Contrasting Perspectives of Pre-service and In-service English Teachers: What Should Be an English Teacher's Role?

  • International Journal of Languages Education, January 2018, International Journal of Languages Education and Teaching
  • DOI: 10.18298/ijlet.2567

English Teacher’s Roles

What is it about?

This study aims to find out and compare the perspectives of pre-service and in-service English teachers about the role of an English teachers. The study adopted a qualitative research design and a written interview protocol (WIP) was used to gather data.

Why is it important?

292 pre-service teachers receiving education in English Language Teaching (ELT) Department at four different state universities and 49 in-service English teachers from 14 cities in Turkey participated in the study. Constant comparison method was used to interpret and categorise the qualitative findings.


Pamukkale Universitesi

In light of the data analysis, 17 major teacher roles emerged: model, facilitator, guide, prompter, counsellor, consultant, supporter, organizer, authority, observer, mentor, motivator, helper, speaker, leader, friend and participant. There were both similarities and differences between the two groups of participants. For example, “model” had the highest frequency in both groups because 75 pre-service and 10 in-service participants stated that an English teacher should be a model for their students in terms of linguistic accuracy and fluency. However, some pre-service teachers saw English teachers as a prompter, counsellor, consultant, supporter, organizer, authority, observer and participant whereas there were no in-service teachers referring to these roles. To catch up with the changing nature of teaching and meet the expectations, pre-service teachers should be exposed to real classroom settings, observed and given feedback accordingly. As for in-service teachers, they should be mentored by a more knowledgeable or experienced peer and directed by inspectors and authorities based on their weak and strong points.

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