EXPLORING PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ COURSE EXPECTATIONS AND THEIR REALIZATION LEVELS THROUGH PORTFOLIOS

Main Article Content

Şevki Kömür
Şeyda Selen Çimen

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to explore the expectations of pre-service English teachers from a course at the beginning of the term and realization levels of their expectations at the end as well as investigating the function of portfolios as an assessment tool from pre-service teachers’ points of view. The participants were 90 third-year pre-service teachers, who took the Teaching Language Skills I, and developed portfolios during the fall term, 2016-2017 Academic year. The data were obtained from the portfolios and semi-structured interviews and they were analyzed by using content analysis technique. The results revealed that pre-service English teachers expected to be trained in four different categories during the course Teaching Language Skills I, which are skills teaching, managing learning and teaching, course design, and teacher skills. It was also found that 60% of the expectations of pre-service English teachers were met by the course. Pre-service teachers also reported that they benefited from the course Teaching Language Skills I in terms of some aspects of language teaching without expecting to do so.

Keywords: portfolio assessment, language teacher education, teaching language skills, course expectations.

Article Details

Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Şevki Kömür, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Turkey

Dr. Kömür has been teaching at the Department of Foreign Languages Education for 15 years. He is currently teaching Language Skills Teaching, Language Acquisition, Testing and Evaluation in ELT. His research areas include Teaching Language Skills, Critical Thinking Skills in ELT and Testing and Evaluation in ELT and Language Teacher Education.

Şeyda Selen Çimen, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Turkey

Dr. Çimen works as a research assistant for 11 years. She holds a Ph.D. from METU, Department of Foreign Languages Education. Her research interests include language teacher education, teacher cognition and practices, pragmatics, and qualitative research methodology.

References

Anderson, R. S., & DeMeulle, L. (1998). Portfolio use in twenty-four teacher education programs. Teacher Education Quarterly, 5, 23-31.

Arslan, Ş. R. (2014). Integrating feedback into prospective English teachers’ writing process via blogs and portfolios. The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 13(1), 131-150.

Banfi, S. C. (2003) Portfolios: Integrating advanced language, academic and professional skills. ELT Journal, 57(1), 34-42.

Baume, D. & Yorke, M. (2002). The reliability of assessment by portfolio on a course to develop and accredit teachers in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 27(1), 7-25.

Berg, B. L. (2009). Qualitative research methods for the social sciences (7th Ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Barootchi, N., & Keshavarz, H. M., (2002). Assessment of achievement through portfolio and teacher-made tests. Educational Research, 44(3), 279-288.

Brown, D. J. & Hudson, T. (1998). The alternatives in language assessment. TESOL Quarterly, 32(4), 653-675.

Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (3th Ed.). Los Angeles: Sage.

Demirel, M., & Duman, H. (2015). The use of portfolio in English language teaching and its effects on achievement and attitude. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 191, 2634-2640.

Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the reflective thinking to the educative process. Chicago, IL: Henry Regnery Company.

Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Jarvenin, A., & Kohonen, V. (1995). Promoting professional development in higher education through portfolio assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 20(1), 25-37.

Kabilan, K. M. & Khan, A. M. (2012). Assessing pre-service English teachers’ learning using e-portfolios: Benefits, challenges and competencies gained. Computers and Education, 58, 1007-1020.

Nona, L. (1998). Reflection in teaching. Can it be developmental? A portfolio perspective. Teacher Education Quarterly, 25, 115-127.

Saldana, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researches. Los Angeles: Sage.

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.

Schön, D. A. (1987). Educating the reflective practitioner: Toward a new design for teaching and learning in the professions. California: Jossey-Bass.

Stone, A. B. (1998). Problems, pitfalls and benefits of portfolios. Teacher Education Quarterly, 25, 105-114.

Tanner, R., Longayroux, D. Beijaard, D., & Verloop, N. (2000). Piloting portfolios: Using portfolios in pre-service teacher education. ELT Journal, 54(1), 20-30.

Zeichner, M. K. & Liston, P. D. (1987). Teaching students to reflect. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 23-48.