A study of group learning among ELT practicum students through an analysis of their teaching practicum journals in a MA-ELT program at Assumption University

Abstract

Teaching Practicum (TP) is important for trainee teachers and many studies have been conducted to help improve the quality of TP recently. This research aims to analyze ten journals written by ten trainee teachers during their practicum in a MA – ELT program at Assumption University. These trainee teachers came from three different countries: seven of Chinese, one British, one Burmese and one Vietnamese. They all had different backgrounds in terms of culture, perception and education. The procedure to analyze these journals was done by finding similarities and differences within the journals of these trainee teachers. The trainee teachers had to communicate and share their ideas and thoughts to each other in order to learn and improve through their journals. The outcomes revealed the evaluation of the practicum from the trainee teachers’ points of view. In addition, the outcomes also provided helpful implications for both trainee teachers and supervisors in using journals more effectively.