Stress in English Language Teaching Practicum: The Views of All Stakeholders

As the importance attached to the English language is rapidly increasing, the pre-service training of English teachers is becoming more and more important. One of the most essential components of teacher training programs is the practicum course requiring last year English teacher trainees (TTs) to observe classes and do practice teaching before they step into the actual teaching profession. As various stakeholders, such as mentor teachers, supervisors, teacher trainees, school administrators and students are involved in the process of this course, causes of stress on each of these stakeholders were investigated in this study by means of open-ended surveys and interviews. The analysis of the qualitative data through content analysis brought to light the practicum-related problems causing stress for all the stakeholders. Summarizing the main stress-generating factors, the study concludes with suggestions for a less stressful practicum experience. It is believed that understanding the sources of stress arising from the practicum will help relevant stakeholders take necessary precautions to manage stress throughout the course.

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