The transition from the teacher education institution to life in a real classroom has been characterized as a type of reality shock in which beginning teachers realize that the ideals they formed while training may not be appropriate for the realism they are faced with during their first year of teaching [1]. Unfortunately, this concern is not fully addressed in schools in Malaysia as beginning teachers have the same responsibility as a teacher with many years of service. It is suggested that it is not until they have survived the initial shock of the first year that novices are able to begin to concentrate on the important areas of long-term planning, overall student goals, and individual students" needs [2]. This article examines challenges that novice teachers in Malaysia face in their early experience of teaching through a review of significant literature. Based on recent studies from the literature, these challenges are discussed and future direction for research in this field is suggested.

Research has shown that teachers' beliefs on teaching and learning exert an influence on their actual classroom practices. In the teaching of English pronunciation, teachers' beliefs play a crucial role in the choice of pronunciation components taught in the ESL classrooms. This paper explores teachers' beliefs about teaching English pronunciation in Malaysian classrooms and the extent to which these beliefs influenced the teachers' classroom instructions. Employing a multiple case study of five ESL teachers in secondary schools, this study investigated the beliefs the teachers have formed about pronunciation focused areas and classroom practices in teaching English pronunciation. Data were collected through actual classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with the teachers and students. The findings of the study found that ESL teachers seem to believe that pronunciation skills are to be taught integratedly with other English language skills. Results also indicate a discrepancy between these teachers' beliefs on the focused areas of pronunciation and the stated curriculum specifications. Additionally, the ESL teachers seem to have vague and contradictory beliefs about pronunciation focused areas. These beliefs are based on their previous language learning and professional experience as well as other contextual factors such as examination demands and time constraints. As a result, these beliefs lead to the pronunciation component being neglected despite it being stipulated by the curriculum.

No abstract

This study aims to explore the influence of contextual factors on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers' professional identity formation in the context of Saudi Arabia. More specifically, it aims to examine how the participants' educational background, life experiences and professional setting influence their professional identities as EFL teachers in Saudi secondary schools. This study involved three EFL teachers who are based in Riyadh. Employing a case study method, the data collection techniques of this qualitative study included in-depth interviews and observations. Drawing upon Wenger's (1998) concept of communities of practice, the data analysis reveals several factors affecting the EFL Saudi teachers' professional identity. This study found that the Saudi teachers' educational background and life experiences act as formative elements which influence their EFL professional identity formation. Moreover, the participating teachers agree that practical experience and teaching community played a more significant role than their educational background in terms of shaping their teacher's identity construction and their classroom practices. The results have many implications for Saudi Arabia's development of current teacher education programme. If teacher education curriculum is aimed at improving the professional identity building of EFL teachers, then the policymakers might need to review the curricula of English language teacher education and incorporate some improvements within the programme.

This research sets out to investigate the relationship between WTC (willingness to communicate) in English and FLE (Foreign Language Enjoyment) among Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners in normal universities in Shandong Province, China. This is a quantitative research through survey technique via a questionnaire on students' demographic variables, WTC, and FLE. The data collected from 128 recruited students have been addressed by SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) and AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures). The outcomes of this research show that the tertiary EFL students in Shandong normal universities evaluated themselves as taking a high level of FLE and L2 WTC. Besides, data exhibited there was a significant positive relationship that is moderately strong between FLE and L2 WTC. Furthermore, the multiple regression analysis showed that FLE-teacher is the FLE dimension that significantly impacts on L2 WTC. Through the achievement of the fitness indexes required for GFI (Goodness of Fit Index), Ratio Chisq/df (Chi-square/ Degrees of Freedom), and RMR (Root Mean Square) at an acceptable level, the proposed structural model does fit with the data gathered. Thereby, the structural model proposed based on the conceptual framework was established for this study.