Becoming a professional: Exploring EFL pre-service teachers’ conceptions of an effective foreign language teacher

Abstract

Please fill up the following information accurately. (Please use Times New Roman, 12 pt.
Becoming a professional: Exploring EFL pre-service teachers’ conceptions of an effective foreign language teacher
The study aims to explore English as a foreign language (EFL) pre-service teachers’ conceptualization of the features of an effective EFL teacher. Additionally, the study attempts to evaluate the role of EFL teacher education programs on EFL PTs’ perceptions of being an effective EFL teacher. The data were collected through concept maps from a group of EFL pre-service teachers attending the same teacher-education program, focus group interviews with 20 pre-service teachers selected randomly from the participant group, and the researcher’s notes taken throughout the research. All of the data sources were analyzed through content analysis. The results indicate that the most important among all features of being an effective teacher, the EFL PTs depict the profile of an effective EFL teacher as having the necessary language skills to be able to use English fluently and accurately. Additionally, the EFL PTs referred to the personality traits of effective EFL teachers as being patient, helpful and humorous with good relationships with their students. When the differences between the grades of the teacher education program were considered, both the frequency levels of the emerging themes of the concept maps and the content of the interviews displayed differences among the theme distribution indicating that no gradual development in the professional learning concepts observed during the professional learning process. Further, the PTs gained insights in terms of defining an effective EFL teacher profile with regard to the priorities and the requirements of the EFL teacher education program.
Information about Author(s)*
Author 1
Author (Last name, First name)	Göksel, Şule
Affiliated institution (University)	Duzce University
Country	Turkey
Email address	[e-mail]
Department & Rank	School of Foreign Languages
Corresponding author (Yes/No) Write only one corresponding author.	No
Author 2
Author (Last name, First name)	Rakıcıoğlu Söylemez, Anıl
Affiliated institution (University)	Abant İzzet Baysal University
Country	Turkey
Email address	[e-mail]
Department & Rank	Department of Foreign Language Education
Corresponding author (Yes/No)	Yes
Author 3
Author (Last name, First name)
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No)
Author 4
Author (Last name, First name)
Affiliated institution (University)
Country
Email address
Department & Rank
Corresponding author (Yes/No)

Keywords

• English language teaching(elt); teacher education; effective language teacher; pre-service teachers; concept maps

References

1. Alptekin, C. (2002). Towards intercultural communicative competence in ELT. ELT Journal, 56(1), 57-64.
2. Anfara, V. A., Brown. K. M., & Mangione, T. L. (2002). Qualitative analysis on stage: Making the research process more public. Educational Researcher, 31(7), 28-38.
3. Ausubel, D. P. (1963). The psychology of meaningful verbal learning. Oxford: Grune & Stratton.
4. Beyerbach, B. A. (1986). Concept mapping in assessing prospective teachers' concept development. New Orleans: Educational Research Association. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED800887).
5. Borg, M. (2005). A case study of the development in pedagogic thinking of a pre-service teacher. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 9(2), 1-30.
6. Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education. London: Bloomsbury Publishing.
7. Blömeke, S., & Delaney, S. (2012). Assessment of teacher knowledge across countries: A review of the state of research. ZDM, 44(3), 223-247.
8. Calderhead, J., & Robson, M. (1991). Images of teaching: student teachers' early conceptions of classroom practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 7, 1-8.

9. Canh, L. V. (2014). Great expectations: The TESOL practicum as a professional learning experience. TESOL Journal, 5(2), 199-224.
10. Ceylan, M., & Turhan, E. (2010). Student-teachers’ opinions about education and teaching profession example of Anadolu University. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2, 2287–2299.
11. Council of Higher Education [Yüksek Öğretim Kurumu, CoHE] (2007a). Eğitim fakültesi öğretmen yetiştirme lisans programları[Teacher education undergraduate programs]. Retrieved on July 10, 2016, from http://www.yok.gov.tr/documents.
12. Council of Higher Education [Yüksek Öğretim Kurumu, CoHE] (2007b). Öğretmen yetiştirme ve eğitim fakülteleri (1982-2007): Öğretmenin üniversitede yetiştirilmesinin değerlendirilmesi. [Teacher education and faculties of education (1982-2007): An evaluation of teacher education at the tertiary level] Ankara: Yükseköğretim Kurulu Yayını. Retrieved on December 20, 2017, from http://www.yok.gov.tr/documents/10279/49665/yok_ogretmen_kitabi/2f55fd61-65b8-4a21-85d9-86c807414624
13. Crandall, J. A. (2000). Language teacher education. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 20, 34–55.
14. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
15. Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. P. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
16. Çelik, S., Arıkan, A., & Caner, M. (2013). In the eyes of Turkish EFL learners: What makes an effective foreign language teacher? PORTA LINGUARUM, 20, 287-297.
17. Darmofal, D. L., Soderholm, D. H., & Brodeur, D. R., (2002). Using concept maps and concept questions to enhance conceptual understanding. Proceedings of the 32nd ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference, (pp. 1-6). Boston, MA: IEEE.
18. Day, R. (1991). Models and the knowledge base of second language teacher educatıon. University of Hawaii Working Papers in ESL, 11(2), 1–13.
19. Derry, J. (2008). Technology-enhanced learning: a question of knowledge. Journal of Philosophy of Education. 42(3/4). 507–519.
20. Farrell, T. S. C. (2001). Concept maps to trace conceptual change in pre-service English teachers. RELC Journal. 32(2). 27-44.
21. Fereday, J., & Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006). Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), 80-92.
22. Freeman, D. (1996). The ‘unstudied problem’: research on teacher learning in language teaching. In D. Freeman & J. C. Richards (Eds.). Teacher learning in language teaching (pp. 351–78). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
23. Girvan, C., Conneely, C., & Tangney, B. (2016). Extending experiential learning in teacher professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 129-139.
24. Gönenç, Z. (2005). Students' expectations towards foreign language (English) teacher profile (Unpublished MA Thesis). Marmara University, İstanbul.
25. Grasha, A. F. (2002). Teaching with style. Alliance Publishers: USA.
26. Grossman, P. L. (1990). The making of a teacher: Teacher knowledge and teacher education. New York: Teachers College Press.
27. Hatipoğlu, Ç., & Erçetin, G. (2014). Türkiye’de yabancı dilde ölçme ölçme değerkendirme eğitminin geçmiş ve bugünü. In S. Akcan & Y. Bayyurt (Eds.). Türkiyedeki yabancı dil eğitimi üzerine görüş ve düşünceler. Boğaziçi University: Boğaziçi University Press.
28. Izadina, M. (2013). A review of research on student teachers’ professional identity. British Educational Research Journal, 39(4), 694-713.
29. Kagan, D. M. (1992). Professional growth among preservice and beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 62(2), 129-169.
30. Kessels, J. P. A. M., & Korthagen, F. A. J. (1996). The relationship between theory and practice: back to the classics. Educational Researcher, 25(3), 17–22.
31. Kumaravedivelu, B. (2012). Language teacher education for a global society: A modular model for knowing, analyzing, recognizing, doing, and seeing. Routledge: New York.
32. Lave, J. (1993). The practice of learning. In S. Chaikin, & J. Lave (Eds.). Understanding practice: Perspectives on activity and context (pp. 3–30). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
33. Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
34. Lim, H. W. (2011). Concept maps of Korean EFL student teachers’ autobiographical reflections on their professional identity formation. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(6), 969-981.
35. Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A Sociological Study. London: University of Chicago Press.
36. Mattheoudakis, M. (2006). Tracking changes in pre-service EFL teacher beliefs in Greece: A longitudinal study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23, 1272–1288.
37. Maxwell, J. A. (1996). Qualitative research design: An interactive approach. Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage.
38. Meijer, P. C., Verloop, N., & Beijaard, D. (1999). Exploring language teachers’ practical knowledge about teaching reading comprehension. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15, 59-84.
39. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis. Thousand Oaks. CA: Sage Publications.
40. Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook. Washington. DC: Sage Publications.
41. Morine-Dershimer, G. (1993). Tracing conceptual change in preservice teachers. Teaching & Teacher Education, 9(1), 15-26.
42. Munro, M., & Derwing, T. (1995). Processing time. accent. and comprehensibility in the perception of native and foreign-accented speech. Language and Speech, 38, 289–306.
43. Nespor, J. (1987). The role of beliefs in the practice of teaching. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 19(4), 317-328.
44. Ng, W., Nicholas, H., & Williams, A. (2010). School experience on pre-service teachers’ evolving beliefs about effective teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 278-289.
45. Nitko, A. J. (1996). Educational assessment of students. Englewood Cliffs. New Jersey. NJ: Prentice-Hall.
46. Novak, J. D. (1990). Concept maps and Vee diagrams: Two metacognitive tools for science and mathematics education. Instructional Science, 19, 29-52.
47. Novak, J. D., & Gowin, D. B. (1984). Learning how to learn. Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.
48. OECD (2005). Teachers matter : Attracting. developing and retaining effective teachers. Paris: OECD Publishing.
49. Osterman, K. F., & Kottkamp, R. B. (1993). Reflective practice for educators: Improving schooling through professional development. Newbury Park. CA: Corwin Press.
50. Palpacuer-Lee, C., Hutchison Curtis, J., & Curran, M. E. (2018). Stories of engagement: Pre-service language teachers negotiate intercultural citizenship in a community-based English language program. Language Teaching Research, 2018, 1-18.
51. Pennington, M. C. (1996). The 'cognitive-affective filter' in teacher development: Transmission-based and interpretation-based schemas for change. System, 24(3), 337-350.
52. Pennington, M. C., & Urmston, A. (1998). The teaching orientation of graduating students on a BATESL course in Hong Kong: A comparison with the first year students. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 17–46.
53. Putnam, R. T., & Borko, H. (2000). What do new views of knowledge and thinking have to say about research on teacher learning? Educational Researcher, 29(1), 4-15.
54. Richards. J. C. (1991) Content knowledge and instructional practice in second language teacher education. In J. E. C. Alatis (Eds.). Georgetown University round the table on languages and linguistics. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.
55. Sandholtz, J. H. (2011). Preservice Teachers' Conceptions of Effective and Ineffective Teaching Practices. Teacher Education Quarterly, 38, 27-47.
56. Sheridan, L. (2016). Examining changes in pre-service teachers’ beliefs of pedagogy. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41(3), 1-20.
57. Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 4-14.
58. Sifakis, N., Lopriore, L., Dewey, M., Bayyurt, Y., Vettorel, P., Cavalheiro, L., Siquera, D.S.P., & Kordia, S. (2018). EFL-awareness in ELT: Bringing together theory and practice. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 7(1), 155-209.
59. Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative case studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln. (Eds.). The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 443-466). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
60. Stančić, M., Radulović, L., & Perišić, M. (2012). Fostering student teachers’ self-reflectivity by using concept mapping. In M. Orel (Ed.) International Conference Modern Approaches to Teaching Coming Generation. Ljubljana: EDUvision.
61. Urmston, A. (2003). Learning to teach English in Hong Kong: The opinions of teachers in training. Language and Education, 17(2), 112-137.
62. Varghese, M., Morgan, B., Johnston, B., & Johnson, K. A. (2005). Theorizing language teacher identity: Three perspectives and beyond. Journal of Language. Identity & Education, 4(1), 21-44.
63. von der Heidt, T. (2015). Concept maps for assessing change in learning: A study of undergraduate business students in first-year marketing in China. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(2), 286-308.
64. Weber, E. (2013). English as a Lingua Franca and appropriate teacher competence. In Y. Bayyurt & S. Akcan (Eds.). ELF 5: Proceedings of the Fifth International Conference of English as a Lingua Franca (pp.7-13). Boğaziçi University: Boğaziçi University Press
65. Weinstein, C. (1989). Teacher education students’ preconceptions of teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 53–60.
66. Weinstein, C. (1990). Prospective elementary teachers’ beliefs about teaching: Implications for teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 6(3), 279–290.
67. Yeşilbursa, A. (2011). Reflection at the interface of theory and practice: An analysis of pre-service English language Teachers’ written reflections. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(3). 50-62.
68. Yeşilbursa, A., & Çelik, S. (2014). Understanding reflective practice: Professional development strategies for EFL teachers. In S. Çelik (Ed.). Approaches and principles in English as a foreign language (EFL) education (pp. 453-474). Ankara: Eğiten Kitap.
69. Yuwono, I. G., & Harbon, L. (2010). English teacher professionalism and professional development: Some common issues in Indonesia. Asian EFL Journal, 12(3), 145-163.