Adaptation of Practicum in An EFL Pre-service Teacher Education Program in Response to the COVID-19 Crisis: A SWOT Analysis

Ilya A., DALOĞLU A.

JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING, cilt.13, sa.1, ss.19-41, 2023 (ESCI) identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 13 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2023
  • Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Communication & Mass Media Index, MLA - Modern Language Association Database
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.19-41
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Online practicum, Pre-service teacher education, Language teacher education, Post-COVID era, Teaching practice, ONLINE, SKILLS, CALL
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The global pandemic forced English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher education programs to revisit their traditional practices to adapt to the emergency conditions. As a part of such adaptations, practicum was moved to the online modality, and all groups of stakeholders experienced unprecedented times. With an awareness of the point of no return marked by the COVID-19, we explored the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of adaptation of practicum in an EFL pre-service teacher education program. Designing a qualitative case study, we collected data from student teachers (STs), school-based mentor teachers (SMTs), and university-based teacher educators (UTEs). The findings revealed that although the imposed conditions caused both internal and external challenges for all the stakeholders, they also produced precious implications. It was mainly concluded that online components need to become an integral part of any regular practicum course; thus, a framework, redefinition of mentors' roles and responsibilities, and accessible digital resources are among the musts while the digital divide still poses the main threat.(c) Association of Applied Linguistics. All rights reserved