A Case study of the practicum component in an ELT deparment in Turkey

Abstract

ABSTRACT Title: A case study of the practicum component in an ELT Department in Turkey Author: Nuray Lük Yılmaz Thesis Chairperson: Ms. Patricia Brenner, Bilkent University, MA TEFL Program Thesis Committee Members: Dr. Linda Laube, Dr. Ruth Yontz, Bilkent University, MA TEFL Program The focus of this study is the practicum course in an ELT Department. The study is descriptive and data is collected through a questionnaire and interviews. The first goal of the study was to obtain a picture of the practicum and to describe the existing model of the practicum course in the ELT Department at the Middle East Teacnical University, Ankara, Turkey. The second goal was to identify the problems which exist in the practicum. Previous studies on the practicum in Turkey were used as a basis for developing questions for the questionnaire. These questions are related to the motivation of student teachers, observation focus, and the relationship between the student teachers and their supervisors as well as their cooperating teachers. A questionnaire was created and administered to all 46 student teachers taking the practicum course in the ELT Department at METU. Following this, five student teachers as well as three supervisors were interviewed. The interview questions were prepared in order to more deeply explore some of the responses given in the questionnaire. The findings reveal that student teachers are motivated and that they have positive ideas about their supervisor and cooperating teachers. The student teachers do not have a particular area to focus on when they observe other teachers teach. There are also no systematic follow-up discussions to these observations. Other problems which came up are mainly related to the time allocation of the practicum, the lack of opportunities for the student teachers to experience teaching, the attitudes of the administrators in the cooperating high schools, and the workload of the student teachers and the supervisors.