scholarly journals EFL Student Teachers' Reflections on Their Initial Teaching Practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 125
Author(s):  
Sanja Čurković Kalebić

This paper aims to investigate student teachers' reflections on their pre-service teaching practice. The research question is: What are student teachers' perceptions of their cognitive, behavioural and affective involvement in initial teaching practice? The participants in this study were 53 student teachers of English language and literature at a Croatian university. A questionnaire was administered to the student teachers upon the accomplishment of their school-based teaching practice. The questionnaire consisted of 18 items accompanied by a five-point Likert scale. Six items in the questionnaire referred to the student teachers' perception of their cognitive involvement when observing their mentors teach, six items referred to the student teachers' perceptions of their verbal and non-verbal behaviour when teaching their own lessons, and six items addressed student teachers' attitude towards the assignments they had during their teaching practice. Findings indicate high cognitive involvement of the student teachers during their observations of mentors’ lessons. The majority of the student teachers reported they had made an effort to understand the teaching process in terms of the principles and decisions that lay behind the procedures used by the teacher and the selection of a particular teaching strategy. The results show very high student teachers' involvement in some behavioural aspects of teaching, such as paying attention to learners' participation, and student teachers' most enjoyment in teaching their own lessons.

Author(s):  
Sue Garton

The last 20-25 years have seen a significant shift in the views about what teachers need to know to be able to teach. This shift has led to new developments in the theory of second language teacher education (SLTE) and a growth in research in this area. One area of research concerns the attitudes and expectations of those learning to become teachers. While most studies in this area focus on teacher education programmes in BANA countries, this article looks at data from student teachers studying in Russia and Uzbekistan. The study employed a quantitative and qualitative research design, using a researcher-designed on-line questionnaire. Through snowball sampling, data from 161 students and recent graduates in the two countries were collected, analysed, and compared to investigate the content of SLTE programmes. The study identified what the novice teachers felt were the strengths and weaknesses of their programme, and what changes they would like to see. Results showed that while the respondents were mainly satisfied with their methodology, and theoretical linguistics courses, they felt the need for more practice, both teaching and language practice. The data also revealed that, in Uzbekistan in particular, the idea of global English struggles to take hold as native-speaker models remain the norm. The implications of the study underline the need for SLTE to explicitly link theory to practice and to promote the idea of varieties of English, rather than focus on native-speaker norms.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 148
Author(s):  
Dr. David Wealthy Guerrero

<p><em>This qualitative descriptive case study reports the features in autonomy dynamics of three Colombian English language teachers in public schools in the District in Bogota Colombia. Three semi-structured interviews and reflective journals were used for data collection. The research question that guided this study was: What perceptions about autonomy do the three Colombian English language teachers have? The general purpose of this investigation was to identify the main features in teachers’ perceptions related to Autonomy. The specific objective was to identify the strategies that promoted autonomy in Teachers of English as a Foreign Language -TEFL- in different public schools in Bogota, Colombia. The study is, therefore, particularly significant as it can play a role in encouraging Colombian English as a Foreign Language -EFL- teachers to relate the factors needed to get a high quality in Education dynamics. Data indicated that the process heightened the teachers’ awareness of ‘self’ and practice. Autonomy also activated both the teachers’ ability to critically reflect on their context as well as focus on positive aspects of their practice through the willingness to improve their academic abilities and research production. Taken together, the findings serve as baseline data to further professional development in language assessment. </em></p><em></em><em></em>


Author(s):  
Congcong Wang

Wang (2012) suggested that preservice teachers perceived that their initial experiences as online language learners increased their linguistic, cultural and technological awareness, which would further benefit them when working with diverse students. However, that study was unclear about whether teachers perceived that they could transfer their awareness into teaching practice. Therefore, extending the pilot study, this follow-up study explored inservice teachers' perceptions of linguistic, cultural and technological awareness transfer in teaching English Language Learners by asking them to engage with an online language course and reflect on their experience. This study proposes a model for language teacher linguistic, cultural and technological awareness development and transfer, as well as discusses issues related to language teacher awareness transfer.


Author(s):  
Yesim Kesli Dollar ◽  
Enisa Mede

This chapter aims to investigate the impact of reflection on freshmen pre-service English teachers' classroom practices. Specifically, it explores how the participating student teachers' perceptions influenced their instructional practices as a result of participation in reflection activities. The participants of the study were ten freshmen student teachers enrolled in the English Language Teaching undergraduate program at a foundation (non-profit private) university in Turkey. Data came from the reflections of the participating student teachers about their recently-completed 15-hour field-based experience at the pre-school level. As a part of this class reflection activity, the participants were prompted to keep a diary in one of their undergraduate courses and respond to a series of statements or questions related to their classroom observation tasks. They were also engaged in class discussions and were required to write their overall feedback based on their field-based experience. The findings of the study revealed that reflective activities helped the prospective student teachers identify their strengths and weaknesses related to classroom activities, use of materials (use of technology and visuals) and classroom management, leading to self-awareness about their understanding and application of teaching skills and strategies.


Author(s):  
Congcong Wang

Wang (2012) suggested that preservice teachers perceived that their initial experiences as online language learners increased their linguistic, cultural and technological awareness, which would further benefit them when working with diverse students. However, that study was unclear about whether teachers perceived that they could transfer their awareness into teaching practice. Therefore, extending the pilot study, this follow-up study explored inservice teachers' perceptions of linguistic, cultural and technological awareness transfer in teaching English Language Learners by asking them to engage with an online language course and reflect on their experience. This study proposes a model for language teacher linguistic, cultural and technological awareness development and transfer, as well as discusses issues related to language teacher awareness transfer.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Veronica Novembrin Maulimora

Anxieties that are experienced by the teachers are also undergone by the pre-service teachers. The pre-service teachers feel anxious when they teach students or their peers in a real classroom. This study aimed at investigating English pre-service teachers� perceptions of anxiety in peer teaching. To achieve the objective, a questionnaire and open-ended questions were administered to gauge the perceptions of 44 pre-service teachers of the English Education Department, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training, Universitas Kristen Indonesia. Findings revealed that the majority of the preservice English teachers felt anxious about their first peer teaching practice. It was shown that pre-service teachers were unconfident; worried about their English language skills, teaching skills, evaluation skills, and classroom management; and were not sure of the preparations they had made. The top factor causing their anxiety was their classroom management skills. This means that they put the greatest concern on the way they would manage the class. Nevertheless, by knowing the causes of the anxiety, they got the opportunities to reduce it in the next teaching.


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