Factors Affecting Student Teachers’ Teaching Practice

Abstract

The existing literature suggests that teacher education provides courses that enables student teachers to acquire knowledge and skills so that they can teach any foreign languages (Banathy, 1968). One of these courses is called academic internship course. This study explores factors affecting student teachers’ teaching practices during their internship course. Particularly, it delves into the support of stakeholders and methods course among the defined factors. This study employed one qualitative data collection method: online interview, which served as a main data source, with fifteen student-teachers, four supervisors and one methods course instructor. The findings of the study document that four major factors affect student teachers’ teaching practices during their internship courses: factors related to knowledge and skills gained at university and on site, factors related to learners on site and student teachers’ own preparedness. The findings particularly indicate lack of teaching skills that were meant to be gained through methods course at university affect student teachers’ teaching practices in a significant way. The findings further suggest that supervisors were eager to support student teachers in practical issues such as student-centered lesson planning, time and classroom management. Addressing the findings, the study result in proposing a recommendation called micro-teaching training program.