A Comparative Study of Academic Discourse Socialization of TESOL Student Teachers in Iran and Malaysia

This study investigated how several TESOL student teachers both in Iran and in Malaysia engaged in a series of informal collegial discussions over teaching issues after their teaching experiences and how the collegial interactions nurtured their professional knowledge and identity. The collegial interactions focused on the transfer of theories learned from the disciplinary textbooks to the pedagogical realities of the TESOL educational settings. The participants shared their personal practical experiences and their understanding of professional issues. The discussions developed their professional knowledge. Negotiation and appropriation of various ideas helped learners socialize more into the underlying values and practices of the TESOL discourse community and to deal with more specific challenges in their discourse community. Also, they reconsidered their professional identity in several aspects. Their awareness of pedagogical challenges was raised and they addressed their learners needs and learning strategies in real classroom settings more effectively. The findings showed their engagement in group discussions let them voice their professional identity more freely, which helped them feel a sense of community while they were engaged in group discussions.