An Evaluation of the School-Based Teaching Practice in the Training of EFL Teachers by the English Department of the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana

Abstract

SummaryIn the introduction, the article outlines the context of the practical EFL teacher training at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana and provides the general rationale for this component of teacher education programs. e article then focuses on the results of an ongoing evaluation of the school-based teaching practice program for future EFL teachers (which included over 500 participants) from its inception to the present. e instruments used in the evaluation were questionnaires filled in by all the participating students and their mentors, and essay reports written by the students after each of the two obligatory practice weeks. e quantitative and qualitative data complement each other and confirm that school-based teaching practice is of key importance for shaping future language teachers. e large majority of students and mentors judge their practice teaching experience as positive. An active encounter with their future professional reality is also a major milestone in the students' process of professional identification. e study also points out some aspects of the school-based teaching practice which should be further developed. Unfortunately, as can be seen from the conclusion, the current promises / the reality of the Bologna reform do not provide much cause for optimism.Key words: school-based teaching practice, practical EFL teacher training, students, mentors Povzetek Članek uvodoma predstavi kontekst praktičnega usposabljanja učiteljev angleščine na Filozofski fakulteti v Ljubljani ter na splošno utemelji pomen te sestavine študijskih programov izobraževanja učiteljev. V nadaljevanju so predstavljeni rezultati evalvacije sistematičnega izvajanja pedagoške prakse za bodoče učitelje angleščine od njegove uvedbe dalje, s preko 500 udeleženci. Evalvacija je potekala v obliki vprašalnikov, ki so jih izpolnili vsi študentje in njihovi mentorji, ter prostih esejskih poročil študentov po vsakem od dveh tednov obvezne pedagoške prakse. Kvantitativni in kvalitativni podatki se medsebojno dopolnjujejo in potrjujejo izreden pomen praktičnega usposabljanja za oblikovanje bodočih učiteljev angleščine. Velika večina študentov in mentorjev svoje izkušnje namreč ocenjuje pozitivno, za študente pa je vodeno soočenje s poklicno realnostjo tudi ključen mejnik v procesu identifikacije s svojim bodočim poklicem. Evalvacija je pokazala tudi na nekatere vidike pedagoške prakse, ki bi jih kazalo v prihodnosti še razviti in izboljšati, vendar, kot je razvidno iz zaključka, 'bolonjski' obeti žal niso velik razlog za optimizem.Ključne besede: pedagoška praksa, praktično usposabljanje učiteljev angleščine, študentje, mentorji, evalvacija

Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning: A Study of Three Different Teacher Training Study Programmes in Slovenia

“…Özmen (2012) reported that some of the focal students' beliefs changed during his four-year study, and he ascribed this to the students' engagement in the teaching practicum, which had the greatest impact on the evolution of their beliefs, particularly during the last two years of the study. Similarly, Skela, Sešek and Zavašnik (2008) confirmed in their study that school based teaching practice is of key importance in shaping the future teachers of a foreign language. grijalva and Barajas's longitudinal research (2013) showed that 40% of pre-service English language teachers' beliefs changed over the period studied, whereas 60% remained the same.…”