PRESERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS' MOTIVATION FOR TEACHING DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS

Abstract

Learners from different age groups are motivated to learn English as it is counted to be the prevalent lingua franca in the world. Nevertheless, the current English teacher education departments in Turkey have a common curriculum with a rather limited focus on different age characteristics. This study aimed to investigate preservice teachers’ (PT) motivation with regard to teaching learners from different age levels and the factors affecting their motivation. The data were collected from preservice English teachers’ (N=156) through a questionnaire. Friedman test was used to analyze the ranking item and content analysis was employed for open ended responses. Preservice English teachers’ motivation level to teach different age groups can be sorted from the most to the least as secondary school, primary school, high school, university and kindergarten. Factors affecting PTs’ motivation were efficacy beliefs, instructional concerns, beliefs about learners, attitude towards learners and professional development aspirations.

 

Keywords

• Preservice English teacher,motivation,teaching different age groups,affecting factors

PRESERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS' MOTIVATION FOR TEACHING DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS

Öz

Farklı yaş gruplarından öğrenciler dünyanın önde gelen ligua frankası olarak kabul edildiği için İngilizce öğrenmek istemektedirler. Bununla birlikte Türkiyede mevcut İngilizce öğretmenliği bölümleri farklı yaşlardan öğrencilerin özelliklerine sınırlı bir biçimde odaklanan ortak bir müfredata sahiptir. Bu çalışma öğretmen adaylarının (N=156) farklı yaş kademelerindeki öğrencilere öğretmenlik yapma motivasyonları ve bu motivasyonları etkileyen faktörleri incelemeyi hedeflemektedir. Sıralama maddelerini analiz etmek için Friedman testi, nitel verilerin analizi için içerik analizi kullanılmıştır. İngilizce öğretmen adaylarının farklı yaş gruplarına öğretmenlik yapma motivasyonları en yüksekten en düşüğe olmak üzere şu şekilde sıralanmaktadır: ortaokul, ilkokul, lise, üniversite ve anaokulu. Öğretmen adaylarının motivasyonlarını etkileyen faktörler yeterlik inançları, öğretime dair endişeler, öğrencilere dair inançlar, öğrencilere yönelik tutumlar ve mesleki gelişim istekleridir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• İngilizce öğretmen adayları,motivasyon,farklı yaş gruplarına öğretmenlik yapma

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