Mentoring Practices in English Language Teaching Practicum: Student Teachers’ Perspectives on Cooperating Teachers’ Roles in the Turkish Context

Applied linguistics and language education research in Turkey: 2016–2022

“…In addition to examining the standards of language teacher education programs, studies have also focused on different aspects of them such as the practicum experience (Aydın & Ok, 2022;Karakaş & Erten, 2021;Sarıçoban & Kırmızı, 2020). Both Aydın and Ok (2022) and Sarıçoban and Kırmızı (2020) explored the perceptions of students and their supervisors/mentors during the crucial practicum portion of teacher education programs.…”

“…In addition to examining the standards of language teacher education programs, studies have also focused on different aspects of them such as the practicum experience (Aydın & Ok, 2022;Karakaş & Erten, 2021;Sarıçoban & Kırmızı, 2020). Both Aydın and Ok (2022) and Sarıçoban and Kırmızı (2020) explored the perceptions of students and their supervisors/mentors during the crucial practicum portion of teacher education programs. In Aydın and Ok's (2022) study, both mentors and supervisors, to a large extent, agreed upon the mentors' responsibilities for various roles (e.g., trainer-informant; role model; protector; assessor-evaluator; facilitator-supporter; collaborator; observer-feedback provider; reflector; and friend-colleague).…”

“…Both Aydın and Ok (2022) and Sarıçoban and Kırmızı (2020) explored the perceptions of students and their supervisors/mentors during the crucial practicum portion of teacher education programs. In Aydın and Ok's (2022) study, both mentors and supervisors, to a large extent, agreed upon the mentors' responsibilities for various roles (e.g., trainer-informant; role model; protector; assessor-evaluator; facilitator-supporter; collaborator; observer-feedback provider; reflector; and friend-colleague). However, the student teachers expressed much more mixed opinions about their mentors' actual fulfillment of them.…”

Overview of the challenges of Practicum Practices in English Language Teaching in Turkey: A Meta Synthesis Study on Literature between 2004 and 2019

“…The author underlines the fact that having mentoring skills is not enough to be good mentors. Similarly, Aydın andOk (2019), andKasapoğlu (2015) argued that a certain set of criteria should be utilized for CTs selection for the practicum process. The CTs should be motivated, helpful, open to communication and dedicated.…”

“…Another implication mentioned was the collaboration between schools and the faculties. The CTs, supervisors and school managers should come together before the practicum and clearly communicate their expectations from each other (Aydın & Ok, 2019). The duration, the number of STs visiting the school, the tasks they need to complete, the observed teaching tasks, the evaluation criteria to be used, lesson planning, material design, classroom management, the number of pupils, their background, and any other point related with this process should be discussed between school and the faculty beforehand.…”