Design and Evaluation of a Teacher Training Course on Videoconferencing-Based EFL Teaching: A Case Study of Syrian Pre-Service EFL Teachers
Abstrakt
In recent years, authentic foreign language teaching and learning opportunities offered in the video- conferencing (VC) settings to promote the use of four macro L2 skills have become a pressing need for EFL teachers. This need prompted the researchers to prepare EFL teachers to use VC tools effectively.
To date, few attempts have been made to train pre-service EFL teachers to teach via VC tools. Therefore, the current study aimed to design a needs-based teacher training course on VC-based EFL teaching for six Syrian pre-service EFL teachers.
In this study, we attempted to create a five-week practice-based teacher training course for a group of Syrian pre-service EFL teachers and implement a five-week practicum where they were encouraged to practise the pedagogical knowledge gained during the training. We evaluated the training course using a qualitative case study approach; data were gathered from a group interview with the participating teachers and journal entries of the participating teachers.
The findings revealed that pre-service EFL teachers were able to adopt communicative and student-centred teaching strategies and become adept at implementing online tools in VC-based EFL classes as a result of the designed VC-based teacher training course. The findings offer new insights into student-centred and cutting-edge pedagogy through a video-conferencing-based training course for the prospective EFL teachers.