March 27, 2010.This presentation compares student teachers’ practicum experiences in ESL and EFL contexts and provides suggestions for improving practicum experience.

1. Katya Nemtchinova Seattle Pacific University Natalia Orlova UJEP, the Czech Republic

2. Mentoring is a relationship between two people with learning and development as its purpose’. The mentor-novice relationship in the context of teaching is one of the most important strategies to support novices’ learning to teach, and, thus, to improve the quality of teaching.

3. Study To examine the mentor/student teacher dyad by studying student teachers’ (and, where possible, mentors’) perceptions and assumptions about mentoring in the context of MA TESOL practicum. SPU P racticum Phase I: Observation to get a sense of the day-by-day progress of classes Phase II: Actual teaching experience at the host teacher's discretion.

4. What teaching/mentoring skills did you bring to Phase II?

5. At the beginning of Phase II, how much mentoring and guidance did you expect to receive/give about these issues?

7. My practicum teacher exceeded all of my expectations. The teacher met with me after every class to give feedback on my presentations and lessons. The teacher used a dialogic method with me when I would show him the lessons I was planning for the class. This means that he would not give a simple "approved/unapproved" answer to my class ideas. He would lead me to better lessons by asking specific questions about my knowledge of the class dynamics juxtaposed against what I wanted to do in class. This had the effect of not only helping me to create better lessons, but also gave me (what I like to call) a more "spiritual" or "organic" understanding of what teaching is. The process allowed me to develop an eye for the types of activities which would best serve the class. This process still influences me today.

8. How much mentoring and guidance did you actually give the practicum student with these issues?

14. Czech context: school placement

15. Czech context: practicum format

17. At the beginning of the practicum, how much mentoring and guidance did you expect to receive from your host teacher about these issues? A lot or some A little or none Don’t know Classroom management 83.3% 16.3% 0% Lesson planning 76.6% 23.3% 0% Sharing materials 70% 30% 0% On the spot support 46.6% 36.9 16.6% Outside of class time 56.6% 36.6% 6,6% Professional development 83.3% 9.6% 6.6%

18. Pre-practicum expectations

19. Were your expectations met or not met during the practicum?

20. “ I was lucky that my cooperating teacher was not simply willing to analyze my lessons but he was ready to answer my questions and make me think by some of his questions.” “ No matter how hard I tried to get any feedback from the host teacher on my class performance, I couldn’t receive any as she was constantly busy.”