THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ IDENTITY FORMATION: A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARATIVE STUDY

Authors

Keywords:

Comparative education, teacher Identity, curriculum, teacher education

Abstract

This study attempted to examine how different teacher education programs affect the identity perception of future language teachers. This research used a Vygotskian sociocultural theoretical lens informed by Engeström's activity theory to compare English language teacher education programs in Turkey and Finland. The comparison of curricula revealed a number of theoretical and structural variations. Comparison of identity perceptions, on the other hand, revealed that there were five main differences stemming from differences in teacher education programs, which were explained as dilemmas. It was suggested that (1) Finnish and other European teacher education systems might be adapted to provide language teachers in Turkey with MA degrees, (2) universities in Turkey may apply aptitude tests to the applicants considering the total number of applicants, and (3) as future educators, pre-service language teachers should have access to resources to help them map out a professional path that aligns with their values and goals.

Author Biographies

Mehmet Tunaz, Assist. Prof. Dr.

Mehmet Tunaz is currently an assistant professor of at the School of Foreign Languages at Nevşehir University, where he has taught since 2021. He got the BA and MA degrees from Çukurova University, English Language Teaching Department in 2010 and 2014 respectively. Dr. Tunaz has been teaching at both undergraduate and graduate levels at the Department of Foreign Language Education, English language and Literature, and the School of Foreign Languages. Between 2010 and 2012 he taught English courses to young learners at a state school as a language teacher, which was the first official language teaching experience after graduating. In 2012, Dr. Tunaz started to teach English as an instructor at the School of Foreign Languages at Erciyes University, Kayseri where he got his Ph.D. in 2020. During his doctorate, Dr. Tunaz has been granted one of the most prestigious research scholarship in Turkey by TUBITAK to conduct his studies in Finland Jyvaskyla University at English Language Teaching department in 2018. After completing the Ph.D. in 2020, Dr. Tunaz was appointed as assistant professor to Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University situated in the middle of well-known Cappadocia area.

Arif Sarıçoban

Prof. Dr. Arif SARIÇOBAN has worked as an associate professor of ELT at Hacettepe University for 20 years and currently works at the Department of ELL at Selçuk University as a full professor. He is the Editor-in-Chief of some international journals and also the head of the Department of English Language and Literature at Selcuk University in Konya, Turkey.

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Published

2023-06-01

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 2 (2023): IJETS

Section

ARTICLES

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