A Study On Changes In Pre-service EFL Teachers' Teaching Anxiety And Its Contributing Factors In The Practicum

Teaching and anxiety are commonly linked in education literature.Teaching anxiety was widely identified in teachers at school and college levels.And pre-service EFL teachers are more prone to teaching anxiety due to lack of teaching experience.Researchers find pre-service teachers experience a moderate teaching anxiety generated by various factors during the teaching practicum.Many foreign studies have explored teaching anxiety of pre-service teachers from the the perspective of its contributing factors during the teaching practicum.However,there is still paucity in studies at home on the issue.The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in pre-service EFL teachers' teaching anxiety level and its contributing factors in the practicum.The research questions are put forward as follows:1)What is the level of teaching anxiety experienced by pre-service EFL teachers prior to the teaching practicum?What are the contributing factors to teaching anxiety?2)Compared to that prior to the practicum,is there a change in teaching anxiety level for pre-service EFL teachers after the practicum?3)What are the factors contributing to the changes in teaching anxiety level?The participants are fifty-one postgraduates majoring in English education from an M.Ed.program in Central China Normal University.This study employed quantitative and qualitative methods to triangulate the data,in which focus group interviews,questionnaire,semi-structured interview were used to help collect data.The major findings of the study are summarized in the following.Firstly,teaching practicum was regarded as a moderately even highly stressful experience for the majority of pre-service EFL teachers prior to the teaching practicum.The study spots the factors leading to teaching anxiety as follows:teacher-related issues,student-related issues,mentor and supervisor issues,host staff relation and peer support.Among the factors above,student-related factors and teacher issues are two prominent anxiety-provoking sources.And peer support serve as a facilitating source to alleviate teaching anxiety.Secondly,the changes in teaching anxiety level display different tendencies.54.9%of pre-service EFL teachers experienced a decrease in the level of teaching anxiety.However,for 23.5%of them,no evident change was identified in teaching anxiety level.And the last 21.6%of pre-service EFL teachers reported their teaching anxiety increased after the practicum.Third,the study explores the factors leading to the changes in teaching anxiety level.The decrease in teaching anxiety level is brought by mentor instructions and feedback as well as peer support.The invariability is due to the time limit of the practicum.And the increase in teaching anxiety level is caused by students' learning interests and learning achievements as well as lesson preparation.The study also finds that there is a transfer in pre-service EFL teachers' concerns from self-concerns with survival to task concerns,which is in line with the stages of teacher development.Prior to the teaching practicum,the main concern for pre-service EFL teachers is seeking survival.However,they become more concerned with tasks after the practicum.In the light of prominent teaching anxiety concerning pre-service EFL teachers during the teaching practicum,this study puts forward some implications on how to relieve pre-service EFL teachers' teaching anxiety.To start with,teacher educators should strengthen the cooperation with mentors,and give the student teachers more attention and support.In addition,pre-service teachers should strive to improve their English language proficiency,honing their preparation and skills,and enhancing their teaching competence.