceptual aspects of ITE. Yet, in terms of relationship with professional competence, student teachers’ engagement with the practical aspects of ITE was related to competence in classroom teaching, whereas their engagement with the conceptual aspects contributed to their mastery of professional knowledge, competence in classroom teaching and competence in interacting with stakeholders. The study illuminates the distinctive contributions of schools and higher education in ITE. While acknowledging the important role of schools in providing a setting for practical work, this study affirms the distinctive contribution of higher education in equipping student teachers with practical and conceptual tools in the preparation of professionally competent teachers.
[Copyright © 2015 Taylor & Francis.]