Designing An İn-Service Teacher Training Program For English Teachers İn Non-Formal Education

Abstract

Even though there is a growing pile of research on the development of INSET programs for formal education settings, the studies regarding non-formal education are limited. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to design an INSET program for the English language teachers in non-formal education settings. In doing so, the training needs of the teachers were collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The findings pointed out that teachers’ needs were centered around skills, vocabulary instruction, teaching pronunciation, material development, use of instructional technology in ELT classroom, teaching mixed ability classes, and classroom management. Accordingly, a two-week online INSET program was developed and administered for the EFL teachers. Employing an experimental research design, the impact of the suggested INSET program was evaluated. The measures of entry knowledge and behavior before and after the training was compared through pre and post- tests of teacher knowledge, self-assessment scales, and observations. In addition, feedback forms were also adopted in order to develop an understanding of the teachers’ attitudes towards the program. The findings revealed that teachers’ knowledge and classroom behaviors were improved but some of them experienced problems due to the time schedule of the program and preferred a face-to-face training setting. Apart from that, many of the teachers had a positive attitude towards the implemented program. The study draws implications and puts forward some recommendations regarding the design of INSET programs for EFL teachers.