ELT Students’ Perceptions of Classroom Management during Teaching Practice: Difficulties and Solutions

Teaching practice becomes one of the challenges for ELT student teachers to carry out the theories they have learned into practice. In view of the challenges, ELT student teachers of Universitas Negeri Malang may also have difficulties in managing a classroom. Therefore, this study was conducted to know the ELT students’ perceptions of classroom management during teaching practice, focusing on the difficulties and solutions. A quantitative with a descriptive research survey was used as the research design. An online questionnaire and interview were used as the instruments to collect the data. The result of this study shows that ELT student teachers 2016 of Universitas Negeri Malang have many difficulties in setting the rules and procedures, especially for group work. The result of the questionnaire depicts that some students break the rules (83.4%), difficulties in handling students who were not willing to work with their friends (67.9%), difficulties in ending the teaching and learning activity that reinforces discipline (66.7%), difficulties in engaging students’ interests at the beginning of teaching and learning activity (57.1%), and difficulties in handling students who bother their friends when they have finished a task (51.2%). For ELT student teachers who will be doing their teaching practice, it is essential to understand and deepen the knowledge of managing the classroom. Moreover, student teachers need to set clear instructions for group work and negotiate with the students whether they want to make groups by themselves or randomly chosen by the teacher. Lastly, give extensive activities for “disruptive students”. Keywords: student teachers, teaching practice, classroom management Abstrak: Praktik mengajar menjadi salah satu tantangan bagi mahasiswa ELT untuk mengimplementasikan teori-teori yang telah dipelajarinya. Melihat tantangan tersebut, mahasiswa ELT Universitas Negeri Malang sebagai calon guru mungkin juga mengalami kesulitan dalam mengelola ruang kelas. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui persepsi mahasiswa ELT tentang pengelolaan kelas selama praktik mengajar, fokus pada kesulitan dan solusi. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif, survei deskriptif. Instrumen yang digunakan untuk mengumpulkan data adalah angket dan wawancara. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa KPL Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Negeri Malang tahun ajaran 2016 mengalami banyak kesulitan dalam menetapkan tata tertib dan prosedur di dalam kelas selama praktik mengajar, terutama saat kerja kelompok. Hasil kuesioner menunjukkan bahwa mahasiswa KPL mengalami kesulitan dalam menetapkan aturan dan tata cara kerja kelompok karena ditemukan beberapa siswa yang tidak patuh (83,4%), kesulitan dalam menangani siswa yang tidak mau bekerja dengan temannya ( 67,9%), kesulitan dalam mengakhiri kegiatan belajar mengajar yang melatih kedisiplinan (66,7%), kesulitan dalam menarik minat belajar siswa pada awal pembelajaran (57,1%), dan kesulitan menangani siswa yang mengganggu temannya saat mereka telah menyelesaikan tugasnya (51,2%). Bagi mahasiswa KPL Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris yang akan praktik mengajar, sangat penting untuk memahami dan memperdalam ilmu pengelolaan kelas. Selain itu, mahasiswa KPL perlu memberikan instruksi yang jelas saat kerja kelompok dan bernegosiasi dengan siswa apakah mereka ingin membuat kelompok sendiri atau dipilih secara acak oleh guru. Untuk “siswa yang mengganggu”, mahasiswa KPL dapat memberikan tugas tambahan. Kata kunci: guru siswa, praktik mengajar, manajemen kelas

From Preservice to Practice: Expectations of/in the Secondary ELA Classroom

The paper explores how preservice ELA teachers’ expectations of teaching compare to the reality of their experiences during the first year of teaching. The authors consider common concerns of beginning ELA teachers and their implications for teacher self-efficacy. The paper is informed by narrative research, which provides practical and specific insights into the lived experiences of participants. The first data set consists of reflective writings on a self-identified topic connected to ELA teaching and/or learning throughout the semester. Two, one-hour individual interviews conducted during the first year of teaching form the second data set. The paper provides empirical insights about how preservice experiences inform ELA teachers’ expectations of first-year teaching and their development of self-efficacy. Their two major concerns – classroom management and building rapport – identified their fears and insecurities about managing disruptive students and establishing connections with students. These struggles offer a connection between expectations, experiences and self-efficacy. Likewise, they point to the need for teacher education to address preservice teachers’ self-efficacy as a way to support their successful entry into the classroom. The paper includes implications for the development of increased opportunities to study and experience critical concerns of the profession. Such learning experiences offer preservice teachers meaningful opportunities to engage with experiential learning, applied practice and critical reflection before their first year in the field. The paper fulfills an identified need to study how differences between expectation and reality can be difficult for beginning ELA teachers to reconcile, a disconnect that lends itself to considerations of teachers’ self-efficacy.

ReDesigning intercultural exchanges through the use of augmented reality

While the debate on breakthrough technologies has focused on inept, dexterous, and socially transforming technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistants and robot dexterity, in second/foreign language learning, particular emphasis is placed on AI, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). This study takes a closer look at the role of three newly developed AR applications in promoting a better understanding of complex concepts such as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), strategies in dealing with disruptive students, and an immigrant’s perspective in moving to a foreign country with no knowledge of the language(s) spoken in that country. The AR applications were developed and implemented during intercultural exchanges among students enrolled in academic institutions in the UK and Cyprus. The aim was to develop AR applications that were geared toward the learning needs of future language teachers and examine what students could achieve through the use of these applications during goal-driven tasks and activities.