A Case study on co-teaching in EFL classrooms: teachers‟ and directors‟ perceptions of benefits, challenges and suggestions in workplace relationships

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2016
Çetin Kırış, Pelin
This case investigated the perceptions of English language teachers and directors on establishing and maintaining workplace relationships between co-teaching partners in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms considering the perceived benefits and challenges and the strategies to prevent and deal with the challenges. This study was conducted with eight participants including six EFL teachers and two directors in the English Preparatory Program at a private university in Turkey in the spring semester of the 2015-2016 academic year. The data for this study were collected at three different times throughout the eight-week module through the initial interviews, the progress interviews and the reflection interviews. The results of the study indicates that establishing mutual workplace relationships between co-teachers provide many benefits to the teachers for developing professionally in English Language Teaching (ELT), working and solving the problems in collaboration, sharing the workload and responsibilities, establishing friendships, and getting more motivated in teaching. However, it is also indicated that the relationships between co-teachers also provide certain challenges to the teachers including working with irresponsible teachers, having conflicting teaching styles, having difficulties in establishing communication, and losing motivation in teaching. As for the strategies for preventing and dealing with the challenges, the following are suggested: communicating frequently, being open and respectful towards each other, setting routines, working in collaboration, spending time for planning and discussing the personal and classroom-related issues beforehand, sharing the responsibilities equally, discussing the problems and finding mutual solutions, getting help from the administration, and ignoring the minor problems.

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Citation Formats
P. Çetin Kırış, “A Case study on co-teaching in EFL classrooms: teachers‟ and directors‟ perceptions of benefits, challenges and suggestions in workplace relationships,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2016.