This study presents the results of a secondary analysis of 26 diary studies by novice ESL teachers. All of the U.S. teachers were enrolled in a master's degree program in TESOL and had less than 6 months of prior teaching experience. Each participant wrote (a) a personal language learning history, (b) diary entries during a 10‐week teaching semester, and (c) an analysis of their diaries. The data were examined to identify common themes shared among the novice teachers. General themes that emerged from this secondary analysis were novice teachers' early preoccupations with their own teaching behavior, transfer and rejection of teaching skills used in the novice teacher's own L2 learning, unexpected discoveries about effective teaching, and continued teaching frustrations. These results offer some insight into the most pressing needs of novice teachers. They are discussed in relation to the design of introductory practicum