From student to teacher. Language Teachers’ cognitive development and teaching practice.

This dissertation explores the cognitions of pre-service language teachers’, their development, and the impact these cognitions have on the participants’ early novice teaching experiences. This longitudinal study investigates the developmental process of three student-teachers’ cognitions throughout their undergraduate studies at a State University in Northern Mexico. Additionally, it seeks to analyse these cognitions through their first independent teaching experiences while framing these within the contexts in which the participants studied and carried out their teaching practice. The study elicited data for three years. The data gathering process was divided into four stages in which data was gathered through unstructured observation, a background interview, stimulated recall interviews and teaching journals. These tools provided the possibility of obtaining insight into the participants’ context, elicited and professed cognitions, and their actions and decision-making in the classroom. The study’s results demonstrate the symbiotic relationship between cognition and teaching practice; the influence of professional preparation in cognitions; the nature of the process of language teachers’ cognitive development; the complexity of cognitive systems and tensions; identified factors that influence cognitive and behavioural change; and shed light on the importance of providing pre-service teachers with quality practicum experiences