Being able to address learners’ constantly evolving needs requires teachers to keep expanding their knowledge in their respective fields and actively engage in professional development practices. This qualitative meta‐synthesis, therefore, aimed to investigate the research studies published between 2006 and 2020 with respect to in‐service English language teachers’ professional development. In addition to reporting descriptive information of the studies, this synthesis study highlighted directions of research under five main themes: (1) changes in beliefs and practices with a transition from structuralist to communicative orientations; (2) online platforms in professional development; (3) collaborative professional development through research, coaching and study abroad; (4) the intricate relationship between identity and professional development; and (5) the implications for further effective professional development. Finally, this study synthesises fundamental issues in English language teacher professional development and suggests further research ideas in relation to the findings of the present review. Implications for future professional development practices and research are discussed. It is argued that successful professional development recognising teachers as key agents in the process should provide room for contextualising theory and combining it with practice and application in class. Effective professional development also necessitates acknowledging teachers’ personal practical knowledge. Professional development building on varied and differentiated activities and taking the particulars of diverse teaching contexts into consideration, would contribute to teacher growth provided particular conditions with an overt emphasis on practice, teacher needs, collaboration and sustainability. Such synthesis studies would broaden our understanding of English language teacher professional development and prompt necessary actions for development in educational systems.

Culture, a commonly visited concept in English language teaching research, has been integral to language classes. The present study investigated the place of culture in English as a foreign language classes for ten English language instructors teaching at tertiary level across state and private universities in Turkey. The findings revealed that the English language instructors’ opportunities to raise their students’ cultural awareness were not satisfactory, and there was a mismatch between their wishes and practices. This mismatch was mainly attributed to learners’ lack of motivation/interest and their opportunities for visits abroad. The findings also indicated that the participants’ conceptualization of culture in English language classes was predominantly modern, i.e. either as part of the humanistic (big C) paradigm representing canonical literary work produced via a standard language or sociolinguistic (little c) paradigm representing everyday interaction, communication, and patterns of behavior.

Bu nitel vaka çalışması, Türk İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının öğretmen mesleki kimliğinin bileşenlerine ilişkin bakış açılarını ve öğretmenlik uygulaması sırasında kendi mesleki kimlik gelişimine ilişkin anlayışlarını araştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Sözlü görüşmelerin ve tutulan güncelerin analizi, öğretmen adaylarının öğretmen mesleki kimliklerinin dille ilgili, kişisel ve pedagojik bileşenleri pekiştirmelerinin sürekli bir süreç olduğunu göstermiştir. Bulgular, öğretmen adaylarının kimliklerinin dil yeterliliğine, mesleki ve bağlamla ilgili becerilere ve kendileri ve öğrencilerle ilgili farkındalıklarına dayandığını ortaya koymuştur. Öğretmen adayları için İngilizce öğretmeni olmak, dil odaklı, öğretmen odaklı ve öğrenci odaklı beceri ve özellikleri kapsamak anlamına gelmektedir. Ayrıca öğretmen adaylarının mesleki kimlik gelişimlerini anlamada bireysel bakış açısından kurumsal bakış açısına geçiş olduğu bulunmuştur. Öğretmen kimlikleri ile ilgili başlangıçtaki yorumlar çoğunlukla kendi özellikleri ve rol modelleri üzerinde dururken, son yorumlar öğretmen yetki ve sorumlulukları üzerine olmuştur. Bu çalışma, hizmet öncesi öğretmen kimliklerinin anlaşılmasının, başlangıç öğretmen eğitiminde gerekli eylemlere rehberlik edeceğini ileri sürmektedir.

This research aims to explore the content of the reflection that pre-service EFL teachers are engaged in their self-evaluation reports during the practicum process at a public university teacher education program. So far, most reflection research in teacher education has concentrated on the levels of reflection pre-service teachers are involved in. Against this backdrop, we analyzed self-evaluation reports that the participant teachers wrote after three teaching tasks in the practicum. In general, the findings suggest that the pre-service EFL teachers reflected mostly on the instructional processes. The other areas they considered in their self-evaluations were learner motivation and engagement, their self as a teacher and classroom management. The findings also demonstrate that there is a change in the focus regarding the self as a teacher during the practicum. We conclude that examining the content of reflection has the potential to guide and inform practicum regarding the areas to reflect on through various tasks. Keywords: reflective practice, self-evaluation, practicum, pre-service teachers, English as a foreign language