ABSTRACT
Since the late 1980s, mentoring pre-service teachers in general, and EFL pre-service teachers in particular, has been advocated as a reform in initial school-based field experiences. In teacher education, mentoring is typically described as a supportive process to help develop teaching practices, involving a nurturing relationship between a less experienced person and a more experienced person who provides both career-related and psychosocial support (Kram, 1988). Although there is a substantial body of literature documenting the numerous benefits of mentoring for pre-service EFL teachers, research on mentoring practices has also revealed a number of less positive effects. Such situations have been attributed to several factors, such as the lack of a shared goal in teaching practice, conflicting approaches and methods between school mentors and mentees, and lack of appropriately trained mentors. This highlights the need for reconceptualizing mentoring practices in TESOL practicum. The current chapter discusses the challenges facing the quality of mentoring in TESOL practicum across countries and then proposes a conceptual framework to enhance the quality of mentoring in TESOL practicum in the light of CHAT (cultural-historical activity theory) (Engeström, 1987, 2001).
