Helping Pre-Service Student Teachers Develop Teaching Skills in English Proficiency Courses in an EFL Teacher Education Program: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

Teacher education programs seek to equip EFL pre-service student teachers with pedagogical and teaching skills. Existing research showed that pre-service teacher preparation programs deliver pedagogical knowledge and teaching skills in the form of courses focusing on pedagogy and teaching, demonstrative classes, and teaching practicums. However, sometimes this is not enough to prepare EFL teachers well. This fact has made some teacher preparation programs to explore other alternatives. Therefore, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine the lived experiences of 10 EFL teacher educators and 10 pre-service EFL student teachers about the development of English teaching skills in courses meant to develop English proficiency in a pre-service EFL teacher education program at a public university in Nicaragua. Data were collected utilizing structured interviews, document analysis, and classroom observations. Findings demonstrated that English proficiency courses are an excellent source to help pre-service student teachers develop pedagogical and didactic knowledge. To achieve that, EFL teacher educators provide student teachers with a didactic explanation of teaching strategies they use to teach English skills. Student teachers, on the other hand, keep a record of those explanations in a diary with their reflections about the effectiveness of teaching and learning strategies. Student teachers are given opportunities to teach their classmates demo classes using some of the strategies or activities their professors used. Student teachers found this way of acquiring teaching skills challenging but useful. In the beginning, they feel nervous; however, as they progress, they get used to that integrated learning approach. Finally, participants said that the pedagogical diaries created by student teachers are used not only in demo lessons but also in their teaching practicum as well as when student teachers teach for the first time in schools.