چکیده:
Teacher training programs should provide evidence that they are preparing teacher trainees for their teaching career. However, the literature contains few evaluation reports of the layout of the pre-service EFL teacher training program in Iranian EFL context, a gap which this study tries to fill. The participants of the study were high school EFL teachers (n = 346), teacher trainees (n = 97) and teacher trainers (n = 20) from Guilan Province. This study utilized a concurrent mixed-method design to evaluate the adequacy of the program. Different components of the program, including needs analysis, objectives specification, instructional materials, teaching activities, and assessment procedures were evaluated in this study. The results of the questionnaire and observation checklist were analyzed quantitatively. For interview results, both quantitative (percentages) and qualitative analyses were deployed. The results revealed that the program had not been adequately laid-out. Finally, some practical solutions for the improvement of the program are suggested.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Different components of the program, including needs analysis, objectives specification, instructional materials, teaching activities, and assessment procedures were evaluated in this study.
There have been some evaluation studies on the pre-service teacher training in EFL contexts focusing onthe perceptions of participants on the adequacy of the program (e.
g. , Atai&Asadi, 2014; Hashemian&Azadi, 2010).
To the best of researchers’ knowledge, only Mirhassani and Beh-Afarin (2004) seem to have evaluated the EFL pre-service teacher training in Iran to see whether communicative language teaching approach was utilized in such program.
Reviewing the literature revealed that few studies, to the best of researchers’ knowledge, have targeted the different components of EFL pre-service teacher training programs while as Brown (1989) contended efficiency of a program can be examined through its five components, including needs analysis, objectives, materials, instructional activities and assessment procedure.
Moreover, most evaluation studies were concerned solely with the participants’ perceptions; however, in order to provide evidence for the efficiency of the program, we need to go beyond the reactions of the participants and take into account their behavior in the actual teaching practice (Kirkpatrick & Kirkpatrick, 2006).
Considering the indispensable role of program evaluation (Peacock, 2009; Robinson, 2003), it is hoped that this study would contribute to our better understanding of the pre-service EFL teacher training in Iran and it would provide some practical suggestions for its improvement.
As the results indicated, for the majority of participants, the program has not been developed based on a systematic needs analysis; hence the objectives, teaching materials and activities cannot target the present and target needs of the prospective teachers.