Preservice World Language Teachers' Reflection on Classroom Language Use: An Application of Video Study Groups Focused on Languag

Within a framework of reflective practice, this dissertation examines the ways in which preservice K-12 world language teachers discuss classroom language use when reflecting with peers on videos of their teaching. Twelve preservice language teachers at a large public university in the United States participated in four meetings of video study groups as part of a regular class assignment while student teaching. In the meetings, participants shared short video clips of their lessons with small groups of peers. The organization of the meetings changed over time, moving from unstructured discussion (first meeting) to discussion driven by participant-created questions (second meeting), instructor-provided questions (third meeting) and participant-created transcripts paired with instructor-provided questions (fourth meeting). Audio recordings of the meetings were transcribed. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, this study examines the ways in which preservice teachers reflected upon their use of target language, students' first language, and code-switching in their discussions.;Although previous studies have studied the proportion of target language to learners' first language used in the world language classroom, as well as teacher and student attitudes toward the target language, no studies have investigated the ways in which preservice teachers, at the start of their careers, reflect upon their classroom language use when studying videos of their teaching with their peers. These reflections have implications for teacher educators' work with preservice teachers. The analysis revealed five themes: a focus on the visual over the audio; guilt over not using enough target language; an emergence of preservice teachers as language policy researchers and planners; a pattern of prompts, uptakes, and missed opportunities for reflection; and the role of community in shaping the nature of group reflections. Implications of this study suggest that preservice teachers may benefit from practicing structured reflective dialogue in order to take up and build upon reflection on practice with peers. Additionally, encouraging preservice teachers to research their own classroom language policies, rather than imposing target language use requirements, may allow teachers to take ownership over their language practices, while incorporating elements of preservice teacher community that support reflection may facilitate teachers' reflective growth.