Abstract
This chapter reports a comparative study exploring the motivation to teach and the commitment to teaching among non-local student teachers from mainland China and their Hong Kong local counterparts. The findings indicate that with similar entry perspectives, the two groups develop different degrees of commitment to teaching after the first semester of the programme. While the mainland Chinese participants reassess the suitability of teaching in a culturally unfamiliar context and tend to think of transferring their knowledge to other careers, Hong Kong participants develop an interest in putting the theory into practice and become more committed to teaching. The reasons underlying the differences are explored.
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Notes
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A different version of the chapter was published as follows: Gu, M., & Lai, C. (2012). Motivation and commitment: Pre-service teachers with different historical backgrounds at a teacher education institute in Hong Kong. Teacher Education Quarterly. I have gained permission from my colleague to re-use the data.
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Appendix 6.1: Interview Protocol
Appendix 6.1: Interview Protocol
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Can you talk about your experiences before you joined the programme?
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Why did you decide to pursue a career in English language teaching in the first place? Has a semester of study in this programme changed any of your thinking on that in any way?
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Do you envision yourself as an English teacher for your whole life? Why or why not? Could you think of any possible reasons/events that might make you rethink about pursuing this career?
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How do you perceive teachers and the teaching profession? What are your perceptions of English language teachers and the English language teaching profession? How did you come to have such perceptions?
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How does society view teachers? What do you think gives rise to these perceptions?
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What are your expectations from taking this programme? What do you want to achieve by taking this programme?
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How is the conception of ‘good/effective (English) teacher’ formed in your mind? Would you please tell us some experiences that have influenced your conception? For example, do you have met some teachers who have influenced you in becoming a teacher?
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What kind of support do you think that you may need in the programme?
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Have you used Chinese background and proficiency in Mandarin as important resource?
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Trent, J., Gao, X., Gu, M. (2014). A Comparative Study on Commitment to Teaching. In: Language Teacher Education in a Multilingual Context. Multilingual Education, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7392-9_6
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