Paradigms in Language Teacher Education
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methodology of teaching the subject, pedagogy and psychology. In the case of modern languages this meant the introduction of practical language teaching, FLT methodology, psychology and pedagogy with a set amount of teaching practice in schools (Council of Europe, Report no. 16, 1996). As a result, in the last decade the professional component started to be perceived as a broader spectrum of knowledge and skills. Apart from methodology and the teaching practicum, most of the EU member countries have now introduced two more subject areas – psychology and pedagogy. The introduction of psychology and pedagogy into the teacher education curriculum was not a result of administrative decisions only. The awareness of individual differences and their role in language acquisition, the early start in kindergartens and in the early primary as well as the promotion of Modern Languages for Specific Purposes taught to adult professionals were all factors pointing to the need for the psychological education of language teachers. The need to introduce content from the field of educational sciences, on the other hand, was related to the necessity of functioning in the class-lesson-oriented school system and responding to requirements formulated by school administration. Managing large groups of learners proved impossible without the awareness of group dynamics and other group processes, while the successful integration of students with special educational needs in mainstream education is possible only for teachers with specific pedagogical knowledge and skills. Since the beginning of the new century new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has also been considered an indispensable part of any teacher’s preparation for the profession (Eurydice 2002: 49–50). The nature of the national context often determines other specific curricular requirements. Multilingual countries, such as Luxembourg or Belgium, want their teachers to be able to function in bi- or trilingual educational contexts. Countries with large numbers of immigrants see the need for knowledge and skills to work in multicultural contexts and for that reason clear goals are postulated vis-á-vis their teacher training institutions. Yet certain aspects seem to be lacking, whatever the need. Several years ago the European Union noticed for the first time that no country offers prospective teachers sufficient know-how related to stress management (Eurydice 2002: 53–65). One might think that each country has managed to work out a practical system of its own for the training of modern language teachers, that useful solutions have been found, no more than small adjustments will now be