Writing teacher education and teacher learning: Testimonies of four EFL teachers

In studies of L2 writing, much more attention has been paid to the needs of students learning to write than to teachers learning to teach. In EFL contexts, while much research is geared towards helping learners cope with the challenges of writing in a foreign language, studies on EFL writing teacher education are few and far between. We have limited knowledge of how EFL teachers teach and learn to teach writing, what gaps there are in their knowledge base, and how writing teacher education can impact teacher learning. Using interview and classroom research data gathered from four EFL teachers of Hong Kong, this study investigates the teachers' perspectives on their own development as teachers of writing at the end of an in-service writing teacher education program. It also explores the ways in which writing teacher education promotes teacher learning. The findings of the study show that writing teacher education can broaden teachers' perspectives on teaching writing and help them construct a new identity as writing teachers. Six areas in which writing teacher education impacts teacher learning are also discussed. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.