When Expectation Meets Reality: Taiwanese High School Novice English Teachers’ Reality Shock and Coping Strategies in the First Year of Teaching

• Main Authors: Chen, Ying-Hsueh, 陳英學
• Other Authors: Yeh, Hsi-Nan
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/tnbasd

碩士 === 國立臺灣師範大學 === 英語學系 === 106 === The present study aims to delve into Taiwanese high school novice English teachers’ first year of teaching experiences in order to identify potential causes and problems of reality shock and the types of coping strategies and resources that they employed to overcome these difficulties. To achieve the research aim, a case study was conducted, involving four novice English teachers who worked in different senior high schools in Greater Taipei area. Research data was collected via semi-structured interviews and classroom observations throughout the 2017 academic year. Based on the analysis of the collected data, three major findings were identified. First, the participants’ reality shock seemed to be derived from the discrepancy between their pre-service and in-service teaching experiences and the development of their professional knowledge and competence. Second, the problems of not having sufficient time and being unskillful in conducting effective instruction were discovered to be the most critical to the participants. The impact of other problems, such as classroom management and administrative duties, appeared to be mild. Lastly, the study identified seven types of sources that helped the participants to cope with their reality shock, including self-endeavor, their mentors and colleagues, classmates from the same teacher education institutes, friends of the same profession, seminars and workshops, their students, and family members. Among all, the assistance provided by their colleagues was found to be the most comprehensive and helpful. In the end, some suggestions and recommendations for future studies were made in the hope of reducing Taiwanese novice English teachers’ reality shock in the initial year of teaching.