Challenges pre-service EFL teachers face in their classroom teaching during the practicum

This thesis aims to examine the challenges, causes, and possible suggestions for the challenges encountered by pre-service EFL teachers during their classroom experiences in the teaching practicum, which constitutes a compulsory component of their education and is generally conducted in state schools, by investigating these challenges from their own perspectives, and to shed light on the intended improvements in teacher education programs, mentoring practices, teaching practicums, and other support systems, thereby contributing to the enhancement of the professional competence of English teachers in Türkiye. This descriptive research was conducted as an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study. In the quantitative phase of the study, 111 pre-service EFL teachers from three different state universities completed the questionnaire. In the qualitative phase of the study, 16 of the pre-service EFL teachers who had completed the questionnaire participated. Among these participants, 8 pre-service EFL teachers took part in semi-structured interviews, while the other 8 pre-service EFL teachers wrote reflective papers in line with the purpose of the study. The quantitative data obtained from the questionnaire administered within the scope of the study were analyzed using SPSS. The quantitative findings of the research were examined in terms of gender, level of school where the teaching practicum was conducted, and age variables. On the other hand, the semi-structured interviews and reflective papers were subjected to thematic analysis. Both the quantitative and qualitative findings revealed that the problems encountered by the pre-service EFL teachers mostly concentrate on areas such as lesson planning, classroom management, student engagement, and supervisor support. The participants identified limited practical experience, incompatibility between theoretical education received at university and practical application in schools, crowded classrooms, and insufficient mentoring support as the main problems they face during the teaching practicum. The reflective papers and semi-structured interview data revealed not only the challenges pre-service EFL teachers faced but also the strategies they developed to cope with these problems, their professional development processes, and their recommendations for future pre-service teachers. Among these recommendations, strengthening university-school collaboration, providing more qualified training for cooperating teachers, and incorporating more reflective teaching practices stood out. By integrating both quantitative and qualitative data, this study contributes to the foreign language teacher training and relevant literature and offers concrete suggestions for making the teaching practicum process more effective and supportive. Keywords: Teaching English as a foreign language, pre-service EFL teachers, teaching practicum experience, teacher education programs, classroom teaching challenges