Autonomy in an EFL Teacher Training Context: Trainee Teacher Perceptions of Instructor Expectations

Developing a sense of autonomy in teacher trainees can be considered as a goal itself; and to this end, instructors' expectations that can help them become autonomous need to be identified through the perspectives of teacher trainees rather than accepting directly what is true for instructors. This paper aims to explore the trainee teacher perceptions of instructor expectations leading them to become autonomous in an EFL teacher training context. The participants were 170 senior teacher trainees attending the ELT Department at Pamukkale University, Turkey. A mixed method was employed in the study. Firstly, a five-point Likert questionnaire was designed based on the students' replies to two open-ended questions covering in-class and out-of-class instructor expectations. Secondly, 10 senior students taking the School Experience course were asked to give their written opinions related to the instructor expectations leading to learner autonomy and they were classified under a set of themes. Based on the findings of the study, the participants seem to reflect a positive tendency towards in-class and out-of-class instructor expectations. The written views of the participants also offer significant hints for achieving autonomy within class practices and outside the class hours. One can say that instructors need to be as sensitive and selective as possible about their in-class and out-of-class expectations of teacher trainees in order to assist them in becoming autonomous as they try to find their own way independently of the instructors with relevant, carefully selected and meaningful tasks, activities and assignments.