In my reading classroom…Emirati student teachers constructing teaching styles in the college classroom (Pre-published version)

Abstract

Those entering the education profession in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) often face considerable obstacles in the government’s primary school system, particularly in the teaching of English reading. Traditional curricula and methodologies, reliance on rote learning, teachers shouting and instilling fear and too few qualified teachers pose a threat to the establishment of a reading culture in schools. As part of a larger case study, this article discusses a teacher educator’s path toward the development of a reading culture, with a focus on the perspectives of Emirati student teachers’ developing reading teaching styles as they engage in a revised teacher education Vygotskian constructivist reading methodology module in the college classroom. Particular reference is given to student teachers’ online teaching identities, reflections of self and aspirational accounts of their future reading classrooms.