The pre-service English language teacher educators’ perceptions on the postmethod pedagogy and its application

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the pre-service English language teacher educators’ perceptions on the postmethod pedagogy in English Language Teaching (ELT) and its application in the pre-service ELT programs in Turkey. In accordance with these purposes, the study was carried out with eight volunteer English language teacher educators from five focus institutions consisting of three public and two foundation universities. In this qualitative inquiry, the data were collected via interviews consisted of semi-structured questions. To analyse the data, Boyatzis’ (1998) four stages in thematic analysis and Dörnyei’s (2007) four phases of the analytic process were utilized. Along the analysis, the transcripts were examined to develop codes, recode the data, and categorise the emerging codes within the scope of relevant pedagogical parameters proposed in the postmethod pedagogy. The analyses of the data revealed that the English language teacher educators adopted a positive stance towards the postmethod pedagogy, which can be interpreted through their prevailing perceptions on the principles, procedures, and practices of this pedagogy. In addition, the responses of the participants indicated that they had a distinct perception on the application of the postmethod pedagogy. The participants’ practices in the pre-service ELT programs also showed that they adopted the procedures and applied the principles of the postmethod pedagogy to a certain degree. This study may provide insights about the English language teacher educators’ stance in terms of embracing changing trends in the field of methodology. This study may also increase awareness of both pre-service and in-service teachers regarding the changes in language teaching methods.