2000; Contreras & Gerardo, 2000). Additionally, narrative inquiry is therapeutic in nature and beneficial for the narrators who are provided with an opportunity to express their stories (Murray, 2018). Mishler (1986) further contends that the narrators are not only empowered to articulate their experiences, but they may move beyond the text to potential actions and changes through the narratives. Thus, it makes sense that the pre- service EFL teachers are provided with an opportunity to reflect on their professional development through sharing the narrative account of their assessment experiences, which may facilitate their further concern and subsequent actions on LAL.
Considering that the research objective of the current study is to explore the inner world of pre-service EFL teachers towards LAL conceptualization, LAL proficiency level, LAL evolvement trajectory, and the interaction between mediating factors and LAL, narrative inquiry is proper to understand human complexity, particularly in the cases in which the influencing variables cannot be controlled (Josselson, 2010).
Narrative inquiry can provide in-depth evidence of the development trajectory of LAL over time and reveal the interaction between mediating factors and LAL growth (Harding & Brunfaut, 2020). Therefore, in view of all these advantages of narrative inquiry and its alignment with the research purpose, the current study takes narrative inquiry as the research method to address the research questions.
teachers for primary and secondary schools in China. The study took place in a pre- service EFL teacher education programme offered by X Normal University in China.
X Normal University was chosen for purposive sampling. The researcher has been working there for over 14 years as an EFL teacher educator. The familiarity with the setting in the study makes it easier for the researcher to understand the participants’
experience in pre-service teacher education programmes and more helpful to establish trust between researcher and participants in researcher-as-instrument qualitative research (Miles et al., 2014).
3.3.1 Background Information of X Normal University
The X Normal University selected in the study is located in the western region, a less developed area of China. Founded in 1978, it is a province-owned university featuring undergraduate teacher training. The university covers an area of more than 680,000 square meters of land and more than 16,000 students reside on the campus. The university is made up of 19 schools or departments and 28 research institutions. There are currently 54 undergraduate majors, of which 19 majors are teacher-training ones and 35 non-teacher-training ones.
The number of staff is 1,100, of whom 698 are full-time teachers in 2021. The number of professionals including professors and associate professors is 233. For the past 40 years, the university abides by the fine tradition of normal education and sticks to the university-running philosophy of serving the locals and leading the development of
society. The university-running orientation is the establishment of an applied mode university featuring teacher-training, with multiple disciplines and levels for serving the economic development of the society.
3.3.2 Background Information of Pre-service EFL Teacher Education Programme
With regard to the pre-service EFL teacher education programme in X Normal University, the programme provides pre-service teachers four years of tertiary education, including the coursework and teaching practicum, cited from the talent training scheme (See Table 3.1). Every year nearly 180 pre-service EFL teachers are enrolled and placed in six classes with about 30 students in each class.
Table 3.1
Outline of Courses Offered in the Pre-service EFL Education
Type Term Courses Percentage of
the total credits (total)
General courses 1-7 Computer, College Chinese
29.83% (181) Professional
courses
1-7 Intensive English, Listening, Translation, Academic Paper Writing
44.2% (181)
Teacher education courses
2-7 Educational Psychology, Class Management, English Pedagogy
7.74% (181)
Teaching practicum and training
1-6 Teaching Skills Training, English Lesson Design Training
15.47% (181) Innovation and
entrepreneurship courses
1-8 No specific course, just participating activities or competitions
2.76% (181)
The general courses are a must to be attended by all majors in X Normal University to meet the basic requirement of undergraduates in China. A series of elementary language proficiency courses are offered to improve pre-service teachers’ English, for instance, Oral English, Intensive Reading, English Listening, and English Writing.
They account for the most credits in the talent training scheme, revealing that the English proficiency is placed in the priority. The third type is the teacher education courses, which are arranged from the first year to the last year, including English Pedagogy, Educational Psychology, and English Teaching Activity Design. Language Testing and Assessment is a selective course of two credits while English Pedagogy is a compulsory course with two credits for all pre-service teachers.
The teaching practicum in field school lasting for 18 weeks is compulsory at the second term of the third year. Before starting to teach in field schools, all pre-service teachers must attend the intensive teaching training lasting for two weeks offered by the university to strengthen their teaching skills under the guidance of the mentor. Then they are allocated to the field school according to the arrangement of the university.
Each pre-service teacher is assigned with two mentors, one from university and the other from field school, who are collaboratively in charge of the pre-service teacher in practicum. The mentor in the field school is responsible for guiding, supervising, and evaluating the pre-service teacher’s work in practicum while the university mentor regularly visits the school for providing necessary support. The last type of courses are innovation and entrepreneurship courses, which needs pre-service teachers to
participate in activities or English competitions to obtain the corresponding credits.