Investigating of past and present teachers preparation to identify gaps and to improve pre service teachers education

This research aims to identify the gaps in teacher education programs for the preservice teacher in teaching Chinese as a second language (TCSL) in Malaysia. With the library research adopted in this study, a documentary study was applied, the curriculum structures of two TCSL programs namely the Bachelor Degree in Education (Chinese Language Education for Primary School-PISMP-SK) offered by IPGM (Institute of Teacher Education Malaysia) and Bachelor Degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSLB) which is offered in Beijing Foreign Studies University, China (BFSU) were obtained officially. The structures of these curriculum and their contents are examined, compared and analyzed. The results show that gaps are identified:(i) in the major area of the key components of PISMPSK and TCSLB; TCSLB consists of three components with a total of 150 credit hours: the core courses, elective core courses and professionalism practices; PISMP-SK consists of six components with a total of 133 credit hours, besides the 3 components included in the TCSLB curriculum, there are general courses, educational courses and open elective courses. (ii) a gap is identified in the allocation of credit hours for core course component for both programs, TCSLB allocated 126 credit hours (84%) of the total credit hours, consists of 15 courses as compared to PISMP-SK only allocated 48 credit hours (36.1%), for 17 courses.(iii) professional practices which is vital to provide authentic teaching experience to pre-service teachers, there are only 2 credit hours (1.3%) allocated in TCSLB while PISMP-SK allocated 16 credit hours (12%). The findings indicated that the emphasis of these programs are entirely different and serve different purposes which then might arouse concerns that needed further study to identify the effects of these gaps to the teaching quality. It is clear that the TSCLB has designed a curriculum that ensures the pre-service teachers to learn and master the language skills through the core courses. On the other hand, PISMP-SK portrays a well-balanced curriculum that provides theory and authentic practical experiences to the pre-service teachers with the educational courses and professional practices added with the subject related courses like literature and linguistics. The study suggests that the relationships in the curriculum designs and the assertiveness of the pre-service teachers might be a vital aspect to study in order to ensure a more sustainable program to prepare our future TCSL teachers.