Exploring the learning experience of esl efl pre service teachers in a new practicum model a case study

By and large, this study was conducted to seek answers to the following research questions: - RQ1: What are the researched institution expectations for pre-service teachers in the new t

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

NGHIÊN CỨU TRẢI NGHIỆM HỌC TẬP CỦA GIÁO SINH THỰC TẬP TRONG MÔ HÌNH THỰC TẬP

MỚI:

NGHIÊN CỨU TRƯỜNG HỢP ĐIỂN HÌNH

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Phạm Hoàng Long Biên, M.A Sinh viên: Nguyễn Diệu Thuý

Khóa: QH2016

HÀ NỘI – 2020

ACCEPTANCE PAGE

I hereby state that I: Nguyen Dieu Thuy – QH2016.F1.E3 being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Date

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I would like to express deep gratitude to my supervisor,

Ms Pham Hoang Long Bien (M.A), who has kept me to be strong and determined whenever the road got tough I am also sincerely thankful for her invaluable guidance and recommendations during the development of this study Without her persistent help, this work would never have been completed Thank you for all the professional and emotional supports that you have provided to me

Secondly, I wish to express my great appreciation to Ms Tran Thi Lan Anh (Ph.D) who has shaped the very first steps of this research and inspired me to initiate valuable ideas on the subject I was pursuing Thank you for always keeping an eye on

me and enlightening me with critical comments so that I could realize the shortcomings of this research and make necessary improvements

My special thanks also go to the participants of this research Thank you for the valuable time you have spent on participating in this study Had it not been for your support, this research could never have reached a meaningful conclusion

From the bottom of my heart, I would like to say big thank you to all of my classmates from class QH2016.E3, my best friends and family members, who have always been supportive and showed great sympathy for all the difficulties I have been through during the time I conducted this study Thank you for always be there and help me whenever I needed it

Last but not least, to my “weirdo partner”, Nguyen Ngoc Hong Minh, who has endured the erratic, grumpy and irritable me through all the ups and downs of this study Thanks for not leaving me alone despite all the negative feelings that I might have caused to you

ABSTRACT

A new model of teaching practicum has just been launched in university U, one of the leading higher education institutions of the nation in the field of teacher education Innovative as it is, no research has investigated the new practicum, especially the learning experience of student teachers in such model This study thus sought to reveal what student teachers learnt in a new practicum model and how their learning occurred For this purpose, qualitative research methodology was adopted with six participants took part in the study There were four senior year student teachers and two representatives from the university where the new practicum model was launched participating in this study The data were collected via reflective journals, semi-structured interviews, observation notes and were analyzed through thematic content analysis The results indicated student learning during their practicum occurred through both intra and interpersonal process that involved observation, reflection, action and interaction with experienced teachers In addition, pre-service teachers were also found to have basically demonstrated eight out of ten competencies from Domain 2 and 3 of the English Teacher Competency Framework (ETCF) for Vietnamese in-service teachers Among these competencies, understanding learners and employing technology in teaching were prominent in the student participants Based on the findings, some recommendations were offered

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study, statement of research problem and questions 1

1.2 Scope of the study 3

1.3 Significance of the study 3

1.4 Organization 4

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Student teachers 5

2.2 An overview of Vietnam English Teacher Competency Framework (ETCF) 5

2.3 Teaching practicum in TESOL Teacher Education 8

2.3.1 Features of a teaching practicum 8

2.3.2 Models of teaching practicum 10

2.3.3 The role of practicum program on developing student teacher competencies 12

2.4 English Language Teacher Education Program at university U 13

2.4.1 Overview of the program 13

2.4.2 The Learning By Doing project 15

2.4.1 Philosophy 15

2.4.2 Reasons for change 15

2.4.3 Main features of teaching practicum in the LBD project 16

2.4.4 Guidelines for pre-service students 17

2.5 Previous studies 18

2.6 Research gap 21

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Case study as the research approach 22

3.3 Research design 23

3.3.1 Research sites 23

3.3.2 Participants 24

3.3 Data collection procedure 25

3.4 Data collection instruments 27

3.4.1 Interviews 27

3.4.2 Classroom observation 32

3.4.3 Written reflection 33

3.5 Thematic data analysis 34

3.6 Researcher Reflexivity 38

3.7 Ethical considerations 38

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 40

4.1 CASE 1: THE RESEARCHED INSTITUTION EXPECTATIONS FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN THE NEW PRACTICUM MODEL 40

4.1.1 What are the underlying expectations for pre-service teachers? 41

4.1.2 How would pre-service teachers learn in their practicum? 42

4.2 CASE 2: THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS IN THE NEW PRACTICUM MODEL 43

4.2.1 What do pre-service teacher learn? 46

4.2.2 How do pre-service teachers learn? 62

4.3 Cross-case analysis and discussion 68

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 72

5.1 Findings 72

5.2 Implications 74

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 75

5.4 Conclusions 76

References 77

APPENDIX 83

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, ABBREVIATIONS Tables

Table 2.1 An overview of English teacher competency framework 6

Table 2.2 The compatibility between the ELT courses and the standards of ETCF 14

Table 3.1 Participants’ background 26

Table 3.2 Interview details 30

Table 3.3 Observation details 33

Table 3.4 Descriptive coding in interview analysis 36

Table 3.5 In Vivo coding 36

Table 3.6 Process coding 37

Table 3.7 Descriptive coding in written reflection analysis 37

Table 4.1 Student teachers’ teaching background 41

Table 4.2 The compatibility between the researched institution expectation and the actual practice of student teachers 70

Figures Figure 3.1 Data collection procedure 26

Abbreviation

ELT: English Language Teaching

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

ELTE English Language Teacher Education

ETCF: English Language Teacher Competency Framework

IELTS: International English Language Testing System

LBD: Learning By Doing

TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

YL: Young learners

VYL: Very young learners

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study, statement of research problem and questions

In any teacher training programs, practice teaching is regarded as the key component of the whole process (Wilson, 2006) and often highly valued by student teachers and teacher educators (Beck & Kosnik, 2002) Farrell (2008) stressed the value of field-based experiences as profoundly influential to student teachers‟ professional development in the sense that it provides them with opportunities to experience real classroom setting The significance of teaching practicum is also noted as allowing student-teachers to put their university-acquired knowledge into practice (Bezzina & Michalack, 2009; Leshem & Bar-Hama, 2007)

As a matter of fact, different eucational faculties across universities in the world operate different teaching practice systems However, the ultimate goal of clinical experience is to have student teachers to demonstrate specific competencies that they are expected to have mastered before entering the field as professionals It is their first-hand experience with the learnt pedagogical skills and “it is the best way to acquire professional knowledge and competences as a teacher” (Hascher, Cocard, & Moser, 2004, p.626) Professional experience is also deemed as “protected field for experimentation and socialization within the profession” (Hascher et al., 2004, p.626) Thus, it can be considered that teaching practicum sets the stage for success

or failure in student teaching, and what happens during student teachers training period determines a student teacher‟s future in education

Teaching practicum is an essential component in the English teacher education program at university U (the researched university) Thus, together with a constantly reviewed and improved curriculum to keep pace with new trends in education, the practicum is as well being redesigned to create most opportunities for student teachers to experience the nature of being a teacher A new practicum model was, therefore, constructed and integrated in the Learning by Doing project (LBD project) The project was introduced at the researched institution in the academic year of 2018

and put into practice since 2019 onward The need for alternative models of teaching practicum was stressed by Yan & He (2010), who question some of the inappropriate ways conventional practicum are approached that adversely affect the learning experience of pre-service teachers

Although there has been a considerable amount of research on teacher learning

in the general education field, there is a paucity of data on what actually occurs during the practicum, espectially those undertaken by non-native ESL teacher candidates (Farrell, 2003) In the context of the researched institution, there exists a body of published research concerning the teaching practicum of their senior-year EFL/ ESL students, yet only one study focuses on the value of teaching practicum concerning the learning experience of practitioners (Tran & Nguyen, 2014) However, the research was conducted in the previous practicum context, which has

recently been replaced by the new model It is, therefore, well worth investigating to

explore the learning experience of pedagogical senior-year EFL/ ESL students in the new context Most importantly, the researcher aims to find out whether the actual learning experience of pre-service teachers goes in line with the expectations of those who are directly involved in the construction of the LBD project Findings gained from this study hopes to lay foundation for the innovation of teaching practicum in the context of Vietnam as well as fill in the mentioned gap in literature on the subject

By and large, this study was conducted to seek answers to the following research questions:

- RQ1: What are the researched institution expectations for pre-service

teachers in the new teaching practicum model?

- RQ2: What and how do pre-service teachers learn in their teaching practicum

in terms of pedagogical skills?

- RQ3: Does the learning experience of pre-service teachers match the

mentioned expectations from the researched institution?

1.2 Scope of the study

This study sits comfortably in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) and Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL) This research was conducted focusing on the learning experience of pre-service teachers in a new practicum model proposed by the researched university (from now on, the researched university will be cited as university U) In particular, the researcher explored the learning experience of student teachers doing their final teaching practicum at one of the two types of educational institutions: public schools and English language centers Two main major reasons account for this choice First of all, these are the two most common chosen options among Vietnamese student teachers when seeking for a teaching position Secondly, these are the two places where teacher trainees have a chance to receive training and support from experienced teachers, which would vastly influence their learning experience The researcher examined four student teachers experiencing public shools and/ or English language centres in their teaching practicum to explore their classroom practices and their opinions on the practicum at each place Moreover, as this study particularly pays attention to university U new pracicum model, the reasercher also conducted in-depth interviews with people who are directly involved in the new model construction to find out the expections for teacher trainees from the view of policy makers These attempts are to seek answers for the three research questions specified above

1.3 Significance of the study

I hold the belief that this study should benefit student teachers, teacher trainers and educational policy makers from diverse aspects The research outcome is hoped

to provide the actual status of conducting teaching practicum based on the new project implementation from the view of teacher trainees Furthermore, findings from this research could also be referred to by policy makers and teacher trainers should changes to the current practicum be made to enhance the learning experience of pre-service teachers Additionally, the reseach can lay the foundations for the innovations

of teaching practicum, especially in the context of Vietnamese education Last but not

least from a theoretical perspective, this study hopes to enrich the literature on EFL teacher education by exploring the learning experience of pre-service teacher in the new teaching practicum model

1.4 Organization

This paper is organized into five main parts: Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Findings and discussions, and Conclusions The major content of each part is specified below

Chapter I (Introduction) gives an overview of the research problem, states the research questions, specifies the scope of the study and presents its contribution to existing literature

Chapter II (Literature review) presents definitions of key concepts and associated issues related to the topic of this research It summarizes what have been studied about teaching practicum and gives an overview of the new practicum model

Chapter III (Methodology) explicates the methods this study followed to arrive

at the final conclusion It includes the sampling, data collection and data analysis methods

Chapter IV (Findings and discussion) presents the results of the study Firstly, the expectations for the teaching practitioners are analysed from the view of policy makers Afterward, the learning experience of student teachers are presented Lastly, the data collected from two cases are cross checked to compare and contrast the similarities and dissimilarities

The final chapter, Chapter V (Conclusion) concludes what was explored in this study and answers the research questions It also gives implications for teachers, teacher educators and researchers for further study Moreover, limitations of the research are discussed

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

The chapter explicates key concepts and associated issues related to the topic

of this research Relevant studies are reviewed, and the findings are synthesized to form a background of what have been explored by previous researchers on the experience of student teacher during their teaching practicum More details on the LBD project and the new practicum model are also introduced and analyzed in this chapter

2.1 Student teachers

A student teacher, also called pre-service teacher, teacher trainee or teacher candidate, is the one who participates in a teacher education program and works to pursue a teacher certification (Nguyen, 2019) In this study, student teachers were undertaking their practicum at a school and/ or an English language center in the final year of their teacher education program

Although pre-service teachers are not initially clearly aware of the problems that they can face when teaching in schools, during the practicum, they are expected

to deal with such problems as they arise (Beeth & Adadan 2006), In dealing with the unpredictable challenges of teaching in schools during the practicum, student teachers are usually supported by school-based teacher mentors and university-based teacher educators Beeth and Adadan (2006) argued that pre-service teachers‟ concerns during their practicum were important because student teachers could develop their understanding of teachers‟ practices Previously, Johnson (2002) also stressed the significant of a better understanding of pre-service teachers‟ perceptions of the practicum as it would enable the field of EFL teacher education to understand better how EFL teachers learn to teach and how teacher preparation programmes can effectively enhance this development process

2.2 An overview of Vietnam English Teacher Competency Framework (ETCF)

Vietnam is responding to the challenges of globalisation with an ambitious foreign languages policy in order to develop language skills for regional and

international mobility and employability of its labour force In realising this goal, Vietnam English Teacher Competency Framework (ETCF) , approved in December

2012, was designed and developed The framework consists of five domains which work to address the question of what Vietnamese teachers of English need to know and be able to do in the 21st century (MOET, 2012)

Table 2.1: An overview of English teacher competency framework

(For Pre-service English Language Teacher Education Programs)

DOMAIN 1 Knowledge of Language & Curriculum

Competency 1.1a Teacher‟s language proficiency

Competency 1.1b Working knowledge of CEFR

Competency 1.2 Language as a system

Competency 1.3 Understanding how languages are learned

Competency 1.4 Cultures of English-speaking countries

Competency 1.5 Academic content in English

Competency 1.6 Language curriculum

DOMAIN 2 Knowledge of Teaching

Competency 2.1 Language teaching methodology

Competency 2.2 Lesson planning

Competency 2.3 Conducting a lesson

Competency 2.4 Assessment of language learning

Competency 2.5 Resources

Competency 2.6 Technology

DOMAIN 3 Knowledge of Language Learners

Competency 3.1 Understand learners‟ development to encourage & motivate

them Competency 3.2 Recognize developmental learner language to inform

instructions

Competency 3.3 Reflect on learners‟ values & prior learning

Competency 3.4 Develop learners‟ creativity & critical thinking

DOMAIN 4 Professional Attitudes & Values in Language Teaching

Competency 4.1 Showing professionalism in language teaching

Competency 4.2 Practicing cooperation, collaboration & teamwork in language

teaching Competency 4.3 Professional development & life-long learning

Competency 4.4 Contributing to the language teaching profession

DOMAIN 5 Practice & Context of Language Teaching

Competency 5.1 Connecting learning beyond the language classroom

Competency 5.2 Reflecting on Language Learning & Teaching

Note: Reprinted from Vietnam‟s English Language Teacher Competency

Framework: User‟s Guide The framework also employs an “apprenticeship of observation” (Dudzik,

2012, cited in Phung, 2018), which means teacher development needs to be conducted in a way that allows teachers to observe other teachers‟ teaching processes and activities, and practice the behaviors they are expected to conduct in their future jobs Thus teacher development programs need to give teacher students the opportunity to experience the values, processes and activities in their training, and enable them to incorporate these practices in their work in the future (Phung, 2018)

The development of the framework is based upon general teacher education research (Dudzik, 2012, cited in Phung, 2018) indicating three major knowledge domains (Domains 1-3) to address the question “What do teachers need to know and

be able to do?” Each domain consists of various competencies and each competency

is realized into various indicators The three domains are embedded with a number of professional values and attitudes (Domain 4) and are located within a larger sphere (Domain 5) that reflects a local perspective of effective teacher learning that takes

place within the contexts and practice of teaching Within the scale of this study,

Domains 2 and 3 are to be used to evaluate on the learning experience of student teachers in terms of professional skills that they were able to demonstrate

2.3 Teaching practicum in TESOL Teacher Education

2.3.1 Features of a teaching practicum

Teaching practicum, also known as “practice teaching, field experience, apprenticeship, practical experience, and internship” (Gebhard, 2009) refers to one of the key components of the initial teacher-education curriculum Stanton and Giles (1989, as cited in Yan & He, 2010) defined the practicum as „field experiences that focus on professional practice‟ and „activities that are explicitly focused on pre-professional practice”

Quazi, Rawat and Thomas (2012) pointed out three main stakeholders that were usually involved in the teaching practicum: (1) student teachers who have acquired several basic teaching competencies before participating in the field experience; (2) cooperating teachers (also called as school advisors, school associate, mentor teacher, practicum supervisor and sponsor teacher) who are specialist teachers and well aware of pedagogical knowledge and skills (Gilckman & Bey, as cited in Keogh, Dole, & Hudson, n.d and Hickson, Fishburne, Berg, & Saby, n.d.); and (3) supervisors from the educational institute who have an in-depth understanding of the practicum program, expectation from the schools, cooperating teachers and student teachers The supervisors also apprehend the expectations that the educational institution has set for their teacher trainees as well as general students‟ concerns and thus can provide student teachers with sufficient guidance (McBurney-Fry, 2002) These three personnel usually work in a triad to manage the school experience program Both mentor teachers‟ and supervisors‟ support are expected to help reflectively “articulate the particulars of their own classroom context; to examine their own reactions, thoughts, and feelings; and to account for the intricacies of their own teaching” (Johnson, 1996a, p 766) Although it remains unclear in how they carry out their roles in providing this support (Wang & Odell, 2002), mentor teachers and school supervisors are deemed to have great impact on the development of

teacher trainees during their clinical experiences (Farrell, 2009; Roberts, Benedict, & Thomas, 2014)

With the participation and coordination of these three actors, the practicum

“usually involves supervised teaching, experience with systematic observation, and gaining familiarity with a particular teaching context” (Gebhard, 2009, p 250) Particularly, during the practicum, pre-service teachers are assigned to a host school

to “observe the teacher teaching the students and then teach part or all of some of the lessons” and are “guided by and observed by the group of teachers or by another person acting as teaching practice tutor or supervisor” (Gower, Phillips & Walters,

2005, p.209) This description outlines the following characteristics of a practicum: (1) The teaching practice could be carried out at any school apart from the trainees‟ one; (2) student teachers explore their apprenticeship through observing and imitating; (3) there must be a teacher of the local host institution mentoring and supervising the trainees on their teaching; (4) there should be a team (including experienced school-based teachers and/or university supervisors) to help teacher trainees to take their apprenticeship effectively at the local host school (Tran & Nguyen, 2014) The abovementioned description by Tran and Nguyen (2014) goes in line with four out of five TESOL practicum highlighted by Stoyoff (1999)

1) The practicum is integrated into the academic program;

2) The delivery of the practicum emphasizes a team approach The team includes mentor teachers, university supervising teachers, language program managers, and the practicum student teachers

3) The practicum provides intensive modeling and coaching;

4) The practicum incorporates extensive, systematic observation;

5) The practicum experience is assessed by means of a portfolio consisting of teaching videos, lesson plans and reflections

(Stoyoff, 1999, cited in Gan, 2013, p.93)

2.3.2 Models of teaching practicum

The model of practicum in teacher training program is believed to “play an important role in designing an appropriate, effective and feasible program” (Ton, n.d) According to Ton (n.d), the choice of model, on the one hand, controls the relationship between the universities and pschools On the other hand, it will be the basis for designing the contents, tasks, schedules, theoretical / practical weight, etc for the practicum

Rorrison, Mattsson & Eilertsen (2011) have listed nine models being implemented in current practice of teacher training education in the world:

(1) Master-Apprentice model (traditional pedagogical practice model): an

internationally popular model in teacher training education Student teachers practice teaching in public and/ or private schools under the guidance of experienced teachers

(2) Laboratory model: a model using demonstration school in a teacher

training institution as a place to implement pedagogical practice with the idea: student teachers must enjoy a beneficial environment under the guidance of pedagogical experts and professional educators

(3) Partnership model: A model based on an agreement between the student

teacher university and the local schools (carefully selected and meet all requirements of conditions and capacity for organizing pedagogical practice) The school will provide opportunities to implement pedagogical practice, including instructors and/ or documents

(4) Community development model: a model often applied in economically

and educationally disadvantaged rural settings During the practicum, student teachers practice their profession whilst contributing to raising the awareness for students and improving pedagogical skills, etc for in-service teachers In this process, on the one hand, prospective teachers will have the opportunity to confront, discover and learn from the diverse educational reality; on the other hand, they can also make contribution to the development of a specific local school

(5) Integrated model: A model demonstrates the cooperation between

teacher training schools and local communities in sharing responsibilities for teacher training education Local authorities may be in charge of certain education arrangements University, on the other hand, is responsible for sending student teachers, supervising and evaluating practicum results

(6) Case based model: a model in which teacher trainees have to participate

in and encounter a large number of authentic cases in schools to develop teaching skills by dealing with real classroom problems They should be able to apply theory, research and experience in order to analyze and interpret cases

(7) Platform model: A rather open and flexible model as it is designed based

on student teachers‟ individual needs and interests This model allows practitioners

to participate in projects that transcend the conventional practicum periods and provides closer and more versatile links between universities and schools More varied ways of examining and reporting are encouraged

(8) Community of practice model: a model based on the idea that learning is

part of a social praxis where participants learn from each other Pre-service teachers participate in diverse contexts to experience, develop competencies and confidence needed for future careers

(9) Research and Development model: a model based on an agreement

between the universities and the local community to coordinate the implementation

of relevant research and development of the local schools

(Mattsson, Eilertsen & Rorrison, 2011)

At the researched institution, pre-service teachers used to take an uninterrupted teaching practicum for 6 weeks in either form: join a group of teacher trainees with a teacher mentor to a host school pre-assigned by the university or complete a stand-alone after completing the 3rd year of the 4-year learning process This model followed the partnership model

Despite the diverse in forms and implementation of the practicum models, all

of the abovementioned models share one characteristic in common There must exists the relationship between the university and the host schools

2.3.3 The role of practicum program on developing student teacher competencies

Numerous studies have mentioned teaching practicum as a chance for teacher trainees to put their theoretical knowledge about teaching into practical use (Bezzina

& Michalack, 2009; Leshem & Bar-Hama, 2007).Student teachers typically attribute the teaching practicum as highly effective in developing their competencies (Hascher, Cocard, & Moser, 2004; Hoppe-Graff, Schroeter & Flagmeyer, 2008) The implementation of teaching practicum is crucial to bridge the gap between theory learnt in the program and the reality of teaching practice in schools (Darling- Hammond, 2006) This was also addressed by Kiggundu (2007) as one of the aims of teaching practice is to provide opportunities for student teachers to integrate theory and practice Yahya, Abdullah & Mansor (2017) shared the same idea in their conclusion about the role of practicum as “the theory pre-service teachers have learned can be truly meaningful only when it is situated in their classroom practice”

Farrell (2008), on the other hand, stressed the value of field-based experiences

as profoundly influential to student teachers‟ professional development in the sense that it provides them with opportunities to experience real classroom setting The teaching practicum acts as a specific block of time in which student teachers are provided with opportunities to try out their teaching skills, take on professional roles, learn from experienced teachers, negotiate their growing pedagogical knowledge, and apprentice into the profession (Gowers, Phillips & Walters, 2005) Clearly, the direct involment of student teachers in concrete teaching situations creates a chance for their own interpretation of how pedagogical knowledge content should be applied in real classroom context and thus enriches their understanding on the nature of being a teacher

In summary, the main objectives of the practicum is to provide student teachers a chance to put university-acquired theory into practical use This specific

block of time is also essential for pre-service teachers in term of developing professional skills

2.4 English Language Teacher Education Program at university U

2.4.1 Overview of the program

English Language Teacher Education (ELTE) Program is one of the key programs at university U This program aimed at providing the theoretical knowledge

of teaching methodology as mandated by the Ministry of Education and Training In terms of programme structure, it contains three blocks of knowledge which correspondingly address three areas of competency: language proficiency, language

as a system and culture, and teaching methodology The third block of knowledge is teaching knowledge which consists of four compulsory courses, namely, An Introduction to English Language Teaching Methodology, English Language Teaching Techniques and Practices, English Language Testing and Assessment, Teaching Practice or Practicum, which are mainly responsible for developing teaching competencies Phung (2018) has explored the compatibility between ETCF (2012) and the expected learning outcomes of these four courses whose result is demonstrated in the following table:

Table 2.2 The compatibility between the ELT courses and the standards of ETC

Note: Reprinted from “Exploring the compatibility between English Language Teacher Competency Framework and English Language Teacher Education Curriculum of University U”, by Phung, T.K.D (2018)

Through examining the compatibility between ETCF (2012) and the ELTE curriculum, Phung (2018) has drawn on two conclusions Firstly, one course aims to develop more than one competency of ETCF, and each competency could be developed in more than one course Secondly, most of the competencies in the five domains of ETCF (2012)are addressed in ELTE program at different levels of explicitness

From the findings of Phung (2018), it can be seen that the previous practicum

model at U, which followed the traditional paradigm as mentioned in section 2.3.2

was claimed to satisfy all competencies distributed in the five domains (except for

domain 1 as these competencies are mainly developed in language proficiency courses)

2.4.2 The Learning By Doing project

The Learning By Doing (LBD) project is a project which aims at renewing practices, practicum (or internship) and developing supplementary skills for students

of U Itwas introduced at the researched institution in the academic year of 2018 and put into practice since 2019 onward The highlight of this project is the combination

of practices, practicum and supplementary skills in a single course, which was previously placed to practicum only This innovation is expected to create an environment for training skills, qualities and attitudes to increase employment opportunities for students in the learning process as well as after the graduation Details of the LBD project and features of its practicum were studied by the researcher using the method of document analysis and are to be presented in this section

2.4.1 Philosophy

The demand for quality assurance in education is growing stronger than ever before as the nation engages regionally and internationally In such context, more than ever, educational institutions need to provide students with high quality education, soft and hard skills to raise the quality of the labour force and meet the requirements of society One of the main duties of educational institutions is to improve the practicality of training programs, as well as provide essential soft skills courses to early prepare students to get acquainted with the labour market (University

U, LBD project, 2018, p.3) “Practices”, “practicum”, and “supplementary skills” are the three key concepts of the LBD project and deemed to be closely associated with real-life context

2.4.2 Reasons for change

In recent times, there have been many positive innovations in internships and practicum at U, which emphasize the role of practices in the learning process of learners However, some limitations are still exsit The practicum:

(1) has not been flexible in time and duration nor diverse in type;

(2) has not fully exploit the initiative of students in raising the quality of their own internship activities, and;

(3) has not integrated with the improvement of soft skills and vocational skills (University U, LBD project, 2018, p.4)

Thus, the LBD project was constructed with a view to:

(1) Make fundamental changes by promoting the integration of supplementary skills training in the practicum;

(2) Enhance students' sense of activeness in seeking internship and employment opportunities;

(3) Raise the awareness of officials and lecturers in creating the most favourable conditions for students to develop their capabilities, qualities and attitudes; (4) Strengthen business and educational institutions connections to introduce training activitíe and paid internships

(University U, LBD project, 2018, p.7)

2.4.3 Main features of teaching practicum in the LBD project

In comparasion with the previous practicum model, the LBD project-based model encompasses the following innovations:

(1) Practitioners can practice their profession throughout the 4-year learning proces of the teacher education program;

(2) Practitioners conduct their teaching practicum independantly;

(3) The practicum duration is not necessarily be uninterrupted, yet can be broken down into small phases regaredless that the total professional practicum time (equilavant to 240 teaching hours) is guaranteed; and

(4) Practitioners are assessed based on the improvements throughout their own learning experience presented in the portfolio

To some extents, it can be seen that the new practicum model at U is a

combination of the Case based model, Platform model and Community of practice model (Mattsson, Eilertsen & Rorrison, 2011) The new model creates chances for

student teachers to experience different working environments with more assess to various job opportunities Moreover, by engaging in the actual job market, pre-service teachers are hoped to not only gain professional knowledge but also enhance

various working skills Notably, what makes the LBD project-based practicum model stand out from the nine models as mis that the relationship between the university and the host schools has been weaker

2.4.4 Guidelines for pre-service students

In order to facilitate student teachers in conducting their practicum, the university has issued guiding documents which include:

(1) guidelines for writing practicum portfolio;

(2) sample introduction letter;

(3) sample contract of internship;

(4) assessment form by the university; and

(5) assessment form by heads and/ or staff from student‟s workplaces

The assessment form by U assesses students based on four criteria in which only the last criterion deals with students‟ field-based experience The first three criteria mostly require students to take part in activities such as workshops, conferences, extra-curriculum activities, contest, doing research, etc The fourth criterion requires student teacher to conduct their teaching practicum (with a minimum time of 30 working days (~240 working hours) at functional departments, units, agencies, political or social organizations, businesses etc across the country and/ or abroad It is noted that the 30 working days or 240 working hours is not necessarily continuous yet can be broken into various time length at different workplaces The total score for students is 100 in which the teaching practicum account for 40% and each of the others account for 20%

The assessment form by heads and/ or staff from student‟s workplaces assesses students according to their performance as (1) a head teacher (e.g managing class behaviour, keeping disciplines, motivating students in extracurricular activities,

etc.), and (2) a teaching practitioner (e.g delivering subject knowledge during intact hours, using their professional skills and knowledge, planning lessons, etc.)

The practicum portfolio of each student teacher consists of (1) evidences (e.g certificate, photos, videos, articles, etc.) to prove that they have completed the first three criteria mentioned in the assessment form by the university and (2) assessment forms by students‟ workplaces Students are also required to write reflections to reflect on their professional development during the practicum

2.5 Previous studies

In the field of education, much attention has been paid to the practicum as a

pivotal course unit in any initial teacher education program It is worth mentioning

that in 2013, Cohen (Sayag), Hozb and Kaplana undertook a review of empirical studies on the practicum in preservice teacher education, which analysed 113 studies conducted between 1996 and 2009 The review portrayed a picture of the rationales, goals, activities, roles, and outcomes in the different practicum settings in teacher education programs Not long after that, in 2015 came the review published by Lawsona, C akmakb, Gu ndu zc and Bushera which focuses on research studies into the school practicum published between 2000 and 2012 The study named

“Research on teaching practicum - a systematic review” focuses on research studies

into the school practicum published between 2000 and 2012 This literature review presents a state-of-the-art and systematic review of past research in order to identify the main issues and also to provide a contemporary picture of practicum 114 studies published on the topic are reviewed and analysed in terms of: (i) aims, (ii) main participants, (iii) methodology used and (iv) the main outcomes emerging

Though there is an overlap in terms of time, the two systematic reviews focus

on different aspects of the researched studies Therefore, the combination of these papers has formed a rather comprehensive picture of school practicum However, the review by these authors only reported studies up to 2012, while research on practicum keeps growing ever since From 2013 until now, most of the research concerning student teachers‟ experience during their practicum focus on other

subjects rather than what student teachers actually learn in their practicum (e.g challenges faced by pre-service teachers (Le, 2013; Gan, 2013, Moussaid & Zerhouni, 2017; Díaz & Trejo, 2018 ); the role of mentor teachers and supervisors (Canh, 2014); the gap between expectation and reality (Vo, Pang & Wah, 2018) and student teachers‟ concerns (Arslana & Ilin, 2018)

Concerning the subject matter of this study, it is worth mentioning that in

2019, Sathappan and Gurusamy utilized a combination of interviews, questionnaire and journal writings to obtain information on student teachers‟ perspectives of the roles of practicum program in promoting their pedagogical skills and subject matter knowledge Findings from this study suggests that pre-service teachers have improved their lesson plan preparation, the ability to produce subject relevant teaching aids, classroom management skills and students‟ learning motivation (Sathappan and Gurusamy, 2019) The findings are in line with a previous study conducted by Pinder (2008) in which student teachers have claimed to learn about behaviour management, lesson planning, curriculum delivery, effective communication, professional relationships, children, and teachers‟ selves

A research conducted on the role of practicum program in enhancing teachers pedagogical skill by Qazi et al (2012) revealed that practicum program plays a significant role in enhancing pedagogical or teaching skills of the student- teachers This study shows that practicum program helps student- teachers to develop the skill of classroom management, lesson planning, preparation of teaching aids, and preparation of subject relevant teaching aids Moreover, researchers distinguished that practicum program is an essential part of teacher education program that engages student- teachers to apply the theories that they have been learned in the teacher education institution in to practice in the actual class room in the school However, for practicum to take place and play its role successfully, teacher institutions and school communities needs to work together as strong university-school relationship helps to enhance the professional development of prospective teacher in applying theory in to practice (Brady, 2006) Therefore, practicum has a key role in shaping

student-pre-service teachers teaching profession and this ensured through the active collaboration and commitments of practicum participants

Pinder‟s study (2008) also investigated further on how student teachers‟ learning occurred in their practicum According to Pinder (2008), pre-service teachers could either learn by starting with engaging directly in „hands on‟ professional practice or observing a social model Either way, working with children in a sustained way was essential for making connections between what they had been told, what they believed, what they saw in practice, and what they felt they could implement themselves

In a previous study, Wickramasinghe (2004) investigated how a group of service teachers in Sri Lanka changed their understanding of effective teaching during a 20-day student teaching period in their teacher preparation program This case study employed the use of concept maps about effective teaching and used structured interviews as a qualitative method It found that it was important for student teachers’ reflective understanding about teaching to be developed during their teaching practice in order to enhance their learning process

pre-Research by Fekede (2009) showed that support for student- teachers is an essential factor for their professional development during the practicum program The guidance, mentoring and feedback that student teachers receive from their school and college or university instructors play a critical role in their learning and development, especially in terms of professional growth

Köksal and Genc (2019) conducted a study on the perspectives of student teachers on the process of how they learnt Findings from this study indicates that by observing classroom, interacting with the learners in the classroom and with the cooperative teacher through pre and post discussion sessions, pre-service teacehrs gained some pedagogical strategies to allow them to manage the instructional processes Köksal and Genc ‟s findings (2019) agree with Vgotsky‟s (1978) social interaction theory, in which learning is considered to take place through interactions

with the nature, things and people around, both through actions and through language

2.6 Research gap

Research on school practicum studied various contexts from all around the world The abovementioned work has provided some valuable insights on ESL student teachers‟ practicum experience However, there is a paucity of data on what and how student teachers learn during the practicum as well as how the learning process occurs

It is also worth mentioning that majority of previous studies concerning the same vein with this research phenomenon lacked a theoretical framework Regarding the context of Vietnam, no previous researcher utilized ETCF (2012) to collect and analyse data Moreover, though in 2018, Phung carried out a study in which the practicum of university U was determined to help students gain all needed competencies, no study was conducted ever since to triangulate the given result

In addition, the practicum model proposed in the LBD project is an innovative model compared to the previous ones Thus, it is worth investigating the actual learning experience of student teachers in such a context to better understand their learning to teach process According to Farrell (2008), more research is still needed to better understand and theorize ESL/ EFT pre-service teachers learning to teach in the field experience

Last but not least, concerning participants of the research, the main actors of practicum studies were pre-service teachers, school-based mentors, teacher educators and pupils There were few studies examining those who build up the practicum model to discover the rationales behind each paradigm No existing study focused on both student teachers and practicum model constructors to draw comparison

Therefore, in order to fill in the gaps emerged from reviewed research, the current study attempts to contribute to the existing literature by further shedding light

on what and how ESL/ EFL prospective teachers learn to teach in their practicum

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the approach and method employed in this study It explicates the strategies, instruments and procedures adopted to select samples, collect and analyze data to address the research questions Moreover, researcher reflexivity and ethical considerations are also discussed at the end of the chapter

3.1 Case study as the research approach

This research study was constructed in the form of a case study, as defined by Stake (1995) is “the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case, coming

to understand its activity within important circumstances" (p.10) Therefore, case study allows the investigation of dynamic variation of evidence to produce a profound understanding of various aspects of the research problem within the context

of the study Moreover, as case study approach also characteristically enables information to be collected from multiple data collection instruments and sources, I was thus able to obtain in-depth data about a small number of cases and compare the cases (Creswell, 2007) Baxter and Jack (2008) emphasize a need for using a variety

of data resources to “ensure the issue is not explored through one lens, but rather a variety of lenses which allows for multiple facets of the phenomenon to be revealed and understood” (p 544) The research questions of this study explored the learning experience of individuals, and thus necessitated the usage of a combination of several data collection instruments to reach a conclusion Moreover, Yin (2017) argues that adopting case should be considered if researchers are to seek answer for the questions

of “how” and “why” about the researched subject In this study, the second research question asked “What and How do pre-service teachers learn in ther practicum?” For those reasons, case study proved to be an appropriate approach in this research

According to Yin (2017), one crucial aspect in designing a case study is to define the “case” and establish boundaries to the cases Merriam (1998) defines a

“case” as “a thing, a single entity, a unit around which there are boundaries” Viewing from this angle, in doing case study research, the "case" being studied may

be an individual, organization, event, or action, existing in a specific time and place

There are two cases being investigated in this study: the institution where the new practicum model is launched, and the student teachers participating in this new model

This case study adopted an exploratory approach Baxter and Jack (2008) suggested that researcher should consider employing an exploratory case study if the study was set out to explore phenomenon that have no specific outcomes Low generalizability was deemed to be the most popular criticism of case study research (Tellis, 1997) However, Yin (2017) argued that the aim of case study is to establish parameters to apply to other research of the same kind, and thus one single case could

be appropriate as long as it satisfied the objectives of the study

3.3 Research design

I first highlight my rationale for the selection of the research sites and give an overview of research participants including my sampling methods, then I argue for the use of qualitative methods to seek answers to the research questions

3.3.1 Research sites

Due to the nature of the new practicum model which allows student teachers to undertake their teaching practicum at any educational institutions, this study took place at two types of research site, the first one is university U, where the new practicum model is launched, and the second one is various workplaces where student teachers conducted their practicum

University U is a leading higher education institution of the nation It was founded in the mid-twentieth century and ever since it has strived to become a prestigious research-oriented university Its programs included foreign language teacher education, linguistics and international studies The university bears responsibility to provide high quality professional training for both pre- service and in-service teachers throughout Vietnam

Academy A is an educational institution whose majoring in training prospective journalists In order to practice teaching at academy A, the student

participant contacted an English lecturer who was teaching English at A and conducted a period of 10-week teaching practicum under the guidance of this lecturer However, due to the pandemic outbreak, the student teacher had to conduct

an online practicum

Founded in the late 1950s, School B is among the high-quality high schools of the country which is located in the capital It is ranked among the top 100 nationwide high schools in terms of university entrance exam results In order to practice teaching at school B, the student participant contacted his former teacher and asked for her help in guiding him through a period of 6-week teaching practicum

School C was founded in the early 2000s Despite not yet having significant achievements in terms of education and training, it is equipped with modern facilities for the sake of teaching and learning Overhead projectors are set up in all classrooms In order to teach there, the student participant contacted her former teacher and asked for her help in guiding her through a period of 8-week teaching practicum

Language center D is a well-known center specializing in teaching English for communicative purposes to adult learners Each year, this center provides hundreds

of teaching employment opportunities In order to conduct her teaching practicum at

D, the student participant went through application, interview and teaching demo stages before being hired as a teaching supporter

3.3.2 Participants

Sampling

Purposive sampling was used in this research to select participants with a view

to maximizing variation and providing a diverse range of cases relevant to the research problem The researcher hopes to gain as much insight as possible into the learning experience of pratitioners during their practicum Moreover, according to Sharma (2017), purposive sampling allowed easy and cost-effective sampling within limited time and resources of this research (Sharma, 2017)

In this study, two out of twelve officers involved in the LBD project construction and four EFL/ ESL senior-year student teachers were invited to partake

in the process The former were targeted based on their roles and responsibilities in constructing the new practicum model while the later were selected based on various criteria These four student teachers were diverse in (1) their workplaces, (2) their working experience and (3) their working positions Yet, all the participants must work in the teaching field as newbies at their current workplace to ensure the experience to be as much fresh as possible

Background of the participants

These four participants took the same teacher education course at university U

At the time of data collection, they were senior students at their university and on practicum at a faculty of university U These four participants at the same time were newbies at their current workplaces

To protect their identities, from now on, I will address them by pseudonyms as specified below

Table 3.1 Participants’ background

Pseudonyms Gender Qualification Graduation year

These four participants went to the same university and took the same teacher education course At the time of data collection, all the participants were senior students at university U and on teaching practice at different workplace

3.3 Data collection procedure

Data collection process took place over a period of approximately one month

in which three main methods were employed to collect evidence Such prolonged period of time was deployed to increase the confidence of research findings (Lincoln

& Guba, 1985) Multiple methods were employed to collect evidence to obtain the

richest understanding of the research problem (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004) To

answer the first question, “What are the expectations for pre-service teachers in a new practicum model?”, interview method was employed To collect data for the second question “What do pre-service teachers learn in their teaching practicum?”,

interview, writen reflection and observation were utilized Finally, data collected from the first two questions were analysed and compared to seek answer for the third

question: “Do the learning experience of pre-service teachers meet the mentioned expectations?” The data collection procedure for each participant is demonstrated in

Figure 3.1 below and rationales for adopting each of the above-mentioned methods is

presented in the next section

Figure 3.1 Data collection procedure

First and foremost, to guarantee that participants fully grasp necessary information about the study, the researcher had arranged an informal meeting with all participants to better explain the purpose of the study and the data collection procedure before the preliminary interview However, one of the participants was contacted via call as she was invited to partake in this study later than the others Adequate information was also included in an introductory letter given to each participant to refer should partakers had any question concerning the study After

clearly answering all questions to reach an agreement with each participant, the researcher gave out a consent form for each member to sign Then negotiation and arrangement of time and method of interviews and classroom observations were made

Participants were interviewed individually The preliminary interview, which lasted approximately 30 minutes, was conducted to explore participant‟s background, previous teaching experience, strengths and weaknesses as an ESL teacher and expectation for the upcoming teaching practice After that, each participant‟s teaching was observed in four lessons Before and after teaching each lesson, student teachers were interviewed to investigate their plans and activities for the up-coming lesson and share on what had happened in class The reflection form was given to student teachers after each post-teaching interview For participants‟ preference and convenience, both online and written form were utilized Three days after the last observed lesson, the participants took part in the final interview to share their thoughts and learning experiences on their teaching practice

3.4 Data collection instruments

Three data collection instruments were used in this study including participants‟ written reflection, interviews and classroom observation Each instrument is described in the following paragraphs

3.4.1 Interviews

Rationales for using interviews

Employing interview is believed to provide a “deeper” understanding of social phenomena than would be obtained from purely quantitative methods, such as questionnaires (Silverman, 2000) Therefore, interviews are most suitable if little is known about the study phenomenon, especially if detailed insights are required from individual participants (Gil et al., 2000) With regards to the new practicum model, the expectations for pedagogical practitioners during their teaching practicum were not found in the any official doccuments Thus, the researcher conducted in-depth interviews with three out of twelve who were directly involved and took main

responsibility for the construction of the new project in order seek answer for the first research question: “ What are the underlying expectations for pre-service teacher in the new practicum practicum?” Moreover, as detailed insights are required from individual participants to answer for the second research questions “What and how do pre-service teachers leanr in their practicum?”, intensive interviews were also conducted with each of the student teachers In attributing to the use of interview, Rubin & Rubin (2012) also suggested that nterviews should be utilize if researchers aim to gain detailed qualitative data to understand participants‟ experiences including how they describe those experiences as well as what they think of those experiences

Hitchcock and Hughes (1995) listed eight interview types, yet this study employed the most often used in educational evaluation: the semi-structured interview, which consists of several key questions that not only help to define the areas to be explored, but also allow the interviewer and interviewees to diverge in

order to pursue an idea or response in more detail (Palmer, 2019) Interviews were

conducted using interview protocols, recorded with the participants‟ consent and transcribed for later analysis

This study employed designed interview protocol to elicit answers from interviews with all participants Jacob and Furgerson (2012) suggested that novice investigator should consider using interview protocols as “asking questions and getting answers is a much harder task than it may seem at first” (Fontana & Frey,

2000, p 645) According to Jacob and Fugerson (2012), interview protocols consist

of detailed scripts of what you will say before and after the interview, prompts for the interviewer to collect informed consent, and prompts to keep the researcher on the right track to obtain the information that he or she is fond of

Constructing interview protocols

On designing the interview questions, I referred to the English Teacher Competencies Framework (2012) to create questions that prompt teachers‟ reflection

on what teaching skills they have learned or achieved throughout their extended teaching practice experience While the preliminary interview focused on

participants‟ reflection on what and how they have learnt from the previous teaching experience in term of teaching, the pre-teaching interviews concentrated on their teaching plan and justification for each activity conducted inside classroom The post-teaching interviews, on the other hand, paid attention to their reflection on what they have done in class Lastly, the final interview, which was conducted at the end

of the practicum, aimed at exploring teachers‟ reflection on their overall experiences with a focus on their current teaching practice

On designing and refining the interview protocols, I follow the interview protocol refinement (IPR) framework proposed by Castillo-Montoya (2016) - a four-phase process to develop and finetune interview protocols:

Phase 1: Ensuring interview questions align with research questions,

Phase 2: Constructing an inquiry-based conversation

Phase 3: Receiving feedback on interview protocols

Phase 4: Piloting the interview protocol

(Castillo-Montoya, 2016, p.4)

First, I discussed with my supervisor to ensure that the interview questions should lead to answers for the research questions Then, I organized an interview protocol with scripts for interviewers to begin and end an interview naturally to create an inquiry-based conversation After that, I have the protocol reviewed and commented

by one expert in the field of TESOL for suggestion Finally, I conducted a pilot interview with two random student teachers that I could contact The act of conducting a pilot data was to examine whether there were faults or limitations in the interview design (Kvale, 2007) After the pilot interview, some questions in the preliminary interviews turned out to be too broad that interviewees had to raise question on what kind of information I wanted to know Moreover, the organization

of questions was not able to allow a natural flow of ideas Therefore, I rewrote some questions with an attempt to clarify the inquiries as well as changed the order of the questions

Interview protocols for preliminary, pre-teaching, post-teaching and final

interviews used in this study are attached in Appendix 2 of this paper

Conducting interviews

I followed the interview protocols in all interview As mentioned in section 3.3, the consent forms, which contained explanation of research procedure, were given to participants before data collection process began Therefore, the participants had already agreed to the process, and thus there was no other consent form given in each interview However, I did ask for permission to record the interview each time, and the participants all gave their consent

For participants‟ convenience, interviews were conducted either offline or via online calls based on their preference The table below specifies the time, places and duration of each interview

Table 3.2 Interview details

Participant Name of interview Place Date Duration

Alex Preliminary interview Via call 20/12/2019 30 minutes

Pre-lesson interview 1 Classroom 23/12/2019 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 1 Via call 23/12/2019 15 minutes Pre-lesson interview 2 Classroom 30/12/2019 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 2 Via call 30/12/2019 18 minutes Pre-lesson interview 3 Classroom 06/01/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 3 Via call 06/01/2020 13 minutes Pre-lesson interview 4 Classroom 16/01/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 4 Via call 16/01/2020 15 minutes Final interview Via call 19/01/2020 25 minutes May Preliminary interview Via call 26/12/2020 46 minutes

Pre-lesson interview 1 Classroom 28/12/2019 12 minutes Post-lesson interview 1 Via call 28/12/2019 18 minutes Pre-lesson interview 2 Classroom 04/01/2020 12 minutes

Post-lesson interview 2 Via call 04/01/2020 16 minutes Pre-lesson interview 3 Classroom 11/01/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 3 Via call 11/01/2020 16 minutes Pre-lesson interview 4 A café 16/01/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 4 Via call 16/01/2020 15 minutes Final interview Via call 19/01/2020 30 minutes Jasmine Preliminary interview Via call 10/03/2020 50 minutes

Pre-lesson interview 1 Via call 11/03/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 1 Via call 11/03/2020 16 minutes Pre-lesson interview 2 Via call 17/03/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 2 Via call 17/03/2020 18 minutes Pre-lesson interview 3 Via call 21/03/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 3 Via call 21/03/2020 12 minutes Pre-lesson interview 4 Via call 28/03/2020 12 minutes Post-lesson interview 4 Via call 28/03/2020 15 minutes Final interview Via call 02/04/2020 35 minutes Kate Preliminary interview Via call 10/01/2020 50 minutes

Pre-lesson interview 1 Via call 23/03/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 1 Via call 23/03/2020 12 minutes Pre-lesson interview 2 Via call 30/03/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 2 Via call 30/03/2020 14 minutes Pre-lesson interview 3 Via call 06/04/2020 10 minutes Post-lesson interview 3 Via call 06/04/2020 25 minutes Pre-lesson interview 4 Via call 13/04/2020 15 minutes Post-lesson interview 4 Via call 13/04/2020 25 minutes Final interview Via call 15/04/2020 25 minutes All interviews were conducted in Vietnamese as the participants felt more comfortable communicating and expressing ideas using their mother tongue

3.4.2 Classroom observation

Rationales

Non-participant observation was deployed as an instrument for data collection

as it was deemed to be advantageous in terms of objectiveness and personal security (Berg, 2001, as cited in Lam, 2007) Accordingly, the researcher can carefully observe how participants behave in a natural context without making any external change (Parke & Griffiths, 2008) In this study, it was supposed that each participant

be observed for four lessons However, due to several objective reasons, the researcher could only observe three out of four participants‟ classroom practice Moreover, as one of the four participants conducted her teaching practice online via Zoom, I could only take note on her performance regardless of the students as well as classroom environment The time for each observation session was according to the duration of each lesson, which greatly varies by individuals from 45 minutes to 120 minutes

The main purpose of conduction classroom observation in this study is to triangulate information given by participants in their reflection and interviews Chmiliar (2010, p 126) points out that as a form of self-reported data may reflect

“only what individuals think, or think they should report, at that particular point in time” Therefore, observations are essential as they can verify data acquired from interviews In addition, by observing participant‟s classroom practice, the researcher could provide more valid evidence to answer the proposed research questions, “What

and how do pre-service teachers learn in their practicum?” During classroom

observation, the observer followed a non-participant method Accordingly, I sat at the back of the class without participating in any activities or making any intervention so

as not to disrupt the teaching practice It is important for observer to concentrate on a particular behavior and/ or specific criteria (Wragg, 2011) Therefore, in this study, data was collected on three criteria: (1) what the teacher was doing; (2) how the learning environment was; and (3) whether the pratitioners were capable of