"The Foreign Language Classroom is Like an Airplane" Metaphorical Conceptualizations of Teachers’ Beliefs

Abstract

Abstract

 Drawing on constructivist perspectives, this study aimed to investigate the tacit knowledge of pre-service English teachers regarding the foreign language classroom by discovering their belief systems mainly through a metaphor analysis. The participants consisted of two pre-service teachers, who enrolled in a practicum class of a one-year intensive teaching certificate course offered at an English-medium foundation university located in Istanbul, Turkey, during the spring semester of 2012-2013 academic year. The possible effects of practice teaching period on the metaphors were also explored. In so doing, the participants were requested to reflect on the metaphors they generated. In this exploratory design, the data collection tools included a metaphor completion task, a semi-structured interview, and follow-up e-mails. The results suggested that pre-service teachers do not enter teacher education as a tabula rasa and that the use of metaphors to reveal previous knowledge was a useful instrument. It was also found that real teaching experience seemed to influence the metaphors expressed prior to practicum. Implications and applications for teacher education and suggestions for future research are discussed.

 Keywords: Pre-service teacher education, teaching certificate programs, practicum, metaphor analysis, prior beliefs, tacit knowledge

 

Öz

 Yapılandırmacı yaklaşımı takip eden bu çalışma hizmet öncesi İngilizce öğretmenlerinin yabancı dil sınıfı ile ilgili var olan bilgilerini metafor analizi yöntemi ile ortaya çıkarmayı amaçlamıştır. 2012-2013 eğitim-öğretim yılının bahar döneminde bir vakıf üniversitesinde verilmekte olan bir yıllık yoğun bir pedagojik formasyon programının okul deneyimi dersine kayıt olan iki hizmet öncesi İngilizce öğretmeni çalışmada yer almışlardır. Bahsi geçen okul deneyimi döneminin araştırmaya katılan öğretmenler tarafından dile getirilen metaforlar üzerinde bir etkisinin olup olmadığı da ayrıca incelenmiştir. Bu yapılırken, katılımcılardan çalışma boyunca belirttikleri metaforlar üzerinde yansıtıcı bir şekilde düşünmeleri istenmiştir. Araştırmada veriler metafor tamamlama, yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşme ve takip amaçlı gönderilen elektronik postalarla toplanmıştır. Elde edilen verilerin nitel analizinin sonucunda hizmet öncesi İngilizce öğretmenlerinin mesleğe başlamadan önce tabula rasa olmadıkları ve metafor kullanımının örtülü bilgilerin gün yüzüne çıkarılmasında etkili bir yöntem olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bunun yanı sıra gerçek sınıf ortamında elde edilen öğretim tecrübesinin çalışmada yer alan hizmet öncesi İngilizce öğretmenlerinin okul deneyimi başlamadan önce ifade ettikleri metaforlar üzerinde bir derece etkili olduğu belirtilebilir. 

Anahtar Sözcükler: Hizmet öncesi öğretmen eğitimi, pedagojik formasyon programları, okul deneyimi, metafor analizi, var olan inançlar, örtülü bilgi

Keywords

• Pre-service teacher education, teaching certificate programs, practicum, metaphor analysis, prior beliefs, tacit knowledge

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