How english student teachers deal with teaching difficulties in their teaching practicum

Abstract

In the process of becoming professional, every single teacher will normally go through a series of experiences that are cognitively, physically, and emotionally challenging. One of the first steps they have to go through is a form of first teaching experience with real students and real school environment like what many student teachers are required to face in their teaching practicum. This paper explores kinds of teaching difficulties and efforts carried out to overcome them by English student teachers in the context of teaching practicum conducted in 14 different secondary schools in Bandung, Indonesia. Qualitative case study is applied as the research design, with interviews as the main instrument in collecting the data. This study involves the participation of students enrolled in an EFL Methodology class in collecting the data as a part of their course assignment. The results of data analysis reveal that there are a variety of problems that can be mainly categorised into three types, namely problems related to students, to the supervising teachers, and to the student teachers themselves. Several efforts carried out are also identified and some suggestions are also highlighted at the end of the paper.