All or nothing: English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers’ and teacher trainers’ reflections on a pre-service English teacher education program in Turkey

The present study explores the beliefs of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) student teachers and their trainers on the effectiveness of the current pre-service English teacher education program (ELTEP). Employing a mixed-method study design, a program evaluation questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were administered to student teachers and teacher trainers, respectively. The analysis of data yielded from the student teacher questionnaire indicated that the most problematic areas in the program are its inability to meet student teachers’ needs, its irrelevance to their needs, and its failure to give adequate training in English. Besides, the analysis of semi-structured interviews with the teacher trainers revealed that the program is outdated and needs updating by increasing the number of basic skills courses and addressing the issues regarding the practice. In addition, teacher trainers reported other major concerns such as the ineffectiveness of the program in preparing student teachers to function in the EFL context and balancing teacher- and student-centered learning. Suggestions are made to improve the program and pre-service English language teacher education.