İngiliz dili öğretimi yöntem derslerinin değerlendirmesi: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Yabancı Diller Eğitimi programı örneği

The purpose of this study was to assess English Language Teaching (ELT) methods courses offered by undergraduate Foreign Language Education program of Middle East Technical University in relation to their goals, content, organization, implementation, student assessment and the courses' alignment with the needs of the education sector, by gathering the opinions and experiences of novice teachers who graduated from the program and the faculty members who offer ELT methods courses. A combination of criterion sampling and snowball sampling was utilized in the selection of eleven novice teachers, and a combination of purposive and maximum variation sampling was used in the selection of six faculty members who offer ELT methods courses. Employing phenomenological research design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed through content analysis. The results of the study demonstrated opposing opinions on the achievement level of the goals, content, content organization, implementation, assessment and the degree to which ELT methods courses could meet sectorial expectations. Overall, it is possible to state that ELT methods component requires improvement especially by updating goals, bridging theory and practice, offering more genuine practice opportunities, updating the content, diversifying methods and techniques used, utilizing performance-based assessment more, ensuring a common perspective among faculty members in terms of course conduct and addressing to perceived sectorial expectations more. Keywords: Teacher Education, English Language Teaching Methods Courses, Teacher Competencies, Foreign Language Education program