There has been a plethora of research on Chinese EFL students’ reticence at the undergraduate level both in China and beyond, however, little attention has been paid to this phenomenon in content-based EFL teacher education courses at the postgraduate level. This study focused on a group of Chinese EFL M.E.d. student teachers in a language teacher development course delivered by a Chinese teacher educator. Three triangulated qualitative methods were employed to gather data, including one-semester-long classroom observations, course evaluations and group interviews. Reticence was found to have been caused by the interplay between dispositional and circumstantial factors related to both students and teachers. The study highlights a need for mutual adaptations to address reticence in content-based teacher education classes.
 

Chinese student teachers, retience, teacher education courses