Exploring ELT pre-service teachers' and university instructors' concerns: Reflections on the perceived causes and solutions

In this study, the concerns of ELT pre-service teachers and university instructors regarding teaching are explored. The study was carried out with 50 third-year ELT pre-service teachers from a state university and 45 ELT university instructors from both state and foundation universities located in two cities in southern Turkey. The participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire with numeric rating scale allowing them to choose the extent of their concerns. In addition to the questionnaire prepared by Yalçın Arslan (2014), semi-structured interviews were conducted in order to shed some light on their views regarding the probable causes of and solutions to these concerns. A mixed-methods research design was employed in the study with the aim of exploring the areas ELT pre-service teachers and university instructors were concerned about and exploring their opinions regarding the causes of these concerns. In addition, the study looks for the participants' views on how these concerns can be remedied or relieved. The findings reveal that pre-service teachers are generally more concerned than university instructors. The lack of experience causes the pre-service teachers to worry more than university instructors especially about surviving in the classroom. Although the areas the two groups of participants are concerned about differ at some points, they are mostly formed around similar issues such as lack of materials and equipment, conflicts with management and limited flexibility in teaching. The study may have implications regarding the improvement of teacher education programs and professional development activities with reference to the participants' concerns and their reflections on the causes and solutions.