ELT Preservice Teachers’ Conceptualization of Teaching Practice: A Metaphor Analysis of the Dynamics of Teaching Practice

Different from other studies on the metaphor analysis of pre-service teachers and their cognition on teaching, the present study adopted a larger perspective and investigated their conceptualization of the dynamics of the practicum, namely teaching practice, mentors, supervisor, students, lesson plan and materials. 35 pre-service teachers were asked to complete a metaphor elicitation task on six dynamics of teaching practice. Applying the conceptual metaphor analysis, 189 metaphors were determined and categorized for each concept. The overall results indicated that the pre-service teachers could conceptualize their beliefs on teaching practice dynamics referring to their experience. In line with their beliefs and attitudes, they chose the metaphors with positive or negative connotations. Some participants were positive about the practicum while some described the practicum with negative affective metaphors under the categories of pitfall and vagueness. Besides, the participants mostly used cognitive metaphors describing the authority of mentors and supervisors. In addition to the affective affirmative metaphors on the students, the participants described the students as out-of-control, referring to the classroom management problems. The contributions of lesson plan and material use were mostly appreciated with positive metaphors but the metaphors categorized under uncertainty and redundancy called for the participants’ need for supervision and support. The results of the study revealed that the pre-service teachers’ beliefs and performances were apt to be influenced with what they experience during the practicum. Through an understanding of pre-service teachers’ conceptualization regarding their experience, training and applications could be improved.