A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF PRACTICUM EXPERIENCE: FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF PRESERVICE EFL TEACHERS

Abstract

Practicum is regarded to be a pivotal component of initial teacher education program and such a considerable significance taken on by practicum necessitates more research regardless of the abundance of research on it. This case study explores a) how eight preservice EFL teachers (PEFLTs) evaluated the overall effectiveness of the practicum they took in the last term of the English language teacher education program they were enrolled in, b) the impact of keeping diaries and filling out self-evaluation forms on their professional learning, c) to what extent the courses offered at the program supported them in real teaching, and d) what they would change in the structure of practicum if they had the chance to do so. The results yielded by the inductive analysis of the data drawn from focus group interviews, the data from diaries and self-evaluation forms showed that PEFLTs deemed practicum experience crucial for both their professional learning and putting subject knowledge into practice while stating a set of negative experiences they had in practicum. The findings also reported that reflecting on practicum experiences helped them enhance their professional learning. Besides, the courses taken at university were not recognized as adequate to prepare PEFLTs for real teaching.